subject: Why A World Class Brand Is Not 'Made In India'! [print this page] Why A World Class Brand Is Not 'Made In India'!
Every time I look at the top 100 global brand list (http://bit.ly/rqrH) it makes me wonder why not a single Indian brand features in the list. What are the reasons that Indian brands fail to make the cut? Are Indian products below global standards? Is it because Indian companies lack technical expertise to make such products?? Or does the Indian consumer mindset act as a roadblock?
I think it is difficult to single out one key reason why Indian brands do not fare well on the global map. Superior product quality is one main ingredient missing in our Indian brands (http://bit.ly/a2A0n). Besides this, I see three 'CO' reasons which explains why Indian brands fail to become world class brands.
1) CO'UNTRY'S IMAGE - Remember the simple math equation we studied in school - A = B and B = C hence A = C. Well, this equation also holds true when we talk about country's image impacting the local company's image and in turn affecting the product image of the company. (Country's image = Company's image = Product's image)
The values, beliefs and image of the country play an important role in shaping the success for the brands of the local companies of that country. Switzerland is the best example to explain this.
Switzerland as a country stands for high quality, precision, class, innovation and aspiration. These same qualities are reflected in their brands. Brands like Rolex, Swatch, Swiss Army Knife are world class brands not only because these are great products, but the country's image lends its credibility and values to these brand to make it a truly world class brand.
Other countries like US, Japan and Germany are fine examples where the countries values are ingrained in the brands.
When we talk about India, corruption, poverty, world's back-office and Incredible India are some of the attributes get associated with our country. One marketing campaign (Incredible India) is not going to be enough to correct the image of our county. These strong negative connotations have severely tarnished the image of the country. Due to this, no matter how well our Indian companies try hard to make a global brand, the fact that it is Made in India' will always act as a dampener. Would you wear a Levis or a Rolex or Gucci if it was made in India?
For more visit my blog http://sagzsha.blogspot.com/2009/12/why-world-class-brand-is-not-made-in.html
