With the India-China standoff sparking a fresh debate in the country, the last few days has seen anti-China sentiments on a rise as consumers demand a ban on Chinese products and services in the country. However, there is low knowledge of the actual country of origin of all the Chinese brands despite all the media hype, said a study conducted by The Indian Institute of Human Brands (IIHB). The IIHB conducted a ‘gun-shot’ telephonic survey over June 17 and 18 to comprehend consumer sentiment on Chinese brands and apps as well as Indian celebrities endorsing them, post the news of the loss of life of 20 Indian soldiers in the Galwan Valley.
The IIHB enquired 408 respondents and asked some quick-fire questions. According to the survey, only 32% of respondents got country of origin correct in the case of Chinese brands. “This has two implications- one, the Chinese brands have done a good job in masking their Sino identity, and many consumers actually believe they are local brands, perhaps because of their ubiquitous presence in media and on retail shelves; and two, consumers actually don’t care for country of origin. All the ‘backlash’ is largely media/political hype,” the report noted. Infact, 37% of respondents said that Oppo is an Indian brand and 12% said the same for Vivo while 14% said OnePlus is Indian.
Interestingly, the survey also highlighted that only 56% people knew that TikTok, which has been in the limelight ever since the platform made its presence in India, is a Chinese app. Moreover, only 21 % said that they would uninstall TikTok because its a Chinese app while 62 % said ‘Maybe’, 11 % said ‘No’ and 16% ‘Did Not Answer’.
As for celebrity endorsements, 84% of respondents said they don’t want the celebs to support or sell Chinese brands because “It is unpatriotic; Our soldiers are dying at the hands of the Chinese; China is responsible for coronavirus and we should support Indian brands,” the report pointed out. Furthermore, 72% respondents also believe that a Chinese brand shouldn’t be the title sponsor of the Indian Premier League (IPL) indicating a clear shift away from the usage of China-based products in the country.
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