<< Made in China - Subway>>
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Alexander Moody-Stuart, managing director at sandwich chain Subway, said the number of imitators that come to franchising fairs in China increases every year. He said there are Subway copiers that use similar logos, offer sandwiches in six-inch and 12-inch formats as Subway does (China generally uses the metric system), and even accept coupons from Subway when consumers confuse the two stores.
For Subway, which is trying to build awareness to a type of food that isn't always eaten in China, "the mimicking isn't exactly a bad thing," Mr. Moody-Stuart said.
But the imitation stores also limit the companies' ability to control the experience that consumers have with their brands. Copycat companies run the risk of tarnishing a consumer's association with an already established brand at a time when Chinese consumers are increasingly brand-conscious. Apple, for example, wasn't able to oversee the service or hire the employees at fake stores like the one in Kunming the way it does painstakingly at its own outlets. Walt Disney Co. has similar difficulties: a number of "Disney Stores" are open in China, even though the U.S. company hasn't yet launched its trademarked chain of stand-alone retail shops in the country—although it does license its products for sale in the Chinese market. ...... Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904292504576484080863377102.html#ixzz1TxX3fADq
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发表于 2011-8-3 18:08:07
