Japanese mobiles are overwhelmed in chinese market
On 22th Nov 2006, NEC announced to stop all the 2.5G mobile business in china. NEC is not the only loser. Toshiba, Panasonic and Mitsubishi have treated from china mobile market earlier than NEC. until now, Japanese mobile makers are almost overwhelmed in china 2.5G mobile market. from brilliant stars to discomposure losers, there are too many stories we can tell, too many problems we can analyze and too many lessons we can learn. so long as reading these days' news, every analyst is talking about Japanese companies' failure of localization. but I don't think that is the root cause.
Actually, Japanese mobile makers have achieved good market share in china. take Mitsubishi mobile for example, in 2000 Mitsubishi's triumph brand made a big success in china. this myth can be comparable with Moto's V3 which saved the whole company. other Japanese brands also showed good performance. so if Japanese mobile makers didn't make good localization, how could they succeed in their debut? I think the reason is chinese market grows so rapidly that Japanese makers didn't catch the pace. this reflects the deadly flaws in Japanese company organization and decision making process. I believe their management teams in china know how to develop new market channel, what kind of products chinese like and how to promote products in chinese market. but they are not authorized to do the final decision. as a result, market chances passed by them. however, their competitors like western companies and chinese companies have natural advantages. they can quickly adjust strategies to adapt market changing. market proves fast and smooth decision making process is the only way to get upper hand in consuming electronic market. only having this, smart employees are willing to suggest good product design, marketing strategy and critize internal maladies.
Besides, one important clue strengthenes my point. these Japanese mobile makers positioned in different segments. some positioned in high end, some in low end. their products covers all aspects of 2.5G mobile phones. in other words, they can statisfy all kinds of demands from chinese consumers. so we can't simply say there are something problems with their marketing strategies or product design. it's more likely the common problem for all the Japanese mobile makers. that's Japanese traditional company organization and decision making flow are too complex. that's why their performance in western markets is very similiar with chinese market.
Finally, I want to kindly remind those companies who want to enter a new market like chinese market.
1) don't emphasize localization overly. outsider can make better judgement than insider if outsider can get accurate information. a famous chinese saying is "当局者迷，旁观者清". more interesting saying: 外来的和尚会念经！
2) don't build a pure local team. company often think only local people can operate local business very well. actually, in china many chinese talents don't like working under a HongKong boss or Taiwanese boss or Chinese boss in a foreign company. they think they can develop better career under a foreigner boss because they think that's a window to a new world. in addition, in a pure single culture team, the dark side of the culture can easily be exposed. an old chinese saying "文人相轻" describes very well. if there are more than one culture in a team, bandgap will be created. therefore, internal war or internal clique can't be formed easily, I think.
Written by Keanu Zhang - Visit Website
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