Introduction

The face of business in Asia is changing faster than one can blink one’s eyes. Asian companies that used to be back-end workhorses, manufacturing consumer goods cheaply for Western companies, are slowly realizing the benefits of branding. In China, a smartphone manufacturer established in 2011 was able to overtake Apple to become the nation’s dominant mobile phone maker.1 By nearly replicating Apple’s processing power and design while improving distribution and manufacturing, some say the mobile industry’s future will no longer be decided in Silicon Valley, but in the Beijing headquarters of Xiaomi. Even Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has admitted Xiaomi is “good enough to break the American market.”2 However, Chinese mobile brands like Xiaomi will face bumpy roads ahead when they expand globally due to patent disputes, user concerns over cyber spying, poor brand recognition, strong branded competition, and other challenges.3