China's growing middle class is fast becoming one of the most powerful demographics in the world, spending vast amounts of cash on material goods that, until recently, haven't been available in the country.
Chinese consumers are particularly fond of big western brands, with designers like Gucci and Giorgio Armani seen as particularly desirable, and owning a BMW or Mercedes seen as a huge status symbol. But just which Western brands have the best reputations in China?
To find out we took a look at The Reputation Institute's 2016 China RepTrak 100, a huge survey of which companies Chinese consumers like the best. The vast majority of companies in the top 100 were from the west, so we decided to strip out Chinese companies
The index uses data from RepTrak's Pulse system, which tracks seven key factors in a company's reputation — products and services, innovation, workplace, governance, citizenship, leadership, and performance — as well as data from thousands of Chinese consumers taken this year, plus historical data.
The data is then collated and each company given a score out of 100. You can check out the companies with the highest scores below. Interestingly, the likes of Apple, Facebook, and Nike all missed out on the top places.
15. Procter & Gamble: 71.7 — P&G owns hundreds of the best known consumer products, including Gillette razors, Ariel detergent, and Oral-B dental products. That widespread portfolio clearly helps the company's reputation in China.
14. Gucci: 71.7 — Gucci is a favourite brand of Kanye West and Chinese consumers also go wild for the luxury designer, which makes everything from sunglasses to expensive suede loafers.
13. General Motors: 72.4 — GM is the manufacturer of some of the most recognisable auto brands on earth, including Chevrolet, Cadillac, and Opel, as well as Chinese car makers Baojun and Jie Fang. While Chinese consumers prefer big European cars like BMWs and Mercedes, they're not opposed to an American muscle car.
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