Understanding the potential of a brand is absolutely critical in terms of corporate strategy and brand investment decisions. Without a clear understanding of current brand equity, it is difficult to realize key areas that can be improved. Effective brand vision requires investments both for the present and the future.

Kangnai Group, a shoe company originating in Zhejiang province in China, plans to build about 35 new stores abroad in 2010, said Zhou Jinmiao, the Vice General Manager of the group.

Over the past two decades, Haier, the Chinese household appliance manufacturer, has evolved from a small, collectively-owned factory into a multinational corporation. According to their website, they are now pursuing a global branding strategy.

For most low-end manufactured products, the firms that own the world-famous brands generally do not do the manufacturing themselves. This is especially true for the clothing industry, in which the famous brands are generally from the developed countries while manufacturing is outsourcing to often little known factories in low-cost, low-wage countries. In these outsourcing destinations, thousands of factories producing similar goods compete on price with each other for the orders from the famous brands, inching out their survival based on the slim margin between revenue and production costs.