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BenQ wants global recognition

"Our outlets are decorated with butterfly images because we want customers to immediately recognize BenQ."

Jerry Wang, vice president of BenQ's marketing-development office

BenQ Corp (明基電通), the nation's largest mobile-phone maker, plans to set up more than 10 distribution outlets worldwide by the end of this year to expand its global reach, a company executive said yesterday.

"We have decided to set up BenQ outlets because we want to have more face-to-face interaction with our customers," said Jerry Wang (王文燦), vice president of BenQ's marketing-development office, on the sideline of the 2003 International Telecom Forum in Taipei yesterday.

The company has seven outlets in Taiwan and five outlets in Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia. It is planning to expand to Australia and Europe within the next five months, Wang said.

BenQ, which established its own brand name after being spun off from the Acer Group in late 2001, also produces notebook computers, LCD displays and other computer peripherals. Wang said that having an attention-grabbing brand name is important for companies to stay alive in the fast-moving consumer goods market.

"Our outlets are decorated with butterfly images because we want customers to immediately recognize BenQ, the letters of which [B-E-N-Q] stand for our central belief: `Bring-Entertainment-N-Quality to life,'" Wang said in a speech at the forum.

"Just as most people readily recognize Apple Computer by the apple logo, we chose a butterfly as our symbol and hope to achieve a high-level of brand awareness among consumers in the same way as Apple," Wang said.

Over the past two years, the company annually invested 3 percent of its total sales in marketing, according to Wang. The company reported NT$10.6 billion in sales last month, a 53 percent increase over the same period last year.

A marketing veteran said establishing a well-known brand is like running a marathon.

"It could take at least 10 years to set up a well-recognized brand," said Josephine Kuo (郭翠彬), a director at Taylor Nelson Sofres Plc in Taipei, a UK-based market information provider and consulting company.

Considering the number of local offices and retail networks BenQ set up over the last two years "the company's global expansion plan is quite aggressive," Kuo said. But for foreign brands attempting to enter a new country, a three-to-six month study period is necessary, she added.

Wang admitted that BenQ had met some difficulties as it went global.

"Our brand awareness and acceptance is much greater in Asia than in Western countries," he said.

Due to different consumer behavior in various countries, it has taken BenQ quite a long time to figure out which specific strategies a prospective market requires. But Wang emphasized that possessing a brand name is essential for the company's future development.

"While many local companies have viewed creativity a priority in their business, I think companies need to establish a brand ... because a successful brand will help expand their creativity and get products to customers faster," he said.
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