Acer was voted the favorite computer brand for the sixth consecutive year not only in Taiwan but across Asia, despite the abundance of new competitors, according to a survey released by Reader's Digest yesterday.
State-run Chinese Petroleum Corp (
The magazine polled 6,000 people in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, asking them to write down trusted brands in 41 product categories, ranging from luxury goods to everyday necessities. Respondents could write down any name, rather than choosing from a list.
The survey results showed that most Taiwanese consumers prefer to chat with friends on Nokia phones through Chunghwa Telecom (中華電信) services, quench their thirst with Super Supau sports drinks, cook with Knorr canned or packaged soup and drink Taiwan Beer to relax.
Local consumers also like to use Panasonic washing machines and refrigerators, cool down with Hitachi air conditioners, use Duracell batteries in their Sony Minidisc players, stay at the Grand Hyatt Hotel on business trips and fly with EVA Airlines (
These "are a few select brands that win consumers' high respect and regard. They are called the `SuperBrands,' which consumers consider to be their favorite or their most preferred brands," said Victoria Santos, executive director of customized research with ACNielsen Taiwan, which conducted a comprehensive study into the polls compiled by Reader's Digest.
"These are often the brands that win consumer loyalty," she added.
To better reflect consumer behavior, this year's survey included six new categories -- bank, insurance, airline, telecommunications service, battery, sports drinks and rice -- to measure consumer preferences on quality, value, trustworthiness, image and understanding of customer needs, according to Hong Kong-based Jo Jo Li (李美玲), advertising director of Reader's Digest Asia.
The survey showed that Taiwanese people are loyal to local brands. In addition to Acer and China Petroleum, food and beverage makers including Uni-President Enterprises Corp (統一), Kuang-Chuan Co (光泉), Wei-chuan Food Corp (味全) and Hey Song (黑松), and home electronics maker Tatung Co (大同) won recognition among the respondents.
"Most winners are either corporate brands or those with a long history, thereby enjoying competitive edges in the market. But strengthening consumer loyalty, which is weaker than before, has become a challenging issue," said Jeanne Liu (
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last