The author knows a new friend Mr Li, a shoe brand boss, and we talked about his brand story. Many years ago, his brand mainly focused on the Western market. When China was open to the world, a lot of manufacturers, including Mr Li, went to China to start a new factory to lower the cost. Abundant cheap labour made product cheap and good. Following the factory age, China’s economy boosted fast for years. Mr Li started a tailor-made brand for China and won a success in the major cities.
Big difference in second and third tier cities
If the brand was successful in major cities, it should be great also at second and third-tier Chinese cities, some years later. Mr Li decided to imitate the business model to second-tier cities but it resulted a failure. There is big difference between Chinese cities. The same model would have a very different result among provinces and cities. China is huge! Mr Li understood that a holistic business plan was the key of success, and applied the BUD Fund Type (i) project. He started again at the region near the major cities.
Online Offline promotion in China
This expansion was not bad, and the information age of China began. With the BUD Fund, Mr Li enhanced the brand and promoted both online and offline. His firm built a brand portal website and did WeChat marketing. At the same time, the company also joined exhibition and did some roadshows. The shoe company hired experienced Chinese marketing agency to adjust strategies from town to town, plus the power of China network, the brand spread rapidly.
The BUD Fund helps Hong Kong firms to enter China market
Now there are “Mainland Programme” and “FTA Programme” under the BUD Fund. Eligible enterprises can get a fund of HK$ 4,000,000 at most on a one-to-one basis. The Dedicated Fund offered by the Hong Kong Government helps branding, upgrading and marketing for local companies. You are welcome to inquire BizMagnet to know more how to apply the BUD Fund.
