<strong>China: Fourteen Cigarette Brands Enter Hurun Brand List 2013</strong>

Source from:  TobaccoChina Online 07/30/2013

A total of 14 cigarette brands of China’s tobacco industry entered Hurun Brand List 2013 issued on July 22 by the Shanghai-based Hurun Research Institute, which lists 200 most valuable Chinese brands.

The Hurun brand list has been compiled annually by Hurun Research Institute since 2007.

Chunghwa – a time-honored cigarette brand of Shanghai Tobacco Group – continued to maintain its No. 1 status among the cigarette brands on the brand list this year. The Yellow Crane Tower of Hubei, after being overtaken by Furongwang of Hunan in 2012, regained its No. 2 status among the cigarette brands on the brand list 2013, and Furongwang went to the third place. The Panda and the Dahongying (Great Red Eagle) emerged as new comers on the list.

The 14 cigarette brands are all Chinese brands. The value of the 14 cigarette brands accounted for 10 percent of the total value of all the brands on the list this year.

Four of the 14 cigarette brands were from southwest China’s tobacco-producing Yunnan Province, effectively ranking Yunnan the largest contributor of cigarette brands on the list.

In 2012, 13 cigarette brands entered the brand list.

This year, the brand list includes 98 brands created by private companies such as Baidu Inc. and Wahaha Group as well as 94 brands launched by State-owned enterprises such as China National Petroleum Corporation.

"The top brands usually communicate efficiently with customers on new media platforms using innovative campaigns," Rupert Hoogewerf, founder of Hurun Report, said on July 22. "Effective branding is key for any companies, private or State-owned, to sustain their growth and achieve success in the long run."

Hoogewerf said no listed companies sponsored the report. Enditem