BEIJING - Being a well-known brand is still a very important factor for luxury brands to succeed in China, a survey has found.

Only 20 percent agreed that a luxury brand should be “a niche brand known only to a few”. Fifty percent agreed that a luxury brand should first be well-known before it can be considered successful and 64 percent said they would be more willing to pay a premium if a brand is popular and well-known, KPMG said in a statement on Monday after a poll of 1, 200 consumers in 24 top-tier Chinese cities.

The statement also revealed consumers in China distinguish very clearly among countries of origin, and associate certain countries particularly strongly with certain products.

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Switzerland, for instance, is associated with luxury watches, while Italy with footwear and France with clothes, the statement said.

KPMG also found brand recognition among Chinese consumers continues to rise as companies build up their retail presence and deploy more resources to marketing.

Holding lavish events has become a popular approach for building prestige around a brand in major cities such as Shanghai and leading brands compete fiercely for prime magazine and outdoor advertising space, KPMG said.

The statement reveals middle-income respondents now recognize 57 luxury brands, a figure that has risen steadily over successive surveys.

Respondents in tier-one cities recognized 61 brands, compared with an average of 53 in tier-two cities, the statement said.

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