UK Trade & Investment - Made in China to designed in China
A new taskforce set up by UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) will meet
for the first time today with the aim of helping British designers
win business in China.
UK businesses could be competing for a slice of China’s booming
design industry potentially worth more than £3billion.
UK Trade & Investment Chief Executive Andrew Cahn said the Chinese
economy is developing rapidly. “What we are witnessing is a
transformation from “Made in China to Designed in China,” he said.
The 12 member taskforce is made up of British design companies that
have already broken into the Chinese market. It will host seminars
in China about the strength of UK design and share intelligence with
the British design community through direct training and marketing
activities. Taskforce members will be participating in conferences
in Shanghai, Beijing, Wuxi and Guangzhau from Oct 2007.
“Chinese companies are moving up the value chain and increasingly
looking to sell their products and services outside their own
domestic market. They’re therefore spending more time and money on
creative design, marketing and branding,”
Andrew Cahn, Chief Executive of UKTI, said:
“We’re taking a giant leap forward in showcasing the best of British
design in this booming market. The potential market for UK design
will develop rapidly as China’s economy moves towards selling more
sophisticated products and services into a competitive market
place.”
“The growing middle classes in China have made it possible for
brands such as Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton and Zara to establish a
retail presence which is opening the eyes of Chinese companies to
the importance of branding.”
“The upcoming Olympics in Beijing and the 2010 Expo in Shanghai will
give Chinese companies huge international exposure which they
haven’t had to date and they will want to show their best possible
image.
“The UK is a world leader in the branding of financial services with
real expertise in retail and banking design. The Chinese government
is committed to deregulation of the financial services sector
offering huge opportunities.
“This will not only give British designers the opportunity to work
for global brands entering China, but more importantly, it means
that Chinese financial institutions will start competing with global
brands – forcing them to use design to stand out.”
The Chinese government’s five year programme, ratified in March
2006, focuses on the creation of a knowledge led, innovation
orientated economy supported by greater domestic consumption. In
addition, the national programme on cultural development published
in September 2006 states that "On the international stage China not
only needs strength in economy, science, technology and defence but
also cultural strength to be ahead of international competition.”
Martin Darbyshire, CEO of Tangerine and member of the China Design
Taskforce said added:
“It is wrong to think of China’s economy to be based on low cost,
sub-contract, manufacture. China is evolving quickly into a high
tech, high skilled and highly innovative economy."
“It already has the second largest share of science and engineering
researchers in the world, and between 2005 and 2010, the country
will graduate some three million engineers, nearly nine times the
number that will graduate in the United States."
“The country’s remarkable combination of mass, youth and capital
provides an additional opportunity to use it as a test market for
new products and technologies. All this creates huge opportunities
for British designers”
A new report by UK Trade & Investment also published today
highlights opportunities for British design in the financial
services, manufacturing, leisure and tourism, healthcare and
education sectors. You can obtain a copy of this report by
contacting Gary Hunt.
Taskforce members include Alloy, CGI (Automotive), Creactive Design,
Conran & Partners, Dalziel & Pow, Design Bridge, Geoff Howe
Marketing, Industrial Design Consultancy (IDC), Lowey Mann (The Team
and Williams Murray Hamm), Quadro, Smallfry and Tangerine.
Email: Gary.Hunt@uktradeinvest.gov.uk
Arundel Jones Associates Ltd
Hill Farm, Linton Hill, Maidstone, Kent ME17 4AL
Tel : 01622 745333
news@buildingdesign.co.uk
Registered in England and Wales No. 07334149
News Categories : UK trade and investment british
designer
|
UK
trade and investment British designer
