There are sometimes doubts about US brands overseas and whether they enjoy the same influence and respect as they do at home. I wonder, however, whether the opposite is a bigger worry.
The thought is prompted by talking to senior executives of Starwood Hotels and Resorts, the US hotel chain that owns brands including Sheraton, Meridien, W, Westin, and St Regis.
Starwood has been refurbishing half of its 200 Sheraton hotels in the US at a cost of $1.4bn because it wants to bring them up to the standard of Sheratons in countries including China. There are 50 Starwood hotels in China already, and a further 75 in development.
“The standard is very high in China and we did not want our Chinese guests one day to come to the US and be disappointed,” says Frits van Paasschen, Starwood’s chief executive.
Sheraton is far from the only well-known US brand that has a stronger brand image in emerging markets than in its home country. Buick is well respected in China while GM, its parent company, is still trying to revive its reputation at home.
Similarly, KFC outlets in China often look smarter than many of those in the US, although it is owned by Yum Brands and had its origins in Kentucky. The same has been true of McDonald’s in Europe and Asia compared with McDonald’s in the US.
In some ways, it is only natural for mature brands in the US to have a better shot at reinventing themselves in overseas markets, where they have no legacy problems. One reason why Starwood hotels are rated highly in China is that its hotels there are newer.
All the same, it casts an interesting light on concerns about whether foreigners respect US brands. Some 80 per cent of guests at Sheraton hotels in China, for example, are Chinese.
