Why Chinese consumer product firms are failing to gain a foothold in the US (West)

An observation from China Law Blog:

I have seen this same sort of thing in other industries in the United States where my law firm has represented Chinese companies unwilling to do what it takes to sell their China branded products in the United States. These companies have been unwilling to spend the kind of money required to market or distribute their products in the United States and, perhaps most importantly, they have been unwilling to hire top-tier people in the United States who know how to market to US consumers. I have heard countless similar stories from other service companies that work with Chinese companies trying to mark into the US market.

Succeeding at selling consumer products (really most products) in the United States virtually always requires more than just having the lowest price. Unless and until Chinese companies truly understand this (rather than paying it mere lip service), the threat of Chinese companies taking over the US consumer market is minimal at best.

The expertise can be easily hired... the reality is that they don't want to pay for it but that creates opportunity. As firms pass on to the next generation of kids who are often educated in the West, I suspect this will change - but these little emperors will still face significant internal resistance.