Month: December 2025

Europe is a continent facing many challenges. While our own economy is struggling and burdened by ever-increasing costs and stricter legislation on privacy, AI rules, energy, sustainability, etc., we as a region are being overtaken by a protectionist United States and an ever-innovative China on a conquest. The striking geopolitical developments and shifts towards a new reality specific to our times are creating a new global reality for our economy. With some delay, we are also seeing an increasing impact on the European market and on the brands that operate there.

Let’s zoom in on China for a moment. For decades, we viewed products from the Far East as inferior in quality from a European perspective. The familiar “Made in China” label became a running gag among Europeans, referring to cheap plastic products of dubious chemical composition, disposable electronics, fast fashion and, at best, poor copies that infringed on the trademarks or patents of Western bestsellers. In recent years, however, the land of the Red Dragon has been catching up fast.

Under the leadership of Xi Jinping’s government, it was decided to invest heavily in innovation, and as is often the case in China, this evolution is happening at lightning speed. Whereas it was initially limited to dominance in solar panels and proprietary digital products such as WeChat, popular Chinese brands are now increasingly popping up in European households. The rush for the original Labubu dolls – grinning plush animals of which Rihanna and David Beckham are avid fans – shows that a new Chinese brand can conquer Western hearts and wallets in record time. Car brands such as BYD, Chery and Hongqi are not only seeing their market share in Europe rise significantly from 3.3% in 2024 to 7.4% in 2025, they are also increasingly hurting local luxury brands such as Mercedes. The fact that Sweden’s pride and joy, Volvo, has been in Chinese hands since 2010 also speaks volumes.

At the same time, we are seeing American brands lose reputation in this evolving world order. President Trump’s protectionist and economically nationalistic course is not doing the image of many quintessentially American brands any favours. In countries such as Canada and Denmark in particular, there is a veritable boycott of American brands. Consumers there are reacting to Trump’s statements alluding to Canada becoming the 51st state and, if necessary, the military conquest of Greenland.

Danish brewer Carlsberg, responsible for bottling Coca-Cola in its home market, has noticed that Danish consumers are buying less and less Coca-Cola and switching to local alternatives. At the beginning of this year, Sailing Group, Denmark’s largest retailer, decided to provide European brands with clear labelling at the request of dissatisfied consumers looking for local products to replace American ones.

The key question for European brands is therefore how they can position and present themselves in a world where consumers are turning away from American brands and possibly buying Chinese alternatives instead. A classic price war seems unwise in any case: a European brand simply pays more to market a product or service than a Chinese brand with goods of the same quality. Positioning themselves as an alternative to reviled American brands does not seem to be an option either, because just because a boycott has arisen for certain categories and regions, it does not mean that customers will suddenly abandon their favourite brands en masse because of their American origin.

In my opinion, the answer that European brands need to formulate is twofold. Firstly, they must dare to stand on their own two feet (just like the countries of their origin), independent of American hegemony and dominance. It is no longer enough to pretend that they are capable of developing copies for established market leaders on the other side of the Atlantic. This entails a responsibility for both the organisations that own these brands to innovate at a faster pace and differentiate themselves as uniquely as possible in a global economy, and for governments (local and European) to stimulate this innovation rather than slow it down. In this respect, they could take a leaf out of Xi and Trump’s book; after all, they don’t need years and thousands of debates to intervene economically and propel “their” brands forward.

Secondly, it is up to our brands to make themselves indispensable through humanity, proximity and European pragmatism. Too often we lag behind, or companies try to do what they have seen in Beijing or Silicon Valley. Meanwhile, our down-to-earth European market is craving more than ever a customer experience based on personality and local presence, a human relationship between brand and customer that American and Chinese brands find more difficult or are less willing to offer. It is a matter of daring to play the European trump cards and making choices. Let that be the essence of every strong brand strategy.

Only then will European (and other) customers be inclined to trust European brands and consider them an organic choice, rather than a faded glory alongside Chinese innovation or a bland alternative to American pioneers. The essence lies in the added value offered, which can only be perceived as added value by relevant target groups if it is tangible, purpose-driven and authentic – rather than motivated by fear or panic.