WSJ writes about the challenges faced by Chinese telecom equipment maker Huawei as it tries to penetrate the US market:
With little experience in marketing, Huawei has struggled to build brand recognition in the U.S. It confused customers by using a new name for its U.S. business. With the headquarters in Shenzhen, China, hesitant to delegate, local executives have trouble adapting to the local culture. The company has been dogged by suspicions of cutting corners on intellectual-property rights, and alienated some job applicants by pumping them for detailed technical information. Huawei’s successful formula winning business in other countries with low prices hasn’t worked as well in a U.S. market marked by long-term ties between phone companies and their equipment suppliers.
The company’s setbacks in the U.S. contrast with its recent progress elsewhere outside China. From the Middle East to Latin America and, more recently, Europe, Huawei has taken business from global giants such as Germany’s Siemens AG and France’s Alcatel SA. Of the 19 licenses issued around the world last year for high-end wireless networks known as “third generation,” Huawei was involved in building 14 of them, according to BDA China Ltd., a Beijing-based research firm. BT Group PLC, the large British telecom company, recently gave Huawei an important stamp of approval, awarding the Chinese vendor part of a $19 billion project.
