Professor Drake

Helping companies succeed online since 1999

Amazon and Chinese companies: How deep do brands go?

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Recently, I listened to a podcast that commented on the weird brand names appearing on Amazon and its impact on the US Patent and Trademark Office. Curious, I took a look. 

My search begins

It started with a search for an innocuous item, “electronic razor for men“. As I scanned the products, I saw a brand I didn’t recognize – LOBINH. I clicked on the product page and looked for company information.  I found nothing. Then I clicked on the LOBINH store, only to see 5 variations of the same razor sold with varying titles, descriptions, and photos.  That’s odd.  But no company information

But I really wanted to know more about the company that produces this product.  If Amazon doesn’t have anything, then Google surely would.  I searched for “Who owns the LOBINH brand?”

Nothing. 

Oh, wait.  Aren’t brands usually trademarked?  I next search for “Who owns the LOBINH trademark?” 

Jackpot.  A Chinese company called SHENZHEN XINGZHOU TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD owns that trademark, along with one other trademark called SURNEI.  

Now that I knew the company name, I searched for it on Google and found something really interesting.  Not that company, which didn’t even make the top 10.  But a variety of similar named companies do make the list, such as:

  • Shenzhen Xingzhou Intelligent Electronic Technology Co., Ltd.
  • Shenzhen Sihai Xinzhou Technology Co., Ltd.
  • SHEN ZHEN XING HAN BRILLANT TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD
  • Shenzhen Xingfei Technology Co., Ltd
  • Shenzhen Xingqiu Technology Co., Ltd.
  • Shenzhen XING Solutions Technology Co., Ltd.

I learned a thing or two about SEO while writing my textbook, and not being able to find a company on Google usually means that company doesn’t want to be found. It doesn’t take much effort to get noticed by Google.  Or perhaps these other companies with strangely similar names means they are really good at SEO.  However, searching for several of those companies revealed nothing about them other than a virtual presence on some ecommerce platforms. 

Brand craziness

It got me to wondering, what brands/trademarks do these companies own? I looked at the first three companies above. 

Some of those trademarks left me scratching my head.  Except for SeasBoat, I can’t make sense out of them.  In fact, some seem to be randomly chosen letters.  EDPLTE??? Really?

What’s in a Brand Name

Perhaps I’m making too much of this.  From my days studying marketing, I remembered that some brands are picked for their meaning in foreign languages.  To check, I used Google Translate to autodetect the language and tell me its meaning.  “EDPLTE” could not be recognized. Neither could “Foriot,” “Virwir,” and “DIYMORE”.  However, “Zuxiga” is an Uzbek word meaning “To the dream”, “TEEGI” is an Estonian word meaning “Library”, and “Hamibus” is Latin for “Hooks”. Coincidence or purposeful? No clue.  The Trademark for “Zuxiga” suggests their products are “Animal carriers; Animal wraps and covers; Backpacks for pets; Bags for carrying pets; Bow tie collars for pets…” Not sure what that brand name has to do with “To the dream”. 

Circling Back to Amazon

To check, I went back to Amazon. Sure enough my search for “Zuxiga” returned some products, such as this neck fan. Wait, that has nothing to do with “Animal carriers; Animal wraps and covers; Backpacks for pets; Bags for carrying pets; Bow tie collars for pets”.   As I scrolled down the products for that search – remember I’m search for Zuxiga – I saw a picture of that exact same neck fan sold under a different brand name OLV. 

To complete the circle, I had to know – what company owns that brand?  I searched for that trademark and found it is owned by…

SHENZHEN TENGZHONG DIGITAL CO., LTD

Yet another Chinese company with a similar name to those above.  I’m starting to see a pattern here. 

Take-away

I’ll admit. I’m no expert on trademarks, brands, or retail for that matter, but this is just weird.  Odd brand names, often with no discernable meaning, owned by companies with similar names, but no physical presence that can be found online. While these products could be white label, it doesn’t make sense to pick unknown brands to sell your products under. What’s going on? 

The best I can make of it, this seems like a deliberate strategy by Chinese manufacturers to obfuscate their identities while profiting from Amazon’s marketplace.  I would not be surprised to discover that all these companies are owned by the same parent company. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that.  If a company finds a strategy that’s profitable, great!  Pursue that strategy. 

I just can’t figure out how this is a healthy strategy.  Most of these trademarks are less than 5 years old, suggesting the brands are likewise less than 5 years old. With little track record, reputation would normally be a concern.  However, Amazon’s review system might allow new brands to sell if enough early reviews are positive. Looking at the reviews for the above products showed okay ratings.  But the skeptic in my wonders how many of those reviews are from actual consumers. I’m not the only one. 

Yet despite this questionable undercurrent at Amazon, I still do most of my online shopping there.  However going forward, I will be far more hesitant about oddly named brands. If Amazon its careful, this could come back to bite them.  We shall see. 

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