A leading global player in electrical equipment, South Korean tech titan Samsung has ranked first in our list of SEA’s top 10 electronics brands. Widely recognised for its exceptional capabilities in electronics manufacturing, Samsung's range of products includes smartphones, televisions, home appliances, and semiconductor technology. The Samsung Galaxy smartphone is one of its best-selling products, celebrated for its innovative design and advanced features that have transformed mobile experiences on a global scale.
Samsung achieved an overall score of 69.27%, a few points ahead of its closest competitor, Apple, which scored 65.36%. Samsung also achieved the first ranking in all but one of the six markets in SEA across the electronics sector, with only Singapore scoring it a second ranking behind Apple.
The ranking is based on Campaign’s authoritative list of Southeast Asia’s top 50 brands, created in partnership with research firm Milieu Insight. We have published reports on the top 10 brands from the surveyed markets (Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore) across 10 sectors. The brands were evaluated using attributes such as awareness, purchase, quality, buying experience, customer service, trustworthiness, innovation, brand touchpoints (ease of use across all digital and offline interactions), and advocacy (degree of recommendation).
Over the next few weeks, Campaign Asia-Pacific will provide a comprehensive analysis of the top brands by sector in Southeast Asia. This is the fourth in a 10-part series covering sectors such as fashion, travel, apparel & accessories, financial services, beauty, telcos & streaming, ecommerce, transport & delivery, automotive, and food delivery.
The chart below shows the scores of the top 50 electronics brands in Southeast Asia. Following the chart, you’ll find the top 10 electronics brands in individual markets, along with a brief analysis of the top 10 performers across the region.
Overall, the top electronics brands in SEA are predictably dominated by the well-established Asian giants in the field, including Thailand's Hatari (third ranking), Japan's Hitachi (fourth ranking) and Panasonic (fifth ranking). The nexus of electronics manufacturing is in China or nearby Southeast Asian countries, and so it stands to reason why these local companies dominate the top spot. For US-founded companies, Apple holds strong in second position overall, and achieved second ranking in every market except for Thailand, while Californian data storage company, Western Digital, takes seventh place. Dyson, founded by British entrepreneur James Dyson, finishes in sixth position. The company famous for its household appliances moved its head office from the UK to Singapore in 2019, and has since penetrated the local market.
In charts: Electronics brands breakdown by market
Let's have a closer look at the top 10 SEA performers:
Samsung
First established as a grocery trading store in 1938, Samsung is now South Korea's biggest company and contributes nearly 20% to the national GDP. Samsung Electronics is the most prolific company under the Samsung Group umbrella, bringing in about 70% of the group’s revenue. Not only did Samsung achieve the overall first ranking across SEA for the electronics sector, it also topped the list in every market except for Singapore. It received notably high scores across brand awareness and purchase frequency. Samsung's Android phones have a wider range of affordability than Apple's iPhone and consequently Samsung has a higher market share in the region.
Apple
The American tech giant known for its top-selling iPhone finished second overall among electronics brands in SEA. It also achieved the second highest score across Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia respectively. In Singapore, it was the top scorer for electronics brands, achieving a first ranking score of 70.7%. This was some margin ahead of closest competitor, Samsung, that achieved 51.4%. In Singapore, Apple received high scores across all brand categories, but notably achieved the top score for buying experience and brand awareness.
Hatari
Founded in 1990 and starting out as a fan repair shop, Hatari has grown to become one of Thailand's leading manufacturers of electronic fan products. It's third place ranking in the top 10 is largely due to its popularity in Thailand where it benefits from high brand awareness and purchase frequency. It's products are well known for their durability and build quality, and while the company sells eight million domestic and industrial fans annually, outside of Thailand Hatari did not score in the top 10 of any other market.
Hitachi
Founded in 1910 in Japan, Hitachi has long established itself as a major player in electronic devices and home appliances and has played a key role in key introducing new technologies that are improving the quality of life for people across Southeast Asia and the world. Hitachi was ranked fourth overall in SEA's top electronics brands, and this is largely due to its high brand awareness in Thailand where the company has manufacturing bases and has played a pivotal role working with the Thai government to transform Thailand into a digital society.
Panasonic
The Japanese electronics giant was founded in 1918 and for much of the late 20th century was the world's largest maker of consumer electronics. Although ranked fifth overall among electronics brands in SEA, Panasonic achieved high scores across all markets, and was ranked second in Thailand and third in Malaysia and Vietnam. Legacy and innovation have sustained Panasonic, and it benefits from high brand awareness and purchase frequency and remains widely known for its TVs and audio-visual equipment.
Dyson
Known for its household appliances such as vacuum cleaners, hair dryers, air purifiers and heaters, Dyson, founded in the early 90's, is one of the UK's biggest engineering and innovation success stories. Founder James Dyson moved all manufacturing from Britain to Malaysia in 2002, and relocated its HQ to Singapore in 2019. Dyson made the top 10 for electronics brands in both Malaysia and Singapore, ranking eight and third respectively. In Singapore, where Dyson performed best, it achieved high brand awareness and trustworthiness scores, which ultimately secured it its sixth ranking position overall in SEA's top electronics brands.
Western Digital
American data storage company Western Digital is a leader in flash and hard drive data storage. In 2012, after acquiring Hitachi Global Storage Technologies, it became the largest manufacturer of traditional hard drives in the world, and remains one of the largest computer hard disk drive manufacturers, along with producing SSDs and flash memory devices. The company has a well established presence in SEA, with a plant in the Philippines as well as manufacturing bases in Thailand. It achieved a top 10 ranking in the Philippines with a score of 46.7%.
Sony
From cameras and stereos to games consoles and TVs, Sony has been synonymous with quality electronic devices for decades. The Japanese titan made the top 10 of every market in SEA in the electronics sector, including third ranking in the Philippines and top five ranking in Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand. As a legacy brand with a long-established presence both regionally and internationally, it scored highly for brand awareness, and also received good scores for buying experience and customer service.
Sharp
Founded in Japan in 1912, Sharp has brought the world the first mechanical pencil and other inventions like the the world's first LCD electronic calculators. It continues to be a leader in consumer electronics with its range of popular products spanning LCD televisions to microwave ovens, home cinema and audio systems. It's well-established presence in the region meant that it performed well in most markets, reaching the top 10 in both Thailand and Vietnam, with good scores across brand awareness, purchase frequency and trustworthiness.
LG
LG continues to be a leader in the consumer electronics sphere and today is one of the four most successful family-run conglomerates in South Korea alongside Samsung, Hyundai, and SK. Over the years, it's become well known internationally for its laptops and innovative display technology, including the world’s first 60-inch Plasma TV. LG made the top 10 of every market in SEA for electronics, including third place ranking in Thailand, where it achieved high scores across multiple categories, including brand awareness, purchase frequency and trustworthiness.