Right. I was thinking this same thing. It's an example of very solid branding. At certain points in time some nations have some branding benefit because of a

Right. I was thinking this same thing. It's an example of very solid branding. At certain points in time some nations have some branding benefit because of a perceived cool-factor. In some fields some nations have a long-term perceived history of product quality. Mostly however if your product is perceived as being foreign you are placing yourself at a disadvantage in markets, like the US, where there's a high degree of casual xenophobia. Your optimum strategy in those markets is to blur lines between brands and countries of origin such that people don't think of your product being from "other". Walmart might be more accurately branded as China-Direct :-) ...but it would probably face slightly more resistance in certain parts of the US if that were so.