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Comment by analyst74 | Hacker News Reader

Microsoft, Intel and Apple seems to do well, just on top of my head, many car companies are also doing well, although German and Japanese cars sell better than American ones.

After some googling, looks like Nike, Coca-cola, Gillette are all doing reasonably well.

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Microsoft, Intel, and apple all have irreplaceable products (custom OS, etc).

What does Uber have besides boatloads of cash and existing market share? From s consumer perspective Uber's competition works just as well (for the most part), whereas alternatives to windows are Limited to MacOS, Linux.

>Nike Great brand of shoes. "Just do it"! More than just the thing you run in.

>Coca-cola The classic soda. Even Pepsi's cutesy challenge barely wobbled Coke's throne.

>Gillette "The best a man can get!" Lovely brand. Before I moved to DSC I used them all the time. But razors are just strips of metal after all.

Basically my point is with enough capital and know-how, anyone can create anything. But without an effective and compelling brand, you're a nobody.

China makes quality hardware these days (Xiaomi for example), but "cheap Chinese crap" is such an entrenched phrase it practically rolls off the tongue.

>without an effective and compelling brand, you're a nobody

Tautology. Not having a brand is the definition of being a nobody. That doesn't mean you can't make a LOT of money.

Is Microsoft doing well? Their products are popular, but they have trouble getting anyone to actually pay for them.

Their tens of billions in revenue suggest SOMEONE must be paying for them.

Parent comment meant Microsoft's revenue in China. While exact figures are hard to come by, they most certainly do not make tens of billions of dollars from China.

They have tens of billions in revenue in China?

> Of the $77.8 billion revenue Microsoft generated in its 2013 financial year, China, Brazil, and Russia each "exceeded" $1 billion

http://www.businessinsider.com/r-naked-pcs-lay-bare-microsof...

There's a difference between individual consumers and corporate customers. Microsoft profits most from the "small and medium business" sector.

Good point!

Product vs Service. Huge difference.

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