Gigabyte backtracks on “Made in China” remarks afters its share values plummet

After the company published a (now deleted) blog post that claimed that their competitors created their products in a “low-cost, low-quality way” in China, Gigabyte’s facing a Chinese boycott. 

This statement caused all of Gigabyte’s products to be removed from Chinese digital retailers like JD.com and Suning.com following a social media backlash, causing Gigabyte’s shares to fall by 10%.  This reduced Gigabyte’s total value by $550 million. That’s right; an off-handed “Made in China” comment cost Gigabyte half a billion in market value. 

Gigabyte is a creator of a wide range of PC products, from full PCs/laptops to servers and individual system components. China is a big market in the world of electronics, and Gigabyte has been forced to apologise for their comments. Gigabyte has stated that they “recognise the problem” and that they will “strengthen” their “internal management and training” to ensure that such a problem does not happen again. 

This situation highlights the economic power of China and how the nation can impact its neighbours. At this time, it is unknown if China’s e-retailers will relist Gigabyte’s products.