Gigabyte Technology—Gigabyte lost $550M in market value after promotional video mocked Chinese manufacturing quality
In May 2021, Gigabyte published promotional content for its Aero laptop series that mocked Chinese manufacturing, implying inferior quality compared to products made elsewhere. The backlash was severe in China, with products pulled from major retailers JD.com and Suning.com. Gigabyte's share price dropped significantly, losing approximately $550 million in market value. The company issued an apology calling the statement 'false' and inconsistent with its actual manufacturing practices.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate Governance | -against | primary | -1.00 |
| Overall incident score = | -0.429 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (high ×1.5) × confidence (0.57)× agency (negligent ×0.5)
Evidence (1 signal)
Gigabyte Aero laptop promo mocked Chinese manufacturing, causing $550M market value loss
Gigabyte's promotional material for the Aero laptop series contained statements disparaging Chinese manufacturing quality. The backlash in China was immediate, with products pulled from JD.com and Suning.com. The company's stock dropped significantly, losing approximately $550 million in market value before Gigabyte issued an apology.