These brands include Orion pies, Emma electric bicycles and Hosa fitness clubs.

Some 45 top brands have maintained a relatively weak advantage over competitors in the past two years, which is defined by a lead of less than 50 points on the index.

These include Yili milk, Jeanswest clothing, Lining sportswear, Haier washing machines, Walmart supermarkets and Chinalife insurance.

The market advantage of six brands declined, indicating fierce competition in these sectors. They are - Lay's snacks, Mind Act Upon Mind paper towels, Haier electric water heaters, Sony digital video cameras, Kingston mobile storage devices and Samsung monitors.

A total of 23 top brands were replaced in this year's survey, most of which had a weak advantage last year.

Contact the writers at zhangshiyi@chinadaily.com.cn