Haier benefiting from localization

Haier Group, the country's largest home appliances manufacturer, said it will continue to develop its brand overseas, guide international standards and capture high-end markets, when faced with rising trade and investment protectionism.

Despite a complicated external environment, the company's revenue from overseas markets in 2018 is expected to increase 30 percent year-on-year, which will account for 40 percent of Haier's total revenue, according to the home appliance giant.

Haier said it hasn't been affected by the trade dispute between the United States and China, as the company didn't enter the overseas market as an original equipment manufacturer supplier, but has insisted on creating its own brand and promoting localization.

The Qingdao, Shandong province-based company has stepped up its localization efforts in the US, including marketing and manufacturing.

Moreover, Haier has achieved quick expansion and consolidation of overseas resources through differentiated international acquisitions. It successfully acquired Fisher & Paykel Appliances, a New Zealand white goods company, the white goods business of Japanese electronics giant Panasonic Corp's subsidiary Sanyo Electric, including the Aqua brand, as well as General Electric Co's appliance business.

So far, the company has established 10 R&D centers, 108 manufacturing plants, 24 industrial parks and 66 marketing centers around the world and created a three-in-one localization model - combining design, manufacturing and sales - to provide ongoing support for global brand development.

"For Haier's household appliances that are exported to the US, the proportion of products manufactured in the local market is much higher than those produced in China. Appliances of GE, which is one of the largest appliance brands in the US and owned by Haier, are favored by local consumers in the medium and high-end market," said Liang Zhenpeng, an independent consumer electronics analyst.

Liang added that Haier has fared best among Chinese enterprises seeking to expand their presence in overseas markets, and it has acquired and built many factories worldwide, which is beneficial to its localization expansion in international markets.

Statistics from market research firm Euromonitor showed Haier ranked first for nine consecutive years with 10.5 percent of the market share in global large home appliances.

Moreover, Haier has attached significance to technological innovation, and has created more than 100 original technologies in the fields of chips, industrial internet and smart home operating systems.

It plays a major role in setting international standards, with more than 7,000 patents and 589 intellectual property certificates. Its safe-care heater and dual-drive washing machine technologies and its fridge and freezer standards have been awarded patents and proposed for the International Electrotechnical Commission Criteria.

"We are probably the household appliance company that has been involved in the largest number of international, national and industrial standards. Our active participation in the IEC allows us to build trust in our products among our worldwide customers and ultimately millions of end consumers," said Yu Zida, senior vice-president and corporate technology officer of Haier.