Haier America wants to feel more at home

Haier America wants US customers to get to know its brand and line of products better.

"We have for many, many years been known for different item capability, but we've had low brand-name recognition, and we haven't been as expansive in the home," said Kevin Dexter, Haier America's chief operating officer.

"Our real mission for 2016 is to be a bigger provider in the home across multiple categories, and then by doing so start to raise the brand awareness of the Haier brand here in the US marketplace," he said.

Haier has been an "item-based company" in the US, meaning that it did very well in selling specific items, like air conditioners, wine and beverage cooling products and dorm refrigerators.

But when it comes to entering American homes with full suites of appliances, the company plans to tackle that next.

Dexter has been in his current post for six months, coming from Samsung Electronics America, where he was senior vice-president of home appliance sales and marketing. He said that Haier won't be immediately embarking on massive consumer campaigns.

To make American consumers more aware of Haier's capabilities, the company will work on more of a grassroots marketing campaign, leveraging social media and also establishing relationships with national partners in the retail industry.

"We need to form alliances with key trade partners that reach consumers out there. In the US, even differently than other parts of the world, there is still a very consolidated and powerful retail trade that exists," he said.

"Our goal is to really form what we see to be key alliances that can give us those benefits early and help our expansion," he said. "Those trusted brands endorse Haier and therefore help with our brand trust and awareness."

At CES in Las Vegas last week, Haier displayed its latest offerings of smart home technology, bringing over its U+ Smart Life platform to display devices that can communicate with smartphones through various applications.

There's a refrigerator that's app-controlled and allows users to know what food is available and to make grocery lists based on that information.

Motion sensors allow the display of the unit to turn translucent, letting users see the contents without opening the door.

Haier also displayed a washer system that alerts consumers when laundry is finished and when detergent levels are low.

"Because of all the other devices that consumers globally are now used to and carry with them, you think of mobile devices and other smart devices, the ecosystems are growing, and the ability for us at Haier to partner with technology people exists in a big way," Dexter said.

amyhe@chinadailyusa.com