China's Haier eyes U.S. living rooms

It was a sales call saved by leftovers.

An executive at an electronics distributor brushed off a pitch for a meeting, recalled Richard Hasenfus, director of business development at Haier America. A few minutes later, he called back and told Hasenfus to come in. He had something to show him.

After the first call, the executive went to heat up his lunch and saw that the brand name on the company microwave was Haier. Back at his desk, he looked at the mini-fridge: Haier again.

Although few Americans recognize the name, there's a chance that the name could become more familiar to shoppers over the next five years. The fourth-largest appliance maker in the world (and a producer of cell phones and other devices in China and other emerging nations), Haier is trying to expand its presence globally and go upmarket. The company has been selling air conditioners, fridges, and other household items in the U.S. since 2000. But in 2006, it began selling LCD televisions. In November, it began selling music players.

Haier at a glance

• The company was founded in 1984 in Qingdao, China, but its actual history goes way back. Its roots can be traced to a fridge factory in the early part of the 20th century. The government then turned it into a state-owned enterprise, which formed the basis of the current Haier.

• In 1999, it opened a U.S. division and became the first Chinese company to open a factory in this country (in Camden, S.C.).

• In 2006, it signed a deal to be a sponsor for the NBA to help promote its TVs in the U.S.

• The CEO is Zhang Ruimin, a former party official. One of the turning points in Haier's history came early on when he ordered the destruction of some defective fridges. He even smashed a fridge with a sledgehammer on his own. Quality since then has been a constant company theme. Interestingly, Samsung executives often attribute their company's turnaround to a similar cell phone smashing event.

• In November, it signed a strategic alliance with Intel to boost its PC division. The deal may become a prelude to more actively export PCs.

Some analysts say the company may also try to branch into PCs here. In China, Haier is ranked seventh, but it saw shipments rise 67 percent in the third quarter.

Graduating from washing machines and Chinese cell phones to consumer electronics in the U.S. won't be easy, but it's also not impossible. Back in 1999 and 2000, Americans viewed Samsung as a low-end purveyor of tube TVs. By 2004, it started competing for primacy in consumer electronics with Sony.

A few years later, LG went from the back shelves at Home Depot and Fry's Electronics to fashion shows. The Legend Group tried for years to break out of its domestic Chinese market. Finally, by buying IBM's PC unit, the company, now called Lenovo, pulled it off.

"Haier has a fairly good reputation in China, but that is among local brands, whereas multinational brands are often viewed at a premium," said Bryan Ma, an analyst at IDC. "In that sense, one could argue that it is similar to Lenovo's position before the IBM acquisition as one of the best local brands in the market."

So far, Haier's moves follow lockstep into the strategies forged by its predecessors. Like Samsung and Lenovo, Haier has sought out visible sports partnerships to market its products. In 2006, it became an official sponsor of the National Basketball Association. (Haier also tried to make a name brand acquisition in appliances, but its attempted takeover of Maytag in 2005 was foiled by Whirlpool.)

Similarly, Haier is trying to incorporate novel technologies and features into its products rather than emphasize the low-cost advantage it derives from being a Chinese company.

The Ibiza music player, for instance, contains a Wi-Fi chip that directly streams music from Rhapsody, the online music service from RealNetworks. This puts it one step ahead of Microsoft; the Zune only has Wi-Fi synchronization, according to Haier. Only a few other manufacturers actually have direct streaming so far. (Haier beat Philips in that regard by a few months.) In addition, Haier's high-end LCD televisions come on a swiveling base, a small plus.

Another product, due in China soon, is a cell phone that can conduct two calls simultaneously. It has two SIM cards and two standby modes. If you own two cell phones--which a large number of people in Asia and Europe and a growing number of Americans do--this reduces your hardware burden by half.

But Haier's push isn't completely identical to its predecessors. Before their meteoric rises, both Samsung and LG were two of the dominant producers of memory, flash chips, and flat panels, some of the most crucial components required for PCs and TVs. The two emerged by marrying their components to industrial design and carpet-bombing style advertising.

Haier doesn't have nearly the same back-end expertise. Nonetheless, it can't be dismissed as a lightweight. The company has 240 subsidiaries and 30 design centers and production facilities. It even has a U.S. factory, a facility in Camden, S.C., that's been making air conditioners for more than seven years.

"We were the first Chinese company to open a factory in the U.S.," said Shariff Kan, executive vice president of marketing for Haier America. "We created jobs here."

Haier also sits on many of China's national technological standards boards as well as produces some types of chips. The company even serves as a contract manufacturer. Some of its phones and TVs are actually already in the U.S.--they are just sold under different brand names.

And despite a common belief that it takes years for an Asian company to understand western markets, Haier has already achieved a few small successes in reaching middle-class and upper middle-class Americans. After margins began to erode in the mini-fridge market in the early 2000s, executives huddled and came up with the household wine cellar, which essentially is a modified mini at a higher price.

"We created a category. You can put them in the kitchen with no install required," Kan said. "This wasn't a product from China. Haier America came up with it."

Haier also introduced portable air conditioners to the market.

[ronch79]

Haier mistreats employees

I read in a magazine years ago how Haier mistreats its employees. For instance, in the refrigerator factory, a worker who commits a mistake making a fridge will be made to be embarrassed and scolded in front of his/her co-workers the next working day. Sure, they may change their ways, but a company does that only to make themselves look cool to the people and increase sales. I don't trust Haier. Not ever.

[katznaperr]

Our Haier Washer Lasted Just 6 Months

Three years ago my wife and I lived in an apartment and we got a Haier portable washing machine to clean my wifes nursing scrubs. The thing was a total piece of junk. It leaked like crazy and after only six months the drum broke off and could not longer spin. The warranty was worthless because I could never find a real person to talk to and they never answered my e-mail with anything but automated responses. I'd never buy that brand again.

[bigandcute]

Haier quality is indeed greatly improved

Haier's quality has improved alot in recent years, their products are greatly welcomed by Comet, I don't know about their other products but their fridges work for really long, my friend is running a hostels with full of Haier mini fridges and the last for up to 5 years now and still running.

[abhi_jais]

Another Crap From China

Guys, just go to any electronic store and see the diffrence between the Haier TVs and other brands like Sony, Samsung and Visio. Although Haier stuffs are a lot cheaper then other brands. But belive me their picture quality is pathetic.

I won't suggest anyone to buy Haier electronics.

[marvinsmate]

I bought a haier washer from comet and it was a complete waste of money. it would not spin, kept saying unb. I had two of these in a month and it was the same. I had to pay more to buy from a better company. I am really angry. I will never buy Haier again!