Haier to fill gap left by Japanese brands
Chinese electronics company seeks to improve its visibilty as other brands become more aggressive
China’s consumer electronics giant Haier seeks to fill the gap created by the decline of Japanese brands in the market and become a formidable force.
“The Japanese brands are shrinking and their models and numbers of product ranges are also shrinking. They have shrunk and we have met them halfway now in terms of range. As they fade away, our job will be to grab market share as much as possible,” Aamer Khan, Director of Haier Middle East, told
at the opening of the company’s first brand showroom in the UAE yesterday.
Confidence
Haier has done that in a lot of global markets and “we see no reason why it cannot be replicated here”, he added.
According to market research company Euromonitor International, Haier was ranked the number one appliance brand for the fifth consecutive year in 2013.
In the next two to three years, Khan said, Haier will become a “formidable force” in the market. “Our growth has been exponential as we come from a very low base. We are looking at 60- 70 per cent year- on- year growth in the next three to four years in the region,” he said.
Trade between UAE and China has been growing and in 2012 it stood at $ 48.4 billion.
“We are expecting around 10 per cent growth every year and consumer electronics play a key role,” said Zhang Yi, Economic and Commercial Counsellor at the Chinese Embassy.
Partnership
The company has invested Dh500,000 in the 2,500 square foot showroom in Bur Dubai in partnership with Hafet Electrical.
“We will be opening our next showroom in Abu Dhabi, followed by other emirates in the UAE. This year, around two more exclusive showrooms will be opened in the UAE.
“The new showroom is targeting the country’s low-, mid- and high- income families and individuals who are looking for value for money plus value- added features,” said Liang Xiao, general manager of Haier overseas department — GCC areas.
Now Haier is strengthening its distribution network to promote the brand and improve visibility.
“We need to improve our visibility as other Chinese brands have become very aggressive. But we see that as a positive sign as one of the main hurdles we had in the past was that the Chinese brands were not regarded as a formidable force,” Khan said.