Haier goes for slot in top 5

President Yang Xiaolin said the company currently has only a 3-4 per cent market share of the total electrical appliances market in Thailand. Its major products are washing machines,
air-conditioners and refrigerators. The company plans to launch more innovative products to strengthen consumer confidence in its brand while launching a new communication
channel on Facebook with 16 million views a month.

“By achieving annual sales of US$100 million, expected in the next three to five years, we will be one of the top five players in this competitive Thai market,” he said.

Haier Thailand posted Bt2.2 billion in annual revenue last year with satisfactory growth of 16 per cent. About 2 per cent of its business came from online sales.

“We have set the same growth target of 16 per cent for this year. The overall market for electrical appliances, however, is expected to be flat this year, impacted by economic uncerฌ
tainty. We, however, believe in the capability of our sales and marketing team to drive such growth amid slow economic circumstances,” said Xiaolin.

He said Haier’s headquarters in China had also lent strong support to its subsidiaries, including its Thailand operations, in terms of product and technology development and manufacturing know-how.

Haier operates manufacturing facilities in Kabinburi district, Prachinburi, for refrigerators, air-conditioners, washing machines, and freezers. About 60 per cent of the products have been exported to many markets in Asean, as well as Japan, Australia and New Zealand, the
Middle East, and Latin America.

“Our headquarters has a policy to penetrate Asean markets before the full implementation of the AEC [Asean Economic Community], which came into effect at the end of last
year. Trade liberalisation in Asean will benefit the Thai operations, as they will handle exporting processes more conveniently,” said Xiaolin.

In addition to Thailand, Haier also has home appliance facilities in Vietnam for refrigerators and washing machines, and in Indonesia for refrigerators.
 

“We will invest more than Bt300 million at our factory in Kabinburi to increase manufacturing capacity of commercial air-conditioners by 30 per cent this year,” said Xiaolin. The factory’s current capacity is 200,000 units of home air-conditioners and 50,000 units of commercial air-conditioners per annum.
 

He said Haier Thailand has also been providing sales and merchandising support to its individual distributors in Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.
 

“In Thailand, the brand recognition of Haier products is not as strong as it is in the home Chinese market. However, our marketing team is working very hard to develop awareness of the Haier brand in the market,” said Xiaolin.
 

“Thai consumers have better perception and trust in Chinese products due to the good relations between the two countries. We also expect the Thai government to implement its policy continuously to stimulate the country’s overall economy,” he said.