Chinese ACmaker upbeat on Asean

Chinese electrical appliances manufacturer Midea group aims to become one the top three airconditioner brands in Asean countries in the next few years. The firm also aims to be among the top three in Thailand in the next five years with market share at more than 13 per cent.
Henry Cheng, AC Product Division Asean General Manager at Midea Group, China, said the airconditioner market in Asean countries had high potential for growth. The firm would continue to expand its business base in Asean countries and will continue investments in order to increase market share in Southeast Asia, he said.
“We entered Asean more than 10 years ago. In some countries, we have already made good strides and in some countries we are continuing to work hard to improve our position,” he said. 
Cheng admitted that Midea’s market share in Asean was still quite small and they intended to see fast growth. Therefore, Asean countries are a strategic market for Midea group. “We are very confident that in the next few years our market share will be more than 10 per cent. Our target is to be one of the top three brands in Asean countries. We will keep on investing in brand building, channel expansion, after sales service and product innovation so that we can actually prepare to replace Korean and Japanese brands in Asean countries,” said Cheng.
Tony Liu, the head of Toshiba Thailand’s Air Conditioner Business Unit that distributes Midea brand airconditioners, said the firm aims to be in the top three in the Thai airconditioner market with a more than 13 per cent share. 
To achieve the goals, the firm will develop and provide innovative products in the market, followed by expanding distribution outlets from 430 to 940 in five years, leverage branding and organise promotion activities and provide personal consultancy to the market. 
The firm within this year will launch new airconditioners such as Ultimate Comfort, Forest, Mission, Ceiling type and Cassette type (LCAC) series with around 20 new models. More than 100 showrooms and over 300 instore experiences will also be opened. 
It will create various marketing activities such as provide personal consultancy, instore activity, promote its products via online and social media, newspapers, radio, billboards and transit ads, as well as roadshow campaigns. 
He said the firm expects its AC market share to grow by 4.5 per cent, compared to 2.2 per cent last year. It will continue to develop innovative products with cuttingedge technology and marketing investments to become one of the top three most popular brands in Thailand within five years.
He said the total airconditioner market in Thailand last year contracted 8.3 per cent, however, Midea saw spectacular gains, with its marฌket growing around 54 per cent and rising to No 10. 
The firm by the end this year expects to generate revenue growth of more than 74 per cent, gaining 4.5 per cent of Thai market share. The firm will spend more than 12 per cent of total revenue, investing in marketing activities, marketing campaign and expand marketing channels. 
He said that in 2020, the firm expects to raise market share to 7 per cent, to 9 per cent in 2021 and to 13 per cent in 2022.
“The potential of the Thai market continues to grow and more Thai customers are accepting Chinese products. The One Belt One Road project or Silk Road project will connect the countries more conveniently and lead to lower products cost, which will encourage the growth of the market in Thailand,” said Tony.
He added that the overall of Thai AC market this year would see sales of 1.5 to 2 million sets and reach 2.3 million sets – a growth rate of around 15 per cent – in the next five years