Haier, the world’s leading appliance maker by sales volume and one of China’s most famous brands, plans to expand in Europe by acquiring or building production facilities that will bring it closer to EU consumers.

For a Chinese mainland brand that wants to make it in Europe, it helps to have a name that sounds European – which means Haier could well realise that ambition.

The company has built a successful presence in the US, where 30 per cent of households own a Haier product. Overall, 26 per cent of its $23bn global turnover comes from overseas.

Now Haier wants to boost sales in Europe, where it has more than doubled market share in the past five years but still has only 1 per cent of the major appliance market, a whisker behind Japan’s Panasonicand Sharp, which account for just over 1 per cent each. Haier’s plan is to target the middle to upper end of the appliance market, rather than the low end traditionally associated with Chinese companies that compete mainly on price.

Haier, which has 25 per cent of its home market, is candid about the fact that part of its success overseas has been because most global consumers do not know it is Chinese.

“We never emphasise that point,” says Li Pan, managing director of Haier’s overseas division. “We don’t deny it, but we don’t emphasise it”.

Based in the seaside town of Qingdao, Haier says it is a coincidence that the name, created from the Chinese character for “sea”, sounds German. But that is the kind of happy coincidence that can make or break a brand. Companies that sound Chinese start out with a big handicap overseas: whether they make microwaves or microchips, they are tarred with the same brush as those that made China infamous for poisoning babies with tainted milk powder.

But it has taken much more than a few German-sounding vowels to propel the company – a bankrupt shell in 1984 – to a top global brand for major appliances in less than 25 years.

Mr Li says Haier has set itself apart from other Chinese manufacturers by focusing on building the brand, not just selling products; competing on value for money rather than just low prices; and investing in 10 research and development centres around the world.

The company has also tried to counter the impression that Chinese appliances are substandard. Last year Which?, the UK consumer rights organisation, rated one of Haier’s fridges a “best buy”.

 

René Aubertin, chief executive of Haier in Europe and vice-president of the company, says it will be making a play for high-end European consumers. Haier is also aiming for younger “trendsetters” and has won design awards with which to woo them.

Booz & Co, the management consultancy, singled it out as a leader in Chinese innovation. From air-conditioners that take pictures of intruders to a fridge with a pizza drawer for the US market, Haier looks for ways to stand out.

But it urgently needs more production facilities in Europe to reduce lead times, counter currency effects and avoid rising transport costs.

Haier is not the only Chinese company looking for opportunities in Europe. Chinese direct investment in Europe tripled in 2011 to $10bn, according to a study published recently by Rhodium Group, an economic consultancy, in partnership with CICC, a Chinese investment bank. The report predicted Chinese companies could spend between $250bn and $500bn in the region by 2020.

Zhang Ruimin, Haier’s founder and chief executive, has won business school fame around the world for an incident when, as director of the collective Qingdao refrigerator factory in 1984, he smashed faulty models on the factory floor with a sledgehammer to dramatise his intolerance of defects.

Steven Veldhoen of Booz says Haier’s success has been its “closeness to the market and responsiveness to consumers” – but adds that, as the company expands globally, holding on to some of those elements “will not be so easy”.

So far, Haier has adapted rapidly when difficulties arise. Problems at its first UK air-conditioning joint venture forced a closure in 2006. Haier responded by restructuring its European business to bring in local management and build local R&D centres.

Haier could yet become a household name in Europe – before most customers figure out it is Chinese全球销售量领先的家电制造商、中国最知名品牌之一海尔(Haier)计划通过收购或兴建生产设施在欧洲进行扩张，这些生产设施将使其更加接近欧盟(EU)消费者。

对于一个希望在欧洲取胜的中国内地品牌而言，拥有一个欧式的名称会有所帮助，这意味着，海尔很有可能实现这一雄心。

海尔已在美国成功构建市场份额，目前30%的美国家庭拥有海尔产品。总体来看，在该集团230亿美元的总营业额中，26%来自海外。

如今，海尔希望扩大在欧洲的销售额，过去5年，该集团在欧洲的市场占有率提高了一倍多，但仍仅占大家电市场的1%，略落后于日本的松下(Panasonic)和夏普(Sharp)，这两家日本公司各自占欧洲大家电市场的1%多一点。海尔的计划是瞄准家电市场的中高端，而非传统上以价格竞争为主的中国企业所瞄准的低端市场。

海尔在中国市场的占有率为25%，该集团坦承，其海外成功有一部分是因为多数全球消费者不知道它是一家中国企业。

“我们从不强调这点，”海尔海外市场总监李攀表示，“我们不否认这点，但也不去强调它。”

总部位于中国海滨城市青岛的海尔表示，源自中国汉字“海”的这个名称听上去像德文，无非是一个巧合。但这种机缘巧合可以成就一个品牌也可以毁灭一个品牌。名字听上去像中国牌子的企业进军海外时，从一开始就会遭遇一个重大障碍：不管是制造微波炉还是微芯片，它们都被视为与那些用毒奶粉毒害婴儿、从而让中国声名狼藉的企业是一路货色。

但推动该集团在不到25年内就成为全球顶级大家电品牌的，远不仅仅是几个听上去像德文的元音。1984年，这家企业还只是一家濒临倒闭的小厂。

李攀表示，海尔专注于品牌塑造，而不仅仅是销售产品；在“物超所值”而非仅仅是低价这个卖点上展开竞争；以及在世界各地投资于10个研发中心，这一切都让该公司与中国其他制造商区别开来。

该集团还试图逆转这一印象：即中国家电产品都是劣质的。去年，英国消费者权利组织“Which?”将海尔的一款冰箱评为“最值得购买的商品”。

海尔副总裁、欧洲区首席执行官勒内?奥贝坦(René Aubertin)表示，海尔会尝试吸引欧洲高端消费者。海尔也瞄准了比较年轻的“潮流引领者”，并赢得了一些设计奖项，来博取这些人的青睐。

 

管理咨询公司博斯(Booz & Co)指出，海尔是中国领先的创新者。从能够对入室行窃者拍照的空调，到面向美国市场、有一层抽屉专门放比萨饼的冰箱，海尔都想方设法标新立异。

但海尔急需在欧洲增加生产设施，以缩短交货期，消除汇率变化的影响，并省却不断上升的运费。

海尔并非唯一在欧洲寻找商机的中国企业。经济咨询公司荣鼎咨询(Rhodium Group)与中国投行中金公司(CICC)最近联合发表的一份研究报告表明，中国对欧洲的直接投资在2011年增长了两倍，达到100亿美元。该报告预测，到2020年，中国企业对欧洲的直接投资可能达到2500亿至5000亿美元。

1984年，海尔创始人、首席执行官张瑞敏还是集体制企业青岛电冰箱总厂的厂长。为了表明自己绝不容忍有缺陷的产品，他在车间里用一把大锤砸烂了一些有问题的冰箱。这件事后来享誉全世界的商学院。

博斯的范贺文(Steven Veldhoen)表示，一直以来海尔的成功之处在于它“贴近市场、紧跟消费者需求”。但范贺文补充表示，随着海尔在全球进行扩张，坚持这一点“将非易事”。

迄今为止，在出现问题的时候，海尔总能很快地进行调适。海尔在英国的第一家合资空调厂因各种问题在2006年关闭。海尔总结教训，对欧洲业务进行了重组，引入本地管理团队，并建立本地研发中心。

海尔还有机会把自己打造成在欧洲家喻户晓的品牌——在多数消费者搞清楚它来自中国之前。