Haier's Sporty TV Push Highlights Lofty Ambitions
Chinese brand Haier, which started life back in the 1980s as a provincial refrigerator manufacturer, has established itself - in terms of market share at least - as one of the biggest brands in consumer tech.
In fact, Haier Europe - which is part of the recently re-branded Haier Smart Home - is the No. 1 company globally in major appliances, and has been for more than 15 years now.
But the brand still suffers somewhat from an identity problem. And that problem is that a lot of people can't identify it at all.
While other brands in the overall Haier Group - think Hoover in the UK and GE Appliances in the US - are well-known entities, the Haier name itself is one that (outside of China, at least) has nowhere near the recognition of more mainstream established appliance brands it outsells, such as LG and Samsung, as well as fast-emerging neighbors like Hisense and TCL.
But that's a situation that is likely to change, given the brand's recent push into major sporting sponsorship (the likes of the Australian Open and French Open tennis majors) as well as its expansion into markets outside of appliances.
I recently covered Haier's global partnership with KEF. The deal will see KEF co-engineer the sound systems for Haier's upcoming Mini LED and QLED TV lines - including the likes of the M96, M92, M80, and S90 series - which are all set to roll out across 2025.
KEF, if you're unaware, make seriously high-end speakers. We're talking five or even six figure price-tags on some of the range, so it's safe to assume that Haier is going after the top-end of the TV market.
That was very much the message that Haier Europe CEO Neil Tunstall gave to me, at the launch of the brand's new tennis-based web-series Road to Number One.
'We're not interesting in selling cheap, LCD, HD TVs,' he told me. "That's useless for us and there's no point in going there.
'We're doing it for two reasons. Firstly we should, of course, make money in the TV market. I think also, when you talk about the smart home then it's probably the most visible thing.
'It sits in your lounge, so let's get in there. Let's make sure it has all the apps and everything's working and complete the circle of all the products.'
The high-end approach mirrors what Haier has done with its moniker on the likes of washing machines, refrigerators and cooking appliances.
But the brand is well aware it needs to make much more of a dent into consumer consciousness before it's widely considered a premium brand; hence the high-profile sports partnerships.
'In the premium market, it's rare that someone will buy something that they haven't heard of,' Tunstall explained to me.
'You have to have the brand awareness and the desirability or you're not going to succeed.'
Haier's clearly in this for the long game. It may already be number one in appliance sales, but in a market where perception is everything, the real match is just getting started.
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