Haier unit upgrading to premium brand

The manufacturer aims to become one of the top five brands in five years by introducing new products with stylish designs. It has a marketing budget of Bt120 million this year.

The Chinese-owned company has added a production line for air-conditioners to its Thai plant with an investment of Bt100 million. It already makes refrigerators, washing machines and freezers.

Managing director Thaweesak Kriengkraikiat said yesterday that Haier would focus on marketing activities rather than advertising in major media channels. "We are still creating a strong foundation, so we don't want to spread our budget to every media channel," he said.

Creating strong distribution channels is also a key part of the company's strategy. Haier has gradually increased its number of dealers over the past year to about 300. It does not expect to add many more but wants to improve their efficiency.

However, Haier does not yet have a showroom. Thaweesak said that would require a large investment and the company was not ready for that yet. It will revise the plan later.

Thaweesak said the company would need a lot of effort to build its image and quality when the economy was sluggish and many Japanese and South Korean brands had already gained a strong reputation in the premium market for years.

"We have a research and development department to find out customers' expectations for each product and to get our plant in Thailand manufacturing them especially for Thai consumers," he said.

However, Haier sees a good opportunity to boost its brand awareness during the Beijing Olympics 2008 in August as the company is among the sponsors.

The company targets its sales to grow 20 per cent this year to Bt7.5 billion, of which 70 per cent will come from exports.

Thaweesak said the company would focus on its current four products this year but would add LCD TVs to its portfolio at some point.