Requesting the detailed development history of Haier

Introduction to Zhang Ruimin

Zhang Ruimin was born on January 5, 1949 in Laizhou City, Shandong Province. He holds an MBA from the University of Science and Technology of China and is a senior economist. He is currently the President of Haier Group and Secretary of the Party Committee of Haier Group. , representatives of the 14th and 15th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.

In 1996, he won the lifetime honor "Five-Star Diamond Award" awarded by the American Association for Quality Service Science, becoming the first Chinese entrepreneur to win this honor.

In 1984, Mr. Zhang Ruimin served as the deputy manager of Qingdao Household Appliances Industrial Company. In the same year, he served as the director of Qingdao Refrigerator Factory. At that time, the factory was a small factory with a loss of 1.47 million yuan.

In just thirteen years, it developed this small factory into a large national enterprise group with sales of 10.8 billion yuan in 1997, becoming a leader in China's home appliance industry. .

Managers

Haier Group started with famous brands and developed through the "United Fleet".

The group formulated an overall development strategy to use the Chinese famous brand Haier refrigerator to drive a number of the group's products to become famous brands. At the same time, it also proposed a "joint fleet" management model, that is, the Haier Group should not be a train. The more trailers you add, the heavier the load on the front of the vehicle will be.

The Haier Group should be a joint fleet. Each ship has a strong combat effectiveness and can fight independently, but the general direction and overall goal must obey the unified command of the group's flagship and form new ones at any time. Formation, participate in joint operations, give full play to the overall advantages of the fleet, and overcome various difficulties.

Who would have thought that today’s Haier “United Fleet” was just a shabby mess before.

In 1984, two small collective factories on the verge of bankruptcy merged to form Qingdao Refrigerator Factory. Zhang Ruimin, who was the deputy manager of Qingdao Home Appliances Company at the time, became the factory director.

When this 1.80-meter tall man from Shandong first stepped into this collective enterprise with a loss of 1.47 million yuan and almost half of the employees wanted to be transferred, the most impressive thing was the stinking smell in the entire workshop. So much so that the first rules and regulations he formulated after taking office were "no defecation anywhere in the workshop."

It was under such conditions that Zhang Ruimin sized up the situation, seized opportunities, led all employees to make selfless contributions, pursue excellence, and created one brilliance after another in the history of Chinese home appliances.

If you want to do something, you must do it first

The newly established Qingdao Refrigerator Factory is almost the last batch of refrigerator manufacturers designated by the Ministry of Light Industry.

At that time, there were many domestic refrigerator manufacturers, and foreign products were pouring in. Refrigerators of various brands crowded the market, including many "provincial quality" and "ministerial quality" products.

Under such circumstances, it is not easy to find a way out and gain a place in the market!

When the factory leaders headed by Zhang Ruimin analyzed the market situation, they found that although there are many refrigerator brands on the market, there is no real "brand-name refrigerator", and famous brands are almost synonymous with foreign products.

Therefore, Zhang Ruimin decisively proposed: "Either you don't do it, or if you want to do it, you must strive for the first place and create a famous brand.

" In this way, the "famous brand strategy" and "fighting for the first" The concept of competition was born in Haier, and thus established the path of development based on quality and efficiency.

Shortly after Zhang Ruimin took office, he discovered that 76 refrigerators produced in the factory were substandard. He asked all factory employees to take turns to visit and then publicly announced that the person directly responsible for the production of these products would personally destroy these refrigerators.

When these 76 refrigerators turned into a pile of scrap metal under the hammer of the manufacturer, Zhang Ruimin cried, and so did the employees.

Then Zhang Ruimin announced that all managers, from him to others, would be punished.

Since then, all employees in the factory have realized a simple yet profound truth: quality is the life of an enterprise, and producing inferior products is equivalent to destroying their own jobs.

This new incident caused a strong response in the society. People unanimously praised Zhang Ruimin’s determination to pay close attention to quality and his courage to deal with problems.

Since then, the name "Haier Zhang Ruimin" has occupied a considerable position in the minds of consumers across the country.

So, where is the way out for Haier? Zhang Ruimin decided to introduce high-level foreign production technology to make up for the disadvantage of "late start" with the advantage of "high starting point".

They collected technical data from 30 foreign manufacturers for comparison, and finally decided to use advanced technology and equipment from the German Liebherr Company.

In 1985, Qindao-Liebherr brand, Asia's first generation four-star refrigerator, was put on the market. It quickly won the trust of consumers with its high technology and high quality.

In 1987, Haier was jointly recommended by 48 large shopping malls across the country as the number one most popular product in the refrigerator category (until 1997, it remained number one). In 1988, it won the title of "The Most Popular Refrigerator in the History of China" The first national excellence gold medal.

Since then, various honors have come one after another: China's top ten well-known trademarks (the only one in the home appliance industry), the National Quality Management Award (the first in the home appliance industry), and the first place in the Golden Bridge Award for the best-selling domestic products in the country.

Haier is the first company in the home appliance industry to pass ISO9001 international certification and more than 10 certifications including American UL certification, German VDE certification, and Canadian CSA certification, and is recognized as the first brand of Chinese home appliances.

Due to the good quality, high reputation and famous brand of Haier products, many consumers are proud to own Haier products.

Therefore, although the price of Haier products is much higher than that of other similar brands, consumers still prefer Haier products.

Today's Haier Group, under the guidance of the "famous brand strategy" proposed by President Zhang Ruimin, has transformed from a company with a deficit of 1.47 million yuan through technology development, refined management, capital operations, mergers, holdings and internationalization. Grow into a national large-scale enterprise group.

At present, the group's products include 27 categories, including refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners, washing machines, and microwave ovens, with more than 7,000 specifications and varieties, and are exported in batches to developed countries and regions such as Europe, the United States, and Japan.

In 1997, Haier's sales revenue was 10.8 billion yuan, profit was 430 million yuan, and its brand value was 11.8 billion yuan, making it the number one home appliance brand in China.

Introduction to Haier Group

Haier Group (Haier) is the largest in mainland China and one of the top 10 comprehensive home appliance manufacturers in the world.

Founded in 1984, it has continued to develop steadily over the past 22 years. Its products have developed from a single refrigerator to a product group with more than 15,100 specifications in 96 categories, including white appliances and black appliances, and exported to more than 160 countries around the world. countries and regions.

It has become a large-scale international enterprise group with a high reputation at home and abroad. In the Chinese market, Haier's four leading products, refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners and washing machines, have a market share of up to 33%. Overseas sales revenue $2.8 billion.

Haier’s predecessor was the Qingdao Refrigerator Factory located in Qingdao City. At that time, this factory had lost RMB 1.47 million and was on the verge of bankruptcy. The then factory director, who is now Haier When Zhang Ruimin, the president of the group, walked into the factory for the first time, what he saw was that the factory was full of smelly urine and urine. Workers were lounging around doing nothing. There were even groups of workers taking down window frames to light fires to keep warm.

Zhang Ruimin's first order after taking office was "No urination and defecation in the factory." From this order, Zhang Ruimin began the long road of building China's largest home appliance company.

As soon as he took over the Qingdao Refrigerator Factory, he inspected all the refrigerators in stock and picked out 76 defective refrigerators. Then he moved these refrigerators to the factory square and asked for the production of these refrigerators. The refrigerator worker used a mallet to break his finished product in front of all the employees.

At that time, the price of a refrigerator was equivalent to two months' salary of an ordinary worker. The workers broke down the crystallization of their own blood and sweat with their own hands and burst into tears. This also laid the foundation for Haier's insistence on quality.

Haier Group insists on comprehensively implementing its internationalization strategy and entering the international market through its own brand. It has established an internationally competitive global design network, manufacturing network, marketing and service network.

There are currently 18 design centers and 10 industrial parks (including 2 foreign ones, located in the United States and Pakistan; 8 domestic ones, 5 of which are in Qingdao, and one each in Hefei, Dalian, and Wuhan), There are 22 overseas factories and manufacturing bases and 58,800 marketing outlets; in overseas markets, Haier products have entered 12 of the 15 largest chain stores in Europe and the top 10 largest chain stores in the United States.

In the United States and Europe, it has initially achieved the "trinity" localization goal of design, production and sales, specializing in the development of home appliances suitable for local consumers, and operating overseas factories across the board.

Zhang Ruimin, President of Haier

Development History of Haier Group

Haier’s development history is divided into four stages: from 1984 to 1990, the inward-looking development stage; From 1996 to 1996, it was the export stage; from 1996 to 1998, it was the overseas investment stage (investment in Indonesia and other places); after 1999, it was the localization stage (investment, design, production, and sales in South Carolina, USA).

*1984 to 1990, inward-oriented development stage

Haier's "going out" relied on a gradual path, that is, on the basis of gradually gaining a leading position in the domestic market, Haier Only then did we begin to promote internationalization.

Therefore, at this stage, Haier first establishes Haier's brand image in the domestic market through innovative products.

Zhang Ruimin went to Sichuan to inspect the local market. Some users reported to him that Haier's washing machines were not easy to use and would often get clogged.

It turns out that many farmers in Sichuan use washing machines to wash sweet potatoes, which often causes sediment, roots, etc. to block the water outlet of the washing machine.

Zhang Ruimin brought this issue back to Haier headquarters, but everyone regarded it as a joke, but Zhang Ruimin said seriously, "Users' problems are our issues.

"Haier R&D Department Therefore, a "big sweet potato" washing machine was invented specifically for washing sweet potatoes.

This kind of focused customization has left a deep impression on Haier customers and launched a new era in the marketing of Haier's customized electrical appliances.

*Export stage from 1990 to 1996

In 1990, Haier refrigerators began to be exported to the German and American markets. In order to convince the picky Germans to enter the German market, Haier refrigerators were torn off The trademarked Haier refrigerators and German brand-name refrigerators are placed together, allowing German dealers to choose by themselves.

After strict inspection and trial, the dealer selected Haier refrigerators, so Haier received an order for 20,000 refrigerators, starting Haier's path to the international market.

It kicked off the entry of Haier products into overseas markets.

After nine years of hard work, Haier’s marketing internationalization has achieved fruitful results: refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners, washing machines, etc. are exported to the United States, Japan, Australia, Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and other markets,** *In 87 countries and regions, Haier's production technology for refrigerators, air conditioners, and washing machines is also exported to countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Yugoslavia, and Spain.

In the process of overseas sales, we mainly rely on foreign exclusive dealers to set up marketing outlets and establish international logistics centers to ensure product supply to overseas dealers and win international credibility.

*1996 to 1998, overseas investment stage

Since 1996, Haier has invested overseas for the first time. Haier CDLKG Electrical Appliances Co., Ltd. was established in the Philippines. Haier’s refrigerators, air conditioners, and washing machines have The production technology has also been exported to countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Yugoslavia and Spain, and it has also invested and set up factories in Indonesia, Malaysia, Yugoslavia, Iran and the United States.

＊After 1999, the localization stage

In April 1999, Haier Group launched the first "Trinity Localization" overseas Haier in the United States, with the design center in Los Angeles , the marketing center is in New York, and the production center is in South Carolina, based on the local area, it has developed into a localized world-famous brand.

Haier's success in "going global" is inseparable from the following factors: long-term development of international markets as a strategic component of marketing, tracking changes in international technology and product information, and insisting on high quality to create a world-famous brand As a guide, we continue to develop new technologies and new products according to the different needs of users in various countries, carry out technological innovation and product innovation, and are committed to promoting localization strategies, etc.

The internationalization process of Haier Company

Formulating three 1/3" internationalization strategies

After the strategic concept of deciding to go abroad was formed, Haier has been The initial reform set up lofty ambitions. Haier's ultimate positioning goal is to create an international Haier.

China's Haier is a small part of the international Haier, and the international Haier will include. Haier in the United States, Haier in Europe, Haier in the Middle East, and Haier in Southeast Asia.

In order to achieve this goal, Haier has proposed the "Three 1/3" strategy, which means one-third of domestic production. Domestic sales; one-third of domestic production is exported abroad; the last one-third is built overseas and sold overseas.

There are three principles for implementing this international strategy: adhere to the orientation of export and brand creation; export and brand creation, first of all, quality; first difficult and then easy, first enter the developed countries, and then enter the developed countries. Chinese home.

In the process of implementing this strategy, hard work is inevitable, and Haier will create a unique path with this strategy. While its products are going international, Haier also has its own principles that it adheres to: The first product is imported, and we learn the advantages that are available from other countries but we do not have them ourselves; the second product is domestically produced, we design our own products and improve the quality; the third product is exported, we expand and standardize the output, and export it to various places. ;The fourth unit is produced locally abroad to reduce costs.

In terms of branding, they are also divided into three steps. The first step is to go out and enter mainstream foreign countries and markets.

The second step is to go in, enter the mainstream foreign channels, and sell mainstream products.

The third step is to go up, which is to become a truly local mainstream brand.

The sowing stage of export brand building

Haier has initially created international market visibility. Haier has entered the rooting stage of its internationalization strategy, through the trinity of product design, manufacturing and marketing. strategy to firmly establish its roots in overseas markets.

The United States is the top country in the world of home appliance manufacturing and one of the largest consumers of home appliances. To become a famous brand of world-class home appliances, it must take root in the United States.

Therefore, in the early stage of going global, Haier first established design centers in Los Angeles and Silicon Valley, and established a trading company in New York to first create Haier's popularity.

"Trinity": local design, local manufacturing, local sales

In April 1999, Haier, which was already well-known in the home appliance industry, set up a factory in South Carolina, USA. This represents a sensation with huge implications for either China or the United States.

Unlike other companies, Haier uses local resources and manpower. Such a special approach is difficult for other companies to recognize and follow up.

In March 2000, Haier refrigerators produced in the United States have entered the homes of American consumers.

The US AHAM statistical survey results show that in the US 239-280 liter refrigerator market, Haier refrigerators have successfully occupied 35% of the US market share. Whether this is a success for Haier is just a necessary step.

After Haier set up a factory in the United States, Mike, general manager of Haier Trading Company, made a special trip to visit the factory in South Carolina and said that the Haier brand has achieved high popularity in the United States, but that was based on going abroad. .

The investment in the South Carolina factory will be a qualitative boost to further enhance the influence of the Haier brand in the United States.

With the support of the South Carolina factory, market expansion will be more powerful, because American consumers will think that this is an American product and its own brand.

Indeed, with the establishment of the South Carolina factory, as expected, the United States almost believes that Haier is its own home appliance brand, and the level of trust is reflected in the sales table.

Investing and building factories overseas

After Haier invested and built factories overseas, in order to implement its internationalization strategy more thoroughly, it added three centers.

1. Information Center.

There are regulations in the United States that after investing in and establishing a factory locally, you can join local associations, such as AHAM and CEA associations in the United States. This means that the company is qualified to participate in the formulation of local industry standards and can understand the local industry standards. Industry dynamics and competitor information.

At the same time, because it is made in the United States, it is qualified to compete fairly with well-known local brands.

2. Design Center.

Haier’s overseas business philosophy is designed based on the requirements of local consumers. Through local design and localized production, Haier transforms user needs into products that satisfy users as quickly as possible.

In the United States, Haier has prioritized the launch of one of the brands that met the 2001 Energy Star standards. With environmental protection as the standard, it has boosted Haier's brand reputation and also boosted exports from other regions. and market development in the domestic market.

3. Resource Center.

Mastering local advantageous sub-supplier resources through local factories will help Haier integrate global resource advantages and improve product competitiveness.

Currently, there are more than 40 international companies that provide parts to Haier and are Fortune 500 companies.

Cross-border mergers and acquisitions break through the European position

Europe is the world's kingdom of home appliances. Many of the world's famous home appliance manufacturers are in Europe and are famous for their exquisiteness and high quality. Therefore, breaking through Europe has become Haier's internationalization strategy. the second position.

In July 2001, Haier Group made a cross-border merger and acquisition of an Italian refrigerator factory

Different from the method of setting up factories in the United States, Haier merged a factory manufacturing refrigerators in Italy and established Haier Italian Electrical Appliances Co., Ltd. has implanted the Haier brand into the European market and used local factories to replace all the original defective home appliances with home appliances produced by Haier, creating a high-end product that is on par with famous European and American brands.

This is another major feat of Haier's implementation of localization strategy in developed countries after the United States. It is another sign of success and a new milestone in Haier's implementation of international branding.

The factory here was put into operation that month, and product quality and output have reached the highest level in history.

Adopting the merger and acquisition model has given Haier even more power, and it has three major advantages in exploring the international market.

First, quickly enter the local market.

In 2001, the sales volume of Haier refrigerators in Europe exceeded 60 million US dollars. On this basis, it is particularly necessary to establish a localized manufacturing center, and the implementation of merger strategies can quickly meet market demand.

Second, integrate localized resources in the shortest possible time.

Successfully mastered the procurement network resources of raw materials and equipment, human resources, technical resources, external public relations resources, and quickly established the soft and hard environment for enterprise development.

Third, technical barriers to trade have been eliminated.

Various European countries have set up product certification, tariffs and other technical trade barriers for Asian products. Localized production has completely broken through these restrictions, and Haier products have no obstacles to entering the European market.

Three Integration and One Innovation "Consolidate Position"

After gradually sowing, sprouting and growing overseas, Haier further implemented the concept of "Three Integration and One Innovation" to comprehensively consolidate its position in the overseas market.

"Three integrations and one innovation", that is, through financing, integrating intelligence, and integrating culture,

creating a localized brand is the ultimate embodiment of international Haier.

Only in this way can we meet the changing and personalized needs of local consumers in advance and improve Haier's brand reputation in the international market.

When implementing a localization strategy, cultural integration is very important.

The integration of two cultures is difficult, but essentially innovative ideas can be integrated.

Haier has gradually realized the integration of Haier culture and local culture through the same business philosophy and entrepreneurial spirit.

In American factories, you can see the same management philosophy as that of China's Haier everywhere, but the methods are flexible and diverse, and are more rich in American culture.

The pre-shift meeting system, 6S high-quality model evaluation, selection of outstanding Haier employee activities, etc., make American Haier employees feel novel and energetic. This unique management style has formed the American Haier The atmosphere of employees competing to catch up and their proactive attitude have achieved encouraging results.

Currently, through the comprehensive implementation of its internationalization strategy, Haier has established an internationally competitive global design network, procurement network, manufacturing network, marketing and service network.

The group currently has 15 industrial parks, 30 overseas factories and manufacturing bases, 8 overseas design centers, and 58,800 marketing outlets.

Forever the world’s independent brand

Facts have proved that Haier’s gains do not come from the factory itself, but from its successful localized brand operation.

Haier Group has gained more user resources through localized brand operations. Haier’s orders have increased a lot. With orders, Haier’s overseas development no longer has to rely solely on its own investment to set up factories around the world. , no longer need to go through the hands of the Haier factory, relying on brand endorsement can make Haier a Fortune 500 company and sell timeless products.

Last year, Haier stopped investing in building factories and handed over the OEM to Haier International Cooperation Factory. Haier no longer sells products, but sells world-class brands.

Only innovation and breakthroughs

The success of internationalization has brought Haier visibility and product guarantee. At this stage, Haier has encountered a bottleneck. They clearly understand Haier’s core competition. The strength lies in continuous innovation. Only through innovation can we be one step ahead of our opponents and maintain our leading, irreplaceable and difficult-to-be-imitated competitive advantages. Haier's current international territory has reached a certain level. Next, we can only continue to Only through innovation and breakthrough can Haier reach its peak.

Haier’s international marketing activities

Since 2006, in order to adapt to the situation of global economic integration, Haier has entered into the brand strategy, diversification strategy and internationalization strategy. The fourth stage of development and innovation: the global brand strategy stage.

The difference between internationalization strategy and globalization strategy is: internationalization strategy is based in China and radiates to the world; global brand strategy is to create a localized Haier brand in each country's market.

The problems Haier needs to solve when implementing its global brand strategy are: improving the competitiveness of its products and corporate operations.

Achieve win-win profits with sub-suppliers, customers and users.

Transform from a single culture to a multi-culture to achieve Haier’s sustainable development.

The development of this series of innovation strategies to the present also means that Haier has actually brought the company into the field of internationalization when it implements its internationalization strategy! In order to further explain Haier Group's international marketing activities to everyone, we decided to use the "value chain" and "integrated response structure" mentioned in the fifth section of the text to explain and analyze Haier Group's international marketing activities.

Value chain analysis

The value chain is composed of a series of value creation activities, including primary activities such as manufacturing, marketing, distribution and after-sales service. ), and support activities such as company infrastructure (factory buildings), human resources management, research and development, and material procurement.

"First have a market, then build a factory", "First have orders, then have products" are one of Haier's business philosophy. After having a local factory, manufacturing, procurement, marketing and information circulation will All are more convenient. The information-based three-dimensional database of Haier's development zone industrial park realizes their concept.

The purchased items and raw materials should not be kept in inventory or piled up in warehouses, but should be purchased for production; the produced products should be delivered directly to users instead of being placed in warehouses! The "three first-class networks" are used to reflect these two characteristics: informatization and networking; "first-class" refers to the flow of order information, and all information within the enterprise must flow around orders; the network refers to the global supply network and global distribution network , computer management network, these three networks are the foundation and support of logistics.

There are 42 distribution centers across the country, and these distribution centers can deliver products to users in a timely manner.

The above chart can clearly illustrate the value chain (market chain) of Haier Group.

On Haier’s market chain flow chart, the first large circle is global supplier resources. Through the Internet, the best suppliers can be found around the world, and sub-suppliers can also meet customers’ needs. Demand and logistics integrate the resources of the entire group to find the best suppliers.

Another large circle is the product manufacturing department including ODM and OEM. The third large circle is the resources of global users, seeking valuable orders.

In fact, the key to whether to purchase or produce depends on whether the third circle gets the order. All the departments with original functional relationships have become market relationships, such as design, total quality management, etc., all of which are directly for User service.

Outside the enterprise, from a vertical perspective, the upstream is the sub-supplier and the downstream is the customer. Now the sub-suppliers are integrated together and united to jointly meet the needs of users. The most important point is It is whether he has the ability to participate in the front-end design of the product. Without this ability, no matter how good the product is, it will not work.

I can give you my new product. You must design a motor that can improve the performance of the product. I can also give you a higher price.

The main channels for downstream merchants are as follows: large foreign chains, Wal-Mart, Carrefour, etc., as well as domestic chains, home appliance franchise chains, large shopping malls and Haier's own stores. Different channels have different customer groups. , Haier joins forces with sub-suppliers to create products that meet user needs.

Haier has established technology development centers, production bases and trading companies overseas to realize the "three-in-one" localization model of design, manufacturing and marketing. It currently has facilities in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and other places. The trinity of localized Haier.

Integrated response structure

"One-third of domestic production is domestic sales, one-third is domestic production and one-third is overseas sales, and one-third is overseas production and one-third is overseas sales" is Haier's "three It can be seen from this that even if Haier has gone global, related marketing activities including manufacturing, production, basic research, and applied research are still focused on localization. Manufacturing and production focus on domestic, while overseas The proportion of manufacturing and production is secondary. Basic research is mainly based on the domestic central research institute, but through the information synchronization function, R&D work can be globally integrated. Related applied research is based on local research centers and can Work with local dealers and manufacturers to develop products that meet local consumer needs, so we can respond to local pressure.

Next, let’s further analyze Haier’s marketing strategy. Because they start purchasing and producing after they have orders, their products are completely based on consumer demand, so they can respond to the local area; in terms of advertising strategy, They insist on "globalizing their thinking and localizing their actions". This can be seen from their advertising slogans. Haier's advertising slogan in the United States is What the world es home to, and in Europe it is Haier and higher, which fully reflects Haier's localization means that its advertising is basically global standardization, with some modifications based on local conditions, adopting a moderate strategy. I believe many people are already familiar with Haier's "no price war" strategy, and that's right! All products produced by the Haier Group are of the same price. There will never be price fluctuations due to local prices or national conditions, nor will they start a price war with their opponents because they compete with similar products. Therefore, they The global integration ability of pricing is high, but the relative ability to respond to local situations is very low; in terms of promotion and distribution, modifications will be made based on local market conditions.