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The story
Founded by Zhang Ruimin in 1984, in Qingdao.1
The origins of Haier date back to a refrigerator factory built in Qingdao to supply the Chinese market in the 1920s. After the 1949 establishment of the People's Republic of China, the factory was then taken over and turned into a state-owned enterprise.
By the 1980s, the factory had a debt of over CN¥1.4 million and suffered from dilapidated infrastructure, poor management, and lack of quality controls, resulting from the planned economic system and relevant policies. Production had slowed, rarely surpassing 80 refrigerators a month, and the factory was close to bankruptcy. The Qingdao government hired a young assistant city-manager, Zhang Ruimin, responsible for a number of city-owned appliance companies. Zhang was appointed the managing director of the factory in 1984.
Founding
Haier was founded as Qingdao Refrigerator Co. in 1984. With China opening up to world markets, foreign corporations began searching for partnerships in China. One of these, Germany's refrigerator company Liebherr, entered into a joint-venture contract with Qingdao Refrigerator Co., offering technology and equipment to its Chinese counterpart. Refrigerators were to be manufactured under the name of Qindao-Liebherr (simplified Chinese: 琴岛—利勃海尔; traditional Chinese: 琴島-利勃海爾; pinyin: Qíndǎo—lìbó hǎi'ěr). The current brand "Haier" came from the last two syllables of the Chinese transliteration of Liebherr (pinyin: lìbó hǎi'ěr).
The installation of Liebherr's equipment and technology was accompanied by new quality control and management processes. By 1986, Qingdao Refrigerator had returned to profitability and grew in sales at an average of 83 percent annually. Between 1984 and 2000, sales grew from CNY ¥3.5 million to ¥40.5 billion.
In 1988, the municipal government asked Haier to take over some of the city's other ailing appliance manufacturers. The company assumed control of Qingdao Electroplating Company (manufacturing microwave ovens). In 1991, the company changed its name to "Qingdao Haier Group" and acquired Qingdao Air Conditioner Plant and Qingdao Freezer. The company's name was simplified to its current name "Haier" in 1992. In 1995, the company took over Qingdao Red Star Electronics Co., a washing machine manufacturer, along with five of its subsidiaries. Haier acquired seven companies between 1995 and 1997, and began exporting to foreign markets.
International expansion
In Southeast Asia, Haier opened production facilities in Indonesia in 1996 and the Philippines in 1997 and failed in an attempt to enter the Thai market due to the presence of local competitors.
Haier entered the US market in 1999. In the US it focused upon two niche markets in compact refrigerators and electric wine cellars. Haier began to manufacture full-sized refrigerators for North American market. This would bring it into direct competition with established American companies GE, Whirlpool, Frigidaire, and Maytag. As part of its strategy, Haier built a production facility in the United States at Camden, South Carolina, opened in 2000. By 2002, US revenues reached US$200 million, still small compared to its overall revenue of $7 billion. Also in 2002, Haier moved into the Greenwich Savings Bank Building in midtown Manhattan. Formerly the headquarters for the Greenwich Savings Bank, the 52,000-square-foot (4,800 m2) building was built in 1924 in the neo-classical style.
Production facilities were constructed in Pakistan in 2002 (see Haier Pakistan) and Jordan in 2003. In Africa, Haier has plants in five countries: Tunisia, Nigeria, Egypt, Algeria and South Africa. The company also purchased a Meneghetti's factory in Italy and began placing its products in European retail chains, either under its own brand or under OEM agreements with foreign partners.
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Haier entered the Japanese market in 2002 and formed a product development alliance with Sanyo Electric in 2007, focusing on refrigerators. This marked Haier Group’s first international collaboration of its kind. Following the completion of the acquisition and integration of Sanyo Electric’s relevant operations in 2012, Haier launched the AQUA brand alongside the Haier brand and established Haier Asia R&D.
Haier Appliances (India) P. Ltd initiated its commercial operations in January 2004. Its headquarters is in New Delhi, and in 2015 it had 33 operations, including those in Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, and Kolkata. It was listed among the top 20 most trusted brands in India by The Brand Trust Report, a study conducted by Trust Research Advisory.
In June 2005, Haier bid to acquire Maytag Corporation, backed by private equity funds Blackstone Group and Bain Capital. The bid was for US$1.28 billion, or $16 per share, topping a previous offer of $14.26 per share made by Ripplewood Holdings. However, Maytag was bought by Michigan-based Whirlpool Corporation which offered $1.7 billion in cash and stock, or $21 per share, plus assumed debt.
In 2008, Haier entered into a joint venture agreement with the government of Venezuela.
In 2009, Haier surpassed Whirlpool to become the fourth largest refrigerator producer in terms of sales with a global market share of 6.3%.
In 2012, Haier Group acquired the appliance business from New Zealand-based Fisher & Paykel, and Sanyo's Southeast Asian appliance manufacturing unit.
In June 2016, Haier Group acquired GE Appliances, headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, from General Electric for $5.6 billion.
In October 2018, Haier acquired Italy based Candy group.
By 2020, Haier had been the world's number one home appliance brand for 12 consecutive years.
In October 2024, Haier Smart Home acquired Carrier Commercial Refrigeration from Carrier Global for $775 million.
From Wikipedia’s article on Haier, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4