In case you haven't noticed, the Haier Group has achieved great success over the past 14 years, growing from a small neighborhood workshop to one of the largest companies in China with annual sales of U.S. $4.8 billion and a profit of 536 million yuan ($64 million).

      During the last 14 years, Haier's sales have increased faster than any other home appliance company in the world, including such giants as Siemens and GE. In late September, Haier announced that its first-half net profit for 2001 was 399.6 million yuan ($48 million) compared with 181.9 million yuan ($22 million) a year earlier.

      The company's success, especially within the U.S. market, is really no surprise. Since late 2000, refrigerators have been rolling out of a brand new $35-million manufacturing facility in Camden, South Carolina — a clear sign that Haier is big enough to create international brands that can compete in the U.S. market. What's more, the Camden site, which is currently situated on 110 acres, has plenty of room to expand. Haier officials says they intend to build more plants on that land.

      What does Haier have going for it? For one, it has an aggressive CEO, Mr. Zhang Ruimin, who said that he wanted to be one of the top five appliance makers of white goods in the U.S. That's a very lofty goal, considering that Haier would overcome rankings currently held by Whirlpool, GE, Maytag, and Frigidaire.

      Mr. Zhang was recently named China's most highly-regarded business leader, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopersHousehold survey. The poll asked 100 top Chinese executives to name companies and business leaders they most respected.

      The survey also revealed that Haier is the domestic listed company most respected by Chinese executives, who said they admire Haier because of its business globalization, advanced management methodologies and systems, brand recognition, and consistent business strategy.

      Even so, is Haier's goal to make the U.S. Top 5 attainable? Perhaps. Since they've already achieved a number five position on a worldwide basis and considering the progress the company has made to date through aggressive acquisitions, a finely-tuned overseas strategy, and widespread promotions — the company could just get there.

      It definitely has global brand recognition. The Chinese market is oversupplied, so to offload its current capacity, Haier is going for export markets. It has become less reliant on the Chinese market because it is likely to face an increasing challenge on its own turf. China's entry into the WTO is expected to open up Chinese manufacturers to greater foreign competition at home.

      One of the company's globalization efforts was seen in early July, when Haier announced that it purchased the Italian refrigerator manufacturing facility that belonged to Meneghetti SpA, one of Italy's largest manufacturers of built-in cooking equipment. That purchase brought its current count to 48 manufacturing plants worldwide and products sold in more than 160 countries. The purchase of the Meneghetti plant in Podova, Italy, was seen as an important step in Haier's localization strategy in developed countries, following the opening of its South Carolina plant.

      In the U.S., Haier says it sold $200 million worth of goods in 2000. A notable number, since the company first entered the U.S. market in 1992 by shipping refrigerators from its headquarters in China. Recently, Haier has concentrated some of its plans in the U.S. on sleek minibars, refrigerated wine cases, and chest freezers. This is one example of Haier looking at an opportunity and taking it. The strategy — competing on image, rather than price, and targeting students in the hope they will remain loyal as they get older — clearly is working.

      And in 2000, Haier took the lead in China by starting a B2B service (business to business) and selling Haier products on the Internet. The total B2B orders for Haier products for 2001 have surpassed 15 million units.

      Haier's motto in the mid-1990s was, "Never say no to the market," and it is obviously reaping the benefits from that. It already has become one of the first from China to become an international brand name. It purchased a former bank building in Manhattan for $14 million and has plans to remodel it into a combined restaurant with American food and product showroom. It has taken out ad space on trolley cars, on billboards, and in print ads.

      Along with other anecdotes that he repeats frequently, Mr. Zhang has been quoted as saying, "In the Haier business culture, time is money." With managers like him driving that message home, look for Haier to become an even more important player in the global economy.

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