Haier

"Mr. Zhang demonstrates the corporation internationalization strategy splendidl.. On the annual meeting of Boao Forum for Asia 2005, the incisive speeches by Mr. Zhang Ruimin, Chairman of the board of directors and CEO of Haier Group were highly thought of by the participants there. "Mr. Zhang demonstrates the corporation internationalization strategy splendidly and intensively." The annual meeting of Boao Forum for Asia 2005 opened on April 23. More than 1,200 senior officials from over 40 countries and areas and many famous enterprisers and experts and scholars both at home and abroad got together in Boao, Hainan province. They have given speeches and participated in the discussion over the topics that people are interested in, such as "New role of Asia in the Age of Economic Globalization"and "Internationalization road of Asian companies" etc. Mr. Zhang Ruimin, CEO of Haier Group, attended the forum upon invitation and gave a speech on the plenary session of "Internationalization road of Asian companies" held on April 24. Each enterpriser was only given 5 to 8 minutes for their speeches. Within the limited five minutes, Mr. Zhang demonstrated his ideas on the following three aspects with regard to the experiences and problems they have met since internationalization strategy was put into practice: Our lag in the international market became a big problem for enterprises in China to realize internationalization. "The companies in China don't realize their disadvantages until they march into the global market. We are fresh on the market, while our counterparts are all giants all over the world. It seems as if they are Doctor and Master while we have just graduated from middle school. It's rather difficult to compete with them. We are new to nearly all the markets and by the time we arrive at each market, it has been divided by others. Thus we have to find ways to be accepted by the market. " Mr. Zhang stated. Haier chose to combine the domestic market and the global market as a whole. Mr. Zhang explained, "Domestic market is an essential part for us to remain stable in the industry. However, domestic market is not enough. We have to march into the global market, otherwise we will never become powerful." On the internationalization road, Haier adopt the strategy of "three steps". How to implement internationalization? Mr. Zhang said, "We divide 'Go out' strategy into three parts: to go out, to go inside and to go up. " When talked about "to go up", Mr. Zhang shared a story with the audience. "Once I attended a banquet in Germany. I asked the wife of a manager there if she had ever heard Haier refrigerator. She said she had heard about it. Then I asked if she would buy Haier refrigerator. She answered that she would choose MIELE¡ªa famous German brand for refrigerator. The reason is that MIELE has become an art craft in the consumers' view. That is just what Haier aims to achieve." Mr. Zhang's splendid speech arouses strong reverberation among guests and scholars present. Professor Marshall Meyer from the Wharton School of America, who has been concerned of the development of Haier also attended Boao Forum for Asia. He told Mr. Zhang, "All the participants around me and I myself think high of your speech. You have demonstrated corporation internationalization intensively with several refined words. It served as a reference for companies in Asia to deal with internationalization by themselves." Background Boao Forum for Asia was founded in 2001 with the aim to enhance economic communication, coordination and cooperation among Asian countries. It has become an important platform for enterprises both at home and abroad to communicate. Many leaders of renowed enterprises in the world such as Microsoft Senior VP and chief technical officer Craig Mundie, Chairman of the Board of the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise and Chairman of Ericsson Michael Treschow and Samsung Electronics Corporation vice president Lee Yoon-woo have all attended the forum this year.