China's White Goods Makers Hunt for Growth in Southeast Asia
Wang Zhen
DATE:  Dec 04 2019
/ SOURCE:  yicai
China's White Goods Makers Hunt for Growth in Southeast Asia China's White Goods Makers Hunt for Growth in Southeast Asia

(Yicai Global) Dec. 3 -- China's home appliance manufacturers have been making inroads into Southeast Asia as their technology becomes more advanced and they battle with a saturated market at home.

At Manila International Airport, our reporter noted, many well-known Chinese brands are present, with adverts for Skyworth, Haier and TCL in plain sight. Handset giants Huawei and Oppo have flagship stores in downtown Manila and many Chinese products, including Skyworth televisions, Haier fridges and Oppo phones, are on sale in SM Retail, one of the Philippines' largest retail chains.

Southeast Asia is the most promising market for the expansion of Chinese companies' production capacity and overseas investment, Zhou Nan, secretary general of the China Chamber of Commerce for the Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products, told Yicai Global. It is better for cultivating Chinese brands than Europe and the US, he added.

This year, for the first time, Shenzhen-based Skyworth is platinum sponsor of the 30th Southeast Asian Games, currently being held in the Philippines, with its branding prominently displayed in all the games' venues.

"We're the only home appliance sponsor, taking the place of Samsung," said Li Qiang, director of the department responsible for overseas brand management at Skyworth-RGB Electronic.

Abenson, the Philippines' second-largest home appliances retailer, began to sell Skyworth TVs two years ago. The number of outlets doubled to 60 this year. The Quezon-based chain also sells goods by Chinese firms such as Huawei, Oppo and Vivo.

Sales and Production

The quality of the products has become increasingly better, Abenson executive Abraham Uypeckcuat said. It will partner with more Chinese brands in the future as they are making rapid progress in the artificial intelligence and electronics sectors.

Skyworth has 10 overseas branches, half of which are located in Southeast Asia. Two are in the populous countries of Indonesia and Philippines and three in the more mature and economically fast-growing nations of Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand.

Skyworth is constantly seeking opportunities to beat the trend, Li added. Its TVs have a 10 percent market share in the Philippines, selling several hundred thousands of units a year.

The Philippines' branch has just six employees from China, General Manager Han Xiongtao said, adding that to get closer to the local market, the company will train more local staff to be part of its core management team.

Chinese home appliance brands not only sell products in Southeast Asia, they have also started to make goods in the region. Skyworth acquired Japanese appliance maker Toshiba's Indonesian plant several years ago, allowing it to produce locally and avoid customs' tariffs.

Qingdao-based Haier bought the Southeast Asian businesses and factories of Japanese electronics firm Sanyo Electric in 2011. The plants were still producing Sanyo's Aqua series until a few years ago, said Wang Qun, marketing manager at the firm's Philippine branch. From 2017, the factories switched to making high-end Haier devices. The branch's revenue is expected to rise by over 40 percent this year.

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Keywords:   Overseas Market,Southeast Asia,Home Appliance