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Haier Group Corporation () is a Chinese multinational
home appliance A home appliance, also referred to as a domestic appliance, an electric appliance or a household appliance, is a machine which assists in household functions such as cooking, cleaning and food preservation. The domestic application attached to ...
s and
consumer electronics Consumer electronics, also known as home electronics, are electronic devices intended for everyday household use. Consumer electronics include those used for entertainment, Communication, communications, and recreation. Historically, these prod ...
company headquartered in
Qingdao Qingdao, Mandarin: , (Qingdao Mandarin: t͡ɕʰiŋ˧˩ tɒ˥) is a prefecture-level city in the eastern Shandong Province of China. Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, Qingdao was long an important fortress. In 1897, the city was ceded to G ...
,
Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...
. Its Haier Smart Home Company affiliate, of which it owns 35%, designs, develops, manufactures and sells
home appliance A home appliance, also referred to as a domestic appliance, an electric appliance or a household appliance, is a machine which assists in household functions such as cooking, cleaning and food preservation. The domestic application attached to ...
s including
refrigerator A refrigerator, commonly shortened to fridge, is a commercial and home appliance consisting of a thermal insulation, thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump (mechanical, electronic or chemical) that transfers heat from its inside to ...
s,
air conditioners Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C (US) or air con (UK), is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior temperature, and in some cases, also controlling the humidity of internal air. Air c ...
,
washing machine A washing machine (laundry machine, clothes washer, washer, or simply wash) is a machine designed to laundry, launder clothing. The term is mostly applied to machines that use water. Other ways of doing laundry include dry cleaning (which uses ...
s, dryers, and
microwave oven A microwave oven, or simply microwave, is an electric oven that heats and cooks food by exposing it to electromagnetic radiation in the microwave frequency range. This induces Dipole#Molecular dipoles, polar molecules in the food to rotate and ...
s under the brand names Haier, Casarte, Leader,
GE Appliances GE Appliances is an American home appliance manufacturer based in Louisville, Kentucky. It operates as an independent subsidiary of Chinese Haier Smart Home Company, a publicly traded affiliate of Haier, after an acquisition from General Electr ...
,
Fisher & Paykel Fisher & Paykel Appliances Holdings Limited () is a major appliance manufacturer founded in 1934. It is a subsidiary of Chinese multinational home appliances company Haier and is based in East Tāmaki, New Zealand. Originally an importer of do ...
, Aqua,
Candy Candy, alternatively called sweets or lollies, is a Confectionery, confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, also called ''sugar confectionery'', encompasses any sweet confection, including chocolate, chewing gum ...
and Evo. Its Haier Electronics Group affiliate manufactures
consumer electronics Consumer electronics, also known as home electronics, are electronic devices intended for everyday household use. Consumer electronics include those used for entertainment, Communication, communications, and recreation. Historically, these prod ...
such as
mobile phone A mobile phone or cell phone is a portable telephone that allows users to make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while moving within a designated telephone service area, unlike fixed-location phones ( landline phones). This rad ...
s,
computer A computer is a machine that can be Computer programming, programmed to automatically Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (''computation''). Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic set ...
s, and
television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
s. Its ThundeRobot brand, founded in 2014, is focused on
gaming computer A gaming computer, also known as a gaming PC, is a specialized personal computer designed for playing PC games at high standards. They typically differ from mainstream personal computers by using high-performance graphics cards, a high core-co ...
s and accessories. Haier Smart Home Company is ranked 407th on the ''Fortune'' 500. According to
Euromonitor International Euromonitor International Ltd is a London-based market research company founded in 1972. The firm is well regarded, and its research database has been described as the "Cadillac Cadillac Motor Car Division, or simply Cadillac (), is the lu ...
, Haier was the number one brand globally in major appliances for 10 consecutive years from 2009 to 2018. The Haier brand was also recognized by BrandZ in 2019 as the most valuable IoT ecosystem brand in the world, with a brand value of $16.3 billion. Haier Group has two publicly traded affiliates that trade on three stock exchanges: Haier Smart Home (海尔智家) ( as well as "D-share" listing of Haier Smart Home in China Europe International Exchange of Frankfurt; ex-Qingdao Haier Co., Ltd.) and Haier Electronics Group Co., Ltd. (). In 1993, it listed its Qingdao Haier Refrigerator Co. subsidiary on the
Shanghai Stock Exchange The Shanghai Stock Exchange (, SSE) is a stock exchange based in the city of Shanghai, China. It is one of the three stock exchanges operating independently in mainland China, the others being the Beijing Stock Exchange and the Shenzhen Stock ...
, raising
CN¥ The renminbi ( ; symbol: ¥; ISO code: CNY; abbreviation: RMB), also known as the Chinese yuan, is the official currency of the People's Republic of China. The renminbi is issued by the People's Bank of China, the monetary authority of Chin ...
370 million. In 2005, Haier entered the
Hong Kong Stock Exchange The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (, SEHK, also known as Hong Kong Stock Exchange) is a stock exchange based in Hong Kong. It is one of the largest stock exchanges in Asia and the List of major stock exchanges, 9th largest globally by market ...
through a "
backdoor listing A reverse takeover (RTO), reverse merger, or reverse IPO is the acquisition of a public company by a private company so that the private company can bypass the lengthy and complex process of going public. Sometimes, conversely, the public compan ...
" by acquiring a controlling stake in a publicly listed
joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...
Haier-CCT Holdings Ltd. ().


History

The origins of Haier date back to a refrigerator factory built in
Qingdao Qingdao, Mandarin: , (Qingdao Mandarin: t͡ɕʰiŋ˧˩ tɒ˥) is a prefecture-level city in the eastern Shandong Province of China. Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, Qingdao was long an important fortress. In 1897, the city was ceded to G ...
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 A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a business entity created or owned by a national or local government, either through an executive order or legislation. SOEs aim to generate profit for the government, prevent private sector monopolies, provide goo ...
. By the 1980s, the factory had a debt of over
CN¥ The renminbi ( ; symbol: ¥; ISO code: CNY; abbreviation: RMB), also known as the Chinese yuan, is the official currency of the People's Republic of China. The renminbi is issued by the People's Bank of China, the monetary authority of Chin ...
1.4 million and suffered from dilapidated infrastructure, poor management, and lack of
quality control Quality control (QC) is a process by which entities review the quality of all factors involved in production. ISO 9000 defines quality control as "a part of quality management focused on fulfilling quality requirements". This approach plac ...
s, resulting from the planned economic system and relevant policies. Production had slowed, rarely surpassing 80
refrigerator A refrigerator, commonly shortened to fridge, is a commercial and home appliance consisting of a thermal insulation, thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump (mechanical, electronic or chemical) that transfers heat from its inside to ...
s a month, and the factory was close to bankruptcy. The Qingdao government hired a young assistant city-manager,
Zhang Ruimin Zhang Ruimin (; born 5 January 1949) is the founder of Haier Group. He was also the chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Haier Group until his resignation in 2021. He was succeeded in these roles by Liang Haishan. Zhang was app ...
, 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 Liebherr () is a German-Swiss multinational corporation, multinational equipment manufacturer based in Bulle, Switzerland, with its main production facilities and origins in Germany. Liebherr consists of over 130 companies organized into 11 divi ...
, entered into a
joint-venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...
contract with Qingdao Refrigerator Co., offering technology and equipment to its Chinese counterpart. Refrigerators were to be manufactured under the name of Qindao-Liebherr (). The current brand "Haier" came from the last two syllables of the
Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...
transliteration Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus '' trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → and → the digraph , Cyrillic → , Armenian → or L ...
of Liebherr (). 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 The renminbi ( ; symbol: ¥; ISO code: CNY; abbreviation: RMB), also known as the Chinese yuan, is the official currency of the People's Republic of China. The renminbi is issued by the People's Bank of China, the monetary authority of China ...
¥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 Microwave is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths shorter than other radio waves but longer than infrared waves. Its wavelength ranges from about one meter to one millimeter, corresponding to frequency, frequencies between 300&n ...
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 A washing machine (laundry machine, clothes washer, washer, or simply wash) is a machine designed to laundry, launder clothing. The term is mostly applied to machines that use water. Other ways of doing laundry include dry cleaning (which uses ...
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 Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
in 1996 and the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
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 market A niche market is the subset of the market on which a product is appealed to a small group of consumers. The market niche defines the product features aimed at satisfying specific market needs, as well as the price range, production quality and the ...
s in compact refrigerators and electric
wine cellar A wine cellar is a storage room for wine in bottles or barrels, or more rarely in carboys, amphorae, or plastic containers. In an ''active'' wine cellar, important factors such as temperature and humidity are maintained by a climate control s ...
s. Haier began to manufacture full-sized refrigerators for North American market. This would bring it into direct competition with established American companies GE,
Whirlpool A whirlpool is a body of rotating water produced by opposing currents or a current running into an obstacle. Small whirlpools form when a bath or a sink is draining. More powerful ones formed in seas or oceans may be called maelstroms ( ). ''Vo ...
,
Frigidaire Frigidaire Appliance Company is the American consumer and Commercial area, commercial home appliances brand subsidiary of multinational company Electrolux, a Swedish multinational home appliance manufacturer, headquartered in Stockholm. History ...
, and
Maytag The Maytag Corporation is an American Home appliance, home and commercial appliance company. The company has been owned by Whirlpool Corporation since April 2006. History The Maytag Washing Machine Company was founded in 1893 by businessm ...
. 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
USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...
$200 million, still small compared to its overall revenue of $7 billion. Also in 2002, Haier moved into the
Greenwich Savings Bank Building The Greenwich Savings Bank Building, also known as the Haier Building and 1356 Broadway, is an office building at 1352–1362 Broadway in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Constructed as the headquarters of the Greenwich Sa ...
in
midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan, serving as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Building, the ...
. Formerly the headquarters for the Greenwich Savings Bank, the building was built in 1924 in the
neo-classical style Neoclassical architecture, sometimes referred to as Classical Revival architecture, is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy, France and Germany. It became one of the most promin ...
. Production facilities were constructed in
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
in 2002 (see
Haier Pakistan Haier Pakistan is a consumer electronics and home appliances company in Pakistan. History Haier Pakistan was founded in 2001 as a joint venture between Ruba Group (now known as JW-SEZ Group) and Haier with an initial investment of . In 2004, Hai ...
) and
Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
in 2003. In Africa, Haier has plants in five countries:
Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...
,
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
,
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
,
Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
and
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
. The company also purchased a Meneghetti's factory in
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
and began placing its products in European retail chains, either under its own brand or under OEM agreements with foreign partners. Haier Appliances (
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
) 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 Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
,
Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...
,
Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
, and
Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...
. 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 The Maytag Corporation is an American home and commercial appliance company. The company has been owned by Whirlpool Corporation since April 2006. History The Maytag Washing Machine Company was founded in 1893 by businessman Frederick Ma ...
, backed by
private equity fund A private equity fund (abbreviated as PE fund) is a collective investment scheme used for making investments in various equity (and to a lesser extent debt) securities according to one of the investment strategies associated with private equity. ...
s
Blackstone Group Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. It was founded in 1985 as a mergers and acquisitions firm by Peter Peterson and Stephen Schwarzman, who had previously worked together at Lehman ...
and
Bain Capital Bain Capital, LP is an American Investment company, private investment firm based in Boston, Massachusetts, Boston, Massachusetts, with around $185 billion of assets under management. It specializes in private equity, venture capital, credit, p ...
. 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 Ripplewood is an American private equity firm based in New York City that focuses on leveraged buyouts, venture capital, late stage venture, growth capital, management buyouts, leveraged recapitalizations and other illiquid investments. Ripplewo ...
. However, Maytag was bought by
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
-based
Whirlpool Corporation Whirlpool Corporation is an American multinational corporation, multinational manufacturer and marketer of home appliances headquartered in Benton Charter Township, Michigan, United States. In 2023, the Fortune 500 company had an annual revenue ...
which offered $1.7 billion in cash and stock, or $21 per share, plus assumed debt. In 2008, Haier entered into a
joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...
agreement with the government of
Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
. 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 Fisher & Paykel Appliances Holdings Limited () is a major appliance manufacturer founded in 1934. It is a subsidiary of Chinese multinational home appliances company Haier and is based in East Tāmaki, New Zealand. Originally an importer of do ...
, and
Sanyo is a former Japanese electronics manufacturer founded in 1947 by Toshio Iue, the brother-in-law of Kōnosuke Matsushita, the founder of Matsushita Electric Industrial, now known as Panasonic. Iue left Matsushita Electric to start his own bu ...
's Southeast Asian appliance manufacturing unit. In June 2016, Haier Group acquired
GE Appliances GE Appliances is an American home appliance manufacturer based in Louisville, Kentucky. It operates as an independent subsidiary of Chinese Haier Smart Home Company, a publicly traded affiliate of Haier, after an acquisition from General Electr ...
, headquartered in
Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...
, from
General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...
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 Carrier Global Corporation is an American multinational heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), refrigeration, and fire and security equipment corporation based in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Carrier was founded in 1915 as an in ...
for $775 million.


Technology

In 2015, Haier began investigating how the
internet of things Internet of things (IoT) describes devices with sensors, processing ability, software and other technologies that connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet or other communication networks. The IoT encompasse ...
could be integrated into its devices. The company cited by the
Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory Stanford University has many centers and institutes dedicated to the study of various specific topics. These centers and institutes may be within a department, within a school but across departments, an independent laboratory, institute or center ...
, which found three barriers to the adoption of smart home technology: lack of unified protocols/single point of access, passive services and the lack of complete solutions. At the time Haier's core competencies lay within the large appliance sector and not the small electronics sector. Subsequently, it partnered with the then leading IoT platform IngDan () owned by
Cogobuy Cogobuy Group is a Chinese enterprise service platform. Following a major business restructuring in 2019, the group merged chip sales service on Cogobuy.com into Comtech, and merged R&D and IoT product financing and corporate services, previous ...
to overcome its shortcomings. By utilising Cogobuy's
ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...
and
supply chain A supply chain is a complex logistics system that consists of facilities that convert raw materials into finished products and distribute them to end consumers or end customers, while supply chain management deals with the flow of goods in distri ...
, Haier was able to integrate IngDan's portfolio of components, modules, and
edge Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...
voice analysis into smart appliance products. Haier introduced its smart appliances across seven product lines in the
major appliance A major appliance is a non-portable or semi-portable machine used for routine housekeeping tasks such as cooking, washing laundry, or food preservation. Such appliances are sometimes collectively known as white goods, as the products were trad ...
industry: air, water, clothes care, security, voice control, health and information.


Company strategy

Zhang Ruimin, soon after becoming managing director in 1985, ordered his employees to destroy 76 refrigerators with
sledgehammer A sledgehammer is a tool with a large, flat, massive, often metal head, attached to a long wooden or solid handle. The long handle is combined with a heavy head which allows the sledgehammer to pick up momentum during a swing and applying a large ...
s following a customer complaint in an effort to radically change the company's culture to one that embodies
quality control Quality control (QC) is a process by which entities review the quality of all factors involved in production. ISO 9000 defines quality control as "a part of quality management focused on fulfilling quality requirements". This approach plac ...
practices. At the time, Chinese brands for domestically produced
consumer goods A final good or consumer good is a final product ready for sale that is used by the consumer to satisfy current wants or needs, unlike an intermediate good, which is used to produce other goods. A microwave oven or a bicycle is a final good. W ...
were generally regarded by overseas consumer markets as being of poor quality, even when compared subjectively with foreign brands manufactured in China. The cultural transformation towards quality driven manufacturing resulted in Haier becoming the first company in China to get ISO 9001 certification. Haier also has an environmental sustainable development strategy to improve the environment by conserving energy and recycling. In 2018, Haier got the "Greener China Business Award" due to its outstanding efforts to protect the environment. In 2015, Haier joined
WIPO GREEN WIPO GREEN is a World Intellectual Property Organization program that supports global efforts to address climate change and food security through sharing of sustainable technology innovations . WIPO GREEN was established in 2013, it is a free o ...
as an official partner in an effort to address
climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
. Haier also announced a three-year partnership with the
Australian Open The Australian Open (stylized ΛO) is a tennis tournament organised by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Sl ...
in November 2024.


Controversy

In 2014, Haier was accused by German media of delivering smartphones and tablets with pre-installed
malware Malware (a portmanteau of ''malicious software'')Tahir, R. (2018)A study on malware and malware detection techniques . ''International Journal of Education and Management Engineering'', ''8''(2), 20. is any software intentionally designed to caus ...
. In 2024, Haier sent
cease and desist A cease and desist letter is a document sent by one party, often a business, to warn another party that they believe the other party is committing an unlawful act, such as copyright infringement, and that they will take legal action if the oth ...
letters to the
open-source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use and view the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open source model is a decentrali ...
projects hOn and pyhOn, which developed an add-on for
Home Assistant Home Assistant is free and open-source software used for home automation. It serves as an integration platform and smart home hub, allowing users to control smart home devices. The software emphasizes local control and privacy and is designed ...
that allowed one to control appliances without Haier's 3rd-party cloud service. Following
Russia's invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
in 2022 and subsequent international sanctions, Haier faced criticism for its continued expansion in the Russian market. Haier announced plans to increase production in
Naberezhnye Chelny Naberezhnye Chelny (, ; , ) is the second largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. A major industrial center, Naberezhnye Chelny stands on the Kama River east of Kazan near Nizhnekamsk Reservoi ...
, including facilities for refrigerators, washing machines, and televisions, along with the establishment of a fourth factory and plans to recruit developers in Russia for its proprietary OS for smart appliances. The company also plans to repurpose Candy’s factory in Kirov to further expand its manufacturing capabilities in Russia. Despite global calls for
corporate responsibility Corporate responsibility is a term which has come to characterize a family of professional disciplines intended to help a corporation stay competitive by maintaining accountability to its four main stakeholder groups: customers, employees, shareh ...
, Haier has significantly increased its revenue in Russia, reportedly more than 1.5 times in 2023 compared to 2022.


See also

*
TCL Corporation TCL Technology Group Corp. (originally an abbreviation for Telecom Corporation Limited) is a Chinese partially state-owned electronics company headquartered in Huizhou, Guangdong province. TCL develops, manufactures, and sells consumer elect ...
*
GE Appliances GE Appliances is an American home appliance manufacturer based in Louisville, Kentucky. It operates as an independent subsidiary of Chinese Haier Smart Home Company, a publicly traded affiliate of Haier, after an acquisition from General Electr ...
*
Siemens AG Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the posit ...
* AB Electrolux *
Maytag Corporation The Maytag Corporation is an American home and commercial appliance company. The company has been owned by Whirlpool Corporation since April 2006. History The Maytag Washing Machine Company was founded in 1893 by businessman Frederick Ma ...
*
Samsung Electronics Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (SEC; stylized as SΛMSUNG; ) is a South Korean multinational major appliance and consumer electronics corporation founded on 13 January 1969 and headquartered in Yeongtong District, Suwon, South Korea. It is curr ...
*
Sanyo is a former Japanese electronics manufacturer founded in 1947 by Toshio Iue, the brother-in-law of Kōnosuke Matsushita, the founder of Matsushita Electric Industrial, now known as Panasonic. Iue left Matsushita Electric to start his own bu ...


References


External links

* {{Authority control Chinese brands Chinese companies established in 1984 Companies in the CSI 100 Index Consumer electronics brands Display technology companies Electronics companies established in 1984 Electronics companies of China Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning companies Home appliance brands Home appliance manufacturers of China Mobile phone companies of China Mobile phone manufacturers Multinational companies headquartered in China