Haier - The Chinese Global Competitor

The localization of product design helped the company gain a foothold in the US market. By 2005, Haier had 18 design institutes, 10 industrial complexes, 22 production facilities, and 58,800 sales agents around the world.

Commenting on Haier's globalization strategy, Zhang Ruimin (Zhang), president, Haier Group, said, "We go to easier markets after we first penetrate difficult markets such as the United States and Europe.

These are much bigger markets. They are also the home markets of our largest global competitors, and we believe that if we can succeed there we can succeed in easier markets."⁸

By 1978, the SoEs accounted for roughly 78% of the country's total industrial output and they became the driving force of the Chinese economy. The SoEs employed millions of Chinese workers and became the primary provider of social welfare and security. Jobs in the SoEs were considered a fundamental right with entitlements that included pensions, medical insurance, and housing. Worker unions became very powerful within the SoEs and that led to widespread indiscipline. The workers refused to work and used the factory facilities for their own businesses. Management control was largely ineffective with workers threatening to physically harm managers who tried to assert any authority. Inefficient managers also turned toward corruption to make money...