The CEO of Haier Europe, Yannick Fierling confirmed that the Chinese company’s plans will initially be concentrated on the European market, with Fisher & Paykel remaining a key brand platform for the Australian and New Zealand markets.
“I think right now, our focus will certainly remain on Europe and how we can grow in Europe,” Fierling told Appliance Retailer in an exclusive interview conducted at the IFA Press Conference in Spain.
“We have a small overseas market with the Candy brand, and we are looking at expanding it, but right now we have not been looking at this in detail. At the moment, we have not made a decision whether we should be expanding the distribution to Australia and New Zealand.
“We have a great group in Australia run by Fisher & Paykel, they are doing a fantastic job and they have amazing products and at this stage Australia and New Zealand are more than well served by these brands,” he said.
In terms of a footprint in the northern hemisphere, Fierling confirmed Fisher & Paykel is mainly available in the UK with premium customers like John Lewis.
“We are looking at offering Fisher & Paykel into more of the rest of Europe as well, but we want to be sure to have the entire package ready in terms of the service to customers for the high-end built-in markets outside of the UK.
“UK is one of the biggest markets we have at the moment – we have Fisher & Paykel, we have Candy on the premium side, then Hoover in the mid segment to fight the German based brands.”
The Candy and Hoover brands acquired by Haier are now distributed in Australia through Dom Tech and Eurolinx, respectively.