By Lisa Simmons
MELBOURNE: Hisense Import and Export Company China, a Chinese government owned company with successful divisions in consumer electronics, household appliances, telecommunications, information technology and property, has established a subsidiary in Port Melbourne.
The move is the first of a number of significant investments which will see Hisense Australia marketing Hisense branded browngoods and whitegoods from July 2006.
Hisense Australia Pty Ltd is a multi-million dollar foray into a market Hisense has been exploring over the past 17 months, through a now lapsed LCD, PDP and CRT television distribution agreement the company had with TEAC.
The manufacturing behemoth, with sales revenues exceeding US$4.2 billion in 2005 and more than 15,000 employees, produces in excess of 11 million TVs, 4.7 million mobile phones, 3.8 million air-conditioners, 1.8 million refrigerators, and over 1 million computers last year.
According to a recent report published on www.chinaccm.com the company also accounted for 42.6 per cent of all PDPs exported from China in 2005, making the entry of Hisense to the Australian market even more significant.
Managing director of Hisense Australia, Ms Brenda Liu told current.com.au: “While Hisense will have Chinese representatives based in Australia, we believe local marketing and sales expertise are crucial for the company’s future success.”
“Hisense Australia will commence operations in this country with SAP enterprise management systems, state of the art logistics systems and an after sales service offering second to none.”
Tania Garonzi, with over 16 years CE industry experience, is general manager of the newly formed company and claims Hisense Australia is putting together the team and resources to be a major force in this market.
Hisense Australia also has a R&D and product development team and employs an independent quality control company in Australia to carry out inspections on production orders for the Hisense and OEM brands.