Recently, the 2024 IFA Consumer Electronics Show in Berlin, Germany, has opened.

As the world's largest and most influential international exhibition for audio-visual and consumer electronics, IFA originated in 1924, and this year marks its 100th anniversary.

It is worth noting that Chinese companies are becoming the stars of this historic technology exhibition.

Whether it is on the plaza of the exhibition hall or in the huge advertisements entering the exhibition hall, or in the daily published official journal of the exhibition, Chinese companies occupy the core position of this technology show.

This was an unimaginable scene in the past few decades.

Although China produced a large number of high-quality products for the world at that time, many companies could only earn a meager profit by OEM.

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The reason is the three major obstacles on the way forward for Chinese manufacturing: the first is "technology"; the second is "brand"; the third is "high-end".

Chinese companies have used more than 40 years to open a path for Chinese manufacturing in global competition, and have gone through more than 200 years of industrialization process of developed countries in Europe and America, presenting us with the difficult exploration of branding, globalization, and high-end.

Behind this, it is the result of the joint efforts of millions of Chinese industrial workers, scientific and technological innovators, and enterprises.

Especially as the main body of the market, enterprises have contributed the absolute strength of Chinese manufacturing.

Let's focus on the 2024 IFA, Chinese companies, Chinese brands, in product technology, brand layout, all present a refreshing feeling.

Coincidentally, Haier, a Chinese company that has been in business for 40 years, has shone brightly at the 2024 IFA.

As a former "student" of German home appliances, Haier and other Chinese companies have long surpassed, becoming the best interpretation of Chinese manufacturing.

The exhibition area of Haier at the 2024 IFA covers about 3300 square meters, and the technological products and smart scenes of its four major brands, Haier, Candy, Hoover, and Casarte, have attracted countless visitors to stop and watch the exhibition.

High-end, green, and smart have become the key words for Haier at the IFA exhibition.

It is important to know that Haier has become the mainstream high-end brand in the European market today.

Against the backdrop of the decline of the industry, Haier has been the fastest-growing home appliance brand in the European market for 8 consecutive years, with a sales revenue increase of 23.9% in 2023, and the retail share reached 9.1%.

When we analyze Haier, we can see the core of Chinese manufacturing's upward growth, and we can also understand how hard Chinese companies have walked on the road of brand creation, going abroad, and high-end.

Stick to the original heart: the obsession with global branding.

When we go back to the early days of China's reform and opening up in the 1980s, what was the most profitable at that time?

Undoubtedly, it was OEM for multinational companies.

At that time, China's labor cost was low, and the government was willing to give policies, attracting many developed countries and regions to transfer industries.

As long as you were willing to work hard, there was endless work.

Most people were working hard to make money, but someone had to look up and see the road.

In 1984, Zhang Ruimin went abroad for the first time for the project of the German "Liebherr".

When a German friend took him to visit the German market, he used a few words to sting the pain of the country with the largest global population at that time: "The best-selling products of your China in Germany are fireworks and firecrackers."

After listening to this sentence, Zhang Ruimin was determined to make our products popular in the German market and in the global market in the future.

It can be said that Haier has laid its brand, globalization, and high-end genes from the beginning.

There is a saying in "Biographies of Exemplary and Good People": "There is no one who knows but does not act.

If you know but do not act, it is just unknown."

Similarly, truly going into the sea of the market, practicing cognition in a choice after choice, a twist after a twist, is always a minority.

It is not difficult to know, but to do.

At that time, China's reform and opening up had only a few years, and the production and manufacturing capacity and technology of home appliances were almost poor.

It was not easy to sell Chinese home appliances to Germany.

In the 40-year history of Haier, there are several symbolic events that must be taken out.

The "smashing refrigerator incident" that occurred in 1985.

A big hammer awakened the "quality awareness" of Haier people, smashed the first quality gold medal in the history of Chinese refrigerators, and opened the door for Chinese companies to enter the international market through high quality.

The same "retrograde" happened to Casarte.

In 2006, Haier launched the high-end brand Casarte.

At that time, in the global market, domestic home appliance brands had long been stuck in price wars.

However, the new Casarte claimed to be an international high-end home appliance brand and launched an attack on the high-end market that had always been occupied by European, American, and Japanese and Korean companies.

There is no shortcut to the high-end road.

Casarte has insisted on "making home appliances like making works of art" since its inception, and has continued to delve into original technology.

However, it is precisely because of insisting on originality that Haier's huge investment in research and development has long been doubted whether it can be repaid.

But Haier still insisted.

On August 27, Haier Smart Home released the 2024 semi-annual report.

The financial report shows that Haier Smart Home continues to maintain a steady growth under a high base, among which the high-end brand Casarte continued to grow in the first half of 2024, outperforming the industry.

After 18 years of brand precipitation, Casarte has achieved the top 1 in the high-end market for 8 consecutive years, with a brand value of more than 82.1 billion, becoming an industry-level brand.

In the first half of 2024, Casarte refrigerators and drum washing machines accounted for 39.5% and 82.3% of the market share of more than 10,000, and the air conditioner accounted for 32% of the market share of more than 15,000.

The high-end road of Casarte has also driven the overall performance of the entire Haier Group.

Data from Euromonitor International, a world-renowned research institution, shows that Haier was the first in the global retail volume of large household appliances in 2023, which is the 15th time Haier has won the first place in the world.

The courage to choose the path that predecessors have never taken and the courage to persist is one of the most respectable characteristics of Haier.

It is difficult to delve into the brand and high-end, and because of choosing the most difficult path, it has achieved the highest efficiency and the best results.

Because history will prove that you have become a friend of time because of your persistence.

Global localization: winning the world stage in the end, what is the key?

Compared with many companies, the biggest characteristic of Haier is "born global".

In 1990, Haier exported refrigerators to Germany for the first time.

At that time, German customs and commodity inspection bureaus did not believe in Chinese products, and 8,000 Haier refrigerators could not enter Germany.

There was no way, in front of German dealers, Haier asked the inspector to remove the trademarks of all brands of refrigerators on the German market and Haier refrigerators, and put them together for inspection.

The inspection results showed that Haier refrigerators obtained the most "+", even more than a few "+" than Haier's teacher Liebherr.

This time, German dealers were convinced and signed a purchase contract for 20,000 products on the spot.

It must be admitted that at that time, although Haier's products were of high quality, they were not high-end at the time.

However, taking the first step bravely and feeling the fierce competition of the international market is enough.

Looking at the timeline, the overall export of Chinese home appliances is divided into three stages.

The first stage is the era of product export.

As long as it goes abroad and allows the foreign market to contact, it is a success.

The second stage is the era of brand export.

Not only do you have to go to the mainstream market, but you can also establish a brand in the mainstream market, which is a big challenge.

Haier firmly believes that playing chess with the best can quickly narrow the gap with developed country companies and better create a brand globally.

Haier's road to globalization also started from the most difficult European and American markets.

The famous Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko said: difficulties cannot be calculated.

Not only do you have to let them see what is going to happen, but also see this era clearly.

This sentence is also very appropriate for Haier's road to globalization.

Looking back today, we see the flowers after success, but the difficulties at that time were indeed incalculable.

For example, the "acquisition" and "counter-acquisition" between Haier and General Electric in the United States, this reversal spanning more than 20 years, is all about the sword and shadow of independent branding.

In Haier's journey to globalization, they think the most important thing is not market expansion, but choosing a quality growth strategy, always achieving a positive cycle and feedback in the market.

In the early stage of going abroad, Haier proposed "going abroad to create a brand, not to export to create foreign exchange", and tried to squeeze into the mainstream market.

With the continuous advancement of overseas branding, Haier gradually realized that to become a global brand, it must promote globalization with localization, serve globalization with globalization, have its own factories locally, produce its own products, and promote its own brands.

In 1999, Haier established its first overseas industrial park in the United States, thus starting the localization strategy layout of "three-in-one" of research and development, manufacturing, and marketing overseas.

The facts have proved that Haier's decision was correct.

Before the establishment of the factory in the United States, Haier's annual sales in the United States were less than 30 million US dollars.

Due to the promotion of the factory construction project, Haier's annual sales in the United States increased to 250 million US dollars within 3 years, an increase of 8 times.

Since then, Haier has firmly established itself in the global mainstream home appliance market.

The third stage is the era of capability export.

To make the exported brand the mainstream brand and even the high-end brand locally is very difficult but must be achieved.

Now, the success of Haier's "three-in-one" strategy has been imitated by countless companies.

While Haier is creating a brand globally, it also accelerates the construction of the international brand matrix through cross-border mergers and acquisitions, including the United States General Electric Home Appliances, New Zealand Fisher & Paykel, Italy Candy and other brands under its wings.

In 2023, the overseas revenue of Haier Group reached 135.7 billion yuan, accounting for nearly 52%.

In North America, GE Appliances has been the fastest-growing home appliance company in the United States since the merger, and has been the first home appliance company for two consecutive years; in Japan, Haier Smart Home ranks first in the sales of white goods market; in Europe, Haier Smart Home has been the fastest-growing home appliance brand in the local market for 8 consecutive years.This is one of the most pride-inspiring aspects of today's manufacturing in China.

Haier is not only capable of acquiring international brands but also has the ability to empower them through technology and management, making them better and positioning them as high-end in local markets.

This is the overflow of China's manufacturing capabilities.

For instance, Haier innovatively launched the Langjing X11 washing machine, which was released in several European countries in April 2024 and achieved a first sale in France, Germany, and Poland.

It immediately captured 10% of the high-end market share upon its debut, driving the price index to over 130.

In Poland, the price index for washing machines soared to 275, and for washer-dryers, it reached 325.

Since Haier first exported refrigerators to Germany, its journey towards globalization has exceeded a third of a century.

On June 12th this year, Zhou Yunjie, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Haier Group, summarized at the 8th anniversary of GE Appliances joining Haier and the employee meeting, that over the past 40 years since 1984, Haier has created three leading achievements: a globalized enterprise, a world-class brand, and an era-leading corporate culture.

Haier's overseas expansion has actually revealed an important change: China's supply chain has long moved beyond the script of the "world's factory."

Chinese enterprises can also progress towards "Made in China" through independent branding, technological accumulation, and standard-setting, becoming leaders in the global industry.

It can be said that Haier's forty years of brand creation is a condensed history of Chinese enterprises venturing overseas and is also an ongoing history of globalization in business.

Ecological Evolution: Winning in the New Era Thirty years ago, on February 10, 1994, Zhang Ruimin published a New Year's message in the internal publication "Haier People" titled "Haier is the Sea."

From 1984 to the present, Haier has gone through six strategic development stages: at the beginning of its venture, Haier insisted on implementing a "famous brand strategy" with high-quality products; then it replicated the success of refrigerators to other home appliance categories such as washing machines, air conditioners, and water heaters, successfully practicing a "diversification strategy"; to better serve the world, it introduced "internationalization strategy" and "global brand strategy"; with the advent of the internet and the Internet of Things, Haier formulated "network strategy" and "ecological brand strategy."

Haier's exploration has never ceased.

From forests to rainforests, today's Haier focuses on the real economy, lays out three major sectors: smart living, big health, and industrial internet, and innovates for users, continuously expanding the boundaries of the enterprise in the creation of ecosystems.

If Haier Smart Home has created an excellent life experience for C-end users, the Kaos created by Haier in 2017 is an industrial internet platform with mass customization at its core, providing enterprises, industrial parks, and cities with help in achieving digital transformation efficiently and at low cost, catching the express train of the fourth industrial revolution.

Kaos has also become a cutting-edge brand of Haier in the field of industrial internet.

In the field of big health, Haier's Yin Kang Life, which has been deeply involved in life sciences, clinical medicine, and biotechnology, has already had three listed companies: Haier Bio (688139.SH), Shanghai Racer (002252.SZ), and Yin Kang Life (300143.SZ).

Haier's forty years of entrepreneurship are also forty years of brand creation, allowing more and more Chinese enterprises to see the opportunities from manufacturing to brand export.

As globalization deepens, more and more enterprises are looking to Haier, a leader, for the secrets to enhance brand value.

Zhang Ruimin said that the development history of Haier is a history of entrepreneurship and innovation.

In fact, the development history of Haier is not only a benchmark case of Chinese brands becoming world brands but also a leap from Chinese manufacturing to Chinese creation and a microcosm of the unceasing spark of Chinese enterprises venturing overseas.