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Monday 3 april 2017 BUSINESS
A24
Haier Group boss Zhang looks far beyond appliances
JOE McDONALD from web-linked washing Group, Jack Ma, an-
AP Business Writer machines to food delivery. nounced plans in 2013 to
QINGDAO, China (AP) — To do that, Zhang has bro- split it into 25 divisions to
After Haier Group bought ken up Haier into a “net- revive the innovative spirit
the General Electric Co. worked company” of hun- of its startup days. After
appliance unit last year, dreds of independent busi- buying Volvo Cars in 2012,
the Chinese company’s ness units with orders to automaker Geely Hold-
chairman says he gave its act like customer-focused ings left Swedish managers
American managers un- startups. He says GE Appli- to run the company while
usual orders: Ignore me. ances will be given almost they also cooperate on
Zhang Ruimin built Haier total autonomy. developing cars its Chinese
from a failing refrigera- “One of their senior man- brands might export.
tor factory in the 1980s agers asked, how are you Companies that grew rap-
into the biggest maker of going to control us?” said idly during China’s boom
major appliances. Now, Zhang in an interview at of the past decade also
he is trying to transform a Haier headquarters in this are spending heavily to
traditional manufacturer eastern Chinese city. “I invent or buy technology
with 60,000 employees in Haier CEO Zhang Ruimin speaks during an interview at the com- said, I’m not your boss. I’m to improve their competi-
25 countries into a nimble, pany’s headquarters in Qingdao in eastern China’s Shandong not your leader. The leader tive edge as the economy
Province. Zhang built Haier from a failing refrigerator factory in
Internet Age seller of con- the 1980s into the biggest maker of major appliances. is one person: The user.” cools. Midea Group, an-
sumer goods and services (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) Zhang, who at 68 is still on other Chinese appliance
the job a decade after maker, bought one of the
many Chinese CEOs have leading makers of industrial
retired, is leading Haier robots, Germany’s Kuka,
through radical changes to last year. Haier’s tie-up
compete in a fast-evolving with GE Appliances should
global market — changes help both companies, said
that now include GE Ap- Dinesh Kithany, the chief
pliances and its 12,000 em- appliance industry analyst
ployees, most of them in for IHS Markit. Haier gets
the United States. GE technology while the
Haier’s approach is a high- American brand gets ac-
profile example of a wave cess to Haier’s distribution
of management experi- network to expand its glob-
ments by Chinese compa- al presence and can learn
nies as they expand into from faster-paced Chinese
global markets. product development.
The founder of e-com-
merce giant Alibaba Continued on Page 27
