According to the Daily News Agency, Qingdao, a coastal city in China, is renowned not just for its famous beer production but also as a hub for Chinese home appliance manufacturers. In early 2016, Qingdao Haier announced the acquisition of GE's home appliance division in the U.S., while Hisense Group, which is rapidly expanding in the flat-panel TV market with annual sales exceeding 100 billion yuan, is also closing the gap with Japanese home appliance giants in terms of technology.
In late July, I visited Hisense headquarters and R&D base in Qingdao to explore their flagship television business. One of their most notable innovations is the large-screen laser projection TV. Hisense currently holds the largest share of the Chinese flat-panel TV market. While their primary products include OLED and LCD TVs, Chen Weiqiang, Vice President of Hisense Group, mentioned in an interview that the company plans to focus on large-screen laser projection televisions in the future. These TVs project images onto a curtain using lasers, offering a unique viewing experience.
Currently, 55-inch TVs dominate the Chinese market. Hisense will continue to cater to the mainstream market by producing larger-screen TVs. Non-laser TVs, with relatively lower screen prices and easier mass production, remain popular. Hisense's latest laser television models showcase impressive picture quality, comparable to high-precision 4K TVs, while keeping equipment costs down. This aligns with the cost-effective strategies that Chinese manufacturers excel at.
Gao Yuling, head of Hisense's television department, emphasized that LCD and organic EL TVs face technical limitations, whereas laser TVs present significant future potential. Hisense isn't just focusing on the domestic market; they're also advancing their television business in Japan, aiming to spark a laser TV craze there.
The situation with the Sharp TV brand is complicated. After Sharp signed a five-year agreement with Hisense for North American branding starting in 2016, the reporter found Sharp-branded TVs produced by Hisense displayed in the corridors of the Qingdao Hisense R&D center. Following Hon Hai's acquisition of Sharp in 2016, multiple lawsuits were filed in U.S. and other courts demanding the return of Sharp's North American trademark usage rights.
Zhu Xi, Deputy General Manager of Qingdao Hisense International Marketing Co., Ltd., expressed strong dissatisfaction with Sharp's attempt to reclaim the brand usage rights. He noted that Hisense had invested substantial resources and sent elite teams to revitalize the Sharp brand in the U.S., leading to a 47% increase in TV sales in 2017 compared to the previous year, with 4K TVs seeing a 360% growth.
Sharp's unilateral decision to reclaim its North American brand without prior communication with Hisense was seen as a breach of contract and a lack of respect. This incident highlights the challenges faced by Chinese companies as they rise in global markets.
In recent years, Japanese home appliance manufacturers have divested numerous brands and technologies accumulated over decades due to sluggish sales. Meanwhile, Chinese manufacturers like Hisense are stepping up efforts in areas such as semiconductor devices and medical equipment, including surgical assistant systems.
This shift raises questions about Japan's future development strategy. As the era of "cheap but not good" Chinese products fades, Japan must adapt to maintain its competitive edge.
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