The Chinese company Hisense International Marketing Co. Ltd., plans to set up a white goods factory in Saudi Arabia in cooperation with Zagzoog, chaired by Mohammad Zagzoog, according to John Huang, vice general manager, (home appliances), Hisense International Marketing Co. Ltd., of Foshan, in Guangdong, China. Huang, who is in charge of all Hisense products for white goods in the overseas markets, told Saudi Gazette in an interview on Tuesday that discussions have been held on setting up a manufacturing plant in the Kingdom probably in Jeddah. Initially, the factory will manufacture refrigerators, followed later by TVs. Asked when the project would come about, and how long it will take to complete, he said, it might start next year and probably complete in about 18 months from that time. According to Huang it will be a big plant. “Not only for Saudi Arabia but for the whole Middle East,” he added. He explained that white goods include refrigerators, washing machines, air-conditioners, (home and commercial) dehumidifiers. Huang, who was on his first visit to Saudi Arabia, said Hisense's future is overseas market. “There is lot of potential. Hisense is number one in LCD TV, and number two in white goods in China market. We are quite strong because Hisense focuses on innovation, technology, and end-use,” he added. He said that earlier, Chinese manufacturers focused on domestic market, “now we are more international. We take our brand image very seriously, mainly in the Middle East where Saudi Arabia is our main market.” “We are working with our partner Zagzoog for Home Appliances (ZAH) to launch Hisense brands for TV, refrigerators and air-conditioners. We have more opportunity to launch all these products in the Kingdom. In China we are the only manufacturer to produce the LED TV, a new technology-product in the Chinese market. We are very successful and export to the United States, Europe, and now the Middle East, especially Saudi Arabia.” He said that Hisense recorded export revenue of about $1.4 billion last year. “This year we have sold a lot more TVs, despite the financial crisis because our product is very competitive. This year our TV sales revenue increased by 45 percent. As for white goods, we have broken even, which is very good in this crisis,” he added. He said China had a very good year this year - registering 84 percent increase in GDP. “Also our company's total revenue increased by 10 percent, and next year we expect much better. The economy has recovered in some areas, in other areas it is uncertain and recovering now,” he added. As for Saudi Arabia, he said that even though Hisense entered the Saudi market just a couple of years ago, “we did a very good job through our partner Zagzoog. Sales for 2009 amounted to $10 million, and we expect to more than double this next year. We have discussed the marketing plan, new products, and strategy comprehensively.” He said that Saudi Arabia is not affected a lot by the international financial crisis that started last year. “Saudi Arabia and this company are not affected much. The market is booming. The economic reforms carried out by the Kingdom are timely and wise, and we are confident of better time,” he added. “The Kingdom is a very good market for us. We also plan to train Saudis because we consider this as a very important market for our branding products, and as a corporate social responsibility. We have our own people here dealing with our partners as well as Saudis who work with them in marketing promotion. Zagzoog is a very good company extending good cooperation and support. This will increase as we are planning to launch a lot more products, and we have arranged with our dealers here to go to China,” he added. Last month Hisense celebrated its 40 anniversary, which was attended by top Zagzoog executives, who also visited Hisense factory there. Huang, who has extensive experience with Hisense, but has been associated with Zagzoog since 2004, said he has witnessed big improvement since then. “From just white goods, now we also have TVs. The main products are flat TVs, refrigerators, freezers, chest freezers, and air-conditioners,” he added. Asked about competitors, he said “we have some, but we do not consider them as such. We hope to achieve much together with Zagzoog.” Hisense has a factory in Egypt. “We established a plant there to serve the North Africa market. We take our brand very seriously so we look forward to very good results in future,” he added Hussain A. Khoj, business development coordinator, and LCD product manager, ZHA, said the Zagzoog company is planning and considering making a factory for white goods of Hisense in the Saudi market, which will give us an advantage of making a local product, create jobs for Saudis and make products available at a cheaper price. Khoj, an electrical engineer, who graduated from the US three years ago where he went on an Aramco scholarship, worked for Aramco for a couple of years, and then joined Zagzoog about a year ago. He explained that Hisense is a new brand in the Saudi market and the cooperation between Hisense and Zagzoog will pay off very soon with good results. “We hope this cooperation will lead to a brighter future for both companies,” he added. Khoj, who is right now brand manager for LCD of Hisense in ZHA and also a sales manager for Riyadh, Dammam and Al-Hasa, said the Saudi market is full of all kinds of products from different countries. “One of the most distinguished brands that are available now in the Saudi market are the Chinese brands,” he said, and added “there is something that distinguishes Hisense from the other brands. The reason is they have a long-term vision. They are aiming for something. They have a goal to reach a certain position in a few years, unlike some other Chinese brands that are only looking for current sales and they don't have a long-term vision.” Another thing that distinguishes Hisense from other brands is the quality and features that the products have than other companies.” Asked about competition, he said every company and product has a competitor. “We take all into consideration, however, we have our own strategy and own goal that hopefully we will reach regardless of the competition,” he added. About market share, he said for Hisense it is difficult to say because it is a new company for ZAH. “We are holding a good share right now and are aiming for a bigger one in the near future,” he added. Khoj said that Zagzoog is a very well-known company, probably one of the oldest in the Saudi market, and has been always a leader, distinguished for its quality and reputation. “It has bright future. It represents other companies as well - such as Whirlpool, the American brand, General air-conditioners, probably the number one air-conditioner in the Kingdom in terms of reputation, they are also dealers for Glem Gas cookers, which are the first in the Saudi market, with no competitors. So right now, we start dealing with Hisense which will join the other leading companies in the Saudi market,” he added.
