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Haier’s Chinese parent company has announced that it will taking the Haier air conditioning business off distributors and licensees in Australia and New Zealand and folding it into the company’s existing Fisher & Paykel subsidiary.
This move will cover both the residential and commercial air conditioning markets, with the first release to be a fresh batch of reverse cycle Hi-Wall split systems. Product releases and ongoing business management will be overseen by Tony Hirst, the air conditioning national sales manager for the Haier brand, who will have a dedicated sales team.
“Our decision to restructure the distribution of our air conditioning business has allowed us to independently assess the market and how our product range and support processes fit with current and future demand,” Hirst said. “As a result, we will be upgrading the existing product range available in the Australian market and expanding into commercial and industrial categories to offer a complete, feature-packed and competitively priced new range.
“The first step is to introduce a new Hi-Wall Split System range which will include an upgraded ‘Classic Series’, previously known as the ‘EG Series’, and two additional ranges, the ‘Premier series’ and the ‘Elite series’, offering greater energy efficiency and a larger feature set.
“We’re excited to be able to offer a complete air conditioning solution for our trade partners with increased feature benefits to cater to different customer needs and an established support network to back it up.”
Hirst said that with this new integration, the new air conditioning ranges can be promoted under Haier’s ‘Everyday’ masterbrand, which has activations in print, outdoor and social media. This is just one advantage of this move, according to Hirst.
“Integration of logistics, sales support and customer care across our brands means Haier can offer a comprehensive end-to-end solution that enables both our trade partners and consumers to always deal directly with the company.”