By James Wells
SYDNEY: Haier Electronics officially announced this afternoon it has added Narta as its third retail partner, following existing distribution agreements with Retravision and more recently Harvey Norman.
The agreement provides Haier with distribution through Narta members including Bing Lee in New South Wales, Clive Anthonys in Queensland, Warehouse Sales in Victoria and the publicly-listed member Clive Peeters which owns Rick Hart in Western Australia.
Haier expects to become a top three ranked appliance brand in the Australian market and believes brands such as Electrolux Home Products, Fisher & Paykel, Samsung and LG are the only companies which can prevent it from reaching its goal.
In a press release issued today, Haier management said it has been targeting key members of the larges independent electrical buying group in specific states to sell its range of Chinese-made whitegoods and to develop the company’s strategic planning initiatives.
"Being a preferred national supplier for Narta increases distribution significantly for the Haier brand," said Haier general manager Alan Delzoppo.
"As the third major distribution channel in Australia for Haier, we welcome the opportunity to work with the larger independent retailers and are looking forward to working one-on-one with Narta’s member base."
"Increasing our distribution channel with Narta, will only strengthen our long-term development program and enhance our commitment to the Australian market place,” Delzoppo said.
"When we considered the emerging force of sourcing from China, we identified Haier as the supplier with the most strength, the best technology and the highest profile in its market as a brand image and product," said Narta managing director Kay Spencer in a prepared statement.
"The fact Haier has the capacity to source all of its products direct from the factory gives the company a great advantage in the marketplace," Spencer said.
In her statement, Spencer also noted Haier’s recent investments in expanding its business in Australia.
"Haier has invested quite a lot lately in its management and infrastructure and executive director, Karl Qin, has been strengthening the local team to gear the company to become a long-term player in the marketplace," Spencer said.
"They also invest significantly in research and development."
Haier’s whitegoods range includes dishwashers and refrigerators, washing machines, bar refrigerators, freezers and wine chillers.
The company is considering a launch into small appliances, commercial refrigeration, LCD televisions, microwave ovens, air conditioning and mobile phones.