By Claire Reilly

Chinese TV manufacturer TCL has today announced a new deal with Harvey Norman that will see the brand’s TVs stocked in roughly 180 Harvey Norman, Domayne and Joyce Mayne stores around the country. These stores will join existing retail stockists, including The Good Guys, Betta Electrical and Retravision, and will allow TCL Electronics Australia to expand its retail presence in the local market by 40 per cent.

The news comes during one of the most active times on the sponsorship calendar for TCL, with the Chinese brand partnering with the Victoria Racing Club (VRC) for the eighth year running, culminating in its sponsorship of the Melbourne Cup tomorrow.

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The agreement with Harvey Norman covers a range of products from TCL, ranging from 19-inch panels up to 55-inch panels. According to the GM of TCL Electronics Australia, Sunny Xiang, the deal will help the brand position itself as an alternative to the “top 4” TV brands in the Australian market.

“We know our panels are highly regarded in the industry and have confidence that our products look good, have leading technology and are priced well, comparing very favourably to the current market leaders,” said Xiang. “Now we will be reaching an even wider market and consumers will have a chance to see this for themselves in many new stores.

“Harvey Norman has shown over many years their ability to educate consumers about new technology and brands. Alongside our other retail partners, it is the perfect platform for TCL and what will be a significant year of growth for us in 2013.”

Another factor in that proposed growth is the recent completion of a new-generation panel manufacturing facility in Shenzhen, China. The facility was planned to reach full capacity at the end of this year, but is manufacturing at capacity three months ahead of schedule.

“As an organization with its own state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities, we can ensure continuity of supply, quality of product and pricing to our retail partners, all important strengths as retailers look at partnerships with the emerging Chinese companies in the Australian market,” said Xiang.

“We can have a product on-shelf anywhere in Australia only eight weeks after placement of the order, a metric even the current market leaders would find hard to match.”

Global TCL president Thomson Li (far right) joins regional executives from Samsung and the Shenzhen Municipal Government to celebrate TCL’s panel-manufacturing plant reaching full capacity in October. Samsung is a part investor in the factory, which is set to manufacture 15 million panels in 2013.