Share

Hisense promises latest tech, no dumping

Cape Town - Hisense has promised South Africans that it will not dump technology in the country as it fights for a bigger share of the local appliance market.

The Chinese-based company is moving ahead with an aggressive strategy to take market share of TVs and fridges with a factory in Atlantis, outside Cape Town.

But the company insisted that it would not engage in tech dumping - a practice that some firms use to boost profits at the expense of mainly developing countries.

"We've standardised our product range globally, so what you'll find in the US today is what we're actually selling here," Ebrahim Khan, deputy GM Hisense South Africa told Fin24 at the factory that employs some 500 local people.

He said that the decision to offer latest models resulted in business efficiency.

Competition

"From a supply chain point of view, if you look at the global HQ, in order for you to optimise your efficiencies, you need to have more standardisation than too much diversification.

"In order for us to deliver these price points in the market, at this quality standard, we need to optimise supply chain and standardisation of models."

In the past, some companies engaged in tech dumping in SA. When people were migrating from VCR machines to DVD players, there was a period of selling VHS and DVD combo units in the country while, in Europe, hard drive recorders were already on sale.


Workers assemble TVs at the Hisense factory in Atlantis, near Cape Town. (Duncan Alfreds, Fin24)

As companies compete heavily to be first to offer markets with the latest technology, Hisense is driving its growth in SA as a springboard into the rest of Africa.

"Whenever HQ decides that there’s going to be a new model range that's going to be released globally, we bring that new model range immediately to be manufactured in South Africa," said Khan.

In addition to the South African workers at the plant, which can produce over 1 000 TVs a day, there are a number of Chinese employees to oversee the manufacturing process.

Khan cautioned though, that the company's success in China could not be copied to SA as the market and environment was unique.

Strategy

"Different markets were at different growth phases; we can’t act the way they do in China, and copy and paste that model in South Africa. We have to treat each market differently and, to a certain extent, Samsung is by far the leader in South Africa," Khan added.

"We are competing for their market, and when it comes to bringing innovation into the market, we have curve TVs already selling in China.

"We're using a different strategy in South Africa from a brand awareness point of view and positioning the brand in the market," said Khan.

Watch a video of local TV production at the factory:




- Follow Duncan on Twitter
We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.88
+0.3%
Rand - Pound
23.86
+0.2%
Rand - Euro
20.37
+0.3%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.32
+0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.12
+0.2%
Platinum
908.05
0.0%
Palladium
1,014.94
0.0%
Gold
2,232.75
-0.0%
Silver
24.95
-0.1%
Brent Crude
87.00
+1.8%
Top 40
68,346
0.0%
All Share
74,536
0.0%
Resource 10
57,251
0.0%
Industrial 25
103,936
0.0%
Financial 15
16,502
0.0%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders