Hisense relaunched brand in SA

"We are proud to officially relaunch the brand to the South African market and look forward to seeing local consumers' reactions to the products are in many millions of households worldwide," says Irad Yuval, marketing director: Hisense South Africa.

As a global top 10 player, the company has grown into a multibillion dollar global conglomerate and is recognized as a world leading provider of flat panel TVs, household appliances and telecommunications.

R&D critical

With innovation top of mind, the company has dedicated a research institute to assist with its product growth. The institute consists of a multimedia research lab, post-doctoral workstation, medical imaging research centre and a centre for exchanging ideas between academics and technicians. This innovation has resulted in the brand developing China's first proprietary digital video processing chip- the Hi-view; the first LCD TV module production line; being the first in China to tap into the LED, one of the first three in the world.

It has also assisted in resolving the Chinese transportation issues where it tackled the technological difficulties behind an intelligent transportation control system and developed an adaptive traffic signal control system, HiCon, which meets seven national standards. It used this transformation system during the Beijing Olympics very effectively.

Brand joint ventures

To ensure consistency in producing the best in technology, the company has formed joint ventures with top global brands, including Hitachi for the production and marketing of commercial and residential air-conditioning systems; Whirlpool for the production of world-class, innovative refrigerators and washing machines; IBM, for information technology solutions; and AMD, microprocessor and graphic solutions provider to optimize digital home electronics hardware and software platforms.

"Our developments at our institutions and head plant in China have a mirror effect on local subsidiaries, including South Africa," says Yuval. "This is evident to our efforts in rolling out national service centres where we have brought the best skilled technicians from China to the South African market to assist with customer service and product support."

CSR established

To show its loyalty to the South African market, it has taken up a strong role in social responsibility with a key focus on providing funds and technology to local schools and charities, encouraging partnerships with retail chain distributors to do the same. It established the Hisense Excellency Scholarship aimed at providing funds for tuition fees to less fortunate high school scholars.

In February 2011, it became the world's first corporate partner of the UNEP (United National Environment Programme) SEED Award. The company has committed to the award for the next three years, which was founded at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002. The Award creates global partnerships for sustainable development and the green economy, and supports innovative small- and medium-sized entrepreneurships around the globe that integrate environmental benefits into their model.

"The company looks forward to continued growth within South Africa, all the while retaining and impressing both new and established consumers. We believe that this is the dawn of a new era in the South African consumer technology space and we are excited to see the brand soar," concludes Jerry Liu, GM, Hisense South Africa.