This is still only a first figure to be confirmed, but at Hisense, it makes a lot of noise. Internally, the Chinese company was delighted, at the start of the year, to have risen for the first time to the rank of the world’s leading television manufacturer in December 2022, with 2.3 million pieces sold, according to Chinese market research firm AVC Revo.
Admittedly, victory is fragile. The Chinese group, already dominant in its domestic market, only climbed to the top step of the podium during the month of December, and solely for the volume produced. An increase driven in part by the holding of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar (November 20-December 18), which Hisense, as one of the main sponsors, took advantage of to continue to improve its notoriety.
Over the whole of 2022, Samsung remains by far the world’s leading manufacturer, with nearly 20% market share (still in volume). Still, Hisense’s breakthrough looks solid. Before the AVC Revo report, another, written by the British firm OMDIA (which refers), had already established that, for the first time, the Chinese brand had risen to second place in the world in the first nine months of the year 2022. And the growth in its deliveries (+12%) contrasts with a sluggish market, down nearly 6% in 2022.
Low prices and brand takeovers
The case of Hisense is reminiscent of that of the Chinese Huawei in telephony, leader in his country before going abroad. While US tech sanctions have shattered the ambitions of the telecommunications giant, briefly champion of the smartphone market, they have not affected those of Hisense, which in recent months has managed to generate the majority of its revenue outside China. not only in the television sector, but also in the large and small household appliance sector.
“If we have succeeded in becoming a leader in China, there is no reason why we cannot do so in other areas”, wants to believe Rémy Journé, vice-president of Hisense France. To achieve this, the company has bet on lower prices than its direct competitors, but also on the acquisition of brands to promote its local presence. It is notably the depositary of the Japanese Toshiba’s televisions division for Asia, of the Slovenian Gorenje in Europe, and for a time took over the Japanese Sharp’s license in America.
These operations also enabled it to get its hands on production capacities in these different markets. The Chinese company thus has a factory in Mexico and is established in Slovenia to supply the European market with household appliances, but also with televisions, following the creation of a new factory there. This allows it to secure its supply chain and control its costs. According to the latest available results, covering the year 2021, Hisense generated 27 billion dollars (25.2 billion euros) in turnover.
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