Chinese smart home appliances improve user experience for overseas consumers

Yannick Fierling, CEO of Haier Europe, introduces Haier smart home appliances at the Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin in September, 2020. (People's Daily/Li Qiang)

Many Europeans love taking a sip of the wines from the collection in their cabinets when they get home. Now such experience is made smarter by an intelligent wine cabinet co-produced by renowned Chinese home appliance manufacturer Haier and the world's largest online wine dealer Vivino.

The cabinet, which was exhibited at the Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin last year together with many other new home appliances and solutions, is able to recognize over 1,000 wine brands, as well as the years and locations of production. It can also be connected to a Haier phone application through which users can buy and manage wines.

The open ecosystem built by Haier has enabled interaction between appliances and users, said Yannick Fierling, CEO of Haier Europe.

Smart home appliances emerged in recent year with the thriving technologies of internet of things, cloud computing and AI, and the COVID-19 pandemic further raised European users' requirements on the health-friendliness and intelligence of home appliances.

Last June, Haier Europe launched a smart home application on which users can manage home appliances manufactured by Haier and its subsidiary brands. The application also offers immersive interaction solutions and has received two million users.

Fierling told People's Daily that Haier's business maintained rapid growth in Europe despite of the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the sales of high-end home appliances increased 20 percent to 30 percent from 2019, the highest in the industry in Europe.

Apart from building smart ecosystems on the continent, Haier is also working to expand its overseas production capacity. It is reported that a refrigeration production facility of Haier Europe will be put into operation this June in Romania. The plant, with an investment of more than 70 million euros ($85.7 million), employs over 30 robots and is able to produce a million sets of refrigerators on a yearly basis.

Alessia Ianni, Cooling Technical Operation Director at Haier Europe and Managing Director at Haier Tech Romania noted that the plant will play a pivotal role in Haier's smart home strategy in Europe for its strong capabilities in production, technological transformation and logistics, helping the manufacturer become one of the industrial leaders.

Relying on its solid strength of R&D, production and brand effect, Haier is gaining an increasingly larger influence among European consumers. In recent years, the Chinese manufacturer has won multiple European awards, including the Red Dot Design Award and the Industry 4.0 Award.

Last September, Haier was rated the Shooting Star of the Year in the Customer Recommendation 2020 by German media outlet Handelsblatt, for its brand performance in five assessment dimensions such as general impression, quality, customer satisfaction, value for money and employer image.

Being green, intelligent and sophisticated, "made-in-China" products have reinforced technologies, improved quality and made their names. They are recognized and welcomed by more and more overseas consumers.

Acquiring advanced technologies in core areas and striving to become global industrial leaders, Chinese brands are gaining a firm foothold in the international market.