Interview: German company ready to tap into Chinese market with tailored products

HAIKOU, April 15 (Xinhua) -- German cleaning company Karcher, a first-time exhibitor at the China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE), is ready to seize huge opportunities in the Chinese consumer market by satisfying diversified consumer demands.

"We paid close attention to the expo in the past two years. The success of the event has shown China's determination and confidence in opening up to the world and great consumption potential in the Chinese market," Tang Xiaodong, head of Karcher China, told Xinhua in an interview during the third CICPE held in Haikou, capital city of south China's Hainan Province.

With high expectations for this year's expo, the company expects to enhance brand awareness, cooperate with more business partners, and gain a better insight into Chinese consumers.

As one of the global-leading companies in cleaning, Karcher has offered over 3,000 products to enterprises and families around the world in various fields, such as home and garden cleaning, company and hotel cleaning, and environmental protection.

"Driven by consumption upgrade and the emergence of new business forms in consumption, Chinese consumers have put forward higher requirements in housing environment and home cleaning," Tang said, noting a growing demand for deep cleaning and green, safe, and pollution-free life.

To meet the needs of families, the company has launched a multi-functional household steam cleaner at this year's expo and a foldable outdoor cleaner targeting young people who love outdoor activities, such as camping, jogging, and cycling.

"It is easy for people to take it out and use it to wash cars, tents, bicycles, and toys as needed," said Zheng Qian, head of products of Karcher China, highlighting the design of the foldable bucket, which can be filled with eight liters of water.

"We would like to develop new products tailored for niche markets in China with sufficient opportunities," Zheng said, noting that the company is developing a lightweight vacuum cleaner which is more friendly to female and senior citizen users.

"The Chinese market is changing very fast and consumers' demands are more complex and diverse. Therefore, enterprises should have a better understanding of the market development trend and make timely and positive responses accordingly," Tang said.

Last year, the company invested 100 million yuan (about 14.58 million U.S. dollars) and set up a new global research and development center in east China's Jiangsu Province, aiming to capture the cleaning needs of Chinese consumers and develop more targeted products and solutions.

Taking Hainan as its next focus for investment in China, the company aims to investigate the market on all fronts by participating in this year's CICPE and work out future plans in Hainan and China.

"We are very optimistic about the development of the Hainan Free Trade Port," said Tang, "Its development is at the forefront of China's opening-up, and we can see the future direction of China's growth from Hainan."

The company hopes that the free trade port can strengthen cooperation among more countries and markets and bring more opportunities for business innovations of foreign brands.