Haier, China’s largest domestic appliance maker, and Fisher & Paykel (F&P), the premium appliance manufacturer, are exploring opportunities to cross market their products in the United States.
The move would extend a strategic partnership formed last May when Haier purchased a 20 percent stake in the New Zealand manufacturer and added its chief financial officer and chief marketing officer to F&P’s board.
The two companies are sharing product development, manufacturing and market resources to reduce production and procurement costs.
Haier is presently producing select products under the Fisher & Paykel brand, and the partners are looking to expand the assortment.
The deal also gives Haier exclusive rights to market and distribute Fisher & Paykel products in China, while F&P will distribute Haier-manufactured and branded products in New Zealand.
According to a Fisher & Paykel spokesperson, the companies are also exploring opportunities to market and sell each other’s products in the U.S.A.
The deal will also help the New Zealand manufacturer contain production costs amid the global recession, which has taken a steep toll on appliance sales across the industry.
“This partnership gives us a unique opportunity to fully globalize Fisher & Paykel Appliances and really drive our global expansion into parts of the world that had been previously been very difficult for us to penetrate,” said Mike Goadby, president of Fisher & Paykel North America. “Our companies will work together toward remaining global leaders in the development, production and marketing of innovative home appliances.”
This on top of the news the on Monday last week that the F&P chairman, John Bongard, will retire at the end of 2009.
John Bongard is leaving the company for medical reasons, a Fisher & Paykel Appliances spokesperson said.
Earlier on Monday, Bongard told the company’s annual meeting the company was within NZ$1 million of hitting its target for a full-year normalised net profit of NZ$32.8 million ($22.2 million).
Shares in Fisher and Paykel Appliances lost 5 cents to NZ$0.80. So far this year the stock has fallen nearly 10 percent compared with a 14 percent gain for the benchmark NZSX-50 index .NZ50.
The company’s debt reduction programme was ahead of schedule, chairman Gary Paykel told the meeting, as it looks to paydown a total of NZ$575 million ($388 million) in debt.
A weaker North American market was being balanced by better sales in other countries and better-than-expected earnings from its consumer finance business, the company said.