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Hi everyone, any of you know what these products are like or who are they made by ?, i had a flyer from a wholesaler promoting haier washing machines fridges & freezers they all have seem to have a 3 yr parts & labour warranty and the 1000spin washing machine retails at £200. Seems too good to be true !
Re: Haier products
unbelievable appliances, the washing machines bearings are litterally failing on the first use!, and then BER strait away. I thought hotpoint wma were bad, used to service them strait out of the shop!.
Treat yourself and spend a bit more on a Bosch.Re: Haier products
GPservice wrote:i had a flyer from a wholesaler promoting haier washing machines fridges & freezers they all have seem to have a 3 yr parts & labour warranty and the 1000spin washing machine retails at £200. Seems too good to be true !
Hi GPThat old nugget of “if a deal seems to good to be ……………………” comes to mind 😉
Just curious, which wholesaler has them this time? Seems they are doingn the rounds. DAD at Gloucester were the first to have them about four years ago.
DonRe: Haier products
Hi Don, Inmans in sheffield are distributing them hows Exeter today Plymouths in the sun for a change!. regards Geoff
Re: Haier products
From the Wall Street Journal four days ago…
Chinese refrigerator company finds U.S. chilly
While Western companies cast a covetous eye at China’s huge consumer population, Zhang Ruimin, the chief executive of one of China’s largest appliance makers, was ogling the U.S. His plan: Build a $2,000 refrigerator in America to capture a bigger slice of the U.S. market.
Zhang’s strategy brought Haier Group closer to its potential customers and avoided the cost of shipping appliances from China. But since it was introduced last year, the new high-end refrigerator has received a cool reception.
Tom Torgerson, senior buyer at ABC Appliances, says his chain of more than 40 Midwestern stores sold only about 50 of the Haier convertible fridges in the first few months of the product’s launch last year. “Haier’s name recognition is small,” he says.
One of China’s biggest consumer brands, Haier makes more than twice the number of refrigerators in a year made by Whirlpool Corp. Even though it is the leading seller of compact fridges used in dorm rooms, it is still a mere pipsqueak in the $40 billion U.S. market, where it has sold mostly lower-cost appliances.
Growth overseas is crucial for Haier because profit margins from the company’s core products in China — refrigerators and washing machines — are razor-thin from increasing foreign competition.
But Haier’s U.S. ambitions have run up against hurdles. The new refrigerator, which allows consumers to set specific temperatures for individual compartments, was designed and built at Haier’s Camden factory, at 10 times what it would cost the company to make in China.
The downturn in the U.S. economy crimped consumer demand just as the company’s most-expensive U.S.-made products came on the market.
At the same time, Haier’s rigid, top-down management structure fell flat with American workers accustomed to a less-authoritarian style.
Despite the country’s growing economic power and strong endorsements by China’s government in the form of tax subsidies, many of China’s leading companies have struggled on the international stage.
Few Chinese companies are global household names. None was on a list of the top 100 global brands compiled in 2007 by Interbrand, a consulting firm.
Zhang, one of China’s best-known businessmen, has led Haier for more than two decades. He developed a management system of strict discipline, with a strong emphasis on quality control.
Workers in China who make mistakes must stand on a set of footprints outlined on the floor and publicly criticize themselves out loud, explaining why they erred and the lessons learned.
Haier started business in the U.S. more than a decade ago, targeting small products that can be cheaply shipped from China. Haier is the top seller of compact refrigerators in the U.S.
But Zhang wanted to get Haier products into major retailers such as Sears and Lowe’s, where the Haier brand still has no major presence. To do that, Haier needed to produce higher-end products — typically larger-size appliances that couldn’t be as easily brought in from China.
Haier built a large plant in Camden, a town once full of textile mills that had been shuttered because of low-cost competition from China and elsewhere.
But Haier’s hierarchical culture has been a tough fit with U.S. workers.
They rebelled against being forced to stand in the footprints when they made mistakes. Haier’s Chinese management has tried to adjust. Instead of humiliating bad workers, they now encourage the best ones to stand in the footprints for recognition.
Haier does have some competitive advantages. With its large scale, making 8 million units a year worldwide, it can negotiate cheaper prices for parts. Ed Wuesthoff, the Camden plant manager, estimates the company gets volume discounts of 3 percent to 5 percent on steel and plastic orders.
According to company executives, overseas sales, including exports, have risen to one-fourth of total revenue, compared with about 10 percent five years ago.
But Haier’s U.S. factory is still running at a loss. Having higher-cost overseas operations to manage has weighed on profit growth. According to unaudited figures from China’s Ministry of Information, Haier’s 2006 gross profit was $20.3 million, a 32 percent drop compared with four years ago.
Haier’s head of its U.S. division, Michael Jemal, acknowledged the economic downturn has hurt business but said in an e-mail that U.S. sales have increased year-to-year in all areas.
Torgerson, ABC Appliances’ chief buyer, likes Haier’s quality and pricing. Haier’s washing machine without an agitator — which makes for larger loads and gentler washing — is 40 percent cheaper than a similar Whirlpool model. But with the slump in the housing market, Haier’s “timing is tough,” says Torgerson.
Me, I can live without the hassles thanks. 😉
K.
Re: Haier products
GPservice wrote:Hi Don, Inmans in sheffield are distributing them
They are more than welcome to them 😆 , we don`t do much with Inmans these days as they are not as competitive as they used to be 😉
GPservice wrote:
hows Exeter today Plymouths in the sun for a change!.Overcast but dry today thanks Geoff. Whereabouts in Plymouth are you?
Don
Re: Haier products
Great article K it made good reading.
kwatt wrote:
Workers in China who make mistakes must stand on a set of footprints outlined on the floor and publicly criticize themselves out loud, explaining why they erred and the lessons learned.
Some of the manufacturers from “swindling” thread should be made to do this 😆
kwatt wrote:
Haier built a large plant in Camden, a town once full of textile mills that had been shuttered because of low-cost competition from China and elsewhere.K.
And therein lies a lot of the problems we are now experiencing here in the UK :rolls:Don
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Thanks for the info K, this site is very good nice to be able to chat and share knowledge
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Would not have one as a gift !!! They have problems with bearings / motors and pcb………oh but the doors seems ok LOL 😈
LANDFILL!!!
nothing more, nothing less
the recent calamity, other than the naff motors that blow up as soon as you press the start button, is the fact that quite a few of them dont actually have bearing seals fitted, and the bearings are lasting around 6 weeks…. and they are NOT nice to fix
and we thought hotpoint were poor..
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they also have a very sensitive out of balance detection, couldnt even get 1 to spin with a chelsea footy shirt in it lol smartin
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smartin wrote: couldnt even get 1 to spin with a chelsea footy shirt in it
Perhaps it was Ashley’s and you put it in back to front, 😉 😆
Jim.
Re: Haier products
The washing machine motors aren’t too clever either, the brush holders melt on the welling motors after a couple of washes and then stop displaying Err7. The motor is of similar design to the old Ariston Margarita.
I have got a list of fault codes for these Haier washers should anyone need them 😉
The cabinet is similar to the old Aristons but the tub is like a GIAS thing….
Regards
Steve
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