Hisense looks to increase overseas TV revenues

Hisense Co Ltd, China's largest TV maker by market share, is looking to increase its overseas revenues over the next three years, to account for 50 percent of total TV sales from the current 30 percent, with an emphasis on the United States.

Zhou Houjian, its chairman, and a deputy of the 12th National People's Congress, said its TV sales revenue in the US is expected to grow from less than $600 million in 2012 to $700 million this year.

To better target the US market, the Qingdao-headquartered company plans to increase production at its joint venture in Mexico, which currently has an annual production capacity of between 300,000 and 500,000 TV sets.

"If we can establish ourselves in both the Chinese and US markets, we can then establish ourselves in other markets around the world," Zhou said, adding that its US products will focus on providing a top quality product at a reasonable price.

"The US market is the most open in the world, and consumers demand products with the highest price-performance ratio."

Hisense reported total sales revenue of 81 billion yuan ($13 billion) in 2012, a year-on-year growth of 13.2 percent. Net profit was 5.2 billion yuan, a 21.8 increase on the previous year.

According to data from China Market Monitor, which specializes in China's home appliance market, Hisense currently has a 16.35 percent share of China's LCD TV market, and has been the top seller for nine consecutive years.

Zhou said he was confident of holding onto that title for a 10th year, but that Hisense's current global rank of fifth or sixth, in terms of overall TV sales, does not match its domestic status.

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