EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WE
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WE WILL BE ABLE TO STRENGTHEN OUR MARKET POSITION WORLDWIDE, ENSURE FASTER PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND BETTER PROCUREMENT TERMS AS WELL AS NEW DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS. Franjo Bobinac President of the Management Board, Gorenje Group Gorenje's partnership with Hisense will bring mutual growth Gorenje Group is currently undergoing a major transition – it is as we speak becoming a part of Hisense Group Gorenje Group’s strategic guidelines have been constantly driving towards exploring potential strategic alliances. In 2017, the company started to actively pursue strategic partnership opportunities. We asked Franjo Bobinac, President of the Management Board at Gorenje Group to give an update on the process. Over the last years the white goods industry was characterised by globalisation and consolidation. Our aim was to pursue growth of business and economies of scale to guarantee cost competitiveness, strengthen the power of our brands, and of course accelerate product innovation and business digitalisation. Why was the Hisense Group chosen? Five companies from our industry expressed their interest in partnering with us. We invited three of them to take part in the next stage. After a detailed review of the company’s operations, all three interested companies found that Gorenje was a good company and they submitted their respective binding takeover offers. Working with our consultants and some of the major shareholders, we have examined all three offers – all were good and fully met our expectations about providing quality foundations for Gorenje’s development and future growth. We found that the Chinese corporation Hisense submitted the best offer for all shareholders. The process was highly competitive, which proves that Gorenje was of exceptional strategic importance for the largest companies in the industry. The takeover bid that followed was successful, Hisense acquired over 95% of all Gorenje shares. What are your plans after the acquisition? What does it mean for the future of the Gorenje brand? The European Commission has already approved the proposed concentration between Hisense Group and Gorenje Group which is in line with the joint market, so we are already one company. This is good news for the future of Gorenje. Once a part of a larger group with revenues of close to €13 billion, we will be able to strengthen our market position worldwide, ensure faster product development and better procurement terms as well as new distribution channels. Hisense’s plans for Gorenje are bold. We are to become the development and production hub for Hisense Group in Europe. This will bring better utilisation of current and development of future production capacities in Velenje and at other Gorenje Group facilities. Though early for detailed plans, we can already announce our plans to start manufacturing TV sets again, to be sold under the Hisense brand in Europe and overseas. Speaking of development – what are your latest achievements you will be showcasing at IFA 2018? At Gorenje Group we strategically invest over 3% of our annual revenue in the development of new products. At this year’s IFA, we are proudly presenting our superior new generation of Gorenje WaveActive washing machines and tumble dryers which are not only a technological leap forward but have also been awarded with two Red Dot design awards for exceptional design. Smart home is another important theme of Gorenje’s IFA stand as we will be showcasing a Gorenje ConnectLife home corner with smart appliances and guided presentations, showing how users can interact with Gorenje products and services to simplify their daily chores. The Gorenje Group ConnectLife platform features advanced digital consumer services and solutions, suitable for the new range of connected as well as not connected Gorenje appliances across all product categories. We have entered the world of intelligent appliances and artificial intelligence and we will continue developing new solutions and meeting our consumers’ expectations. It’s all about Life Simplified at Gorenje. How does this promise of simplicity relate to the digitalisation trend which is becoming more and more prominent also in the white goods industry? That is true. We are living the motto and creating new products and services with Life Simplified in mind. Our appliances are an inconspicuous assistance to users at everyday chores. We've also implemented a new, refreshed Gorenje product identity Human Simplicity that follows the promise of our brand to simplify lives. Smart appliances and services are a part of that concept too, as we are in transition from home appliance manufacturer to service provider 34
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW The Goal: An Improved Viewing Experience Hans Wienands, Senior Vice President of Hisense Germany, says the company’s sponsorship of the FIFA World Cup has paid dividends for the brand Viewers of this summer’s FIFA World Cup will have noticed Hisense’s pitch side advertising. We started by asking Hans Wienands about the sponsorship and its results. Hisense has always been committed to producing stateof-the-art technology in a contemporary design to a highquality standard. Being the official sponsor of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, we took advantage of our expertise in display technology. Our R&D teams worked together with FIFA in order to develop an innovative set-up for event broadcasting. Before the World Cup kicked off in June, Hisense launched ULED- TV sets U7 and U9 giving global football fans a greatly improved viewing experience. How successful was the sponsorship? During the World Cup viewers in China alone numbered more than 700 million. Globally over 4.7 billion people watched matches during the group stage. Hisense’s brand exposure during the FIFA World Cup was enormous. As a result of the sponsorship of the World Cup, overall global awareness for Hisense TV increased by six percentage points. In particular awareness for Hisense TV increased significantly in the UK, France, Canada, Russia, Spain and Japan. How will the strategic partnership with Gorenje drive the business in Europe? Being on the European market since more than 50 years, Gorenje became one of the leading manufacturers of high-quality household appliances in Europe. Gorenje’s state-of-the-art R&D facilities and modern production sites are well-established in Europe, with sales and marketing offices located in all European countries. For product lines like kitchen appliances and washingmachines the brand has achieved a solid market-share and brand awareness. The Hisense Group is one of the leading manufacturers of CE and HA in the world. We are well known for our expertise in cooling products, plus we bring our R&D capability on digitalisation and advanced userinterface technology. Hisense and Gorenje will complement each other’s strengths and create synergy. The acquisition will on one hand accelerate the presence of Hisense in the European market, on the other hand Gorenje product offerings will be diversified and ready for a connected kitchen environment sooner. The technological benefit will be supported by the deeply rooted focus on highvalue design of both companies. What are the key markets for Hisense? Internationalisation has always been a core strategy for Hisense’s business development. Over the years, Hisense has achieved remarkable results in export business through a series of measures such as overseas acquisitions, independent brand building and overseas layout. Hisense has good performances in the consumer markets of North America, Europe, South Africa, Australia and Japan. What are the “star” products for Hisense at IFA? Our star product at IFA 2018 is undoubtedly our new U9D television, which is not only a real eye-catcher with a diagonal of 75 inches, but with local dimming in more than 5,000 zones also delivers standards in the area of high contrast images (HDR). With a native refresh rate of 120Hz, the model is suitable for both extended film enjoyment and smooth sports broadcasts with fast picture changes. What are your thoughts about the IFA? With its unique concept for global visitors from trade and press, being open to consumers at the same time, IFA has become a platform that enables us to launch our newest technology, drawing immediate interest from a global audience and meet our business-partners. Being open to the public, this yearly event gives us the unique opportunity to present our products in a real live environment, sharing explanations and receiving valuable feedback from tradepartners, but also directly from our consumers. In our understanding this setting makes IFA Berlin so unique and successful Hans Wienands Senior Vice President, Hisense Germany HISENSE’S BRAND EXPOSURE DURING THE FIFA WORLD CUP WAS ENORMOUS © Andi Werner www.ifa-international.org IFA International • Saturday 1 st & Sunday 2 nd September 2018 35
