While many still associate Haier with air conditioners, refrigerators, and washing machines, the company has moved far beyond these basics. Today, it is actively reshaping industries, from smart homes to healthcare technology through a bold, integrated strategy powered by innovation and global reach.
Haier was founded in 1984 as Qingdao Refrigerator General Factory, under the approval of the Light Industry Department of the People's Republic of China. In its early years, Haier gained attention for enforcing strict quality standards, famously smashing defective refrigerators in public to send a message.
Over time, the company transformed into a global conglomerate by emphasizing customer-centered design, smart technology, and scalable business models. Its multi-brand strategy allows it to serve various market segments: the Haier brand caters to mainstream users, Casarte serves luxury consumers, while Leader focuses on budget-friendly offerings in China.
Through major acquisitions, Haier has expanded its global footprint, owning GE Appliances (USA), Fisher & Paykel (New Zealand), Aqua (Japan), and Candy (Europe), among others.
In 2024, Haier Group Corporation demonstrated robust financial growth, with consolidated revenue exceeding $45 billion (RMB 324 billion) and net profits surpassing $3 billion (RMB 21.6 billion), driven by its global multi-brand strategy and premium product segments.
Its subsidiary, Haier Smart Home (35% owned by Haier Group), reported standalone revenue of RMB 285.98 billion ($39.6 billion), a 4.29% year-on-year increase, and net profit of RMB 18.74 billion ($2.6 billion), up 12.9% from 2023, with a gross profit margin of 27.8%.
Haier Smart Home's global operations are anchored by 34 industrial parks and 163 manufacturing centers worldwide, including flagship facilities like the Noida Industrial Park in India, the Russia Smart Ecosystem Park, and the Egypt Ecological Park.
What sets Haier apart is its consistent reinvention, guided by a strategic commitment to annual transformation. It is this internal culture of agility that fuels innovations like the record-breaking 1.88-meter barge caliper balanced on an operating washing machine in 2017, earning a Guinness World Record and showcasing the precision engineering Haier is known for.
Expansion into biomedical technology
Beyond consumer goods, Haier is making significant strides into the biomedical fieldâ€"an area now central to its future vision. Through Haier Biomedical, a subsidiary founded in 2005, the company designs and manufactures advanced life science equipment including ultra-low temperature freezers, vaccine cold chain solutions, blood bank refrigerators, and laboratory biosafety cabinets.
These devices serve hospitals, clinics, laboratories, research institutions, and pharmaceutical companies across more than 160 countries. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Haier Biomedical's products became critical infrastructure for vaccine storage, contributing to public health efforts on a global scale.
What distinguishes Haier in this field is not only the hardware but also its integration of IoT, AI, and cloud platforms into biomedical technologyâ€"creating intelligent solutions for asset tracking, temperature monitoring, and predictive maintenance. This aligns with Haier's broader commitment to smart ecosystems, applied now to healthcare and medical science.
Haier Smart Home Company, in which the group holds publicly a 35% stake, extends its IoT vision into residential living. Under the U+ Smart Life Platform, appliances are interconnected to deliver scenario-based experiences: refrigerators that recommend recipes based on their contents, washing machines that adjust cycles through mobile apps, or air conditioners that sync with sleep data.
These experiences are designed not as individual products, but as interconnected lifestyle systems. At the heart of this approach is the 'three-wing bird' philosophyâ€"representing the synergy between smart home appliances, ecosystem-based services, and industrial internet platforms.
Haier's decision to maintain certain brands as domestic-only, like Leader, is rooted in precision segmentation. While global brands like GE Appliances address premium users, brands like Leader target budget-sensitive Chinese consumersâ€"ensuring Haier maintains relevance across all income levels without diluting brand identity.
This micro-market targeting, combined with Haier's staggering portfolio of over 40,000 patents worldwide, underlines a strategy built on depth, localization, and technology-led growth.
Visiting Haier's futuristic headquarters in Qingdao offers a glimpse into the company's DNA. Designed with immersive digital interfaces, the building is an experiential narrative of its past, present, and future.
Visitors pass through innovation rooms displaying AI-powered appliances, history rooms charting its rise since 1984, and leadership galleries that highlight the values of collaboration, entrepreneurship, and user-driven design.
The facility is not merely an office complex, but a living showcase of Haier's belief that business is a constantly evolving ecosystem.
Mugisha Christian
