Study On International Marketing Strategy Of Haier Washers In Japanese Market

Currently,the domestic appliance market of China is increasingly saturated.By contrast,the international market leaves more room for development.Therefore,it is of great necessity for Chinese household appliance industry to rely on tapping a broader international market.In addition,with the strengthening of China's economic strength and the advent of information integration age,the types of household appliances are increasingly diverse and the upgrading speed is faster and faster.In the process of shifting from "made in China" towards "created in China",the competitiveness of Chinese household appliances enterprises is gradually enhancing.Haier group has been a pioneer among numerous Chinese enterprises.Recently,Haier has taken an international market-entry strategy of "difficulty before easiness",targeting Japan,"the kingdom of household appliances in the world",as its international development objectives.Appliance industry is the iconic industry of Japan,whose brands like Panasonic,Toshiba,Hitachi,and Sharp are almost all known to every family in the world.However,some on-going blows have left Japan's household appliance industry into a recession such as the financial crisis in 2008,the energy crisis caused by the East Japan earthquake in 2011 as well as Thailand floods happening in 2011.Realizing the ever-changing markets and the diverse consumer needs,Haier conducted in-depth investigations on Japanese market in hope of "creating markets".After careful researches,Haier adopted a differentiated strategy,developed niche products in the light of the market gaps,and finally entered the Japanese market successfully.After entering Japanese market,Haier has made great achievements.In 2010,Haier's small capacity washers accounted for 14.18%of the Japanese market.In 2012,Haier washers occupied 13%of the Japanese market.In 2016,according to the figures released by GFK,the world's leading market research agency,Haier's automatic ripple washers ranked first in Japan's same type washer market with more than 36%shares.That's to say,there is one from Haier among three automatic ripple washers that have been sold in Japan.What's more,GFK also suggested that there were two finalists from Haier among the top 10 best-selling washer models in Japanese market.Behind these achievements,however,Haier should be clearly aware that even though some types of its washers have accounted for a large market share,it hasn't been the mainstream brand in Japanese market and Japanese washer market still has been craved up by local brands.In addition,although Haier has completed the marketing model of "three-in-one" skillfully in Japan,it has been achieved under the decline of Japanese appliance industry.However,recently,Japan's household appliance industry has a sign of recovery,and compared to Japan's local brands,there is still much room for Haier to improve in the aspects of experience and technology.Therefore,Haier will face more difficulties and challenges in the future development.How to find better marketing strategies in such fierce competitive environment,how to promote its further development in Japan,and how to become the mainstream brand in Japanese washer market,are the main problems that this thesis tries to solve.Chapter one presents an introduction of the background,significance,structure and innovation of the study.Confronting with the increasingly saturated domestic markets,many Chinese enterprises begin to seek development by tapping a broader international market.In the context of One Belt and One Road,a research on the marketing strategy of Haier washers in Japanese market,can not only enhance Haier's competitiveness and market shares in Japanese market effectively,but also can have certain practical significance for other Chinese enterprises to successfully open up the Japanese market.Chapter two mainly reviews some related literature at home and abroad and these documents have great reference value to the creation of this thesis.In addition,the author sorts out some theories used in this thesis,such as PEST analysis,SWOT analysis and 4P theory,which are the theoretical basis of this study.The author hopes to apply these marketing theories to concrete case analysis and combine theory with practice.Chapter three mainly analyzes the marketing status of Haier in Japan from four dimensions.The first one is macro-environment analysis.PEST model is used to analyze the macro-environment of Haier's marketing in Japan from four aspects of politics,economy,society and technology.For enterprises striving to develop overseas market,macro-environment analysis can enable enterprises to better understand the political,economic,social and technological environment of the target market,and then make suitable marketing strategies.The second one is competitive environment analysis.The author first analyzes the status of Japanese washer market and then introduces the main competitors in Japan including Hitachi,Toshiba,and Panasonic.Japanese washer market is mainly occupied by several Japanese domestic brands,which are closely matched in the fierce market competition.The third one is the internal environment of Haier group.In this part,the author first introduces the enterprise profile of Haier group,and then analyzes the development process and current development status of Haier washers in Japanese market.The last one is SWOT analysis.In this part,the strengths,weaknesses,opportunities and threats of Haier washers in Japan are analyzed and summarized by SWOT analysis.In chapter 4,4P theory is used to elaborate on the current marketing strategy of Haier washers in Japanese market.4P theory is a marketing theory,namely,product,price,place,and promotion.And in this thesis,place refers to channel.Nowadays,Haier washers' marketing strategy in Japan mainly include the following aspects.1.Haier's product strategies mainly include:product line strategy,new product development strategy,and brand strategy.2.Haier adopts a differentiated pricing strategy including Haier brand pricing strategy and AQUA brand pricing strategy.3.Haier's channel strategies mainly include:strategic alliance,striving for distributors,and making use of network and television platform.4.Haier's promotion strategies mainly include:enhancing brand awareness and reputation by advertisement,hiring professional marketing planning team,and carrying out interactive marketing actively.The profound analysis on current marketing strategy of Haier washers in Japan can provide valuable guidance for Haier,and enables it to improve the marketing strategy that cannot adapt to the current market situationEven through Haier has made some great achievements in Japan,there are still some problems to be solved.In chapter 5,based on the marketing status and current marketing strategy of Haier washers in Japanese market,the author discovers four urgent problems existing in Haier's current marketing strategies:1.Haier has deficient supply of high-end products and its products are uncompetitive,which is mainly caused by excessively extensive product line strategy,unreasonable new product development strategy,strong competitors and technology weaknesses.2.The price of Haier products is lack of competitiveness because of the rising enterprise costs and Japan's easy monetary policy.3.The sales channels of Haier are imperfect due to the dispersed and complex distribution system in Japan as well as Haier's brand weaknesses.4.The market recognition of Haier brand is inadequate,which is mainly caused by the influence of Japan's political and social environment and enterprise's own products.In order to take more market shares,Haier's marketing strategies must adapt to its development strategy,and only in this way can achieve Haier's strategic objectives of becoming the mainstream brand in Japanese market.The chapter six is on the basis of the above study.In view of the problems existing in current strategy of Haier washers in Japanese market,some suggestions for improvement from four dimensions have been put forward:1.Haier should optimize product strategy mainly by enriching product lines,strengthening talent introduction and team building as well as focusing on the high-end product market.2.Haier may increase price competitiveness by reducing purchasing costs effectively,saving production costs reasonably and controlling sales costs scientifically.3.Haier should widen sales channels by consolidating existing sales channels and making full use of Network sales channels.4.Haier may build brand image by ensuring product quality,improving service level,focusing on consumers'demands and carrying out experiential marketing.In chapter seven,conclusion is drawn.The author first summarizes 3 main findings:1.the strengths,weaknesses,opportunities and threats of Haier washers in Japan.2.the problems exist in current marketing strategy of Haier washers in Japanese market.3.some suggestions for improvement of Haier washers' marketing strategy in Japan.Finally,the author summarizes the limitations of the thesis.