China’s One Belt and One Road Initiative, which seeks to enhance the connectivity and cooperation between Eurasian countries, has driven a large number of Chinese enterprises to reach out to the world.
TCL, a global manufacturer of smart products and provider of Internet application services, launched its global advertising campaign, named Global Creative Projection Ads. The campaign projects product advertisements onto the vertical surfaces of large buildings, recent examples being the New York’s Empire State Building and Brooklyn Bridge. The promotion of the company’s latest home appliances simultaneously appeared in Paris, London, Rome, Berlin, and Sydney. TCL’s global promotion shows its ambition to grab market share in the European and North American markets.
At the center of TCL’s global advertising campaign are its innovative products, including the TCL X6 XESS private theater, TCL T-GUARDIAN series air conditioner, TCL all-in-one inverter air-cooled refrigerator, and TCL dirt-free washing machine, and more.
In North America, TCL’s market share has increased considerably during the past three years. According to 2017’s third-quarter report, TCL’s sales in North America increased by 97.4% year-on-year. According to NPD’s latest market research data, TCL’s market share in North America increased from 10.4% in June to approximately 16.3% in August, ranking the third in the market.
Li Dongsheng, TCL Group’s Chairman and CEO, said that TCL will continue to fully explore markets in Europe and North America and further invest in emerging countries such as India, Russia, and Argentina.
TCL’s global strategy dates back to 20 years ago. TCL started its overseas market expansion in 1999 by acquiring the mobile phone business Thomson, the largest color TV enterprises in France. Then TCL and Alcatel announced the creation of a mobile phone manufacturing joint venture in 2004. In 2016, TCL and BlackBerry entered into a licensing agreement, under which TCL is permitted to produce, design and sell BlackBerry’s products. The annual revenue of TCL Group has exceeded RMB 100 billion (USD 15.1 billion) in three consecutive years. It has a total of 70,000 employees around the world and sales outlets located in more than 80 countries and regions.
TCL claimed, by 2016, to have secured the world’s third, fifth, and eighth places in terms of sales of LCD TV sets, LCD screens, and mobile phones, respectively. Within the European market, TCL TV sets have been sold in more than 20 countries. The brand is steadily growing in countries such as Germany, Italy, and Poland.
After almost 20 years of expansion overseas, TCL’s new strategy of “Re-globalization” expects to combine “products + service” with “smart + Internet” in which smart and internet are prioritized.
Strategically, TCL has paid adequate attention to product research and development. TCL has 23 research and design centers around the world with more than 7,000 researchers. The corporation invests more than 4% of its sales revenue into research. As of the end of 2016, the number of TCL Group’s invention patent applications ranked the fourth in its sector.
As China’s One Belt and One Road Initiative rolls out, TCL, as one of the pioneering enterprises in home appliances, is poised to further expand its international reach.
(All photos from TCL)