Die Region Asien/en

The Asian home appliance market offered huge growth potential. At the same time there was scarcely any other region that posed such manifold challenges for BSH and its products.

While efficient, space-saving appliances were in demand in urbanized parts of Asia, machines in less developed areas had to cope especially with power failures or highly fluctuating water pressure, while electrical connections and electronics varied in practically every region. Apart from technical aspects, there were also cultural aspects that had to be taken into account. In India, for example, "hand wash" does not mean gentle cleaning, but rather the thorough kneading and rubbing of heavily soiled clothes. While 50 percent of all home appliances on the Chinese market would soon be purchased online, it was still good salespeople in India who influenced the decision to buy significantly.

China

Quality check in BSH's Nanjing site, China in 2006. (Source: Press fotos BSH Hausgeräte GmbH)

When the Appliance Park was inaugurated in Nanjing, China, on March 8, 2006, the then Executive Vice President of BSH, Dr. Robert Kugler, described China as the "… key to the global development of BSH, and (…) a stable and highly promising market."

BSH had set its sights on becoming the largest foreign manufacturer of home appliances in China, thus creating a strong basis for further expansions in Asia and Oceania. The most important sales arguments since activities commenced in Asia included the know-how of BSH and the innovative and high-quality German products. The Siemens brand was first introduced in 1994 to avoid competing with own brands. It was only when the brand and the products were firmly anchored in the consciousness of Chinese consumers that the Bosch brand was rolled out at the end of 2004.

Because the Chinese market was so strictly regulated for foreign companies, BSH decided to make its initial foray in China in the form of a joint venture. Following eleven months of negotiations, BSH and the Chinese Little Swan Co. Ltd inked a joint venture agreement on November 11, 1994 for the manufacture of washing machines in Wuxi, China. In addition to the production plant, a sales service and logistics center was also established. Wuxi Little Swan was one of the leading manufacturers on the Chinese market at this time. The joint venture was called BSW Household Appliances Ltd. Production was expanded at the end of 1995 to include cookers, cooktops and extractor hoods. Just one year later, BSH succeeded in extending its position on the Chinese market by entering a further joint venture and thus expanded its product portfolio in China to include cooling appliances. BSY Cooling Appl. Ltd. was founded in Chuzhou together with the Yangzi Group. The Siemens cooling appliances had captured a market share of ten percent by the time the year was out, thus also outstripping the local Chinese Yangzi brand.

Ribbon cutting at the grand opening of BSH branch in Taipeh, Taiwan in 2012. (Source: Press fotos BSH Hausgeräte GmbH)

A sales company was opened in Nanjing in 1997, which marketed the products of both production plants nationwide. BSH acquired the shares of its Chinese partner in the refrigerator plant in Chuzhou in 2000 and then a few years later acquired full ownership rights to the washing machine factory. A major Appliance Park was established in Nanjing in 2004, which developed into a production location for five sectors.

The BSH organization in China was restructured in 2010 and BSH Home Appliances Holding (China) Co. Ltd. was established in Nanjing as a holding company, from where all of BSH's activities in China were managed.

While other Western competitors had already invested in China before BSH – though without managing to secure a notable market presence even up to the present day – BSH's policies in this difficult market paid off. Much more so than in other markets, it was important in China to nurture the trust of consumers, customers and the administration on a personal and long-term basis, which is why BSH China was so successful since it had put a stable management team in place for the long haul.

Asia and Oceania

Following its successful entry to the Chinese market in 1994, BSH began to further expand its market presence in the Asia region. Locations were established in Hong Kong and Singapore in 1995 and 1996 as regional headquarters for Asia and the Pacific as a whole and acted as a basis for establishing further locations in Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Thailand and also in the Australia/Oceania region. Most of the locations in Asia had been successfully established by 2006. BSH's presence in Asia was also further expanded in the years that followed. At celebrations to mark the 10th anniversary of the Asian headquarters in Singapore, a doubling of revenue growth in the Asian region, excluding China and India, was set out as a corporate goal.

Inauguration of the BSH technology center on 21. November 2016 in Adugodi, India. (Source: Press fotos BSH Hausgeräte GmbH)

India

Einweihung des BSH-Technologiezentrum am 21. November 2016 in Adugodi, Indien. (Quelle: Pressebilder BSH Hausgeräte GmbH)

Seit 1997 ist die BSH in Indien vertreten. Eine Tochtergesellschaft beginnt mit dem Aufbau eines BSH-Vertriebs- und Kundendienstnetzes. Im technikaffinen Indien, mit über 150 Millionen Smartphone Nutzern (2014), ist bis heute Mund-zu-Mund-Propaganda die wichtigste Form von Marketing. In dem Zeitraum zwischen 2001 und 2009 wird die Vertriebsgesellschaft aufgrund von politischen Vorgaben als RBS Home Appliances Ltd. auf einen indischen Eigentümer übertragen. Sie vertreibt in erster Linie die Produkte von Siemens. 2009 gründet die BSH erneut eine Home Appliances Private Ltd. in Mumbai. Für die Produktion von Waschmaschinen baut das Unternehmen in Chennai einen neuen Appliance Park. Die Aufnahme der Produktion beginnt 2014. Die Fabrik etabliert sich als Drehscheibe für die Versorgung des indischen Markts und für den Export in den gesamten südostasiatischen Raum. Zeitgleich entsteht dort ein Entwicklungszentrum für Gaskochfelder und Dunstabzugshauben.

Die europäischen BSH-Produkte werden für den indischen Markt modifiziert und weiterentwickelt – beispielsweise die in Chennai produzierten Waschmaschinen, die auch bei schwankender Strom- und Wasserversorgung zuverlässig laufen.

Einzelnachweise

RBS launches new fridge, The Economic Times, 9.06.2004, http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2004-06-09/news/27375087_1_rbs-home-appliances-bsh-germany-vipul-b-raval

Tradition, BSH Homepage, https://www.bsh-group.de/index.php?page=1075

Tradition, BSH Homepage, https://www.bsh-group.de/index.php?page=1075

BSH-Konzernarchiv, A01-0036, Geschäftsbericht 2013, S. 38f.

BSH-Konzernarchiv, A01-0033, Geschäftsbericht 2014, S. 25.