Fast Company Names Haier Among World's Most Innovative Companies

Award Cites Haier's 'Bold Approach' to Employee Self-Organization

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Feb 10, 2014, 05:52 ET

QINGDAO, China, Feb. 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Haier, the world's leading home appliance provider, has been recognized by Fast Company as one of world's most innovative companies, and one of China's ten leading innovative companies. In its recently published 2014 rankings, which track leadership in innovation, Fast Company highlighted Haier's "bold approach to innovating" through allowing employees to self-organize.

The Fast Company citation recognizes Haier's creation of a flat management structure, a "management revolution" that puts customer needs at the heart of the product development process. To drive entrepreneurial innovation among employees, Haier encourages staff to track evolving market trends and form autonomous project teams to address emerging opportunities. Haier refers to these self-organizing employee working groups as ZZJYT, a Chinese acronym that means 'independent operation unit.'

The recently launched Tianzun air conditioner, which successfully debuted at CES in Las Vegas in January, was developed by a self-managing group that recognized growing customer demand for a more flexible and responsive air conditioning unit via an online engagement program involving more than 670,000 internet users.

The Most Innovative Companies is Fast Company's most significant, high-profile editorial effort of the year. The editorial team spends months gathering and sifting data, to identify those enterprises that exemplify the best in business from across the economy and around the world. This year's honorees include major brands such as Google and Amazon, as well as creative upstarts like Tesla and Box.

Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies issue (March 2014) will be published on February 17. The full list can also be accessed at www.fastcompany.com/MIC.

ABOUT HAIER GROUP

Haier is the world's leading home appliance provider, with global revenues of US$29.5 billion and profit of US$1.76 billion in 2013. Its mission is to create innovative home appliances that anticipate the fast-changing needs of consumers in more than 100 countries around the globe. Euromonitor International, a world leader in strategy research for consumer markets, has named Haier the number one brand of major appliances in the world every year for the last five years. In 2012 the Boston Consulting Group named Haier one of the ten most innovative companies in the world.

Haier Electronics Group Co., Ltd. a subsidiary of Haier Group, is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKG: 1169). Qingdao Haier Co., also a subsidiary of Haier Group, is listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SHA: 600690). For more information, please visit www.haier.net.

ABOUT FAST COMPANY

Fast Company is the world's leading progressive business media brand, with a unique editorial focus on innovation in technology, ethical economics, leadership, and design. Fast Company and FastCompany.com inspire readers and users to think beyond traditional boundaries and create the future of business. Headquartered in New York City, Fast Company is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, one of the U.S.'s leading media companies.

MEDIA CONTACTS FOR HAIER

In the United States

James Liess, Haier America Public Relations, 212-594-3330 x 2006 or [email protected]

In Asia

Yan Shuang, Haier Branding and Communications, +86- 532-8893-1242 or [email protected]

Martin Reidy, FTI Consulting, +86-136-9927-0471 or [email protected]

SOURCE Haier Group