Dong Mingzhu, Chairperson and President of GREE, recently went on the real-life show “Workplace Newcomers”, which caused a bit of a stir on the internet and brought GREE back to people’s sight. Since 2014, Dong Mingzhu has become the brand ambassador of GREE, building a brand image that deeply links innovation, quality and reliability. In 2021, the electric giant even started to offer a 10-year warranty for every air conditioner sold since March 2021. Why did GREE make this move? What’s the secret behind GREE’s unique branding journey? What makes this brand so popular? With the 4 Facets of Brand Positioning tool, let’s find it out. 

Workplace Newcomers, the real-life show featured Dong Mingzhu (Source: Tencent Video)

GREE air conditioner (Source: Baidu)

Truth: The World’s Largest Manufacturer of Residential Air Conditioners

 GREE grew into the world’s largest manufacturer of air conditioners in a span of 30 years. Founded in 1991, GREE was a small factory with a single product line. To accelerate its growth, GREE expanded its market with big ambition by constantly exploring its dealer network and strengthening the relationships with the retailers. With success, GREE occupied a large market share of the secondary and tertiary markets.  In 1994, GREE focused on product quality improvement. GREE is known for its outstanding quality and innovative technology. “Making Superior Product Strategy” is what GREE believes in and lives to, which is infused in its R&D, production and transportation. The fine quality of the products has helped GREE to build a solid brand image, which in turn increases the sales of GREE, making it the world’s largest manufacturer of residential air conditioners. 

Made in China, Loved by The World (Source: Google)

Vision: Made in China, Loved by the World

Rooted in China, it has long been GREE’s ambition to re-interpret “Made in China”. The brand has been wildly known and considered the industry standard in the domestic market, and built some recognition overseas. The air conditioning giant sets its target to not only bring the products to the overseas markets but also to turn the representation of “Made in China” to superior product quality and cutting-edge technology, to enable GREE technology and product to serve the world. 

Gree (Source: Google)

Universe: Comfort Technology That Breathes New Life into Your World.

Clean, warm/cool, dry and relaxed, having a GREE air-conditioner in the room is the guarantee of comfort. With innovation and quality as its core value, GREE is dedicated to developing the leading technology to improve the quality of the air conditioners, bringing superior comfort to its customers. The air conditioning giant invests more than 4 billion RMB on its technology research every year and has applied for over 82,472 patents. Technologies like Motional Air Distribution, IDF Dedusting, Intelligent Ventilation and Two-stage Compressor has helped customers to enjoy fast-coming and long-lasting warmness/coolness, while breathing clean and healthy air without even noticing the existence of the air conditioner. Living with GREE brings you back to your ultimate comfort zone, giving you a cosy environment to enjoy yourself.  

Dong Mingzhu (Source: Baidu)

Personality: ‘Iron lady’ Dong Mingzhu

To understand the personality of GREE, it is inevitable to talk about its Chairperson and President Dong Mingzhu. Rooting up from a salesperson, Dong Mingzhu worked herself all the way up to the top of the company with firm dedication to improve, result-driven state of mind and openness to embrace changes. Under her lead, GREE has grown from a small factory in Zhuhai to an international company which has now owned industry-leading technology that brings superior air-conditioning experience and constantly breaks industry sales record. The brand also keeps up with the latest trend in many ways, such as manufacturing smartphones, going on e-commerce platforms or even selling products through live streaming on Taobao with its chairperson hosting. In many ways, GREE is just like Dong Mingzhu, it always improves itself to stay at the top of the competition and open to tackling challenges.

Gree (Source: Google)

Conclusion

With its dedication and commitment to innovation and product quality, GREE has always held a position in the fierce competition of home appliance. As the era of 5G has arrived, we are curious to see how this electric giant can remain its position as the industry leader in the fierce competition. Can Dong Mingzhu’s way still be functional in the new era? What changes will GREE make to take on the challenges of the market transformation? And how can the brand reach its goal of “Made in China, Loved by the world” following such actions?  Let’s see what’s the next move GREE will take, and how it will keep up with the industry trend in the coming years.