Haier confirms PAD split
UK: In a shock announcement, Haier has confirmed its split with recently appointed air conditioning distributor Pure Air Distribution.
The news follow yesterday’s announcement that Surrey-based Pure Air Distribution (PAD) had been appointed as a distributor of Hitachi air conditioning equipment.
The news comes less than nine months after the official formation of Pure Air Distribution with the company spearheading Haier’s “soft start” relaunch in the UK.
Announcing the split from PAD, Haier said in a statement: “It became clear that the timescale of the Haier plans and the expectation of the PAD team were somewhat different. This has led to disappointment upon both sides and PAD have made the decision to sign a distribution agreement with Hitachi as well as look for other alternatives which may be able to better meet their expectation levels.”
While likely to be seen by some as a setback in Haier’s attempts to establish a presence in the UK market, the Chinese manufacturer insists that it remains focused on the UK. The Cooling Post believes that replacement sales distributors are being sought and Haier confirmed it will be showing its entire range on a 100m² stand at the HVACR show at Excel in January.
Haier announced its relaunch in the UK, Benelux and Germany on March 1 under the tutelage of European general manager for HVAC, Bob Cowlard.
The Haier product first appeared in the UK in 2001 through New Century (Haier) Air Conditioning Ltd, but was beset with reliability issues. After a break of three years it re-entered the UK market briefly in 2009 with no greater success.
Haier insists that the split from PAD has nothing to do with product quality, the reaction to the quality of the latest Haier product being very positive with “numerous satisfied customers”.
Related stories:
Hitachi appoints PAD as distributor – 16 November 2017
UK: Surrey-based air conditioning distributor Pure Air Distribution (PAD) has signed a new distribution partnership agreement with Hitachi Air Conditioning Europe. Read more…
Haier reveals European relaunch plans – 1 March 2017
EUROPE: Chinese air conditioning manufacturer Haier is looking to make major inroads into the European market by relaunching the product in the UK, Benelux and Germany. Read more…
PAD to spearhead Haier’s UK launch – 1 March 2017
UK: A new name in air conditioning – Pure Air Distribution – has been established as the first UK distributor for the newly-relaunched Chinese brand Haier. Read more…
