July 23 (SeeNews) - Slovenian white goods manufacturer Gorenje [LJE:GRVG], owned by China's Hisense Group, said it has entered China's high-end consumer market under a new brand name, Gu Luo Ni.
"We have decided to come even closer - as it is frequently done by foreign brands in the Chinese market, we have also adapted the brand name Gorenje to Chinese pronunciation. Thus, we proudly present Gu Luo Ni," the Slovenian company said in a statement last week.
It noted that Gu represents the tradition of the Gorenje brand with 70 years of heritage, while Luo describes a sense of elegant, consumer-centred design, and Ni is the idea of globalisation and simplification.
Gorenje added it will further support the positioning of its brand on the Chinese market via numerous other activities, such as the recent celebration of its 70th anniversery at a special event in Beijing.
"The strategy of approaching the needs of end consumers in the demanding Chinese market represents an excellent opportunity for all our home appliance factories, as well as for the success of the entire Hisense Group," the company said.
Last week, Gorenje said it made profit in June - for the first time this year, and received a large number of new orders for August, September and October in the recent weeks.
Earlier this month, the company announced it started manufacturing dishwashers under the Hisense brand for the US market, which represents the first order from that market for products made in Slovenia under the Chinese brand.
Gorenje has several production sites located in Slovenia, Serbia and the Czech Republic. Around two-thirds of all employees are based in Slovenia.
Hisense acquired Gorenje in October 2018 when its unit Hisense Luxembourg Home Appliance Holding acquired a 95.42% stake in the Slovenian company by purchasing 998,417 Gorenje shares for 12 euro ($14) apiece.
($=0.8635 euro)