Haier’s Chairman, Zhang Ruimin, is one of the world’s most well-known management thinkers, at least in the rarefied world of business strategy and management. His innovations in organization and management are revolutionary, and his vision of where the world of business is headed is a radical departure from business as usual.
For 2021 fiscal year, Haier Group recorded a double-digit growth of 15.8% year-on-year, with sales revenue of Rmb 227.5 billion. Profitability increased to Rmb 13.1 billion, a 47.1% year-on-year growth. Business in overseas markets achieved high revenue and profitability: revenues reached Rmb 113.7 billion, a 13% increase in turnover over 2020.
I have been aware of the pressure that the Internet has placed on the business models of large companies since at least 2000. That year, I attended the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos. One major topic of discussion was the new economy that the Internet was creating. Like many others at that time, I sensed that industrial society was approaching a great turning point — moving toward an Internet-based economy. Only by changing their way of thinking could business leaders catch up.
