TCL Corporation

For other uses, see TCL.
TCL Corporation
Native name
 TCL集團
Public
Traded as SZSE: 000100, SEHK: 1070, SEHK: 2618
Industry Consumer electronics
Home appliances
Founded 1981 (1981) (Foundation)
1985
(Incorporation)
Founder Lǐ Dōngshēng (李東生)
Headquarters Huizhou, Guangdong, China
Area served
 Worldwide
Key people
 Tomson Lǐ Dōngshēng (CEO)
Products Television sets, smartphones, mobile phones, air conditioning, washing machines, refrigerators
Revenue US$16.44 billion (2014)[1]
Number of employees
 73,537 (2015)[1]
Website TCL.com

TCL Corporation (TCL集團) is a Chinese multinational electronics company headquartered in Huizhou, Guangdong Province. It designs, develops, manufactures and sells products including television sets, mobile phones, air conditioners, washing machines, refrigerators and small electrical appliances. In 2010 it was the world's 25th-largest consumer electronics producer. In 2013, it was third-largest television producer by market share.[2]

TCL comprises three listed companies: TCL Corporation which is listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, and TCL Multimedia Technology Holdings, Ltd. and TCL Communication Technology Holdings, Ltd. which are listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.[3]

TCL's current corporate slogan is "The Creative Life".[4]

History

The company was founded in 1981 under the brand name TTK as a cassette maker making knock-off TDK cassettes. In 1985, after being sued by TDK for IP violation, the company changed its name to TCL by taking the initial letters from Telephone Communication Limited. It began manufacturing consumer electronics for the Chinese market during the 1980s,[5] and began to sell overseas in the 2000s.[6] Though a state-owned enterprise, TCL was established as a joint venture with several Hong Kong-based investors.[5] At the beginning, TCL was referred as an acronym for "True China Lion".

In July 2003, TCL chairman Li Dongsheng formally announced a 'Dragon and Tiger Plan' to establish two competitive TCL businesses in global markets ("Dragons") and three leading businesses inside China ("Tigers").[7]

In November 2003, TCL and Thomson SA of France announced the creation of a joint venture to produce televisions and DVD players worldwide.[8] TCL took a 67 percent stake in the joint venture, with Thomson SA holding the rest of the shares, and it was agreed that televisions made by TCL-Thomson would be marketed under the TCL brand in Asia and the Thomson and RCA brands in Europe and North America.[8]

In April 2004, TCL and Alcatel announced the creation of a mobile phone manufacturing joint venture: Alcatel Mobile Phones.[7] TCL injected 55 million euros in the venture in return for a 55 per cent shareholding.[7]

In 2014, TCL changed the meaning of its slogan from "Telephone Communication Limited" to "The Creative Life" for commercial purposes.

In May 2005, TCL announced that its Hong Kong-listed unit would acquire Alcatel's 45 per cent stake in their mobile-phone joint venture for consideration of HK$63.34 million ($8.1 million) worth of TCL Communication shares.[9]

In June 2007, TCL announced that its mobile phone division planned to cease using the Alcatel brand and switch entirely to the TCL brand within five years.[10]

In April 2008, Samsung Electronics announced that it would be outsourcing the production of some LCD TV modules to TCL.[11]

In July 2008, TCL announced that it planned to raise 1.7 billion yuan ($249 million) via a share placement on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange to fund the construction of two production lines for LCD televisions; one for screens of up to 42 inches, and the other for screens of up to 56 inches.[12] TCL sold a total of 4.18 million LCD TV sets in 2008, more than triple the number during 2007.[13]

In January 2009, TCL announced plans to double its LCD TV production capacity to 10 million units by the end of 2009.[13]

In November 2009, TCL announced that it had formed a joint-venture with the Shenzhen government to construct an 8.5-generation thin film transistor-liquid crystal display production facility in the city at a cost of $3.9 billion.[14]

In March 2010, TCL Multimedia raised HK$525 million through the sale of shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, in order to fund the development of its LCD and LED businesses and to generate working capital.[15]

In May 2011 TCL launched the China Smart Multimedia Terminal Technology Association in partnership with Hisense Electric Co. and Sichuan Changhong Electric Co., with the aim of helping to establish industry standards for smart televisions.[16]

In January 2013, it bought the naming rights for Grauman's Chinese Theatre for $5 million: the theater was renamed "TCL Chinese Theatre".[17]

TCL Chinese Theatre, Hollywood, California, US

In February 2014, TCL spent 280 million RMB to purchase 11% shareholdings of Tianjin 712 Communication & Broadcasting Co.,Ltd, a Chinese military-owned company which produces communication devices and navigation systems for the Chinese army.

In October 2014, TCL acquired the Palm brand from HP for use on smartphones.[18][19]

Operations

TCL is organized into Five business divisions:[1]

In addition it has four affiliated business areas:[1]

TCL has operations in more than 80 cities across Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, North America and South America.[1] It has 18 R&D centers, 20 major manufacturing facilities and over 40 sales offices worldwide.[1]

TCL Corporation also has its own research facility called TCL Corporate Research, which is located at ShenZhen, China with the objective to research cutting-edge technology innovations for other subsidiaries.

Products

TCL's primary products are TVs, DVD players, air conditioners, GSM and CDMA mobile phones, personal computers, home appliances, electric lighting, and digital media.

It primarily sells its products under the TCL brand name in Africa, Asia, Australasia, North America, South America, and Russia (TV, air conditioners); under the Alcatel (mobile phones) and Thomson (TV) brands in Europe (in Russia, mobile phones only).[21]

The company as of April 2012 is in venture with Swedish furniture giant IKEA to provide the consumer electronics behind the Uppleva integrated HDTV and entertainment system product.[22][23]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "TCL Corporation Announces 2014 Full Year Results, with Revenue and Profits Hitting All-Time Highs".
  2. ↑ Global market share held by LCD TV manufacturers from 2008 to 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  3. ↑ Investor Relations TCL Official Site
  4. ↑ TCL Official Website
  5. 1 2 History TCL Official Site
  6. ↑ About TCL TCL Official Site
  7. 1 2 3 Murali, D. (16 April 2011). "A learning dragon with long strides". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Retrieved 17 April 2011.
  8. 1 2 "China Turns Into TV Powerhouse". CBS News. 10 November 2003. Retrieved 17 April 2011.
  9. ↑ "TCL Unit to Buy 45% Stake of Mobile-Phone Venture From Alcatel". Bloomberg. 16 May 2005. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  10. ↑ "TCL to switch to own brand". China Daily. 20 June 2007. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  11. ↑ "Samsung to outsource some work to China's TCL". Reuters. 29 April 2008. Retrieved 17 April 2011.
  12. ↑ "China TCL share placement to raise $249 million". Reuters. 15 July 2008. Retrieved 17 April 2011.
  13. 1 2 "China's TCL to double LCD TV capacity". Reuters. 22 January 2009. Retrieved 17 April 2011.
  14. ↑ Yu, Rose (17 November 2009). "China to build $4bn advanced LCD plant". The Australian. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  15. ↑ "TCL Multimedia sees losses at U.S., Europe ops". Reuters. 8 October 2010. Retrieved 17 April 2011.
  16. ↑ "New industry standards launched for Smart TVs". Global Times. 8 October 2010. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
  17. ↑ Verrier, Richard (11 January 2013). "China firm buys naming rights to Grauman's Chinese Theatre". Los Angeles Times.
  18. ↑ "Palm could be coming back to life — as an Android phone from Alcatel". The Verge. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  19. ↑ "Palm makes a comeback! TCL to 're-create' the brand". CNET. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  20. ↑ szcsot.com
  21. ↑ Company Profile TCL Official Site
  22. ↑ Anna Ringstrom (17 Apr 2012). "IKEA moves into consumer electronics with China venture". Thomson Reuters.
  23. ↑ LOUISE NORDSTROM (17 April 2012). "IKEA to sell TVs integrated in its furniture". Bloomberg L.P. The Associated Press.

See Also

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