If the residents of the Chinese city of Huizhou in 1981 could have seen their city today, they would not have believed their eyes. Back then, the city was a sleepy provincial town of around half a million inhabitants. Today, its population has grown more than tenfold, and state-of-the-art industrial buildings, skyscrapers and large green parks make it a bustling metropolis where the opportunities are as great as the ambitions.
This is where TCL has its headquarters. The city and the electronics giant have grown up together; the city thanks to the many job opportunities and the possibility of a good life in a green metropolis. And TCL thanks to a focus on constant innovation, a broad product range, strong design and a constant look beyond borders, into the world that today embraces everything from heat pumps to high-end TVs from the global player in home technology.
The Creative Life
When young engineer Li Dongsheng opened a factory in 1981, no-one could have imagined he would become a global star. He wanted to produce cassette tapes for the Chinese market. The then very modern music medium proved to be so popular that the company also started producing telephones – the old-fashioned kind that requires a plug in the wall. It was the phones that gave TCL its name – it stood for Telecom Corporation Limited. As both landline phones and cassette tapes went out of fashion, so did the name. Today, the acronym stands for The Creative Life.
That name describes the buyers who want to enjoy all the possibilities of the best electronics. And it describes TCL itself, which has a development department that keeps the company on the edge of what’s possible – and pushes the boundaries of what’s possible in home technology.
So, it’s no coincidence that the brand is now one of the biggest in home electronics. And it hasn’t come out of the blue, although it almost seems that way when you look at the Nordic market. Here, TCL has conquered the market for affordable TVs with almost futuristic technology in record time. But this conquest is backed by years of innovation.
Going out into the world
The ambitious engineer Li Dongsheng always had an eye for new opportunities. China was beginning to have a middle class that could buy and wanted entertainment. TCL jumped into TV production – and things took off. The company opened its own store in 1991, and although China is huge, with a population of more than a billion people, the homeland became too small. Vietnam was the first target for expansion – this happened in 1999. Other countries followed and by 2005 the company was already the largest supplier of colour televisions in the world.
You don’t get to that position without business acumen, innovation and an eye to the future.
Business acumen can be found in several places. TCL quickly realised that the way into the Western world was through partnerships and co-ownership of local brands. That’s why the company worked hard and fast to secure the right deals – and they weren’t always hard to get. As it turned out, TCL could do something that few others could. The company has built a unique pipeline that ensures affordable products without compromising on quality. Almost all parts of televisions, for example, are produced in-house – from the ultra-thin frames on the screens to the hardware and software that ensure high quality home entertainment.
Leading technology
The production system itself is an expression of innovation. But for those of us who love good home electronics, it’s probably more interesting to talk about the products that have been created or improved because of TCL’s efforts. From 1993, when TCL launched the first 28-inch TV in China, to 2019, when the company’s experts developed the Mini LED that created cinema-like images on TV screens at home, to today, when AI and increasingly powerful displays point the way to the future.
That the company is also good at spotting new markets is almost a given. In the Nordics, there is a focus on the unique sense of quality that many of us have – we want the coolest technology for those long winter evenings, and most of us are price-conscious enough that we don’t want to pay too much for things. The Nordic taste for sophisticated design is also where TCL fits right in – not least because the many different product types allow for a unified design line throughout the home.
The product portfolio just keeps getting bigger – washing machines with revolutionary drums, soundbars that create new sound universes and heat pumps that bring greener heat and comfort to homes around the world. But even though the wheels are turning fast, the pace never slows down until the technologies are thoroughly tested before they reach consumers.
Market insight
TCL has an eye for the market – and an eye for the needs. You’ve probably noticed how TCL has suddenly become a significant player in the home TV world, both with classic screens and with large-format mini-LEDs. And soon you’ll probably notice it with refrigerators, tumble dryers, and all sorts of smart home solutions. Because when TCL moves into a new market, it moves fast.
Li Dongsheng is still at the helm of TCL. And he and his 75,000 employees still have a nose for fulfilling customers’ wishes with technology they could never have imagined possible.
