VUE Audiotechnik announces dedicated Chinese subsidiary
Published: ASIA
CHINA: VUE Audiotechnik has announced the formation of a Chinese subsidiary named VUE Shanghai Ltd, based in Zhejiang and initially led by Global Market Management’s Alex Schloesser. Described by the manufacturer as ‘a self-sufficient arm’ of VUE, the company will be fully responsible for domestic sales and support (not including Macau or Hong Kong) with a six month plan having been drawn up for the hiring of a full complement of staff, the development of Chinese web support and more. ‘VUE Shanghai will market and sell VUE products all by itself – it is commercially and managerially a separate and individual entity within in the VUE family of companies,’ Mr Schloesser explained.
The news follows the recent appointment of Global Market Management to take charge of VUE Audiotechnik’s sales and support throughout the Asia Pacific territory, and VUE co-founder Ken Berger is clear on why China is now a priority for the manufacturer. ‘From the start VUE was conceived as a truly international based company, with engineering and manufacturing resources in the US, Germany and China. Last year we added VUE Europa GmbH, a dedicated company to serve the European market, adding VUE Shanghai is the next logical step. We’re investing to become a leader in China, the fastest growing market and soon to be the single largest market in the world.’
‘The product range is proven with substantial acceptance and traction in the most important entertainment market in the world, namely the USA. In this regard now is the time to spread the word,’ added Mr Schloesser. ‘Because China is so vast it is next to impossible to try to run this from the outside – you have to be there and get involved to get the job done. We will have an education programme that includes training at the head office and also throughout the provinces.’
The new company has already been joined by its first hire, sales assistant Tiffany Jin, whose background includes acting as a liaison between Western manufacturers and the domestic Chinese market. Regarding Mr Schloesser’s own role and how it affects his broader responsibilities with GMM, meanwhile, he commented, ‘I will devote a large portion of my time to this project because it is an important project to me, but my work with other GMM clients will not suffer at all. Our training and education efforts throughout Asia Pacific show great results and many clients and partners now have product specialists who continue what we started. That is the result of two years of very intense work and it has freed up resources that I and we can use elsewhere. I think we have made and are still making a difference – you now see this system being copied and that makes me quite proud.’
He concluded, ‘I have been a loudspeaker guy all my life – loudspeakers where what brought me to Asia in the first place, so when this offer came on the table I was flattered and excited. There is a giant pedigree in VUE, and a great team. My vision is to see this through to great success.’