GREE, the Chinese giant in home air conditioners, has successfully penetrated the Cyprus market in the past 15 years, raising its share to a commanding 20%, with sales rising from 2,000 units in 2004 to an expected 28,000 by the end of this year,
Celebrating this partnership between local distributor Masterstar and GREE Airconditioners, the Laiko Group signed a contract agreement with GREE Electric Appliances Inc. of Zhuhai to provide all the air conditioning and refrigeration equipment for Laikon’s new 12,800 sq.m. distribution centre being built in the Dhali industrial area.
Yiannos Valanides, the Managing Director of Laiko Group and Sam Chen, Deputy General Manager of GREE Overseas, signed the contracts on Friday in the presence of the Chinese Ambassador to Cyprus, Zhao Yali. Later in the evening they all attended the inauguration of Laikon’s new retail Masterstar shop on Athalassa Avenue, opened by Commerce and Industry Minister Antonis Paschalides.
Chen said GREE’s recently announced joint venture with Daikin sees the two top air conditioner makers collaborating for greater efficiency and sharing of new technologies. This will help propel GREE’s turnover to beyond the current level of USD 6.18 bln, he said.
Valanides said the new distribution centre will be completed by February 2010 and will serve the companies of the Group, as well as provide warehouse and supply chain services to third parties.
He added that the Dhali centre will be used as a pilot model for GREE to show its clients on how industrial-type air conditioners are installed in large plants.
The Laiko Group was created in 2002 through the merger of the foods and coffee company Laiko Kafekopteio Ltd. (People’s Coffee Grinding Co.), the wine and drinks maker LOEL Ltd, and the printing company Printco Ltd. This has transformed the Laiko Group into a widely diversified and financially strong organisation involved in the food and beverage (F&B) and printing, plastics and packaging industries. They produce coffee, snacks, potato chips and confectionery, and import international brands such as Mythos, Pilsner Urqueil, Colfresh, etc.
Masterstar Trading Ltd. is the trading arm of the Laiko Group that deals mainly with the import, distribution and re-export of electric household appliances, including GREE air conditioners and building materials.
Their main suppliers are from Germany, Italy, China, Russia, Romania, Slovakia, Austria, Czech Republic, Spain and Greece.
Picture shows Sam Chen (left) Deputy General Manager, GREE Overseas; Vasilis Vasiliou, Laiko Group Marketing Manager; Yiannos Valanides, Laiko Group Managing Director; and Vassos Partasides.
