In a recent announcement, Haier disclosed its new role as the official partner of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) for Southeast Asia, spanning the years 2024 to 2025. The formal signing of this agreement transpired in Jakarta, Indonesia, coinciding with Haier’s ongoing participation as the official partner of the Petronas Malaysia Open 2024 badminton championship. This strategic collaboration underscores Haier’s commitment to the badminton community, solidifying its presence in both regional and global badminton events.
BWF Commercial & Communications Director Owen Leed stated, “Badminton is one of the most followed and played sports in Asia with strong worldwide development and footprint with more than 700 million global fans. Establishing partnerships with global leading brands such as Haier will help promote further development and popularisation of badminton. It allows us to cultivate our shared values like hard work and perseverance, bring more excitement to badminton fans, and support the development of the sport by enabling access to more families.”
The HSBC BWF World Tour has broad appeal in Southeast Asia. Haier’s presence on the badminton court is an important aspect in the company’s brand awareness and “Trinity” localisation strategy comprising R&D, manufacturing, and marketing to help strengthen local brand building and market expansion.
Haier Malaysia Managing Director Fan Jing enthused, “Badminton is a game that unites us all and we are heartened by the passion shown by Malaysians and fellow Southeast Asians for the sport. At the end of 2023, we shared our increasing focus on aligning with sports marketing as it resonates with the pursuit to inspire Malaysians to achieve greater things. In Malaysia, Haier recently extended the partnership with the national men’s doubles pair, Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik for another year.”
Since onboarding Aaron and Wooi Yik as brand ambassadors in 2023, Haier has successfully organised the inaugural Haier Cup in Malaysia. The Haier Cup will be an annual competition and will be expanded to more locations this year, including Sarawak.
“This partnership with BWF is a positive step for us in our commitment to reach more Malaysians and inspire them. We hope to uncover the next generation of talent to continue Malaysia’s legacy on the badminton court,” Fan continued.
The BWF was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is an international badminton management organisation that aims to promote and develop badminton around the world, strengthening the connections with the badminton associations in each country. Currently, it has 201 formal member associations, including the Badminton Association of Malaysia.
Besides the Petronas Malaysia Open 2024, Haier will also sponsor the Perodua Malaysia Masters 2024. These are both HSBC BWF World Tour tournaments with ranking points towards qualification to the year ending finale featuring the best shuttlers, the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals.
Beyond badminton, Haier has partnered various international sports events in recent years. These include the tennis French Open, Roland Garros and the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals. Haier has also been the Philippine Basketball League official partners for four consecutive years.
Since entering Southeast Asia, Haier has maintained a user-oriented approach to introduce products that meet the different needs of local customers to inspire smart living. Though cultures may differ, users’ pursuit of a better life is the same. Haier strives to launch great products and services that address pain points to elevate daily living.
This user-led approach has enabled Haier to gain the trust of customers worldwide, and along with it take a lead in local markets. The company is unwavering in its commitment to delivering quality products with innovative technologies for the benefit of customers.
