TV brand Hisense has made inroads into the bottom end of the value TV market and appliance market in Australia while also splashing money on NRL sponsorship deals now they are facing a questionable future after the exit of a key husband and wife team.
Currently the Chinese TV brand is looking for a new management team after two of their most experienced executives, husband and wife team Tania Garonzi and Andre Iannuzzi quite within weeks of each other.
Tania Garonzi left and Andre Iannuzzi far right.
These two executives have been credited with establishing the Hisense brand in Australia before Chinese management stepped in to run the Company.
Hisense management recently had a major falling out with Harvey Norman after they gave the retailer who has supported them in the past a big two finger salute, over the exclusive appointment of The Good Guys to the Toshiba brand.
Some insiders have told ChannelNews that the move opens the door for archrival TCL who at the weekend announced record profits.
TCL is the world’s #2 TV brand behind Samsung and were the first to market with Mini LED TV technology.
In an effort to shore up their management ranks the Company recently appointed national sales manager, Warren Allison to the role of general manager with insiders telling ChannelNews that it was “inevitable that Iannuzzi also went from the Company.
One condition according to two people who have stuck their hand up for the job is that the heir apparent has to be Melbourne based.
“This is a Chinese Company and management like to see that you are actually turning up to work” one potential candidate said.
Questions are also being asked as to whether Harvey Norman played a role in the exit of Ianuzzi who was seen as being front and centre of the decision to appoint The Good Guys and not Harvey Norman to exclusively sell the Toshiba range of TV’s which Hisense now manufacture.
ChannelNews understands that Iannuzzi’ s position at the Company had been compromised due to his marriage to Tania Garonzi who in taking on a senior role at The Good Guys had created a difficult environment for her husband especially as she will be a key decision maker in the future for certain brands at The Good Guys.
ChannelNews has been told by senior Harvey Norman executives that the Company is still “smarting” after they spent several years building the Toshiba brand only for it to be taken away from them by Hisense management.
They also discovered that Hisense had flown The Good Guys management to China to discuss their appointment to the Toshiba brand, Harvey Norman were apparently “Not even considered” according to one insider.
Iannuzzi told ChannelNews that the decision was made 12 months ago to give the brand exclusively to The Good Guys.
Harvey Norman management have told ChannelNews that they were told six months ago that no decision had been made re the former Japanese which Hisense acquired in 2017.
Toshiba sold a 95 percent stake in Toshiba Visual Solutions to Hisense Electric for $113.6 million. Toshiba kept a 5 percent stake.
The decision was made because the Hisense brand that is seen in the USA as a budget brand had been rejected by US consumers.
At the time Toshiba’s Visual Solutions subsidiary was bleeding as losses mounted.
The moved also followed a bitter fight between Sharp and Hisense.
Sharp sued Hisense in a San Francisco court. In the suit, Sharp alleged Hisense sold substandard Sharp TVs that devalued the brand, falsely advertised the screen size and brightness of Sharp branded TVs and produced TVs that emitted harmful excess radiation.
Hisense eventually settled with Sharp who took their own brand back. Later the new owners of Sharp Foxconn, launched a new range of Sharp TVs in the USA.
Shortly Tempo will launch a new range of Sharp TVs at The Good Guys.
