TCL Company Belongs To Which Country? [Chinese company or Indian?]

Admin September 27, 2022September 23, 2022

TCL Corporation is a Chinese multinational electronics company headquartered in Huizhou, Guangdong Province.

TCL designs, develops, manufactures and sells products including television sets, mobile phones, air conditioners and more. It also provides internet services through its subsidiary, TCL Multimedia.

This article will break down on TCL belongs to which country and few other things that you might be interested in knowing about the TCL brand.

Table of Contents

TCL Company Belongs To Which Country?

TCL was founded in 1981 under the name of Telecommunication Laboratory in Huizhou, Guangdong Province.

Well without ado, let me answer you that TCL belongs to the Chinese country and is a Chinese brand.

The company was initially a joint venture between the Chinese Academy of Sciences and several enterprises in Guangdong. In 1985, TCL was restructured as a purely Chinese-owned enterprise. In July 2003, TCL Multimedia was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

In April 2005, TCL and Thomson SA of France announced a joint venture to produce televisions under the Thomson and RCA brands in China for sale worldwide. However, in February 2007, TCL and Thomson SA agreed to terminate their joint venture.

In 2008, TCL acquired the Alcatel Mobile Phone brand from Alcatel-Lucent.

In 2016, TCL announced that it would invest US$3 billion over the next five years to build a global TV manufacturing base in Huizhou, Guangdong Province. The move is part of TCL’s goal to become one of the world’s largest TV manufacturers.

In 2017, TCL announced that it would invest US$1.6 billion to build a new display panel factory in China. The new factory is expected to begin mass production in 2019 and will have an annual capacity of 30,000 glass substrates.

In 2018, TCL announced that it would invest US$500 million to build a new intelligent manufacturing base in Huizhou, Guangdong Province. The new factory is expected to begin production in 2019 and will have an annual capacity of 10 million TV sets.

A Brief History of TCL Company

1981-2000: Early History

TCL was founded as a typewriter factory in 1981 by Li Dongsheng in Huizhou, Guangdong Province.

Its earliest products were electronic calculator watches and later moved into the production of wireless telecommunications products such as mobile phones.

In 1995, TCL launched its first color TV under the brand name “Regale”. two years later in 1997, TCL merged with Thomson Multimedia which owned the RCA and GE brands in North America.

This merger allowed TCL to gain an international presence with its products now being sold in over 160 countries.

2001-2010: Expansion & Diversification

In 2003, TCL established three joint ventures with French partner Thomson SA which significantly increased its manufacturing capacity.

The following year, TCL became the largest shareholder (with a 14% stake) of Shenzhen China Star Optoelectronics Technology which made LCD and plasma panels.

In 2007, TCL announced its plans to double its LCD TV production capacity by investing US$2 billion over the next five years. In 2009, TCL acquired the Alcatel mobile phone business from its parent company Alcatel-Lucent for €290 million (US$408 million).

2011-present: Global Branding Strategy

In March 2011, TCL announced its global rebranding strategy which saw it change its corporate name from “TeleCommunication Limited” to “TCL Corporation”.

The following year saw the launch of its first Internet-connected smart TVs which ran on theAndroid platform.

In 2014, TLC formed a strategic partnership with Roku Inc which saw Roku’s software being used in all of TLC’s smart TVs from 2015 onwards.

By 2016, TLC had become the fourth largest TV manufacturer in the world selling 15 million units that year. In 2018, it was announced that BlackBerry Limited would outsource the design, manufacture and sale of all BlackBerry-branded smartphones to TLC.

How TCL is Doing Now?

TCL is one of the largest television manufacturers in the world. In 2019, TCL ranked fourth in the global TV market with a market share of 10 percent.

TCL is also the largest television manufacturer in China with a market share of 26 percent.

TCL has a strong R&D capability and has been ranked among the world’s top 100 technology companies by Thomson Reuters. TCL has more than 30,000 patents and applications worldwide.

TCL has a global sales and service network in more than 160 countries. In China, TCL has more than 10,000 retail outlets.

As of 2022, TCL is the second-largest television manufacturer in the world behind Samsung Electronics and ahead of LG Electronics.

Last Thoughts!

TCL is a multinational electronics company that has a long history dating back to 1981 when it was founded as a typewriter factory in Huizhou, Guangdong Province. Today, it is one of the largest television manufacturers in the world with products sold in over 160 countries.

Throughout its history, TCL has undergone several rebrandings and expansion efforts including partnering with Roku Inc in 2014 and BlackBerry Limited in 2018. It remains to be seen what other changes or partnerships lie ahead for this ever-evolving company.

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