Haier, a 17-year-old appliance maker based in the port city of Qingdao, crept into the U.S. market in 1994, selling just three mini-refrigerator models through a distributor named Michael Jemal, an energetic appliance entrepreneur in Great Neck, N.
Whether living in a Cheung Kong apartment, switching on a Fortress appliance powered by Hong Kong Electric, buying groceries at Park 'N Shop or toiletries at Watson's, listening to Metro Radio, or, soon, connecting via a PCCW-HKT line, people in the Special Administrative Region are a captive market.