TV brand TCL bets big on soccer success

Chinese home appliance maker TCL Corp said it will speed up its expansion in Russia, eyeing the huge potential from the world's largest country by land area as it hosts the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

"Overall TV sales in Russia will reach more than 6 million units this year. Russian consumers pay special attention to the technology of products, especially QLED (quantum dot light-emitting diode) technology," said Wang Cheng, senior vice-president of TCL Corp and CEO of TCL Multimedia.

TCL's sales in the Russian market rose by 30 percent from January to May, due to the World Cup and the endorsement of Brazilian soccer superstar Neymar, which is two times the average growth rate, said Leonid Churikov, marketing communications director of Merlion company, an exclusive distributor of TCL in Russia.