GE 2007 Annual Report Download - page 6

Over the past fi ve years, we have invested in our brand to align
it with our business strategy and to make it more relevant to our
customers around the world. As global business becomes more
competitive, the GE brand is more valuable than ever before.
DELIVERING A VALUABLE BRAND
An important part of satisfying our customers in emerging
markets is developing unique products to meet their needs. We
have a pipeline of high-tech, low-cost products for our customers,
designed and produced in their countries. Our Healthcare business
develops products in six emerging markets, where we have
close to 2,000 engineers. They launch approximately 30 high-
tech, high-quality products every year. Recently, we initiated a
program to serve primary-care clinics in Turkey using portable
ultrasound, mammography, and X-ray technology. These
initiatives are an integral part of improving the healthcare systems
in emerging markets.
China and India are the biggest emerging markets, and are
essential to GE. But we see that the Middle East and Africa
are changing even more rapidly. GE’s revenues in the region will
grow from $5 billion in 2006 to $13 billion in 2010. Here we win
by being a local player. We are building plants to manufacture
healthcare products in Saudi Arabia to address a $20 billion market
in the region by 2010. At the Dubai Air Show last November,
GE captured $10 billion of commercial engine wins from Middle
Eastern airlines. We are building equipment-servicing shops in
Algeria, Angola, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi.
Growth in environmental solutions and emerging markets is
exhilarating and essential to the economic future of the world.
But leading in these themes can be diffi cult for U.S. companies.
Many still believe that there is not a need for clean energy,
or that global warming is a hoax. Furthermore, globalization
remains controversial. Some prefer to focus on the challenges of
globalization rather than the opportunities created by it.
But we remain advocates for change. To accelerate investments
in clean energy and environmental solutions, we have asked
governments around the world to put in place targets for green-
house-gas emissions reduction and incentives for new clean
energy technologies. To facilitate growth around the world, we
have advocated for open markets that operate with high standards
of conduct, product quality, and respect for workers.
Creating the future requires technology and reputation. We
have never hesitated to use our good name in causes we believe
are good for the world and for GE investors. And the payoff for
you is substantial: ecomagination revenues are expected to grow
from $6 billion in 2004 to $25 billion in 2010; emerging market
revenues will grow from $19 billion in 2004 to almost $50 billion
in 2010. This is $50 billion of revenue growth for GE in a relatively
short time period.
Scale can be an advantage for growth. By investing in these
strategic themes, we make our size an advantage and give our
Company an enduring purpose.
We develop leadership businesses
Management and the Board spend a signifi cant amount of time
defi ning what makes a “great GE business.” We invest in leader-
ship businesses that refl ect the essential themes mentioned earlier
and leverage our key capabilities: brand, technology, content
development, globalization, people, and fi nancial strength. We
like businesses where good management results in superior
fi nancial results. We like broadly diversifi ed businesses with
multiple ways to grow. We believe that our process skills create
a competitive advantage. We like businesses where we
can “retool” our strategies to capture new opportunities for
profi table growth.
We have aggressively reshaped GE over the past few years.
Since 2002, we have exited businesses with revenues of about
$50 billion — the equivalent of a FORTUNE 50 company. We have
exited all or most of our insurance, materials, equipment services,
and slow-growth entertainment and industrial platforms. We also
exited our U.S. mortgage origination business and announced
plans to sell our personal loan business in Japan. Strong
and consistent actions have increased our growth rate while
reducing volatility.
Over the same time period we acquired $80 billion of
new businesses — the equivalent of a FORTUNE 30 company.
We invested in Infrastructure, creating one of the largest
Since the launch of
imagination at work,
the value of GE’s
brand has grown from
$42 to $52 billion,
according to a 2007
Interbrand study.
(In $ billions)
BRAND VALUE GROWTH 2007
2003
$42
$52
4 ge 2007 annual report
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