"Under the novel coronavirus pneumonia epidemic situation, as the household electrical appliance industry occupying nearly 30% of the total consumer electronics and durable goods market, its large household appliances (white electricity, kitchen electricity, etc.) and color TV market have increased by 13% and 6% respectively over the same period last year." On March 29th, when GfK, a market consulting agency, released the report on 2021 home appliance market trend and 2022 market opportunity insight, it gave the data of the global home appliance market.
In this context, industry experts stressed that in the future, only by seizing the "huge opportunities" of high-end and green global development, can Chinese brands play a more important role in the global home appliance market.
High end and green become the new driving force of home appliance market
High end and green products have become the driving force for the growth of the global home appliance market.
In 2021, GK's high-end home appliance market is highlighted by its intelligent data. At present, the average market price of household appliances is $449, up 11% year-on-year, which means that consumers spend an average of $51 more for each household appliance.
By category, the average price of game TVs increased by 57% year-on-year, smart refrigerators increased by 33% year-on-year, and TVs with 70 inches and above increased by 49% year-on-year. In addition to the impact of rising prices caused by the rapid rise of raw material costs and logistics costs, it can be seen from consumer research that thanks to the intelligent innovation of household appliances and the drive of high-end comfort experience, the number of consumers who take the initiative to upgrade household appliances without waiting for the damage of old household appliances increased by 16% over the previous year.
Since 2019, consumers are increasingly worried about extreme climate change and pay more attention to environmental protection measures of enterprises. Ipsos China consumer survey data show that consumers' recognition of "a brand willing to spend more money on social responsibility" has reached 45%. Holding the concept of environmental protection and building a brand with a sense of social responsibility will become an inseparable topic for the globalization of Chinese enterprises.
This trend also points out the market opportunities for home appliance brands in the next stage to the industry. Norbert Herzog, chief consultant of GfK's global strategy, told reporters that high-end products are the driving force of growth in the field of global household appliances. Products with technological advantages, innovation ability and added value, and products that fit with consumer values will bring "premium" space. Pay attention to environmental protection and energy conservation, and household appliances guided by ecology and sustainability will have growth potential.
China's household appliance brand transformation is at the right time
In the global home appliance market, Chinese brands are undoubtedly a powerful force. In the face of high-end and green development opportunities, now is the most appropriate time for transformation.
Ipsos China Research believes that at present, consumers have the highest trust index in European, American and Japanese brands, reaching more than 60%, while the trust index of Chinese brands is low and is still in its infancy. However, in terms of different markets, the trust index of Chinese brands in emerging markets is relatively good, while it still needs to be greatly improved in developed markets. 71% of consumers believe that "Chinese brands are very important for today's world", while 69% of consumers believe that "Chinese brands can be expected in the future".
According to GfK data, the sales of Chinese home appliance brands in overseas markets (excluding China and North America) increased by more than 30% in 2021. Taking color TV sets as an example, in 2021, Chinese brands accounted for 8% of the market share in overseas markets (excluding China and North America), and began to have real recognition among global consumers. It is worth noting that at first, Chinese brands often sold their products to Asian countries when they went to sea. In the past few years, high-end markets such as Europe have attracted more and more attention, and Chinese household appliance brands have entered a critical moment of transformation.
The European Council recently adopted the "carbon border regulation mechanism (CBAM)". A number of people in the household appliance industry told reporters that although the first collection scope of the "carbon tariff" did not involve household appliances, the household appliance industry will suffer an indirect impact, which is not "peace of mind". The green and low-carbon of household appliances is not only the low energy efficiency of products, but also the green management of the whole life cycle of products. Compared with traditional high energy consuming industries, although home appliance enterprises are not the industries with the highest single point power consumption and huge environmental pollution, they are industries with long supply chain, complex product characteristics, wide application range, long service time and high overall power consumption. If Chinese home appliance brands do not actively transform to green, the cost of home appliance industry chain will rise and intensify industry competition.
In fact, some Chinese enterprises have begun to practice the concept of sustainable development in terms of products and strategies. For example, the 100 inch laser TV launched by Hisense consumes only 1 / 3 to 1 / 2 of the same size LCD TV because the screen itself does not emit light or heat. Hisense also carried out foaming technology transformation on the refrigerator production line, which achieved the effect of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Chinese enterprises should strive to build a global supply chain
In the above activities, Liu Bin, vice president of Hisense international marketing company, disclosed Hisense's goal of high-end going to sea in 2022. In terms of high-end product layout, the sales of high-end flagship product uled TV of Hisense should increase by more than 40% year-on-year; Continue to enrich the lineup of 100 inch, 120 inch and 80 inch overseas laser TV products, and the overseas sales of laser TV will impact and double the growth.
According to the statistics of China Chamber of Commerce for import and export of mechanical and electrical products, the annual cumulative export of China's household appliances (white electricity) products in 2021 was 118.45 billion US dollars, an increase of 26.4% over the export scale in 2020, and the export scale and growth rate reached a new high in recent ten years. Home appliances have also become the fourth product with an export scale exceeding 100 billion US dollars after electromechanical products relay integrated circuits, mobile phones and computers (including notebook computers).
However, although Chinese household electrical appliance enterprises have accelerated their international layout in recent years, the proportion of independent brands in the industry is still low. Almost all the export modes of small and medium-sized enterprises are FOB OEM mode, and the export price is only half or even less than the terminal price, which also requires Chinese Enterprises to accelerate their ascent to the high end of the industrial chain. During the two sessions this year, Li Dongsheng, the founder and chairman of TCL, called on Chinese enterprises to remain at the middle and low end of the global value chain. In the face of global competition, China's manufacturing industry should be more active and promising.
China's leading household appliance enterprises, including Haier, Hisense and TCL, have been trying to build a global supply chain in recent years. Insiders told reporters that the epidemic did not slow down the pace of globalization of Chinese household appliance enterprises. As an early overseas enterprise in China's home appliance industry, Midea has accelerated the construction of factories in Africa. Haier has increased investment in India, Turkey and Russia. Hisense will establish new home appliance R & D centers in the United States and Japan, and layout nearly 100 flagship stores of high-end brands around the world. In 2021, TCL's overseas revenue was US $19.4 billion, an increase of 70%. Many core materials of home appliances such as televisions manufactured overseas were purchased from China, and the expansion of overseas business also boosted domestic exports.