Dependence on high-end products continues to increase

With the intensification of market competition, the dependence of home appliance companies on high-end products is also rising. However, it should be noted that high-end products cannot be considered as gimmicks but should be raised to a strategic level.

High-end appliances contrarian into the long-term

Affected by factors such as the slowdown in overall economic growth at home and abroad, the home appliance market in China was in a downturn in 2012, but the high-end home appliance market showed good momentum and showed strong resistance to pressure.

Third-party monitoring data show that from January to November 2012, the high-end products of color TVs, washing machines, and refrigerators have seen positive growth in the first, second, third, and fourth-tier markets, especially as the market has declined in the overall market. The third and fourth-tier markets are even more outstanding and highlights. Take color TV and washing machine products as an example, 7.0-7.4 kg of high-volume products have increased by 12.62% and 14.52% in the third and fourth-tier markets, respectively; 55-inch and higher smart TVs have increased by 568.55% and 489.01% in the third and fourth-tier markets, respectively. .

In fact, in the primary and secondary markets, the proportion of high-end products continues to increase due to the growth in replacement demand. High-end home appliances with excellent quality, novel appearance, and energy conservation and environmental protection have become the protagonists in the market; With the advancement of urbanization, the fourth-tier market has also ushered in a period of consumption upgrading, and the consumption capacity of high-end home appliances has gradually been released. In addition, Haier and other brands’ product restructuring strategies in the third and fourth-tier markets have also been implemented in this year. Get further improvement.

In this regard, G FK China General Manager Zhou Qun on January 17 at the fourth home appliance "Red Roof Award" award ceremony, said that market stability is one of the basic characteristics of high-end home appliances development. The continuous emergence of innovative technologies has enabled high-end home appliances to maintain a stable or even growing market share of high-end products. From the perspective of the global market, even in the period of macroeconomic ups and downs, the high-end market has not been significantly affected, but it has remained stable.

According to Ovid Consulting's data, from January to November 2012, the sales volume of inverter air conditioners in the domestic primary and secondary markets has reached 53.3%, which exceeds the fixed speed air conditioners, and the increase rate has reached 8.4%; the sales volume of drum washing machines has reached 36.6 percent. %, an increase of 3.3% over the same period of the previous year; The proportion of open-door and multi-door high-end refrigerators has also been further increased, with sales volume growth reaching 12.6% and 9.5% respectively. The data of Zhong Yikang also showed that from January to November 2012, the proportion of retail sales to high-end refrigerators with open doors and doors was 20% and 6.5% respectively, which together accounted for nearly 30% of the market's share.

Not only that, as consumers continue to change and grow, high-end products are also changing to meet new market demands.

The “2012-2013 China High-end Consumer Electronics Consumption Survey” released by China National Grid on January 17th shows that the attributes of “high-end home appliances” in consumers’ minds have changed slightly. In 2009, consumers were purchasing high-end products. Among the factors considered, 65.9% of the “brand reputation”, “good after-sale service” accounted for 53%, and “energy saving and environmental protection” accounted for 48.5%. In the 2012 survey, the top three attributes were “brand word of mouth” 81.9. %, 75.2% high technical content, and "energy saving and environmental protection" 71%.

Industry insiders believe that the Chinese home appliance market is a fully competitive market. Consumers are becoming increasingly sophisticated and rational in their consumption of home appliances. Consumers agree that “one penny and one goods”; on the other hand, the competition in high-end home appliance market is not based on price. But to highlight value for money.

High-end consumer electronics market is becoming more and more heavy

Consumer demand for high-tech, smart, energy-saving and environmentally-friendly home appliances is gradually heating up. Among them, the white market's performance is most obvious: According to the retail terminal feedback data shows that based on the lower replacement rate of white products, consumers in the purchase of white products, product quality and quality have a higher psychological expectations.

Both the Ovid Consulting and Zhongyikang data show that from January to November 2012, China's home appliance companies can achieve the "trumps" of contrarian growth, mostly through the promotion of product gross margins and the promotion of high-end product sales. In other ways, the proportion of high-end products in the white electricity, black electricity, and small household appliances industries has been enhanced. In the first half of 2012, the white-electricity industry continued its “increase” trend in 2011, with even negative growth in refrigerators and washing machines, but industry giants such as Haier, Gree, Midea and others plunged through high-end products, adjusted the proportion of high-end products, and dropped some The end market still achieved a net profit increase.

MIM R’s previously published research report also stated that 70% of consumers’ expectations for the use of various home appliances are more than 5 years, of which 77% use TV 2 There are intentions of redemption for more than a year, and 70% of consumers will consider the redemption of products only if they use air-conditioning for more than 5 years. Some consumers expect their useful lives to exceed 10 years. Consumers tend to purchase such products and tend to Reliable, high quality products. Therefore, the demand for high-end home appliances will continue to rise.

In addition, the dependence of high-end products on the small household appliances and kitchen appliances industry has also increased in 2012. According to incomplete statistics, from January to October 2012, the sales growth of the electric water heater industry was much higher than that of the home appliance industry. The sales growth of the larger companies was between 15% and 30%, and the sales growth of individual companies even exceeded. 50%, but at the same time, sales have not increased over the same period. A number of people in the industry stated that the growth of the electric water heater industry in 2012 mainly came from the increase in the price of single products and the sales of high-end products.

According to industry analysts, China's macroeconomic slowdown will not be much improved in the short term, and the home appliance industry is also facing a crisis of high inventory and overcapacity. Household appliance companies should change their growth mode and use the opportunity of industrial upgrading to market. Marketing focuses on high value-added high-end products.

According to Zhu Jun, deputy secretary-general of the China Household Electrical Appliances Association, the high-precision pure high-end home appliance products will become more and more important in the future high-end home appliances. The current needs of these products or brands are for the corresponding consumers to recognize and recognize.

Zhang Yanbin, Dean of the Ovid Consulting and Research Institute, also stated that: driven by consumer upgrades and demand for updates, the proportion of high-end home appliances continues to increase. “Home appliances are no longer popular products and have been upgraded to the consumer era of replacement, especially in one or two. In the cities, consumers tend to pursue higher quality products."

Xiangcai Securities analysts believe that under the general trend of consumption upgrades and energy-saving subsidies for the promotion of energy-saving appliances, a large number of potential renewed demands will gradually be released. It is expected that the growth of the industry will be dominated by structural growth. At present, household appliances are mainly consumed by the post-70s and the post-80s. The concept of consumption will be upgraded, and high-end energy-saving products will receive more attention. The future high-end home appliance market will have large room for growth.

"High-end era" companies need strategic thinking

It is not difficult to foresee that the upgrading of the industrial structure will become the main driving force for the growth of the household appliance industry in the future, and the high-end products of the home appliance market in 2013 will continue to be a hot spot to look forward to.

However, Xu Dongsheng, the general secretary of the China Household Electrical Appliances Association, said that although some domestic home appliance manufacturers have introduced a series of high-end products, there is still a gap between our products in terms of technology, industrial design, marketing, etc. compared with products in European mature markets. "Therefore, in the next phase, I expect our home appliance companies to practice their skills and design and produce more and better home appliance products to meet consumer demand for high-end appliances through technological innovation and technological advancement."

As early as mid-January of 2011, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology had issued a document stating that there is still a big gap between the level of brand building in the home appliance industry in China and the manufacturing capacity, the value-added brand is relatively low, and the phenomenon of product homogenization is relatively serious. Mainly to licensing processing. The household appliance industry urgently needs to further strengthen brand awareness, raise the level of core technology R&D and industrial design, increase the internationalized operating capacity of the brand, increase its position in the global industrial chain and influence in the international market.

In fact, the home appliance industry, which is in the cold winter of “the global economy is weak and demand is shrinking”, is facing the double challenge of “high-end transformation” and “enterprise survival”. On the one hand, the development of enterprises needs to be based on the sustainable management and development under the support of large-scale production; on the other hand, the long-term development of enterprises depends on the right to define and control the industry's future development trend and direction.

Therefore, in the long run, high-end strategy is a path that has to be taken. However, for the Chinese home appliance industry that started with “imitation and learning”, it is not easy to take the “high-end” route.

Some industry analysts have warned that for the Chinese home appliance industry, which started with "imitation and learning," it would be difficult to become a high-end leader in the industry. This is not only due to the comprehensive strength of "high-end strategy" encompassed by "independent technological innovation capabilities, strong brand premium capabilities, and the best consumer experience", but also the brand's long-term influence and sense of value.

High-end products are the product of market segmentation and are aimed at high-end consumer groups. For this market, there are many home appliance companies to learn. In the domestic market, urban and rural areas have different understandings and requirements for high-end products; in the global market, developing countries and developed countries also have different understandings and requirements for high-end products. Only by adjusting and innovating products, services, and marketing links, and developing a high-end market under the guidance of a good strategy can we gain market recognition.

Obviously, the need for home appliance companies to pay attention to, can not be considered as a gimmick high-end, or a simple combination of price and technology, if you hope that high-end can bring huge profits for the company, create growth space, it should be raised to the corporate strategy At a high level, we have established a support system that matches the price in terms of technology, function, design, service, and after-sales service. Otherwise, the high-end transition will hardly continue.