The kitchen appliance industry has entered a new channel of close competition

After Fotile launched its annual new kitchen appliance product launch in August this year, a large number of industry giants such as Midea, Robam, Vatti, and Haier launched their annual new product launches in just one month. As a result, a new channel for "close combat" in the Chinese kitchen appliance industry has been opened. This is not just a close combat between giants, but also a battle of elimination and reshuffle in the industry that has reached the middle stage.

Fotile made a good start. On August 16, it held its annual new product launch, launching an automatic lifting range hood that can chase away oil smoke, the Cloud Cube, and a new dishwasher Q7 with three separate tanks for fruits and vegetables, sinks, and dishes. Later, Midea took advantage of the group's media open day to showcase new products including fully automatic steam range hoods, variable frequency microwave ovens, dishwashers, and induction cookers.

Entering September, the heat wave of "showing off technical abs and displaying innovative products" among kitchen appliance giants has become more concentrated and intense. It is reported that on September 20, Robam Electric Appliances and Vatti will hold new product launches in Shanghai and Beijing at the same time. Based on the traditional smoke, stove and fire extinguisher categories, it is believed that new products such as dishwashers, electric steamers, electric ovens, water purifiers, etc. will become the focus of Robam and Vatti's efforts one after another; two days later, Haier will join hands with five major brands on September 22 to detonate the Chinese kitchen appliance industry with global resources, and will then transform from a single new kitchen appliance to a full set of kitchen solutions. I believe that Haier, the finale, will bring a good show.

Autumn is a season of harvest, but for Chinese kitchen appliance companies this year, it is a good time to compete for the cake. Behind the heavy efforts of companies such as Fotile, Midea, Robam, Vatti, and Haier in the kitchen appliance market, three signals of changes in China's kitchen appliance industry are released, mainly focusing on market space, brand competition and cross-industry cross-border aspects.

First, the competition among kitchen appliance giants is becoming more and more intense. When the high-end kings Fotile and Robam compete head-on with the scale kings Haier and Midea, it will be interesting to see who will have the last laugh. This will also be the main theme of competition in the kitchen appliance industry in the next few years. The result may be that the giants fight and the small factories suffer. The market reshuffle will start, and it will exceed the expectations of many kitchen appliance companies. It will be a storm.

Second, the kitchen appliance industry has moved from "dividing the pie" in the market to "grabbing the pie". In fact, the final result of the competition between the scale kings of Midea and Haier and the high-end kings of Fotile and Robam is not a fierce battle, but a fight to make the pie bigger while grabbing the biggest piece. In the end, the nearly 300 kitchen appliance brands will be eliminated to less than 100, or even compressed to about 50. This is a "natural" process, and it is also a redistribution of the interest structure.

Third, it is different from the traditional large-scale or small-scale appliance industry, which is a typical large-scale, big-brand-dominated and reshuffle model. Although the scale of the kitchen appliance industry is still at the stage of impacting 100 billion, kitchen appliance companies have long pursued the dual drive of scale and profit, and pursued product experience and cultural influence based on user needs. The strategy of large-scale appliances cannot be blindly copied in the kitchen appliance industry, and a new runway must be established. Therefore, the kitchen appliance battle between Haier and Midea will enter the deep water zone, and it will become increasingly difficult for other second-tier brands such as Vatti to steal the show.

When the reshuffle turns from a result into a process, the biggest feeling for all enterprises is that the market is becoming more and more volatile, the competitors are becoming more and more fierce, and the consumers are becoming more and more picky. At present, Chinese kitchen appliance enterprises are in a critical period of "eight immortals crossing the sea, each showing their magical powers" in the reshuffle channel. It seems that everyone has a chance to fight and grab a piece of the pie. In fact, the opportunities and space for some kitchen appliance enterprises have become smaller and smaller.

From the timeline, the non-integrated competition between kitchen appliance companies that win by scale and companies that dominate high-end brands is difficult to determine the winner in the short term because they each have their own user groups. In fact, the competitive effect between them is greater than the synergistic effect. Therefore, Haier, Midea and Fotile have their own advantages and each takes what it needs. The competitive landscape is relatively stable and difficult to break in the short term.

From a business perspective, the channels and capital behind large enterprises and the products and brands behind strong enterprises, non-standard competition will eventually lead to the blocking and suppression of other types of enterprises. In other words, the dual-track reshuffle in the kitchen appliance industry will catch many companies off guard. The means of competition and game tools will be diversified.

This close combat among kitchen appliance companies will continue for another 1-2 years. The market structure behind it will change from the blue ocean to the red ocean, and will also move towards a bloody battle! Are you ready?

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.