1.5HP inverter 4399 yuan, is Xiaomi entering the air-conditioning industry to make money?

Can the hot air conditioner market really return to the era of "stupid people with lots of money"? If not, why is the price of a 1.5-horsepower inverter air conditioner from Xiaomi as high as 4,399 yuan, which is close to Gree, Midea and Haier? The most important thing is that this is not a Xiaomi brand, but an "unknown" Zhimi. Does Xiaomi really think that the air conditioner industry is still a big piece of fat meat, and anyone can come in and grab money?

On August 10, after two years of planning, Xiaomi's ecological chain company Zhimi Technology released a self-developed 1.5-horsepower inverter air conditioner for the first time. The price was as high as 4,399 yuan, claiming to be comparable to Japanese-made air conditioners priced at 10,000 yuan. Faced with such a high price of Xiaomi's Zhimi air conditioner, it quickly caused controversy among home appliance peers and home appliance dealers in multiple home appliance circle communication groups. The focus of the controversy was: the product lacked a sense of surprise and the market price was too high.

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In the home appliance circle communication group, more than 95% of home appliance manufacturers, in addition to expressing that the price of more than 4,000 yuan for the Xiaomi Air Conditioner is "more expensive than expected", did not feel "surprised and pleasantly surprised" by the appearance and functions of this air conditioner which is built in Xiaomi's usual minimalist style.

After the release of this air conditioner, Zhimi Technology also released a smart toilet seat, but the price was only 999 yuan, far lower than the average market price of toilet seats, which created a strong contrast for air conditioner manufacturers. Some air conditioner manufacturers suspected that "the air conditioner and toilet seat are both Zhimi brands, but one is more expensive and the other is cheaper, there must be something mysterious behind it."

In the past two years, the air-conditioning market has been booming. Although the three major brands account for 70% to 80% of the market, a large number of miscellaneous brands and copycat companies have still achieved sales of hundreds of thousands of units in the past two years, which makes Xiaomi believe that it still has the opportunity to make a fortune in the air-conditioning market with high prices. Similarly, facing the emerging products and markets such as smart toilet lids, Chinese families have a biased understanding of brands and are more dispersed. Xiaomi needs to quickly seize market share through low-price strategies and build its brand with low prices.

"I originally thought that Xiaomi's Zhimi air conditioner would only sell for 2,399 yuan or 1,999 yuan, but I didn't expect it to rise directly to 4,399 yuan. It's just a variable-frequency air conditioner, which is completely inconsistent with the high-cost-performance positioning that Xiaomi has promoted in the past. It is a high-priced product," many home appliance dealers told Home Appliance Circle.

However, an insider told the home appliance circle, "Xiaomi and Zhimi are actually two brands with different positioning. Xiaomi used to focus on the high cost-performance route, while Zhimi took the mid-to-high-end route. Of course, from a cost perspective, although this air conditioner is manufactured by Changhong, it was redeveloped by the Zhimi team. The initial investment in molds alone reached 30 million. Coupled with the lack of large-scale procurement advantages, its raw material costs are at least 20% higher than that of Gree and Midea, so high pricing is inevitable."

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The Xiaomi air conditioner that has been rumored for many years is finally on the market. However, many air conditioner colleagues who watched the launch conference of Zhimi Air Conditioner told the home appliance circle, "We have never worried that Xiaomi will have an impact on the air conditioner market. We don't know how Zhimi Air Conditioner with this price can gain a foothold in the current market. Of course, there will definitely be a group of fans who will buy it."

Starting from August 16, this Xiaomi Zhimi inverter air conditioner will be sold on the Mijia platform instead of the Xiaomi Mall, and the first batch will only be available to users in eight cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Suzhou, Wuhan, and Nanjing. At that time, the delivery, installation, and service of this air conditioner will be handled by the Changhong service team.

The home appliance circle learned that Lei Jun has high hopes for this Xiaomi air conditioner. Although there is only one model, the expected target is no less than 2 million units. However, it will take time to verify how long it will take to achieve the expected target. However, in the short term, it will be difficult for Xiaomi air conditioners to achieve scale benefits, and high prices due to high costs will be inevitable.

Many home appliance dealers are most concerned about whether they can be agents for Xiaomi's air conditioner products. The home appliance circle learned that Zhimi Air Conditioner will not be open to offline dealer channels in the short term, and will mainly be sold through Xiaomi's own e-commerce platform and Xiaomi Home physical channels. Currently, the Zhimi Air Conditioner team is still in contact with channel retail giants such as JD.com and Suning.

Of course, how Xiaomi's Zhimi Air Conditioner will win a place in the Chinese market dominated by giants and oligarchs will only be answered by time!

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.