Can Panasonic air conditioner technology make a comeback?

"Start-up in seconds, powerful cooling and heating" is the most realistic portrayal of the 2015 Panasonic air conditioner new product launch that just ended in Guangzhou.

While the research and development of the entire air-conditioning market continues to move towards non-technical gimmicks such as concept hype and excessive marketing, Panasonic Air Conditioning, a Japanese brand, has once again brought the audience's attention back to the right track with its technological innovation.

The Chinese market is still inexhaustible

Looking at the domestic home appliance market in 2014, apart from color TVs, refrigerators and washing machines, only the household air conditioner industry has almost no companies with year-on-year shipment declines. In particular, the performance of Japanese brand Panasonic air conditioners has not only rebounded in sales profits in China, but also driven the entire Panasonic company's white appliance industry operating profit to increase by 101% from April to June this year.

According to Panasonic's 2013 annual report, the company's white goods business performed weaker than its overall performance last year, with operating profits down 22% year-on-year. Panasonic also stated clearly in its annual report that the company was struggling in China's home air-conditioning market.

In fact, the air conditioning industry in China has become a mature and rational household appliance industry, with domestic enterprises occupying an absolute dominant position. In the process of brand replacement in the industry, the first to be unable to carry the weight was the Japanese brand Panasonic Air Conditioner. With the decline in performance year by year, Panasonic has repeatedly announced that the air conditioning industry will gradually withdraw from the Chinese market .

In view of the reality of the continuous depreciation of the Japanese yen, Panasonic has begun to move part of the production capacity of white goods such as air conditioners and washing machines from its overseas production bases in China and other countries back to its production bases in Japan this year.

However, for the Panasonic brand, which has dominated the Chinese home appliance market for many years, it is not an easy corporate transformation to truly withdraw from the market unscathed.

Win with wisdom, not price wars

Whether it is the home air conditioning industry or other home appliance brands, the inherent normal phenomenon in the Chinese home appliance market is price wars. From Gree, which took the lead in launching a price war, to Midea, Chigo, AUX and others who have joined in, the home appliance market always likes to set off a round of market price competition that overshadows the other round.

However, this "alternative" marketing method is very different from the Japanese manufacturing industry that has always advocated winning people over with advanced technology. Therefore, in the smoke-filled price war in the air-conditioning market, Panasonic, which is not good at showing its strengths, can only go further and further away.

Even though the market is shrinking year by year, Masahiko Yamaguchi, general manager of Guangzhou Panasonic Air Conditioner Co., Ltd., still believes that "price war" is not the magic weapon to solve the problem. Panasonic still insists on winning by quality and will not participate in any price war.

Masahiko Yamaguchi said that as consumer concepts continue to improve, more and more consumers will not choose to buy a product just because the price is a few hundred yuan lower, and product quality has become the key consideration for more consumers; therefore, Panasonic air conditioners must let consumers understand the value of their products. Although Panasonic air conditioners may be slightly more expensive than other products, the price difference will be made up by the electricity bills saved in the later stage, and the experience will also be better.

“You know the cold and the warmth yourself”: User experience is the foundation

In terms of technological innovation, in addition to the two main technical advantages of "strong" and "fast", Panasonic has also added an air purification function to remove PM2.5 and an automatic user sensing function to the new 2015 air conditioner products in response to China's air environment.

Panasonic, which has returned to the home air conditioning market with such a strong technological advantage, must have been stimulated by the rebound in market share. Panasonic's sales report from April to September 2014 showed that the overall revenue of Panasonic's air conditioning division reached 181.7 billion yen, an annual increase of 8%.

At the same time, the obvious recovery of China's household air-conditioning market in 2014 may also be an important reason why Panasonic is extra focused on promoting new air-conditioning products in 2015.

Panasonic said that in 2015 it plans to set up a strategic special zone in China, expand sales channels, change the current situation where sales are biased towards South China, and actively expand sales in East China.

In terms of sales channel expansion, Panasonic Air Conditioner is learning from major domestic manufacturers to further strengthen its e-commerce investment. In terms of e-commerce platforms, Panasonic plans to actively explore cooperation with Tmall, JD.com and other e-commerce channels on the one hand, and strengthen e-commerce-specific products on the other hand to cater to the shopping habits and lifestyles of the younger generation of consumers.

Comparing the overall characteristics of Panasonic's new product launch, one can't help but think of the recent "Mi-Gee War". Although there is no obvious intention to join the war, Panasonic has actively adopted Xiaomi's Internet marketing methods in expanding sales channels this time, and inadvertently challenged Gree, which claims to "master core technology", with a tendency to rush to the "headlines".

Even so, Masahiko Yamaguchi made it clear that although the overall situation of the air-conditioning market is not optimistic at this stage, Panasonic will definitely not join the air-conditioning price war initiated by Gree and Midea. Researching and developing and producing high-quality air-conditioners is Panasonic's way of competing.

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.