Foreign home appliances are collectively falling, and it is time for domestic high-end home appliances to rise

In the past, in the minds of Chinese consumers, being able to buy a foreign-brand home appliance at home often became a symbol of the user's status and taste. However, with the departure of a series of giant foreign brands such as Siemens, GE, Sanyo, Toshiba, and Hitachi from the home appliance market, the once glorious "foreign home appliances" are no longer synonymous with high-end appliances. Instead, they are replaced by domestic high-end home appliance brands that are advancing triumphantly. So, how many opportunities will the end of foreign-funded enterprises bring to Chinese companies?

Pressure leads to the departure of foreign brands

The outside world believes that the main reason for foreign investment to leave the home appliance industry is that the profits of the home appliance market are declining year by year. The rapid rise of new brands has grabbed a large market share, and old companies can no longer convince consumers to spend money to buy their products.

This situation is even more obvious in the Chinese market. Whether in terms of product technology, design or price, domestic brands can now compete with or even surpass the world's home appliance giants. The situation in which "foreign brands" monopolized the high-end home appliance market is gone forever. Domestic first-line brands have won numerous awards and appeared in international films, giving consumers a new understanding of the concept of high-end home appliances.

Zhang Yanbin, president of Aowei Consulting Institute, said, "At present, European home appliance giants are abandoning the relatively traditional business of home appliances. On the one hand, the profits of high-end white appliances are not lucrative. On the other hand, the advantages of international brands such as Siemens no longer exist, whether in terms of brand or technology."

In recent years, the former international home appliance giants have been in a state of lack of technological innovation and have relied solely on their brand reputation to survive, which has become the main reason for their market share declining year by year.

Catalyzed by strong consumer purchasing demand

In contrast to the low-key withdrawal of foreign brands, Chinese consumers are beginning to show unprecedented enthusiasm for high-end home appliances.

In recent years, my country's national income has increased significantly, and consumers' consumption concepts have also changed accordingly.

In the home appliance industry, this change is mainly reflected in the fact that consumers' enthusiasm for purchasing high-end home appliances is increasing year by year. According to a Nielsen research report, quality assurance, advanced technology, and status have become the starting points for consumers to choose high-end home appliances.

The domestic household appliance consumption structure is transitioning from practical to enjoyable. Take washing machines as an example. They are no longer a simple labor substitute, but an important carrier for users to improve their quality of life.

Therefore, high-end smart washing machines have become increasingly popular in the market in recent years. Aowei data shows that in the past three years, the market size of stand-alone smart washing machines has maintained an average annual growth of 50%, and this growth rate is expected to continue to expand in the next few years.

Domestic home appliance brands have also grasped this demand of users. Take the water purification Yunshang washing machine launched by high-end home appliance brand Casarte as an example. In addition to ensuring the basic functions of a washing machine such as clean, smooth and quiet washing, in terms of technological innovation, its first Yunshang ecological washing and care system can purify water and sterilize during the washing and clothing care process, allowing users to enjoy a healthier and cleaner quality of life.

Where will domestic high-end home appliances go in the future?

Where the domestic high-end home appliance market will go in the future without the "guidance" of foreign brands has become a question that the home appliance industry has begun to think about.

In the past, the path of pursuing luxurious appearance of products in the era of foreign brands' high-end home appliances is obviously no longer viable. In addition to paying attention to product quality, Chinese consumers have begun to pay more and more attention to the performance and value-added services of home appliances. Intelligence has become a new symbol of domestic high-end home appliances.

"Technology separated from art becomes a device, art separated from technology becomes a display, and high-end home appliances are the organic combination of technology and art." With the protection of national policies, the guidance of market demand, the drive of internal transformation and upgrading of enterprises, and the progress of industry technology, the trend of intelligent home appliances in my country is irreversible. Intelligent functions such as intelligent control, human-machine interconnection, and interpersonal interaction are applied to high-end home appliances that have "beautified" features, making them the main difference from traditional home appliances.

In this regard, domestic home appliance brands have obviously grasped the pain points of users. A large number of smart home appliance products represented by smart TVs have been widely favored by consumers. With the advantages of "art + intelligence", the sales of domestic home appliance brands have far exceeded other "foreign brands" in the high-end home appliance market. According to the latest data from China Market Research, in the first half of 2014, in the refrigerator market above 20,000 yuan and the washing machine market above 10,000 yuan, Haier Casarte ranked first in the industry with a retail share of 52.2% and 53.5% respectively, making foreign home appliance giants ashamed.

At present, in the context of sluggish growth in the mid- and low-end home appliance market, product structure upgrades and high-end development are becoming the driving force for the growth of the high-end home appliance market. High-end home appliances with excellent quality, novel design, energy saving and environmental protection, and intelligent technology have become the focus of the market. At the same time, consumers are becoming more mature and rational in their consumption of home appliances, and the competition in the high-end home appliance market is focused on "value for money".

These factors are driving domestic home appliance companies to gradually focus on the high-end home appliance field. If China's high-end home appliance industry wants to truly sail far, it cannot simply rely on the opportunity of foreign brands delisting. It also needs a large number of domestic high-end home appliance brands like Casarte to jointly promote the progress of the industry.

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.