The air-conditioning industry has entered the era of oligopoly, and intelligent differentiated development is the key

With increasingly fierce market competition, the air-conditioning industry has entered an era of oligopoly. Data show that there were approximately 400 air-conditioning companies in 2000. By 2014, there were less than 30 major air-conditioning brands . The era of monopoly in the air-conditioning industry has taken shape.

Data from ZDC shows that in June, there were a total of 1,834 air-conditioning products on the market in China, belonging to 28 mainstream manufacturers. In terms of brand attention, although Gree continued to lead this month, its attention has declined due to competition from other brands. At the same time, AUX and Kelon both successfully ranked among the top ten in the attention list.

Gree's attention share has declined to 34.8% this month, down 4.5% from May; it is worth noting that this month Hisense replaced Haier as the runner-up of the brand attention list, with an attention share of 13.4%; while Haier dropped one place to become the third place this month, with an attention share of 12.2%. Midea, Daikin and Mitsubishi Electric's rankings have declined this month, while at the same time, AUX and Kelon have both entered the top ten of the brand attention list, ranking fourth and seventh this month, with attention shares of 5.3% and 4.1% respectively.

In the context that the air-conditioning industry has long entered the era of oligopolistic competition, in order to attract consumers to the greatest extent, air-conditioning companies should dare to say "no" to product homogeneity and market homogeneity, dare to implement personalized, artistic and differentiated product power creation, and dare to actively cater to the needs of the mainstream consumer group of the younger generation, so as to occupy more market share.

Data shows that the air conditioner market grew steadily from January to May , with retail sales reaching 20.39 million units, up 11.2% year-on-year, and retail sales reaching 70.9 billion yuan, up 11.3% year-on-year. Whether in the era of feature phones or in the era of smart phones, companies must make differentiated and fashionable products to gain the favor and recognition of consumers in the market.

Among them, APF levels 2 and 3 have become the development trend of variable frequency air conditioners in 2014. Since the official implementation of the APF energy standard in October 2013, the proportion of APF products in variable frequency air conditioners has been increasing.

According to the monitoring data of CMM, the retail volume share of APF products in variable frequency products reached 75.5% in May 2014, and the APF transformation has basically been completed. Among them, APF level 3 has become the mainstream of APF products with a share of 49.4%, followed by APF level 2, with a retail volume share of 22.8%. APF level 1 only accounts for 3.3% due to its high price.

The first and second tier markets have entered a hot state. In comparison, the third and fourth tier markets have large capacity and less competition. Air conditioner manufacturers will focus on the third and fourth tier markets in the next 5-10 years. From the current perspective, the third and fourth tier markets have become the growth engine of the air conditioner market.

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.