Brazil World Cup promotes the popularity of 4K ultra-high-definition TV products

Despite the impact of the withdrawal of national policy stimulus and the downturn in the domestic real estate industry, the color TV industry continued to be sluggish in the first quarter, with overall sales of 10.79 million units, a year-on-year decline of 11.4% and a year-on-year decline of 13%. However, ultra-high-definition TV products have maintained rapid growth. Industry insiders predict that the upcoming World Cup will drive another wave of sales of ultra-high-definition TV products. Market research institutions also predict that the penetration rate of ultra-high-definition TV products is expected to exceed 21% by the end of the year from the current 7%.

Although some manufacturers emphasize 4K and some emphasize UHD, both refer to ultra-high-definition TV products with a resolution of 3840×2160, which is nearly 4 times higher than the physical resolution of 1920×1080 of HDTV. After more than a year of market popularization, this type of product has become familiar to consumers. According to a report from IHS Technology, the shipment volume of ultra-high-definition TVs did not exceed 150,000 units in early 2012, but this number has climbed to 1.1 million units in March this year. According to data from Aowei Consulting, the retail market penetration rate of ultra-high-definition TV products in the first quarter of this year was 7%, showing an explosive growth trend.

May Day is the traditional peak season for color TV sales. Although according to data from Aowei Consulting, the overall sales volume of the domestic color TV market in the three weeks of May Day (April 14 to May 4) was 3.83 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 10.2%, and the sales volume of LCD TVs was 3.76 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 7.8%, ultra-high-definition TV products have increased significantly. According to Chang Jiang, general manager of Suning's black-and-white appliance business unit, the sales share of 4K ultra-high-definition TVs during the May Day period in Suning channels has exceeded 30%. Data from Skyworth also shows that its overall sales during the May Day period were 116,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 2.8%. Among them, the main "Tianci 4K" new products E690U and E710U series received good market response, and 4K accounted for 19.2%. According to Aowei Consulting's weekly report, from May 5 to 11, Skyworth's 4K sales accounted for 21.0%, ranking first among all brands.

A domestic TV brand dealer told reporters that the recent growth in UHD product sales is largely driven by the upcoming World Cup. Domestic and foreign mainstream brands including TCL, Skyworth, Hisense, Changhong, Samsung, LG, Sony (16.05, 0.04, 0.25%) have started themed promotional activities for the World Cup since mid-April. It is understood that three games of this year's Brazil World Cup will be recorded using UHD signals.

Wang Zhongzheng, an analyst at Aowei Consulting, believes that throughout 2014, "high-end" products will continue to compete in the high-end market, driving the high-end transformation of color TV products. Among them, the fastest growing ultra-high-definition TV products are expected to have a total annual sales volume of more than 10 million units, with a penetration rate of more than 21%.

Although there are forecasts that the Chinese market will account for 78% of the global UHD TV market this year, in fact, not only in China, the World Cup has also driven the popularity of UHD TV products in the global market. Data shows that in markets such as South Korea, Japan, and North America, 4K TVs are also growing at an alarming rate.

LG and Samsung are both pushing UHD this year. According to Korean media reports, the two companies are engaged in a price war for UHD TV products in order to compete for the top growth position in the rapidly developing UHD TV market. According to statistics from HL-Mart, a Korean electronics store, the sales proportion of UHD TVs larger than 50 inches was less than 10% in the second half of last year. By April this year, this proportion had exceeded 40%. Merchants expect that this wave of World Cup purchases will continue until the end of June.

Japan is about to launch a 4K TV trial channel. Coupled with the effect of the Brazil World Cup, Japanese color TV manufacturers such as Sony, Panasonic (7.24, 0.00,0.00%), Toshiba, and Sharp have launched a fierce price competition around 4K TVs. It is expected that by 2017, the coverage rate of 4K TVs in the Japanese TV market will reach 30%, and will expand to 80% in 2020. 4K TVs are expected to completely replace current flat-panel TVs in the next 10 years.

However, at present, ultra-high-definition TV products still have practical problems such as relatively high prices and lack of content. Yu Liangxing, president of Aowei Consulting, said that 2014 will be the year of development of ultra-high-definition TV. The joint promotion of upstream and whole-machine enterprises will bring about explosive growth of ultra-high-definition TV. It is expected that content manufacturers and terminal manufacturers will work together to accelerate the construction of the entire ecosystem of ultra-high-definition products. Lu Renbo, deputy secretary-general of the China Electronic Commerce Association, also said that as ultra-high-definition TV gradually matures in terms of technology, price, film source, consumer awareness, etc., the competition focus of Chinese and foreign color TV companies will gradually shift to mid-to-high-end products.

JD.com (0, 0.00, 0.00%) forms alliance with Dongxu Optoelectronics

On Monday, BOE and glass substrate manufacturer Dongxu Optoelectronics signed a strategic cooperation agreement. The two parties will carry out business cooperation in the fields of liquid crystal glass substrates, industries, and technologies. The cooperation is valid for 5 years. BOE said that the signing of the agreement will help promote the localization of TFT-LCD raw materials, further reduce the company's raw material procurement costs, and enhance the overall competitiveness of the company's products. According to the agreement between the two parties, Dongxu Optoelectronics will add a supporting glass production line within 200 kilometers of the production site of BOE's high-generation panel production line (including 6.5 generations and above), and BOE has the priority right to participate in the investment. It is understood that glass substrates account for 12%-14% of the total cost of panel manufacturers. At present, the sources of glass substrates for domestic panel manufacturers include domestic and foreign companies, but the proportion of domestic products is still very small. Domestication will increase the net profit of panel manufacturers.

Sharp Plasmacluster Technology is widely used

Recently, Sharp announced that its Plasmacluster technology has been proven to inhibit bacteria and mold attached to yellow sand and effectively remove organic chemicals in PM2.5. According to Isao Sakai, Vice President of Sharp Trading (China) Co., Ltd., by the end of 2013, the global sales of products equipped with Plasmacluster technology exceeded 50 million units.

According to Sharp, in addition to being installed in 15 categories of Sharp's products including air purifiers, refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines, smart sweepers, copiers, etc., the "Planar Ion" technology has also been widely used in railways, automobiles, hotels, airports and other fields.

Home appliance industry profits increased by 20% in the first quarter

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released data on the operation of the household appliance industry in the first quarter of 2014, showing that the output of some household appliances such as refrigerators has decreased compared with the same period last year, but the profit level is better than the same period last year. In the first quarter of this year, the profit of the household appliance industry was 14.77 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 21.1%.

Data shows that from January to March this year, the cumulative production of household refrigerators was 21.641 million units, the production of room air conditioners was 40.09 million units, with a cumulative year-on-year increase of 1.2% and 19.9% ​​respectively, and the production of household washing machines was 15.627 million units, with a cumulative year-on-year decrease of 3.5%. The main business income of the overall home appliance industry was 305.18 billion yuan, a cumulative year-on-year increase of 12.0%, and the total profit was 14.77 billion yuan, a cumulative year-on-year increase of 21.1%. The main business income of the household air conditioner industry was 111.45 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 12.6%.

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.