So many colleagues and opponents do not understand is that there is a brand, Panasonic home appliances products business, access to the Chinese market for many years has been delayed, 'tepid' nor anxious. Even more people do not understand is that at Matsushita in the corner of the Chinese market, big appliances, the next where to go, is also vague.
Dream is always good, but has been living in a dream is not good.For Panasonic, its large appliances, and small home appliances business, the Chinese market over the past 10 years, it is in such an awkward passage In. With products and brands, but there is no way to seize a place in the Chinese market, only from the overseas market leader, reduced to the Chinese market followers.
This year, Panasonic is trying to enhance the proportion of small household appliances business in the Chinese market, and hope that as a breakthrough to become a benchmark for the integration of China's home appliance business. One of the most representative, is while strengthening sales of small home appliances online store The other hand, it intensified cooperation with home appliance chain operators in offline areas and tried to snatch the high-end consumption boom with the help of a round of consumer escalation heat that China is detonating.
However, from the perspective of Matsushita's overall development strategy, especially in accelerating B2C to B2B transition process, whether it is empty ice wash and other large appliances, or beauty care and other small appliances, has long been not within its core business. Appliances have been Completely reduced to a piece of Matsushita 'tasteless': when the market opportunity is good investment, the market is not good on the sidelines. Anyway, this is not the center of gravity, neither a big loss, but it will not be a big investment.
Panasonic size appliance business there play?
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of Matsushita in 2018, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. held a conference called 'Change for the Next 100' at Toranomon, Japan, this year to announce its business strategy for the next 100 years Planning.Among them, the Chinese market will occupy an important position in the future strategic planning of Panasonic.
However, as the first batch of foreign home appliance brands to enter the Chinese market, Panasonic consumer electronics market can be rejuvenated joy? As a strategic market in China, Panasonic will no longer play the main battlefield appliance business, but the new energy battery, automotive electronics Such as business strategy high ground.
In fact, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Matsushita, which entered China, was once very splendid. At its peak, it occupies nearly 20% of China's home appliance market, and now it has dropped below 2%, especially with the strong trend of Chinese home appliance brands Rise, Panasonic household appliances (consumer products) performance in China has become worrying.
According to Zhong Yi Kang data, Panasonic in the domestic refrigerator, air conditioner market rankings were squeezed out of the top ten, washing machine market rankings only 6. In the field of small appliances also failed to enter the mainstream, such as for Panasonic Matsushita rice cooker also known by the 2011 The year 5.9% dropped to 3.7% in 2016, from fourth place to sixth place, the market share is still shrinking this year, not because of high-end consumer detonated in China and growth, which makes Matsushita embarrassing and helpless.
Now, home appliances business due to weak profitability gradually reduced to a chick in Matsushita's development Public information, Matsushita Electric's fiscal year 2016 sales of 73.437 billion yen, down 4%; net profit of 149.36 billion yen, up A decrease of 10% .This result will hit a new low in earnings since fiscal year 2012. Affected, April assume the chairman of Panasonic China horizontal tail is even more focused on the commercial areas, such as automotive electronics and other fields.
Appliance is no longer the main battlefield Panasonic
Despite the shrinking appliance market, but Panasonic is still full of expectations of China's home appliance market in Matsushita Electric's plan, I hope in 2018 sales of 13.3 billion yuan, the first foreign-funded white goods brand recognition in China Therefore, in April this year, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. also made major adjustments to its business structure in China and established Matsushita Electric China Co., Ltd., a more independent and flexible company, aimed at consolidating resources and focusing on the Chinese market.
Matsushita China's new team can find a way to revive?
The company was seen by Matsushita as an important step toward its strategic transformation, at the heart of abolishing the system of management that has been stuck with Japan for more than 20 years and replacing it with a management system that is better adapted to the changes in the Chinese market through 'local design, manufacturing, manufacturing 'Approach to promote the development of appliance business in China for Matsushita, this experimental field with high hopes, but apparently only harvest disappointment, the establishment of the company for nearly six months has been difficult in China's home appliance market' to show its fist ', on the contrary Tired to cope with the original internal curing organization and coordination.
The entire industry is not optimistic about Panasonic's home appliance business in China this adjustment because the entire appliance industry, the pattern has been stable to Haier, the United States, Gree, Hisense, represented by the Chinese brand has firmly occupied the Chinese home appliance market leader Position.And in the current level of competition in the home appliance industry, the low-end market has always been a strong grasp of domestic brands, mid-market domestic brands are also emerging as an opportunity to upgrade the middle class, even in the high-end market has also been able to get shot The image of the brand, not to mention Matsushita in the high-end line will also face the Casa Imperial, Siemens, Bosch's strong suppression.
From another perspective, large appliances for the current Panasonic, only a small piece of land conservative and stable, but difficult to have a major breakthrough.But now Panasonic's integration of air and ice washing business is not smooth, only fought Small appliances, looking for more opportunities to enter the field of small appliances, but the situation of small home appliances business will be more easy to break it?
Small home appliances difficult to integrate with the resonance of large appliances
Relative to the big appliances, Panasonic small appliances now seem to be more dazzling aura, especially in early 2015, Chinese tourists to Japan to buy toilet cover and Japanese manufacturing to the peak.However, many tourists came back from Japan toilet cover produced Xiasha Hangzhou, which is Panasonic's Chinese company, which took the opportunity to Panasonic a fire.
For small appliances, Matsushita does have technical and product advantages, but also rich in categories.From Tmall Matsushita Electric flagship store point of view, there are personal care category (such as hair and beauty products), cleaning and care category (such as electric shaving Knives, electric toothbrushes, etc.), kitchen care (such as rice cookers, juicer, etc.), home care (such as vacuum cleaners, air purifiers, etc.), covering almost all aspects of small appliances category. Flagship store sales.
Now, Panasonic's small home appliances online sales accounted for 55% to 60% of the overall sales, large appliances also close to 10%. Not only online, Panasonic also accelerated the pace of small appliances under the power .As with the five-star Electrical cooperation in depth, to create Panasonic 50 boutiques, the main push smart toilet, beauty appliances, kitchen appliances and air conditioners, and other consumer-friendly category, but also strengthen the exclusive cooperation of underwriting sales, vigorously cultivate the high-end market.
Small household appliances is indeed the white moon of the appliance industry, is the second runway of the overall market growth.From the absolute amount of market point of view, the overall proportion of small appliances up to about 12%, relative to other types of home appliances, market capacity, huge room for development. Globally, China is one of the leading countries to lead the growth of the global small household appliance market.According to Roland Berger's consulting firm, the market size of China's small home appliances exceeded 120 billion yuan in 2016, and by 2020 this figure is expected to exceed 4600 Hundreds of millions. The largest market is often the most competitive.
As a result, more and more brands are entering the Chinese home appliances market.According to GfK China's national online retail sales data, there are over 600 brands and 5000 models in the online market in 2013. At least 800 brands and 8000 models in the online market in 2015, In 2015, more than 100 small home appliance brands continued to exert their efforts in the high-end market.
In fact, the advantages of Panasonic small appliances did not show up in the market.Now Matsushita has yet to enter the first group of small appliances.For example, the purifier products, users recognize more Honeywell and Philips.Although the female consumer Circle, Matsushita first beauty small appliances word of mouth has been online, after all, is a niche market, it is difficult to break out within a short period of time, not to mention Matsushita's high profile rice cookers have also been squeezed out of the mainstream industry .Although there are brands of products, in fact, Matsushita Small appliances throughout did not enter the mainstream market choice ranks.
Of these, of course, there are product positioning problems, such as a smart toilet priced at four or five thousand dollars, intelligent toilet lid on many functions, but many consumers buy back mostly to use only circle heating and warm water washing function. , Multi-functional, cost-effective advantage did not make consumers feel.This may also be why Panasonic does not have many loyal fans.
Although China has a very large market for small household appliances, it is at a stage where market potential is concentrated and exploded. However, the initial stage of development still can not ignore the fact that small and medium household appliances have formed a gigantic brand development pattern in the general consumer market , Such as the United States, Philips, Joyoung, Supor, etc. In the future, in the small household appliances market, more brands may only cut into niche or market segments.
Cross-border integration of its product categories, whether it is full of smart home or home appliances solutions, Panasonic appliances are facing problems will be very easy.On the one hand, China's consumer market changes rapidly, the channel, technology and consumer psychology ; On the other hand the Chinese home appliance brand action is very rapid, once found a potential market will quickly rushed in. Even Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., chairman of China Yokodai also had to say, 'here is very fast development, if you do not speed up to catch up Change, it's really dangerous. '
Aware of danger, is often a precursor to a safer road next year, Matsushita is a centuries old.While the opportunity for 100-year Panasonic? It lies in its change and self-breakthrough, but when Panasonic Can break through self? The answer is not clear.