In the first half of the year, the washing machine industry did not appear to have too many ups and downs, the market scale maintained steady growth, the market structure continued to change, the share continued to concentrate on leading enterprises, and the industry shuffled faster. Every enterprise faced the test of the market, especially Small brand.
With the upgrading of product structure becoming the main theme of market development, the high-end market has become the common choice of washing machine giants. Under the new round of offensives of the giants, the battle of the second half of the washing machine industry has started.
Market steady growth, industry reshuffle
Although it is also facing the transmission pressure of real estate market regulation, the performance of the washing machine market is still remarkable. In the three major white electricity, the market growth rate of washing machines is second only to air-conditioning categories.
In the first half of 2018, the retail volume of China's washing machine market was 18.07 million units, or 34.7 billion yuan, an increase of 4.7% and 10.5% respectively compared with the same period of last year.
Compared with the overall level of the industry, the performance of washing machine leading enterprises should be more dazzling. On the evening of August 7, the leading company in the washing machine industry, Little Swan released a semi-annual performance report, achieving operating income of 12.057 billion yuan in the first half of the year, up 14.09% year-on-year. The profit was 902 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 23.31%. The overall gross profit margin was 26.60%, an increase of 0.99 percentage points year-on-year.
At the Global Strategic Partner Conference of 2018TCL Refrigerator Washing Machine held on August 8th, Tsang White, Director of Washing Product Center of TCL White Goods Division, announced that in the first half of 2018, TCL washing machine shipments exceeded 1 million units, and revenue increased year-on-year. 16.6%, the industry ranked sixth.
Behind the industry's brilliant transcripts is the further concentration of brand concentration and the acceleration of industry reshuffle. The monthly monitoring data of Zhongyikang Line shows that in the first half of 2018, the retail sales share of the TOP10 brand in the washing machine market was 92.1%, Compared with the same period last year, the share increased by 1.2 percentage points.
'The brand concentration is further enhanced, and the market competition is fierce. The industry's reshuffle is gradually intensified, the number of brands is gradually decreasing, and the small brands are under pressure. 'Zuo Yanxi, general manager of Zhongyikang Brand Center.
According to the monitoring data of Zhongyikang, in the first half of 2018, the number of brands in the washing machine offline market was 154, a decrease of 8 compared with the same period of last year; the number of online sales brands was 124, which was reduced compared with the same period of last year. 4.
Everbright Securities Research Institute predicts that from the second half of the year, the demand structure of washing machine product renewal demand will be less affected by the real estate cycle, and the product upgrade trend and the modest growth of the shipping terminal will continue to drive the industry scale to increase steadily.
Comply with consumer trends, corporate layout, second half
The traditional kinetic energy of the rapid growth of the washing machine industry, such as demographic dividends and real estate, has gradually disappeared. However, consumers have higher requirements for the function, design and quality of washing machines, and still provide a huge space for washing machines.
Yang He, an analyst at Ovi Cloud's Ice Wash Big Data Division, believes that when consumption upgrades are replaced, consumer quality and experience become the primary needs of consumers, and consumers are more willing to pay higher prices for high-quality products. High-end products have become the choice of more and more people. Under the trend of large-scale industry, the high-end market has become the new engine of the washing machine industry in the transition period and has become the only way for enterprises to pursue business quality.
In the face of changes in consumer trends, the washing machine industry giants have accelerated the pace of product upgrades and launched a charge to the high-end market.
In the first half of the performance report, Little Swan clearly stated that one of its work plans for the second half of the year is to focus on business transformation and consumption upgrading trends, strengthen R&D technology innovation, and further promote high-end, intelligent and differentiated product layout to ensure timely new products. Listing, continuously optimize product structure and enhance product competitiveness.
On August 8th, Panasonic and TCL released new washing machines on the same day. Panasonic launched Panasonic ALPHA Alfa New Products jointly developed with Porsche Design. This product is the first in the industry to use all stainless steel cabinets, and draws on Porsche high-end. The design elements of the sports car are designed with Porsche wheel hub inner tube and equipped with many innovative technologies such as Panasonic nanoeX nano water ion technology, which can effectively remove bacteria, keep the barrel clean and reduce secondary pollution. It is reported that this new product is a team of both sides. After 28 months of research and development, the pre-research and development cost is as high as 150 million yuan.
In September last year, Panasonic and Porsche Design announced in Germany that the two sides reached a full range of strategic cooperation in product design, brand cooperation and joint marketing, and pointed to the high-end washing machine market in China.
At the new product launch conference on August 8, Zhang Junxi, director of commodity planning department of Hangzhou Matsushita Household Appliances Co., Ltd., said that after the market survey, modern washing machine users are no longer satisfied with simple washing and drying functions. The accumulation of material wealth and the improvement of aesthetic taste, they pay special attention to the performance of products in health care, intelligent operation, etc., but also pay more attention to product design, process materials and so on.
TCL released a new washing machine, which is another extension of its lineup of pollution-free washing machines. In March of this year, TCL released a 'free pollution +' strategic upgrade, announcing that it will take the lead in 2018 to achieve the entire line of products free of pollution, while Stop the R&D investment of non-stainless products, and stop production of non-stainless washing machines in 2020, and gradually promote healthy washing to a new milestone.
In fact, not only the industry giants are responding to the market consumption tide to strengthen the supply of high-end products, even small brands like CEIBS are seeking to cope with the intensification of market competition through their product structure upgrade. At the end of July this year, CEIBS introduced Roller and wall-mounted drum washing machines, with the intention of consolidating their living space with a differentiated product portfolio.
For the washing machine market where opportunities and risks coexist, whether it is industry giants or small brands, the wrestling of enterprises at the product level has just begun, and there is still a long way to go in the second half.