' 'Robot thinking' is reshaping the industry eco-ecological thinking is becoming a trend in reshaping the robot industry. ' Dr. Chris Jones, vice president of iRobot Technology at the World Robotics Congress (WRC), told the First Financial Reporter that he It seems that many systems such as autonomous vehicles, automated warehouses, and smart homes can be seen as a large robot. Knowing how to design these systems with the idea of designing robots is 'robot thinking'. This new thinking will Will have a profound impact on many industries like today's Internet thinking.
Since its founding in the 1990s, from space exploration robots to security robots to the home consumer robotics industry, iRobot has witnessed the development of the practical robotics industry for more than 20 years. At this time, it is proposed to use 'robot thinking' to build a smart home ecosystem. In addition to its industry-specific and far-sighted understanding, it is more about homogenization of current products and avoiding the breakout of price wars.
Homogeneous competition
After Xiaomi and Cobos entered the field of sweeping robots, the market for sweeping robots, which once represented the future development direction of smart homes, is becoming more and more fierce.
What many companies have begun to cut into the sweeping robot industry is reflected in the rapid expansion of China's sweeping robot market space as China's consumption upgrades accelerate. According to market research firm GFK's data to First Financial, China's sweeping robot retail In the past five years, the average compound growth rate has reached 51%. By 2017, sweeping robots accounted for 37.3% of the total vacuum cleaner market in China, and online channels accounted for 44.7%, while global sweeping robots are in the overall vacuum cleaner market. The proportion is only 11.3%.
However, in order to compete for the market, the increasingly competitive market is reshaping the entire industry. Last year, the Chinese market was mainly driven by low-end and mid-range products. GFK data shows that in 2017, in the Chinese market, the sweeping robot below 2,000 yuan The proportion of retail sales of new products in this category is 82%, and the proportion of retail sales is up to 95%. Like Xiaomi, the price of sweeping robots is lowered to less than 1,600 yuan.
As the head of the Asia-Pacific region, iRobot vice president and general manager of the Asia-Pacific region, Mr. Yuan Yeyuan, said that the difference between the two markets in China and Japan, in his view, Japanese consumers pay more attention to high-quality cleaning effects, while Chinese consumers are currently Price sensitivity is still high. 'However, the Chinese market is undoubtedly more potential.' Mr. Tono said to the First Financial Reporter.
It is precisely because of the higher price sensitivity that brands such as Cobos, which have won the price advantage, have begun to sprint in China's sweeping robot market. However, this is in the view of Zhang Li, vice president of sales and marketing of iRobot and general manager of China. It does not pose the biggest challenge to iRobot. She told reporters that Chinese consumers are very eager for high-quality sweeping robot products. 'In the middle of last year, iRobot's high-end Roomba 9 series of sweeping robot products came online soon. It replaces the 8 series products and becomes the highest-end sweeping robot product with the highest proportion in the Chinese market. ' In Zhang Li's view, this means that consumers in the Chinese market are increasingly willing to buy better products.
Takuno said to reporters that at present, the penetration rate of sweeping robots in the Japanese market is about 5% to 6%, while that in China is only 3% to 4%. As China's consumption upgrades, this consumption potential will be released, so Based on the judgment of the upgrading and upgrading of the Chinese market, Ye Yuan and Zhang Li believe that the high-end sweeping robot brand will not fall into the quagmire of low-price competition.
Technical breakout
At present, the leading edge of technology is still the key to its market share. 'We will continue to innovate to resist the increasingly homogenized market environment.' Chris Jones told CBN. Technology leadership According to the comparison of wind data, from the perspective of R&D investment, Cobos' research and development expenses in 2014-2016 are 68.51 million yuan, 84.17 million yuan, 98.18 million yuan, accounting for about 3% of revenue. In 2011-2016, iRobot's annual R&D investment accounted for about 12%-13% of revenue. 'In 2017, iRobot's R&D investment was US$113 million, accounting for about 13% of the company's annual revenue.' Chris Jones added.
The high investment in technology has brought high returns to corporate performance. Earlier, iRobot released its second quarter earnings report for 2018. The financial report showed that the company's second quarter revenue was $226.3 million, an increase of 24 compared with the same period last year. %; net profit was $10.5 million, an increase of 33% over the same period last year.
With the violent expansion of the Chinese market and increasingly fierce competition, as iRobot cuts into the Chinese market, it cannot simply lie on the past credit books, but needs to understand the actual needs of domestic consumers. Then, does iRobot have any target for the Chinese market? Pain point for technology research and development?
In this regard, Zhang Li told reporters: 'As a global technology company, iRobot will listen to different consumer market characteristics and preferences during the technology research and development stage, so iRobot products must be universal. This is different from the so-called 'only for China. The market creates a 'regional product that meets the high demand for quality by German consumers, the high demand for cleaning by Japanese consumers, the demand for large-capacity coverage of American consumers, and the demand for small-sized units by European and Chinese consumers. More advanced products. 'Specific to the Chinese market, Zhang Li said that for some localized usage habits, we will also make some local adjustments, giving Chinese consumers more choices.