Intelligent heating for water heaters

In the first three quarters, the sales volume and retail sales of water heaters and e-commerce channels increased by more than 200% year-on-year, far higher than traditional channels such as department stores, supermarkets, and specialty stores. "This is the news from the recent China Water Heater Industry Conference held in 2014. Chen Gang, deputy secretary-general of the China Household Electrical Appliances Association, summed up the highlights of the 2014 water heater industry, saying that in the first three quarters of 2014, the share of retail sales of water heaters online market. It has exceeded 13% and the retail sales volume is 9%.The online market is not only the fastest growing channel in the whole market, but also has become the most important part of the retail market, and the e-commerce channel has become a powerful tool for the water heater enterprises to win the market.

Industry development faces challenges

According to data from Beijing Zhongyekang Times Market Research Co., Ltd., from January to October, the retail and retail sales of the water heater industry reached 39.34 billion yuan and 24.18 million sets, respectively, an increase of 6.2% and 3.2% year-on-year, respectively, compared to 2013. In 2014, the overall water heater market in China showed a relatively stable development trend.

However, since 2014, due to the downside impact of the real estate market, the overall growth rate of the household electrical appliance industry with a high degree of correlation has been declining. This negative effect has been transmitted to various subdivided areas, and water heaters cannot be left alone. At the same time, overcapacity occurs. Problems are also gradually emerging. From the perspective of the performance of various types of products, the retail sales volume and retail sales of gas water heaters achieved a year-on-year increase of 5.1% and 10.2%, respectively; the performance of storage-type electric water heaters was less, with retail sales and retail sales increasing by 2.4% and 3.4% respectively year-on-year. Solar water heaters also showed a slowdown in growth.

According to Chen Gang, the current structural upgrade of water heater products on the market is more obvious, and water heaters are gradually showing a trend of high-end development, which is closely related to the upgrading of household appliances consumption. Guided by consumer trends, domestic consumers are paying more and more attention to hot water. The comfort and convenience of showers, and the enhancement of added value around the needs of customers, from the simple function development to the integrated demand from many aspects such as the product appearance function, have become the trend of the development of the water heater industry. At the same time, consumers’ demand for large-capacity, large-volume water products has increased significantly. On the basis of pursuing safety, rapid heat, safety, and energy conservation have become the focus of attention of home companies.

Yan Chunyong, assistant to general manager of Beijing Suning Cloud Co., Ltd., believes that after more than ten years of development, water heaters have matured manufacturing technology, and energy-saving has become the basic standard. From the current perspective, product quality and technical content will become the key for companies to gain a foothold in the reshuffle period, just like the mobile phone industry from 2G to 4G, experiencing non-intelligence to intelligence, color TV industry from the traditional way to the Internet, from selling hardware To sell content, it is necessary to pay more attention to the user's feelings and strive to bring more rich and humane experiences to the customers.

Intelligent transformation of industrial models

Shi Xiaolan, Chairman of the China Hardware Products Association, said that the development and application of modern technologies and the combination of information technology, industrialization, and intelligence and industrialization have been gradually deepened. With the industry brings a very good opportunity, intelligence will dominate the future of the gas industry competition.

The reporter learned that smart water heaters are hot in this year, including major brands such as Haier, Midea, and Wanhe, which have released their own smart new products and smart strategies. They seize the opportunities in the smart market entrance, and they also lead the smart The boom in the field of water heaters has quickly made the market a bigger cake. For example, the intelligent heat-conducting water cruising technology can automatically match the heating water volume according to seasonal changes and inlet water temperature changes; and cloud intelligent technology can connect organically with wireless WiFi, allowing consumers to control the water heater through smart mobile terminals, enabling intelligent booking and remote Control and other functions.

Shi Lanlan said that in order to completely get rid of the low-cost, low-cost traditional development model, Chinese manufacturing must rely on intelligence and intelligentize the entire system of production equipment, manufacturing processes, management models, and warehousing logistics. Transformation.

The data shows that from 2005 to 2015, the compound annual growth rate of the water heater industry has reached 12%, far higher than a level of GDP growth. It is estimated that the output value of water heaters in 2014 will reach 48 billion, and the market size in 2015 is expected to be 51.7 billion, indicating the arrival of the entire industry in the era of micro growth.

Chen Gang believes that from the perspective of the macroeconomic environment, the rapid advancement of urbanization and the rapid development of the Internet and logistics industry will all become the basis for the rapid development of the water heater industry. From the perspective of market demand, the three- and four-line markets have yet to be developed and the urban market is not fully saturated. This has brought about huge room for growth in the expansion of the water heater market. From the perspective of institutional norms, the introduction of various standards will further standardize the order of market competition, and promote the consumption of water heaters to the mid-to-high end. Therefore, in the long run, the water heater market in China is still promising.