Small refrigerator market potential competition for release

With the continuous increase of the floating population and the average growth of the consumption level, the demand structure of the Chinese refrigerator market presents a "dumb-bell type", the industry competition has intensified, the high-end market has competed with intelligence and brands, and the small refrigerator market has encountered "encirclement and suppression".

The status quo of the small refrigerator market: many brands, low-price competition, decentralized

According to AVC's monitoring data, the total domestic sales of small refrigerators (below 200L) in the first 11 months of 2013 were about 3.066 million units, and the total sales amount was 4.4 billion yuan. Among them, the following 160L is about 708,000 units, and the sales amount is about 740 million yuan; 160-180L is about 662,000 units, the sales amount is about 950 million yuan; 180-200L is about 1.695 million units, and the sales amount is about 2.71 billion yuan . From the perspective of sales of the top ten brands, Haier Refrigerator ranked first, with sales of approximately 18.7% and sales of approximately 19.05%; followed by Rongsheng Refrigerator, sales of approximately 11.9%, and sales of approximately 12%; It is a refrigerator of the United States with a sales volume of approximately 11.2% and a sales volume of approximately 11.4%. This monitoring data is basically in line with the overall market ranking of the refrigerator, but the distribution of brands is relatively dispersed, and the low-price competition of small refrigerators is the main feature.

Comprehensive data estimates, the total market size of small refrigerators under 200L should be about 8 million units, of which domestic sales actually sold at 4.5 million units, exporting around 3.5 million units.

Main sales channels for small refrigerators: The sudden emergence of the online shopping market and opportunities in the commercial market

From the perspective of domestic sales channels, small refrigerators are mainly concentrated on online shopping, traditional agents, supermarkets, and community stores. From the perspective of sales regions and consumer groups, they are mainly distributed in online shopping and offline areas in Fujian, Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Anhui. The larger share of online shopping is for the migrant population and low-income groups in the first-line major cities such as Beishang Guangshen; from the perspective of usage, in addition to normal family use, there are key tea production regions such as Fujian, Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Anhui as Commercial tea storage, as well as hospitals, such as storage of vaccines, star hotels as the basic configuration of the business.

The small refrigerator online shopping market has great potential. The author found that the mainstream small e-commerce sites such as Jingdong Mall and Suning Tesco have found that small refrigerators under 200L are the main sales models, and the sample size is relatively large. According to the author's observation on January 25, the Jingdong Mall refrigerator sampled a total of 418 products, and a total of 301 models were sampled in the small refrigerators under 230L, accounting for 72% of the total; 439 items of Suning's refrigerators were sampled, and 200L of refrigerators were smaller than 200L. A total of 112 models were sampled, accounting for 30.76% of the total.

Refrigerator exports are mainly based on small capacity, but mainly for foreign OEM, ODM, less export of independent brands.

A small refrigerator in the eyes of the first and second-tier brands: "chicken ribs" and "chicken thighs"

For small refrigerators under 200L, in addition to basic refrigeration and freezing functions, various manufacturers have not given more value to their functions, and competitive means have concentrated on low prices. There are many brands with mixed brands and low brand concentration, many of which are sold by unknown brands.

After a long-term study, the author found that small refrigerators below 200L have low technical content, low profitability, and low price competition. They are “chicken ribs” for first-tier brands such as Haier, Rongsheng, Meiling and Midea. . Therefore, most of these brands take the form of OEM to meet the needs of the small refrigerators in the online shopping market and supplement the varieties in the offline market. However, for the second and third tier brand, the small refrigerator below 200L is the kingpin model and is the “chicken thigh”.

Small refrigerator market encounters "encirclement and suppression": When "chicken rib" becomes "chicken wings"

According to the "China Floating Population Development Report 2010" issued by the National Population and Family Planning Commission, the number of migrants in China reached 211 million in 2009. The report shows that if there is no major change in China’s migration policy, the number of floating population will reach 350 million by 2050. This data tells us that the market for small refrigerators in the next decade is boundless.

In recent years, China’s Korean Electric Group, which has grown rapidly, has achieved annual sales of refrigerators and seven-star refrigerators that have exceeded 1.5 million units, achieving a leap-forward development of emerging brands. Shen Kaifeng, president of Hanergy Group, turned all refrigerators under 300L into small refrigerators, which shows that it attaches great importance to the small refrigerator market!

Guangdong Oma Electric Co., Ltd. has been ranked No. 1 in terms of global exports of household refrigerators for four consecutive years from 2009-2012. As of December 2013, Oma Electronics' global sales volume exceeded 30 million units, making it the largest refrigerator ODM supplier and production base in the country. In recent years, in the online shopping market, it is taking the small refrigerator as a breakthrough.

It is understood that Ningbo Riying Electric Co., Ltd. is famous for its production and sales of small refrigerators. General manager Shen Baoqing told the author that the annual production and sales of small refrigerators account for about 80% of the company’s total sales, and it is also used by several famous brands. Small refrigerator customization.

Not coincidentally, Shanghai Shuanglu Shangling Enterprise Group has invested in an annual output of 500,000 units of a small refrigerator production base in Suqian, Jiangsu Province on January 8, 2014.

From the perspective of market competition, price competition is still the main means of competition in the small refrigerator market. With the continuous maturity and rapid development of the online shopping market, the small refrigerator market will release unprecedented potential. For the first-line brand, the small refrigerator is still "chicken ribs"? Can these industry leaders allow second- and third-line brand partners to do whatever they want? Perhaps the small refrigerator will become the industry's big chicken wings! The second and third tier brands will be strict guard against survival, and price wars are inevitable. It is not hard to imagine that the small refrigerator market will encounter "encirclement and suppression".