Multiple online market conditions improve

In 2013, many online companies continued to give impetus, and companies were busy pushing new products, expanding production, and expanding channels, and the market competition was “filled with smoke.”

Industry recovery is on the rise

Multi-line groups have maintained a leap-like growth in China, but in the first half of 2012, the growth rate slowed down due to the impact of the real estate market. According to statistics, in the first half of 2012, the number of multi-line domestic sales reached 7.8 billion yuan, accounting for 31.58% of the entire commercial air-conditioning market. Compared with the same period of last year, it was down 11.2 percentage points, which was the first negative growth in years.

A number of corporate executives expressed their understanding of the depressed market in the first half of 2012, and from the second half of the year, favorable factors supporting and driving the development of the industry emerged, such as the gradual recovery of the real estate market and the rebound in investment growth. The good has continued until the spring of 2013, and it also led to multiple online sales.

In February 2013, a message came from Carrier Central Air Conditioning Qingdao Branch. As a new multi-line product launched by Carrier Air Conditioning Co., Ltd., it has achieved actual sales in the Qingdao market and provided services for Qingdao Xiangshan Meishu Project, totaling more than 300 sets. , Qingdao Carrier achieves the first single sales of multiple online.

The LG Commercial Air Conditioning South China Sales Department also received good news. LG Commercial Central Air Conditioning won the bid in the air-conditioning project of the "Headquarters Building of the China Southern Headquarters Base (A Zone)". This project is the first commercial project of LG Commercial Air Conditioning Co., Ltd. in South China, using the “water source heat pump variable refrigerant flow multi-connected air conditioning system”.

The United States also successfully won the bid for SAIC-GM-Wuling Liuzhou Factory Multi-line Group. According to the person in charge of the United States, this is the first time that the SAIC-GM-Wuling Liuzhou plant has adopted the domestic multi-line group brand, which has broken the monopoly position before the import multi-connection group. Gree's multi-connection also successfully won the bid for Meizhou Municipal People's Procuratorate project.

The hot multi-line market has also led to the recovery of the central air-conditioning industry. In recent days, the “2013 White Paper on China's Air Conditioning Industry” has made a pre-judgment on the development trend of the central air-conditioning industry this year. According to the white paper, the central air-conditioning industry is rapidly picking up. The domestic market sales are generally good, and the overall scale or capacity expansion is 8%.

For the following developments in the multi-industry industry, experts also said: “As the external environment continues to pick up, economic recovery, energy subsidies, affordable housing construction, and commercial real estate warming... It is expected that the multi-industry industry will show a steady and positive market. Characteristics, this sign of recovery is also expected to extend to the full year."

Business is busy with new technologies and new products

The development of the market is followed by intensified competition. A number of brand companies have resorted to “killers” and are ready to give it a go.

The first is that domestic brands have increased investment and attention in the multi-industry industry.

According to the Refrigeration Business Reporter, at the beginning of the new year, Gree said that it will mainly promote high-efficiency DC inverter centrifuges, GMV5 full-DC inverter multi-link and GMV water-source heat pump DC inverter multi-connection groups, and fight the technology card. Its domestic operations will weigh technology and price. The critical point is another highlight of its New Year's development.

Haier, on the other hand, focused on R&D. After meticulously introducing more than 100 R&D personnel, the MX7 full-conversion DC multi-connector made a debut. The product from the design process to the control system, every detail has adopted the leading technology of the current industry, so Haier in the multi-market market competition emboldened. Experts from the Architectural Design Institute and the HVAC industry believe that after the Haier central air-conditioning MX7 is fully DC-inverted and multi-connected, it will promote China's variable-frequency multi-line market to “shuffle”. The Japanese brand monopoly over the high-end multi-line market will be broken. .

American, Chigo, Oaks, Grans and other brands also made strategic deployments for multi-line development in 2013.

Domestic brands continue to make efforts, "Japan and South Korea" companies are also sparing no effort to bring their own advantages to the ultimate element.

In 2013, Mitsubishi Electric announced its latest weapon in the multi-line field in Beijing. Among them, the CITY MULTI R2 synchronous heating/cooling machine is attracting people's attention. It is the only dual-tube synchronous heating/cooling operation unit in the industry and Mitsubishi Electric's non-homogeneous competition. The strategy has also provided sufficient weight for its multiple online areas.

Toshiba will focus on production, and the formal production of its Hangzhou plant has achieved the first step in Toshiba’s localized production strategy. The person in charge said that after Toshiba’s breakthrough in localization, actual delivery and assembly are It is more flexible and has more advantages in the multi-market competition.

Samsung also demonstrated its determination to compete in multiple online markets, and the DVMS series turned out. The independent production of its variable-speed scroll compressor, the core component, has enabled Samsung to firmly take the initiative in its own hands.

LG is closely following the current market highlights and is proud to introduce a new generation of variable frequency multi-connection group multiV4. LG Greater China President Nan Rongyou said: “LG Central Air-Conditioning will focus on the development of the Chinese market in 2013. To this end, LG has integrated multi-line groups and water-cooled cooling units, and will also increase support for home improvement stores. Intensive, through the support of decoration, sales and technical exchanges, etc., to make multi-line products faster and better into the consumer family."

The four major families, Carrier, Trane, McQuay, and York, although they entered the multi-line market relatively late, have been advancing with plans and steps. Manufacturers began to gradually shift their sales focus, and the retail market is expected to become a new direction of growth.

Among them, Johnson Controls York has continuously increased its attention to the multi-line market, and has also achieved a significant increase in the size of its multi-line market. In 2012, its launch of YES-Slim and YES-Super series of multi-frequency inverters far exceeded national regulations. The efficiency-to-standard ratio shows that the sales growth of multi-line products is more than 20% year-over-year. At the 2013 first York dealers' first dealer meeting in York, the York official said that York will also launch high-end residential units. Small multi-unit air conditioner in villa.

Channel escalation

According to the Refrigeration Business Reporter, the four families, Japan and South Korea, and the Department of Home Appliances "three parties" contest how to seize more "cakes", and quality channel resources are the highlights. However, the “Four Big Families” focus on engineering and design institutes, how do they receive multiple online channels, and how can they expand new resources? The Japanese and South Korean companies are mainly responsible for acting for large companies and image stores, and how to solve the confusion of existing distributors in the next step? Rely on the original channels to shine, how should professional engineering companies and design institutes make efforts? 2013, multi-channel channel battle to open!

Japanese Daikin: Adjusting steadily

Daikin entered the Chinese market for more than 10 years, with sales of nearly 6 billion yuan and a market share of more than 40%. It has been firmly in the forefront for many years. Apart from advanced technology and stable quality, it also lies in the construction of channels.

Experts told the Refrigerator Business Reporter that the advantages of Daikin's channels are mainly reflected in the fact that it relied on large local agents; attached importance to the relationship with local design institutes; entered the government procurement series and obtained the trust of the tendering unit; supported distributors and agents to open stores; Awarded licenses to dealers, supported by funds and resources, provided uniform facade style, decoration, and unified sample display. This move has established a formal and high-quality brand image for Daikin, setting a benchmark for foreign brands. Foreign brands such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Toshiba and Hisense Hitachi have learned Daikin's marketing strategy.

Daikin has a sound network of mainstream channels, positioning high-end, but experts believe that there are also deficiencies in its channels. At present, China is still in the midst of development. Many projects use limited high-end brands. In addition, labor costs, product accessories, and the manufacturing costs of their purchases are high. Therefore, it is difficult for Daikin to compete with domestic brands in the low-end market. .

According to insiders, Daikin has pressure on the channel. A dealer from Liang, Guangzhou, told the reporter in a straightforward manner: “Daikin’s price is too transparent in the channel, the agents are too complicated, and the profits are too thin. Nowadays, many distributors of Daikin Daikin have transformed other brands.”

In addition, Daikin's sales index remains high, the market assessment system will transmit pressure downstream in the industry chain, distribution agents become the ultimate pressure body, Yahuo, Dagang's fatal injury. Therefore, Daikin plans to expand its R&D team in China, strengthen R&D and sales of low-cost popular air conditioners, and whether internal adjustments will help push Daikin out of this quagmire. We will wait and see.

Four families: Maximize your advantage

In chiller products, York, Carrier, Trane, and McQuay are collectively referred to as the “Four Big Family”. In recent years, the "four big families" have adjusted their product lines and launched new online products, especially in 2012, with unprecedented channels. Although the “Big Four” has a strong brand appeal on the traditional big machine and the channel construction is perfect, how can we adjust it to the online market?

The channel structure of traditional chiller brands differs from that of multiple online channels. Most of the distributors of chiller brands are oriented to engineering and design institutes. The structure is relatively simple. The channel structure of the home improvement market is more complicated. There are professional home improvement product stores, brand outlets, home central air-conditioning installation companies and real estate. Business, interior decoration companies, building materials market, and more.

In addition, the traditional multi-line operation mode is nothing more than the leadership of small and medium-sized products, with stores, distributors, agents and other channels, with a flexible price and promotion policies to hit the market, and to maximize the pursuit of large-scale and moderate profits. If the "four big families" use this same model to participate in market competition, it is difficult to win.

Experts believe that there are certain inherent advantages for the brand expansion of the four major families. This advantage lies in its appeal to the channel. “I think it is really late for the Big Four to enter the multi-line market, so it is unrealistic to rely solely on distributors to change the current market structure. It also requires manufacturers to promote. In fact, we also want to use this wind of shareholders to bring us much more. The on-line business is flourishing.” As mainstream brands of chillers have accumulated enough channel resources in large-scale engineering projects over the years, this part of channel resources has a strong social resource and financial strength. The key is that some of these channel providers are willing to follow suit. York's home furnishing market has sought its own corporate breakthrough.

Home Appliances: Flexible, Deepening, Professional

In recent years, fierce market competition has forced domestic air-conditioning companies to continuously increase investment in high-tech products, and many online connections have become the scramble point. Almost all domestic well-known air-conditioning manufacturers have begun to produce multiple online connections, and some even regard multi-connection as the inflection point for business development.

For home appliances, whether it is the first-tier cities or two or three, or even the county or town, there are home air-conditioning image stores, the channel is sound and stable, the brand in the heart of terminal consumers is quite high. With the help of the original channels and influence to promote multi-connection, domestic companies have many advantages.

In 2012, Gree defeated the Japanese brand Daikin for the first time. With more than 14% of the market share, it became a half-time champion, and many online contributions contributed to it. Relevant person in charge said that this is inseparable from Gree's flexible channels and high-quality products. . In addition, the United States has also made a series of adjustments, unswervingly promote technological innovation, structural product structure upgrades, improve operating quality, improve operating efficiency, strengthen product quality, optimize channel resources, and strictly control enterprise risks.

Zhigao Central Air Conditioning clearly understands that only by mastering the DC inverter multi-line market can it have an industry position. For multiple online connections, Zhigao took a cost-effective route on the one hand, and strictly controlled costs on the other, concentrated its limited resources on large projects, and on the other hand increased the support of professional distributors and contractors.

Oaks, in 2013, will focus on serving agents, strengthening distribution and expansion, and especially providing strong support from policies to increase traction. The Design Institute is also a key area, with key breakthroughs, continuous investment in policies and personnel, and increased attention; as regards the nurturing of core engineering companies, it will give key and professional support to the brand image project.

As for the future direction of multi-channels for home-appliance household appliances, industry experts believe that the “Four Big-Family” and Japan-Korea departments pay special attention to design institutes and high-quality engineering projects in the promotion of multi-connections, and domestic companies should be strengthened. In addition, companies should increase support for dealers in the secondary and tertiary markets and spare no effort to support distributors in terms of policies, resources, etc. The development of the 3rd and 4th markets has not only brought the market competitiveness to the enterprises that have taken the lead in this field, but has also brought down the sales growth of commercial air conditioner companies in the market environment such as real estate regulation and control, and has become another weapon for the enterprise winning market.