Recently, Midea, Gree, oaks, Haier and other brand household appliances announced to increase the terminal sales price. The agency said that in the face of rising raw material prices, rising shipping prices and other cost side pressures and insufficient consumption power, home appliances going to sea and high-end become a new trend of competition.
Leading price increase
The reporter learned from Midea's Zhengzhou dealer that the prices of various categories have been raised since March 16. The increase range of household air conditioners is 8%, refrigerators is 5%, washing machines are more than 5%, and small household appliances are 20%.
According to the price increase letter of Guangxi Shengshi Xinxing Gree trading company, due to the continuous rise in the price of raw materials and the increase in various operating costs, the company decided to adjust the price of household air conditioning products from April 1. The hanging up price in Guangxi ranged from 100 yuan to 300 yuan / set, and the cabinet price ranged from 100 yuan to 500 yuan / set.
Oaks air conditioner also announced the price increase in April. According to the price increase letter of Ningbo oaks home appliance sales Co., Ltd., due to the continuous rise in the price of Dazhong raw materials, the company decided to increase the price of air conditioning products by 3% - 5% from April 1.
Ovicloud data show that since this year, the average price of offline electricity has generally risen. As of March 27, the average price of air conditioners increased by 388 yuan year-on-year to 4025 yuan / set, the average price of refrigerators increased by 810 yuan year-on-year to 5981 yuan / set, and the average price of washing machines increased by 415 yuan year-on-year to 3961 yuan / set.
The rise of household appliance terminal prices has restrained consumer demand. According to the statistics of ovicloud, as of March 27, the offline sales of air conditioners, refrigerators and washing machines decreased by 20.99%, 24.49% and 25.59% respectively year-on-year; Offline sales decreased by 12.98%, 13.2% and 16.93% respectively year-on-year.
Rising raw material prices
From the price increase letters of many brands, it is not difficult to find that the main reason for the rise in the price of household appliances in this round is the rise in the price of raw materials.
The main bulk raw materials for household appliance production are steel, copper, aluminum and plastics. The bulk raw materials for air conditioners, refrigerators and washing machines account for 50% - 60% of the production cost. Specifically, the cost of air conditioning is greatly affected by the price of steel and copper, and the price of steel and plastic for refrigerators and washing machines.
According to the data of Shanghai Nonferrous Metals network, as of March 29, the price of copper has increased by 6% since 2022, the price of aluminum has increased by 14% since 2022, and the price of stainless steel futures has increased by 18% since 2022.
Xie Liyuan, chief analyst of home appliances at Guojin securities, said that the raw material reserve cycle of home appliance enterprises is usually between the first and second quarters. The year-on-year growth peak of raw material prices in this round is between the second and third quarters of last year. It is expected to improve in the second quarter of this year from the fourth quarter of last year to the first quarter of this year, from the fourth quarter of last year to the first quarter of this year, or at the most difficult time of this round.
Zhao Meimei, general manager of Aowei cloud research department, said that the price of raw materials has risen all the way since the outbreak of the epidemic, and the cost of shipping has always been high. Under the pressure of cost, enterprises adjust the price and transfer the cost to the terminal. It is not a new attempt in the household appliance industry. The structural price adjustment driven by leading enterprises will be more conducive to the transmission to the terminal.
High end trend
At present, the penetration rate of traditional household appliances in China is close to saturation. The refined mode of "pushing up and selling fine" has replaced the price war mode of "small profit and quick turnover" and has become the trend of competition in the home appliance industry.
According to GfK data, in 2021, the average sales of game TVs increased by 57%, TVs 70 inches and above increased by 49%, smart refrigerators increased by 33% and smart washing machines increased by 71% year-on-year, while the average sales growth rate of the whole category consumer electronics market in 2021 was only 11%. High end products have become an important driving factor driving market growth.
Liu Bin, vice president of Hisense international marketing company, said that in 2022, in terms of high-end product layout, Hisense's flagship high-end image quality uled TV will achieve a year-on-year increase of more than 40%, and Hisense's overseas sales of laser TV will double. The company will establish new home appliance R & D centers in the United States and Japan, continue to increase investment and construction, realize close coordination between production, marketing and research, and layout nearly 100 flagship stores of high-end brands around the world.
Overseas exports have also become a new growth point for home appliance brands.
Since 2011, Haier has successively acquired AUQA, Fisher & Paykel, GEA and candy, creating a global network layout. From 2011 to 2020, the compound annual growth rate of overseas revenue reached 33%, accounting for half of the total revenue. Northeast Securities predicts that the company's total sales of refrigerators, washing machines and kitchen appliances in Japan, Australia, North America and Western Europe in 2025 will increase by 6.1%, 19.3%, 31.4% and 14.9% respectively compared with 2021.
According to the data of the National Bureau of statistics and the General Administration of customs, the cumulative export volume of household appliances increased by 14.1% year-on-year in 2021. In the same period, the cumulative retail sales of domestic household appliances and audio-visual equipment increased by 10% year-on-year, and the export growth rate was higher than that of domestic retail sales.