The problem facing China's air conditioning industry is not to go left, increase the intensity of large-scale expansion, break through the ceiling and go right to explore a new path of high-quality development, but to move forward bravely, expand the scale effect, expand the category lineup and broaden the stage vision.

China's air-conditioning industry, which has two giants Midea and Gree, has been born in the world's household air-conditioning industry, and its development has also entered a new strategic inflection point.

First, in the household air conditioning industry, Chinese enterprises have established absolute scale advantages and competitive advantages, and have the right to define the market and price products; However, the scale and space of household air conditioning have appeared to varying degrees in both developed and developing countries. If you want to continue to grow upward, you can only expand the markets and needs of emerging countries, but this takes time, and the short term is not the direction;

Second, the global air conditioning industry still maintains a strong and sustainable development momentum, especially in addition to household air conditioners, including commercial air conditioners, heat pump air conditioners and other categories, all maintain a stable market demand; At the same time, under the trend of carbon emission reduction and carbon neutralization, some countries and regions are upgrading the consumption mode of air conditioning, no longer buying air conditioning hardware, but making air conditioning enterprises become operators of environmental energy; There are many hidden opportunities, but the operation difficulty is more complex, involving localization and joint venture operation.

Third, for Chinese air-conditioning enterprises, the Chinese market is only an important "strategic granary", but it is not the whole and only of Chinese air-conditioning enterprises. Similarly, the current business focus of Chinese enterprises has always focused on the global market of household air conditioners and the Chinese market of commercial air conditioners. However, in the overseas market, the private brands of household air conditioners, commercial air conditioners and the cold and warm environment operators of other media are still in the early stage of exploration and have not formed an overall layout.

Fourth, compared with foreign-funded air-conditioning enterprises such as Daikin of Japan, carrier of the United States and Trane of the United States, the gross profit margin of Chinese air-conditioning enterprises has been low among similar enterprises in the world due to their long-term cultivation of the household market and their pursuit of large-scale benefits. Daikin can achieve a gross profit of 35%, while relevant American enterprises can maintain a gross profit margin of about 30%, but only a few enterprises in China can achieve a gross profit margin of 20%, and most of them only have a gross profit margin of about 10%.

In other words, Chinese air-conditioning enterprises, which have dominated the global household air-conditioning market for many years, obviously can not be satisfied with the current situation, let alone stop here. As some home appliance dealers said, "now the home air conditioner really has no dry head. First, the profit is too low, second, the market is too curly, third, the demand has been fixed, and fourth, there is no room for imagination in the future."

From another point of view, for many air-conditioning enterprises in the Chinese market, household air-conditioning is indeed large-scale and in great demand. However, if there is no sufficient profit support, how can enterprises have the intention to innovate product technology and quality, and how can they come up with more resources to insight into the needs of users, listen to the voice of users and improve the dissatisfaction of users, Initiative to innovate? Similarly, if they can't make money or make less and less profits, what are the thoughts of air conditioning dealers to do users' product experience, after-sales service and so on. Therefore, maintaining a certain operating profit is the premise and key to the healthy and sustainable development of all industries.

Under the current channel of continuous decline of gross profit in household air conditioning market and highly involution of competition, the leading enterprises such as Midea, Gree and Haier, which have occupied a place in the global air conditioning market, obviously can not continue to fall into the current industrial quagmire. They must start from the dimensions of business platform and business vision, Open up a new business situation from the aspects of market demand and user upgrading. Specifically, the household appliance circle believes that there are several ideas:

First, on the basis of maintaining the large-scale advantages of household air conditioners, we should increase investment and expansion in commercial air conditioners, especially in the technology and products of some large central air conditioners; Based on the rear strategy of the Chinese market, we should actively seek breakthroughs in positional warfare in the global market, especially in the home of some enterprises in Europe, America and Japan, so as to realize the common growth of the two business systems of household and commercial use.

Second, we should take air-conditioning hardware products as the origin and actively transform to energy and environmental operators and service providers in families or communities. From single air-conditioning equipment sales to regional energy scheme operation with air-conditioning equipment as the main body, especially in some cities and countries, explore the provision of cooling capacity and heat, rather than simple air-conditioning equipment sales, so as to integrate traditional air-conditioning, water air-conditioning, air energy heat pump air-conditioning and other products. At present, many air-conditioning enterprises start with systematic air solutions with the help of scene advantages, which is also an attempt, but they should increase their steps and cooperate with the synchronous innovation of business model.

  Third, we should dare to start with some "destructive" innovations, with the help of some "original" and "original" products and schemes, dare to sell high prices and fight high-end in the first-line market, form the synergy of real product power, brand power and scientific and technological innovation, and dare to define the world HVAC technology trend and product standards, We can't always be satisfied with the substantial leadership in the Chinese market and the absolute leadership in household air conditioning and other sub categories. We must break through with the courage and strength of "beating ourselves".

Although Chinese air-conditioning enterprises in the past three or four years have encountered difficulties in development and growth ceiling in the Chinese market, the fluctuation of market performance of some enterprises also makes the outside world firmly believe that the good days of air-conditioning enterprises are over. However, the household appliance circle believes that the ceiling considered by the outside world is only based on the growth space and power of a single category, and there is a problem of cyclical shortage. It does not mean that the future space and stage of China's air conditioning industry have "come to an end". On the contrary, through category expansion, market exit and commercial break-up, China's air conditioning industry will find greater space and stage at the new strategic inflection point.