On November 13, local time, China's "air conditioning brother" Gree Electric Appliances (referred to as "Gree") announced this year's "Double Eleven" record - air conditioning retail sales exceeded 3 billion, ranking first in the whole network. With its air-conditioning products occupying a place in the hearts of consumers, Gree has also insisted on increasing research and development in the field of industrial air-conditioning for many years, such as installing air conditioners on nuclear power plants, breaking the monopoly position of foreign-funded enterprises in this field.
According to a financial report, in August 2015, Gree developed its own nuclear power refrigeration equipment "China Core" - "megawatt-class nuclear power water-cooled centrifugal chiller (fixed frequency)", which obtained the "international advanced" certification issued by China's scientific and technological experts. The "advent" of this equipment is a major progress in the field of nuclear power refrigeration in China, and it also breaks the situation of foreign-funded enterprises in China' "one dominant".
In this regard, Dong Mingzhu, the "chief helmsman" of Gree Electric Appliances, once pointed out that due to the high cost of research and development, Gree does not make money in this business, but everyone knows that this is what must be done, and Gree will not pursue profits for this.
As a manufacturing giant in China's air-conditioning market, Gree has seen the situation that China's nuclear power water cooling system has been occupied by foreign companies since 1998. In order to achieve a breakthrough as soon as possible, Gree has been working hard for nearly 20 years, lurking on the track of large-scale refrigeration system equipment, innovating in a dedicated two-stage centrifugal compressor, using a series of vane reflowers, micro-axial force rotors and other parts and equipment, and then successfully obtained technical patents.
It is reported that Gree has developed China's first "large centrifuge", breaking the "technology monopoly" of US companies in the large commercial air conditioning market, and also marking the "rise" of Chinese power in the field of central air conditioning. Since then, Gree has obtained the "stepping stone" of a number of nuclear power plant reactor supporting projects in China. Just in October 2015, Gree won the bid for the national nuclear pressurized water reactor demonstration project. Since then, it has become a component supplier for large state-owned nuclear power projects in 2016 and 2020.
According to the data previously released by Japanese media, in the global household air conditioning market in 2020, Gree will reach the top of the air conditioning overlord with a share of more than 20%. However, compared with its rival Midea, Gree has been questioned by the outside world for "not doing the right thing" because of "too many side businesses" - including developing mobile phones, making chips, engaging in robots and entering the automobile industry.
Since 2014, Gree has ambitiously proposed a "diversified" development strategy, determined to become an "advanced manufacturer" in China, and behind it also highlights Gree's precautions for future revenue growth. After all, a temporary "selling air conditioners" can make a lot of money, but it is not a long-term solution, especially China's air conditioning market is close to saturation, the new demand is limited, plus there are Haier, Oaks and other competitors "competing for the cake".
However, Gree's diversified growth sounds good, but it does not seem to be worth the "vote of confidence" of the market. According to the financial report data released by Gree in 2020, air conditioners still account for the majority of revenue - accounting for nearly 70%, and the manufacturing equipment sector only contributes less than 0.5% of revenue. The direct point is that in the past 6 years, the progress of Gree's diversification strategy has been too slow, and it seems to be a lonely business, and it is still a company that "sells air conditioners".
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