(Image source: Photo.com)
The rose air conditioner personally designed by Dong Mingzhu, chairman of Gree, was labeled as "ugly and earthy" by netizens. According to her, the rose air conditioner series is for newlyweds, and it can be used for both gold and silver weddings. In Dong Mingzhu's view, this is not only an air conditioning product, but also a manifestation of her pursuit of a better life.
On May 14, Dong Mingzhu responded to netizens' complaints in the live broadcast room. She said frankly, "In the field of air conditioning, we were the first to create a rose air conditioner, even if everyone felt that it was defective. But it's also the best because it features a second home made of rose air conditioning and is a creation.
However, the market's reaction does not seem to have been as Dong Mingzhu had hoped. According to the Southern Metropolis Daily, the sales of this new generation of rose air conditioners in the near future are not optimistic. In the online sales channels, in the official stores of Taobao, Tmall and other platforms, the sales volume of the air conditioner is 0. In the official channel stores of Jingdong and Pinduoduo, the air conditioner is not even on the shelves. Although in the few other stores that sell this type of air conditioner, only 25 units are sold.
It is worth noting that the "Gree Dong Mingzhu Store" is still selling this product and has carried out a limited-time price reduction promotion. The rose air conditioner with 3 HP inverter has dropped from the original price of 32,999 yuan to 29,999 yuan, with a cumulative sales of 100+. In addition, the product also participates in trade-in activities, with a maximum subsidy of 1,000 yuan for old machines. Although the sales data is a little flat, there are still some consumers who have purchased that the quality of the products is very good, and they think that "soil is also a kind of beauty".
Dong Mingzhu, as the chairman of Gree Electric Appliances, not only promotes the continuous development of Gree Electric Appliances with his unique business vision and leadership, but also shapes the corporate culture and brand image of Gree Electric Appliances with his personal spiritual concepts and values. Under the leadership of Dong Mingzhu, Gree Electric has gradually developed from a little-known home appliance company to a world-renowned home appliance giant.
In 2021, Gree Electric invested more than 6.5 billion yuan in R&D
By the end of 2021, Gree Electric has won 99 important awards at the national, provincial and ministerial levels. It has applied for 96,626 patents at home and abroad, of which 49,549 are invention patents, and has obtained 13,507 invention patent authorizations, becoming the first home appliance enterprise in China to exceed 10,000 invention patents. In addition, Gree Electric has won 65 China Patent Awards, including 2 Invention Gold Awards and 3 Appearance Gold Awards, ranking first in the air conditioning industry in terms of total awards over the years. Internationally, Gree Electric has won 11 gold medals at the Geneva Invention Exhibition and 6 gold medals at the Nuremberg Invention Exhibition. At the same time, Gree Electric is one of the first batch of national enterprises and institutions intellectual property demonstration units and "national patent operation pilot enterprises", and has won the China Trademark Gold Award.
From 2017 to 2021, the amount of R&D investment of Gree Electric Appliances fluctuated. In 2021, the amount of R&D investment was 6.529 billion yuan, an increase of 5.07% over 2020, accounting for 3.48%, a slight decrease.
In 2022, the offline market share of air conditioners will account for about 30%.
Gree Electric has a complete range of white goods products, among which the air conditioning business is still the core of Gree's white goods business. In the first half of 2022, the offline market share of Gree Electric Appliances household air conditioners reached 33.8%, slightly lower than Midea, ranking second.
Check and balance Hillhouse Capital and strive to be the business hegemon
On February 3, 2020, Gree Electric announced that Zhuhai Mingjun, a related party of Hillhouse, has completed the share transfer registration and holds 15% of the company's shares, becoming the single largest shareholder of the company. In addition, Hillhouse Capital Management Co., Ltd. - HCM China Fund holds 0.72% of the company's shares, and Hillhouse controls a total of 15.72% of the shares of Gree Electric. Prior to this, Dong Mingzhu held 0.73% of the company's equity, and Hebei Beijing Hai Guarantee Investment Co., Ltd. held 8.91% of the company's equity on behalf of the dealers' interests, and the two together controlled 9.64% of Gree's equity. Taking into account this repurchase, the total shareholding ratio of the three will reach 11.06% (9.64% + 1.42%) according to the maximum ratio, and the voice of the board of directors will be further increased, which will balance the major shareholder Hillhouse Capital to a certain extent.
According to a research report released by Everbright Securities, from January to April 2024, the home appliance (CITIC) sector rose by +19.54%, ranking first, thanks to the strong support for the stock price due to high dividends and upward revisions to performance expectations. The performance growth of the white goods industry was affected by a variety of factors, including renewal demand, profit retention, overseas business and product upgrades, while real estate completions had a limited impact on performance. The dynamic dividend yield of the white goods industry is above 5%, which is significantly higher than the yield of the 10-year US Treasury bond/Chinese bond, which is highly attractive to domestic and foreign investors, so it is expected that the valuation of white goods faucets will be repaired.
The Prospective Industry Research Institute predicts that the white goods industry will inevitably move towards green, intelligent and high-end upgrading. With the emergence of this transformation and upgrading, the scale of China's white goods market will be further expanded, and it is expected that by 2027, the market size is expected to exceed 400 billion yuan.
Prospective Economist APP Information Group
For more research and analysis of this industry, please refer to the "Market Prospect and Investment Strategic Planning Analysis Report of China's White Goods Industry" by Qianzhan Industry Research Institute
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