CE China Daily 2018 - Day 2 Edition

HOME APPLIANCES
Natalia
Andrievskaya
Global Director,
Major Domestic
Appliances, GfK
Udo Jansen
Global Director,
Small Domestic Appliances,
GfK
Home Appliances Surf on a Wave of Success
GfK forecasts healthy growth for both major and small appliances for 2018
MAJOR APPLIANCES
According to GfK, 4.1%
market growth is expected
for global sales of major
domestic appliances in 2018.
Natalia Andrievskaya, Global
Director – Major Domestic
Appliances, GfK, told an
audience of journalists at the
IFA Global Press Conference
in Rome last month that
online channel is still a
driver of the MDA market,
adding that this doesn’t
cannibalise offline, but
brings incremental growth.
In 2017, 25% of global sales
were online, as opposed to
23.7% in 2016 and 21.7%
in 2015. Looking at freestanding
refrigerators and
washing machines, these
figures are higher, with
30% of fridges and 34%
of washing machines being
sold through online channel.
Smart Appliances
The onset of Smart
Appliances is particularly
strong in China. According
to GfK, 50% of consumers
worldwide are sure that
Smart Home will change
their lives in the near future,
however in China, this
figure is 75%. In Japan, only
19% of consumers agreed
with this statement. The
number of smart (major)
home appliances sold on the
global market has increased
exponentially from the early
days of the technology. While
in 2012, only seven products
were on the market, 4,131
smart products could be
found in 2017 and this year
the figure has climbed to
7,178. Likewise, the value
share of smart appliances
is increasing globally. APAC
has by far the highest
share, with 21.8% of major
appliances sold in February
2018 being “smart”, as
opposed to 9.3% in Western
Europe.
China has the highest
share of smart appliances
in the world, with 19.2%
of refrigerators, 36.3%
of washing machines and
40.2% of air conditioners
being “smart”.
“It’s fascinating to see that in
China, smart product groups
have already reached levels
we didn’t expect before”,
says Ms Andrievskaya. “Even
though China is one of the
most advanced countries in
the world, in terms of share
of smart appliances, we
still see big differences by
product.”
SMALL DOMESTIC
APPLIANCES
Udo Jansen – Global
Director, Small Domestic
Appliances, GfK, states
that in this category, the
key aspect today is more
than ever innovation. New
appliances and new product
categories are popping
up all the time, and major
growth is being seen in
such product categories
as handstick rechargeable
vacuum cleaners, robotic
vacuum cleaners, and air
fryers, where connectivity is
increasingly important.
According to GfK, the global
market for small appliances
in 2017 amounted to
US$65.2bn. That’s a rise of
8% over the previous year.
The sector is being boosted
by product categories that
didn’t exist before, such as
personal connected scales,
massage mats, and new
kinds of food preparation
machines.
Yet again China leads the
world in terms of market
share for connected small
devices. 50% of robot
vacuum cleaners sold
in China in 2017 were
connected, as opposed to
26% in 2016.
China has also become the
biggest virtual marketplace
in the world for small
appliances, with growth
of 38.7% in sales in 2017
to EUR6.4bn. At the same
time, Chinese consumers
are willing to accept
premium products and
better equipped appliances
over time. For example,
pistol-grip hair dryers in the
“over 150 CNY” category
made up for only 35% of
the market in 2016, but
leapt to 51% in 2017.
Overall, the global key trends
for SDAs are as follows:
1. Continuously good
growth rates – the positive
and dynamic trend
continues;
2. Trading up – consumers
are going for higher priced,
better equipped appliances;
3. Innovation & new market
segments – The SDA market
is driven by innovations and
smart appliances, as well as
new product categories;
4. Energy efficiency: EU
energy labels
5. Connectivity & smart
homes: This will bring new
benefits to consumers
6. Growth of internet sales:
This impacts SDA sales,
however share of online
sales differs greatly country
by country
CHINA
HIGHEST SHARE
OF SMART
APPLIANCES
IN THE WORLD
2,5%
Smart REF
(Sales Value %)
2015 2016
10,1% 19,2%
2017
2.4 9.2 18.4
(Sales Value, billion)
8,7%
Smart WM
(Sales Value %)
18,6%
2015 2016
36,3%
201701-10
5.7 12.7 20.7
(Sales Value, billion)
Smart Air-con
(Sales Value %)
40,2%
8,6%
22,9%
2015 2016 201701-10
10.6 30.0 56.1
(Sales Value, billion)
Source: GfK - IFA GPC 2018
REF
WM
Air-con
6