How to deal with the transition period or the current low tide of home appliances to the countryside

According to the joint notice from the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Commerce, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, on November 30th, the home appliances going to the countryside in Shandong, Henan, Sichuan, and Qingdao will be concluded first. Nearly 10 provinces will stop home appliances to the countryside by the end of next year. . Implementation of the “Home Appliances to the Countryside” policy for 4 years. Is it focused on releasing consumer demand in advance? After losing the policy "crutch", how should appliance manufacturers respond? Recently, the reporter visited the Island City home appliance market.

Policy "last train" has been issued

The notice of the three ministries and commissions on the policy of home appliances going to the countryside in three provinces and one city was issued on September 8 this year, and home appliances to the countryside in Shandong, Henan, Sichuan, and Qingdao immediately entered the countdown. In an interview with the reporter, it was found that when encouraging the “last train” policy for consumers in rural areas, large-scale home appliance manufacturers and small and medium-sized household electrical appliances enterprises exhibited different states.

As a traditional home appliance brand, Haier Group began the "Countdown to the Countryside" marketing at the end of September this year and launched a set of energy-saving appliances for the rural market. In October of this year, Hisense Group also launched a "last stop for home appliances to the countryside" promotion. Some small and medium-sized home appliance brands have chosen low-cost clearance to attract consumers. Everbright Securities released a report on the home appliance industry, said that in September household appliances to the countryside data exceeded expectations, sales of 9.08 million units, sales of 24.2 billion yuan, an increase of 50% and 67% respectively. In terms of product categories, water heaters, air conditioners, and color TVs grew by more than 70% year-on-year. Some experts pointed out that this will be the end of the home appliances to the countryside in three provinces and one city, and the consumer robbing policy “the last train”.

From November 16th to November 18th, the reporter observed the major home appliance stores in Qingdao and found that the “new-for-new” logos of various home appliance brands still existed, and most of the “home appliances going to the countryside” were removed, and only Aucma and other home appliances went to the countryside. The main brand is still placing home appliances and logos in prominent locations. On November 17, the reporter met Mr. Liu, who was selecting a TV set, in a large appliance store in Huangdao District. He was planning to exchange a new TV for his parents these days. "I would have thought of buying it on New Year's Day or the Spring Festival," Mr. Liu said. "But I heard that the subsidies for home appliances to the countryside were cut off at the end of this month. Therefore, I decided to buy ahead of time. My parents are all local rural households and we can enjoy this policy. ."

The transition period will be relatively low

When the home appliances to rural areas policy is about to expire, the busiest shoppers are not home appliance stores but home appliance manufacturers. These days, the marketing staff of various home appliance companies are busy.

A marketing person in charge of the Haier Group told the reporter that the company’s researchers had gone to the grass-roots market in Anqiu City of Weifang City to understand the situation. At present, the market for rural household appliances has basically been understood, but the final coping strategies have not yet been introduced. The person in charge said that after the end of the home appliances to the countryside policy, the consumption of household appliances in these three provinces and one city will have a low period because some of the consumer demand has been released earlier.

“Under the influence of the policy, household appliances consumption is likely to be unbalanced.” The official said, “For example, in places close to the border in Shandong Province, ordinary people may go to neighboring provinces that still enjoy the policy of home appliances going to the countryside to purchase. Home appliances, or purchasing services from relatives and friends."

Dong Guifeng, director of the marketing department of Suning Appliance Qingdao Company, called the next year a “wait and see period.” He believes that although the policies for home appliances to the countryside in three provinces and one city will end as scheduled, the overall policy direction of the country is still uncertain. “The main impact is on the suburbs and counties markets, and the home appliances to the countryside policy has designated brands and designated product models, so the scope of the impact is also relatively limited.” Dong Guifeng said, “this round of policies has reached the goal of general upgrading of household appliances, Therefore, it is reasonable for the state to decide to stop. But next year there will indeed be imbalances in the household appliances market in all provinces.” Dong Guifeng said that the policy on home appliances to the countryside has relatively little impact on the profits of Suning, Gome and other distributors, and Suning Appliance will be ready A certain amount of funds will be used to respond to changes in the rural market. At the same time, the market environment will be improved by launching various promotions and large-scale procurement next year.

At the same time facing challenges and opportunities

According to data released by the Qingdao Municipal Bureau of Commerce, since December 2007, Qingdao City has taken the lead in launching the “Home Appliances to the Countryside” campaign in China. As of the beginning of November this year, a total of 1.745 million home appliances have been sold, and the sales amount was 3.88 billion yuan. obvious. The Qingdao Municipal Bureau of Commerce requires Haier, Hisense, Aucma and other key home appliance companies in Qingdao to continue to consolidate and expand the sales and service channels established in the work of home appliances to the countryside, and increase investment in stores in the third and fourth-tier markets.

The government encourages home appliance companies to enter the rural market, and home appliance companies are also actively planning the "next move" of the rural appliance market. Haier Group official told reporters that, at present, Haier's strategy is that all dealers in the countryside after the end of the appliance can return the inventory of rural products returned in exchange for new products launched by Haier. “We will launch special products in Lu, Yu, Chuan, and Qingdao, and their price/performance ratio may not be lower than those for home appliances to the countryside.” The official said, “We will also take the opportunity to standardize the sales network in rural markets and make large chain stores. In parallel with Haier's store, we are also considering the uniting of the province as a unit price."

Regarding the adjustment of the national home appliances to the countryside policy, the person in charge of the Haier Group believes that "opportunities and challenges coexist." “The SMEs in the industry are facing greater pressure. The country’s home appliances to the countryside policy implemented since the end of 2007 has saved many small and medium-sized home appliance companies, making the home appliance industry more competitive. Now that the policy is over, SMEs are once again facing a challenge. There may be the closure of small and medium-sized household electrical appliance companies, and the domestic appliance industry will also be reshuffled.” He said that after the reshuffle, the market position of major companies will be rearranged, and a new market pattern will emerge in the domestic appliance industry. Therefore, it is only by seizing the initiative to gain an advantage.