Beijing is still cold.
When we arrived in Hi Chi Ming city, the heat wave rushed to our face, and we took of our coat, put it down. We took a taxi and walked a small distance to the hotel. When we reached there, we had already sweat cats and dogs. And we turned on the AC. The world was cooled down.
For the next three days we were in HVACR Vietnam Exhibition. And this is the first time I came to Vietnam and visit the show. I expected to see small familiar brand such as Daikin、Samsung、LG、Midea, but I see no one of them. Vietnam is a country of 95 million people and this is only HVACR exhibition in the entire country, and only once in two years.
And none of well-known home ac company exhibit. And I paid special attention of the local home ac companies and I found none.
Maybe this is a good thing.
I had read an article with the title you should have confidence in Chinese economy when AC is widely used in China. I think this article should translate into English. What the article is saying that the coverage of AC could be viewed as a mirror for a country’ economic wellbeing, especially for those living in tropical and subtropical zones.
I can remember when I was little in a big summer. Most people do not have AC then, the whole summer we were taking bath, drinking water and complaining the weather. Then we are living in air-conditioned houses. And even in the heat of summer, we can work at ease.
The coverage of AC use can dramatically increase a country’s productivity.
Some people once predict that countries like Vietnam and India will surpass China. But China has almost left them in the dust. I think one of the reason is that the weather is too hot there, since they do not have much AC, labor and brain power are wasted.
This is their pain and also our opportunity.
Apple has led the way for the smart phones; they took a fortune because of innovation. But companies like Xiao Mi used the smart phone technology and brought cheaper and more affordable phones to billions of users. We can say, it is company like Xiao Mi that brought China into the mobile era. Xiao Mi brought value to billions of people and also left its mark.
Maybe this is my fantasy. I think Vietnam and even the whole south-east Asia Region needs a Xiao Mi style innovation.
They do not need a AC cost a thousand dollar, even several hundred dollar AC is too much. What they need is Xiao Mi price, is great cost performance.
The AC they need do not need to have many functions, the most basic will suffice such as cooling, but cheap and reliable, so that they can study and work.
By this their productivity will rise and they have more buying power, then you can upgrade with their development.
This new AC will not be a simple product but a solution to a social problem.
Vietnam’s problem is not only Vietnam’s problem. You can unlock massive potential if you see the problem clearly.
Vietnam is representing the whole Southeast Asia region with a population of 625 million. When the world is suffering from the economic crisis, the Southeast Asia region is developing fast, with lost of building under construction, hot and humid weather in need of HVACR equipments.
I wonder the market for HVACR in the region is even bigger than China, because large part of China is not so hot as these countries in the region.
Global economy has not recovered from the economic crisis and America’s Trump is speaking against globalization and free trade. I think, the Southeast Asia’s market is an opportunity that Chinese HVACR companies cannot miss.
