The price increase has once again moved the heartstrings of upstream and downstream enterprises in the entire air-conditioning industry chain.
Since entering the cold year of 2021, all air-conditioning companies and merchants have never expected that the low price war that has lasted for more than a year is not due to the active truce of the industry giants, but because of the full-line rise in the prices of many raw materials. At the end of 2020, companies such as Meizhi, Highly, and Lingda, which are the core components and compressors of air-conditioning upstream, issued price adjustment notices, clarifying that the supply of air-conditioning compressors will be increased from the first day of 2021 price.
A person from an air-conditioning compressor company told the home appliance industry that this round of price increases was really forced by helplessness, and it was not that companies took the opportunity to drive up prices. First, the core materials of air-conditioning compressors such as copper, electrical steel, aluminum, and rare earth materials have increased by at least 34% since 2020, and at most 67%, which has a great impact on the cost of the compressor; Trapped in the price war of air-conditioning machines, the upstream compressor companies are constantly being forced to cut prices, resulting in very thin profits for many compressors. You know, the entire industry chain has been cutting prices in the past few years, and compressor factories cannot be left alone.
But this round of air-conditioning compressor price adjustment letter, the home appliance circle found an interesting phenomenon, the whole article only explains the reason, but does not give a specific price increase. Some business people told the home appliance circle that the reason is that for downstream air conditioning companies, compressor companies have different price increases for each company. For example, the purchase scale of Midea and Gree is large, so the natural increase is relatively small. The smaller companies such as Hisense, Changhong, and Yangzi will naturally increase their prices.
As the above-mentioned company said, "The price increase letter did not include the price increase rate because there are too many factors considered in this round of price increase. Therefore, there is no way to treat everyone equally, and only one policy approach is adopted." This phenomenon of uneven growth, from the perspective of the home appliance industry, is clearly the epitome of the further improvement and enhancement of the voice of large air-conditioning companies, which puts the operating costs of small and medium-sized enterprises under pressure again.
However, a person in charge of a small and medium air-conditioning company told the home appliance circle that this round of compressor price increases is just the prelude to a new round of comprehensive price increases in the air-conditioning industry in 2021. "The price increase of air-conditioning compressors in this round should have an impact on the cost of air conditioners. It should be about 3 points. Because compressors account for a large proportion of air-conditioning costs. However, this round is not just the increase in compressors. , The prices of steel, copper, and plastic particles needed for air-conditioning are in a continuous upward channel." At the same time, some air-conditioning companies told the home appliance circle, “Next, air-conditioning products are not only the collective increase of bulk raw materials, but also an important uncontrollable factor, which is the increase in labor costs. In fact, starting from the second half of 2020, labor The cost has risen by about 20%. Entering the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021, the greater challenge lies in the traditional culture of the Spring Festival, and the fluctuating epidemic that is difficult to control. The labor shortage problem is already a severe test. It is likely to appear at that time. , No one can be recruited if the salary increases." Therefore, it is also determined that starting from 2021, a round of rising operating costs in the entire industrial chain, from core components to all bulk materials, and employee salaries, will eventually force the operating costs of the entire air-conditioning industry to rise again. . In this case, the supply price and retail price of air conditioners will increase. However, no one dares to take a "gamble" attitude and strategy easily again, stock up, stock up, eat goods, and bet on air conditioning prices next year. This once again puts forward a more realistic and cruel test for the market operation of air-conditioning companies in the new year and in the new environment: in the face of rising material costs and labor costs, in the face of relatively sluggish consumer demand and market environment, a new round How should China's market management work be broken? All problems may only be solved by air-conditioning companies in the market, combining their own capabilities and resources.
However, from the perspective of the home appliance industry, there are two constant laws:
First, the market is always changing dynamically, and no one can predict tomorrow. The only thing that can be done is to consolidate one's own internal strength and foundation. However, we must no longer operate the air-conditioning market with a speculative mentality of "gamble" and "gambling". This is because regardless of whether the air conditioner will continue to perform the cyclical pattern of "big and small years", and regardless of whether the raw materials of air conditioners "continue to rise or fall back across the board", the variability of the first-line market rhythm is affirmative, as is the variability of consumer demand. It is necessary to do a good job of the corresponding product, marketing and promotion reserves, proper inventory preparation, a healthy capital chain, and a reliable upstream supply chain are the three basic tasks.
The second is that air conditioners have entered the era of giants long ago, and the future will be the era of oligarchy. In the past, Greemei’s Haier three companies focused on competition in the mid-to-high-end market, so they provided relatively loose room for many small and medium-sized brands, especially speculative miscellaneous brands. But starting this year, it is no longer just the competition of three companies, but the competition of more than a dozen brands on three platforms, covering the full range of high, medium and low-end markets, leaving no room for SMEs or even miscellaneous speculation. In this way, all air-conditioning companies have been pushed to the front of the giants. How do they compete with them? Without a little effort and strength, they can only "sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight" and cannot fight back.
