At that time, it had almost nothing and started by importing technology. In the 1990s, the home appliance industry became the most popular industry in China. Although it has been accused of not mastering the core technology, through rounds of price wars, it gradually snatched a l

text | Longxi

source | Business legend

Home appliances are a microcosm of China's economic development after reform and opening up.

had almost nothing at that time and started by importing technology. In the 1990s, the home appliance industry became the most popular industry in China. Although it has been accused of not mastering the core technology, through rounds of price wars, it gradually seized a lot of shares from foreign brands. With a small share, it now basically occupies the dominant market. During the

period, many well-known brands appeared, such as Changhong and Konka for color TVs, Xinfei, Meiling , Rongsheng for refrigerators, Chunlan and Huabao for air conditioners, Royalstar , Little Swan, etc. for washing machines. The big waves are washing away, and now Haier , Gree , Midea and TCL are undoubtedly the best among them.

Who is stronger among them?

1, 3 companies have entered the Fortune Global 500, and TCL has crossed the threshold

In the 2022 Fortune Global 500 just released, three Chinese home appliance companies are on the list. The highest ranking is Midea Group , ranking 245th. Operating income is US$53.2 billion; followed by Haier Smart Home , ranking 405th, with operating income of 35.3 billion US dollars; and thirdly Gree Electric , ranking 487th, with operating income of 29.4 billion yuan.

In fact, TCL Group has also crossed the threshold for inclusion on the list. Its operating income in 2021 exceeded 250 billion yuan, and its overall revenue reached 252.3 billion yuan. I don’t know why, but it didn’t appear on the Fortune 500 list this time.

What is worth worrying about is Gree Electric. If it does not work hard, it may soon be excluded from the top 500.

It should be noted that Haier’s Haier Smart is on the list, which is the main part of its home appliances. According to the 2021 innovation results released by Haier Group in mid-January, the annual operating income reached 332.7 billion yuan, which is not much different from Midea Group’s 343.4 billion yuan.

In recent years, Midea and TCL have grown rapidly.

Midea Group’s operating income in the past three years was 279.4 billion yuan, 285.7 billion yuan and 343.4 billion yuan respectively, with an increase of more than 20% in 2021. TCL’s growth rate in 2021 will be 65%.

Gree Electric Appliances has experienced a decline in 2020. Its operating income exceeded 200 billion yuan in 2018 and 2019, and dropped to 170.5 billion yuan in 2020. Growth resumed in 2021, reaching 189.7 billion yuan, but did not reach the level of 2018.

2. Who makes more money? Gree Electric Appliances is still great

From the perspective of earning power, Gree Electric Appliances is still the most powerful.

's net profit in 2021 reached 23.06 billion yuan. Although it has not returned to the original level compared with more than 26 billion yuan and more than 24 billion yuan in 2018 and 2019, its earning power is the strongest.

Last year, Midea Group surpassed Gree Electric for the second consecutive year after 2020, with a net profit of 28.57 billion yuan, but its operating income was nearly twice that of Gree Electric.

Haier Group has not announced specific net profit data. The net profit of its subsidiary Haier Smart Home was 13 billion yuan, which was a large increase from the 8.9 billion yuan in the previous year, but it was lower than Gree's operating income of 30 billion yuan. Electrical appliances, on the contrary, lost 10 billion yuan.

TCL Group’s net profit in 2021 increased by nearly 130% to 17.1 billion yuan. Its earning power is obviously not as good as its two peers in Guangdong.

Overall, Gree Electric has the strongest earning power.

There is a paradox here.

3, Haier, and TCL are no longer relying on home appliances.

The paradox is that Gree Electric Appliances now accounts for a relatively high proportion of the traditional home appliance business.

According to the 2021 annual report, Gree Electric’s operating income of air conditioners was 131.713 billion yuan, accounting for 70.11% of revenue. In addition, household appliances were 4.882 billion yuan, industrial products were 3.195 billion yuan, and smart equipment was 858 million yuan. other business income was 43.028 billion yuan.

Although Dong Mingzhu has always said that the quality of his mobile phone is the best, and also said that it will surpass Xiaomi , but it turns out that it is just talk. She was determined to enter the field of new energy vehicles, but luckily her original plan was rejected at the shareholders' meeting, otherwise Gree Electric would have been dragged into a pit - but she fell into the pit herself.

Midea Group also has a relatively high proportion of home appliances. ToC smart home appliance business revenue reached 234.9 billion yuan, accounting for 76%.Among them, HVAC was 141.879 billion yuan, accounting for 41.58%. Other consumer appliances were 131.866 billion, accounting for 38.64%. Among them is toB business. The entire Midea Group’s toB business reached 73.4 billion yuan.

Midea Group’s revenue other than home appliances includes robotics and automation of 25.3 billion yuan, industrial technology business of 20.1 billion yuan, building technology business of 19.7 billion yuan, and digital innovation business of 8.3 billion yuan. Their diversification is relatively successful.

Haier Smart Home accounts for 68.4% of Haier Group, which is lower than Gree and Midea.

In fact, this can also be seen from the listed companies under Haier Group. In addition to Haier Smart Home, Haier Group also has two listed companies, Haier Biology and Yingkang Life, which are listed on the Science and Technology Innovation Board and the GEM respectively, and both come from the medical industry. In addition, Youwu Intelligence in the home furnishing industry will be held on August 18. The listing application submitted by and has been accepted. The two companies aim to be listed on the GEM. Raytheon Technology, which was invested and incubated by Haier, has already submitted its application to the GEM. Submit listing application to Beijing Stock Exchange. In the past two years, its kaos has become a star enterprise in China's industrial Internet and was rated as an unicorn enterprise .

The company that relies least on traditional home appliance business is TCL. In 2021, its TCL Huaxing , which focuses on the semiconductor display business, has operating income of 88.1 billion yuan, exceeding the 82.4 billion yuan of smart terminals. The net profit is 10.65 billion yuan, accounting for the majority of the 17 billion yuan net profit. TCL Zhonghuan, which focuses on new energy photovoltaics and semiconductor materials, has operating income of 41.1 billion yuan and net profit of 4.44 billion yuan.

In addition to these two major sectors, the proportion of net profit contributed by traditional home appliances is already very low.

Similarly, TCL has many listed companies. In addition to the old listed company TCL Technology , TCL Zhonghuan is the listed company it acquired when it acquired Tianjin Zhonghuan Group in 2020. At that time, it also acquired another company under Zhonghuan Group . The listed company Tianjin Pulin spent tens of billions of yuan. In addition, TCL also has Hong Kong stocks TCL Electronics.

It can be said that TCL has become an alternative in China's home appliance industry.

In China's home appliance industry, TCL's Li Dongsheng is also one of the only remaining first-generation home appliance makers, including Haier's Zhang Ruimin , Midea Group's He Xiangjian , Gree's Zhu Jianghong , and even Hisense of the same age as him. Zhou Houjian and others have retired.

4, what about other old brands?

Hisense is an established home appliance company that is the leader in the second echelon in addition to these four giants.

In 2021, Hisense Group's operating income reached 175.5 billion yuan, a record high, which is already very close to Gree. If the threshold for inclusion in the Fortune Global 500 in 2021 is followed, Hisense is expected to be on the list. Unexpectedly, this year's threshold will be significantly higher Improved.

Changhong, which has appeared low-key in recent years, is actually making efforts secretly. In 2021, Changhong Holding Group's operating income was 152.356 billion yuan.

Similar to TCL, Haier, etc., Hisense and Changhong have vigorously entered into businesses other than traditional home appliances in recent years.

Konka Group , which was the "biggest brother of color TV" in those days, has an operating income of 49.1 billion yuan in 2021.

Other established giants are probably no longer as brave as they once were. Kelon, which was "upgraded" by Rongsheng, has been acquired by Hisense, Meiling has been acquired by Changhong, Royalstar and Little Swan have belonged to Midea Group, and Xinfei After going bankrupt, they were acquired by Konka. Chunlan and Huabao, which were once famous in China's air-conditioning industry, have long since faded from people's sight.

In the short term, it will be difficult to change the pattern of Chinese home appliances. Who is stronger among the 4 giants? Can Hisense and Changhong break out of the second tier?