The future of the tobacco stove industry: continuous upgrading in the recovery

Cookers solve the problems of heating and smoke exhaust. In modern kitchens, smoke stoves are the most basic and core products. They follow the evolution process of "smoke-free stoves - smoke stoves (fire) sets - smoke stoves integration (parallel integration of sets and integration) - cooking function integration".

On the surface, it is the change of product form, while on the inside, it is true that the diversified development of cooking solutions is based on this logic. Today, when we discuss the future of the smoke stove market, we will put traditional smoke stoves and integrated stoves together. At the same time, since this year, the integration of the two different types of products has become more in-depth, as traditional stove enterprises have entered or increased the integrated stove industry (and integrated stove enterprises have not completely isolated traditional stoves).

Three meals a day and fireworks in the world actually indicate the rigid demand of the stove itself.

It is also based on this fact that there is a more consistent view in the market that demand still exists, but it will take time for recovery.

Indeed, the epidemic situation frequently hit in the past three years, coupled with the continuous downturn in real estate, the shock of high raw materials and other adverse factors, not only the kitchen and electric industry, but also the entire household appliance industry and even the entire manufacturing industry have been greatly impacted.

Under heavy pressure, the industry is "a little confused" in the short term

"In the best ten years of the kitchen appliance industry, some enterprises have fallen behind or even gone bankrupt, not to mention the three years that have been hit continuously", said a general manager of the kitchen appliance brand in Foshan, Guangdong, "we are also considering whether to continue or change the track". "Even if the epidemic is fully liberalized this time, I personally judge that the restoration of consumer confidence is still a process, and how long this process will take, it is still difficult to say".

"In fact, if you look back on the past three years, especially this year, how many enterprises have changed their behavior under pressure", said the general manager of an enterprise in Zhongshan, Guangdong, "We are small brands and have always followed the path of asset light operation", "If you look at those big brands, there will be a swarm of products with growth. For example, traditional cigarette cooker enterprises have flocked to integrated cookers, integrated cookers have flocked to make integrated sinks, stainless steel cabinets, and even some kitchen electrical enterprises have set foot in refrigerators. I personally think that this is all movement deformation under pressure", this rather personalized general manager judged in this way, "I think the recovery of the market will take about a quarter or two, but the recovery of the industry ecology may take a year or more".

"I was in Zhengzhou this year, when it was the most difficult, I was alone with two colleagues, and there were only two eggs and three peppers left in the refrigerator". "When I talked on the phone, some dealers cried", said a regional manager of a well-known brand.

"The market is still in demand in the long run, and it will certainly recover", said Yang Guang, general manager of Yashilin. "But now it still needs time to heal".

He Yadong, the director and senior vice-president of the boss Electric Appliances, is more optimistic than the market growth expectation. In an interview with the media, He Yadong said for many times that "we should not focus on growth, but on users' preferences", and strive for users' preferences through product design and innovation "." In the future, it is estimated that more than 80% of the demand will come from the stock market by 2030 "." If we add new categories and services to activate old users, this part of the market will be very considerable ".

In fact, from the perspective of the kitchen appliance industry itself, after the peak in 2017, it has always been in a state of fluctuation. In a sense, the epidemic is only a catalyst, and the most fundamental reason is the continuous downturn of real estate. As a kitchen and electric industry highly tied to real estate, it cannot be isolated.

In 2018, the traditional smoke stove industry began to decline, and in 2019, the decline was about 15%. Although it narrowed slightly in 2020 and 2021, the decline was still close to double digits. Although the growth rate of the integrated cooker industry in the same period was stable, with the continuous release of industrial dividends, the situation of difficult growth has emerged this year.

In terms of products, the entire industry has experienced parameter competition, intelligent function loading, and exploration of health and environmental protection issues, and the innovation around digitalization and scenario will take it to a higher level. To put it more bluntly, innovation based on people-oriented and in-depth study of user scenarios and user dynamic lines is more prosperous.

In this sense, whether it's Mr. Roki, the AI cooking assistant launched by the boss, or Vantage's three good kitchen appliances, or Fang Tai's Yueying series, which includes nine categories, or the integrated stove enterprise's overlapping oven, continuous water testing stainless steel cabinet, integrated sink, etc. - the functional innovation of a product is to create user value, and the layout of the category and the depth of the scene are based on the user's dynamic line, It will make the industry present a higher product form.

As Zheng Ke, the deputy general manager of Beidou Star, said, "The harmony between kitchen appliances is a realm, and the harmony between kitchen appliances and cabinets is also a realm. The harmony between kitchen appliances and the whole household is a world-class market".

Gao Haifeng, the deputy general manager of Jindi Marketing, believes that "the market looks down and the products are done at a lower level. There is really no opportunity, but if you look up and do product innovation and value empowerment, there is still much to be done in the future".

Never thought that a black swan event would become a landmark for us to explore the industry. But indeed, this is not a short period of three years to change many of our habits. We are talking about the industry, but each of us is a consumer first.

In three years, the time when the pause button was pressed was enough for us to think about the relationship between the industry cycle and the public health crisis, and also made us explore and try to break through the industry cycle and external adverse conditions in difficult times.

In a word, the stock market has not changed, the demographic dividend has subsided, and the real estate prospect is still uncertain. But as an enterprise general manager interviewed at the beginning of this article said, "The stove is just needed, and the market will always need it. However, we should abandon the previous high growth expectations and rely on value innovation to grow.".