Water heater market hot manufacturers betting purification function

Water appliances is one of the hot spots in the home appliance industry this year. In addition to the hot water purifiers that filter drinking water, people are increasingly demanding the purification of hot water for bathing, which leads to water heaters with purification functions as a new opportunity.

On June 5th, Midea launched an electric water heater with six purification functions. Wang Chunfeng, head of domestic marketing hot water product of Midea’s water heater business department, told the First Financial Reporter that the domestic water heater market is expected to grow by 4.9% this year, which is slower than the growth rate of 8% last year. Among them, the growth rate of electric water heaters will decline, while the growth of gas water heaters is more. This year, the US sales target for electric water heaters is 4%, and the target for the growth of gas water heaters is 50%, which is higher than the 20-30% growth rate of the domestic gas water heater market.

Water health from drinking to use

Xu Dongsheng, vice chairman of the China Household Electrical Appliances Association, believes that the real estate market has a major impact on the hot water industry. The sales of water heaters are relatively stable, and the main lines for product upgrades are safety, energy saving, green, and smart. After more than 20 years of development, the water heater industry has become more and more mature, but the products tend to be homogenous, so we must carry out independent innovation and upgrade the grade.

"Human skin health is closely related to bathing water," said Professor Chen Ideal, head of China Energy Medical Technology and a skin health expert. China's surface water pollution is 50 percent.

Professor Zhao Feihong, president of the Beijing Health Protection Association’s Health Drinking Water Professional Committee, also said, “China's good water is getting less and less.” In 2015, the EPA announced the quality of groundwater, and the quality of one type of water is declining. The more water pollutants, the more chlorine will be. Chlorine reacts with other substances and enters the body during bathing, which can affect health. "After solving the problem of drinking water, the next issue is the use of water," said Wu Haitao, director of the Information Service Platform at the China Household Electrical Appliances Research Institute.

This time, the United States launched a purifier with clean water, fresh, bactericidal, antibacterial, effluent, and chlorine removal functions to solve the problem of bath water pollution.

Zhao Honghong suggested that if water heaters with purification function can be subdivided into the north and south markets, they will be more targeted and practical because water quality in the north and south is not the same.

Gas water heaters grow faster

The battle for gas water heaters and electric water heaters has been one of the hot topics in the industry. With the development of the West-East Gas Pipeline, the laying of gas pipelines has been improved, and the price of natural gas has been gradually reduced, which has increased the advantage of gas-fired water heaters. According to data measured by Yikang, in the first quarter of 2016, gas water heaters and electric water heaters, retail sales increased by 17% and 6% year-on-year, respectively, retail sales increased by 19% and 2% respectively, the gas market growth momentum is even more rapid .

According to data measured by Yikang, in the first quarter of this year, the retail sales of kitchen appliances reached 36.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10%. Among them, the water heater market retail sales and retail sales were 8.48 million units and 12.6 billion yuan, respectively, an increase of 9.3% and 8.9% respectively.

In the amount of water, gas water heaters and electric water heaters are also different. According to data from Yikang, in the first quarter of 2016, the retail sales of online and offline retail sales of the 13-liter and 16-liter gas water heaters reached 28.0% and 32.7%, respectively, up 13% and 5% respectively over the previous year; 60 liters The share of retail sales of the 80-liter electric water heaters in the online and offline markets reached 53.1% and 59.3% respectively, which was an increase of 4.1% and 4.5% respectively compared with the same period of last year.

Industry leading brands have launched triple triple-filter gas water heaters that promote fresh water heaters and bring healthy winds to the gas water heater market. According to the data from China Excel, the market for health-type electric water heaters exceeds 10 models, with the market share accounting for nearly 10%, and health may become the next big thing in the water heater industry.

Shi Ting, general manager of Zhongkang kitchen and kitchen appliances division, said that from the perspective of future development, electric water heaters tend to be 60 liters, and their functions will continue to be deepened. For gas water heaters, the development will be all-encompassing, and easy-to-operate displays will become larger and functionally more pragmatic. China Yikang estimates that the scale of the water heater market in 2016 will reach 56.7 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.2%.

Health, intelligence and other functions have brought new vitality to the water heater industry. Since the beginning of this year, the wave of consolidation in the water heater industry has continued. Haier’s acquisition of GE’s appliance business includes the latter’s water heater business, and Wanhe and Bosch also established a joint venture in early May to jointly develop and produce water heaters. However, Wang Chunfeng said that the U.S. water heaters are still mainly based on self-development.