The advertising slogan “Good air conditioners, made by Gree” has long been familiar to us. Speaking of the domestic air conditioning market, Gree air conditioning undoubtedly occupies an important share, and its position is unshakable. Not only Gree air conditioners, Gree’s Dong Mingzhu also has countless fans and has become an outstanding contemporary female representative.
How powerful is Gree air conditioner? Gree Air Conditioning is an air conditioning brand integrating R&D, production, sales and service. Gree ranks first in the industry with its excellent quality and technological leadership. Gree has always insisted on independent research and development, keeping the core technology in its own hands, and constantly innovating at the same time.
Gree’s ultra-efficient fixed-speed compressors, high-efficiency DC variable frequency centrifugal chillers, ultra-low temperature digital multi-connected chillers, etc. are leading in the industry. Gree holds 14,000 technology patents. Relying on its own strength, Gree has been at the top of the industry for many years.
However, Midea broke this stable situation last year. In the domestic market, in addition to Gree, Midea and Haier also occupy a certain market share in the air-conditioning industry. Midea is a strong competitor of Gree.
In 2020, Gree’s air conditioning business revenue was 117.882 billion yuan, and Midea’s air conditioning business revenue was 121.215 billion yuan. This also means that the "King of Air Conditioners" has changed hands, and Midea has surpassed Gree for the first time and become the overlord of the air conditioner industry. As the core of Gree, air conditioning is now overtaken by Midea.
In the first quarter of 2021, Midea’s net profit was 6.47 billion yuan, Haier’s was 3.054 billion yuan, and Gree’s was only 3.44 billion yuan. In terms of revenue, in the first quarter of this year, Midea's revenue was 83 billion, Gree's revenue was 33.5 billion, and Haier's revenue was 54.8 billion.
Gree has always been the big brother in the air-conditioning industry, but now Midea is a latecomer. These three reasons cannot be ignored.
First, online business. Gree pays more attention to offline sales. In the past two years, Gree has also begun to focus on online sales. But in general, the entry time is relatively late, and it still needs a certain amount of time to develop. Midea entered the online market earlier and has already occupied the market.
Last year, with the outbreak of the global health crisis, offline sales suffered a certain impact, while online sales were booming.
Second, lay out overseas markets. Midea has already expanded its business to overseas markets, which has also created high revenue for Midea. Last year, Midea's overseas sales reached more than 22 million units, while Gree's overseas sales were about 10 million units. Then the gap between the two sides widens.
Third, the business scope is different. Even though the overall revenue is much higher than that of Gree, this is because the two have different development directions and business scopes. Take Midea as an example. Midea is focusing on the four major scenarios of smart home: living room, kitchen, bathroom and balcony. We have launched many products and are developing towards diversification.
Gree is different. Gree's main core is air conditioners. Gree insists on research and development, technological breakthroughs, and gradually moves into the field of technology. In addition to air conditioners and mobile phone businesses, Gree also builds cores and cars.
Gree has been leading in the field of air conditioners for many years and has leading technology. So Gree’s abdication last year may be only temporary. It is still unclear whether the king of air conditioners will still be Midea this year.