Small appliance become big business (small commodity big industry )

Cixi people often say, "To make a Small appliance, you can find all the parts and complete the assembly in Cixi in less than an hour."There are over 2000 home appliance complete machine enterprises and nearly 10000 supporting enterprises in Cixi, Zhejiang, covering over 20 series and over a thousand varieties of products

Cixi people often say, "To make a Small appliance, you can find all the parts and complete the assembly in Cixi in less than an hour."

There are over 2000 home appliance complete machine enterprises and nearly 10000 supporting enterprises in Cixi, Zhejiang, covering over 20 series and over a thousand varieties of products. In terms of output, Cixi has produced about 60% of the world's Small appliance, with a market scale of 100 billion yuan. The output of electric irons, hair dryers, electric heaters and other subdivisions ranks first in the world.

How was Cixi, a world-class "Small appliance city" forged? How can Cixi people turn the humble Small appliance into a big business with an output value of 100 billion yuan? Our reporter came to Cixi to explore the truth.

From a small family workshop to a complete industrial chain

Although today's Small appliance industry in Cixi is so prosperous, before the reform and opening up, the local agricultural production was still dominant, and the economic and trade development was far from the neighboring counties and cities.

In the 1980s, the government introduced policies to encourage rural areas to actively adjust their industrial structure. Taking this opportunity, a large number of Township and Village Enterprises have sprung up all over the country. During this period, some Cixi people who were wandering abroad returned to their hometowns to start businesses, and also brought back the advanced skills of factories and workshops in other places. At that time, we gathered many skilled personnel in accessory processing here, who were skilled in business and work. They established many workshops and factories in towns such as Zhouxiang to undertake the production and processing of home appliance plastics and hardware parts for large enterprises in Northeast China, Qingdao, Shanghai, and other places. "said Xiong Guoquan, Secretary of the Party General Branch of Yuncheng Village, Zhouxiang Town, Cixi City.

Since the 1990s, Cixi Small appliance enterprises and practitioners have increased significantly. "Driven by the older generation of entrepreneurs, many new people have joined the Small appliance industry. Everyone gathered to discuss how to make money and how to manufacture products." Xiong Guoquan said.

With the continuous expansion of business, the original "front store and back factory" family small workshop model can no longer meet production needs. In order to seek long-term development, many spare parts companies have begun to expand and transform their businesses. Larger and more complex home appliance and complete machine enterprises are blooming everywhere in Cixi, operating product categories covering various fields such as household appliances, kitchen utensils, beauty and hairdressing appliances. Yueli, Zhuoli and some other world "singles champions" in today's Small appliance sub industry established and emerged in this period.

Small appliance practitioners in Cixi also actively expand their business. International exhibitions such as Canton Fair are important occasions for them to meet foreign businessmen. Thanks to the excellent product quality, Cixi Small appliance received extensive "foreign orders" at the exhibition and became many international famous manufacturers and processors. As local enterprises continue to expand overseas markets, Cixi has gradually grown into an important base for Small appliance procurement in the international market, and the world-class "Small appliance city" has begun to take shape.

After more than 40 years of development, Small appliance have become a beautiful business card of Cixi and formed a sound industrial chain. Taking Yuncheng Village under the jurisdiction of Zhouxiang Town, Cixi City as an example, in this village level administrative unit covering an area of 3.68 square kilometers, there are more than 200 enterprises engaged in the production of Small appliance, with an annual output value of more than 2.5 billion yuan. From mold design and manufacturing to injection spraying, from production of key parts to assembly and delivery of complete machines, the whole process of Small appliance manufacturing can be completed in Yuncheng Village "one-stop".

"Cixi Small appliance industry has obvious regional advantages, which makes us local enterprises have full competitiveness," said Li Lizhong, director of the marketing center of Yueli Group Co., Ltd.

From Imitation Manufacturing to R&D Innovation

With orders pouring in, Cixi's Small appliance industry is growing. However, in the early stages of the development of complete machine enterprises, many practitioners remained in the stage of imitating foreign brands, resulting in severe homogenization of product lines. In order to achieve performance, some companies even adopt a "low quality and low price" business approach, causing relative market chaos.

How to overcome the "biased science" dilemma of large industrial volume and weak product line? Some practitioners of Small appliance in Cixi believe that promoting product innovation through independent research and development is the key.

Since the last century, Zhuoli has chosen to take the path of independent innovation, "Xu Jianhui, the head of the Industrial Design Department of Zhuoli Electric Appliance Group Co., Ltd., told reporters. As the" global champion "in the field of electric irons with the highest production, Zhuoli soon introduced a large number of professional research and development designers, The previous model was for foreign investors to provide us with product drawings and models, and we followed the instructions to 'reproduce', which not only resulted in low profits but also high labor costs. After establishing the R&D department, we gained experience in technology and design and began to build our own product line

Xu Jianhui recalled his participation in the International Household Appliance Exhibition in Cologne, Germany in 1999. The appearance of a new electric iron independently developed by Zhuoli attracted attention at the exhibition. The ingenious original design made many foreign businessmen request to sign a contract with Zhuoli on the spot, breaking the prejudice of the outside world at that time that China's Small appliance "only imitate foreign product design". Nowadays, Zhuoli has built the entire chain of "production, research and sales", and more than 200 engineers from the group launch over a hundred innovative products every year.

The process of R&D innovation is not easy. Entering the R&D center of Ningbo Kaidili Electric Appliance Co., Ltd., a R&D personnel is operating the coffee machine in front of the platform, focusing on conducting functional testing. According to him, even a small feature upgrade requires months of repeated testing by the R&D team, with countless drawings and models drawn and built during this process.

With continuous investment in design and research and development, Kaidili has achieved continuous product innovation results. General Manager Hu Wei pointed to a coffee machine in front of him with over 30 patents, showcasing its innovative highlights to the reporter: the filter screen has a density of 300 mesh, the coffee machine filter has more pressure, and the oil extraction is more complete; The sealing design of the coffee steam return coffee machine greatly enriches the taste of the coffee. Hu Wei said, "Strengthening innovation, persisting in research and development, and continuously launching new products with high technological content are the secrets of Cadillac's ability to continuously place orders

With the accelerated pace of independent innovation, many Small appliance enterprises in Cixi have achieved world leadership in product technology. Taking Ningbo Ding'an Electric Appliance Co., Ltd. as an example, as an enterprise mainly engaged in Water filter, its first pop-up filter technology solved the complicated industry problem of Water filter filter element replacement.

From OEM OEM to independent brand creation

"Every enterprise that started as a contract manufacturer has its own brand dream." Xu Jianhui said the aspiration of Cixi Small appliance enterprises.

Exporting branded products to international brand names is a "familiar path" for many Cixi Small appliance enterprises at the initial stage, which also makes brand building a problem. A practitioner of Small appliance told the reporter: "Whenever you see your carefully designed products being posted on the logos of other brands, you will have a regret of 'making wedding clothes for others'."

Xu Jianhui recalled that during the 2008 international financial crisis, due to the lack of Zhuoli's own brand and the sharp decrease in orders from foreign partners, the company was forced to shut down production and employees went home, causing great difficulties in its operations. This setback made Zhuoli realize that OEM is not a long-term solution, and companies need to have their own brand as support in order to take the initiative in the fierce market competition.

In 2015, Zhuoli Group launched its independent brand "Zhuoli", mainly engaged in ironing home appliance products. According to Xu Jianhui, after several years of market accumulation, the domestic sales of Zhuoli's independent brand are considerable, which has opened up new market space for the group.

Yueli Group, a leading enterprise in the field of personal care Small appliance, is also a successful case of Cixi Small appliance brand transformation. Li Lizhong introduced that the group has cooperated with many well-known brands for many years, possessing a complete supply chain and advanced production processes, which is also the confidence of Yueli to try its own brand.

In 2016, Yueli's independent brand was officially launched, and now the brand matrix construction has achieved certain results, On the basis of thorough research on the domestic consumer market, we have launched the 'Xiaoshi' brand, targeting young consumers. In the process of operation, we focus on differentiation and refinement, such as designing VC series hair dryers that are suitable for the needs of young women. They not only can blow hair but also have hair care functions, becoming popular once launched

Whether the brand management is good or not depends on the data. One year after its launch, Xiaoshi's sales exceeded 100 million yuan, with year-on-year growth rates of 100% and 50% in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

The Cixi Municipal Government is adopting various measures such as the "Brand Strong City" strategy to encourage local enterprises to create independent trademark brands, promote both domestic and foreign sales in the industry, and promote high-quality development in industries such as home appliances. Under the guidance of relevant policies, the transformation from "OEM" to "brand creation" has become the consensus of Cixi Small appliance practitioners.

The development of enterprises cannot rely solely on outsourcing. Establishing independent brands can firmly control the pricing and sales rights of products in one's own hands, "Hu Wei said. Cadillac is taking the self operated coffee machine brand "Wawa Wa" as a breakthrough in the construction of its own brand. By participating in trade fairs, opening e-commerce live broadcasts and other ways, Cadillac is opening its product market, promoting brand awareness and following the trend of branding in the Small appliance industry.

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