Twenty-seven brands of air-conditioners have been pushed out of
the Chinese market, the Economic Information Daily quoted a
State Information Center (SIC) survey as saying yesterday.
According to the report on China's air-conditioner industry in
2005, domestic sales of air-conditioners rose steadily while
exports remained the same as last year.
The SIC survey, of 750 outlets and department stores in 106
cities across the country, found that the number of brands on the
domestic market dropped to 69.
Of them, 48 enjoyed an individual market share of less than one
percent in major cities.
The SIC report said competition among air-conditioner brands has
become more fierce due to rises in raw materials, manufacturing and
sales costs.
Merciless competition has made the strong stronger: Haier, Midea,
Gree and Chigo, the top four
brands in China, now control 54 percent of the market, according to
the newspaper.
Although air-conditioner retailing has risen this year, its
growth rate has slowed, Cai Ying, an SIC official was quoted as
saying.
The newspaper attributed this to large stockpiling and
relatively cool weather this year, saying there are still 10
million air-conditioners in storage.
Despite overseas anti-dumping measures and appreciation of
China's currency, air-conditioner exports have maintained growth
momentum since last year, the newspaper said.
From August 2004 to July 2005, China exported a total of 24.68
million air-conditioners, up 9.32 percent year on year.
Experts said they expected continued stable growth in the
industry in the near future, the newspaper reported.
(Xinhua News Agency September 23, 2005)