Microwaves in China

PROSPECTS

Decelerating volume growth of microwaves due to category saturation

Volume growth of microwaves continued to slow in 2018, underpinned by relatively higher product penetration, especially in urban areas. On the other hand, the rise of multi-function ovens, integrating steaming, microwaving and roasting, has been eroding the share of single-function microwaves.

Freestanding microwaves take the lion’s share while built-in products show potential

Freestanding microwaves accounted for the lion’s share of sales of microwaves in China in 2018, which was due to their earlier debut and wide product presence. With such a big base, freestanding microwaves recorded the slowest growth in 2018.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Midea Group continues to lead the highly concentrated category of microwaves

Midea Group further consolidated its leadership of microwaves in 2018 with an increase in its volume share. Apart from the company’s leading position within total consumer appliances and its established brand reputation, Midea Group is also strong in terms of new product development, being among the pioneers to launch integrated microwaves represented by Midea X7-321 and X6-348E, with steaming and roasting functions, in 2017 and 2018 respectively.

Marginal presence of international players within microwaves

Panasonic and Whirlpool were the only two multinational brands among the top five in microwaves in 2018, and each recorded a decline in sales for the year and only small value shares. These international makes are not only uncompetitive in terms of pricing, but are also far behind in new product development, being incomparable to leading domestic players.

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