Chinanews Client Beijing, April 2 (Zuo Yukun) "I don't have the 1 billion I am going to fall into the water. This matter must be done, but I believe that 1 billion investment will not be ineffective. On March 17, Dong Mingzhu, Chairman and President of Zhuhai Gree Electric Co., Ltd., expressed Gree's determination to enter the medical industry in an open live broadcast event.
In addition to Gree, many home appliance companies such as Haier, Hisense, and Midea have already entered the medical field. From masks to medical equipment, an epidemic "exploded" a new circuit for the home appliance industry.
Loss of 20 billion! Dong Mingzhu: Don't panic, invest another 1 billion
Dong Mingzhu did not avoid the pressure caused by the epidemic. "Loss of 20 billion." On the 29th, she revealed Gree's first quarter operating status in an interview.
What does 20 billion yuan mean for Gree? Gree's financial report for the first quarter of 2019 shows that the company's operating income during the reporting period was 40.548 billion yuan. In other words, 20 billion yuan is equivalent to half of Gree's revenue in the same quarter last year.
The picture shows Dong Mingzhu, Chairman and President of Zhuhai Gree Electric Co., Ltd. Photo by China News Agency reporter Luo Yunfei
As Dong Mingzhu said, air conditioners need to be installed and debugged by workers before they can be used. However, the strict management status of domestic communities obviously cannot arrange for workers to install and shut down all stores. The plight of the air conditioning industry can be imagined.
Facing the blocked market, Gree also joined the anti-epidemic army across the border.
On March 9, Gree's self-produced masks went online to make an appointment to purchase. Once the news was released, it triggered a hot snap. Gree announced on the 16th and 17th that the number of masks scheduled to be placed daily increased from 20,000 to 100,000 and 120,000, and on the 18th it was further increased to 160,000. .
Subsequently, Gree announced the launch of an air purifier that can kill the new crown virus. According to reports, the anti-virus effect of this air purifier has passed field tests and authoritative laboratory tests in Wuhan specialized hospitals. After field use tests at designated hospitals in Wuhan, it can effectively kill more than 99% of the new crown virus.
Dong Mingzhu said in an interview on the 29th that after the epidemic, Gree Electric will add a medical sector on the basis of the two major sectors of consumption and industry, and plans to invest 1 billion yuan. In addition to mask machines and thermometers, medical equipment such as high-end ambulances will also be made in the future.
This means that unlike Wuling, BYD, and other companies that switch to production of masks is only a special issue to solve their urgent needs, Gree will not retreat to the "old business" after the epidemic, but will take this opportunity to enter the medical industry.
Each has its own focus, and home appliance companies get together
Gree is the home appliance giant in the cake of the medical market.
Haier Biomedical, a subsidiary of Haier Group, started from medical refrigerators and freezers. It is now using the Internet of Things technology to develop innovative businesses such as "blood networking" and "vaccine network". During the epidemic, Haier gifted medical institutions such as ultra-low temperature refrigerators, medicine refrigerators, and blood cryogenic consoles with medical equipment.
Hisense Group has developed a telemedicine consultation system using its expertise in display technology and image processing technology. During the epidemic, Hisense installed a telemedicine consultation system for the isolation ward of the designated hospital in Qingdao. Medical experts can diagnose and treat patients without entering the isolation area.
Midea Group cooperated with Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Group to explore the fields of robotics and medical device development, health data application and other fields. During the epidemic, Midea Group donated intelligent transportation logistics robots to many medical institutions.
On March 30, in the "cleaning area" of Xiaotangshan Hospital, Beijing, where patients have not yet been treated, a disinfection robot is disinfecting the corridor. Photo by China Press Agency Han Haidan
Foreign-funded electronics companies have been deployed earlier in the field of medical equipment production. Recently, Philips disclosed in its fourth-quarter 2019 financial report that it will consider selling some of its home appliance businesses again, focusing on the medical and health sector. In the past few years, old appliance giants such as General Electric Company of Germany and Siemens of Germany have all transferred their home appliance business and deeply cultivated the medical electronics market.
Why do appliance companies prefer the medical market?
"Investment in medical equipment is because we see the need, such as no masks." Dong Mingzhu introduced the reason why Gree produces masks: "One of the reasons I make masks is to take responsibility and responsibility, not to make money to do it."
Under the epidemic situation, the production of masks by home appliance companies, whether for social responsibility or company self-help purposes, is a good choice. However, if it is in the field of cross-border medical care, obviously it will not be just "impulsive".
According to the Chinese Medical Device Blue Book (2019 Edition), by 2024, the global medical device market sales are expected to reach 594.5 billion U.S. dollars, and the market space is huge. The data report released by Ai Media Consulting also shows that the size of the Chinese medical device market has maintained steady growth in the past five years, and China has become the fourth largest medical device market after the United States, Western Europe, and Japan.
The picture shows the remote consultation site. Photo by Zhang Qinyue
The home appliance industry analyst Liang Zhenpeng believes that although there are differences in product functions and principles, medical devices and home appliances are both in the electronics manufacturing industry. Cross-border medical device production, home appliance giants have natural advantages.
Some people in the industry have revealed that the gross profit margin of medical equipment can reach 80%, and some profits related to medical display can reach 40%. In contrast, the highly mature market of home appliances, the capacity growth rate of China and even the global home appliance market is very slow. The total sales of the Chinese home appliance market each year increase by a few percentage points at most, and sometimes decline, so it is also important for companies Look for fast-growing, relatively new areas.
In particular, the epidemic situation has caused people to pay more attention to health and investment, and the medical-related industries will also enter the bonus period, which is a big temptation for home appliance manufacturers.
At the same time, health management is also one of the main functions of the smart home. With the accumulated blessings of experience in the medical field during the development of the business, it will also help home appliance companies to build a future smart home ecology.
"The entry of leading appliances into the medical device market will increase the number of entrants and participants in the medical device market, and increase market competition. The overall gross profit margin and average profit margin of the market will be lowered. For the benefit of users, this is A good thing. "Liang Zhenpeng believes," And the more competitive and fierce an industry is, the higher the quality of its products. This is conducive to the technological upgrading of the medical equipment field, it is conducive to the industry technology iteration, and it is conducive to the survival of the fittest. . "
The path to "medicine" is long and obstructive
It is easy to make a mask, but difficult to make a ventilator. High-end medical equipment has very high technical requirements, and Dong Mingzhu has not avoided the difficulties encountered by Gree in this transformation: "We have found shortcomings during this epidemic. Many medical industries need machinery to support them. What we do is also mechanically related, especially the precision and height of medical equipment, which are new challenges for us. "
Medical equipment is characterized by high investment, long cycle, high certification threshold, and long time to effect. Overall, this is a completely different market from home appliance sales, and the original market experience is difficult to replicate in the medical field.
Workers are producing negative pressure ambulances. Photo by Haiyang
"The medical industry has the highest product requirements of all industries, because it is closely related to human life and safety. Therefore, the medical industry has extremely high technical and management requirements, and it also requires great patience, because the medical industry realizes The waiting period for profit is also very long. "Liu Buchen, an analyst in the home appliance industry, said.
Some analysts also believe that the existing procurement system for medical equipment is relatively closed, and it is not easy for latecomers to enter. Technical barriers and brand recognition established by international giants for a long time are one of the challenges.
Over the years, imported products have been occupying an absolute advantage in high-end medical equipment, and domestic companies have been working hard to change this situation. However, some people in the industry are optimistic that in the process of transformation and upgrading, the leading companies in China's home appliance industry can undoubtedly be a win-win situation if they can both develop themselves and promote the localization of medical equipment. (Finish)