"We have been walking on 'two legs' from the beginning - in 2016, the company was established; in 2017, the product was successfully developed, and we simultaneously opened up domestic and international markets. We can basically be regarded as the domestic sweeping robot brand that has gone overseas." Stone Technology Vice President Cheng Fei told a reporter from China Securities Journal, "Our overseas sales are growing very rapidly, and we have now ranked among the top three in market share in 14 countries including Germany, Australia, and Japan."

Data from the General Administration of Customs shows that in November 2023, China exported 331.816 million units of household appliances, a year-on-year increase of 24%; the cumulative exports in the first 11 months were 3387.168 million units, a year-on-year increase of 9.6%. Experts believe that as destocking in developed economies comes to an end and inflation falls, the effect of restocking is gradually emerging. The recovery in overseas market demand will have a boosting effect on my country's home appliance exports. Home appliance exports are expected to continue to be booming in 2024.

Developing overseas markets

In the smart manufacturing factory of Stone Technology in Huizhou City, Guangdong Province, rows of large-scale automation equipment are operating in an orderly manner. SMT production lines (surface mount technology), assembly production lines, coating production lines... After multiple processes, more than 300 Each component is put into its place and assembled into a sweeping robot that meets factory standards.

"Previously, orders have been entrusted to OEMs for manufacturing, but later the production capacity gradually failed to keep up with the sales growth. In September 2023, our self-built smart manufacturing factory was officially put into production, with a total area of 51,150 square meters and a total of 12 floors. The current monthly production capacity can reach 30 million units. At the same time, the second phase of the factory is also under planning and construction and is expected to be delivered in May 2024." Cheng Fei said, "During the overseas 'Black Five Cyber Monday' in 2023, Stone Technology's GMV (gross merchandise transaction volume) in North America ) increased by 30% year-on-year. Even if we have our own factory, the production pressure is very high, and the production capacity of the foundry is still in short supply."

The third quarter report of 2023 released by Stone Technology shows that in the first three quarters of 2023, the company achieved operating income of 5.689 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 29.51%. Stone Technology stated in the report that the revenue growth was mainly due to the increase in sales of new products and the increase in domestic and overseas revenue. "From a full-year perspective, the company's overseas revenue will account for about 58% in 2022, and the proportion will be higher in 2023." Cheng Fei revealed.

In addition to Roborock sweeping robots, Chinese small household appliances with rapidly growing overseas revenue also include projectors. "At present, it has entered 4,500 stores around the world, and its market share in Japan's home smart projection market has ranked first for many years." said Guo Xueqing, vice president of technology. It is understood that overseas companies have been established in the United States, Japan, Germany, Singapore and other places, and overseas channel coverage continues to expand. In addition to mainstream online channels such as Amazon and Japan's Rakuten, the company's products have also successively entered major offline retail channels in regional markets such as Europe, the United States, and Japan. In the first half of 2023, overseas income was achieved at 350 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 39.14%.

Improve product power

Talking about the reasons why Stone Technology quickly opened up overseas markets, Cheng Fei said that the core is product strength.

"Stone Technology will design products according to different markets, different customer groups and needs." Cheng Fei said, "Chinese manufacturers have strong product capabilities, which to a certain extent have led to product upgrades and iterations in overseas markets. For example, mops that are already very common in China The self-cleaning base station function rarely appears in foreign-funded products, and even most foreign-funded products are still not integrated with sweeping and mopping."

Guo Xueqing agreed with this statement. She introduced that in order to ensure the advantages of technological innovation, in the first half of 2023, R&D investment accounted for 12.61% of operating income. As of June 30, 2023, it has 866 patents.

Guotai Junan’s research report stated that China’s small home appliance products are good enough and can even cause a dimensionality reduction blow to overseas brands. In particular, products such as sweepers and projectors have relatively high technical barriers, and there are obvious technical advantages between domestic and overseas brands.

Export sales growth is expected to continue

Not only sweeping robots and projectors, but also domestic small household appliances have gone overseas in recent years, and many brands have established a foothold in overseas markets.

Nanjing Securities Research Report shows that in the second half of 2023, my country's home appliance exports will show an accelerated recovery trend, with export volume and export value of washing machines, hair dryers, electric irons and other categories showing double-digit growth.

The relevant person in charge of Midea Group stated that overseas sales of home appliances will be generally stable in 2023, achieving double-digit growth in markets such as Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. From a category perspective, exports of refrigerators, washing machines, small household appliances, etc. all achieved double-digit growth.

The Sinolink Securities research report believes that looking forward to 2024, export sales will still be an important growth factor for Chinese home appliance companies. Relying on technology, innovation efficiency and overseas localization operations, category upgrades and share increases are expected to continue. At the same time, inventory replenishment in European and American markets and rising demand in emerging markets will also help continue the growth momentum of export sales.

Ye Yindan, a researcher at the Bank of China Research Institute, believes that the overseas layout of Chinese home appliance companies is developing in depth, from entering the overseas mid- to low-end markets with cost-effective products in the past to currently relying on R&D to enter the overseas middle market. By continuously promoting innovation and efficiency Enhance and improve the comprehensive competitiveness of enterprises in the global market. This situation is expected to continue in the coming years.