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Midea, Gree and Haier make up 80 per cent of the value of China’s top 10 appliance makers in industry that out sells the world

  • The three largest manufacturers – Midea Group, Gree Electric Appliances and Haier Smart Home – make up 80 per cent of the combined value of the top 10
  • Four of the 10 largest are based in southern China’s Greater Bay Area

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A Haier appliance store in the Hubei provincial capital of Wuhan on 15 March 2014. Photo: ImagineChina

China’s top 10 appliance makers, which are also the world’s largest by market capitalisation, are a highly concentrated lot.

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The three largest manufacturers – Midea Group, Gree Electric Appliances and Haier Smart Home – make up 80 per cent of the combined value of the top 10, while four of the 10 largest are based in southern China’s Greater Bay Area, according to the Hurun China Top 10 Most Valuable Electrical Appliance Companies 2020 report.

“China’s electrical appliance industry has already become a mature industry,” said Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of the privately held Hurun Report. “The influence of online channels on the electrical appliance industry is continuously expanding.”

The report underscores the role of Guangdong province as China’s manufacturing hub, where everything from high-tech gadgets to household appliances are made. The largest Chinese appliance makers are involved in the production of so-called White Goods such as air conditioners, refrigerators, laundry machines, and kitchen appliances, according to the report.

Some of these appliance makers are expanding upwards in the value chain to smarter devices and products, including robotics, mutually connected objects that make use of artificial intelligence, augmented reality and 5G telecommunications. In so doing, they are leading the transformation of Chinese manufacturing under the Made in China 2025 industrial master plan.
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