Under the trend of consumption upgrading, more and more consumers who pursue high-end quality of life have gradually expanded their demand for washing machines from washing to washing, drying, and care. One machine covers the whole process of washing, spinning and drying, and solves the troubles of washing and drying. It has become the first choice of more and more consumers, and it is a well-deserved growth center in the current washing machine market. At the same time, stand-alone clothes dryers (hereinafter referred to as clothes dryers), which are professionally dried and can bring the ultimate care of clothes, have also had a good growth momentum in recent years, and the market is in the ascendant.

At the beginning of the new year, whether the new "just-needed" all-in-one washer and dryer, or the industry's "dark horse" clothes dryer are riding the train of growth into 2022, all respondents are optimistic about the market development in the new year.

The scale has climbed, and the rally has been gratifying

After the rapid development in recent years, many home appliance categories have shifted from the incremental market to the stock market, and the market update demand has become the core of maintaining the scale growth of the category. Among them, with the iteration of product technology and the improvement of consumers' demand for clothes drying, the laundry category has ushered in the second development. The washer-drying machine has become an important engine for market growth, and clothes dryers have also begun to enter thousands of households. The market scale rising year by year.

According to AVC data, in 2021, the retail sales of China's washing machine market will be 76.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.3%; the retail sales will be 37.18 million units, a year-on-year increase of 0.8%. Among them, the washer-drying machine is the main driving force for the growth of the washing machine market. The online market share of the washer-drying machine is about 35%, and the offline market share is about 49.8%.

From the perspective of consumer demand, consumers' demand for washing machines has gradually evolved from simple washing to "washing + drying" and "washing + drying + care". Due to its small footprint, the all-in-one washing and drying machine has the convenience of performing both washing and drying operations at one time, which has become the current consumption trend. With the continuous increase in the penetration rate of the washer-drying machine market, such products are no longer limited to the high-end market. According to the reporter of "Electrical Appliances", in the current drum washing machine market, the proportion of washing and drying machine products has exceeded 60%. At the same time, the drop in the price of 10kg products has led some consumers who were planning to buy high-end pulsator and single-washing products to choose all-in-one washer-dryer machines, promoting the steady growth of the industry.

In addition to drying clothes, the dryer can also remove bacteria and mites to meet the health needs of delicate families. Therefore, in the post-epidemic era, the market growth rate of clothes dryers is very bright. Aowei Cloud (AVC) data compass shows that in 2021, the offline market sales of China's clothes dryers will increase by 67.15% year-on-year, and sales will increase by 85.42% year-on-year; online market sales will increase by 25.48% year-on-year, and sales will increase by 64.35% year-on-year. According to the person in charge of Midea's washing machine business department, while the dryer market continues to grow rapidly, it also shows obvious regional and seasonal characteristics. Consumer groups are mainly concentrated in first-tier cities and southern regions.

As an emerging category, the penetration rate of clothes dryers in the Chinese market is still lower than that in some European and American countries. The relevant person in charge of BSH Home Appliances Washing Products Division analyzed that, compared with the penetration rate of more than 70% of clothes dryers in European and American countries, the market share of clothes dryers in China is relatively low. He further said: "This also shows that China's dryer market is still in the blue ocean stage, with huge market development space, and it is expected to become a new outlet for market consumption."

The washer and dryer are the first to enter the era of large capacity, and the brand pattern of dryers has changed.

In 2021, while the uptrend is gratifying, the product structure and market structure of all-in-one washing and drying machines and clothes dryers also ushered in some changes.

First of all, the washer and dryer are the first to enter the era of large capacity. The reporter of "Electrical Appliances" found through various understandings that although the pulsator and drum single washing products are all undergoing capacity upgrades, the average capacity in 2021 will be over 8kg and over 9kg, respectively, while the average capacity of the washer and dryer has exceeded 10kg, and is in 10kg. The product market has a market share of more than 65%.

In 2021, the biggest change in the clothes dryer market is the quiet change of the brand structure. As clothes dryers have a long history of development in European and American countries, foreign brands such as Bosch and Siemens have dominated the development of the domestic market for a long time with their profound technical accumulation and mature product lines. In recent years, more domestic brands have begun to recognize the market potential contained in the dryer product line, and have accelerated the pace of market layout. Domestic brands such as Haier, Casarte, Midea, Little Swan and COLMO are rewriting the brand pattern of the dryer market and injecting more "local" vitality into the dryer industry. This also makes the brand competition in China's clothes dryer market increasingly fierce.

The person in charge of Panasonic washing machines believes that in such a high-end and differentiated demand market for clothes dryers, joint venture brands have natural advantages, and consumers' recognition of the joint venture brand's technology will provide Panasonic washing machines with favorable conditions to seize this market cake.

"As a latecomer, domestic brands still need a long time to improve the technical level of dryer products, so as to better understand the needs of the local market, and comprehensively consider and optimize products according to comprehensive factors such as living habits and regional differences, which is the advantage of domestic brands. ." An industry insider commented. He further said that the dryer market is still small and has a very broad space for expansion. No matter foreign brands or domestic brands, as long as there are good products, they all hope to reap the benefits.

According to the relevant person in charge of the BSH Home Appliances Washing Products Division, the current mainstream clothes dryers and washing-drying machine products in the market are switching to heat pump technology, which is a change that cannot be ignored in the industry.

At present, the mainstream price range of different types of dryers is obviously different, but it is still mainly 6,000~8,000 yuan, and there has been a trend of migration to the high-priced segment. The high-end products are mainly heat pump dryers. Clothes dryers in the domestic market are mainly divided into three categories: direct discharge type, condensing type and heat pump type. Among them, heat pump dryers have become the most popular category due to the advantages of small damage to clothes, stable performance, and good drying effect, and are also the key layout areas of various brands. For example, the Bosch 10kg imported washing and drying kit WGA656B00W+WQA655A00W launched by BSH can provide a one-stop solution for clothes sterilization. The dryer WQA655A00W in this washing and drying set is equipped with leading heat pump drying technology. Its unique low-temperature drying method not only reduces energy consumption, but also greatly reduces the damage to clothes.

There are certain technical thresholds, few manufacturers, and the supply chain is not perfect, which are the reasons for the high price of heat pump dryer products. Earlier, an industry insider revealed to the reporter of "Electrical Appliance" that there are currently about 5 companies in the industry that can independently produce heat pump dryers, of which 3 have the ability to independently produce core components.

Regarding this phenomenon, the relevant person in charge of TCL said that in fact, most mainstream brands in the industry have the ability and technical reserves to produce heat pump dryers, but the current market capacity of dryers is small, and the output ratio of the current production line is not high. So many brands are not doing it. With the continuous expansion of the market scale, more and more companies have begun to build dryer production lines, which will drive the development of the dryer product supply chain.

Going hand in hand, raising awareness is the key

The washing and drying machine is the absolute mainstream of China's clothes dryer market. Although the clothes dryer market is small, it is still developing at a gratifying growth rate. The topic of whether the dryer and the washer-dryer are "one and the other" or "common growth" has also been discussed in the industry for a long time.

At present, more respondents believe that the two will grow together. The relevant person in charge of TCL said that China is vast and rich in natural conditions, living environment and consumption habits, and the demand for drying products is also different. Consumers will choose different products according to their own usage, purchase budget and installation space.

To this end, mainstream washing machine manufacturers choose to go hand in hand. While paying attention to the market layout of the washer-drying machine, they also increase their investment in clothes-drying products. For example, on the one hand, Panasonic washing machines have strengthened the lineup of all-in-one washer-dryers, bringing customers more choices in terms of materials, prices, functions, etc.; A uniquely functional dryer that dries clothes while delivering a health care experience.

However, there is still a long way to go for the dryer to reach the same level of development as the washer-dryer. First, product awareness still needs to be improved. At this stage, clothes dryers are still an emerging category, and the market size is still small. Consumers' cognition of clothes dryer products is still in the transitional stage from "heard" to "understanding". The person in charge of Panasonic washing machines said that at present, consumers still have certain problems in their cognition of clothes dryers. When it comes to clothes dryers, consumers often think of the price and the space and location required to place them together with the washing machine. The factors that are conducive to the transaction make many families not so calm when choosing a clothes dryer. In response to this problem, Panasonic washing machines will provide consumers with customized home washing/drying solutions, which will solve consumers' troubles from the perspective of reasonable price, functional adaptation, aesthetic placement and space utilization. Then complete the promotion and sales of dryer products.

"People who have used it and those who have not used it have a completely different understanding of clothes dryers." The relevant person in charge of Haier believes that at present, the main difficulty in the development of clothes dryers in China is that users' perception of the product is not obvious. He said that consumers who haven't used it just think that the dryer can only dry clothes, and think it is optional. In fact, after using it, you will find that the happiness it brings to life is multi-faceted.

Over the years, BSH has been taking various promotion measures to promote the popularization of clothes dryers in China, and to cultivate consumers' consumption concept, transforming the upgrading demand into a popular demand, and expanding the user base for the entire industry. The relevant person in charge of the washing product division of BSH said that BSH will continue to develop innovative and segmented products to further guide Chinese consumers to pay attention to the dryer category.

At present, domestic products are mostly packaged and sold in the form of washing and drying suits, which can not only enhance consumers' awareness of dryer products through scene-based methods, but also better meet consumer demand. For example, Haier's product technology innovation and scenario innovation of dryers and washing-drying machines expand the entire market by continuously cultivating user needs. In terms of technology, Haier has launched a combination of Die Dai and Mei washing, drying and care machines, which combine washing machines, dryers and care machines to meet the needs of three aspects of washing, drying and care; in terms of scene innovation, Die Dai and Mei washing, drying and care machines have created The smart balcony scene, with the advantage of washing and drying, provides more space for the development of new functions of the balcony, and further improves the quality of life of users.

Secondly, as an "exotic product", how to make clothes dryers better meet the needs of Chinese consumers is also the key to accelerating market popularization. In 2020, BSH established a clothes dryer factory in Chuzhou. The factory will be the only factory of BSH that integrates the production of washing machines, clothes dryers and all-in-one washing and drying products, and also the second clothes dryer factory of BSH Group in the world. The opening of the new factory will provide support for BSH to further expand its dryer business in the Chinese market. According to the reporter of "Electrical Appliance", BSH will continue to accelerate localized innovation, continue to stimulate the huge potential of China's clothes dryer market, in order to create more diversified and high-quality products to fully meet the diverse needs of Chinese consumers, especially for Demand for large-capacity home appliances.

The high-end trend is obvious, and the products will be more diversified

With the improvement of consumption level and the change of Chinese family demographic structure, consumers' demand for clothes dryers and washing and drying machine products has become more refined and diversified, and the high-end trend of the domestic clothes dryer market is more obvious. In 2022, high-end products with large capacity, health functions, low carbon and energy saving will continue to lead the development of the dryer and washer-dryer market.