Say Goodbye to Cutthroat Competition, Embrace Value: How Can Lighting Companies Win the Breakout Battle?

Currently, the lighting industry stands at the intersection of accelerating technological iteration and upgrading consumer demand, ushering in new development opportunities while facing the challenges of profound transformation. At this critical juncture, breakthroughs in product innovation and marketing models have become the core engine for corporate growth and breakthrough.

Against this backdrop, the "Lighting Product and Marketing Innovation Exchange Meeting" was successfully held on October 22, 2025, during the 33rd China Guzhen International Lighting Fair.

This conference was hosted by the China Association of Lighting Industry (CALI), and co-organized by Zhongshan Guzhen Dengdu Expo Co., Ltd. and China Light Network, with strong support from Zongpusen Technology (Zhongshan) Co., Ltd.

The exchange session delved into the diverse possibilities of product innovation and marketing strategies in the digital wave. Industry experts and representatives from leading enterprises gathered on-site to interpret trends, share cases, and engage in in-depth dialogue, sparking intellectual collisions to jointly explore new paths for the high-quality development of the lighting industry, helping practitioners accurately seize the opportunities of the times.

Government-enterprise collaboration to jointly plan new-quality development

At the beginning of the conference, Ms. Hu Diehui, Deputy Mayor of Guzhen Town, Zhongshan City, delivered a speech. She pointed out that in the face of technological changes and market diversification challenges, only by continuously promoting product intelligence, greening, and marketing model innovation can the core competitiveness of the industry be enhanced.

Hu Diehui emphasized that Guzhen Town will continue to optimize the business environment, strengthen industrial supporting facilities and talent support, build industry-university-research cooperation platforms, and assist the high-quality development of the lighting industry. This exchange session provided an important opportunity for ideological collision and experience sharing for the industry, and is expected to inject new momentum into the transformation and upgrading of the decorative lighting industry.

From scale competition to value competition

Ms. Wang Zhuo, Secretary-General of the China Association of Lighting Industry (CALI), pointed out in her address that China's lighting industry is currently in a critical transition period from high-speed development to high-quality development. She emphasized the need to develop new quality productive forces according to local conditions, leveraging the industrial cluster advantages of Guzhen, the "Capital of Decorative Lighting in China," to accelerate the construction of a modern industrial system centered on technological innovation, intelligent manufacturing, brand enhancement, and international expansion.

Wang Zhuo stated that, facing intensified homogeneous competition and rapidly changing market demands, the industry must adhere to innovation-driven development. The association will continue to support Guzhen in upgrading its capabilities in technology, standards, talent, branding, and markets, thereby facilitating the transformation and upgrading of the lighting industry.

In her keynote speech titled "Innovation-Driven High-Quality Development of the Lighting Industry", Wang Zhuo pointed out that the lighting industry is currently undergoing structural adjustments and needs to respond to challenges through innovation-driven strategies while seizing opportunities for green and intelligent transformation.

Industry under pressure, structural optimization is urgent

In 2025, the lighting industry as a whole showed a downward trend, with the total profit of enterprises above designated size decreasing by 19% year-on-year (YoY). Foreign trade market: Export to the US declined by 19%, while the African market grew by 8% year-on-year (YoY). High value-added products and emerging markets became highlights, but homogeneous competition and insufficient domestic demand constrained development.

Consumption and policy drive transformation together

On the consumption side , four major changes are evident: demand shifts from single functions to intelligent systems, an aging population reshapes the market, online retail share exceeds 7.2%, and concepts of light health and low carbon have gained widespread acceptance.

On the policy side , global energy efficiency standards are tightening: the US will mandate a new luminous efficacy standard of 83.3 lm/W by 2028, and the EU is simultaneously upgrading its eco-design regulations. Domestic policies focus on "new quality productive forces," promoting the deep integration of AI, green low-carbon initiatives, and the industry.

Wang Zhuo emphasized that the industry needs to seize innovative directions such as intelligentization , green and low-carbon , light health , and non-visual applications , adapt to changes in demographic structure, consumption patterns, and policies and regulations, and shift from " scale competition " to " value competition " . The association will promote technology, lead with standards, cultivate talent, and build platforms to empower the supply chain with the innovation chain, promote the implementation of "new quality productive forces," help enterprises improve quality and upgrade, expand domestic and international markets, and jointly build a new ecosystem for the lighting industry driven by innovation, empowered by digitalization, and featuring diversified collaboration.

New experience of "integration of communication and sensing" in Smart lighting

Mr. Zhen Bin, Standard and Test Supervisor of the International NearLink Short-Range Wireless Communication Alliance , pointed out in his keynote speech on "NearLink Technology and Its Smart Home Applications" that with the accelerated integration of AI and IoT, traditional short-range communication technologies can no longer meet the stringent requirements of ultra-low latency, high reliability, and precise synchronization in the era of "intelligent connectivity." In this context, NearLink ( NearLink ), a new generation of wireless short-range communication technology led by China, has emerged.

Zhen Bin introduced that NearLink technology achieves the integration of communication, positioning, and sensing through high-performance broadband , low-power narrowband , and high-precision positioning and sensing , featuring microsecond-level latency, sub-microsecond synchronization accuracy, and strong anti-interference capabilities. Currently, NearLink has released more than 40 standards, covering the physical layer, protocol stack, and application layer, building a complete supply chain encompassing chips, modules, terminals, testing and Certification, and the developer ecosystem.

Zhen Bin introduced multiple innovative applications of NearLink that have already been implemented in the smart home sector , such as pointer remote control enabling "point-to-control" and active sensing supporting "screen lights up when people approach," significantly enhancing user experience. Brands like Casarte and COLMO have launched water heaters and refrigerators equipped with NearLink radar sensing technology, achieving seamless interaction and intelligent energy saving; the high-precision ranging and collaborative control capabilities of NearLink have also been verified in scenarios such as automotive and AR.

Finally, Zhen Bin stated that the NearLink Alliance is actively promoting standard coordination and ecosystem co-construction with industries such as lighting, audio, and automotive, jointly driving the large-scale application of next-generation short-range communication technologies in smart terminals and IoT scenarios.

Building Full Lifecycle Value in Lighting

Mr. Tang Qinglin, Product Director of Zhongpusen Technology (Zhuzhou) Co., Ltd. delivered a keynote speech titled "Innovation and Upgrade, Zhongpusen Walks with You," deeply analyzing the challenges and transformation opportunities currently facing the lighting industry, and systematically showcasing Zhongpusen's practical achievements in product innovation and sustainable development.

Tang Qinglin pointed out that in the first half of 2025, China's total lighting product exports amounted to $25.9 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 6.3%, hitting a five-year low. The industry is under significant pressure, with the phenomenon of "increased volume without increased revenue, and increased revenue without increased profit" being prominent. Against this backdrop, the lighting industry is accelerating into a phase of structural adjustment centered on high-quality development.

Facing these challenges, Tang Qinglin emphasized that innovation is the key to breaking through. Zonsun has comprehensively promoted product upgrades around five major directions: "system energy efficiency improvement, deepening of smart lighting, expansion of health and new application scenarios, cross-industry integration, and green low-carbon development". For instance, its high-bay lights and street lights feature modular designs that allow for easy replacement of power supplies and PCBAs, achieving a maximum luminaire efficacy of up to 200 lm/W and extending luminaire lifespan to 10–20 years, significantly reducing lifecycle carbon emissions. The Zhuzhou City street light renovation project has deployed over 30,000 Zonsun street lights equipped with single-luminaire controllers, enabling precise dimming and energy-saving management.

Finally, Tang Qinglin stated that in the future, Zonsun will continue to focus on "high efficiency, intelligence, health, and green" as its R&D direction, working hand in hand with supply chain partners to jointly promote the lighting industry towards high quality, low carbon, and intelligent development.

Creating a High-Quality Overseas Retail "Joyful Experience" Platform

Ms. Xiong Qin, Procurement Director of JD Home & Lifestyle Group, delivered a keynote speech titled "Joybuy - The future of Joyful Retai", systematically introducing the strategic positioning and core advantages of Joybuy, JD's European e-commerce platform.

Xiong Qin pointed out that Joybuy is not a traditional discount e-commerce platform, but a high-quality, full-category shopping platform positioned to serve consumers with medium-to-high purchasing power, dedicated to creating a new retail model of "not just buying, but a joyful experience". The platform specifically focuses on young families, emerging professionals, and students, meeting their composite demands for high cost-performance, strong timeliness, and reliable service through precise user insights and omnichannel fulfillment capabilities.

Xiong Qin stated that Joybuy is currently operating in four major markets: the UK, Germany, France, and the Netherlands, having built multiple highly automated warehouses with a total area of 32 million square meters. It offers categories covering consumer electronics, home appliances, personal care and beauty, maternal and infant products, and toys, strictly selecting high-quality international and local brands. Relying on JD's self-built supply chain system, it implements a "zero counterfeit" policy to ensure product quality and brand tonality.

Xiong Qin emphasized that Joybuy is willing to build long-term cooperative relationships with brands, providing not only efficient supply chain support and brand display space, but also helping brands enhance their image and share in the European market through joint marketing, category planning, and coordinated festival promotion calendars. Its unique value lies in: quality user base + self-operated logistics speed + full-category ecosystem + fair pricing strategy, jointly constructing a new paradigm of joyful and trustworthy retail.

AI+New Media Drives Omni-channel Customer Acquisition for Lighting Enterprises

Mr. Li Huifang, Senior Partner at Guangzhou Jianzhong and veteran new retail expert, systematically explained how to leverage AI tools and new media matrices to drive performance growth for lighting enterprises in his keynote speech titled "Application of AI + New Media in Lighting Enterprises".

Li Huifang emphasized that lighting enterprises can achieve breakthroughs through the "Central Live Room + Merchant Local Matrix" model. Taking a decorative lighting brand as an example, through Jianzhong's accompaniment and incubation, its monthly average sales of Douyin group-buying coupons exceeded 2,000, with a redemption rate of 48.5%. The overall performance of the first batch of benchmark merchants increased by 20%, and they successfully built their own new media teams to achieve internal market-oriented operations.

In terms of AI efficiency enhancement, Li Huifang used lighting enterprises as an example to demonstrate how to use AI to clone images and voices, mass-produce structured content such as "store location introduction + product advantages + promotional hooks + personal IP", achieving "everyone is self-media".

Furthermore, Li Huifang proposed the "DSR Omni-channel Marketing Model"—building an omni-channel customer acquisition system with Douyin (public domain traffic attraction), WeChat Channels (private domain conversion), and Xiaohongshu (scenario-based seeding) as a trinity, and further upgrading it to the "5C Omni-channel Customer Acquisition System" covering Amap/Baidu (demand interception) and Meituan/Dianping (reputation accumulation). He stated that future competition among lighting enterprises is not only about products, but also about the efficiency of traffic acquisition and user operation.

Finally, Li Huifang stated that lighting enterprises need to seize the opportunities of integrating AI with new media, shifting from "isolated attempts" to "systematic layout", and achieving a strategic upgrade from "selling products" to "managing users" through standardized, replicable, high-ROI new retail strategies.

Editor's Note

Currently, the lighting industry is at a critical turning point where "exports are under pressure, profits are declining, homogenization leads to intense internal competition, and traditional growth logic has become ineffective". In this context, this exchange meeting achieved multi-party resonance among "government, industry, academia, research, and application":

At the government level, Guzhen Town sent a clear signal of strengthening industrial support and talent backing; at the association level, the China Lighting Association, guided by "new quality productive forces", promoted the triple empowerment of standards, technology, and talent; at the enterprise level, Zhongpusen practiced green and low-carbon development with modular, high-luminous-efficacy, and long-life products, demonstrating the hard-core innovation capability of manufacturing;

On the technical side, the introduction of NearLink provides a domestic, high-performance communication foundation for smart lighting,有望 breaking the monopoly of foreign protocols; on the channel side, JD.com's Joybuy opens up a new path for high-quality overseas expansion in Europe, while AI + new media reconstructs the logic of localized customer acquisition and user operations.

This exchange also conveyed a clear consensus: future competition is no longer about individual products, but rather a contest of system capabilities—from luminous efficacy to lifespan, from sensory interaction to omnichannel marketing, and from domestic intelligent manufacturing to global branding, lighting companies must forge new paths amidst change, building a closed-loop capability of "technology + scenarios + users + ecosystem".

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