Liu Xizheng: Outperforming 2022
Current Lighting Status
Over the past 30 years, due to China's rapid economic development and the improvement of each enterprise's own capabilities in the lighting industry, growth has seemingly become a habit and an expectation, and we have also given birth to many listed companies. The past growth actually masked some problems existing in the lighting industry; a decline in domestic sales and low growth may be the new normal for the future.
Traditional lighting brands have developed rapidly over these 30 years, with domestic brands rising quickly. Previously, the global market was monopolized by three major brands—Philips（照明业务：Signify 昕诺飞）, OSRAM, and GE—accounting for 60~70% of the market, and they also completely dominated China's high-end market. Now, OPPLE, NVC Lighting, Sanxiong, and Foshan Lighting have all emerged, performing no worse than them in the Chinese market, and some have even surpassed them.
Take a look at the traditional (Sales) channels:
(Sales) channel for hardware, the (sales) channel for hardware is now firmly occupied by Bull; only new thinking can defeat Bull;
Home lighting, home lighting OPPLE has always been a leader; however, relying on traditional retail methods with thousands or tens of thousands of stores makes growth difficult in the context of the pandemic and current conditions.
Office lighting; currently, office projects are mostly procured by general contractors, so they may need to advance funds;
Real estate lighting: many real estate companies face major issues; it is likely a one-way street.
Hotel lighting: If you can't handle the designer, don't take on this job.
Where does run to?
Where to run, where are you running to, and with whom?
With the development of the digital economy and the Internet, the lighting market has undergone tremendous changes in recent years. Consumers' shopping habits and consumption concepts have changed significantly. Previously, lighting products were required to meet functional needs; now they must also satisfy social requirements. Consumer mindsets are evolving: in the past, consumers recognized brands like Philips (Lighting business: Signify), Panasonic, NVC, OPPLE, and Sanxiong Aurora, but this may not be the case in the future.
In fact, during the 2021 Double 11 event on Tmall, many new brands emerged. 45% of Double 11 sales came from post-90s and post-00s generations; 698 SME brands achieved over 10 million in transactions, 78 new brands exceeded 100 million, and 275 new brands doubled their growth for three consecutive years. Young consumers' purchasing mindset is: I buy what I like, regardless of brand. Wu Xiaobo also specifically discussed the 'Good Mood Economy': if buying brings happiness, I buy.
Interest-driven e-commerce, represented by Douyin, has grown rapidly. During Douyin's Double 11 Good Goods Festival, live streaming totaled 25.46 million hours. Among them, merchant self-broadcasting reached 12.27 million hours, with a cumulative total of 39.5 billion viewing人次 (viewers). The number of brands achieving sales exceeding 10 million RMB (including those exceeding 100 million) was 577, and the number of live streams with single-session sales exceeding 10 million RMB (including those exceeding 100 million) was 282.
1. New Opportunities in Lighting
New Opportunities in Industrial Lighting Under the Dual Carbon Policy
Agricultural lighting
Healthy lighting
Sports Lighting
Automotive lighting
Smart City Lighting
2. Future Lighting Unicorn Industry
Healthy lighting
Smart Lighting
Agricultural lighting
How to outperform 2022
To outperform in 2022, I believe we must maintain an unwavering original intention. What is this unwavering original intention? Focus on users and value creation; integrate into the ecosystem and be willing to play a supporting role; embrace change.
1. Lighting enterprises must address shortcomings
In the past, we sought provincial agents and worked tirelessly to open stores and develop agents. Now, with rising personnel costs and different communication methods, I believe there are more opportunities for new companies with an innovative spirit.
To win in the future, enterprises must truly create value rather than simply lowering prices.
The lighting industry is very traditional. Under the new situation and market environment, we must address some shortcomings, such as consumer operations. Many people are still holding offline promotion events, opening specialty stores, and advertising on traditional media, newspapers, and radio stations; in fact, these may not be effective. We use Xiaohongshu, Douyin, and influencers to plant seeds of interest, launch crowdfunding campaigns, and manage consumer engagement. It is crucial to turn products into something consumers "love." We need to leverage new internet tools and content for precise marketing, create new products based on consumer needs, and generate new demands. Digital transformation is an inevitable path for lighting enterprises; whoever transforms first has a chance to win.
2. Digital and intelligent transformation is the only path for lighting enterprises
Cloud-based infrastructure, digital touchpoints, online business operations, data-driven operations, and intelligent decision-making. Every product must be digitized and operate online; especially large and medium-sized enterprises must undergo this transformation.
3. Learning is the path to innovation
An enterprise's learning ability and an individual's learning ability are the most important. Lighting is no longer what it used to be; once you transcend the lighting industry, can you truly capture core value, focus on irrereplaceability, and deliver real value?
Who will win the future competition?
Future industry competition is not about a single player or a single brand competing alone, but rather your ecosystem competing against other ecosystems. Future competition will certainly not be won by any individual, but by the ecosystems they belong to outperforming others.
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