Often, there is no choice but to be strong! Recently, the home appliance market has continued to show intensified polarization with "external heat and internal coolness," driven by technological leadership and organizational transformations at leading companies like Haier, Midea, and Changhong. Positive signals for breaking through the market stalemate are emerging.

At the market level, the scissors difference (scissor-gap) characteristic of weak domestic demand and strong exports is prominent. In June, China's TV market shipments fell 4% year-on-year, while online sales and revenue during the 618 shopping festival dropped by over 13%, indicating sluggish domestic consumer electronics demand. However, exports of refrigerators and washing machines maintained double-digit growth, though domestic production schedules for both categories declined in July, solidifying the pattern of internal coolness and external heat. Meanwhile, trade-in programs have become a key driver for terminal activation, with leading brands like Gree, Midea, Haier, and Changhong increasing subsidies and offering free services, particularly launching exclusive free service initiatives for disaster-affected regions like Guangxi, reflecting a blend of social responsibility and market strategy.

Corporate dynamics highlight a shift in competitive focus. Technological innovation and intellectual property rights have become core battlegrounds: Haier Smart Home, Midea, and Gree won multiple awards at the 26th China Patent Awards; Haier and Midea each received second-place National Science and Technology Progress Awards, underscoring their hard technology capabilities. Organizational efficiency and global Layout are accelerating: Haier Smart Home established three major platforms to deepen collaboration, JD.com Retail significantly compressed its management hierarchy, and Vanward Electrical initiated a "drastic" transformation, reflecting the industry's shift from scale expansion to refined operations. Midea partnered with Hutchison Ports to build a global supply chain, while TCL Electronics' first-half profits are expected to surge by over 40%, continuing to release globalization dividends.

Cross-border penetration by external forces cannot be ignored: Changhong and GigaDevice established a joint chip lab to accelerate localization of core components; Samsung Electronics' profits soared 18-fold driven by AI chip demand, while BOE Technology's first-half profits are expected to grow by over 50%, demonstrating the profound impact of the pan-semiconductor supply chain on the upstream home appliance sector. Additionally, Whirlpool's U.S. market share declined for a decade, and Zhejiang Meida sought control transfer, both reflecting transformation pressures on traditional brands amid fierce competition.

Overall, this week's home appliance sector revolves around "seeking transformation amid polarization and innovation under pressure," with leading companies attempting to navigate cyclical fluctuations through technological breakthroughs, organizational streamlining, and global deepening. This signals an important transformation in the stock market (stock market) reconstruction of the home appliance industry.

Color TV Shipments Rose Month-on-Month but Fell 4% Year-on-Year in June

Loctek Technology data shows: In June 2026, China's TV market shipped 2.487 million brand-name TVs, down 4.0% year-on-year but up 14.3% month-on-month from May. During the 2026 618 promotion period (May 11–June 21), online retail volume of Chinese smart TVs (excluding emerging e-commerce platforms like Douyin and Kuaishou) reached 1.969 million units, down 15.9% year-on-year; sales revenue hit RMB 7.03 billion, down 13%.

China's top eight TV brands in June were Hisense, TCL, Xiaomi, Skyworth, Changhong, Haier, Konka, and Huawei, with combined shipments (including sub-brands) of approximately 2.39 million units, down 3.7% year-on-year—a significant narrowing from May's decline—and capturing a 96.1% market share, the highest monthly level in 2026. Hisense, TCL, and Skyworth (including sub-brands) shipped approximately 1.53 million units combined in June, down 2.9% year-on-year.

Double-Digit Export Growth for Refrigerators and Washing Machines Amid Weak Domestic Sales

General Administration of Customs data shows: In May 2026, China exported 8.44 million refrigerators, up 23.5% year-on-year, with cumulative exports of 38.24 million units from January to May (+13.7%). Washing machine exports reached 3.09 million units in May (+10.6% year-on-year), with cumulative exports of 15.35 million units (+9.6%). Both categories achieved double-digit export growth across the board.

Industry Online's July production data shows: Refrigerator production scheduled for July reached 7.93 million units, up just 0.8% year-on-year; washing machine production hit 7.29 million units, down 1.7% year-on-year. The production-sales data contrast highlights the solidified pattern of internal coolness and external heat in the refrigerator and washing machine industries. Specifically, domestic refrigerator production scheduled for July fell 7.9% year-on-year, while domestic washing machine production dropped 2.3%.

26th China Patent Awards Announced

The 26th China Patent Awards selection results were officially announced, showcasing and validating the innovation achievements and capabilities of home appliance companies. Haier Smart Home won six awards, including one gold, one silver, and four excellence awards; Midea Group secured five excellence awards, while Gree Electric Appliances received four. Established in 1989 by the National Intellectual Property Administration and the World Intellectual Property Organization, the China Patent Awards are the most prestigious domestic patent accolades.

Additionally, Aux Air Conditioners, Deerma Small Appliances, and Hisense Refrigerators won silver awards for China Patent Design; Changhong Air Conditioners, Angel Water Purifiers, Ronshen Refrigerators, and Hisense Hitachi received China Patent Excellence Awards; Hisense Air Conditioners and Changhong TVs earned China Design Excellence Awards.

Midea, Haier, Changhong Offer Free Services to Disaster Areas

Recently, leading home appliance companies Midea Group, Haier Smart Home, and Sichuan Changhong swiftly acted, publicly committing to provide free on-site services in disaster-affected regions like Guangxi and launching exclusive "trade-in" subsidies for unrepairable appliances.

Midea Services announced that households affected by severe rainstorms in Guangxi and tornadoes in Hubei could enjoy free cleaning, inspection, repair, and relocation services for all Midea-branded appliances. For severely damaged, unrepairable products, Midea introduced a dedicated "trade-in" policy.

Sichuan Changhong launched a "Five Free Services" initiative: free on-site visits, free inspections, free repairs, free cleaning, and free relocation. Users of Changhong and Meiling-branded TVs, air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines, and kitchen appliances in Guangxi can access these services. Notably, its trade-in subsidies have no brand or age restrictions—old appliances of any brand or age are eligible.

Haier Services also promptly aided Guangxi, offering "Three Free Services" for all its branded products: free on-site visits, free inspections, and free repairs, with all parts costs waived. Available from now until September 30, the program covers all affected users in Guangxi across categories like refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, TVs, kitchen appliances, and water heaters. Users can request services via Haier Services' official account or mini-program. For unrepairable machines, Haier provides exclusive trade-in subsidies.

Haier and Midea Win 2025 National Science and Technology Progress Awards

The 2025 National Science and Technology Awards list was released, honoring 258 projects and 11 technology experts. Two projects completed with participation from Haier and Midea, two home appliance giants, received second-place National Science and Technology Progress Awards.

The project J-216-2-01, "Precision Brazing Manufacturing Technology and Applications for Heterogeneous Complex Multi-Cavity Components," completed with Qingdao Haier Air Conditioner General Works, established brazing material design criteria balancing intrinsic performance and balanced metallurgical reactions, overcoming welding challenges for heterogeneous materials. Applied to 12 Haier air conditioner series with 56 models, it has been exported to 53 countries, including the U.S. and Japan, breaking foreign technical monopolies.

The project J-257-2-01, "Key Food Microwave Processing Technologies and Applications for Multi-Scenario Adaptation," completed with Midea Kitchen Appliance Manufacturing, is the first national science award for the microwave oven industry. It developed a microwave precise heating strategy adapting to food structure and property differences, establishing microwave processing equipment and production lines based on simulation computing. Its technologies are fully integrated into Midea's microwave, steaming, baking, frying, and stewing product lines, with related products exceeding RMB 3 billion in cumulative sales.

Haier Smart Home Launches Three Major Platforms After HVAC Integration

Building on its HVAC organizational integration, Haier Smart Home initiated a new round of organizational transformation, establishing three major platforms: a major white goods platform, an overseas brand-building platform, and a China mega-platform, to accelerate its transformation and strategic implementation through organizational adjustments. This move aligns with Haier Smart Home's long-term Layout (layout) to embrace the AI era and adapt to three growth curves.

Building on its major kitchen business, Haier further integrated its washing business, connecting core white goods categories like refrigerators, kitchen appliances, and washing machines to better implement TC model transformations and enhance synergy efficiency at the corporate level. Six months prior, the major HVAC platform integrated industries such as air conditioning, heating, fresh air, hot water, water purification, and building technology, maximizing resource efficiency through multi-energy, multi-heat source, and full-scenario integrated solutions.

Midea Group and Hutchison Ports Build Global Supply Chain

Midea Group signed a memorandum of understanding with Hutchison Ports, a global leader in port investment, development, and operations. The two sides will deepen their global strategic partnership over the next two years to build a resilient, efficient, and mutually beneficial global supply chain system. Hutchison Ports will facilitate Midea's global maritime logistics, ensuring stable and efficient delivery, while Midea's growing container volumes (in the millions) will significantly boost throughput at Hutchison Ports' terminals, attracting more international shipping lines.

This collaboration enables strategic asset and global network synergy between two industry leaders. Midea's expanding overseas production bases align closely with Hutchison Ports' global port resources, particularly in key markets like Thailand, Indonesia, Egypt, Vietnam, and Mexico, achieving seamless integration.

Gree Launches Trade-In Program for Household Air Conditioners

Gree Electric Appliances announced a subsidy program for household air conditioner trade-ins, increasing resource investment to benefit consumers with enhanced subsidies. Program rules: All old machines, regardless of brand, are eligible for trade-in.

For wall-mounted air conditioners: Gree-branded units receive RMB 400–600 per unit in subsidies, while other brands receive RMB 330–500. For floor-standing air conditioners: Gree-branded units receive RMB 800–1,200 per unit, while other brands receive RMB 700–1,000. Eligible consumers can also enjoy a 15% national subsidy (capped at RMB 1,500 per unit) simultaneously. Combined, these offers enable maximum discounts of up to RMB 2,700 per unit.

GigaDevice and Changhong Establish Home Appliance Chip Lab

The inauguration ceremony for the joint lab between Changhong and GigaDevice was held at Changhong Air Conditioner Smart Manufacturing Industrial Park in Mianyang, Sichuan. The successful rollout of household air conditioners based on GD531 chip application solutions marks substantive progress in localizing core home appliance chips and upgrading home appliance intelligence. The lab will leverage its professional platform to advance scenario-based adaptation and optimization of core semiconductor devices like MCU chips, memory products, and analog devices in home appliance terminals; construct a full-chain innovation loop of "R&D-testing-iteration-mass production" to enhance technology conversion efficiency and product stability; and cultivate interdisciplinary technical talent in chip R&D, home appliance intelligent control, and system integration.

In June 2025, Changhong and GigaDevice signed a strategic cooperation agreement focusing on three core areas: variable frequency control, semiconductor memory, and intelligent sensors, jointly exploring new development models for deep integration of AI technology and home appliance hardware. As Changhong's core carrier for industrializing variable frequency technology, Changhong Aoku Technology fully undertakes technology conversion, product iteration, and scenario implementation for the collaboration projects.

JD.com Retail Adjusts Organizational Structure, Cuts Management Layers

In July, JD.com Retail launched a new round of deep organizational structure optimization, reducing management layers by canceling all original C4 and C5 managerial roles and directly placing personnel under C3-level management. Daily approval processes (e.g., leave requests, time-off) are now handled directly by C3 managers. This move reduces JD.com Retail's management layers by two levels, significantly cutting the number of leader nodes and marking a substantive stage in its flat organizational reform.

Simultaneously, JD.com's Innovative Retail Business also restructured, merging front-end departments into the service end and implementing full-stack development for all staff. This adjustment was internally communicated last week, with new full-stack developers expected to officially join business operations in Q3. With consumer dividends peaking and stock market competition intensifying this year, major firms are increasingly focusing on core businesses and optimizing management hierarchies.

Samsung Electronics' Q2 Profits Expected to Surge 18-Fold

Samsung Electronics' latest Q2 2026 earnings preview shows explosive revenue and profit growth driven by the AI industry's tight supply-demand balance for memory chips, with core profit metrics significantly exceeding market estimates.

Total Q2 sales reached KRW 171 trillion, up 129% year-on-year (KRW 74.6 trillion in the same period last year). Operating profit is estimated at KRW 89.4 trillion (approximately RMB 396.9 billion), soaring 1,810% from KRW 4.7 trillion year-on-year. This far surpasses the market's average operating profit estimate of KRW 84.2 trillion, potentially setting a new single-quarter record for the company.

TCL Electronics' H1 Profits Expected to Rise 56%

TCL Electronics released its 2026 interim earnings preview: Revenue for the first half of 2026 is estimated between HKD 60.3 billion and HKD 65.7 billion, up 10–20% year-on-year; adjusted net profit attributable to shareholders is expected between HKD 1.48 billion and HKD 1.65 billion, representing a 40–56% year-on-year increase from H1 2025.

The key drivers for the significant growth in adjusted net profit include: TCL Electronics' further advancement of its "globalization" and "mid-to-high-end" strategies, achieving quality growth in global operations and notable improvements in gross profit margins. Overall profitability has steadily strengthened, with its TV business maintaining global leadership and continuous product structure improvements, enhanced monetization of high-margin internet services, and improved profitability in its small-to-medium display business.

BOE Technology Expects H1 Profits to Exceed RMB 5 Billion

Recently, BOE Technology A disclosed its 2026 interim earnings preview. Net profit attributable to shareholders is estimated between RMB 5 billion and RMB 5.5 billion, up 54–69% year-on-year (RMB 3.247 billion in the same period last year). Non-recurring gains and losses in this period amount to approximately RMB 2 billion, primarily from fair value changes in trading financial assets.

In its latest research update, BOE disclosed progress in three emerging businesses. Its glass substrate packaging substrate pilot line completed full automated production in H1 2026, mastering all core processes, though mass production revenue has not yet materialized. Perovskite photovoltaic technology achieved breakthroughs on multiple fronts, with parallel R&D on multiple routes yielding impressive conversion efficiency data, and outdoor demonstration bases now operational. The company has established a dedicated team to collaborate with partners on forward-looking Layout (layouts) for Micro LED optical interconnects and glass substrate CPO technologies.

Zhejiang Meida Halts Trading for Control Transfer Negotiations",

Whirlpool's Market Share Declines in the U.S. Home Appliance Market

Recently, data from market research firm TraQline showed that Whirlpool's sales share in the U.S. home appliance market (refrigerators, washing machines, dryers, dishwashers, freestanding stoves, and microwaves) has dropped from 15.8% in 2015 to 14.3% in 2025, with its ranking falling from first to fourth. This indicates that Whirlpool's development in the U.S. domestic market has stagnated. In 2015, Whirlpool had a relatively small gap in market share with GE, Samsung Electronics, and LG Electronics across the six major product categories, but ten years later, Whirlpool failed to maintain its original position.

In 2025, Whirlpool laid off more than 1,000 employees at its refrigerator factory in Iowa, U.S., with the assembly line, originally producing 1 million refrigerators annually, now operating at only 20% of its capacity. Additionally, Whirlpool plans to close its refrigerator production facility in Mexico in the second quarter of next year. Whirlpool is streamlining its overseas operations and fully returning to the U.S. domestic market.

Vanward Electrical Will Push Forward with 'Radical' Transformation

Vanward Electrical released a letter to all colleagues, admitting that the company is facing its most severe survival crisis to date and announcing an intensified push for a 'radical' organizational transformation. The letter mentioned that since the second half of 2025, the company's core financial indicators have continued to deteriorate, including declining revenue, a sharp drop in profits, slower inventory turnover, and persistently high overall operating costs. It is necessary to eliminate internal redundancies, divest inefficient businesses and structures, and reserve sufficient adjustment buffer space for the company's survival and development.

Founded in 1993, Vanward Electrical started with gas water heaters and went public on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2011. As a leading domestic kitchen and bathroom appliance enterprise, it is headquartered in Shunde, Foshan, Guangdong. According to its 2025 annual report, Vanward Electrical's revenue last year was 7.23 billion yuan, down 1.5% year-on-year; net profit attributable to shareholders was 216 million yuan, down 67.2% year-on-year; and net profit attributable to shareholders excluding non-recurring items was 274 million yuan, down 58.2% year-on-year. The situation did not improve in the first quarter of 2026.

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