Air purifier sales offer hope for retailers

Due to the soaring demand for cleaner air, air purifiers will become the new growth driver for the country's sluggish home appliance industry, according to the China Household Electrical Appliances Association.

Sales of air cleaners reached 3 million units last year, a year-on-year surge of nearly 50 percent, while in 2011, sales were at 1.94 million units, up more than 20 percent year-on-year, the association said.

According to CIConsulting, China's home appliance industry has been suffering a downturn since 2011, after nearly 10 years of rapid growth, as a result of rising costs and oversupply.

However, air purifier sales are offering some hope.

"Since the smog started to hit most parts of the country in late 2011, sales of air purifiers have grown rapidly, both online and offline," said Xu Dongsheng, secretary general of the association.

The sales revenue of air purifiers at Suning.com - the website of the country's largest retail chain by revenue - reached 30 million yuan ($4.9 million) on average each month from January to April. Total sales of air purifiers in the first four months were up 170 percent year-on-year, the retail giant said.

"Since October last year, sales of air purifiers have seen a dramatic increase," said Qu Wenchao, sales manager of Gome Electrical Appliances Holding Ltd, China's second-largest retailer of electrical appliances by revenue. "Sales between October 2012 and April jumped around 200 percent year-on-year."

A major manufacturer echoed that view.

"The demand for air purifiers has been on the rise in China, due to increasing awareness of health and environmental issues," said Dai Yong, vice-president of Sharp China. "Doctors are warning that thick pollutants cause asthma, cardiovascular disease and cancer."

He added that the sales of Sharp's air purifiers in 2012 doubled from the previous year due to growing demand in various fields such as hospitals, museums, and even automakers such as Nissan Motor Co.

According to the London-based BSRIA Business Consulting Co Ltd, China now has more than 200 foreign and domestic air purifier brands such as Panasonic Corp, TCL and Yadu. However, not all foreign brands are suitable for Chinese consumers.

Domestic consumers are looking for multifunctional products, especially those that filter pollutants and absorb humidity, but most of the foreign products have single functions, said the consultancy.

"Philips, Panasonic, Yadu and Sharp are the favorite brands in Suning stores, and consumers usually buy machines that cost around 2,500 to 3,000 yuan per unit," said Suning.

"Most buyers are families with a pregnant woman or with infants, or they buy them right after they do interior decoration work," said Jiang Feng, president of the China Household Electrical Appliances Association.

"Most households cannot afford products that cost more than 10,000 yuan, so they mostly spend around 1,500 to 3,500 yuan."

"Although the market for air purifiers in China is still relatively small compared with the markets in Japan or in other countries, the high-end part of the sector, such as luxury hotels and private clubs, looks promising," said Jiang.