In 2006, the total retail sales of household electrical appliances and audio-visual equipment reached CNY192.3 billion, up 19.2% year on year, among which kitchen appliances contributed most to the growth.
In the urban residents' families, the consumption of kitchen appliances focuses on fridge, electric cooker and smoke exhauster. The three types of electrical appliances have the highest penetration rate in urban households, as they began to enter the Chinese households in the late 1990s, the earliest among kitchen appliances, implying the three types will become mainly the replacement products in kitchen appliances in the future. Although the consumption of dishwasher, microwave oven, disinfecting cabinet and water dispenser have a lower penetration rates compared to the three types, they have had averagely annual double-digit growth rates in the recent years, indicating they may be the next hot consumer products.
Market Shares of China Top Ten Kitchen Electrical Appliance Producers, 2007
Source: China Household Electrical Appliances Association
Guided by the development trend of kitchen electrical appliance, kitchen appliances tend to evolve into integrated kitchen appliances.
The competition among kitchen appliance brands has transited from the competition between single product to one between assembling packages of kitchen appliances, including smoke exhauster, cooker, and disinfecting cabinet, and even to one between overall kitchens including cupboard. The trend to evolve into integrated kitchen appliances is becoming increasingly evident.