海尔干衣机：将成熟产品引入新兴市场的用户洞察

Haier started life in 1984 as a Qingdao-based refrigerator manufacturer. Over time, Haier successfully positioned itself as a globally recognized manufacturer of home appliances. In Western countries, hanging laundry outdoors was not a common practice, making dryers an essential household appliance. Renowned international brands like Siemens had introduced dryers with unparalleled drying performance to the Chinese market. In China, however, air-drying laundry was a societal norm, so laundry dryers were not a staple in home appliances and initially met with a lukewarm reception. From 2015 to 2019, the all-in-one washer-dryer was identified as a suitable fit for the market and was heavily marketed. In just a few years, sales of washer-dryers skyrocketed. Growth peaked in 2019, followed by a decline. After conducting extensive market research, Haier's dryer team identified the goals Chinese consumers wanted to achieve in many different scenarios. To meet consumers' precise needs, they improved the dryer's lint or fiber filtering system, enhanced drying performance and noise reduction features, and refined the handling of delicate clothes. They also implemented distinct pricing strategies and diverse promotional activities across various channels for different dryer brands under the Haier umbrella. Since 2019, when Haier introduced a laundry dryer specifically designed for drying clothes, Haier had been a top performer in the standalone dryer category in terms of sales. In 2022, Haier's standalone dryers retained their leading position, capturing the largest share of the Chinese market. Haier's experience in developing and marketing laundry dryers offers valuable lessons for both Chinese enterprises and foreign companies looking to enter the Chinese market, while raising the following questions: 1. How to gain deep insights into local consumer needs before introducing an established product to an emerging market? 2. How to iterate dryer portfolios in the Chinese market, as the rapid sales growth of standalone laundry dryers with advanced features might accelerate the decline in sales of the transitional all-in-one washer-dryers? How to manage the relationship between these two product lines? Should Haier focus solely on standalone dryers?