US National Standard Edge Ball Sells High Energy Consumption Air Conditioner

Since the implementation of the mandatory national standard for national energy efficiency in June 2010, the 3 level energy efficiency has become the lowest threshold for market access of household air-conditioning products.

But according to the forecast of relevant departments, the growth rate of electricity consumption in the fourth quarter of this year will remain at a high level, and the hydropower output in winter is lower than that of the whole year.

Electricity supply will be tight in some parts of the country, especially in areas with large hydropower stations in the South and central China, and some coal producing provinces with low thermal power prices. There may be a continuous shortage of electricity, and the contradiction between supply and demand is more prominent.

According to the press survey, the air conditioner of the United States still produces and sells high energy consumption household cabinet air conditioners, and sets them on the legal coat of "commercial air conditioner" to play the national standard "edge ball".

Many consumers accuse the United States of energy efficiency

The latest news received by reporters on the 28 th showed that in many cities across the country, consumers who bought and sold the United States produced and sold the energy inefficient air conditioner consumers who had been eliminated from the market to sue for "energy efficiency fraud".

Among them, Deng Hao, a resident of Longgang District in Shenzhen, Guangdong, sued the United States for a lawsuit in October.

Deng Hao told reporters that in August of this year, he bought air conditioners at a shop in Fu Jia Department store, Shenzhen. Salesmen recommended a model of LF7.2WW/LY-GA (5) for the US air conditioner at a price of 4600 yuan. "When I bought it, salesmen enthusiastically recommended this type of air conditioner, which is cheap and fine."

After Deng Hao bought it, he found that the air conditioning energy consumption was very high. He inquired online to know that the 5 level energy efficiency air conditioner did not meet the requirements of the national mandatory standard. It belonged to substandard products. When he wanted to return, the US side refused.

Deng Hao said that the 5 class energy efficiency household air conditioner, with a production date of March 2011, belongs to the unqualified product of illegal production and sale after the release of the national "new energy efficiency standards for air-conditioning".

Lin Quansheng, a consumer in Quanzhou, Fujian, is similar to Deng Hao.

In the complaint, Lin Quansheng believed that the new energy efficiency standard of the state has been formally implemented. The illegal energy production and sale of the low efficiency air conditioner, which is eliminated and delisted, is a major fraud and illegal act.

But on the 28 day, a lawyer calling Lin Quan Sheng learned that the consumer had reached the court with the US.

Deng Hao and Lin Quansheng told reporters that they were not told that they were "commercial air conditioners" when they were recommended to buy high-energy air conditioners in the US.

The United States: playing the "commercial" banner to sell high-energy consumption air conditioning is not illegal.

For the prosecution of consumers in Guangdong, Beauty Company claims that the LF7.2WW/LY-GA (5) model air conditioner is a commercial air conditioner, not an ordinary household air conditioner. The new energy efficiency standard of the state does not specify the energy consumption of commercial air conditioning.

When a reporter called the American Beijing customer service staff as a consumer to consult the LF7.2WW/LY-GA (5) model air conditioner in line with the national mandatory energy efficiency standard and whether it could produce and sell, a customer service staff member named Liu said that the air-conditioner was indeed beautiful, and it was still producing and selling products after the new national air conditioning energy efficiency standard was introduced. But Beauty Company now classified it as "commercial air conditioner", so it can "bypass" the national mandatory standard control, and it is not illegal to produce and sell it.

When a reporter asked if the air-conditioner was being sold to consumers who wanted to buy home air conditioners, the customer service staff said that ordinary consumers could buy commercial air conditioners in the US, but the warranty and after-sale of their products would be carried out according to the provisions laid down by the company for commercial air conditioners.

This excuse was refuted by experts.

Industry experts pointed out that at present, the difference between commercial and household air conditioners from 3 to 5 is mainly due to the difference between appearance and consumer groups.

The US's suspected air conditioner is not only for ordinary household consumers, but also looks similar to household air conditioners.

Experts also pointed out that, according to the current national technical standards, there is a certain cross between commercial machines and household machines with 5 sets of cabinet machines, and the United States intends to drill loopholes in the state regulations.

Company "structural adjustment" strategy blocked

The air conditioning industry told the economic reference daily that the United States openly sold high-energy air conditioners to ordinary household consumers in many home appliance stores, and "dubbed" with "commercial" signs around the loopholes in the law, all due to the "scale" formulation of their company strategy.

But at the same time, another strategy of the company "structural adjustment" will be blocked.

According to the introduction, in addition to energy efficiency standards, other aspects of the configuration of two similar cabinet type.

Public information shows that Beauty Company has always adhered to the strategy of "on scale" and "adjusting structure".

"Scale" means increasing the coverage rate of all levels of the market and effectively enhancing the brand influence of Beauty Company. "Structural adjustment" refers to the continuous optimization of product structure and the continuous improvement of the proportion of high gross profit products.

The US report data show that the sales scale of the company has gone up, resulting in a substantial increase in operating income. But is the structure adjusted?

Midea electrical semi annual report 2011 showed that: during the reporting period, the company achieved operating income of 62 billion 37 million yuan, an increase of 58.97% over the same period, of which air conditioning and parts and components earned more than 42 billion 500 million yuan, accounting for 68.53% of business revenue, and realized operating profit of 7 billion 600 million yuan; in the first half of the year, the total domestic and export sales of domestic air conditioners reached 76 million 548 thousand, an increase of 48.51% over the same period.

However, the semi annual report also said that during the reporting period, the company realized net profit of 1 billion 975 million yuan, although it increased by 13.64% compared with the same period last year, however, it lost a lot of revenue growth. Among them, the gross profit margin of air conditioning and parts business dropped 0.3 percentage points to 18%.

Analysts believe that the air conditioning business as the pillar business of Beauty Company, has the most important contribution to the rapid development of the company's revenues. However, the company's net profit growth has also lost a lot of revenue growth due to the decline in the gross profit margin of air-conditioning business.

The reason for the decline in gross margin is that Beauty Company explained that the cost of rare earth increased by more than expected.

Securities circles pointed out that Beauty Company as one of the domestic air conditioning "one brother" ranks one of the enterprises, rare earth and other cost raw materials rise, with its industry status, the price pmission capacity should be very clear, the cost increases, the pmission to its product price increase should be very fast.

But why does the average price of its products do not follow the rise in cost? Successive complaints from consumers about the sale of high energy consumption air conditioners by Beauty Company can not help the industry doubt that the market share of the "commercial air conditioner" with low price and high energy consumption will be taken into account, and that the "upper scale" will become a reality, while the "structural adjustment" will become a victim.