In the 1990s, TV sets began to appear in the homes of ordinary people in Chinese mainland, and the demand for TV sets was very strong. However, at that time, black and white TV sets were the mainstay, and color TV sets were rare. TCL saw the market trend of color TV, and began to develop and produce TCL trump card large-screen color TV, and then it became an instant hit in the market. Since then, TCL has entered a stage of rapid development, set up branches in various places and established sales channels at all levels, and TCL has gradually become a home appliance brand.
TCL has grown from the initial ace color TV to a technology giant with more than 50,000 employees. However, when the once-in-a-century epidemic swept the world, the retail business of the whole color TV industry was hit hard. According to AVC omni-channel summary data, the retail volume of China color TV market in June 2020 was15.99 million units, down 14.8% year-on-year. The scale of retail sales was 39.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 27.9%.
Both retail scale and retail sales have experienced a double-digit decline in different degrees, which has made the color TV industry, which is already in the stock era, worse. In such a harsh environment, I believe that every household appliance practitioner will fall into endless anxiety, because no one knows how bad the market will become.
How does TCL cope with this sudden epidemic and achieve contrarian growth? The author found the answer in the great creator. The following are mainly carried out from three aspects, and I think the experience is also worth learning from my peers.
First, increase production capacity
During the epidemic period, production capacity is one of the important problems that need to be solved urgently. In the domestic market, TCL relies on its Huaxing Optoelectronics. On the one hand, continue to consolidate the application advantages of HVA technology in high-end products of large-size LCD, increase the share of high-end products such as 8K/ 120Hz, and accelerate the mass production of Mini-LED products; On the other hand, TCL Huaxing Optoelectronics is also promoting the expansion of t4 Phase II and Phase III and the construction of t7 project, improving the production capacity of small and medium-sized screen panels such as LTPS and flexible organic light-emitting diodes, and making every effort to make breakthroughs in the research and development of new display technologies and new materials.
Overseas markets are also an important support for TCL sales, and it is not easy to continuously expand the production capacity in overseas markets. It is understood that during the period when TCL Electronics and Huaxing Optoelectronics jointly built an intelligent manufacturing industrial park in Andhra Pradesh, India, Wang Cheng, CEO of TCL Industrial Holdings, and his team often flew to India with their bags at night, and went to talk with the local governor and related companies early the next morning. Investment. This 20-hour cycle bunt sometimes happens every few days.
Of course, such efforts are rewarding. In the second quarter of this year, the first phase of TCL Electronics' new Massa factory in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, was mass-produced as scheduled. At the same time, the first phase of TCL Electronics Vietnam Factory was fully put into production and sold in the first half of the year. According to statistics, the global brand TV production capacity of TCL Electronics has increased to 27 million sets/year, which is enough to ensure the sales and supply of TCL brand in foreign epidemic situations.
Second, the marketing method needs innovation.
In the domestic market, in order to stimulate economic growth during the epidemic, the marketing method is also very different from previous years. The most famous is the rise of live broadcast. From the initial network celebrities to the current stars, hosts and entrepreneurs, live broadcast has become the latest and closest way to users.
In order to seize this new trend of bringing goods, TCL took the action that the CEO personally stepped off the stage, cooperated with many stars and hosts for many live broadcasts, and mobilized the company's employees and executives to go into battle together.
In the video interview of the great creator, Wang Cheng said frankly: From May to July this year, he hardly took a day off because there were so many things to do!
In my opinion, on the basis of ensuring production capacity, and at the same time communicating with users through innovative marketing methods, these two measures are the key points for TCL to face the adverse growth of the epidemic. On the one hand, it ensures stable production capacity output in the case of shortage of various resources, on the other hand, it makes TCL's brand image as a big country more close to the people and consumers through live broadcast, which greatly improves the brand's goodwill and reputation.
According to the second quarter and interim results of 2020 released by TCL Electronics Holdings (0 1070). HK), the company achieved an operating income of HK$ 654.38+07.28 billion in the first half of the year, of which the operating income in the second quarter reached HK$ 654.38+002.8 billion, a year-on-year increase of 36.6%. Financial performance comes from real sales performance. In the second quarter, under the market environment that global TV sales decreased by 4.9% year-on-year, TCL brand TV sales increased by 3 1.6% year-on-year, reaching 58 1 10,000 units.
Third, accelerate the pace of transformation.
After surviving the difficult epidemic stage, what TCL should do is to accelerate the pace of transformation. In fact, as early as the spring conference of 20 19, TCL announced the AI IoT strategy, and laid out the all-intelligent terminal category business with intelligent display business as the core. Now, TCL is still following the AI IoT strategy and continues to improve the smart Internet of Things home ecology. Therefore, if you still think that TCL is "selling TV", it is too backward.
The basis for TCL to determine the AI IoT strategy is that from the perspective of the whole industry environment, stand-alone intelligence will definitely develop in the direction of networked intelligence. The technical curve has passed the stage of rebound, and then it is gradually accepted by the market. Judging from the experience of new technology promotion in the past, this period will be the last entry time for to C manufacturers, so TCL must seize this opportunity.
The author believes that there is nothing wrong with the strategic direction of AI IoT. Compared with simply superimposing AI capabilities on loT, this is the correct solution for future smart home life scenarios. Otherwise, why the concept of AI+IoT has been speculated for so many years, and the perception of the scene of the C-side Internet of Everything is still so weak.
AI is the brain of the Internet of Things, which makes the simple connection of devices rise to intelligent connection, and makes the Internet of Everything evolve to the Internet of Everything. IoT is the body that gives AI the ability to act.
The difference between "AI x IoT" and "AI IoT" can be seen from the difference between x and, which is a simple addition. At present, the equipment of various manufacturers and brands is still in a state where the agreement cannot be interconnected and compatible. Simply put, Mijia App can't command Gree air conditioning, and Xiao Ai students don't listen to Huawei Smart Home App. Therefore, the simple superposition of AI functions cannot meet the daily needs of users. X is the integration of multi-technology innovation. Therefore, the full scene intelligence of AI x IoT is what users need most.
In fact, TCL has formed a competitive advantage in the strategic layout of AI IoT, that is, Zhilian's full category, with the help of two control centers, mobile phones and smart TVs, comprehensively covers the needs of users' mobile and home scenes; Rather than the interconnection of several things or the cooperation of local intelligent hardware. In addition, TCL's black and white products have been completely established. In the past few years, it has also extended smart terminal categories such as smart home, security and healthy home appliances, which can cover users' lives in all directions. These competitive barriers accumulated over the years, through acquisition and ecological chain cooperation, are not easy for other competing products to catch up.
In addition to the above-mentioned actions of self-built ecology, TCL also embraces and connects the mainstream ecology with an open mind. At present, TCL Honghu Lab has started to form ecological partnerships with companies such as tuya, Ali and Huawei, opening up the ecosystem of the Internet of Things and reducing the barriers to multi-module collaboration. Therefore, the author believes that the day of AI ecological integration in the whole scene will not be far away.
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In the era of Internet of Everything, TCL is a latecomer, but at the current development speed, it has the posture of coming from behind. In the face of this epidemic "black swan", TCL once again fought a beautiful hard battle, turning the crisis into an opportunity, which is the result of persisting in the innovation of marketing methods, using core technologies and AI x IoT strategy, and taking defense as the attack. As for the future, can TCL put the complete intelligent Internet of Things home ecology to the ground? We will wait and see.