Housing slowdown spells trouble for China's appliance makers
Summary
Sales at the countrys three largest home electronics makers -- Midea Group, Gree Electric Appliances, and Haier -- began slowing this year, in contrast to the sharp increases they saw through 2017. At a Gree Electric store in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, a clerk makes a pitch for refrigerators that keep vegetables fresh, recommending a model priced at 7,000 yuan ($1,009). In October, Midea announced plans to buy Wuxi Little Swan, Chinas first maker of fully automatic washing machines. In late October, Chinese President Xi Jinping inspected a factory and a showroom at Gree Electrics headquarters in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province. "We should enhance our abilities with the strong determination and aspiration to create our own innovation," Xi said, stressing the need to lessen Chinas reliance on foreign technology.