As public awareness continues to increase over the dangers of air pollution, Chinese consumers have turned to home air purifiers for protection. But although foreign brands have traditionally been bestsellers in China, it looks as though Chinese consumers are beginning to put their trust into domestically-made air filter machines.
According to New Trend System, popular cellphone maker Xiaomi holds the spot of the top-selling air purifier on the Chinese market. Xiaomi surpassed Philips and BlueAir, which came in second and third place, respectively.
Top sellers included other foreign brands like Sharp (#4) and Honeywell (#8), while Chinese brands were represented by Daikin, 352, and AIRX.
At this point, we'll have to note this statistic is true only according to a specific set of circumstances. Instead of a year, the analysis only covers a one-week period of sales made on online retailer Taobao. And what's more, this sales period coincided with the smog red alert last December, prompting consumers to take immediate action.
READ: With February in the Bag it Looks Like a Grim 2017 in Terms of Air Quality Improvement
What's significant is that among other features such as remote cellphone activation, Xiaomi's Mi Air is competitively priced at RMB 899 (about USD 150). And when air purifiers are routinely considered "luxury items" by Chinese, this affordability makes it an easy choice for budget-minded consumers.
This remains no small feat as China's market has been inundated with new air purifier brands, jumping from 78 to 688 over a three-year period starting in 2013. But the most surprising part of Xiaomi's success is that they've been able to overcome horrible reviews in which it was saddled as having "serious quality problems."
Last January, the Shanghai Quality Inspection and Supervision Bureau singled out Xiaomi's Mi Air as being the most poorly-reviewed product of the 36 air purifiers it tested. According to the bureau, the Mi Air was excessively noisy and incapable of fulfilling its primary function of cleaning all the air in a normal-sized room.
But even though such a report would be damaging, it isn't as though Chinese consumers have a lot of information to help them choose the right air purifier. Last October, Xinhua reported that a quarter of the 61 air purifiers tested last year by a government inspection agency failed quality tests, but did not specify which ones they were.
READ: Does Your Favorite F&B Establishment Filter Its Air?
This is not all bad news for everyone.
Xiaomi's success with the Mi Air comes at a time when the company has been experiencing problems with its foray into selling home appliances with CEO Lei Jun even admitting on social media that Xiaomi had expanded too quickly. Additionally, Xiaomi is also coping with the recent departure of Hugo Barra, its top foreign executive who had spearheaded an aggressive initiative into India that helped Xiaomi earn USD 1 billion in annual revenue last year.
If you're not already one of the Beijing residents who make up China's leading city for air purifiers purchases, get caught up with our handy set of tips to ward off the vitamin-zapping and emotionally-draining effects of air pollution.
Need help choosing which air monitor to buy? Check our guide before you buy here.
More stories from this author here.
Twitter: @Sinopath
Photo: PCOnline