The product has soared to the top three in the Amazon category! Another Shenzhen dark horse seller breaks through

Looking at the different tracks in which domestic brands are going overseas, the fast fashion industry is in the limelight and has received frequent investments; the smart home industry is also flourishing and quite popular.

Recently, the smart home brand Jika Technology completed a tens of millions of dollars in Series A financing. The company combines online and offline sales and has a presence on platforms such as Amazon and Walmart. On Amazon, it has created a popular product that ranks first in sales among similar products, and its air ovens and other products are also among the top three in Amazon's vertical categories.

In the field of going overseas, the smart home industry has produced many talented people. Leckey, a big seller, is the first cross-border e-commerce stock to be listed in the form of an IPO; Ecovacs has joined the ranks of sellers with sales of tens of billions of yuan last year. Boosted by the global epidemic, the industry has ushered in a highlight moment of development, and the demand for small household appliances has skyrocketed. VeSync , the parent company of Morning North Technology, and Biyi Shares, the "first stock of air fryers", have been listed one after another. Zhiou Technology has also embarked on the road to IPO, and Dreame Technology has completed a C round of financing of 3.6 billion yuan , becoming a good story in the industry.

Driven by the market, more than 200,000 small home appliance companies were newly established in China last year. Currently, a search for "small home appliances" on Qichacha shows more than 820,000 related companies, most of which are in provinces such as Zhejiang and Guangdong.

The smart home industry has a wider track. According to data from research firm MarketsandMarkets, the global smart home market is expected to grow from US$78.3 billion in 2020 to US$135.3 billion in 2025 , with a compound annual growth rate of 11.6% during the forecast period . This potential may attract more companies to join the market.

Jika Technology received Series A financing

Recently, Shenzhen Jika Technology Co., Ltd. completed a tens of millions of dollars in Series A financing, led by NBT Capital and followed by Challenger Capital.

According to the official website information, Jika Technology was established in 2017 and focuses on the research, development and sales of kitchen appliances, small appliances and smart home products. Its business has now expanded to North America, Australia, India, China and other important global markets, and operates on well-known platforms such as Amazon, Walmart, Almo and HSN.

The company has two major brands, Emerson Quiet Kool and GEEK. Among them, Emerson Quiet Kool focuses on air-conditioning products and has a history of more than 70 years in the United States . It is a brand acquired by Jika Technology; GEEK is a brand created by the company, focusing on the field of small household appliances.

(Photo source / JiKa Technology official website)

Segmenting the GEEK brand series, Geek Aire products are committed to providing a comfortable experience for individuals at home or outdoors, mainly including humidifier heaters, light fans, bladeless double-tube fans, bladeless cooling and heating fans, outdoor rechargeable fans, handheld fans, air circulation fans and tabletop rechargeable fans.

Geek Chef kitchen appliances focus on young and growing families, helping them to make delicious food at home and find fun. The products mainly include pressure cookers, coffee machines, air ovens, smokeless baking trays, etc.

Geek Heat is an environmental heating product that aims to create a comfortable experience for users using instant heating technology. Its products include portable heaters, infrared convection heaters, etc.

After several rounds of polishing, Geek Aire's product sales have shown a good growth trend. In 2021 , Geek Aire's rechargeable fans, air ovens and other products entered the top three vertical categories on Amazon; an outdoor rechargeable fan once ranked first in sales of products in the same category on Amazon, becoming an Internet celebrity product.

How did this hit product come about?

Lei Fei, co-founder of Jika Technology, said that people in North America prefer outdoor activities such as camping and fishing. For specific scenarios, the company combines traditional fans with lithium batteries to develop an outdoor rechargeable fan that can be used outdoors for 4-5 hours. The reason why this product has been at the top of the list for a long time is that it has been continuously iterated, and the current third-generation product has more diversified functions.

"Focus on single products to create hits, and then extend them to other smart products. Each product must be among the top three in the market. Eventually, more and more products will enter consumers' lives and naturally form a product ecosystem." This is JiKa's idea.

The products are selling well overseas, which is also related to the company's team's rich experience in the North American home appliance industry. In order to avoid the risk of shrinking demand that may be encountered when betting on a single track, Jika Technology has set up three product matrices - smart products, smart security and smart home.

In 2020 , Jika Technology entered the smart home industry. It stated that the company has an experienced team of professional IT and engineers and hopes to create a new Jika smart brand IoT home ecosystem.

In January 2021 , Geek Smart officially announced the launch of a new product line on Amazon, Geek Smart , which focuses on smart home products as part of its expansion strategy in the growing smart home device market. To further increase the visibility of the Geek Smart brand, Geek Smart will also reach more traditional distribution channels, such as Home Depot, QVC , etc., and the brand will also appear on more e-commerce websites.

Currently, on Amazon US, a Geek Smart smart door lock is priced at $139.99 and has accumulated nearly 800 reviews since it was launched last year. This attempt to expand the product line has not failed.

In 2021 , GeekAid's exports exceeded US$100 million, a 60% increase over the previous year . This year, there are many uncertainties in the cross-border e-commerce industry, and many sellers have expressed their willingness to operate conservatively, but Lei Fei predicts that the company's sales growth in 2022 will still be above 20%.

Jika Technology is moving forward rapidly, and this round of financing will inject more energy into it. The company said that 20% of the financing will be used for technology research and development, 20% for online operations and marketing, 10% for staff expansion, and the rest as working capital.

But financing does not seem to be the end. Lei Fei said in an interview with Zhujiang Business Daily: " In 2022 , I hope the company can go one step further and successfully go public in the United States. Through the power of capital, we will integrate more resources to accelerate the rapid growth of the company. My goal is to achieve corporate revenue of 500 million US dollars and corporate market value of 10 billion US dollars in 5 years , and initially form an overseas smart product ecosystem for Jika Technology. At the same time, we will further enhance the company's manufacturing capabilities and firmly grasp the right to speak in our own hands."

Jika Technology is another outstanding representative of China's smart home going overseas. Backed by the huge home supply chain, more and more domestic companies such as Chenbei Technology and Zhiou Home Furnishing have achieved excellent results in overseas markets.

Home furnishing sellers are "opening up" in overseas markets and gaining favor from capital

Under the epidemic, European and American consumers have started living and working at home, and their demand for household products has increased significantly, among which small household appliances have become hot-selling products on the Amazon platform.

Driven by the market, domestic home furnishing companies are experiencing a new boom with the help of online channels.

VeSync

VeSync is the first company in the cross-border e-commerce industry to be led by a woman. In the eyes of most industry insiders, this company is an excellent home furnishing seller, especially its air fryers and humidifiers, which have become hot-selling products on Amazon.

On April 28 , Hong Kong-listed Vesync released its annual report for fiscal year 2021. The company achieved operating income of US$454 million in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 30.19% , and net profit attributable to the parent company of US $41.588 million, a year-on-year decrease of 24.00% .

Vesync 's main market is the United States, where the company sells through platforms such as Amazon, eBay , Cdiscount , Rakuten , Newegg and Adorama . Amazon is the most important channel for its revenue. In 2021 , its revenue on Amazon accounted for more than 90%, of which the revenue from VC channels reached 339 million US dollars, making it a well-deserved VC ( Vendor Central ) giant.

VeSync designs, develops and sells three core brands: home environment appliances under Levoit; smart small appliances, health monitoring equipment, outdoor entertainment products and care products under Etekcity; kitchen appliances and dining utensils under Cosori.

According to the Frost & Sullivan report, among small appliance retailers, VeSync ranked third in terms of retail sales generated through Amazon and fifth in terms of retail sales generated through all online channels in the United States in 2019. In terms of retail sales generated by Amazon, the company's air purifiers ranked first in the category and air fryers ranked second in the category.

Under the new normal of the epidemic, Levoit air purifiers and Cosori air fryers continue to maintain their leading rankings on Amazon, and their newly launched Levoit air humidifiers and air purifiers achieved high rankings on Amazon in 2021.

In 2021 , VeSync 's Levoit Purifier Core400S was selected into Good Housekeeping's list of best air purifiers; three Levoit humidifiers were included in the New York Times ' Wirecutter's list of best humidifiers, with the Levoit Classic300S topping the list.

VeSync has invested a lot of effort in development and production to ensure that its products are loved by Amazon and consumers . In 2021 , the company's product development team grew by approximately 104.9% to 502 people.

There is no doubt that VeSync is one of the important players in the small home appliance online market in the United States. In 2022, it will further increase the market share of its main products through a full range of product layout, and will also continue to develop new categories including vacuum cleaners and pressure cookers, further enhance product innovation capabilities, and increase the sales scale of VeSync Store.

Zhiou Home

Zhiou Home is a well-known home furnishings seller on Amazon. It mainly sells home furnishings, home furnishings, garden and pet series and other home furnishing products under its own brand. It has three own brands: SONGMICS , VASAGLE and FEANDREA . Its brand has successfully become one of the most popular home furnishing brands among consumers in Amazon's European and American markets, and many of its products have been ranked at the top of the best-selling list of third-party e-commerce platforms such as Amazon for many years.

On April 26 , Zhiou Home Furnishing updated its 2021 financial report. From 2019 to 2021 , the company achieved operating income of 2.326 billion yuan, 3.970 billion yuan and 5.967 billion yuan, respectively, and realized net profit attributable to parent company shareholders of 108 million yuan, 380 million yuan and 240 million yuan, respectively .

Zhiou Home mainly sells its products through platforms such as Amazon, Cdiscount , ManoMano , and eBay. Online platforms are the company's main sales channels. From 2019 to 2021 , the sales revenue from the company's online channels accounted for 86.99% , 82.93% , and 80.81% of its main business revenue, respectively . In addition to third-party platforms, Zhiou Home has also expanded its independent website.

Amazon accounts for the largest share of sales among all online platforms. From 2019 to 2021 , the sales revenue achieved by Zhiou Home Furnishing through Amazon's B2C platform accounted for 81.13% , 71.80% and 67.87% of its main business revenue , respectively, which is a high proportion.

In 2022 , Zhiou Home Furnishing won the 2021 "Winning with Persistence" annual seller title awarded by Amazon Global Selling, and was selected for the top 100 Chinese cross-border e-commerce list evaluated by the China Internet Network Information Center for two consecutive years.

Zhiou Home Furnishing mainly sells its products in countries and regions such as Europe, North America and Japan. In 2021 , its main business revenue accounted for 60% in Europe and 39.18% in North America .

Creating a "leading global Internet home furnishing brand" is the long-term development strategy of Zhiou Home Furnishing. Its product roadmap is based on the full-scene and full-category planning of "home", and is committed to creating an online one-stop home furnishing brand with high cost performance, full home scenes and fashionable style design as the core.

Dreame Technology

Headquartered in Suzhou, Dreame Technology is a world-leading smart home appliance manufacturer. Relying on its strong R&D background, the company has achieved a global leading position in underlying technologies such as high-speed motors and VSLAM visual navigation, and has actively applied many innovative technologies to its products. Its market share in Europe and the United States continues to increase.

In June 2021 , Dreame cordless vacuum cleaner topped the sales list of vacuum cleaners above 300 euros on AliExpress Europe. In France, the cordless vacuum cleaner T30 topped the Amazon best-selling list of vacuum cleaners in the 400 euro price range in August and September .

Dreame's sweeping robot D9 swept the Amazon lists in France, Italy and Spain, becoming the best-selling sweeper in the 200-300 euro price range.

On July 9, 2021 , Dreame's annual flagship new product V11 cordless vacuum cleaner officially landed on the AliExpress platform. Within just 7 hours, it was sold out in France, Germany, Spain, Poland and other places, becoming the sales champion of the day in the European vacuum cleaner category.

Excellent overseas sales performance is a strong proof of Dreame's brand strength and also represents consumers' recognition of its products. In terms of product development, Dreame insists on the practicality of its products, meeting user needs rather than creating them. One of its competitive advantages is its ultimate product technology.

In order to break the technology monopoly, Dreame has increased its R&D investment. Among its 1,800 employees, technical personnel account for more than 70% , and its annual R&D investment continues to exceed 12% . As of February 2022 , Dreame Technology has applied for a total of 2,131 patents worldwide , including 722 invention patent applications and 134 PCT applications , and has obtained a total of 1,116 authorized patents .

At present, Dreame Technology has become one of the Chinese brands that has become popular overseas, and its products cover more than 100 countries and regions around the world.

Aosen E-commerce

Aosom E-commerce mainly deals in outdoor leisure, household goods, sports and health, pet supplies, office supplies, children's toys and other products. Its main brands include Aosom , HomCom , Vinsotto , Qaba , etc. It is also a well-known home furnishing overseas company in East China.

As a home furnishing seller with multiple categories and multiple channels, Aosen’s sales channels include multiple third-party global e-commerce platforms such as eBay and Amazon. In recent years, independent sites have been the focus of its layout.

The epidemic boosted the demand for home furnishing products, and Aosen's sales soared. In 2018 , its revenue was 1.26 billion yuan, and in 2020 it soared to 3.45 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 109% . Among them, the outdoor series and home series accounted for the largest share of revenue, with revenue of about 1.2 billion yuan each, followed by health and leisure.

Aosen's independent website is operating successfully, which also adds to its performance.

The company developed the independent website platform Aosom at the end of 2015 , and the number of users exceeded one million at the beginning of 2018. The platform covers almost all categories involved in Aosom, such as home, health and beauty, outdoor, pet products, sports, tools, toys and hobbies, as well as seasonal series products. Under the hammer of Amazon platform ban, many domestic sellers suffered losses. Aosom, which focuses on the development of independent websites, is absolutely stable.

More and more cross-border home furnishing sellers are flourishing in overseas markets. At the same time, the popularity of Chinese home furnishing brands is gradually increasing, and these excellent home furnishing companies have also gained recognition from the capital market.

In October 2021 , Dreame Technology completed a RMB 3.6 billion Series C financing, which is the largest single financing in the smart hardware industry; in June 2021 , Zhiou Home Furnishing IPO was accepted by the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, and it plans to raise nearly 1.5 billion yuan to strengthen research and development, and its A- share listing is imminent; in December 2020 , Vesync was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. According to the AI ​​News on April 20 this year , Hong Kong-listed home appliance stocks rose, and Vesync rose by more than 6% .

Judging from the development of leading companies, the potential of the smart home market is unquestionable. The CEO of Jika Technology is very optimistic about the smart home industry, "This is an industry that deserves our attention in the next 10 years. We believe that it is bringing another revolution to consumer electronics."

Multiple research data also point out that the smart home industry is worth further exploration.

Smart home industry has a vast market

According to a market research report released by MarketsandMarkets, the global smart home market is expected to grow from US$78.3 billion in 2020 to US $135.3 billion in 2025 , with a compound annual growth rate of 11.6% during the forecast period . According to forecasts, global smart home device shipments will reach 1.39 billion units by 2023.

The rapid growth of the smart home market is being confirmed. According to a report by industry analyst IDC , the global smart home device market grew by 11.7% in 2021 compared with the previous year , with shipments exceeding 895 million units.

If the smart home category is divided into video entertainment, home monitoring / security, lighting, and others, in 2021, video entertainment smart home devices accounted for 35% of the smart home market , home monitoring / security accounted for 21% , lighting accounted for 10% , and other categories accounted for the remaining 35% . IDC predicts that by 2026 , the market share of video entertainment products will drop to 26% , while the lighting category may increase to 17% and others to 36% .

Under the catalysis of the global epidemic, smart home has become a mature concept, and the lazy economy has ushered in explosive growth. By 2026 , the shipment volume of smart homes may increase from 895 million in 2021 to 1.44 billion in 2026. Such a huge market size will inevitably attract more powerful sellers to enter the market.

The demand for all kinds of household products has increased significantly, and the market size of furniture products has also increased rapidly.

Data from Statista shows that the revenue of the European furniture and supplies e-commerce channel has rapidly increased from US$25.673 billion in 2017 to US$37.234 billion in 2020 , and is expected to reach US$51.964 billion in 2025; at the same time, the revenue of the US furniture and supplies e-commerce channel will also reach US$61.212 billion in 2025.

At present, Chenbei Technology, Ecovacs, Zhiou Technology, Dreame Technology and others have already established themselves in the smart home field. With the support of China's huge supply chain, more home furnishing brands will go overseas in the near future, which is also an opportunity for Chinese cross-border e-commerce sellers.

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