Former ZEBO executives start their own business, winning first place in multiple categories on Amazon

Middle school students in Madrid use Temu to buy Chinese stationery online, and fashion bloggers in Paris snap up "Oriental Cyber ​​Style" dresses at SHEIN; DJI drones fly over the Amazon rainforest, BYD electric buses shuttle through the streets of London, and Xiaomi phones are jokingly called "more ubiquitous than curry" by Indian media...

It may seem magical, but in fact it is already a daily slice of the craze for Chinese brands to go overseas.

In the past, the stereotype of "Made in China" was cheap, copycat, and low quality, but now, Chinese consumer brands have knocked on the door of global consumers with their practical attitude. From borrowing ships to sailing to building ships, they are no longer just "hidden champions" hiding behind the label of OEM, and their stories of going overseas are full of magic.

Not long ago, the list of "2024 MeetBrands Top 50 Chinese Emerging Consumer Brands Going Global" was released, and Yien.com noticed that a group of brand adventurers are crossing mountains and seas to become global players.

*This article only details some of the home appliance brands on the list.

Former ZEBO executives quickly took over Amazon's home appliance market

While others are still focusing on a single product track, DREO, a home appliance brand from Shenzhen, has already established a firm foothold on Amazon with multiple subcategories.

Based on Amazon's US household fan retail sales from January 2023 to August 2024 and Amazon's US space heater retail sales from January 2023 to December 2023, Stackline data shows that DREO has become the number one fan and heater brand in the United States.

On Amazon, searching for the brand word DREO shows that the brand's products include small kitchen appliances, humidifiers, heaters, and various fans, etc. And these subdivided products all have impressive performance in their respective categories.

Judging from its performance on the Amazon platform in January, its single tower fan listing sold more than 5,000 units in a single month, with a total of 43,000 reviews, ranking first on Amazon's "Household Tower Fans" category BS list, and DREO occupied 4 seats in the top 10 products on the same list.

Another electric heater product had less than 10,000 reviews after it was put on the shelves , but its sales exceeded 10,000 units last month, making it the number one on Amazon's "Indoor Electric Space Heaters" category BS list. The second place on the same list is also DREO, which has received more than 21,000 reviews after it was put on the shelves.

The performance of humidifiers is also not much different, with monthly sales ranging from 3,000 to over 10,000 on multiple listings on Amazon , and even taking second place on the BS list in the category.

A single floor fan product listing can sell more than 4,000 units per month, ranking first on the BS list in the category.

With Amazon as its main overseas sales channel, DREO has also built its own official brand website and laid out offline channels. According to its official brand website, DREO has currently cooperated with more than 6,000 retail stores in the United States, including giants such as Target, Walmart, LOWE'S, BestBuy, and The Home Depot.

Electric heaters that can humidify, fans with air purifiers ... these "strange" products have become number one in many markets. In the after-sales review section of the products, you can see consumers praising "Smart AF".

It tops the charts in many categories, and its main player is also of note.

In September 2020, Wei Lihu, one of the partners of ZEBO and former rotating CEO of ZEBO, founded Shenzhen Hesheng Innovation Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Hesheng Innovation") after leaving ZEBO, and continued to deepen his presence in the cross-border e-commerce home appliance field with his previous experience at ZEBO, one of the "Three Heroes of Amazon".

Soon ( March 2021), Hesheng Innovation completed its angel round of financing. With the funds in hand, it was confident to step up its efforts to impact the market. One month later, Hesheng Innovation launched 7 products under the brand DREO. It has to be said that Wei Lihu knows the market too well. He opened up DREO's overseas market with one shot, and it can even be said that he opened up a "bright road" with one shot. Soon DREO's sales exceeded 20 million yuan .

The dark horse has attracted the attention of investors. Source Code Capital took the lead and led the A round of financing for Hesheng Innovation. In August 2021, Hesheng Innovation completed its A round of financing and received over 100 million yuan in capital support. To date, it has completed 5 rounds of financing, with investors including Zhongding Capital, Sugaoxin Financial Holdings, and Newer Capital.

After only one year, DREO’s revenue exceeded 300 million yuan (the official website shows 200 million yuan) , and in the second year, its revenue exceeded 600 million yuan. In 2023, its revenue is expected to exceed 1 billion .

Although it is a small household appliance, it was able to quickly capture the market, which shows that DREO is not careless in research and development.

According to information on the brand’s official website, it currently has more than 300 patented innovative technologies and has won major industrial design awards such as the German Red Dot Design Award and the iF Design Award.

Ranked firmly at the top of Amazon's small appliance category, DREO's annual compound growth rate has doubled again and again. Today, its products have captured more than 10 million consumers worldwide, and its application has more than 500,000 active users.

The brand's global attention is also growing. Google Trends shows that since its launch, DREO's global search volume has continued to grow. After reaching its first search peak in 2023, it has remained high and has repeatedly broken its hot search record in 2024.

At the same time, the number of visits to DREO's official website is also increasing day by day. According to similarweb, the average monthly visits to dreo.com in the past three months have reached 413,100 times, of which the United States (65.79%), Canada (6.3%), the United Kingdom (4.54%), Germany (1.99%), and the Philippines (1.42%) are the top five traffic sources. In addition, product words such as humidifiers and heaters also contribute a lot of traffic.

It can be seen that many products under DREO have been recognized by overseas consumers . When searching for specific products, they will bring brand words for more accurate searches. This year, DREO is ready to take its new products to the world's largest consumer electronics show - CES.

Starting from Shenzhen, DREO launched its small household appliances into North America and other markets. On the Amazon platform and on the shelves of supermarkets such as Walmart, DREO squeezed out old-brand electric fans, heaters, humidifiers, etc., staged a wonderful show of challenging others, and played around in the cross-border martial arts world.

CHIQ launches dungeon mission, rushing overseas

There is also an extremely low-key brand in the home appliance category of this list - CHiQ.

In the homeland of the fighting nation with a temperature of minus 30 degrees Celsius, CHiQ's refrigerators are frantically harvesting the Russian market under the name of "Siberian God of War".

In January this year , CHiQ debuted a number of new products with AI functions, which attracted great attention and was also awarded the honor of being one of the top 10 leading smart home brands in the world.

"CHiQ" may sound unfamiliar to everyone, but almost every Chinese consumer knows its parent company. I believe that most people born in the 1990s had a Changhong color TV in their childhood, as well as other home appliances such as rice cookers, induction cookers, electric fans, refrigerators, etc.

CHiQ is the overseas brand of Sichuan Changhong Electric Co., Ltd. ( hereinafter referred to as "Changhong"). In 2014, Changhong launched the high-end sub-brand CHiQ, focusing on smart home appliances such as TVs, refrigerators, and air conditioners .

In 2016 , CHiQ began to test the overseas market and opened its first overseas experience store in Jakarta, Indonesia . However, the results were dismal, with sales of only 87 units in the first month . This wake-up call made this veteran home appliance giant learn from its mistakes and iterate frantically. A few months later, CHiQ 's customized air conditioners, which were tailored to local conditions, saw sales soar several times once they were launched on the market .

After a small taste of success overseas, CHiQ officially entered the international market in 2017, starting with Australia . The following year, CHiQ attracted attention from overseas markets by sponsoring sports events in Belgium, Germany, Australia and other countries.

In 2019, Changhong Meiling International was established to integrate overseas product lines such as TV refrigerators, air conditioners, and home appliances, and further promote the coordinated development of overseas businesses such as CHiQ.

Starting in Australia

As CHiQ's first overseas market, its performance in Australia is very impressive. Its official data shows that since 2018, CHiQ's local sales have achieved an average annual compound growth rate of more than 30% .

In 2020, the CHiQ refrigerator category received a five-star high score from Canstar Blue, Australia's most authoritative expert evaluation organization, for the first time, surpassing the industry's strong competitors, winning first place and becoming Australia's "most consumer-satisfied" refrigerator brand. Since then, it has become the local "most popular refrigerator brand" and "consumer-strongly recommended freezer brand" for many consecutive years.

In 2022, CHiQ washing machines successfully entered major chain channels in Australia and were also sold on online platforms such as Appliances Online, with impressive performance.

In 2024, CHiQ's sales in Australia increased by 45% year-on-year, setting a new record. At present, the brand has successfully covered the mainstream sales channels in Australia and has won awards from local authoritative evaluation agencies, which means the trust of local consumers and proves the leading position of CHiQ products in the market.

Breakout in Southeast Asia

In 2020, CHiQ launched its first brand flagship store on Lazada and Shopee, the two largest e-commerce platforms in the Philippines, and simultaneously sold television and refrigerator products, marking the brand's official entry into the Philippine market.

In 2021, it entered the Thai and Indonesian markets successively.

In Thailand, CHiQ has vigorously developed online retail in Thailand by entering JD CENTRAL, a global shopping platform under JD.com . With the support of strong in-site advertising resources, it attracted a large number of consumers' attention on the day of its launch, and the pre-sale of products reached hundreds of units.

In Indonesia, CHiQ opened official flagship stores on various e-commerce platforms, and jointly launched CHiQ brand day activities with e-commerce platforms such as JD.ID and Shopee. Since then, CHiQ has gradually expanded its business in regional markets such as Malaysia and Vietnam, and continued to deepen its presence in the Southeast Asian market.

Data shows that since winning the entry ticket to the Southeast Asian market, CHiQ's various product series have performed well in the market segments. For example, the market share of its air-conditioning products in Vietnam has skyrocketed dozens of times; in 2021, its market share in the Philippines' smart TV market ranked TOP5 ; in the first half of 2024, CHiQ's air-conditioning sales increased by more than 200% year-on-year ...

In 2024, sales of CHiQ brand home appliances (covering black and white appliances) in Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand will all increase by more than 30% year-on-year. Among them, Malaysia is the fastest growing market for its brand in Southeast Asia, with sales increasing by more than 100% year-on-year.

Expedition to Europe

In fact, as early as 2016, CHiQ had already tested the European market.

At that time, CHiQ made its first appearance in Europe at the "speed shopping" high-end product media communication conference held by Changhong in Paris. Since then, its new smart TVs have been launched in many European countries including France, Germany and Italy.

In 2020 , CHiQ officially entered the French and Spanish sites of AliExpress , Alibaba's global shopping platform. Soon after, CHiQ started its first live show on the French AliExpress platform to showcase CHiQ products to local consumers .

During Black Friday in 2021, CHiQ's sales in European e-commerce far exceeded expectations, with year-on-year growth of more than 160% , and sales of TVs, refrigerators, and monitors all increased significantly.

For example, CHiQ TVs , refrigerators , and freezers were ranked in the top 10 of the BS list in the sub-categories of Amazon sites such as France , Germany , and Italy ; and achieved a year-on-year growth of more than 150% in the Netherlands and Belgium sites of the BOL platform, becoming a best-selling brand on the platform. At the same time, CHiQ sweeping robots made their debut in Germany, France, and Spain, and entered six major e-commerce platforms in Europe, including Amazon and eBay.

In 2022, CHiQ washing machines entered markets such as France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Poland, and ranked among the top sales on Amazon.

In 2023, CHiQ entered Russia, and it is reported that in 2023 it captured 12% of the local high-end refrigerator market.

During the Black Friday of 2024, CHiQ still had a huge sales volume. During the period, its overall sales performance in Europe increased by nearly 20% year-on-year . Specifically, CHiQ TVs, refrigerators, freezers and other products were strongly ranked in the top 10 best-selling lists of multiple Amazon sites such as France, Germany, and Italy; and achieved a good result of more than 36% year-on-year growth on the BOL platform in the Netherlands and Belgium.

In 2023, CHiQ established " Smart with Style " as its brand proposition, combining smart technology with fashionable design to provide products that combine high performance and aesthetic value.

Relying on its philosophy, technical strength and "localization" strategy, CHiQ brand products now cover TVs, refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines, sweepers, monitors, etc. The brand's business has entered more than 40 countries and regions around the world, and continues to dominate key markets such as Europe, Australia, Southeast Asia , the Middle East, and South America .

In the fiercely competitive international market with a large number of century-old brands , CHiQ has opened the market with its excellent product quality . From Sichuan to the world, CHiQ has refreshed the global perception of home appliances and has become a "global lifestyle assassin."

China's home appliance expeditionary force sprints across the world

If the global home appliance market is compared to a martial arts competition, Chinese brands are definitely a group of mysterious oriental masters with their own buffs. They dance the "Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms" of " traditional home appliances " with their left hands , and perform the "Light Footsteps" of " smart home appliances " with their right hands , stirring up the global market.

While German old-brand home appliances are polishing their ancestral craftsmanship certificates in museums and Japanese companies are drafting epitaphs for plasma TVs, the Chinese home appliance brand army has already carried the banner of " price butcher " and drove " smart chariots " into the homes of consumers in hundreds of markets around the world .

Haier has dozens of R&D centers around the world, and has swept the European and American markets with refrigerators and washing machines. Its acquisition of General Electric (GEA) in 2016 is a classic example of "a snake swallowing an elephant."

In 2023, Haier Smart Home's overseas market revenue will reach 136.4 billion yuan, accounting for 52% of the total revenue, and it will have the largest market share in six major countries, including the United States and New Zealand. By the first half of 2024, Haier Smart Home's overseas revenue will exceed 70.8 billion yuan, accounting for more than 50% of its revenue. Its market share in the United States, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa will continue to grow.

Midea has become a global leader in air conditioners and microwave ovens, and has even acquired the white goods business of Japan's Toshiba, one of the world's home appliance giants.

In the first half of 2024, Midea's overseas revenue has reached nearly 91.1 billion yuan, accounting for 41.92% of the total revenue, a year-on-year increase of 13.09%. At present, Midea's various brand products have been exported to more than 200 countries and regions around the world. In many overseas markets, it has established online and offline sales networks and has about 5,000 after-sales service outlets.

As the "Invincible East" in the air-conditioning industry , Gree once bought all the venues for the Rio Olympics. Currently, Gree products are sold in more than 190 countries and regions around the world, with its own brands accounting for nearly 70% of total export sales. In the first half of 2024, Gree's overseas market revenue increased by 15.64% year-on-year.

Weili, a well-known Chinese brand, has deployed cross-border e-commerce with products such as washing machines and microwave ovens, contributing 3.5 billion yuan in revenue to the company in 2021 alone. In 2022, Weili used ice makers as an entry point, supplemented by yogurt machines, ice cream machines, etc., launched the overseas brand Kumio, and entered Amazon. Less than a year after its launch, Kumio's total sales of household ice makers and ice cream machines exceeded 20,000 units, with sales exceeding 4 million US dollars.

Xiaomi has opened up a breakthrough in the overseas home appliance market with its powerful smart home ecosystem. Ecovacs, Roborock, Dreame and others are competing fiercely in the segmented smart home track and have become frequent visitors to Amazon's BS list in the category.

The list of " 2024 MeetBrands China's Top 50 Emerging Consumer Brands Going Global" also included:

1. Overseas leading swimming pool robot - Aiper : The cumulative global shipments exceed 1.5 million units , ranking first in the Amazon robot pool cleaner category BS list , and the sales of the independent station in 2023 is nearly 200 million yuan ;

2. "Pet Economy" Master - CATLINK : Its products are sold well in 106 markets around the world , with the largest market share in Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asian markets , and it has won the top spot on Amazon's sub-category BS list for many times, serving more than 600,000 cats around the world;

3. EUHOMY , the No. 1 ice maker in the US market : Trusted by more than 10 million consumers, it is a frequent BS list in the Amazon ice maker category, with a single listing that can sell 4,000-6,000 units per month. It has entered the TikTok Shop and ranks among the top three in the platform category, with daily sales reaching US$100,000;

4. The favorite of "coffee brains" - GEVI : the leader of the BS list of Amazon's commercial espresso machines and coffee machines. It has become one of the top brands in just two or three years since entering the Amazon.com. It has developed the world's first four-in-one smart hand-brewed coffee machine. In the first half of 2022 , sales increased by 30% against the trend when the category market was generally down ;

5. The operator of the hot-selling smart light strips - GOVEE : Its annual revenue has exceeded 200 million US dollars in two years since its launch overseas. The monthly sales of a single smart light strip has exceeded 12 million US dollars . Many of its products dominate the Amazon BS list in specific categories. Its annual revenue is expected to reach 3 billion yuan in 2023.

There are countless overseas home appliance brands with excellent performance like the ones mentioned above. With the hard-core advantages of industrial belts, supply chains, technologies, etc., Chinese home appliance brands seem to be living a life of luxury overseas.

According to statistics from the General Administration of Customs, China's global exports of white goods reached US$128.64 billion in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 14.8%, breaking the US$100 billion mark for four consecutive years, and the scale of exports reached a historical high.

In this global competition of home appliances, the Chinese team is transforming from a "follower" to a "rule maker". Today, Chinese home appliances are using smart chips and industrial Internet to write a legend of going global in the global market.

Zebao

Executives

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