Hygiene takes pole position

Shanghai’s Appliance & Electronics World Expo was one of the many tradeshows cancelled last year as part of the measures designed to contain the global COVID-19 outbreak. This year, though, the show did go ahead despite having to contend with a two‑week postponement, a change of venue and far fewer overseas attendees than it might normally expect.

All of this, however, did not suffice to deter more than 1,000 exhibitors from supporting the event, the majority of which fell into one of four broad categories. The first was Smart Home, a category featuring a wide range of white goods, as well as a selection of intelligent water, air quality and personal‑care appliances. The Intelligent Technology category, by contrast, focused more on those manufacturers offering smarter and more connected products, typically making use of artificial intelligence (AI), 5G and Internet‑of‑Things (IoT) technology. The Digital Devices category then looked to showcase mobile and wearable devices, as well as a range of audio and video products. Finally, the Key Components grouping was reserved for companies displaying building‑block components for many of the items on display elsewhere, such as compressors, motors and integrated circuits.

Another local firm attending the show as a way of raising awareness within the domestic lifestyle products market was Shenzhen‑based Lemoworld. A registered brand in the United States, the company specialises in aroma diffusers, humidifiers and nebulisers and has largely focused on overseas sales. At present, its products – including its popular penguin‑styled dispenser – are only available in the mainland via Tmall.

Outlining her view of the company’s prospects within the domestic market, Sales Manager Zelma Su said: “While many older Chinese may think our products are a bit wasteful, we’re thinking more of the future. A lot of young people want to enjoy life and are prepared to spend accordingly. It’s very similar to the situation with perfume – old people don’t generally use it, but younger people do.

“Prior to this, we have frequently exhibited in the US and Europe where the shows tend to be more targeted towards household goods. At this show, while it is relatively broad‑based, there are still plenty of potential customers on the lookout for interesting things. For our part, we also want to look around, which was one of the main reasons we decided to attend.”

As with Top Profit, Helsinki‑headquartered LIFA Air also had on display a range of non‑electrical and electrical products, but with a focus on air purification. Introducing the business, Brand PR manager Wang Qihang said: “Although we’ve been around for 30 years in Finland, we’re quite a new brand in [Mainland] China. We only entered the market in 2015, so we are attending this event in a bid to give our brand and products more exposure.”

Along with the company’s portfolio of personal‑protection products, including face masks, it also had on display its new smart air purifying humidifier, which went on sale at the end of last year. With sales boosted by ongoing concerns about the coronavirus outbreak, the unit proved to be a particular hit in the northern mainland.

Making their debut at the event, meanwhile, were the innovative Stellar mixed reality glasses, manufactured and developed by Beijing’s EM3 Technology. Said to be compatible with a wide range of digital devices, including mobile phones, computers and games consoles, each lens has a 2K screen display and utilises Sony micro-OLED display technology, which provides a pixel density 10 times that of a typical phone screen.