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外资家电撤退潮误读，A.O.史密斯路径揭秘

家居百科
2026-05-28 18:28

Samsung Electronics Stops Selling Home Appliances in China, A.O. Smith Stands Out Samsung Electronics Stops Selling Home Appliances in China, A.O. Smith Stands Out

On May 6th, Samsung Electronics officially announced the cessation of sales for all home appliances in mainland China, marking the end of a 34-year-long home appliance layout. This news has sparked various reactions in the market, and the spotlight has shifted to the foreign brand A.O. Smith.

The essence of Samsung's home appliance model in China has been lean asset operation, with the Chinese team primarily responsible for sales rather than "strategic decision-making." The greatest advantage of this model is also its advantage when withdrawing—the withdrawal does not disrupt the vital interests. Withdrawal is a choice that can control the loss for them.

However, A.O. Smith is not operating under this model; it has taken a completely different development path in China.

A.O. Smith's Four Structural Reasons for Not Exiting

First: The sunk cost is too high, and withdrawal means zero.

In 1998, A.O. Smith landed in China and established three global-level R&D and production bases in Nanjing. These are not "factories," but R&D centers, supply chain hubs, and composite talent systems. Behind the thousands of stores across the country is a comprehensive service network.

This is heavy asset tailor-made for the Chinese market, not a general-purpose production line, nor can it be transferred as standardized assets. The cost of withdrawal is the full value reduction of more than twenty years of accumulation.

Second: R&D is in China, and technology cannot be cut off.

A.O. Smith has a super-large-scale R&D center in China, and the Chinese team has a high degree of R&D autonomy. Longevity RO membrane, zero冷水 technology, AI-LiNK smart interconnection system, Life GPT voice model... These products behind the technology are innovative results born in the Chinese market, tailored to the pain points of Chinese water quality, housing types, and usage habits. This is not a "global technology" localized version, but a truly innovative achievement born in the Chinese market. If it exits, where will this R&D system go?

Third: Local management has decision-making power.

Some foreign companies are constrained by headquarters, while A.O. Smith's Chinese region has full-chain decision-making power in R&D, production, channels, and services. The Chinese management can quickly adjust to market changes. This "local decision-making + headquarters resources" hybrid model has more efficiency advantages.

Fourth: User trust is the anchor, unbreakable.

There are countless comments on social media like "My A.O. Smith water heater has been used for many years and hasn't broken yet." This is not marketing fluff, but real user word of mouth. According to the data of Avic Data in the first quarter of 2026, A.O. Smith water purifier's offline sales share is 21.04%, ranking first. This trust is not gained by promotions and discounts, but by the accumulation of service networks and product quality over thirty years. True withdrawal means giving this asset away to others.

The Truth Behind the Rumors: Not Exiting, But Upgrading

The recent "strategic evaluation" message of A.O. Smith has been misunderstood by many as another foreign company about to withdraw. This is a misinterpretation. Refer to McDonald's introduction of CITIC, the brand did not disappear, and localization was deepened; Toshiba TV's cooperation with Hisense increased market share; Philips home appliances and Hillhouse jointly opened up new growth space with the advantages of domestic capital's channels and efficiency.

I boldly speculate that if A.O. Smith really chooses to introduce domestic resources, the most likely logic is to find strong partners to break through the growth speed constraints. Currently, it is continuously increasing investment in R&D, expanding R&D and production bases, and promoting the iteration and promotion of AI-LiNK and the Five Constant System. These are not things that companies leaving would do.

The only way for foreign home appliances to develop rapidly in China is to treat the Chinese market as a true home court, not just a "sales area." The logic of lean assets, headquarters-led, and non-localized R&D can survive in the incremental era, but it is a one-way ticket in today's inventory competition.