The road to breakthrough for LED commercial lighting: innovative design + business model

According to statistics from market research firm Strategic Unlimited, the high-brightness LED market value reached $4 billion in 2010, of which architectural lighting is still the largest application, with a market share of 33.7%, followed by commercial/industrial lighting, with a market share of 17.1%, and replacement lighting ranked third, with a market share of 11%, while home lighting only accounted for 1.3%. Although the LED commercial lighting market is large, it is not a hot potato, but a hot potato, with hidden reefs and dangers.

Manufacturers are helpless: What else can we do if we don’t make LED commercial lighting?

Recently, the news that Silan Microelectronics (600460) entered the lighting market has attracted attention in the industry. The investment in LED commercial lighting is also hot, and some people predict that the LED lighting market will usher in a golden decade in 2012. However, according to the reporter's understanding, some companies are also worried while entering the field of LED commercial lighting. The LED lighting market is facing two major problems: a large gap between demand and production capacity and a poor business environment.

"LED commercial lighting is just a red ocean, not a blue ocean, and the competition is too fierce." More and more companies are entering this field, but there is a big gap between the reserve production capacity of LED lighting manufacturers and market demand.

It is understood that Silan Microelectronics' Silan Aluminum is the largest color screen chip supplier among domestic enterprises. The LED chips it produces were previously mainly used in the color display market. Regarding the entry into the lighting market, Jiang Zhongyong, general manager of Silan Aluminum, said that low-power chips are in great demand in the commercial lighting field. The company's chip light efficiency has reached 120lm/W (lumens per watt), and it has started small-batch supply in the lighting market.

There are many companies actively participating in the LED commercial lighting market. In its 2010 annual report, traditional lighting company Sunshine Lighting (600261) clearly stated that the total investment in LED lighting projects in the past three years was about 1 billion yuan. One of the investment directions of the funds raised by Shenzhen Unilumin Technology Co., Ltd., whose GEM IPO application was approved on April 18, is LED lighting product projects.

Moreover, many enterprises that previously focused on landscape and road lighting, such as Dongguan Qinshang Optoelectronics Co., Ltd. (600184), have also shifted their focus to the commercial lighting field. According to the application scope of LED lighting products, there are generally outdoor lighting and indoor lighting fields. The outdoor lighting field includes landscape lighting, road lighting, etc.; the indoor lighting field includes home lighting and commercial lighting, etc.

Landscape lighting is relatively successful in China, but road lighting is a failure. Enterprises have not made money, and some have even lost money. Therefore, enterprises have become less enthusiastic about investing in LED road lighting, and have turned their attention to commercial lighting projects. Due to the high cost of LED lighting products, compared with home lighting, LED commercial lighting is less sensitive to price, has a longer commercial lighting time, has a more obvious energy-saving effect, and is easier to market.

The shift in the focus of some LED lighting companies is a bit helpless and realistic. "What else can we do if we don't do commercial lighting?"

The attitude of the merchants is chaotic, the price system is chaotic, and after-sales service is difficult

According to the reporter of New Century LED Network who visited the market, it was learned that merchants in Guangzhou, Nanning, Shanghai and other places now have some LED products on the market, but the stock is relatively small. LED commercial lighting products mainly include LED bulbs, LED downlights, etc., and are mainly used in shopping malls, high-end hotels, and guesthouses.

Some merchants said: "At present, the performance of LED products in the market is getting better and better. In order to compete for this piece of cake, all large and small enterprises have launched LED projects. However, in order to seize the market faster and gain short-term benefits, some enterprises are willing to commit suicide to compete for merchants. Low price and low quality are their killer weapons.

Although some effects can be seen in the short term, the damage to merchants will be greater in the long run. When problems arise with the products of these companies after they are sold, the merchants will bear the consequences of damaged reputation, while the manufacturers will have made a fortune and disappeared, and all subsequent services and compensation will be borne by the merchants. "

After all, the sales channels of LED products are different from traditional lighting. It is understood that there is no standardization of channel agents for LED manufacturers, resulting in a relatively chaotic price system for LED products on the market. Coupled with consumers' concerns about high prices, merchants are not very enthusiastic about promoting LED lighting products. Some small LED manufacturers are also engaged in price wars, which has a great impact on the entire LED commercial lighting market.