[Observation by DingTech] The trend of renaming in the home appliance industry continues. Following the renaming of "Qingdao Haier" to "Haier Smart Home" and "Hisense Electric" to "Hisense Visual," now Omar Electric, a subsidiary of TCL Group, is also set to be renamed to "TCL Smart Home."
In the view of DingTech, the core reasons behind the renaming of "Qingdao Haier" to "Haier Smart Home" and "Hisense Electric" to "Hisense Visual" are largely similar. Previously, Qingdao Haier, primarily focused on white goods, and Hisense Electric, primarily engaged in television business, have both undergone significant strategic upgrades. Haier has shifted from traditional home appliances to smart home ecosystem business, while Hisense has upgraded from the television track to the large display track. The renaming is aligned with their new development strategies and brand positioning.
Source: Ding Tech
On the evening of April 15th, Aoma Electrical Appliances announced its intention to change its name, with the company's stock abbreviation changing from "Aoma Electrical Appliances" to "TCL Smart Home." Such a renaming plan, in the view of Ding Tech, isn't particularly surprising. However, compared to the renaming of Qingdao Haier and Hisense Electrical Appliances, the reasons behind Aoma Electrical Appliances' renaming are slightly more complex.
The proposed renaming of Aoma Electrical Appliances is because it was previously acquired by TCL Home Appliances. Therefore, after sorting out the relationship, Aoma Electrical Appliances needs to maintain consistency with the TCL main brand in key identifiers. In 2020, TCL acquired Tianjin Zhonghuan, which was later renamed "TCL Zhonghuan" in June 2022 to achieve brand synergy with the TCL parent brand.
However, why didn't Aoma Electrical Appliances rename itself to TCL Aoma but instead chose TCL Smart Home? Ding Tech believes this reflects TCL's clear strategic development plan for Aoma Electrical Appliances and TCL's home appliance business.
Aoma Electrical Appliances is a mature listed platform, with its core business being ODM manufacturing and sales of refrigerators. It's the king of refrigerator exports, ranking first globally in Chinese refrigerator exports for 15 consecutive years and first in European exports for 16 consecutive years. In 2023, Aoma Electrical Appliances acquired TCL Hefei Home Appliances, which is responsible for TCL refrigerators and washing machine business. The latter became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aoma Electrical Appliances and was included in the consolidated financial statements.
Clearly, Aoma Electrical Appliances is an important platform for TCL home appliance business (excluding televisions). Under the trends of AI, IoT, and smart home technologies and industries, the future of home appliance companies lies in creating scenario-based smart home solutions rather than simply providing hardware. Therefore, Aoma Electrical Appliances did not rename itself TCL Aoma but chose TCL Smart Home to align with industry and consumer trends such as "smart home" and "smart home." The logic behind this renaming is similar to that of "Qingdao Haier" renaming itself "Haier Smart Home."
In Ding Tech's view, in the future, TCL Smart Home will definitely integrate its home appliance business resources, striving to create high-quality one-stop smart home solutions for global families. The renaming of TCL Smart Home will also change its "label" in the capital market, accelerating the upgrade from home appliances to technology.
It is worth noting that in the "smart home" arena, giants like Haier and Midea are also actively deploying. In the future, TCL Smart Home will also compete head-to-head with these giants. (Original article from Ding Tech, reproduced must indicate the source: Ding Tech)
