Chinese home appliance maker TCL, ranked second in TV market share last year, is venturing into the Korean e-commerce market following the opening of a local subsidiary in Seoul. Other major Chinese home appliance manufactures such as Haier, Midea, and Xiaomi have also begun retailing their products on South Korea’s largest online marketplace, Coupang, and offer after-sales service (AS) through the platform. Additionally, China’s Roborock led the domestic robot vacuum cleaner market last year with its product priced over 1.6 million won. Once perceived as “cheap” and budget-friendly, Chinese home appliances are now targeting the Korean market.
Last year, a 35-year-old office worker purchased TCL’s 65-inch QLED TV through a local e-commerce for 999,000 won, half the cost of a domestic product with similar specifications. “I was initially hesitant to buy a Chinese TV that cost nearly one million won despite its relatively low price. But now, I am very satisfied,” the 35-year-old said.
A few years ago, Chinese electronics sold in Korea mainly consisted of small appliances like humidifiers and hair dryers, or low-cost imitations of premium products. Recently, however, premium items such as robot vacuum cleaners, high-end TVs, and refrigerators have emerged in the local market. The design and quality of these products are reported to be on par with Korean and Japanese counterparts, posing a significant threat to Korean companies’ premium offerings. A senior appliance company official noted that Chinese products are also aggressively entering the global premium market, utilizing a strategy similar to the approach South Korea once employed to catch up with Japanese appliances.
