In South Korea, around 80% of high-end robot vacuum cleaners with price tags over $1100 (1.5 million won) are Roborock products. China’s Roborock has managed to maintain its position as the market leader in robot vacuums in Korea for four straight years, surpassing local home appliance giants Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics.
Despite the brand’s popularity, with each new product often selling out quickly, little is known about the Chinese company behind the robot vacuums. This is because the company has followed a philosophy of “competing through product quality rather than relying on flashy promotions” since it was founded by a group of Chinese engineers ten years ago.
But Roborock hosted a rare product launch event in Seoul last month, the first in Korea. Regarding sales, Korea is one of Roborock’s top three markets, along with China and Germany. Roborock’s revenue in Korea reached approximately 200 billion won last year.
Roborock was founded in Beijing in 2014 by engineers who previously worked at global tech companies such as Microsoft, Intel, and Baidu. The founders, who specialized in navigation mapping and communication technologies, decided to start a company that makes robot vacuum cleaners. They saw potential in the fast-growing robot vacuum market. Core robot vacuum technologies include scanning the space that needs to be cleaned to create an accurate map and setting optimal cleaning paths.
After 26 months of software development, Roborock made its first robot vacuum and received investment from Xiaomi, a Chinese designer and manufacturer of consumer electronics. Xiaomi did not have a robot vacuum product at the time, so it released the “Mi Robot” model developed by Roborock, which was a huge success. Within three months of its launch, orders surged to 200,000 units, exceeding Roborock’s maximum production capacity. Bolstered by this success, Roborock introduced a new product under its own brand in 2017.
Soon after, word about Roborock products’ advanced navigation mapping technology began to spread across the global market. Roborock products sold over 5.5 million units in more than 40 countries within two years of launching its first product, generating revenues exceeding 700 billion won. Roborock’s robot vacuums are now sold in over 170 countries, with its products holding the top market share in Scandinavia, Germany, Singapore, Romania, and Korea. The company reported total sales of 8.6 billion yuan (1.63 trillion won) and a net profit of 2 billion yuan (380 billion won).
Roborock attributes the popularity of its robot vacuums to the product’s advanced technology, including software stability. “We spent a long time perfecting our software since we began our partnership with Xiaomi,” said Dan Cham, Roborock’s APAC Head of Marketing, in an interview with ChosunBiz on April 30. “Laser navigation and algorithmic technology that can draw accurate maps in the dark and a stable app that makes the device easy to operate are key factors in maximizing consumer satisfaction,” he added.
Despite the company’s confidence in its technology, Roborock had not expected to become so popular in Korea, a market dominated by Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics. “We are well aware that global consumers are skeptical about Chinese products in general, but Korean consumers have nonetheless recognized Roborock’s technology,” Cham said. Roborock’s all-in-one robot vacuum cleaner, capable of both vacuuming and mopping, has been particularly popular among Korean consumers. Korean companies had refrained from releasing combined models until earlier this year, fearing that integrating a mopping function could easily lead to unpleasant smells that would be difficult to eliminate.
“Korean consumers tend to make purchasing decisions based on various factors, including technology, software performance, brand recognition, and after-sales service,” said Cham. “We see potential in the Korean market and plan to introduce more vacuums in the future.”
