Sales of Chinese-made cooling appliances are surging due to record heat waves sweeping Europe. As sellouts continue for not only air conditioners but also portable fans, ice makers, and accessories for supplemental cooling, Chinese manufacturers and logistics companies have moved to ramp up emergency production and expand deliveries.
According to China Business News and others on the 2nd, as intense heat topping 40 degrees has gripped Europe recently, demand for Chinese-made air conditioners has jumped in Germany, France, and the United Kingdom, where cooling systems are not as widespread as in East Asia.
According to Joybuy, the overseas service of China's e-commerce platform JD.com, as of June 30, air conditioner sales were up about 40 times from the start of the month. Sales of split air conditioners from Midea rose about 42 times, floor-standing fans more than 80 times, and neck-hanging portable fans more than 120 times.
On Alibaba-affiliated AliExpress, portable air conditioners have also sold out one after another in the United Kingdom, Germany, and France. Chinese brands including Midea have rushed to secure emergency inventory, and some sellers said, "We shipped dozens of containers to Europe in advance, but everything sold."
Consumers who cannot get air conditioners are turning to other cooling products. AliExpress's June sales data show that sales of fans, portable air conditioners, and coolers in Germany increased 4.6 times year over year, while France saw a threefold increase and Italy doubled. In the United Kingdom, ice maker sales rose tenfold from last year.
Cooling accessories have also enjoyed a boom, such as sealing parts that block window gaps to prevent cool air from escaping when installing exhaust hoses for portable air conditioners, and air deflectors for air conditioners.
China's logistics industry is also stepping up responses to meet the surging demand. Cainiao, Alibaba's largest logistics unit, has given priority to cooling appliance companies for space at 28 overseas warehouses in Europe and started next-day delivery for air conditioners. As a result, in June alone, shipments of portable air conditioners from European warehouses increased about 18 times from a year earlier, and shipments of air conditioner accessories rose 12 times.
Cainiao is using artificial intelligence (AI) and robots in warehousing and delivery to handle the surge in orders, and Joybuy has expanded to Europe a service in which delivery workers also install the air conditioners.