/PRZWT/GUANGZHOU, February 11, 2025 - In the era of the Internet of Everything, the smart home industry has ushered in a booming development. Smart locks, as an important part of safeguarding home security, are also entering the homes of thousands of people. At the same time, as more and more new enterprises enter the market, the stock competition in the smart lock industry market has entered a white-hot stage. According to the statistics of the National Hardware Industry Information Center, in the early stage of the development of the smart lock industry, there were more than 3,000 brands on the track, and there are currently less than 1,000 brands left. Under the trend of great changes in the market structure and increasing brand concentration, how can smart lock industry enterprises lay out the future with a new strategic vision and promote the new development of the smart home industry?
With a deep insight into China's smart home industry, we invited ASSA ABLOY Panpan and Mr. Zhou Peng, Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Yale China, to conduct in-depth research and discussion.
Pacific Home Network: In the global smart lock market, brand concentration is increasing, which also accelerates the high-quality transformation of various enterprises. In your opinion, what is the practical significance of this transformation? What new trends will it spawn?
Zhou Peng:
In my opinion, this transformation is an inevitable trend, and it is being driven by multiple factors.
First of all, the policy has driven the industry and enterprises to actively embrace the change. In the "14th Five-Year Digital Economy Development Plan", it is proposed to guide the interconnection of smart home products. This is a general direction. At the same time, the transformation of enterprises is also a key step to promote the development of the industry towards digitalization and intelligence.
Secondly, people's consumer demand prompts us to make changes. At present, consumers are increasingly pursuing quality of life, and the arrival of the smart home era prompts them to need locks not only to protect home security, but also to integrate intelligence, fashion, convenience and security to bring richer experiences to daily life. This consumer demand is urgent, which prompts enterprises to carry out high-quality transformation.
Finally, companies need to purify the market through self-innovation. To protect the rights and interests of consumers, we should enhance the "internal drive" and guide the industry to a healthy development track through high-quality change and transformation.
At the same time, behind this wave of high-quality transformation, many new scenes will be born, and it will also have a multi-faceted impact on the current enterprises. First, industry brands will collectively develop towards "new". In the digital age, technological innovation is a major trend, which will inevitably drive the deepening of intelligence, and companies will continue to study product technology to bring better product experience to users. Second, the competition between quality and brand will become more and more intense.
In the smart lock market, new and old players are entering the market one after another, and the industry is facing off with brands. On the one hand, users hope that products are cost-effective, and on the other hand, users also trust products with brand protection more. Price wars may continue. Third, users' demand for data security and personal privacy protection will usher in a high-speed growth. In their daily lives, smart homes are accompanied by left and right, and the data uploaded to the cloud also needs to be more secure and worry-free protection, which is also an important part that most enterprises need to consider in their later innovation.
Pacific Home Network: The transformation and upgrading of the industry is irreversible. Brands in the smart lock industry must not only enhance their core competitiveness, but also compete with new Internet companies and traditional home furnishing brands to "differentiate". As a veteran player in this track, how can Yale smart locks stand out in this transformation wave?
Zhou Peng:
For a long time, we always adhere to the unremitting pursuit of quality, safety and innovative technology, listen to the real needs of users, and improve the user experience through continuous innovation of technical products and high-quality services, and continue to convey the unique value of our brand. In this process, we have also accumulated some valuable brand user assets.
First of all, Yale Yale has a deep brand heritage, with more than 180 years of experience in lock making, security technology and user accumulation, which makes us at the forefront of the team and continues to promote the development of the entire lock industry. Today, our products and users have covered 125 countries and regions around the world. In many developed countries, Yale Yale has become synonymous with trust and security.
Secondly, we insist on innovation-driven development. When user requests change, our product structure and product matrix also expand, and we always use new technologies to meet users' new expectations. For example, our Yale Yale smart lock YH1163M product integrates seven advanced unlocking methods such as palm vein, facial recognition, fingerprint, password, etc. It is also equipped with a large smart cat eye screen and video call function, providing users with a full range of high-quality intelligent security solutions.
Of course, we have always kept pace with the times and continued to expand our core channels. In addition to B2B, we have also built an online and offline omni-channel sales system to create an experience scene covering all touchpoints of consumers. Consumers can easily understand and buy Yale Yale smart lock products, whether online or offline.
As an "old player" in this track, we have achieved some achievements in the past, but at the same time, we are also enterprising, maintain a keen insight into the market and users, and actively adjust every small step in our development, so that the Yale brand can usher in a long-term development in the industry.
Pacific Home Network: The development of the smart lock industry is closely related to the real estate market. At present, as the real estate industry enters a period of deep adjustment, Yale Yale has gained insight into what new consumer needs are and how to further meet these new needs?
Zhou Peng:
At present, there is competition in the existing market, consumers' living standards are constantly improving, and people's demand for product quality and service experience is also constantly improving. This has also given us some new inspiration.
From my personal point of view, the first is the dual need for consumers to upgrade quality and brand. For example, the consumer group dominated by Generation Z, when they choose smart lock products, their purchase decision-making path is also more and more diverse and segmented. Demand-oriented prompts them to actively obtain product strategies and brand strategies from multiple channels, and then comprehensively consider quality, brand, price and other dimensions before purchasing. As they understand the channels of products more and more, their choices of quality and brand are also more and more detailed, not only focusing on the actual function of the product, but also very much on the value connotation behind the brand.
Consumers are increasingly demanding a high-quality service experience. For users, smart locks are just a work in progress before they are successfully installed. On the one hand, smart lock installation is professional, and some users may not be able to complete the installation by themselves. On the other hand, some quality assurance and other issues in subsequent use by users need to be solved in a timely and professional manner. Whether the brand's after-sales services can support the first-time response and solution to consumer needs has become an important factor affecting consumers' purchasing decisions.
Third, users' demand for improvement is becoming increasingly significant. At present, driven by home purchase improvement policies such as "trade-in", consumers have also started to "refresh" their quality of life, such as replacing more intelligent home appliances. For families living with several generations, smart locks must not only be safe enough, but also more convenient and user-friendly, able to meet the quick use of families of different ages.
In this regard, Yale Yale started from these needs of users and quickly launched a renewal activity with the theme of "15-minute new lock". This activity is mainly aimed at users who have already purchased Yale Yale lock products and other consumers who need to renew their smart lock needs. Yale Yale solved many concerns of users about the trouble of changing locks and destroying door bodies by providing them with one-stop services such as free on-site measurement, dismantling and installation. At the same time, the new function upgrades and experience upgrades will also greatly improve the quality of life of consumers.
Pacific Home Furnishing Network: Under the new consumption trend, the phenomenon of differentiation between supply and demand in the smart lock industry is becoming more and more obvious: brand concentration has increased, and small and medium-sized brands have seized market share by price; consumers' awareness and purchase intention of smart locks are still limited, and consumption power is slightly insufficient... In this regard, what adjustments have Yale made in this transformation?
Zhou Peng:
Overall, Yale's strategic direction remains unchanged, and our pursuit of quality and innovation remains unchanged. At the same time, in order to better meet the new needs of consumers, we are also exploring new directions and exploring younger generations.
First and foremost, safety is Yale's mission, and we always promote trustworthy innovation. Smart locks are about consumer home safety and personal safety. The market does not allow inferior products to grow brutally, nor does it allow brands and manufacturers to take chances with trial and error. Yale Yale smart locks have more than 180 years of safety genes, and it is our constant mission to protect thousands of family lives with high-quality safety products. At the same time, we also follow the market, follow users, and introduce new products. With continuous innovation, we update technologies and experience, and "add icing on the cake" to consumers' better lives.
Secondly, we are also exploring in the direction of younger consumers according to their needs. With the booming development of smart homes, consumers are paying more and more attention to privacy and security protection, especially Generation Z consumers, who are not only keen to pursue emerging products with both quality and style, but also pay more and more attention to the intelligent interconnection, privacy and security experience behind new technology products. In this regard, Yale Yale also quickly responds to the new needs of young consumers and actively accelerates the Product Research & Development cycle to achieve rapid function upgrade iterations.
For example, Yale Home App, a new mobile app developed by Yale Yale, can support users to remotely access and manage Yale Yale smart products through smartphones, and can also link smart home devices to achieve interaction. At the same time, Yale China's star series YMK919 and 929 products can use Huawei Smart Life APP to connect multiple smart products with one click on the platform to better meet users' yearning for a better life.
Yale Yale Home App ASSA ABLOY
Pacific Home Network: With the introduction of many laws such as the cyber security law, the data security law, and the personal information protection law, the standards for smart home data information security continue to deepen, and consumers are also paying more and more attention to personal information security. What are Yale's views or suggestions on this?
Zhou Peng:
In the era of smart homes, privacy and personal information protection are important lines of defense for the development of the industry.
First of all, in the current era of intelligent interconnection, smart home products have become a part of users' lives. Smart devices not only collect information that users actively interact with, such as voice, face, fingerprint, and iris, but also collect some "passive" information from users, such as health status, travel location, personal preferences, and so on.
The protection of these data privacy is of paramount importance. While expanding product and service functions, our company must also assume important social responsibilities. Through smarter and safer innovative products and more humanized service experiences, we can protect consumers' data privacy and implement consumer rights and interests more specifically.
As far as the Yale Yale brand is concerned, whether it is the bank-grade mechanical lock we built in the early days or today's smart lock series products, we always put security first in the research and development process. At the same time, we have been committed to meeting the Chinese PIPL, US ADPPA and GDPR privacy protection regulations at the same time, to create a full range of privacy compliance shields without dead ends. Take Yale Yale Yale's exclusive Internet APP Yale home as an example, users can set encryption and hiding of all passwords, which can effectively prevent data leakage in the event of information being peeked or mobile phone loss.
From adhering to quality and safety, to actively practicing technological innovation, and then embracing the trend of youth, Yale Yale not only demonstrates its profound heritage as a veteran player in the industry, but also highlights the enterprising spirit of the brand in the new era. At the same time, actively discovering the new needs of consumers in the new era, Yale Yale is driven by innovation and supported by service, and continues to create a smarter and safer home life experience for users. In the future, Yale Yale will continue to lead the smart lock industry to "new" development, injecting new vitality into the all-round development of smart home.
