1.Why look for reliable appliance manufacturers in China?

More and more foreign brands are looking for OEMs in China, and electrical products are no exception. Relative statistics show that China has long been the "world factory". "Made in China" has been in the world market share of the top list in colour TVs, washing machines, refrigerators, air conditioners and other products. With 77% of the world's home appliances produced in China, China has long become a veritable home appliance powerhouse.

The reasons for this are both price and quality. In terms of price, the cost of labour in China is lower than in other countries. And even with the addition of shipping costs, etc., it is cheaper than local sourcing. In terms of quality, China has many years of manufacturing experience, increasingly sophisticated manufacturing technology and many manufacturing bases. Therefore, you can source higher quality appliances in China at a relatively low price.

So does there exist or can we make a list of reliable appliance manufacturers in China? The answer is no. Even if you can search for the relevant rankings on Google, they are not applicable to yourselves. Different markets have different sourcing needs. This requires you to first understand your sourcing niche, find out where the manufacturer is located and determine whether the price, quality and service meet your requirements, either online or offline. And that is the most reliable appliance manufacturer for you.

2.What are the channels to find Chinese home appliance manufacturers?

1)Offline: Canton Fair

The Canton Fair is a very good platform for bridging domestic manufacturers and foreign buyers. It is held twice a year. Each time consists of 3 phases and appliance suppliers will attend the fair in the first phase, usually in May and November each year. At the Canton Fair, you will meet many excellent manufacturers of home appliances, which is a great opportunity.

2)Offline: AWE

Appliance&electronics World Expo(AWE), founded by the China Household Electrical Appliances Association in 1992, is held in Shanghai every March.

As Asia's largest and the world's top three, and the only international home appliance and consumer electronics exhibition to be held in 2021, AWE has a display area of over 150,000 square metres, with nearly 1,000 exhibitors and a total of over 350,000 visitors. At AWE, you can not only find excellent home appliance manufacturers, but also get in touch with the latest developments in the home appliance industry.

Now that it is more difficult for foreign buyers to enter China due to the epidemic, the number of manufacturers and buyers attending the Canton Fair has dropped significantly, and with it the online platforms are vigorously developing. For example, 2 well-known B2B cross-border e-commerce platforms, Alibaba and DH gate, as well as social media platforms LinkedIn and Facebook.

3)Online-Alibaba

Products on Alibaba are already available in 200+ countries and regions worldwide, with 5,900+ product categories. Many manufacturers have opened shops on Alibaba to seek foreign buyers.

Back in 2016, Alibaba offered an in-depth certification service for factory inspections and most manufacturers have passed with reports. You can experience the size and environment of a manufacturer's factory in 3D with a VR panorama. Select the electrical appliance shop you are interested in. At the top of the shop, you can see the seller's year of opening on Alibaba, transaction volume, supplier index, whether they are a Gold supplier, whether they have passed factory inspection and more. You can filter out reliable manufacturers by their main products and related data on the homepage. Generally, sellers with more than 5 years of experience, with a transaction amount of more than $200,000, and who have passed the factory inspection service have more experience and quality assurance. In addition, Alibaba provides the platform guarantee and logistics services, so your orders are more secure.

It is also important to note that what you find on the platform is not necessarily the manufacturer of the appliance, but may also be a trader. So how do you screen for this? If the supplier's shop covers a wide range of electrical products, as you can see in the image below. And you can notice that the products on the website shop include hoovers and bicycles. Then the supplier is more of a trader than a manufacturer. Generally speaking, manufacturers sell a single type of product and set high minimum order quantities to maintain profits.

4)Online-DH gate

DH gate is a small B2B platform that allows importers from all over the world to buy small quantities of Chinese goods at wholesale prices.

Unlike Alibaba, you can see on the product page what other buyers have said about the product and the transaction history of the product, which is more realistic and objective. And the starting order quantity of products is much lower compared to Alibaba. Thus, if you want to try it out or are just starting out in the home appliance category, you can hedge your risk and reduce your inventory backlog by placing small orders on DH gate.

5)SNS-LinkedIn

Following the cancellation of the Canton Fair due to the epidemic, many Chinese appliance manufacturers have turned to social media platforms to find new foreign customers, such as Linking and Facebook. LinkedIn is the global workplace social networking platform that announced its entry into China in January 2014. Many Chinese appliance manufacturers have also registered profiles on LinkedIn. You can search for manufacturers on it, follow appliance-related companies and visit their websites, etc. to determine if they are reliable manufacturers. Generally speaking, manufacturers with more people following the its homepage and a larger number of employees, are more credible and have a better guarantee of service.

3.Where to buy the cheapest household appliances in China?

1)Reference to the Chinese home appliance manufacturers' industry clusters

Different industries form clusters in specific areas. Within the clusters, the workforce is more intensive, the skill level of the workers and the production facilities of the factories are more advanced and sophisticated. Besides, there is more competition between manufacturers.

Analysing and understanding China's home appliance industry clusters can help us find more reliable and quality manufacturers. In China, for example, Qingdao in Shandong, Cixi in Zhejiang and Shunde in Guangdong are among the industrial clusters of home appliance manufacturers. Choosing manufacturers within the industry clusters helps you to get lower quotes for the same products, better quality products for the same quotes and a more stable supply chain and delivery time.

The chart below is my summary of the major industry clusters in China for several major appliance categories.

Note: I have listed here the top 5 key production areas for each category. There are, of course, many other industrial clusters located throughout China. However, it is mainly concentrated in Qingdao, Shandong, Cixi, Zhejiang and Shunde, Guangdong. When you search for home appliance manufacturers online, you can filter by industry cluster.

So when searching for home appliance manufacturers online at Alibaba, DH gate, LinkedIn, etc. or later at offline exhibitions(Canton Fair), you can first consider selecting manufacturers from Zhejiang, Guangdong and Shandong. We believe that the analysis of the home appliance industry clusters will help you to better find reliable home appliance manufacturers in China.

2)Wholesale markets for household appliances

There are 2 famous wholesale markets for household appliances in China and if you want to buy cheap appliances, you are highly recommended to visit these markets.

Chengdu City North Electronic and Electrical Appliances Wholesale Market

This is the largest wholesale market for electronics and electrical appliances in western China. Most of the agents and shops in the market focus on regional wholesale business, with less emphasis on retail sales.

Address：Google map location

Haiyin Electric City, Guangzhou, Guangdong

It is an electrical city that deals with mobile phones, air conditioners, kitchens and bathrooms, computers, ice and washing machines and colour TVs.

Address：Google map location

You can buy a lot of quality electrical appliances at low prices in the wholesale market, leave the middleman or agent behind, get direct contact details of the manufacturer and compare all types of appliances directly on the spot.

4.How to customise home appliances in China with your brand?

If you want to have your own brand of home appliances, you can look for a manufacturer in China and follow the steps below.

1. If you are happy with the supplier's product, you just need to label it. The easiest way is for you to send the logo design to the supplier. And through mutual communication, adjust the logo to the right size and place it in the right place, etc. The factory can display your brand logo on the product by laser, pad printing, etc. If you need to customise a particular appliance, you need to tell several suppliers (at least 2-3 suppliers) about your customisation requirements for the appliance. Or send a photo of the required product style directly to the supplier.

2. You can communicate with the factory about your product and packaging requirements and then choose a more reliable manufacturer based on their quotation and service level.

3. Make pre-production samples

4. If the samples meet your requirements, you can place an order for the manufacturer to arrange mass production.

5. You can arrange for SGS or your agent in China to inspect the goods. If everything is in order, you can ship the goods directly.

I am sure that the above description has given you new ideas on how to find a reliable appliance manufacturer in China. If you have any other questions or suggestions about finding an appliance manufacturer, please feel free to communicate and share with us.