Casarte's 20-Year Luxury Strategy Faces Challenges: Over-Reliance on Refrigerators and Washing Machines?

Haier Group’s high-end appliance brand Casarte is at a turning point in its smart home strategy. On July 13, market reports revealed that Casarte has partnered with the video streaming platform Youku to integrate Youku’s AIOS system into Casarte televisions. According to a report by Huxiu’s Shixiang, this move goes beyond mere big-screen collaboration and represents an attempt to replicate its premium branding capabilities in categories other than refrigerators and washing machines.

Over the past 20 years, Casarte has successfully elevated domestically produced appliances into the high-end market, with products priced in the tens of thousands of yuan. Centered around refrigerators and washing machines, the brand has established itself as a recognized luxury name, growing its revenue from 2.2 billion yuan (approximately 44 billion yen) to 38 billion yuan (approximately 760 billion yen). As one of Haier Smart Home’s most valuable premium brand assets, Casarte’s journey has been remarkable. However, 20 years after its inception, the challenges facing Casarte have evolved. While it has proven that domestic brands can break the barriers of foreign luxury appliance dominance, the next challenge lies in extending its premium branding to categories beyond refrigerators and washing machines, as well as shifting from high-end hardware to a broader smart home ecosystem.

Over-Reliance on Refrigerators and

Washing Machines

Casarte’s position as a high-end brand is evident in its category structure, which remains heavily skewed. According to market data from GfK Zhongyikang for the first 26 weeks of 2026, Casarte holds a dominant share in the over 10,000 yuan price range, with 41.3% for refrigerators and 76.3% for washing machines. Including ice bars and wine cellars, these shares rise to an overwhelming 71.7% and 82.2%, respectively. In the first quarter, Casarte’s share in the premium segment (15,000 yuan and above) reached 71.1% for refrigerators and 80% for washing machines, far outpacing both domestic and international competitors.

However, its share in the air conditioning market within the same price range, while leading the industry at 44.7%, still falls short of its dominance in refrigeration and laundry. In kitchen appliances, brands like Robam and Fotile maintain over 50% market shares in the premium segment, and in the television sector, Casarte has yet to overcome the technical barriers posed by top players like Hisense and TCL. Similarly, in small appliances, Casarte has not yet established a large-scale high-end brand recognition.

Fragmented Competition and Complex Pricing in

the High-End Market

The high-end appliance market is not a unified battlefield but rather a collection of fragmented categories. Gree dominates the premium central air conditioning segment, Hisense leads in high-end television picture quality, and emerging players like Dreame are rapidly gaining ground in the cleaning appliances market. While Casarte, backed by Haier Group’s technological foundation, has managed to excel in refrigeration and laundry, deploying large-scale resources across all categories simultaneously remains a challenge.

Pricing complexity also poses a potential risk. With multiple sales channels, including offline urban experience centers, Haier’s online mall, official flagship stores on various platforms, and dealer networks, the same 550-liter refrigerator may be split into several product series with differing price displays across platforms like JD.com and Taobao. Additional member benefits and promotions further alter effective pricing, potentially undermining the stability and exclusivity that a high-end brand relies on.

Transitioning to a Smart Home Ecosystem in

the AI Era

To gear up for its next growth phase, Casarte aims to transition from merely selling appliances to creating a comprehensive smart home ecosystem. The integration of Youku’s AIOS system into its televisions is a step in this direction. Casarte envisions TVs as the gateway to the home, aiming to redefine hardware through software. According to official statements, the core of this system lies in the Casarte AI Eye technology.

However, the overall performance of Haier Smart Home has shown signs of slowing. While the group’s sales growth rate was 7.33% in 2023, it fell to 4.29% in 2024 and rebounded slightly to 5.71% in 2025. For the first quarter of 2026, however, sales decreased by 6.86% year-on-year, with net profits dropping by 15.22%. In contrast, competitors like Gree and Midea managed to achieve sales growth of 3.46% and 2.55%, respectively, highlighting Haier Group’s struggles.

Although Casarte’s position in the high-end market remains solid, it faces structural challenges, including over-reliance on specific categories, complex pricing, and the overall slowdown in the group’s growth. The key question is how Casarte can rewrite its growth trajectory, initially forged during its dominance in refrigeration and washing, to align with the smart home strategies of the AI era.

Editorial Opinion

Casarte’s move to partner with Youku and integrate AIOS into its smart TVs can be seen as a short-term step toward diversifying its product categories. While the company holds near-monopoly shares in the luxury refrigerator and washing machine markets, its focus on televisions as the entry point to smart homes is a strategically significant move. However, breaking through the established competition in the television market, dominated by players like Hisense and TCL, with just AI functionalities, will not be easy. Over the next three to six months, the extent to which this partnership contributes to sales growth will serve as an early indicator of the strategy’s success.

From a long-term perspective, Casarte’s ability to extend its high-end brand recognition beyond refrigeration and laundry will be crucial for the next growth phase of Haier Smart Home as a whole. Over a one-to-three-year horizon, as the overall appliance market continues to contract, relying solely on premium shares in a single category may not suffice to sustain the group’s revenue. While transitioning to a smart home ecosystem is a step in the right direction, the potential for returns will depend on whether Casarte can differentiate AIOS and deliver a superior user experience.

References

• ” 卡萨帝高端二十年，难靠冰洗再独秀 ”, by 市象 — 虎嗅网, 2026-07-17T10:05:10.000Z (ARR)
• Source URL: https://www.huxiu.com/article/4876171.html?f=rss