Pure breath of fresh air refers to big money

Blueair rolls out latest line as sales of air purifiers rise rapidly in China

Bengt Rittri, founder and CEO of Swedish air purifier manufacturer Blueair AB, says he is often asked by Chinese customers why a man in Stockholm, Sweden, one of the cleanest cities in Europe, would decide to make air purifiers.

The answer? Stockholm's air is not really that clean, says the environmentalist and admitted perfectionist.

"On the weekends, I take my family to the countryside to enjoy the fresh air and the peacefulness, but when I return to the city, I get upset that my kids are exposed to the dirty air again. So I decided to make an air purifier."

Oh, if only Rittri lived in smoggy Beijing. While the air in Stockholm contains about 20,000 particles per liter such as pet hairs, cloth fibers, dust, and other small particles, on a heavily polluted day in Beijing, the particle number is more than 200,000, he says.

But what is bad news for Chinese residents, who suffer from year-round air pollution, is good for air purifier manufacturers. In China, the demand for high-end purifiers is through the roof.

According to the China Home Appliance Association, sales of air purifiers grew by 30 percent during the first half of 2014 compared with the same period the previous year.

In December, Blueair introduced its latest line of purifiers called the Blueair Pro, which comes in three sizes and features V-shaped filters that can purify air in a 100 square meter room. The company uses multiple layers of filtration, including ionization and highly activated carbon.

Sam Li, general manager of Blueair China, says the new series targets the upper middle class in China.

"The air purifier market is booming in China, especially in tier-one cities. But there is still no product for larger spaces such as villas, large flats and offices. This series is specially designed to fill this gap."

Established in 1996 in Stockholm, Blueair entered China in 2006, and started a branch in 2012. It sells products to more than 50 countries throughout Europe, North America and Asia and has three lines of purifiers in China: the Classic, the Sense and the Pro. Prices range from 3,590 yuan ($577) to 25,800 yuan. The most popular model is 603, which costs 12,980 yuan.

Li says sales of Blueair products have grown by 50 percent in China every year, for the past three years.

"And the higher-end series are growing at triple the rate from the previous year," she says.

The company won't release how many machines they delivered last year, but says half of its products were sold to Asia, with Chinese and Japanese customers its biggest buyers.

According to a Blueair survey released earlier in 2014, its largest group of consumers are wealthy city residents from the ages of 40 to 45. Mothers make up a large portion of Blueair buyers. "These people usually live in large homes and need more powerful air purifiers," Li says.

The survey also shows Chinese consumers are less sensitive to cigarette smoke than in developed countries; and that they are more concerned about formaldehyde and benzol because many of them buy new homes that are recently furnished. New furnishings can emit such toxins.

In 2003, Blueair moved a manufacturing facility from the US to China to produce the Classic 200 series. Sales of the domestically produced purifiers, however, fell while the imported versions of the same series rose. The Chinese preference for made-in-Sweden models forced Blueair to halt any intention of growing its Chinese plant at a time when many foreign brands talk about expanding in the country.

Blueair has a 15 percent share of the Chinese air purifier market and has sold air purifiers to the US embassy in Beijing.

"Many multinationals in China are buying air purifiers for their employees," Rittri says.

He says the company in previous years mistakenly thought its buyers would primarily be expatriates, "but we found out many Chinese families are considering buying one. It is no longer a luxury thing. It has become a daily necessity".

Though Blueair seized upon the air purifier market early, Chinese analysts say the toughest competition has yet to come.

The demands are so big that nearly every major home appliance maker - even cellphone and TV maker Xiaomi Corp - now has a line of air purifiers. With so many products at a wide range of prices, from several hundred yuan to tens of thousands of yuan, consumers often get confused.

Xu Dongsheng, secretary-general of the China Home Appliance Association, says the industry urgently needs standards, because unlike televisions or computers, the effect of air purifiers is hard to judge.

"We should launch standards before problems appear in the market," he says. "And standards can also regulate the manufacturers so they focus on quality rather than exaggerated advertising."

For instance, he says, during the filtering process, some machines generate ozone, which gives off a fresh smell but actually does harm to the human body.

The association established an air purifier commission last year to work on standards and fight against substandard products in the market. Members of the commission include Philips, Sharp and Midea.

Blueair uses the Clean Air Delivery Rate standards from the United States Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers to evaluate the overall efficiency of its air purifiers. The standards are also adopted by manufacturers in Japan.

But Zhang Liang, project manager at TUV Rheinland, an independent third-party inspection, testing and certification provider based in Germany, says there are still limitations to air purifiers.

"For example, most air purifiers on the market target formaldehyde, benzol and toluene in a house, but many other particles are not filtered by the machines, which can cause acute symptoms, such as coughing, sore throat and teary eyes, even chronic diseases."

However, engineers have not found any revolutionary way to solve this problem, other than installing a more powerful motor and adding more layers of activated-carbon filter inside the machine, experts say.

Zhang says more manufacturers are coming to TUV Rheinland to test their products, as people's awareness of quality grows.

TUV tests how effectively the machines absorb harmful pollutants that are prevalent in China, such as formaldehyde and coal dust.

"Three years ago, we received about three to four test requirements every year, but now we receive five requests every month," he says.

With China's pollution a long-term problem, Blueair is benefiting from the nation's demand for its purifiers. It now has 25 new products in the pipeline for China.

"The company is testing them and will introduce some to the Chinese market," Rittri says, adding that the Beijing and Shanghai offices are collecting feedbacks from users so they can understand Chinese consumers better.

"China may need some more years before the air becomes really clean."

wangchao@chinadaily.com.cn