Photo: Blueair from Sweden: Long-established. Photo: Low-priced domestic air purification. Photo: Overseas’ air purification from Japan’s Muji. Photo: Xiaomi’s debut Air Purifier. Photo: Xiaomi Air Purifier: Intelligent and app-controlled. Driven by concerns over environmental pollution, the value of the mainland's air purification sector has soared over recent years, with internet companies now tussling for market share alongside global and domestic manufacturers. Blueair from Sweden: Long-established.Some 5.8 million air purifier units were sold in China in 2014, according to recent statistics released by the industry. With sales last year valued at Rmb13.6 billion, this is more than doubles the 2013 figure – Rmb5.6 billion – when 2.4 million units were sold. For 2015, sales of nine million air purifiers are now being predicted, an astonishing 58% increase year-on-year.Given the huge surge of interest in the sector, it is perhaps only too understandable that competition in the air purifier market is intensifying.

The number of air purifier brands sold on the mainland has jumped from 56 in 2012 to 303, as of June 2014. Among the new contenders in the field are a number of digital entrepreneurs, notably Xiaomi and Cheetah Mobile.It is now being widely seen that these newly-emerging, high-tech air purifier brands will play an ever more significant role in the market. This is largely due to the fact that the intelligent and multifunction facilities of these products chimes well with a new generation of digitally-literate consumers.Until recently, the sector was shared by both international brands and a significant number of domestic manufacturers. The arrival of several high-profile players from the digital sector, however, promises to spur a new era of competition in the air purifier market.A number of international brands have long had firm footing in the sector. Among the most popular are IQAir (Switzerland), Blueair (Sweden), Sharp and Panasonic (both from Japan), and Philips (The Netherlands).

Most of the internationally-branded units sell at around Rmb3,000, with the target customers being high-income urban groups, many of home are more concerned and informed with regard to air quality. In 2013, air purifier products in the Rmb3,000+ category accounted for 23% of total retail volume in the sector, as well as 52.7% of the total retail value. Growth here also exceeded the market average.According to figures from AVC, a specialist market research firm, five companies dominated online air conditioner sales in 2013 – Philips (18%), Sharp (13%), Panasonic (12%), Yadu (8%) and Daikin (8%). Among these, Yadu was the only domestic brand to have a significant share. In terms of offline sales, foreign brands still dominated, although there are signs that the market is evolving. Here the top five brands were Philips (33%), Panasonic (23%), Yadu (11%), Sharp (8%) and Blueair (4%). Low-priced domestic air purification. Overseas' air purification from Japan's Muji.Blueair is one of longest-established high-end brands on the mainland and has also had a presence in Hong Kong since 2011.

The brand is said to be highly-regarded by consumers, with its reputation being bolstered as it is the air conditioner of choice for the US embassy in Beijing. Its endorsement by the American diplomats was enough for a Ms Xu, an employee in a Beijing PR agency, to "purchase an air purifier of the same brand".In a bid to take on these leading global brands, many domestic home appliance manufacturers have launched their own air purifiers. Most of these are priced at below the Rmb1,500, level, with some even coming in at under Rmb800. honeywell air purifier model 17200These low-priced models, understandably, have greater appeal for low- to middle-income consumers.hunter air purifier 30100According to recent figures, a number of these domestic air purifier brands are now poised to take market share from the global brands. holmes air purifier hap-290

According to Taobao data, focussing on the 2014 "Double 11" sales period, several domestic brands – notably Midea and Yadu – performed particularly well. It is now thought that the success of these competitively-priced local brands will oblige the international players to either cut their own prices or introduce more cost-effective middle-to-low-end products. Philips, the market leader by volume, already has products targetted across a range of cost options.As well as increased competition among manufacturers, demand in the sector is also diversifying as consumers become more sophisticated, with distinct regional preferences emerging. While humidifiers are very much in demand in the drier northern regions, dehumidifiers have become the must-have items for families in the more humid southern regions. In order to capitalise on this, a number of manufacturers have started to offer dual-function air purifiers.Apart from the jostling for market share between overseas and domestic manufacturers, the recent interest shown in the sector by several high-profile digital businesses has also provoked something of a shake-up.

In October last year, Cheetah Mobile, the search engine and mobile application specialist, announced the launch of its Baomi Mobile Air Purifier Master. At around the same time, Xiaomi, the mobile phone giant, also introduced a proprietary Air Purifier. The two were joined by several smaller internet firms with products of their own. Two companies, Guokr and Knewbi, jointly launched the IQEgg Air Purifier, while Sangebaba (Three Papas) received US$10 million worth of investment to develop its Series A air purifier brands.Of these new players, it is the arrival of Xiaomi that has made the most impact. Xiaomi is one of the mainland's technology giants. Valued at around US$45 million, it is spoken of in the same breath as Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent. Its debut product sells for around Rmb899, making it far cheaper than most of the international and domestic brands. The company has also been at pains to position its product as having a strong purifying capacity, being highly intelligent and offering good value for money.

Xiaomi's debut Air Purifier. Xiaomi Air Purifier: Intelligent and app-controlled.Its 'intelligence' lies in the fact it can be operated via a dedicated mobile app. Customers can turn on their air purifiers by smartphone when they finish work, and enjoy purified air when they return home. This also reduces the need to endure the noisy air purification process while actually at home. The app also allows user to see the 'life' of their air filter, allowing them to buy a replacement in good time.This product, though, has stirred a degree of controversy in the industry. This is largely on account of the fact it is far noisier than similar brands, while it has also been accused of being very similar to models produced by Ba Muda, a Japanese brand. Despite these criticisms, its low price and intelligent operation mode is seen as making it serious contender in the domestic market. The company, however, has ambitions well beyond this.According Hugo Barra, the Vice-president of Xiaomi Global, the company is now targetting India with its air purification range.