China’s ‘tobacco king’, Chu Shijian, dies aged 91

US-based consumer robot maker iRobot is planning to expand its research and development center in Guangzhou to tap opportunities arising from the recently unveiled Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area plan, according to a top company official.

“We are certainly aware of the Great Bay plan and certainly part of it now. We look forward to seeing this project develop. I think it will improve the education levels and attract more technology-minded employees to that area. That makes it easier for us to find talent,” said Colin Angle, chairman, CEO and co-founder of iRobot.

In early 2018, iRobot established its R&D center in Guangzhou in Guangdong province, as one of its three global R&D centers. The other two are located in Bedford, which is the company’s headquarters, and Pasadena, California.

“We think there’s a great opportunity to do more,” said Angle.

After establishing its technology foundation 29 years ago, the vacuum robot maker has introduced many new inventions to stay competitive in the robot industry.

Angle said Chinese robot companies are quite good, and China has made a focus on robots. “I think they have made a lot of progress in the last few years, and there are many China brands in the market today.”

“There are more good companies that are pushing what is possible forward. So, our response is to invest more money in research and development … We’re the company that makes the largest R&D investment in home robots and we will increase that this year to ensure we stay ahead.”

Last year, iRobot spent $140 million on research and development, which is about 13 percent of the company’s 2018 revenue. The company’s revenue crossed the $1 billion mark last year.

Quite a few companies, including traditional electric appliance makers like Haier and Midea, smartphone makers like Apple and Huawei, and internet companies like Amazon and Google, have stepped up the development of smart home products and applications.

However, despite the efforts made by various companies, the smart home market is still fragmented, according to Mintel China research.

“Take the top three categories with the highest homeownership in China, smart audio devices, smart air conditioners or smart fans, and sweeping robots, each of them has a comparatively low penetration among Chinese consumers,” said Alina Ma, research director of Mintel China, a consultancy firm.

The smart home sector has a large and wide span across a broad range of industries, including property, furniture, hardware, telecommunications and home appliances. It contains lucrative opportunities, said Xiao Fei, an industrial analyst with research firm Analysys.

According to Xiao, China’s smart home market surpassed 100 billion yuan ($14.9 billion) in 2017, and expanded to 150 billion yuan in 2018, and is set to reach 350 billion yuan by 2020.

Angle believes iRobot is now becoming more central for smart homes because their robots not only play an important role in providing utility services but also collate information on the house and the smart solutions it requires. “Our role in this ecosystem is becoming more important every day.”

iRobot has a 65 percent share globally excluding China and is a global leader in the market for vacuum robots priced above $200.

“We see an opportunity to grow our market share in China, especially in the high-end segment. Our team in China has been working to optimize our market strategies,” said Angle.

“China is the largest (market), but not for iRobot … We believe we’re on the right growth path now. China will be our largest market.”

According to data from market researcher and consulting company GfK, there were 4.31 million vacuum robots sold in China in 2018, and their total sales revenue was 6.47 billion yuan. GfK projected China’s vacuum robots market to reach 5.16 million units, or 8.45 billion yuan, in 2019.

“Compared to Western consumers, the Chinese are more willing to accept intelligent home facilities, which will absolutely help the development of smart home in China,” said Ma from Mintel.

Chu Shijian, China’s “tobacco king” and the founder of Chu Orange, passed away at the age of 91 on Tuesday, but Chu’s perseverance and endurance through difficult times still impressed people the most.

Born in Yuxi, Southwest China’s Yunnan province, in 1928, Chu became director of the near-bankrupt Yuxi Tobacco Co at the age of 51. Under his leadership, it became China’s largest and most profitable cigarette producer during the 1980s and 1990s, known as the Yunnan Hongta Group.

However, in 1999, Chu was arrested on charges of corruption and sentenced to life imprisonment, which was later commuted to 17 years.

After he was released on medical parole in 2002, Chu, at the age of 74, built an orange orchard with his wife, Ma Jingfen, and started growing oranges on 160 hectares of land in the mountains of Yunnan.

In 2006, Chu’s orange garden had a total production of 1,000 metric tons of oranges. By 2010, Chu’s oranges were already popular in Kunming, the capital city of Yunnan, and in 2012, Chu’s creation attracted the attention of leading online food supplier Benlai.com.

The website launched a campaign to promote the oranges, highlighting Chu’s legendary life, and consumers flooded to the website to buy the fruit.

In 2013, Chu’s garden produced 10,000 tons of oranges with a total production value of 80 million yuan ($11.9 million) and achieved profits of more than 40 million yuan.

Most of Chu’s oranges are sold online. In 2014, Chu officially registered the trademark Chu Orange, and Chu was given the nickname of “orange king”.

“Chu experienced frustration and ordeals during his life, but we can’t erase the spirit he embodied. We can see the spirit of struggle, exploration and innovation,” said Zheng Xiaoyun, a researcher at the Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences.

Zheng said that it was this spirit that enabled Chu to turn a nearbankrupt tobacco company into one of the most popular cigarette brands in Asia, and set up a modern agricultural enterprise in his old age.

“The rejuvenation of the Chinese nation needs such spirit, which is why I admire him most,” Zheng added.

Many buyers said they favored Chu’s oranges because they respected and supported him. “I respect Chu for his hard work and unyielding spirit,” said Zhang Nan, a 33-year-old primary schoolteacher.

Chu was a household name in Yunnan, especially for those who lived through the 1980s — during which Chu transformed Yunnan’s tobacco industry with his progressive ideas, said Yang Xiaoxue, an environmental engineer in Yunnan’s Daili Bai autonomous prefecture and a deputy to the 13th National People’s Congress.

Even his later experience promoting his oranges proved this point. “He industrialized the production of the fruit, something that few people thought of doing at the time,” she said.

Cao Lei, head of China’s e-commerce research center, attributed the popularity of Chu’s oranges to their effective business-to-consumer distribution channel, which cut costs and transportation times, adding that online shopping has become a way of life for young consumers.

Li Lei in Beijing contributed to the story.