<img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://wpimg-wscn.awtmt.com/895544c3-2728-4fb4-85ae-8b2396e573f2.png?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" alt="" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://wpimg-wscn.awtmt.com/895544c3-2728-4fb4-85ae-8b2396e573f2.png"/> Author | Huang Yu
Editor | Wang Xiaojun
As 2025 approaches its conclusion, ZhiMi has opened its first offline store in Hong Kong. This is a key move in ZhiMi's global layout and an important strategy for maintaining high-speed growth.
On December 20th, Meng Jia, president of ZhiMi Technology's vacuum cleaner division, pointed out in an in-depth dialogue with Wall Street Insights that ZhiMi has made significant progress in overseas expansion this year, with the number of overseas stores exceeding 6,500, and flagship stores have been opened in multiple regions around the world, such as North America, Europe, and South Korea.
Against this backdrop, ZhiMi has achieved a compound annual growth rate of over 100% for six consecutive years. Meng Jia revealed that next year, the vacuum cleaner product line will still aim for 100% growth, focusing on North America and emerging countries, with the future goal of achieving the number one market share globally.
Hong Kong has always been a gateway for international brands entering the Asia-Pacific market and a touchstone for Chinese brands going global. However, why has ZhiMi, which has regarded globalization as a major strategy since its establishment, only opened its first store in Hong Kong now?
In response, Meng Jia stated that ZhiMi initially observed that overseas users have a high acceptance of new technologies, so in the early stages of globalization, it prioritized markets like Europe and the United States. Now, at this stage of development, ZhiMi also needs to establish a presence in Hong Kong, which is a very important area for globalization. It will serve as a significant window to radiate the Asia-Pacific region and showcase ZhiMi's high-end brand image.
According to IDC data, in the first three quarters of this year, ZhiMi's vacuum cleaners ranked third globally with a 12.4% market share in terms of shipment volume, and ranked first in the European market.
Meng Jia told Wall Street Insights that whether domestically or overseas, more and more new manufacturers are joining, making competition in the vacuum cleaner industry increasingly fierce. &#34;We believe this is a very good phenomenon. We hope more new manufacturers come in to bring us some new perspectives, which is beneficial for us to continue pushing vacuum cleaner technology forward.&#34;
At the same time, Meng Jia pointed out that ZhiMi's future development direction is also very clear: first, it will insist on driving product experience and product iteration progress through technology; second, it will adhere to the &#34;globalization + localization&#34; strategy, continuing to develop in more countries around the world.
In the context of the domestic vacuum cleaner industry being a red ocean, focusing on overseas markets has become a consensus in the industry in recent years. With the downfall of the vacuum cleaner pioneer iRobot, five Chinese brands—Roborock, Ecovacs, ZhiMi, Xiaomi, and YunJing—have now captured the top five spots in global vacuum cleaner shipment volume.
Overseas, although Chinese brands collectively hold an advantage, how to shift from simple &#34;product export&#34; to deep &#34;brand localization&#34; remains a common challenge faced by all manufacturers.
Strengthening offline channel construction has been one of ZhiMi's most important globalization strategies in recent years. At the beginning of this year, ZhiMi's overseas offline physical stores exceeded 5,500, meaning that in just one year, ZhiMi has opened more than 1,000 new offline stores
&#34;This year, with such rapid development, we will increase investment in flagship stores next year,&#34; Meng Jia pointed out. Offline stores are more conducive to the penetration of vacuum cleaners because they can better provide offline services to users, allowing them to have more hands-on experience with the products and enhancing brand awareness. Therefore, ZhiMi will also accelerate the development of offline stores in China.
In addition to building offline channels, in the face of increasingly fierce homogeneous competition, technological innovation has become the only way for companies to avoid price wars and gain more market share.
Meng Jia believes that the head effect in the vacuum cleaner industry has already formed, and pursuing the speed of product iteration is the key for ZhiMi to gain a greater advantage in competition. The price war will not last in the future because vacuum cleaners are still in a period of rapid product innovation, and companies need to focus on product experience and innovation.
He also pointed out that technology is one of ZhiMi's core moats. Currently, over 70% of ZhiMi's R&amp;D personnel are involved, and more than 7% of annual revenue is invested in R&amp;D.
During this critical window period for reshaping the industry landscape, ZhiMi is trying to establish a more lasting voice on the global high-end manufacturing stage through its technological moat and localization strategy.
From iRobot's bankruptcy restructuring to the global rise of Chinese brands, the vacuum cleaner industry has completed a historic handover in recent years. At this critical juncture in 2026, whether ZhiMi can maintain its high-end positioning while stabilizing the mass market, and whether it can achieve a final replacement of the old order in the North American market, will determine whether ZhiMi can truly secure the &#34;global number one&#34; position in the future.
This global battle for smart cleaning is far from over.
The following is the full dialogue between Wall Street Insights and Meng Jia, President of ZhiMi Technology's Vacuum Cleaner Division (edited):
Question 1: What is the significance of ZhiMi's first store in Hong Kong for its global layout?
Meng Jia: Since its establishment, ZhiMi has made &#34;globalization&#34; a major strategy. Therefore, when we first started making products, we were already planning for globalization. We have over 6,000 stores in more than 120 regions worldwide, and today, the opening of our first flagship store in Hong Kong is extremely significant for us. First of all, Hong Kong, as a highly international city, is an important showcase, especially for demonstrating ZhiMi as an international brand to the Asia-Pacific region.
Question 2: Can you specifically introduce ZhiMi's overseas layout and offline store situation, as well as the breakthroughs achieved in overseas expansion over the past year?
Meng Jia: In 2025, we will make significant progress overseas, with the number of overseas stores exceeding 6,500, serving over 30 million people, and membership surpassing 11 million. Our development is very rapid. This year, our compound growth rate overseas exceeded 100%, and overseas revenue accounts for a significant portion of our total revenue. We attach great importance to overseas development.
This year, we have opened flagship stores in many landmark cities around the world, such as our first flagship store in North America, Europe, and South Korea. Given the rapid development this year, we will increase investment in flagship stores next year.
Question 3: How do you view the competitive characteristics of the domestic and overseas vacuum cleaner markets? What will be ZhiMi's core global development strategy moving forward?
Meng Jia: Now, whether domestically or overseas, there are more and more new manufacturers entering the market, and competition is becoming increasingly fierce. We believe this is a very good phenomenon, and we hope to see more new manufacturers come in, bringing us some new perspectives that are beneficial for us to continue advancing the technology of vacuum cleaners.
Our future development direction, both domestically and internationally, is also very clear. First, we will continue to drive product experience and product iteration progress through technology, providing better products and experiences for more users; second, we will continue to adhere to a globalization + localization strategy, continuously developing in more countries around the world, adapting to local cultures and characteristics, and customizing different local services and experiences, allowing global users to receive better products and services locally.
Question 4: Does the strategic priority of the vacuum cleaner division change with the company's new businesses as it moves towards becoming a boundaryless ecological enterprise? What is the internal positioning of the vacuum cleaner robots?
Meng Jia: We will continue to increase investment in vacuum cleaners next year, expanding market share and improving services. At the same time, internally, all divisions operate independently, and the development of new businesses will not affect existing businesses. We adopt an incremental approach, investing additional energy and R&amp;D for extra growth, maintaining a high priority for the vacuum cleaner's future development strategy, ensuring that the current business can continue to grow rapidly while also developing other businesses well.
Question 5: In a fiercely competitive environment, what is the core moat of Chasing?
Meng Jia: Our core moat includes several aspects: first, continuous innovation and investment in technology, where we are absolutely leading compared to other competitors in the industry. We invest over 7% of our revenue in R&amp;D each year, and more than 70% of our personnel are in R&amp;D. Many core invention patents for vacuum cleaners are held by Chasing, such as robotic arms, side brush robotic arms, mechanical feet, self-cleaning systems, and embedded base stations. Second, we invest significantly in the intelligent experience of vacuum cleaners; our software investment is well-known, with a high proportion of Tsinghua University personnel in our software team, continuously increasing the proportion of Tsinghua software engineers, which greatly upgrades our product experience every year. Third, we have done relatively well in globalization and localization.
Question 6: In recent years, the vacuum cleaner market has become increasingly similar to the smartphone market, with a more pronounced head effect. Do you think there will be a new round of reshuffling in the next one to three years, or will the head effect become more pronounced, including what will drive growth in 2026?
Meng Jia: The head effect has already formed. The development of vacuum cleaners is accelerating, and the demand for technological innovation is increasing because the iteration speed is getting faster. Traditional companies that do not iterate technology quickly will fall behind in competition. Therefore, the market will increasingly consolidate around a few leading players. In the future, as everyone invests more in technology and demands higher experiences, the trend will lead to a more pronounced concentration of leading players. I believe that in the future, leading players will place greater emphasis on product innovation, product experience, and the speed of product iteration, which will give them an advantage in competition
Question 7: Why has ZhiMi opened many flagship stores around the world but only now opened its first store in Hong Kong, China?
Meng Jia: Initially, we set globalization as a very significant goal. We observed that overseas users have a higher acceptance of new technologies, especially in countries like Europe and the United States. When we were planning, we aimed for larger markets, and Europe and the U.S. seemed to have relatively larger markets with quicker feedback. At this stage, Hong Kong is also a very important place for globalization, crucial for ZhiMi's brand display and our presence in the high-end market, which is significant for the Asia-Pacific region, so we have established a presence in Hong Kong.
Question 8: What technologies and new products will ZhiMi showcase at CES 2026? Can you give us a sneak peek?
Meng Jia: For example, the stair-climbing machine we showcased last year received a lot of user recognition. After receiving feedback, we will accelerate the product development process. We will see a more mature stair-climbing robot product at CES, and we aim to launch this product globally as soon as possible. Secondly, we will showcase a future floor-cleaning machine that resembles an embodied intelligent product. This embodied intelligence will include more joint structures. For instance, we will enhance our robotic hand technology that we showcased last year, which will be reflected in our product designs, offering richer product experiences and scenarios. The embodied intelligence will further expand into household service robots, which is the type we plan to release at CES.
Question 9: In terms of technology, the market share of floor-cleaning machines in China is relatively fixed among the leading companies. How do you evaluate and view the changes in the floor-cleaning machine market next year?
Meng Jia: First of all, as mentioned earlier, changes depend on user insights regarding products, the speed of product development iterations, and product experiences. I believe that among leading companies, those with more technological accumulation and investment will continue to thrive. As long as everyone persists in these efforts, users will increasingly lean towards better products, including good experiences and services.
Question 10: What are ZhiMi's goals for next year?
Meng Jia: We will still set a 100% growth target as a very high goal for next year. Although we currently have a high market share in many markets, we still consider this target a significant goal to strive for next year.
Question 11: If you maintain 100% growth next year, which markets will be key growth areas?
Meng Jia: North America will be a significant market, so we will make more localized investments there next year. Additionally, we will accelerate our efforts in emerging countries where we entered later. Our goal is to achieve the number one market share globally.
Question 12: With the rapid iteration of products in the market, how many floor-cleaning machine products has ZhiMi released this year, and how many do you plan to release next year?
Meng Jia: Previously, our flagship products were released at a rate of about 1-2 generations per year. This year, we have enhanced our flagship products, including two generations of flagship products in the dual-disc category. We have also made significant improvements in the active water series and the roller. The Matrix 10 Ultra, which can automatically change its mop in the dual-disc product line, has received a lot of positive feedback from users, indicating that our investment in high-end flagship products has yielded great returns
Next year, we will not stop our technological research and development on high-end flagship products, and we will continue to iterate and enhance our high-end product line. At the same time, we will accelerate product iteration and layout in the mid-range product line, allowing the mid-to-high-end price segments to develop together.
Question 13: For Zhaomi, is the current market layout focus on simultaneous efforts both domestically and internationally, or is there a specific emphasis?
Meng Jia: We are a global market and will not give up on any market, making efforts in every global market.
Question 14: Regarding AI, what is Zhaomi's application strategy for AI and AI large models?
Meng Jia: AI is particularly popular right now. This year, many domestic manufacturers released AI GPT products at the beginning of the year, and we also launched collaborations early on. In the future, the ultimate capability of AI large models still needs to be built on our own technology. External collaborations mainly reflect better capabilities in training for voice control. However, for technologies like those in our vacuum cleaners, including navigation and obstacle avoidance, the capabilities are still very limited. We are more inclined to expand, train, and enhance our internal data. Therefore, in the future, the technical experience of vacuum cleaners, including navigation stability, navigation intelligence, obstacle avoidance stability, and intelligence, will be crucial for our AI large models. We will continuously accumulate in these areas while accelerating model training, including further enhancements in basic experiences and intelligent experiences

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