How do LED companies respond to the high barriers to entry in the North American market?

Relevant data shows that North America will be at the forefront with a 23.1% global LED market share. The North American market will show rapid growth, with an expected compound annual growth rate of 20%. By 2020, the LED lighting market will reach US$27.3 billion, becoming a place for LED lighting companies to compete. However, North America is a market with the highest technical threshold, the most mature market and relatively many technical barriers in the international market. For many Chinese companies with little experience in “going global”, there are many challenges. Dr. Li Wenyu from the Guangdong Emerging Industry Strategic Development Institute believes that on the one hand, enterprises must carefully study North American policies and regulations and be familiar with the legal norms and market access standards of the North American market; on the other hand, they must choose an appropriate model for establishing North American market channels based on their own conditions for enterprise development; finally, in view of North American culture, they must pay attention to product research and development and creative design to meet customers' consumption habits and cultural characteristics in a targeted manner. The certification standard is that the basic design is still "on the way" The laws and regulations in the United States are very sound and all electrical products cannot affect each other. Among the four major certifications, energy efficiency changes the fastest and is updated irregularly. Europe has a unified CE certification, but in the United States, different departments have different regulations, and the standards are not released at the same time, but updated all the time. The U.S. market is mainly composed of five major agencies: the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Department of Energy (DOE), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Consumer Council (CPSC), while the Canadian market is responsible for the Standards Bureau (SCC), the Industry Department (IC), and the Department of Energy (NRC). Among them, there are four main certification requirements, one is electrical safety or other laboratories recognized by North American countries; the other is electromagnetic radiation and wireless, including FCC, IC, Bluetooth, etc.; the third is energy efficiency testing, namely Energy Star, DOE, CEC, BRCAN, etc.; the fourth is chemical hazardous substances, CPSIA, CP65, 16CFR1303, FDA, CONEGE, etc. If a company can meet the above aspects and basically export to the United States, there will be no problem. Cao Yongxin, deputy general manager of North American Certification at TUV Rheinland Greater China, believes that certification requirements are only basic conditions. Buyers have different requirements for each detail. For example, in hotels, color rendering index, quality performance, and lifespan are stipulated; for example, in shopping malls, homes, and even children’s rooms, study rooms, etc., there are different requirements, and companies must confirm more specific requirements based on the needs of buyers. The LEDs produced are exported to the United States. 70% of the LED lamps produced in China are not produced by Chinese brands. Although the proportion is large, in order to occupy the market, the quality and performance must be strengthened. LED light source color rendering index and energy consumption requirements lead to product differences In the United States, especially in California, there is a very strict energy policy, which is even stricter than many standards in the United States, so it will affect other products. Therefore, the products manufactured by manufacturers should not produce too many specifications, but should be produced according to California specifications. California's policies have promoted the update of LED product technology throughout the United States, and even many residential lightings have many specifications that must comply with these regulations. These products must pass some very strict test standards before being put into the lighting market. Therefore, one standard is that the color rendering index must be higher than 90 before it can be used in California. If it is to be used in California, the color rendering index must be higher than this value. Even many local companies in North America have not yet met this standard. Dan Weinreber, partner of KGM Lighting Design Office in the United States, said that the United States has UL certification and China has 3C certification. The color rendering index of LED light sources will be higher in North American projects; there are also some very special requirements for energy consumption in the entire North American market, which will lead to differences in products. In order to realize creativity, energy regulations must be met In many projects, lighting design works very closely with architectural designers and interior designers. From the design concept to the subsequent sublimation, communication is required. In addition to communication, lighting designers also need to communicate with architecture and interior designers about some energy standard requirements. Because many things will happen during the design process and need to be adjusted all the time, so they must be in close contact with the architectural designers to adapt to adjustments made at any time. Nowadays, it is becoming more and more difficult to do lighting design in North America, especially California, because its energy regulations are very strict. As a result, in addition to creativity and design, a lot of coordination needs to be done in the lighting design process. To realize the idea, we must also meet the strict energy regulations in the United States. Because of the existence of these regulations, products used three years ago may not be used in current projects. It can be seen that the energy regulations in the North American market are very strict. Chief lighting designer Hu Guojian, head of KGM Lighting Design Office in Shanghai, China, said that lighting design hopes to obtain more information about some products to meet the requirements of some projects. Among them, color life is a concern of lighting design, but As the regulations in California become more stringent, product control will become higher and higher. On the one hand, it is the energy regulations, and on the other hand, the current products are too bright. Five years ago, they might have said that the products were not bright enough, but now the products are getting brighter and brighter. I hope that more dimming functions can be implemented in future product designs. There are two channels for cooperation between Chinese and North American lighting designers: lighting associations and designer teams On the road of lighting, today’s companies must not only make good products, but also understand the design of light environments. There are two channels for Chinese lighting designers to cooperate with North American lighting designers. One is through some relatively mature lighting associations, such as IES, etc. These associations will provide certain help. If you are a member, you can have access to some projects in North America through the relationships of these associations. The second is to enter the lighting designer team in North America through projects to promote mutual cooperation. For example, many domestic developers develop some projects in North America. At this time, Chinese lighting designers can try to enter the lighting designer team in North America through these projects to cooperate. Hu Guojian revealed that when the American KGM Lighting Design Office established its Shanghai office in China ten years ago, it would choose to cooperate with some local designers. However, because we did not understand the Chinese lighting market, we would choose some domestic lamps. But in the future, if excellent Chinese design companies can enter North America, North American designers will assist Chinese designers in selecting some lamps.