Xike TAKI Vaping Device Brand Fires the First Shot in the Industry Price War!

Recently, on April 24, Zhang Jinyuan, co-founder of the Lingxi e-cigarette brand, attended an offline salon focused on e-cigarettes. He stated that e-cigarettes are currently at a pivotal moment, but the industry will return to rationality, and he predicted that a price war would soon arrive.
 
Almost a month later, as Zhang predicted, the price war that everyone in the industry feared and did not want to see seems to have truly arrived. Yes, it has indeed happened.

On May 21, the Xike e-cigarette brand held a new product launch conference, introducing six flavors of pods, a disposable e-cigarette, and an even bigger "surprise"—a replaceable e-vaporizer priced at only 1 yuan. This was undoubtedly the highlight of the conference and also the most controversial issue. Once the news broke, the industry was in an uproar, with many expressing disbelief, not expecting it to be played this way, suggesting it was almost a giveaway, and wealthy people are indeed extravagant...
 
As for why the price is set so low, Xike e-cigarette brand founder Zhong Yufei briefly explained on site: this is not a gimmick; all products, including new ones, will be sold at this price in the future, aiming to popularize and promote this product, hoping it can become a healthy lifestyle choice for consumers. This is his original intention and also the philosophy of Xike.

However, is it really that simple? Is there an unknown strategy behind this sudden move?

To investigate, the editor of VAPEMEDIA specifically searched for Xike's flagship store on JD.com and found that the official had artificially set purchase conditions: "Buy any set of pods, add 1 yuan, and get a device; single purchases will not be shipped." This means the official offers six flavors of pods, with four pieces in each box. If consumers want to buy a complete "199 yuan" Xike integrated vaporizer (replaceable vaporizer), they must first select a pod set and then add 1 yuan. Given that each box of pods costs between 120 and 140 yuan, adding 1 yuan means the final retail price of the Xike replaceable vaporizer is between 121 and 141 yuan.
 
At this point, the truth finally comes to light. The so-called replaceable e-vaporizer priced at only 1 yuan, as promoted at the Xike launch conference, actually refers to the price of the device, which seems to have shocked many. In fact, this is merely a sensational marketing strategy aimed at attracting attention, but the execution was not perfect, leading to suspicions of deceiving and misleading consumers, resulting in a somewhat awkward outcome. Of course, any marketing method that does not violate laws and regulations is reasonable, as it is merely aimed at achieving marketing goals, and we should view it rationally without excessive criticism of Xike's approach.

Regarding this event, our focus should actually be on the issue of product retail prices. The device priced at only 1 yuan, when calculated from a cost perspective, is far more than 1 yuan. The trick here is to shift the cost of the device onto the pods, making consumers pay. From the transaction price of the entire Xike integrated vaporizer, this price point is significantly lower than similar products on the market, which is indeed advantageous for consumers. Currently, the retail price of a set of small e-cigarette products is generally around 299-399 yuan, while Xike's retail price is between 121 and 141 yuan, which is almost half the price of competitors.

Now, the concern arises: this is not a so-called price war. Therefore, this wave of "incorrect thinking" operations by the Xike e-cigarette brand is considered to have fired the first shot in the industry's price war, which will affect the development environment of the domestic e-cigarette market.
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In response, various industry insiders have expressed their views. Some media personnel believe that under the premise of ensuring safety and quality, high quality and low cost not only benefit consumers but also help activate the existing market and expand consumption scale. Some sales personnel stated that this will definitely lead to vicious competition in the Chinese e-cigarette market, reducing manufacturers' profit margins and continuously shrinking their survival space. Some business owners believe that before national policies are issued, price wars are inevitable; this is an inevitable market behavior. If one only competes on price to seize the market, it can only win short-term victories. In contrast, focusing on brand building, quality assurance, and channel layout is the way to do better and last longer.

Zhang Jinyuan, co-founder of the Lingxi e-cigarette brand, believes that "in the context of a price war, two phenomena will emerge: the squeeze-out effect and the escape effect. The squeeze-out effect is about the capital chain; how high your capital efficiency is and how deep your capital base is. In this situation, those who haven't sought financing should hurry to find it, and those who have found financing should secure another round; it requires a lot of money to fight." He also stated, "If the price war reaches a point where no one can bear the profits, you will find that some will start to escape. Even some companies that have received funding or financing will begin to escape. When the escape comes, you must be prepared with enough defenses to cope with this wave of impact. When you start to offload goods at low prices, whether you make a profit or a loss, you must turn it into cash. Every new species will go through this cycle, and those who remain will likely be the winners of the future."

Indeed, the key to a vaping company's success in the future lies not only in the capital chain but also in brand influence, product quality, and sales channels. A senior operational expert in the e-cigarette industry believes that only by seizing market share can one avoid being eliminated in fierce market competition, and then defining one's position is a platform for brand promotion and dissemination. From a sales perspective, changes in sales models are very important. Now, it is more about speed of delivery and market share than before; as long as the channels are strong enough, the chances of survival are high.