Years ago, Bull Electric recognized a crisis after its competition with Xiaomi, prompting it to diversify its operations. In recent years, Bull Electric has also expanded into the new energy sector, launching products such as charging piles and in-car chargers. However, numerous user complaints have emerged regarding the quality of Bull Electric's charging piles, citing frequent charging issues that even led to vehicle damage, alongside inadequate after-sales service. The new energy segment has failed to bolster Bull Electric’s performance, as revealed in its recent semi-annual report, which indicated a 2.60% year-on-year decline in operating income and an 8% decrease in net profit attributable to the parent company, marking the first negative growth in key performance indicators in nearly five years. Notably, alongside this dismal performance, Deputy Chairman Ruan Xueping, who is also the brother of Chairman and President Ruan Liping, suddenly announced a substantial plan to offload over 1.6 billion yuan in shares, casting further doubt on confidence in Bull Electric.

Quality and Service in New Energy Lagging? Known as the “champion of power strips,” Bull Electric has already extended its business into the new energy sector, having introduced various products, including charging piles and in-car chargers. Feedback from users suggests a less-than-favorable perception of Bull Electric’s new energy products. One user reported to a show that after purchasing a Bull charging gun in March this year, he found evident burn marks on his vehicle's charging port within a few months of use. After an inspection at a dealership, staff indicated that there was no quality issue with the vehicle's charging port, implying the problem originated from Bull's charging gun. However, replacing the charging port parts would cost over 2,000 yuan. After contacting Bull Electric's after-sales service, a technician claimed the user would need to initially pay the costs, with the company compensating later. The user expressed frustration, stating that after submitting the maintenance report and invoice from the dealership, Bull Electric continually delayed the compensation process and refused payment, alleging that the company's staff encouraged him to incur upfront costs, resulting in his financial loss.

The show further identified a significant volume of complaints on Black Cat Complaints regarding Bull Electric’s new energy products. Some in-car chargers reported overheating and disconnection after six months of use; one charging pile showed charging anomalies within a month; and multiple users indicated that two purchased charging piles suffered faults, one burnt out, and the other failed to charge. Bull's Taobao flagship store for automotive products is also inundated with negative reviews regarding product quality and service. One user remarked, “Think twice before buying; bought a unit for over 2,000 yuan, and after three months, the core control unit failed. Although they offer a one-year free repair, it’s nerve-wracking to have it break down so soon.” Another user noted, “The plug failed again; they sent one replacement, but it suddenly overheated and cut off. If they can’t even handle a plug, how can I trust Bull’s quality?”

In response to customer complaints, Bull Electric’s Taobao flagship store customer service remarked, “We’ve sold tens of thousands of units, and the number of negative reviews is relatively low.” Regarding product quality issues, they stated that quality problems during the warranty period would be repaired free of charge, and any vehicle damages due to the charger's inherent defects would be insured, thus implying safety concerns are unwarranted. Power Strip Business Struggling Previously, Bull Electric thrived on its traditional power strip products, operating quite successfully. However, Xiaomi's entry disrupted this situation. Lei Jun publicly criticized power strips for their unattractive design, affirming that essential household items should be visually appealing. Years ago, Xiaomi introduced a power strip with USB ports that surpassed traditional designs in aesthetics and functionality, reducing the price to 49 yuan, which shook the entire power strip industry. Data indicated that this power strip sold 247,000 units on its launch day, surpassing 1 million within three months. This market invasion caught Bull off-guard, prompting rapid executive meetings to strategize a response. Bull subsequently launched its USB-equipped power strip, underpricing Xiaomi by one yuan to retain its client base. This competition jolted Bull Electric into awareness, leading it to aggressively pursue avenues in LED lighting, digital accessories, and smart-home tech, eventually branching into the new energy sector to mitigate external competitive threats. Nevertheless, in the first half of this year, Bull Electric's core business has faced a downturn. Currently, Bull Electric operates primarily within three segments: electrical connections, smart electrical lighting, and new energy. The electrical connection segment, primarily comprising converters (i.e., power strips), digital accessories, and power tools, saw a revenue of 3.662 billion yuan in the first half of the year, down 5.37% year-on-year. The smart electrical lighting segment, which includes wall switches and sockets, LED lighting (including smart lighting), safety circuit breakers, smart exhaust fans, smart drying racks, smart locks, and smart curtain motors, achieved 4.094 billion yuan in revenue, down 2.78% year-on-year. Both core segments exhibited declines in revenue, indicating the urgent predicament Bull Electric currently faces. Notably, the new energy sector, which Bull Electric had high hopes for, has not emerged as a savior. The new energy products primarily include charging piles/guns for electric vehicles, home energy storage, industrial and commercial storage, and portable outdoor storage solutions. In the first half of this year, Bull Electric’s new energy segment attained 386 million yuan, reflecting a year-on-year growth of 33.52%. While this new segment experienced significant revenue growth, its small base means its contribution to overall income remains limited. Overall, in the first half of this year, Bull Electric reported operating revenues of 8.168 billion yuan, a 2.60% decrease year-on-year, with a net profit attributable to the parent company of 2.060 billion yuan, down 8.00%. With core businesses experiencing negative growth, Bull Electric is facing declines in both revenue and profit.

Analysis by the program indicated that this marks the first decline in semi-annual performance for Bull Electric in five years. The company’s woes extend beyond this. Following the disappointing semi-annual results, Bull Electric announced that Deputy Chairman Ruan Xueping plans to offload a maximum of 36.1718 million shares via block trading within three months, totaling no more than 2% of the company’s total share capital.

Based on Bull Electric's current stock price, Ruan Xueping's share offload amounts to over 1.6 billion yuan. In the announcement regarding the share reduction, Bull Electric stated, “The shareholder's decision to reduce their holdings is based on their personal financial needs and will not significantly impact the company's governance structure or ongoing operations.” It is worth noting that Ruan Xueping serves as the Vice Chairman while also being the brother of Ruan Liping, the Chairman and President of Bull Electric. This action has triggered dissatisfaction among some shareholders, with one remarking, “Do executives not even believe in their own company?” Against the backdrop of pressured performance and substantial executive sell-offs, doubts regarding Bull Electric's future development inevitably arise.