Years ago， a showdown with Xiaomi made Bulls Electric， a company that started with power strips， realize the looming crisis and embark on a path of diversification.
In recent years， Bulls Electric has extended its business reach into the new energy sector， launching products like charging piles and on-board chargers. However， numerous users have complained about frequent quality issues with Bulls Electric’s charging piles， such as abnormal charging， and even vehicle damage， with after-sales service lagging behind.
The new energy business has also failed to salvage Bulls Electric’s performance. Its recently released semi-annual report indicates a 2.60% year-on-year decrease in operating revenue and an 8% year-on-year decline in net profit attributable to the parent company， marking the first mid-term performance negative growth in five years for these two core metrics.
Notably， amidst this dismal performance， Bulls Electric’s Vice Chairman， Ruan Xueping， who is also the younger brother of Chairman and President Ruan Liping， has suddenly announced a significant share reduction plan exceeding 1.6 billion yuan， casting further doubt on external confidence in the company.
Is the quality and service of new energy products lagging behind?
Bulls Electric， known as the “King of Power Strips，” has long extended its business into the new energy sector， successively launching products such as charging piles， on-board chargers， and discharge sockets.
Judging by user feedback， the reputation of Bulls Electric’s new energy products appears to be less than stellar. One user reported to the “BUG” column that the Bulls charging gun purchased in March showed noticeable burn marks on the car’s charging port after only a few months of use.
Upon inspection at a 4S dealership， technicians stated that the vehicle’s charging port had no quality issues and attributed the burning to problems with the Bulls charging gun. However， replacing the charging port component would cost over 2，000 yuan.
After contacting Bulls Electric’s after-sales service， a technician indicated that the user would need to pay for the repair upfront， with the company to reimburse later.
To the user’s frustration， after submitting the 4S dealership’s repair report and invoice to Bulls Electric’s after-sales service， the company repeatedly delayed and refused to compensate， leading the user to believe that Bulls Electric’s staff had induced upfront payment and caused financial loss.
The “BUG” column found numerous complaints regarding Bulls Electric’s new energy products on Black Cat Consumer Complaints. Some on-board chargers experienced thermal cutoff issues after six months of use; others reported abnormal charging interruptions on charging piles after just one month; and one user even experienced two consecutive faulty charging piles， with one burning out and another failing to charge.
On the Bulls Automotive Supplies Tmall flagship store， negative reviews regarding product quality and service are also prevalent.
One user commented， “Buy with caution. For a product over 2，000 yuan， the core control unit failed after three months. Although it comes with a one-year free repair， failing in three months makes it unreliable.” Another user stated， “The plug has malfunctioned again. They’ve already sent me one replacement， but it’s again experienced overheating protection and automatic disconnection. If they can’t even make a plug correctly， how can I trust Bulls’ quality?”
In response to user feedback， the customer service representative for the Bulls Automotive Supplies Tmall flagship store told the “BUG” column， “We have sold tens of thousands of units， and you can see the base number of negative reviews – it’s relatively small in comparison.”
Regarding product quality issues， the customer service stated that quality problems within the warranty period are repaired free of charge. They also mentioned that the company has insurance for vehicle damage caused by charging processes due to the charger’s own issues， so there’s no need to worry about safety.
The power strip business is also struggling.
Previously， Bulls Electric relied heavily on its traditional power strip products， operating quite comfortably.
However， Xiaomi’s entry disrupted this status quo. Lei Jun once publicly criticized power strips for their unattractive design， stating， “It’s a product essential for every household， sold in huge quantities every year， yet it’s incredibly ugly.”
Years ago， Xiaomi launched a power strip with USB ports， surpassing traditional power strips in both aesthetics and functionality. It also undercut the price to 49 yuan， triggering a seismic shift in the entire power strip industry.
Data shows that this power strip achieved sales of 247，000 units on its launch day and exceeded 1 million units within three months.
Xiaomi’s cross-industry move caught Bulls off guard， forcing an emergency meeting of executives to strategize a response. Subsequently， Bulls launched its own power strip with USB ports， priced one yuan lower than Xiaomi’s， barely managing to retain its market share.
This encounter jolted Bulls Electric from its complacency in the power strip market. The company subsequently focused on LED lighting， digital accessories， and smart home products， and in recent years， has ventured into the new energy sector， diversifying its operations to mitigate external competitive risks.
However， in the first half of this year， Bulls Electric’s core businesses have dipped into negative growth.
Currently， Bulls Electric’s main businesses are electrical connections， smart electrical lighting， and new energy. Electrical connection products primarily include converters (i.e.， sockets)， digital accessories， and power tools. In the first half of the year， the electrical connection business generated 3.662 billion yuan in revenue， a year-on-year decrease of 5.37%.
Smart electrical lighting products include wall switches and sockets， LED lighting (including smart lighting)， circuit breakers， smart bathroom heaters， smart clothes drying racks， smart door locks， and smart curtain machines. In the first half of the year， the smart electrical lighting business generated 4.094 billion yuan in revenue， a year-on-year decrease of 2.78%.
With both core businesses experiencing a year-on-year revenue decline， the situation for Bulls Electric appears to be precarious.
First mid-year report performance decline in five years.
It is worth noting that the new energy business， on which Bulls Electric placed high hopes， has not become a savior.
Bulls Electric’s new energy products mainly encompass new energy vehicle charging piles/guns， home energy storage， industrial and commercial energy storage， and outdoor portable energy storage.
In the first half of the year， Bulls Electric’s new energy business generated 386 million yuan in revenue， a year-on-year increase of 33.52%. While this new business has seen significant revenue growth， its relatively small base means its contribution to Bulls Electric’s overall revenue is still limited.
Overall， in the first half of the year， Bulls Electric’s operating revenue was 8.168 billion yuan， a year-on-year decrease of 2.60%; and net profit attributable to the parent company was 2.060 billion yuan， an 8.00% year-on-year decrease. With its core businesses in negative growth， Bulls Electric has witnessed a decline in both revenue and profit.
The “BUG” column has found that this is the first time in five years that Bulls Electric has experienced a decline in its semi-annual report performance.
Bulls Electric’s troubles do not end there. Shortly after releasing its dismal semi-annual results， Bulls Electric recently announced that Vice Chairman Ruan Xueping plans to reduce his stake in the company by no more than 36.1718 million shares， or 2% of the total share capital， through block trading within three months.
Calculated based on Bulls Electric’s current stock price， Ruan Xueping’s proposed share reduction is valued at over 1.6 billion yuan. Regarding the reason for the proposed reduction， Bulls Electric stated in its announcement: “The selling shareholder has decided independently based on their own capital needs and will not have a significant impact on the company’s governance structure or ongoing operational status.”
Information shows that Ruan Xueping， in addition to serving as Vice Chairman of Bulls Electric， is also the younger brother of Chairman and President Ruan Liping， and is part of the controlling shareholder， actual controller， and concerted parties of Bulls Electric. This move has also sparked dissatisfaction among some shareholders， with one commenting， “Do the executives not have confidence in their own company?”
Against the backdrop of challenging performance， coupled with a substantial share reduction by a key executive， external parties are inevitably led to question Bulls Electric’s future development.
