经济观察报·2025-08-22 08:35Core Viewpoint - The article contrasts the strategic approaches of two major players in the smart cleaning industry, Ecovacs and Roborock, highlighting Roborock's aggressive market expansion versus Ecovacs' cautious profit-oriented strategy [2][5]. Group 1: Company Performance - As of mid-2025, Roborock's revenue surged approximately 79% to 7.9 billion, narrowing the revenue gap with Ecovacs, which reported mid-term revenue of 8.7 billion [2]. - Roborock's profit declined over 40% year-on-year, with negative operating cash flow of -0.823 billion, marking its worst performance in six years [2][3]. - Ecovacs experienced nearly fivefold growth in operating cash flow year-on-year, with total profit almost double that of Roborock [2]. Group 2: Strategic Approaches - Roborock has been focusing on aggressive market capture, leading to a significant increase in sales expenses, which rose 145% year-on-year to 2.165 billion, while overall operating costs increased by 115% [5]. - In contrast, Ecovacs maintained a more conservative approach, with its R&D and management expenses growing at a rate lower than revenue growth, resulting in a slight increase in overall gross margin to 49.7% [5][6]. - Roborock's shift towards a direct sales model and increased marketing costs have contributed to its declining gross margin, which fell from 53.8% to 44.6% [5][6]. Group 3: Market Dynamics - Roborock's market share surpassed Ecovacs for the first time in 2024, reaching 19.3%, while Ecovacs held 13.6% [6]. - The top five global brands in the vacuum cleaner market saw their combined market share increase from 59.9% to 63.4% within a year, with Chinese brands benefiting from government subsidies [6]. - Investor sentiment appears to favor Roborock's aggressive growth strategy, as evidenced by a 24.5% increase in its stock price following its mid-year report, while Ecovacs' stock price slightly declined [7][8].