Customers comparing humidifier prices at a supermarket in Beijing. Thanks to an historically dry winter, Dazhong Electronics Beijing said that, in December and January, sales of the steam emitters reached 67,000, up 185 percent year-on-year. Gome in Beijing also said their sales of the gadgets in December were five times higher than the previous month. [Photo / China Daily]

BEIJING - Although electrical appliances such as televisions, refrigerators and washing machines are not as profitable as they once were in China, new growth has been discovered in selling humidifiers, thanks to an historically dry winter.

Figures from Dazhong Electronics Beijing show that in December and January, sales of the steam emitters reached 67,000, up 185 percent year-on-year. Gome in Beijing also said their sales of the gadgets in December were five times higher than the previous month.

"Some of the best humidifiers sold out one month ago," said Sun Hongmei, a saleswoman at Suning Appliances, China's largest chain retailer of home appliances. Most people already owned one and were buying others for family members' bedrooms, for friends as a gift, but mostly for the office, which is often centrally heated and dry.

The price of humidifiers ranges from 100 yuan ($15.21) to 2,000 yuan. The most popular cost 200 to 300 yuan, Sun said. A new trend was the purchase for 600 to 800 yuan of a device that also contained an air purification technology. Traditional ultrasonic humidifiers are more often bought for office use.

Although working at a Suning store, Sun is an employee of the humidifier manufacturer Yadu Group, one of the leading companies in the industry that provided air purification equipment exclusively for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

"As our new flagship products changed in 2010, we were trained to explain to customers how the new generation products work," Sun said. Ultrasonic humidifiers break water into small particles which dampen the air around the machine. They may leave a white residue on furniture, depending on the quality of the water. Air purifying humidifiers draw in dry air, extract impurities and expel clean steam. They leave no residues.

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Sales of humidifiers also benefited from the boom in China's property industry. They are considered essential items when furnishing a home, especially given the high concentrations of formaldehyde in much modern furniture. Some humidifiers, usually costing in excess of 1,000 yuan and often made abroad, have specific formaldehyde-absorbing qualities.

Beijing Muen Chuangda Technology Ltd is a dealer for Air-O-Swiss, one of the biggest air treatment companies in Europe, whose products have won industry design awards. "We were selling Yadu goods last year, which was profitable but not as profitable as this imported brand," said the company's Liao Yanyan.

According to her, Air-O-Swiss's top product costs more than 4,000 yuan - almost the price of a Sony 40 inch liquid crystal display television in China. "We closed our store very early before the Spring Festival because of the shortage of products. Too many people this year bought humidifiers as festival gifts," Liao said.

Zou Gao, an analyst from TX Investment Consulting Co Ltd, said he thought the humidifier, soybean milk machine and other small household appliances will maintain fast growth this year. He added that the gross profit of air treatment products among listed household appliance companies rose more than 30 percent year-on-year this winter.