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hanwang technology (002362), which is well-known in the market for its e-book products, is now vigorously marketing ai korotkoff sound electronic blood pressure monitors (hereinafter referred to as "korotkoff sound blood pressure monitors"). during a visit, a beijing business daily reporter found that hanwang technology has placed building advertisements about this series of products in many residential buildings and office buildings in downtown beijing. the evaluation and promotion of korotkoff sound blood pressure monitors can also be seen on self-media platforms such as bilibili, douyin, and xiaohongshu. compared with the overwhelming marketing, the beijing business daily reporter found that as a new entrant in the field of blood pressure monitors, it is not easy for hanwang technology to gain the trust of consumers. many consumers and doctors are still mainly on the sidelines about this product of hanwang technology. behind the vigorous creation of new products, hanwang technology has been stuck in a dilemma of net profit losses for a long time and is struggling to improve the company's profitability. whether the korotkoff sound blood pressure monitor can become the company's performance "explosion point" still needs time to test.

large-scale advertising

"send health during the mid-autumn festival with a hanvon korotkoff blood pressure monitor." recently, a beijing business daily reporter found that hanvon technology's korotkoff blood pressure monitor appeared in advertisements placed in elevators in many residential communities in beijing.

the main model of hanwang technology's korotkoff sound blood pressure monitor promoted in building advertisements is ksy-ff660, which is a basic model. jd.com also sells another model, fy730, which is a portable model.

the biggest selling point of hanwang technology's korotkoff sound blood pressure monitor is the "korotkoff sound method". hanwang technology said that the company innovatively used ai technology to apply the korotkoff sound method to electronic blood pressure monitors, filling the medical problem of electronic korotkoff sound method.

according to hanwang technology, compared with traditional electronic blood pressure monitors on the market, the company's korotkoff sound blood pressure monitor has added a sound collection device and a sound recognition algorithm to imitate the way medical staff use their ears to auscultate, thereby achieving accurate measurement of blood pressure and achieving medical-grade accurate measurement of plus or minus 1 mmhg on the product.

it is understood that the measurement principle of the electronic blood pressure monitor commonly used in the market today is the oscillometric method. the oscillometric method is to capture the oscillation wave appearing in the cuff air bag, and then obtain the estimated value through formulas and statistical coefficients, thereby measuring the systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

the attending physician of the department of cardiology of a tertiary hospital told the beijing business daily reporter that the korotkoff sound method uses a cuff to compress the artery, block the blood flow, and then slowly deflate. when the cuff pressure is lower than the blood pressure, the blood rushes through the blood vessels to form intermittent arterial pulsation sounds. the tester determines the systolic and diastolic blood pressure by identifying the arterial pulsation sounds during the process of arterial blood flow obstruction and the pressure at the corresponding point, thereby obtaining the blood pressure value. in simple terms, it is to directly listen to the sound changes caused by blood flow through the artery during the cuff deflation process.

in addition to building advertisements, hanwang technology has also made a large number of investments on self-media platforms. when searching for "hanwang blood pressure monitor" on multiple platforms such as bilibili, xiaohongshu, weibo, douyin, zhihu, etc., there are many advertising-style reviews, including some from bloggers with a large number of fans.

in order to understand the actual experience of hanwang technology's korotkoff sound blood pressure monitor, a beijing business daily reporter placed an order for a korotkoff sound blood pressure monitor model ksy-ff660 on jd.com in late august. the actual price was about 550 yuan, which is not cheap. however, in just the past week, the price of this product has dropped. as of the evening of september 2, the estimated price on jd.com was 489 yuan, and the fy730 portable blood pressure monitor is currently expected to cost 599 yuan.

from the appearance point of view, there is no obvious difference between the hanwang ksy-ff660 blood pressure monitor and other electronic blood pressure monitors, including the main unit and cuff, and it has a dual power supply mode. however, the official package does not include a charger, only a battery.

after starting the measurement, the sphygmomanometer mentioned above by hanwang technology takes about 1 minute from the beginning of putting on the cuff to completing the measurement. the host screen will simulate the rise of the mercury column, indicating the pressurization, deflation process and blood pressure measurement. after the measurement is completed, a voice broadcast will be made, including high and low blood pressure and pulse, and will be displayed on the host screen at the same time.

hanwang technology also mentioned in its recently disclosed 2024 semi-annual report that during the reporting period, the company carried out brand publicity and product promotion for the korotkoff sound blood pressure monitor through touring exhibitions, authoritative forums, important medical exhibitions, etc., and carried out targeted publicity to the doctor group through important academic conferences and other channels; strengthened the in-depth operation and content output of the korotkoff sound blood pressure monitor on self-media platforms such as bilibili, douyin, xiaohongshu, and weibo, effectively driving the korotkoff sound blood pressure monitor brand to quickly gain popularity.

with vigorous publicity, hanwang technology's sales expenses increased in the first half of this year, from 174 million yuan in the same period of 2023 to 204 million yuan. among them, advertising expenses accounted for the largest part of sales expenses in the first half of this year, at 68.3928 million yuan, compared with 56.5795 million yuan in the same period last year.

the offline sales in beijing will be launched by the end of the year

although hanwang technology said that this series of products achieved the best sales of high-end blood pressure monitors above 500 yuan on the three major platforms of jd.com, tmall and douyin on the day of "6.18", beijing business daily reporters found through field research and visits that this series of products is still far from "going viral" and is not well known to the public.

a beijing business daily reporter learned from hanwang technology sales staff that hanwang's korotkoff blood pressure monitor products are not yet available in offline pharmacies in beijing, but are expected to be available in offline pharmacies around the end of this year.

the above salesperson said that currently there is only one experience area in xidan, beijing, where you can buy while experiencing. nationwide, offline sales are mostly in east china and south china. "we cooperate with chain pharmacies, and the cooperating chain pharmacies are mainly in the above-mentioned areas. we are currently discussing with north china, and will also be launched in north china later," said the above salesperson.

offline, blood pressure monitors from brands such as omron and yuyue medical are more popular. a beijing business daily reporter visited several pharmacies in beijing and found that many pharmacy doctors said they had never heard of hanwang technology's blood pressure monitors. only one pharmacy doctor knew about this series of products, but the doctor also expressed his concerns about this series of products: "generally speaking, it would be more secure to see what the manufacturer did in the beginning. if the main product is a blood pressure monitor, then there should be no problem with its blood pressure monitor. if it came out halfway, such as hanwang originally made e-books, it must create its own highlights to attract customers when this product comes out. but ordinary people will still choose affordable and reputable brands." many consumers also hold the same attitude, saying that they are more willing to choose an old brand with high market visibility than a new product that has just been launched.

at the end of august, a beijing business daily reporter registered for an appointment at the department of cardiology at a tertiary hospital in beijing as a patient's family member. when he walked into the waiting room, he saw an omron blood pressure monitor on the doctor's desk. the doctor told the beijing business daily reporter that the traditional mercury blood pressure monitor measures blood pressure using the korotkoff sound method, but now doctors in hospitals use electronic blood pressure monitors such as omron when measuring blood pressure for patients. "just buy this one, it will definitely be fine," the doctor said to the reporter, pointing to the omron blood pressure monitor on the desk.

in the following days, beijing business daily reporters consulted several cardiovascular physicians and received similar answers. because they were not familiar with hanwang technology's blood pressure monitor products, many doctors said they were unable to determine whether the korotkoff sound electronic blood pressure monitor could obtain more accurate measurement results. in their opinion, using an oscillometric electronic blood pressure monitor from a major brand on the market can fully meet the needs of daily family blood pressure measurement.

beijing business daily reporters noticed that although hanwang technology's blood pressure monitors received a high proportion of positive reviews on jd.com, some consumers have raised doubts. for example, one consumer said in the comment section, "after measuring for a while, the overall result is lower than that of mercury measurement. although it is korotkoff sound, it is not as accurate as mercury measurement." another consumer expressed dissatisfaction with the continuous price cuts, and the purchase price was as high as 679 yuan.

industry observer hong shibin said in an interview with a beijing business daily reporter that the korotkoff sound method of electronic blood pressure monitors is theoretically more accurate. however, any method of measuring blood pressure has a certain error, and electronic blood pressure monitors are no exception. when choosing a home electronic blood pressure monitor, factors such as product quality, accuracy, and ease of use need to be considered. it is recommended to choose well-known brands and products with a good reputation to ensure product quality and stability.

performance problems to be solved

hanwang technology, which is in urgent need of new products to break the circle, is currently in a state of loss-making performance, with net profits having been in the red for two consecutive years from 2022 to 2023.

it is understood that hanwang technology's business mainly revolves around ai technology-driven digital construction and intelligent upgrading in various fields, and meets customers' common and individual digital needs by providing standardized products (technology licensing, software, standardized solutions, smart terminals, etc.), customized products (customized solutions, etc.), services and other single products or multiple product integrations. it mainly includes text big data business, pen intelligent interaction business and ai smart terminal business.

in fact, hanwang technology's performance has already shown signs of decline in 2021. financial data showed that in 2021, hanwang technology achieved operating income of approximately 1.613 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.74%; the corresponding attributable net profit was approximately 54.09 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 47.98%.

2022 has become a turning point for the company. since then, the company's attributable net profit has turned from profit to loss. at that time, hanwang technology attributed the reason for the performance turnaround to multiple factors such as the covid-19 pandemic, the russia-ukraine war, and high overseas inflation, and made provisions for asset impairment. financial data shows that from 2022 to 2023, hanwang technology's operating income was approximately 1.401 billion yuan and 1.45 billion yuan; the corresponding attributable net profits were approximately -136 million yuan and -135 million yuan, respectively.

hanwang technology has not been able to reverse its loss-making situation until now. the company's semi-annual report shows that in the first half of this year, hanwang technology achieved operating income of about 715 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 15.06%; the corresponding attributable net profit was about -50.8 million yuan, compared with -51.86 million yuan in the same period last year, a year-on-year reduction in losses.

can hanwang technology's korotkoff sound blood pressure monitor help the company turn losses around? recently, a beijing business daily reporter called hanwang technology's secretary's office as an investor. the company staff said that the series of products had not been on the market for long, and in principle, the measurement would be more accurate. it can only be said that they have just started selling, and the company will try its best to sell well, and market education work has been ongoing. but it is hard to say how much impact it will have on performance.

it is reported that the korotkoff sound blood pressure monitor is an ai terminal product of hanwang technology. in the first half of this year, hanwang technology's main revenue from ai terminals was 192 million yuan, accounting for 26.82%. hanwang technology's current main source of revenue is still from pen intelligent interaction, with operating income of approximately 417 million yuan in the first half of the year, accounting for 58.36%. during the reporting period, the company's electronic paper business revenue increased by 84% year-on-year.

regarding company-related issues, a beijing business daily reporter sent an interview letter to hanwang technology, but as of press time, no response was received from the company.

beijing business daily reporter ding ning