Suspected of embezzlement of public funds, the founder of Zhigao Air Conditioning is under public security control. Zhigao | Air Conditioning | Founder
Recently, there have been rumors in the industry that Li Xinghao, the founder of Zhigao Air Conditioning, has lost contact. On August 19th, a reporter from the Daily Economic News learned from a middle-level manager of Shenzhen General Construction Group Co., Ltd. that Li Xinghao, one of the company's shareholders, had already been controlled by the public security organs and the related case has already been heard.
The case number in the picture has the word "criminal"
According to the Daily Economic News, Li Xinghao, a shareholder of Shenzhen Shenzhuang Construction Group Co., Ltd. and founder of Zhigao Air Conditioning, has been controlled by the public security organs, and the case in question has been brought to trial.
A person familiar with the matter said, "We have been hearing that his case has been heard in court, mainly due to the embezzlement of public funds from the Deepcoat Company.". Subsequently, Daily Economic News obtained information from the Futian District People's Court in Shenzhen that the case number involved by Li Xinghao had the word "criminal".
However, whether Li Xinghao was controlled for embezzlement of public funds has not been verified by the Daily Economic News as true.
Due to the founder being controlled by the public security organs, the low-key Zhigao air conditioner has once again returned to the public eye.
However, according to reports from the home appliance industry, Li Xinghao has long been not responsible for the related business of Zhigao Air Conditioning. In recent years, with the promotion of the local government, the management team represented by Xiao Fenglin has now gained control over the operation and management of Zhigao Air Conditioning. The operating party of Zhigao Air Conditioning has also switched from Guangdong Zhigao Air Conditioning Co., Ltd. to Guangdong Zhigao Gewu Technology Co., Ltd.
Selling assets to save oneself, former air conditioning giants fall behind
Li Xinghao was once the soul figure of Zhigao Air Conditioning.
In 2009, Zhigao Air Conditioning went public, and Li Xinghao made it to the Rich List with a wealth of HKD 1.8 billion. The following year, Zhigao Air Conditioning defeated Haier for the first time with a revenue of over 900 million, ranking in the top three in sales.
![Suspected of embezzlement of public funds, the founder of Zhigao Air Conditioning is under public security control. Zhigao | Air Conditioning | Founder](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/7af2601bc05e6312a8622dbd897db008.jpg)
At the same time, Zhigao Air Conditioning also challenged Dong Mingzhu and poached the spokesperson Jackie Chan from Gree's hands. Gradually enjoying the sweetness, Zhigao Air Conditioning was full of confidence and boasted that "the sales revenue in 2020 will exceed 100 billion".
But with a resounding slogan, Zhigao Air Conditioning began to decline in 2015, with financial reports showing a loss of 690 million yuan that year.
In 2019, Zhigao Air Conditioning set a record high loss of 1.4 billion yuan. In order to survive, the company had to lower salaries for employees and even sell everything it could: from waste to land, to property management companies. Zhigao Air Conditioning desperately sought life-saving money, but still could not save the declining performance.
The reason for this is generally believed to be related to the company's reshuffle. After Li Xinghao retired from behind the scenes, Zheng Zuyi, the first generation refrigeration postdoctoral fellow at Tsinghua University, took over. This tech guru, in order to tear off Zhigao's "low price" label, neglected business management; 2、 Zhigao Air Conditioning has overlooked the opportunities brought by the rapid development of e-commerce; 3、 Neglecting product quality, despite shouting "make the best air conditioner in the world", in reality, Zhigao's R&D investment in air conditioners is not as high as that of peers such as Gree.
Due to various reasons, Zhigao's air conditioning has gradually fallen behind.
In September 2020, the Second Intermediate People's Court of Chongqing issued a consumption restriction order, adding Zhigao Air Conditioning and its legal representative Li Xinghao, who owed nearly 40 million yuan, to the list of "deadbeats".
At the end of 2021, Zhigao Air Conditioning entered the delisting process due to failure to disclose its interim and annual reports as required.
On April 4, 2022, Zhigao Air Conditioning was officially delisted, bidding farewell to the capital market.
Nowadays, it is difficult to see Zhigao air conditioning appearing on the top 10 best-selling air conditioning brands on major shopping platforms.