(Yicai) Aug. 19 -- Robam Appliances said that Ren Fujia, the only son of founder Ren Jianhua, has succeeded him as chairman of the major Chinese supplier of premium kitchen appliances as planned.

Ren Fujia, 43, will also continue as general manager of Robam, the Hangzhou-based company announced yesterday. Ren Jianhua, 70, stepped down as chairman after his term ended.

Robam is the last of China’s major kitchen and bathroom appliance makers to complete a generational leadership change. Competitors such as Fotile Group, Vatti, and Vanward Electric have already handed over the reins to a younger generation, reflecting a wider transition across the private sector, as entrepreneurs who set up in business during the country’s reform and opening-up era are now reaching retirement age.

Ren Fujia has worked at Robam since 2006, when he returned to China after studying overseas. He was a product manager in the marketing department and deputy GM of the research and development center before becoming vice chairman in 2011 and GM in 2013.

Robam’s shares [SHE: 002508] ended 4.3 percent higher at CNY16.43 (USD2.46) each today, though the stock is still down 15 percent this year. The Shenzhen market tumbled 5 percent amid a broader selloff in Chinese mainland-listed stocks.

Demand for kitchen appliances is weak amid China’s sluggish real estate market, so achieving stable business growth and lifting performance to new heights will be the new chairman’s biggest challenge, Liu Wenjuan, GM of regional home appliance retail chain Yongsheng Home Appliances, told Yicai.

As the property market can no longer drive growth, the sector’s era of rapid expansion is over, according to Liu Buchen, a senior industry observer. Appliance makers need to diversify and foster second and even third growth drivers, while also aggressively expanding into overseas markets, Liu pointed out.

Ren Fujia is pushing forward Robam's digital transformation. He has said that his father's generation built hardware performance and sales channels, while his generation's mission is to transform the company from a hardware manufacturer into a cooking services provider.

Robam’s newly appointed board members reflect that strategic shift. Among them are Zhou Haixin, deputy GM and head of the company’s artificial intelligence digital kitchen appliances business, and Prof. Zheng Xiaolin, an AI expert from Zhejiang University, who has joined the firm as an independent director.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev