"2018 was the worst year in the past ten years, but it may be the best year in the next ten years." This is There is a saying that people often say when talking about China's construction and ceramics industry.
In terms of production and sales, 2018 can be called the "Year of Waterloo". The development of China's building ceramics industry Suffering a cliff-like decline, more than a hundred ceramic companies closed down; from the perspective of the end market, 2018 was the "year of channel fission". Competition in China's building ceramics industry has become fierce, with complete decoration, fine decoration, etc. Emerging channels have emerged strongly, while traditional retail channels have shrunk significantly.
But what is the specific situation? The dealers closest to consumers really have a say.
Today, let us enter the China Ceramics Network"Channel Fission Market First" - Terminal Market Research·Nanjing Station, listen to the voice of Distribution Manager Lou Hong of Nobel Ceramics Nanjing Branch (hereinafter referred to as "Nanjing Nobel") and get inspiration from it .
New situation under channel fission
Lou Hong told reporters from China Ceramics Network that the market is changing so fast that it is unimaginable. Five years ago, everyone was talking about how to grow, but five years later, dealers of most brands are already facing serious questions about whether they can survive.
The fundamental reason for this new situation is that the ceramic tile terminal channel has undergone tremendous changes, that is, The so-called "channel fission" is mainly reflected in the two channels of fine decoration and complete decoration. Lou Hong gave an example: The proportion of fully decorated houses in Nanjing is very high, as high as 70%-80% in some areas, which has had a violent impact on traditional retail channels; there are countless decoration companies that directly package ceramic tiles and other products Sales and services have intercepted the traffic of traditional retail channels on a large scale.
Under the trend of channel fission, the already fierce competition among dealers of various ceramic tile brands has become It is even more cruel, causing everyone to fall into the difficult situation of "not having enough to eat". Regarding this point, Lou Hong also gave an example: Today's consumers are becoming more and more rational and savvy. In order to buy lower-priced ceramic tiles, they always repeatedly inquire and compare prices among dealers of various ceramic tile brands. In order to attract customers, some dealers lowered the price of ceramic tiles again and again. Although they finally made business, they did not make any profit in the end.
The market is very severe. This is a new situation that all ceramic tile brands and their dealers cannot avoid.
Changes and Constancy in the New Situation
New situations often give rise to new changes; but there are also some old things that are not so easy to change. , will remain unchanged and reasonably exist within a certain period of time.
At the consumption level:What has changed is that people are more concerned about the price of ceramic tiles than before. The proportion of expenditures on purchasing ceramic tiles in the total decoration costs has dropped significantly (more budget will be used for central air conditioning, water purification equipment, heating equipment and smart homes, etc.), and consumption concepts are becoming increasingly rational; what remains unchanged is that they will still pay attention to the brands of ceramic tiles. Brands with greater visibility and influence are obviously more popular with them.
At the product level: What changes are large-sized products such as ceramic large plates and thin plates It has entered the market and can be used as background walls, wainscots or on living room floors. It has been favored by many consumers, but it has little effect on increasing the sales of overall ceramic tiles; what remains unchanged are traditional tiles such as 800×800mm. Specification products still exist as mainstream products in the market. If we want to stabilize sales, they must continue to receive attention.
At the channel level:What has changed is the overall rise of fine decoration and complete decoration channels, and the traditional The retail channel is shrinking day by day; what remains unchanged is that the retail channel is still the main channel for most ceramic tile dealers. If you are unable to cooperate with decoration companies and intervene in the fine decoration channel, you must find new ways out of the old channels and use designers to channels, foreman channels and other newof retail channels and guard the entire retail channel.
At the dealer level:What has changed is that they have also begun to transform and seek change. I hope In terms of marketing, manufacturers lead them to try new methods and new approaches to adapt to the new gameplay under channel fission; what remains unchanged is that the support they most want from manufacturers is still product price reductions and other policy benefits.
▲ Lou Hong, Distribution Manager of Nobel Ceramics Nanjing Branch
During the interview, Lou Hong told many thought-provoking examples around change and immutability.
Innovation and persistence under change and stability
Being in a very severe and complicated environment, Nanjing Nobel is not like the dealers of some ceramic tile brands. Instead of being pessimistic and retreating, we should take a variety of effective measures to actively respond, that is, we should both innovate and persevere.
One of the innovations: the implementation of the "one city, one merchant" strategy. From the previous hierarchical distribution reform to one city, one merchant, select Vigorous dealers help Nobel Tile Nanjing market channels upgrade. Nanjing Nobel began to implement the "one city, one business" strategy last year. After integrating the original four dealers into one dealer, Nanjing Nobel's resource allocation will be more effective. , the positioning of each terminal channel is clearer, the division of labor and cooperation among dealer teams are more scientific, and local market development and operation are more complete, which promotes the growth of performance.
Innovation 2: Win-win cooperation with the assembly company. The assembly company has customer resources, and Nanjing Nobel has product advantages and brand advantages. The two parties can learn from each other's strengths and achieve close cooperation based on common interests. Through cooperation, dealers are guided to transform into service providers, and after-sales service methods such as paving and pasting are used to open up the last mile of ceramic tile sales, making the integrated channel a new growth point for Nanjing Nobel's performance.
Innovation 3: Use big data to innovate marketing. As early as 2016, Nobel Ceramics reached a key strategic cooperation with Alibaba. The two parties reached in-depth cooperation in data applications, O2O business exploration, smart stores and other projects; currently, this cooperation has gone deep into the use of big data Innovative marketing level - Apply facial recognition system to obtain relevant information by capturing consumers' faces, thereby helping shopping guides adopt effective sales strategies. This is an important work being implemented by Nanjing Nobel.
Innovation No. 4: Promote the brand in an all-round way through multiple channels. Today is no longer an era when posting an advertisement in the paper media can attract countless consumers to buy ceramic tiles at the event. In response to this situation, Nobel Ceramics continues to make efforts in brand promotion, including traditional media such as CCTV and outdoor advertising on high-speed railways and airports, and new media such as Toutiao and Douyin. It is reported that NobelEr Ceramics has invested millions of yuan in publicity and promotion in the Nanjing area, and Nanjing Nobel has also invested hundreds of thousands of yuan in media such as traffic radio, realizing multi-channel all-round promotion of the brand, and the brand influence has become more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
One of the tenets: build more specialty stores and build bigger stores. Compared to other brands that have been closing stores due to shrinking retail channels, Nanjing Nobel Ceramics has not retreated but advanced, seizing the opportunity of the reshuffle and actively building stores. Up to now, including the Cézanne Impression store and secondary distribution stores, Nanjing Nobel has built a total of 25 stores (excluding the Cézanne Impression store and secondary distribution stores, there are a total of 13 stores), including A large store with an area of over 1,600 square meters. By building stores, especially large stores, Nanjing Nobel's software and hardware have been improved. Products, especially large-sized products, can better meet consumer needs. Sales services and interactive shopping experiences have also been enhanced, thus promoting Increase in customer order value.
Second insistence: Don’t blindly pursue product extensions, focus on the basic needs of users. Compared with some brands that have entered the field of functional tiles, Nobel Ceramics is more willing to work on basic functions such as texture, color, wear resistance, and anti-skid, and make its products more refined. Nanjing Nobel Ceramics takes this as a starting point to sell products and provide services around the basic needs of consumers.
After listening to Lou Hong’s detailed introduction, the reporter from China Ceramics Network asked about the composure and persistence behind the innovation and persistence of Nobel ceramic tiles. Courage and confidence are full of respect.
Channels are fissioning and we have to change; market first and act pragmatically. It is precisely by embarking on such a path of innovation and persistence that Nanjing Nobel has been able to grow against the trend in the cold winter of the industry since 2018, and its performance has not fallen but has risen!
