About 2017-2018, that is, two years before the rise of slate slabs, large slabs became the most eye-catching product in the building ceramics industry. At first, only some ceramic companies issued a "no big slabs" Later, almost all ceramic companies shouted the slogan "No big boards, no brand".
In 2019, rock slabs suddenly appeared, quickly replacing large slabs and becoming the most popular Internet celebrity in the building ceramics industry. Many ceramic companies have changed their brand slogans from "No big slabs, "No big brands" was changed to "No rock slabs, no big brands".
What is the connection between Rock Beam? Are they both very big, and the big slab becomes a rock slab when put on a vest, or is the rock slab equivalent to the big slab 2.0? Or are they not only different in name, but also fundamentally different? This has not yet reached a conclusion in the construction and ceramics industry, and it is not the issue that Brother Chan discusses in this article. In the building ceramics industry, where brands and product naming are very confusing, it is simply impossible to clarify this issue and gain recognition from most people.
Then let’s not get hung up on the connection between rock slabs. Let’s call them collectively “big rock slabs” and then simply “rock slabs”, and then tell a fact that everyone may admit: Stone slab is the most popular but least popular product in the building ceramics industry. The main reason why it is not popular is the focus of this article.
01
Not based on consumer needs
Whether it is compared with ordinary ceramic tiles, stone, or wood, rock slabs not only have high appearance and beautiful application effects, but also have very good functions and performances, which is an advantage So many great products.
But good products do not necessarily have a good market, as evidenced by relevant data showing that the domestic slate market in 2019 was less than 1 billion.
In this regard, you can say that the reason why rock slabs cannot be sold in large quantities is because consumer education has not yet been completed. It can also be said that their target consumer groups are mainly high-end people rather than the general public. But doesn’t the latter statement go against the important task of expanding industry boundaries and upgrading end consumer groups that rock slabs bear? Moreover, many designers interviewed in the terminal survey of China Ceramics Network said that the high-end people’s favorite is not necessarily slate, but they are more inclined to choose natural high-end stone.
Brother Chan watched a joke-like conversation in a WeChat group in the construction and ceramics industry last year and thought it was the most vivid footnote that "good products may not necessarily have a good market." The general idea of the conversation is as follows:
A: When I went to the Guangzhou Building Materials Exhibition this time, I saw that almost none of the booths of kitchen and bathroom and home customization companies used slate.
B: Very good. Opportunities have come for the ceramic construction industry. Slate has broad application prospects in integrated kitchens and integrated bathrooms.
A: Those guys from the kitchen and bathroom and home customization companies are too bully. They don’t use such a good product as slate? They have not considered the problem from the perspective of consumers at all. Let us unite and go to court to sue them!
C: Yes, go sue them without using Yanban’s several crimes.
……
Stone slab application The effect is beautiful
Slate has a wide range of applications
During the conversation, Mr. A said that kitchen and bathroom and home customization companies did not consider issues from the perspective of consumers. In fact, this statement is more appropriate to describe ceramic companies that produce and operate slate slabs. Why do so few kitchen and bathroom companies and home customization companies use slate? There may be many reasons, but the biggest reason is that the price of rock slabs is high and the processing and application system is immature, which makes kitchen and bathroom and home customization companies reluctant to adopt it. For the same reason, real estate companies do not use slate to decorate finely decorated houses, mainly due to cost and processing application considerations.
Consumers are divided into two types: customers and users. For ceramic companies, kitchen and bathroom companies, home customization companies, and real estate companies are customers who purchase slate slabs, but they are not necessarily users who use slate slabs; units, families, or individuals who purchase slate slabs are both customers and users.
From the perspective of user thinking, the units, families or individuals who purchase slates obviously have a greater impact on the market of slates.
Whether slate slabs can truly be favored by the market depends on whether ceramic companies and their partners (distributors, processing plants, kitchen and bathroom, home customization, and real estate companies) can truly Do a solid job in the research and development, production, sales, and service of slate with a user mindset, that is, we must not only solve the problems of the appearance, function, performance, and sales of slate, but also solve the high price of slate and imperfect services. problem.
If we do not start from the perspective of consumer demand, prices cannot be lowered and services cannot keep up, the sales volume of slate slabs will never increase.
02
The supporting services are not perfect
Supporting services for rock slabs include logistics and transportation, secondary processing, distribution, and paving, involving ceramic companies, processing plants, dealers, etc., as well as finding logistics companies, making wooden pallets, training paving teams, or outsourcing paving services. Wait for multiple stages.
When it comes to supporting services for rock slabs, the first thing most people may think of is how to transport them into their homes. Because the area and weight of rock slabs are usually very large, it is impractical to move them into the home by manually walking up the stairs, and it is also impossible to enter the elevator. It often requires the use of an expensive crane to rent. With the continuous improvement of transportation methods, the problem of transportation of rock slabs may become less and less of a problem, but the high transportation costs may still be a problem that is difficult to solve for a long time.
Stone slabs are very troublesome to transport
The processing of rock slabs is a more complex problem. Slate is similar to stone, but has stronger hardness than stone. Naturally, the requirements for processing equipment are higher than stone. Whether the processing plant is absent and the processing level is in place often determines the application effect of rock slabs.
Brother Chan ended up at China Ceramics NetworkDuring the end-to-end survey, we learned that many places do not have processing plants with equipment and technology that can meet the processing needs of slate. Dealers in these places can only help consumers transport the slate to neighboring cities or directly to Foshan for processing. As a result, processing costs will rise significantly, causing one or both merchants and consumers to increase expenses.
The laying of rock slabs is much more difficult than the laying of ordinary ceramic tiles, and it is also a complicated problem. Only with the joint efforts of ceramic companies, dealers, plasterers, etc., can the mature slate paving process and technical techniques be implemented from the upstream to the terminal. Meet consumer needs.
Because the requirements for supporting services of slate are much higher than that of ordinary ceramic tiles, and the price is much higher than that of ordinary ceramic tiles, problems in any aspect of the supporting services will cause problems for ceramic companies, dealers or consumers. The person suffered considerable losses.
If supporting services are not provided, i.e., the last mile of marketing is not opened up, the sales volume of rock slabs will never increase.
03
Lack of product standards< /span>
Slate is a newborn with only a few years of history. In many aspects, it cannot be compared with ordinary ceramic tiles with decades of history. It is even more blank in terms of product standards.
Regarding the product standards of rock slabs, a senior ceramics media person once wrote an article and pointed out that "the standards for rock slabs 'should be done' does not mean that they should be 'done immediately'". His reasons are: First, “the evolution from large slabs to rock slabs is still in the process”, “It needs to be ruthlessly and powerfully shaped by the market." Secondly, "most of the industry standards and team standards currently seen are established based on the requirements of individual core enterprises, and are often launched in a hurry, resulting in the generalization of standard quality and 'timeliness' It is limited, so the impact on the industry is also limited, and even if it is implemented by participating companies, it may not be in place." Therefore, he believes that "everyone should be patient and wait for the slate standards."
The views of this senior ceramics media person are certainly reasonable, but the reality is that the market does not allow everyone to wait.
An engineering marketing manager of a certain ceramic company who did not want to be named told Brother Chan that in order to expand the sales of slate slabs, his company had submitted bids for real estate decoration projects countless times, but not only did they often come back without success, but they were also deeply hit. Subject to the lack of product standards, slate is still classified as ordinary ceramic tiles by real estate companies, and the price in the engineering field is naturally not affordable; and the engineering channel is precisely slate An important potential growth point that cannot be ignored.
If product standards are not established, sales of rock slabs will never increase.
In addition, rock slabs also have problems such as limited production capacity. There are nearly 20 domestic slate production lines. On the surface, the output should be quite a lot. However, judging from the fact that the domestic slate market is less than 1 billion in 2019, it is not optimistic. An industry insider who did not want to be named revealed that although slate production is booming amid widespread applause, in fact many slate processing factories simply cannot get the goods and have no work to do.
In view of the several major reasons mentioned above, Brother Chan believes that slate is unlikely to explode in the short term as some industry insiders have said, but it can be used across borders and can be used as ordinary ceramic tiles. The new ceramic materials used are still very promising. After all, it is a disruptive innovation created for cross-border applications that competes with stone, wood and other materials. It is different from ordinary ceramic tiles and different from the previous large slab 1.0. The innovations in ordinary ceramic tiles and large slabs 1.0 are nothing more than innovations in colors and categories, which can easily be replaced by new products that come from behind.generation, and once the slate market forms a mature market, it will be difficult to be replaced.
To realize the explosion of rock slabs, market entities such as ceramic companies, dealers, and processing plants involved in rock slabs must go through a brutal growth process - the establishment of product standards, The implementation, improvement and competition of supporting services, as well as price competition... will also require more ceramic companies, dealers, processing plants and other market entities to invest in the field of slate slabs, speak out and work together, and build with altruistic thinking and user thinking. A win-win home ecological chain.
Of course, "one general succeeds and ten thousand bones wither", as the slate gradually breaks out, it will be accompanied by the entry, exit, birth, and death of one market entity after another; only by daring to think, dare to innovate, and be one step ahead can we achieve success in the future. Slabs and even the entire building ceramics market are in an invincible position.
