Braving the scorching sun, braving the scorching heat, and enduring the drowsiness... From June 17th to 24th, the China Ceramics Network terminal research team went to Chuanxia County, Xuzhou, with 6 people/day strong>The number of interviews and the number of WeChat exercise steps 10000+ steps/day go deep into major home building materials markets, collect terminal-related data in the building ceramics industry, and understand the living conditions of building ceramics manufacturers and dealers.
During this process, Brother Chan learned about some situations that were impossible to understand without using the terminal, and also thought about some issues that were impossible to think about without using the terminal. It can be said that he was full of emotions and unhappy.
Current situation: Three mountains under heavy pressure
At present, dealers in the building ceramics industry are burdened with three big mountains.
The first big obstacle is the sharp shrinkage of the market.
Due to the cooling of the real estate market and overcapacity in the construction and ceramics industry, coupled with the increasing proportion of finely decorated houses, the strong rise of the prefabricated channel, and the popularity of the designer channel, in the environment of channel fission, the ceramic tile terminal market, especially It is the retail market that is shrinking. This current situation can be proved by the share data of various channels in the Xuzhou ceramic tile market collected from dealers during the survey: fine decoration and complete decoration channels account for about 50%, designer channels (including full cases) account for about 10%, and imported ceramic tiles account for about 10%. Accounting for 10%, while retail channels only account for about 30%. Although this is only the data of the Xuzhou terminal market, "you can know the late autumn by seeing a leaf", and this is generally the case in the national ceramic tile terminal market. Except for a few powerful ceramic manufacturers that can intervene in the centralized procurement channel of finely decorated houses, which has high requirements for brand influence and financing capabilities, the vast majority of ceramic manufacturers have no chance to do so, let alone have neither financial strength nor sufficient agents. Distributor of influential ceramic tile brands. As for non-traditional channels such as decoration and designers, dealers who lack certain financial strength, network advantages, team foundation and other conditions are basically unable to get involved.
To survive and develop only by relying on retail channels, which account for about 30% of the ceramic tile market, most dealers are under great pressure.
The second big problem is price shopping.
Severe overcapacity, market shrinkage, product homogeneity and other factors have caused price wars to surge in the end market of the construction and ceramics industry. In the rounds of price shopping, big brand manufacturers reduce product costs through OEM, brand manufacturers from non-Guangdong production areas ship at low prices, and dealers of various ceramic tile brands compete for customers regardless of cost, and low-priced bricks are pouring in. Fine decoration channels and fully assembled channels... Price wars have given rise to fake and inferior products, product quality is uneven, and good and bad brands are mixed, which in turn further intensifies vicious competition. In the end, it is the consumers who get the immediate benefits, and the dealers, especially those with mid- to low-end customers as their mainstream customer groups, are harmed. Although the product quality of the ceramic tile brands represented by this type of dealers is often very good, their brand awareness is generally not large enough, and their prices are not low enough. When it comes to this kind of vicious competition, the dealers interviewed by the terminal research team of China Ceramics Network have no choice but to sigh or smile bitterly.
Using price shopping as the most powerful weapon to attract customers to pay, most dealers’ marketing is extremely weak.
The third big problem is inventory backlog.
As we all know, most dealers are responsible for the sales tasks signed by ceramic manufacturers and them, including the so-called annual tasks and "first launch" tasks. If the task can be completed, both parties will be happy. Both the manufacturer and the dealer can achieve growth in sales and profits, and the dealer can also earn the rebates promised by the manufacturer. When market demand is strong, this is definitely a good thing; when market demand is sluggish, it is a very bad thing. During the survey, the terminal research team of China Ceramics Network found that under the severe market situation, many dealers are currently trying to reduce storage area and product inventory. But the market is so depressed, old inventory has not been digested, and new goods are coming in continuously. Some manufacturers except at the end of the month&"Forcing" dealers to purchase goods to pass on the pressure, it seems that there is no longer any means to help dealers. The backlog of inventory not only crowds out the warehouse, and requires paying a lot of rent, but also takes up more space. Funds increase business risks
Faced with a mountain of inventory that cannot be fundamentally solved, the future of most dealers is extremely slim.
The heavy pressure from the three mountains has caused dealers’ market share to shrink, revenue and profits to decline, and operating costs to rise.
Xuzhou Suining Senbo Home Building Materials Plaza (No one came to the door on Sunday, the dealer said it was because of busy farming, which is generally the case every year)
The way out: transformation and upgrading to survive
Facing the heavy pressure from the three mountains and the series of negative impacts they bring, do dealers still have a way out? "The boat will naturally go straight when it reaches the bridge." The answer is naturally yes.
Self-salvation is the prerequisite.
If a person doesn’t want to live, no one can save him or her. In the current predicament, if a dealer feels that there is nothing he can do to save the day or even a dead end, or he doesn't want to continue to be engaged in the ceramic tile business at all, then no matter how much he talks to him or her, it will not help. It is better to directly persuade them to wash their hands - —Rather than being anxious like an ant on a hot pot but unwilling to make fundamental changes, so that the days are like waiting for death, it is better to exit the ceramics industry as soon as possible. Perhaps, letting go is one of the best and most honorable ways out.
However, if the dealers themselves don’t want to die, no one can really kill them. The e-commerce channels that were highly hyped in the past cannot do this, and the hardcover and self-contained channels that are now developing in full swing cannot do the same. As a group, dealers are here to stay. Anyone who threatens to kill a dealer is either grandstanding or a sincere warning.
Therefore, if dealers want to survive and develop through transformation and upgrading, it is crucial to be determined not to give up until the goal is achieved, that is, self-salvation is the prerequisite.
This is exactly what the famous French writer Hugo said: "The greatest determination will produce the highest wisdom." Only self-salvation is the real salvation. The strong will save themselves and the saints will save others. They are either busy living or busy dying.
It is very gratifying that even if they face many difficulties, most of the dealers interviewed choose to continue to engage in the ceramic tile business and are willing to make changes.
Manufacturer collaboration is the key.
Self-salvation alone is far from enough. We also need the full support of ceramic manufacturers, and we also need the concerted efforts of manufacturers.
For manufacturers, they must do their best to help dealers develop new channels such as fine decoration, complete decoration and new retail, lead them to upgrade, and realize the transformation from dealers to service providers.
This must not stop at the "chicken blood" when holding dealer meetings or the "coercion and inducement" when urging dealers to purchase goods, but should come up with real "dry information":One It is to provide products with market competitiveness. In view of the common problems reported by the interviewed dealers such as the lack of individuality and hierarchy of the manufacturer's products, insufficient timely updates, and lack of price advantages in regional engineering channels and assembly channels, manufacturers must develop new products quickly and timely, and product (market) areas The separation must be accurate and effective, and the price must meet the needs of each channel. In addition, sufficient supply must be ensured without allowing dealers to suppress goods. The second is to provide adequate brand promotion. Whether online or offline, whether in mass media or industry media, whether nationwide or in local areas, as long as it can increase brand awareness and influencePower, dealers urgently need manufacturers to do it. This is the second most talked about issue by the dealers interviewed in the survey, second only to product issues. The third is to provide solid and effective assistance. In addition to product support, assistance is also an issue of great concern to the dealers interviewed. They hope that manufacturers can help them build efficient teams and build profit systems, and implement them through practical training and activities.
For dealers, it is necessary to maintain a good attitude and go all out to put the goals of transformation and upgrading into action.
First, keep up with the pace of manufacturers. The market is changing rapidly, one step is slow and the other is slow, and one step is wrong and the other is wrong. Once you have identified a manufacturer that is worth choosing and sticking to, there is no reason not to keep up with its pace and move forward bravely. Second, only by giving up can you gain. Now that you have made up your mind to transform and upgrade with the brand, and since the greater costs have been paid, you must take action when it is time to take action, and invest when it is time to invest, and you must not be timid and afraid of wolves in front and tigers in the back.
For both of them, they need to think in one place and exert their energy in one place. In extraordinary times, manufacturers and dealers are like two grasshoppers tied on a rope. No one can live without the other. If we are not in the same boat now, when will we be together?
Building a team is the foundation.
The shopping mall is like a battlefield. Don’t fight alone. A team is more likely to succeed than an individual. In the new situation of channel fission, the transformation and upgrading of dealers without a team foundation can be said to be a pipe dream.
If there are no people, recruit them as soon as possible; if there are people but lack the ability, train them as soon as possible; if there is no retention mechanism, formulate it as soon as possible. For dealers, it is very urgent to build a team. Without a team, any transformation and upgrading will be water without a source and a tree without roots; for manufacturers, it is also very urgent to build a team. Without a team, any assistance to dealers will be just a cliché. Empty talk.
Gold medal Asian tile Suining dealer Wang Yongxia
Dajiao Lupei County dealer Dong Jiajia
Qiu Jian, Design Director of Jianqiu Space
Hu Yanqin, Jiangsu Water Cube Architectural Decoration Design Institute
Finally, in a nutshell:
Fine decoration, complete decoration, tooling, designers, foremen, old customers, new retail, building materials multi-category operations and even development into a complete decoration company... In fact, anyone in the industry knows it. There are tens of millions of sales channels, but only one should be considered for transformation and upgrading - without money, no one and no determination, there is only a dead end.
Reluctant to invest, without a team, and without the determination to stick to the end, Brother Chan really can’t think of any other way out except for a dead end.
As the saying goes, "If the transformation is not effective, relatives will burst into tears."
For more content, please stay tuned and it will be held on June 26 at Shenghui International Home Plaza< /span> China Ceramics Network’s “Channel Fission Market First” terminal research • Xuzhou station landing event was held!
