[Editor's note] This is the 4th issue of the 2021 "Tao Xing China" National Tile Bathroom Market Survey [Shenzhen Station]: Phenomenon Analysis. Previously, we have published "Shenzhen's ceramic tile market is not as prosperous as expected | Tao Xing China • Shenzhen Station • Impressions", "In order to sell ceramic tiles, they tried these tricks | Tao Xing China • Shenzhen Station • People Viewpoints (Part 1)", "The market is difficult, but they said such sincere words to the manufacturers! ｜Tao Xing China·Shenzhen Station·Personal Perspectives (Part 2)" and other articles, you are welcome to click and review!
In the impression chapter, Zhongtaojun summarized the Shenzhen ceramic tile market’s property market, market distribution, brand concentration, channel structure, consumption characteristics and slate development status. In today’s phenomenon analysis, Zhongtaojun would like to talk in detail about several issues that are currently most troubling Shenzhen ceramic tile dealers.
Inadequate area protection
The phenomenon of speculation is serious
In the Internet age, consumers can receive countless information about ceramic tiles, and there are too many channels for merchants or individuals who sell ceramic tiles. On the one hand, consumers can use the Internet as a tool to check which brands have better reputation and stronger strength on websites such as China Ceramics Network; on the other hand, consumers can also get lost in the huge and messy ocean of information and lose accurate information. judgment.
For example, when visiting the Shenzhen ceramic tile market, many dealers mentioned that various merchants or individuals claiming to have the lowest prices of first-line brands have appeared on new media platforms such as Xiaohongshu and Douyin. The price attracts the attention of consumers, even if they do not achieve much transaction volume in the end, it also affects the order of the market to a certain extent.
“Shenzhen is relatively close to Foshan and can be driven back and forth in one day. We have encountered many customers who choose to go to Foshan to buy ceramic tiles after shopping here because they all think they can buy cheaper ceramic tiles in Foshan.” When the store manager of a certain brand told Zhongtaojun about the common phenomenon of ceramic tile consumption in Shenzhen, he raised his inner doubts: “We have been making ceramic tiles ourselves for so many years, and we know very well that this is not a hugely profitable product. Consumers spend so much time and money on it. Is it really more cost-effective to go to Foshan to buy ceramic tiles? ”
Not only that, some ceramic tile dealers also revealed to Zhongtaojun that the management system of Foshan's large ceramic enterprises is very complete.There will be no situation where the manufacturer's headquarters uses low prices as bait to grab orders from local stores, and the manufacturer's salesmen will not take such bulk orders privately. Most of the people who are really disrupting the market are some "speculators". "This kind of people are not loyal to a certain brand, let alone the so-called principles. It can be said that they will accept anyone who comes with business. Sometimes we are also confused about where their so-called ultra-low-priced sources of well-known brands come from."< /p>
In fact, this kind of irregular sales channel has led to endless after-sales problems with ceramic tiles on the market, leaving no way to complain. Consumers often ask Zhongtaojun for help, "How to check whether the ceramic tiles they buy are genuine?" "How to confirm whether the ceramic tiles they buy are from Guangdong?" "What should I do if the ceramic tiles have quality problems and are not accepted by the manufacturer?" At this time, Zhongtaojun can only give a warm reminder: Don’t be greedy for cheap when buying ceramic tiles. It is best to find a regular brand store. At least there is an extra layer of insurance in the after-sales area.
Operating costs soar
Profits fall again and again
In Shenzhen, where land is at a premium, the rental cost of ceramic tile stores can be said to be higher than in other cities. A Hunan dealer half-jokingly said to Zhongtao Jun: "I went back to my hometown during the Chinese New Year to chat with friends who are also in the ceramic tile business. I found that one month's rent for opening a store in a Shenzhen shopping mall is almost equal to one year's rent for opening a store in my hometown's building materials market. The rent there is even bigger. ”
In recent years, the rents of shopping malls in Shenzhen have been rising, while the transaction value and profit points of ceramic tiles have plummeted. Due to Shenzhen's high housing prices, small room sizes, rational consumption and other factors, the transaction value of local ceramic tiles is generally relatively small. Compared with the single value of hundreds of thousands or hundreds of thousands of yuan in mainland China, as long as it exceeds 30,000 yuan, it is considered a big order in Shenzhen. It is understood that the renovated customers and Hong Kong customers that ceramic tile stores usually receive are generally worth only a few thousand yuan per unit.
Some dealers believe that this has something to do with the concept of "light decoration, heavy decoration" that has emerged in recent years. Everyone thinks that the main material of ceramic tiles is not important, and is more willing to spend money on customization, soft decoration and even smart home appliances. This is a very pessimistic phenomenon. In this regard, Kangda Meishuo Building Materials, which represents Nobel Ceramics, believes that the market needs to carry out silent education to convey the concept that "customization determines the decoration style, soft decoration determines the lifestyle, and ceramic tiles determine the basic quality of a home" .
Operating costs continue to rise, but the unit value is getting smaller and smaller. It is conceivable that the ceramic tiles in ShenzhenDealers don't have it easy. A dealer revealed to Zhongtaojun that some conventional products of well-known mass brands (such as 800×800, 600×1200) have been sold at cost prices close to second- and third-tier brands, without either brand or price advantages. , many dealers of intermediate brands can only watch as customers are lost.
This is especially true for decoration company channels. The material libraries of most decoration companies usually display ceramic tiles with different price ranges. If they are ceramic tiles of the same style and specifications, consumers will most likely choose the one with a higher price/performance ratio. However, customers who really have high quality requirements will not be satisfied with the products in the decoration company's material library and turn around and choose other brands. Dealers who focus on the decoration channel in Shenzhen said that their company has invested a lot in this channel, but the effect is often only reflected in sales. If you want to make a profit, you still have to walk on multiple legs.
The product cannot keep up
The channel cannot be opened
Almost every dealer understands the principle of "having more legs makes it easier to walk", but not all dealers are suitable to take this path. This has a great relationship with the product structure of the brands they represent. For this reason, some dealers have chosen a multi-brand operation model.
Take the designer channel as an example. The home decoration design circle in Shenzhen has a unique feature, that is, the owners here are more aware of independent choices, and designers do not have a big say in material selection. It is precisely because of this situation that ceramic tile dealers in Shenzhen rarely have "hidden costs" when cooperating with designers. What the designer group values when choosing cooperative brands is also the product.
“If you go through the designer channel, your products must keep up. First, the product line must be complete enough, secondly, the tonality of the main product must be high-end, and most importantly, it must be a unique and personalized product.” Some dealers believe that, If the brand you represent does not meet the above conditions, it will be difficult to leave the designer channel in Shenzhen. You know, in Shenzhen, in addition to domestic high-end ceramic tile brands, various imported ceramic tile brands are also eyeing it.
In Shenzhen, whether they are dealers, designers or consumers, they have a more international vision for the aesthetics of ceramic tile products. This makes the Shenzhen market accept new products and new categories faster. Zhongtaojun confirmed this from many dealers.
Currently, nearly 90% of consumers in Shenzhen will consider choosing slate when decorating, and slate is also the main material for background walls. “As soon as the category of rock slabs came out,When I came here, I started planning how to renovate the new exhibition hall. When I saw that all my peers were selling slates, and the manufacturer only had a few slate products, I couldn't help but be anxious. "Using manufacturers to launch new products is probably something that Shenzhen ceramic tile dealers will do, because in this market, new products are not only a stepping stone for them to open channels, but also the source of motivation for them to compete with their peers.
Increasing storage pressure
Urgent need for light asset operations
With the acceleration of urbanization in the past two decades, Shenzhen's ceramic tile storage areas have moved from inside the customs to outside the customs. Even so, Shenzhen's storage rent is still not cheap, with the lowest monthly rent of 20 yuan/square meter and the highest monthly rent of 20 yuan/square meter. The monthly rent should reach 70 yuan/square meter. Therefore, ceramic tile dealers who started out as wholesalers are now gradually reducing their inventory.
“In Shenzhen, in addition to Huiquan Mercure’s warehousing + processing center area that can reach 10,000 square meters (including multiple brands and multiple categories), other building materials companies with warehouse areas of more than 1,000 square meters are all very powerful. dealers." Regarding the topic of warehousing, a dealer said this to Zhongtao Jun.
For mass brands that mainly use retail channels, Shenzhen has a dense market and numerous stores. Without the support of a strong warehousing and logistics system, it will be difficult to provide consumers with fast and good services. However, huge inventory is also a pressure for dealers, because the radiation range around Shenzhen is not large, and digesting inventory will become a major problem for dealers.
“One advantage of being in Shenzhen is that it is relatively close to the manufacturer. If a customer places an order for a certain product but it is not in stock now, then the product can be shipped from the manufacturer today, so we basically won’t do it now. Doing too much inventory." During the visit, Zhong Taojun found that there are dealers (non-general agents) of many brands in Bao'an District, Shenzhen, which have almost achieved a zero inventory operation model.
Of course, this asset-light operation model is also a big test for the manufacturer's service capabilities. If both manufacturers can cooperate well and open up the entire service supply chain, then this model will be extremely attractive to both experienced ceramic tile dealers and new entrepreneurs.
Staff instability
Team building is difficult
In the eyes of many people, ShenzhenIt is a city where dreams can come true, but it is also a very competitive city. When Zhongtaojun visited the Shenzhen ceramic tile market, he also had a certain understanding of the salary levels of local employees. After comparing the housing prices in Shenzhen, Zhongtaojun found that most of the shopping guides and store managers who sell ceramic tiles have difficulty With his annual salary of more than 100,000 yuan, he purchased a house. If there is no way to settle down in one city, I believe that most people will choose to change cities or return to their roots after reaching a certain age.
“There are fewer and fewer new people entering the building materials industry. Young people are not willing to sell ceramic tiles, and even if they join the job, they will not stay long.” A ceramic tile dealer revealed to Zhongtaojun the current employment problems they are facing— —It is difficult to train new people. They believe that the most fundamental reason is that engaging in ceramic tile sales requires a lot of learning, difficulty in getting started, and the ability to endure hardships. For this reason, they tend to choose employees who have already started a family when recruiting, because this group of people has better stability.
A ceramic tile dealer in Chengdu once told Zhongtaojun: "The core of building a team is actually to cultivate the happiness of employees." Zhongtaojun was deeply touched by this, because when the China Ceramics Network's "Tao Xing China" research team walked to the door of the dealer's showroom, the shopping guide's bright smile had deeply infected the group. I believe that consumers who have been received by such shopping guides should have a higher impression of the brand.
However, Zhongtaojun saw a negative case in Shenzhen. The showroom decoration of a certain brand dealer is very high-end and classy. When the research team walked into the store to explain their intention and sat down to wait, several shopping guides complained about their various dissatisfaction at work and were full of negative energy as if no one else was around. Coming at you. In addition to the research team, there were other consumers present in the exhibition hall. How can such a shopping guide give consumers a good impression of the brand?
When the employment cost of a position is out of balance with the cost of urban living, it will be difficult to achieve employees' sense of belonging and happiness. At the same time, the company's personnel structure will become unstable, and it will be even more difficult to build a team. This is the cruel side of the city of Shenzhen and the sad side of the entire ceramic construction industry. How to get more young people with ideas and motivation to join the construction and ceramics industry in the future has become a problem for the entire industry.
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In view of the above five major problems that plague Shenzhen ceramic tile dealers, Zhongtaojun believes that market order needs to be maintained by everyone, consumption habits need to be changed by subtle market education, and difficult problems also need to rely on the joint efforts of most people. can be solved. And "there is a bright future in another village"uo; The premise must be that everyone from manufacturers to dealers pay attention to it. If they don't pay attention and take action, the situation will only get worse.
(Author: Hong Xiaochun)
