[Editor's note] This is the 3rd issue of the 2021 "Tao Xing China" national ceramic tile and bathroom market survey [Fuzhou Station]: Impressions. Due to the tight time and heavy tasks of this investigation, more information, more data, more characters, more opinions, more analysis... We will write and publish articles one by one in the future.
A widely sung song - "You will win if you love to work hard", has left a deep impression on the people of Fujian in the hearts of people across the country; a highly recognized saying - "Guangdong makes bricks, Fujian people sell bricks" , which allowed Fujian people to win a prominent reputation in the architectural ceramics industry. It is no exaggeration to say that in the ceramic tile market in many parts of China, Fujianese can be regarded as the undisputed protagonists.
So, in Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian Province, known as the "Fuzhou State", what kind of living situation are the Fujian people who are "the best at selling bricks" like? What outstanding characteristics does the Fuzhou ceramic tile market under the leadership of the Fujian people who are "best at selling bricks" show?
After coming to Fuzhou for the first time in August 2019, two years later, the China Ceramics Network's "Tao Xing China" national ceramic tile and sanitary ware market research team (referred to as the "Tao Xing China" research team) once again entered the city, striving to be more authentic The ground restores the appearance of the local ceramic tile market.
01
The market is highly competitive
Fuzhou has jurisdiction over 6 municipal districts, 1 county-level city, and 6 counties, with a total area of 11,968 square kilometers, an urban area of 1,701 square kilometers, a built-up area of 416 square kilometers, a total population of 8.2912 million, and a permanent population of 409 in the main urban area. Ten thousand. In terms of built-up area and permanent population in the main urban area, Fuzhou's urban size ranks relatively low among major cities in the country.
However, the relatively small scale of the city carries a huge scale of the building materials market. According to incomplete statistics from the "Taoxing China" investigation team, the number of large-scale building materials markets involving ceramic tiles in the main urban area of Fuzhou is no less than 14, and they are very scattered, scattered in all directions, east, west, north, and south. Among them, the high-end markets include Xiyingmen International Building Materials and Furniture Plaza Fuzhou Headquarters Store, Red Star Macalline Fuzhou Sandi Shopping Center, Red Star MacallineFuzhou Jinshan Shopping Mall, Red Star Macalline Fuzhou Convention and Exhibition Mall (Supreme Mall), Easy Home Fuzhou Chating Store, Easy Home Fuzhou Southeast International Store; the mid-to-low-end market includes Xiyingmen Building Materials Furniture Plaza·Sanhuan Haisheng Store, Sansan Building Materials City, Datong Building Materials City, Camellia Modern Home Building Materials Plaza, Helin Home Building Materials Plaza, Southeast International Building Materials City, New South Home Building Materials Flagship Center, Shangdu Building Materials Market, etc.
Compared with the two cities of Chengdu and Chongqing that the "Tao Xing China" investigation team visited in May this year - both the built-up area and the resident population in the main urban area are far more than several times that of Fuzhou, involving The number of building materials markets above the scale of ceramic tiles is only about 20. Fuzhou has a small population but a large number of building materials markets. This is evident from the fierce competition in the ceramic tile market.
02
Brand concentration is not high
In any city that the "Tao Xing China" survey team visited from 2018 to 2020 or this year, they can investigate the TOP5 ceramic tile brands that have the best local operations or market share. In Fuzhou, however, the situation is quite different. No matter how many ceramic tile dealers were interviewed, none of them could name the top five local ceramic tile brands. Most people said, "They are all doing pretty well, and it's hard to say who ranks the highest." , and some people say, "If others do well, we are not bad either." Such an answer may reflect the proud and unyielding personality of Fujian businessmen who keep a low profile and do not stand out, but it also reflects the low concentration of Fuzhou's ceramic tile market.
Although the ceramic tile market in Fuzhou is highly competitive, judging from the feedback from the ceramic tile dealers interviewed, Marco Polo, Dongpeng, Nobel, Mona Lisa, Guanzhu, Oceano and other recognized leading ceramic tile brands in the building ceramics industry and Its dealers do not have an absolute advantage in Fuzhou. Most ceramic tile brands and their dealers are able to find their own niche, and the entire market shows a flourishing pattern. In other words, completely different from the general trend of increasing concentration in the building ceramics industry in recent years, Fuzhou ceramic tile market has not yet seen obvious brand concentration, and the market development is still immature.
The market is not mature enough, but it shows that all kinds of ceramic tile brands and dealers in Fuzhou still have development opportunities in Fuzhou. It depends on who wakes up earlier and runs faster in the industry reshuffle.
03
Eight Immortals crossing the sea, each showing his magical powers
Why is the trend concentration of the building ceramics industry rising, but the ceramic tile market in Fuzhou is still "uniquely beautiful here", showing a pattern of a hundred flowers blooming? The "Tao Xing China" investigation team believes that compared to other cities, the Fujian people who are "the best at selling bricks" can better leverage the network advantages and home field advantages of the entire family doing business at home, and fully realize the "Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea, Each Shows His Own Advantages" Magical power". This is reflected in the mentality, that is, thinking that "there are always more solutions than difficulties" at all times, and being good at exerting subjective initiative; reflected in the operation, it is multi-brand, multi-category operation and multi-channel operation.
In Fuzhou, there are very few ceramic tile dealers who only join one brand. Most dealers operate multiple brands and operate through multiple channels, and some even operate in multiple categories. It is a common phenomenon in the industry for a ceramic tile dealer to represent two or more brands and does not require too much explanation; it is also easy to understand that it is multi-channel, that is, it is not limited to a certain sales channel, including traditional retail, designers, home decoration, and general decoration. , engineering, etc., we can do everything we can; multi-category operation means that in addition to operating ceramic tiles, we also operate other home building materials products.
It may be easy to run multiple brands and channels from covering everything to not covering everything, but for Fujian people who are good at management, this means more opportunities. As the saying goes, "You can't put your eggs in one basket." ", "If the east is not bright, the west is bright"; and multi-category operation is undoubtedly the business model that ceramic tile dealers can best approach the whole decoration trend under the trend of decoration. They can not only bring orders for ceramic tiles through sales and services of other categories, but also Increases the individual value of tiles.
04
Rapidly rising costs
The "Taoxing China" investigation team learned that many dealers' store operating costs have doubled in the past three years.
Take store rent as an example. For example, the rent of the Fuzhou headquarters store of Xiyingmen International Building Materials and Furniture Plaza has doubled in the past few years. In 2019, it increased by 60% year-on-year. In 2021, it has reached 280 yuan/㎡/month, and It is still collected every two years in the form of a rental loan. Although there is no public sharing, with the interest, it has actually exceededThe rental price is 300 yuan/㎡/month, which ranks among the best in the country. In addition, other operating costs of stores are also increasing at an annual rate of 15%. As consumers have higher and higher requirements for services, the increase in labor costs has a tendency to exceed the increase in rent.
At the same time, the store traffic of ceramic tile dealers has suddenly decreased due to the closure of fine decoration, complete decoration and other channels, and the sales price of products has also continued to fall due to factors such as channel fission, consumption upgrades and overcapacity. Interest rates have long since dropped to levels that can barely sustain normal operations.
05
Attitude determines action, and action determines destiny
As mentioned before, a good mentality is to believe that "there are always more solutions than difficulties" at all times, and to be good at using subjective initiative. There is no doubt that most Fuzhou ceramic tile dealers have a good mentality.
In 2019, the "Tao Xing China" investigation team came to Fuzhou for the first time. The biggest impression was that Fuzhou ceramic tile dealers have a good attitude and many methods. Everyone is very independent and has formed their own unique way of doing business. Advantages. Two years later, the market has already undergone tremendous changes. For example, the southern building materials market that has been prosperous for 28 years no longer exists. The mainstream specifications of ceramic tiles have changed from 800×800mm to 600×1200mm, 750×1500mm, 900×1800mm...except for a few people who have changed from two Apart from being faced with a normal attitude or a little confusion, most Fuzhou ceramic tile dealers still have the same mentality and confidence. “If you don’t do well, you must first find out the reasons from yourself.” “After doing this for so many years, I have accumulated a lot of old customers, so I don’t have to worry about retail channels.” “No matter what, it is better than working part-time, and it is better to go out. They will be called "Mr. ×"... During the interview, they vividly explained what a good attitude is.
Attitude determines action, and action determines destiny. Perhaps a good mentality is the underlying reason why Fuzhou ceramic tile dealers have created a pattern of "unique scenery here" and a hundred flowers blooming. This good mentality is worth learning from all manufacturers and dealers in the ceramics industry.
(Author: Zhuifeng)
