The hot keyword in the ceramic industry in 2020 is "slate". Not only is the ceramic industry promoting slate in full swing, this craze has also spread to the home furnishing field. But some people say that rock slabs are a "pit". At least at this stage, ceramic companies need to be cautious when entering the field of rock slabs and act according to their own circumstances.
I think slate is indeed a good thing and a disruptive material with many application scenarios and development possibilities. However, the ceramic industry regards it as a life-saving straw to get out of the market downturn and overcapacity dilemma. It's obviously inappropriate. As a new type of material, the development of rock slabs must also comply with market rules. A swarm of swarms diving into this so-called "blue ocean" may cause some unprepared companies to suffer a lot. Therefore, I would like to give 3 pieces of advice to ceramic people who are interested in developing in the field of rock slabs.
一
Is the rock slab a real air outlet or a "pseudo air outlet"?
Since the end of last year, "slate" has become a hot topic among ceramic people. Whether it is an office meeting or after dinner, the three words "slate" are inseparable. As slate is quietly used in the furniture and bathroom fields, this year's Guangzhou Construction Expo, Tanzhou Ceramics Expo, and Foshan Ceramics Expo have become "Rock Expo" and "Stone Slab Exhibition"; accordingly, domestic The number of rock slab production lines has exceeded 88. Before and after the Foshan Ceramics Expo, forums and summits about slates emerged one after another. Most of them discussed the wide application fields and bright development prospects of slates. There were even remarks that slates could bring ceramic tile production back to the peak of tens of billions. Rock slabs are in the limelight and are unparalleled for a while.
But this also brings troubles to ceramic companies: Should they install rock slabs?
If you don’t go for it, you’re afraid you’ll miss the opportunity of rock slabs; if you go for it, you’ll never be able to clearly find your position.
So, my first piece of advice is: Stone slab may be a "fake outlet", and the slab industry may not be a true blue ocean.
Xiaomi founder Lei Jun once said: "Standing on the InternetAt the vent of the net, pigs will fly. "This is where the trend theory comes from. In recent years, due to the rapid changes in the Internet, various new ideas and new models have emerged one after another, and trends in various industries have begun to appear. The same is true for rock slabs. Compared with the ceramic industry, rock slabs It is undoubtedly a new opportunity for change and a trigger for the cross-border application of ceramic materials in the home furnishing field. The emergence of rock slabs will bring more alternatives and possibilities to the application of home materials, and will also bring new opportunities to the ceramic industry. Rejuvenate for a second time
But is it really so?
I don’t think so. The emergence of a trend is determined by both its internal and external factors. Internal factors refer to the products and services themselves; external factors include market timing, market demand, user demand, profit model, market capacity, capital chain and other aspects. Internal factors and external factors are indispensable. In short, "The outlet" is to launch products and services that best suit user needs and market needs at the most appropriate market timing.
Looking back at the rock slabs, it is obvious that they have not reached the point of "outlet".
First of all, slate is indeed a very replaceable decorative material for home applications, but It can be replaced but does not mean it must be replaced, this decision lies in the hands of consumers. Consumers' understanding of slate is still at an ignorant and embryonic stage, and our market education and guidance to consumers about slate is almost zero. What we are currently doing is simply producing slate furniture products for the market, so that consumers can gradually accept and understand slate; in what we call the field of slate home customization, the customized application of slate is still at a theoretical level. Possibly. Therefore, From the perspective of market awareness, market demand and market capacity, slate does not have the conditions to mature into the market and needs to It takes a long time for market education; and no one can predict how long this cycle will be.
Secondly, in terms of the material itself, compared to other decorative materials such as particle board, artificial board, quartz stone, etc., the replacement of other materials by rock board is not due to the rigid needs of consumers. Just as we were very optimistic about all-aluminum homes at the beginning, we thought that all-aluminum homes had some unique and excellent physical properties and could replace other decorative materials. But looking back today, why didn't all-aluminum homes become popular in the first place? The reason is that we have not carefully understood consumer needs and distinguished what are consumers’ real needs, which are rigid needs, and which are false needs. We originally believed that all-aluminum home furnishings would definitely replace other decorative materials. How vast is the market?market, it turns out that it is just our wishful thinking. How familiar is this scene today?
So, figure out the real needs of consumers, or This point is to tap into the potential needs of consumers and then to guide consumers to generate demand for slate It is very important and requires coordinated efforts by the entire industry.
Finally, the back-end supporting service chain such as transportation, processing, and paving of rock slabs is not mature yet. It is not the best time to enter the rock slab industry now.
Laminam Slate
It is obviously unrealistic to start boxing in the arena without practicing your internal skills well. When China Ceramics Network conducted terminal research in Guiyang (a national ceramic tile consumer market survey), we learned that there are almost no ceramic brands that lay out stone slabs in Guiyang except Gold Medal Asia. Other brands occasionally receive high orders for one or two rock slabs, but they also face many problems such as difficulty in processing, cutting, transportation, and paving. There is no professional slate processing plant in Guiyang. At the terminal research and sharing meeting, some dealers even said that if anyone wants to invest in a slate processing plant, they must bring him.
Therefore, slate is not a one-time deal. Both traditional dealers and slate furniture manufacturers and home customization companies are faced with the problem of immature industrial supporting systems. Now is not the best time to enter the rock market. In many industries, half a step ahead is early morning, and two steps ahead is dusk. Maybe slate is indeed excellent, but it still needs time to grow.
To sum up, when ceramic companies choose whether to enter the field of rock slabs, they should listen less to popular theories and tens of billions of peak theories, and more to combine their own Actual situation, think calmly, and enter the game with caution.
二
Go your own way according to your actual situation, don’t follow blindly
Although I ask everyone not to pay attention to the so-called "wind outlet", for ceramic companies with strength and preparation, as long as they can withstand the price war, market awareness period and capital chain in the first three years, they can solve the problem. For front-end sales problems, it is worth advocating to enter the game early with a clear strategic positioning.
Therefore, the second piece of advice I give to friends who are involved in the field of rock slabs is: According to your actual situation, follow your own path and don’t follow blindly.
Before talking about this issue, I would like to ask everyone to separate several concepts, namely: Separate slate furniture from slate home furnishings, and separate ceramic large slabs from slate home furnishings. Separate slates, separate large slates from small slates, and separate traditional dealer channels from furniture and home furnishing channels.
1
The biggest reason why rock slabs are so popular is that they have more application scenarios. Theoretically, slate can be used in every space of the home, including walls, floors, cabinets, wardrobes, islands, dining tables, balcony cabinets, bathroom cabinets, sideboards, TV cabinets, invisible doors, etc. In terms of actual expression, the application of slate in space can be divided into slate furniture and Slate HomeCustomized. Many people think that the two are the same thing, but they are not.
Stone furniture refers to movable finished furniture products containing slate materials, such as slate dining tables, slate coffee tables, slate conference tables, and slate bathroom cabinets. Generally, slate manufacturers, furniture manufacturers, and bathroom cabinets The product of a combination of manufacturers.
Stone slab home customization refers to the use of rock slabs to realize home customization of slabs. The more common ones are rock slab cabinet customization, rock slab wardrobe customization, etc., which more fully reflect the customizable attributes of rock slabs.
Golden slate home furnishings
Slate furniture is the second outlet for many ceramic companies in addition to being a material supplier. Many ceramic companies have found that the production of rock slabs, as a plate material, is provided to downstream manufacturers. The chain is too advanced, and they cannot accurately grasp market trends in terms of design, texture, etc., and profits are also reduced due to materialization and homogenization. Therefore, we cooperated with furniture factories and sanitary ware factories to produce slate furniture. Slate furniture not only has new brand attributes and brand value, but also allows ceramic companies to pursue higher profits. Therefore, it is logical for ceramic companies to enter the field of slate furniture, produce finished slate furniture, and create new slate furniture brands.
Compared with slate furniture, slate home customization is also a crossover, but it is much more difficult. Because the customization field is a brand new field with strong professional capabilities, long service chains, and high service requirements.
Therefore, theoretically speaking, slate can be used in every space and every scene of the home, thus giving birth to two different levels of application forms: slate furniture and slate customized home furnishings. Slate furniture is relatively simple, while slate custom home furnishings have a larger cross-border scope and are relatively more complex. If ceramic companies want to get involved in the above two types of products, they need to think carefully and match their resources and capabilities.
2
Speaking of the difference between ceramic slabs and rock slabs, I believe many ceramic people are familiar with them. Today, at least no one in the industry is so stupid that they can’t tell the difference between ceramic slabs and rock slabs. Because in the early days, the large ceramic slabs we used as background walls were essentially different from rock slabs in terms of molding technology and physical properties.
However, what I want to say today is that large slabs and rock slabs both belong to the category of ceramic slabs. If we distinguish them in terms of physical properties, they can be divided into ceramic slabs and rock slabs. How to distinguish them in terms of application scenarios? Woolen cloth?
In fact, I think that if we look at application scenarios and product specifications, the specifications are above 1200mm and the thickness is below 3mm. We can define rock slabs as rock slabs, and the remaining products, such as products with specifications below 900×1800mm, should still be used as large ceramic slabs, and rock slabs with thicknesses of 6mm and 9mm should still be used as large ceramic slabs for wall cladding. land.
3mm rock slab
This is more conducive to the future development of rock slabs, that isDon't define all specifications of products as rock slabs. They should be defined as ceramic slabs. This part should continue to be called ceramic slabs, so that there is a future and room for development.(This view comes from Liu Wei, the founder of DK·MY Dak Miyan brand, and I agree with it)
3
Regarding small rock slabs, I don’t know when the term began to appear. There is no unified standard and definition in the industry. The industry generally divides rock slabs into large rock slabs and small rock slabs.
Small slate slabs are more suitable for the processing of furniture and sanitary ware panels. The yield rate of furniture and bathroom countertops and finishes will be higher. In addition, chamfering, openings, and edge grinding are directly combined with accessories, allowing for quick installation. In addition, the cost and benefits of small rock slabs exceed those of large rock slabs. Small rock slabs have advantages in equipment, investment, production, logistics, processing, installation, and cost, so small rock slabs will be converted faster. The increase in the production capacity of small rock slabs will be in the furniture and sanitary ware sectors. Will become an important decorative material. But similarly, small-sized furniture slates may fall into a vicious price war in the early stages of development.
4
As mentioned earlier, since this year, various ceramic expos and ceramic exhibitions have turned into "Rock Expo" and "Stone Slab Exhibition". The rapid development of slate has left traditional ceramic tile dealers at a loss: they want to join the slate Sales force, but due to the lack of supporting capabilities such as transportation, processing, paving and pasting, traditional dealers feel "abandoned".
Can traditional tile dealers sell slate? The answer is obviously yes. However, the original dealers were only good at selling slates for walls and floors, that is, selling slates as ceramic tiles. In addition, there is a premise that traditional dealers have certain processing, transportation and paving capabilities. Obviously, this requires the progress of the entire industry and the coordination of various brand headquarters.
In addition, the sales channels for slates are diverse. There are converted stone dealers, furniture factories and sanitary ware factories, designers and high-end decoration companies, and home customization. Enterprise cooperation. In short, you can use slate furniture and slate home customization as long as it suits you.
So, we come to a conclusion: Ceramic companies making rock slabs also need to weigh whether their sales channel system is suitable, so as to infer that they are suitable for intervention. What kind of slate play.
Gold Medal Asian Slate
Through the distinction between the above concepts, we can see that precisely because slate has a wide range of application scenarios, it has crossed over from the ceramic industry into the home furnishing industry, and at the same time robbed stone, glass, plate and other related industries, involving There are many industries, the industrial chain is very long, the skills required are very high, and the channels are relatively complex. The original personnel, capabilities and channels of the ceramic industry alone are not enough to support the expansion and development of rock slabs. Therefore, When ceramic companies lay out rock slabs, they must make efficient matches based on their own abilities and resources, avoid pitfalls they are not familiar with, and follow their own path, not casually. Only by blindly following the trend will you have a future.
三
Don’t cross over into the field of customization easily, and be an honest material supplier
Customized slate home furnishing is a new term and a new industry. It allows the ceramic industry to cross-border into the home customization industry. Both in terms of application scenarios and production capacity, it will be greatly improved. We have opened up an increment The market will have more imagination and possibilities in the future.
Looks great. However, can ceramic companies really play in the home customization industry?
In fact, entering the customization industry across borders is not just what our ceramic industry wants to do today. Since 2010, hundreds of companies have poured into the home customization industry, but only a few have succeeded, and most of them have ceased operations and closed their doors. Good luck.
The reason is that many cross-border customization brands seriously underestimate the difficulty of the customization industry. The attributes of the customization industry are "Low capital threshold, high ability threshold". It is an industry that is not capital intensive but requires intensive capabilities and equipment. Procurement is easy, and materials are easy to buy, but it is very difficult to form a customized production system and competitive cost and delivery advantages. Anything that can be solved with money is not a problem, but it is precisely the nature of the customization industry that determines that problems cannot be solved with money. There must be time, ability, andThe accumulation of experience and the accumulation of the team. At the same time, as an industry that provides exclusive and personalized services, the customization industry has extremely high requirements for project management and technical talents. The impact of production and backend on marketing is particularly prominent and even decisive. Delivery, quality, logistics, etc. are all extremely important. It greatly affects and restricts brand companies from becoming bigger and stronger.
Therefore, it is extremely challenging for ceramic companies to engage in the unfamiliar home customization industry; and for traditional ceramic tile dealers, it is even more impossible to do well. My suggestion is that if you don’t have very strong learning and merger capabilities, it’s best not to easily cross over into the customization industry.
At the end of the article, let’s review three pieces of advice:
First, rock slabs may be a "pseudo outlet", and the rock slab industry may not be a true blue ocean.
Second, you should follow your own path based on your actual situation and don't follow blindly.
Third, don’t cross over into the field of customization easily and be an honest material supplier.
Although rock slabs are good, they are only suitable for well-prepared companies. The development of slate requires the promotion of the entire ceramic industry, especially the following Three things:
The first is to return to the essence of consumer demand for slate: "Design" and "Health". Based on these two urgent needs of consumers, the entire industry collaborates to explore and guide consumer needs, and works hard on "design" and "health" in terms of technological improvement, market education, etc., so that consumers can recognize, recognize, and accept them. And use rock slabs.
General Slate
The second is to explore in the process of growth, grow in the process of exploration, and solve many application problems in rock slab processing, paving, testing and other aspects. The birth of rock slabs is too short. We need time to verify and inspect it. We also need to establish various back-end service chains such as national rock slab processing plants, central warehouses, and rock slab paving platforms to improve our industrial chain.
The third is based on the strategic positioning and marketing channels of your own company,Do what you are good at and do what you are capable of. There are many application scenarios for slate. Whether a ceramic company is a material supplier or a furniture slate brand, whether it should use traditional dealer channels or open new home furniture channels, it must be based on its actual situation and its capabilities.
Author: Zhizun
