2020 is called the “First Year of Chinese Rock Slabs”. Although slate was not born this year, it exploded this year. At the beginning of the year, slate became more and more popular; in the middle of the year, slate was in full swing; at the end of the year, there were some negative voices about slate. This process can be described as twists and turns.
It’s actually not surprising at all. The ceramic people are playing with slates, not taking the usual path, abandoning their mature dealer system, and switching to unfamiliar home furnishing channels. It is obvious that there are too many monks and too many people to hit the wall.
The author has written many articles about rock slabs before, mostly to cool down the slabs, but has never badmouthed the slabs. There is no doubt that slate is a good thing. It can beat stone in terms of cost performance, far surpass plate in terms of design, and surpass artificial stone in terms of functionality. It is an upstart decorative material that combines appearance and connotation. A brand new, all-powerful new species. At this point, the author is completely convinced of slate and believes that slate will have a bright future.
But the ceramic industry's play with rock slabs is not just about making fanciful speculations about a theoretical market capacity, nor is it just about solving supply chain and production capacity problems, but it is about treating the development of rock slabs as a systematic project, which includes< strong>R&D and production, market awareness, user needs, channel construction, brand buildingand other multi-dimensional work are indispensable. The establishment and improvement of this system requires time.
Therefore, the author believes that never praise or denigrate rock slabs, we should take a long-term view and the whole industry should work together to promote the healthy development of rock slabs. This is the top priority. .
1
Recognize the essence of the competitive advantages of rock slabs and make "good rock slabs"< /p>
In the previous articles about rock slabs, the author has always emphasized the concept that theoretically rock slabs can replace all facing materials such as plates, stone, glass, and quartz stone. However, for home furniture manufacturers, slate is just a new type of ceramic material. Although it has various excellent physical properties, the original materials also have their own advantages. Why must they be replaced with slate?
So, we need to understand clearly the slate phaseAs for the nature of the advantages of other facing materials: Appearance and Functionality .
Appearance is design. Stone slabs break the boundaries of size, allowing designers to use their imagination more freely; continuous patterns, natural textures, etc. are readily available without any sense of fragmentation or disharmony; whether it is abstract or freehand style , can be expressed vividly. It is no exaggeration to say that rock slabs achieve more vivid texture and expressiveness than natural precious stones, but are less than one-tenth of the price. At this point, it is unmatched by any other facing material.
Functionality is physical performance. Stone slabs have unparalleled physical properties and are light, thin, hard, high temperature resistant, and corrosion resistant. Utilizing these physical properties, we can use rock slabs as kitchen island countertop decorations, which are easier to clean and less likely to harbor dirt and evil; we can combine rock slabs with smart homes to make heating, charging, temperature control and other devices; we can use rock slabs to The food-grade performance of the slab can be directly used for barbecue cooking; the high-temperature resistance of the slab can be used to make a tea table; the thin characteristics of the slab can also be used as various decorative panels for the home, making it appear high-end and classy; even the functions can be The concept of healthy tiles is introduced into slate to protect healthy life.
It is the two major advantages of appearance and functionality that make the performance and application fields of slate far exceed that of other facing materials, making slate "can replace" other materials and become a "must replace". Therefore, we must work hard in these two aspects and pay close attention to product quality, so that rock slabs will have a future.
So, how to make efforts in both appearance and functionality? The author believes that in the early stage of the development of rock slabs, the industry should be less eager for quick success and less low-price competition, and should calm down and conscientiously improve the quality of rock slabs.
At the beginning of the year, some industry associations and media successively proposed to formulate standards for rock slabs. Although most of them were shelved due to various reasons, the industry's expectations for the quality of rock slabs are common.
In the middle of the year, the author mentioned slate while chatting with the person in charge of a well-known brand in East China. At that time, the promotion of slate in China was in full swing, but the brand had not seen any movement. When the author asked the reason, the person in charge of the brand replied: ";What do you think is real rock slab? ”, which left the author speechless for a moment. He believed that the so-called slate slabs in China, not to mention the so-called ceramic slabs before, as far as the currently produced slate slabs are concerned, are far from meeting the standards; to make slate slabs, one must We will work harder on quality to meet the various indicators of rock slabs and make truly good Chinese rock slabs
In fact, he hit on the competitive nature of slate that differentiates it from other facing materials.
Only by recognizing the competitive nature of rock slabs that distinguishes them from other facing materials, conscientiously improving the quality of rock slabs, and winning the reputation of consumers, will rock slabs be more easily accepted by the public, and will they occupy an important share in the field of facing materials. In order to gain more market share, we will be more confident when we talk about the application fields of rock slabs.
Once the slate gets a bad reputation due to poor quality, consumers will not recognize the slate, and the slate battle may be over before it even starts.
2
Make full use of the original dealer channels of ceramic companies
With the development of slate slabs today, the sales channels have gradually become clearer. That is, the sales channels are different according to the application fields of slate slabs: those used as table tops for dining tables, bathroom countertops, kitchen islands, etc., go through the furniture channel. ; those used as custom decorative panels for cabinets, wardrobes, etc., go through home customization channels; those used as background walls and wainscoting to replace ceramic tiles on the upper and lower floors, some go through traditional dealer channels and home improvement company channels.
It seems that each channel is distinct, but in the actual sales process, the traditional dealer channel has not been utilized, or even completely abandoned, and many slate manufacturers are using home channels.
The home furnishing channel is not impossible, but it has three shortcomings: first, home customization manufacturers do not fully recognize slate, but only regard it as a supplementary material, and it is not necessary to use slate; second, ceramic rock Slab manufacturers are all squeezing this channel, which will inevitably lead to crowded tracks, too few people, too many monks, and overcapacity. The third is to use the household channel. Affected by various factors inside and outside the industry, a price war is likely to break out, which is not conducive to the healthy development of slate. .
That's why there are remarks that badmouth the slate. Most of the slate manufacturers are ceramic manufacturers, and they are not familiar with the home furnishing channel at all. The channel cannot be built overnight, which results in the problem that slate is "easy to produce and difficult to sell."; phenomenon.
So, can we try to return to the track we are familiar with and our own dealer system?
As we all know, the ceramic industry is a channel-focused industry. Originally, there were only two channels for selling bricks: dealer channels and engineering channels. For a long time, the dealer channel has been the main sales channel in the ceramic industry, accounting for more than half of the market. Ceramic companies are competing for terminal dealers, and those who win the dealers win the world. Through long-term operations, many ceramic companies have established their own stable and powerful dealer systems, which is not easy and is a valuable asset accumulated by the company.
But many ceramic companies actually want to abandon this stable dealer system and find another way when selling rock slabs? The author feels that this is the biggest waste of resources.
It is true that because of its wide range of application fields, it may be easier to solve the sales problem through B-end home customization manufacturers; terminal dealers also have difficulty in providing good service because of the imperfect transportation and paving of the rock slabs, which is not conducive to the popularity of the slabs. Terminal sales. However, the author believes that in the early stages of the development of slate, slate has not yet opened up the market, consumers do not yet understand the advantages of slate, and the market has not yet accepted slate. It is not easy to enter the field of slate home furnishings. Because it takes time for slate to compete with other facing materials and gain recognition, and this process just gives our ceramic industry a buffer period. We should put more energy into areas we are familiar with such as background walls, wainscoting, floor tiles, etc., and let our dealers help us push the slate. When things go well, consumers and the market will gradually recognize the slate. Naturally, it will drive the development of slate in the home furnishing field. This is a path that is in line with the development rules of our ceramic industry, and it is also the best way for slate to develop soundly and avoid premature death.
If we all crowd into the slate home furnishing track, we may be putting the cart before the horse. The future results may be: slate is easy to produce and difficult to sell, and price competition is fierce. Slate will die before it succeeds in the home furnishing field, which will affect the overall reputation and development of slate.
Therefore, the author feels that in order for slate slabs to develop soundly and to have a buffer period before gaining recognition from the market and consumers, in the early stages of slate slab development, we should make full use of the original capabilities of ceramic companies. The dealer channel vigorously promotes the development of home decoration slate on the wall and on the floor, and tries its best to follow the high-definition route to guide consumers' awareness and demand for slate, thus driving the overall development of slate.
3
Maintain high price competition
Stone slabs are good, but the industry does not value them, which is reflected in the price war.
It took half a year for the price of rock slabs to drop from 200 yuan per square meter to 100 yuan; it only took 2 months to drop from 100 yuan to 50 yuan per square meter.
We have to lament the short-sightedness of those low-price competitors: You have made immediate profits, have you considered the long-term development of slate?
The author’s opinion is: Only by maintaining high price competition for slate, can slate have a future.
In fact, those rock slab manufacturers who are chasing low prices have ignored one issue, that is,The price competition of rock slabs is not a competition between rock slab manufacturers, but a competition between rock slabs and other facing materials such as slabs and stones. competition between. Only by maintaining a high price can rock slabs be consistent with its "identity" of being able to replace other materials and be easily accepted by the market and users.
Just imagine, if a low-cost material is placed in front of you, and you say it can replace stone, wood, aluminum, artificial stone, glass, etc., will others believe it?
So, if rock slabs compete at low prices in the industry, they will cut off their own way out. Whether it is in the field of home decoration such as background walls or in the field of home furniture, only by maintaining high price competition and pursuing high-end customization can slate have price characteristics that surpass other materials and complement the natural appearance and beauty of slate. Functional advantages make it easier to occupy consumers' minds and give them a perception of slate as a high-end material.
At the same time, only through high-price competition can slate companies ensure early profits, invest more energy and costs in R&D, production and technological improvement, and allow slate companies to focus more on the quality of slates.
Write at the end
The author believes that at this stage, strive to improve the quality of rock slabs, reshape dealer channels, and maintain high price competition are the three magic weapons for the success of rock slabs. Of course, this does not mean that it is wrong for slates to be channeled through home furnishing channels, but home custom slates are only suitable for a few companies with home furnishing channels. As far as the entire ceramics industry is concerned, it is still necessary to regain dealer channels to provide slates with A space for development.
