文/智尊
In 2020, the slate fire was on fire.
Although rock slabs have appeared many years ago, the real explosion is this year, so it is not an exaggeration to call 2020 the "first year of Chinese rock slabs".
We know that the birth and development of a category or even an industry must go through the four stages of budding, growth, maturity and decline, just like the growth of a person, from birth to adolescence and then to adulthood. , and finally in old age, this is the basic law of the growth and development of all things. As for Yanban, he is currently in the 5-6 year old period of a person at best. At this stage, we can see his basic skills and talents, and we can predict his future height, weight and body shape, as well as his future social circle and development space.
However, everything is just a prediction, just an unknown. If we must plan its future at this stage and want it to live the way we want, I think it is too early. Whether it is a person, a category, or an industry, its development must follow the rules and undergo continuous testing, iteration, and integration from various dimensions such as the demand side, the supply side, the marketing side, the capital side, and the cross-border side.
This is what happens with rock slabs.
So, in response to various calls in the industry in recent days to formulate rock slab standards and discussions about whether rock slabs will exceed the peak of tens of billions, I think it is better to let the bullets fly for a while and let the rock slabs develop and develop on their own. Test it for a period of time to see how wide its real application scenarios are, to see if it can really enter the home field as a substitute for other boards, and to see if end consumers can really accept it, like it and use it in large quantities. it. Otherwise, undesirable situations such as overreaching and overcorrecting may occur.
At this stage, I think we need to understand these four things before we can start planning for the future of rock slabs.
1
What are the application scenarios of rock slabs, and what proportions do they account for?
The reason why slate is so popular is that compared with ceramic tiles, in addition to having the functions of tiles on the wall and on the floor, it has also entered the home field as a decorative material and can be used with or withoutIt has unlimited expansion possibilities and unlimited imagination space. Therefore, based on this, we began to look forward to the peak of tens of billions of rock slabs, but is this really the case? Is there any data basis for our tens of billions peak? Can the products we produce be adapted to the home furnishing industry? If it can be adapted, how much market capacity will there be in different application scenarios?
No one knows.
Everything is not supported by data. All we have are visions and expectations for the home application field. All we have is a prediction of the market share of slate slabs based on the overall market capacity of large home furnishings.
So I think that before doing any analysis about slate, we must first think about what application scenarios slate has in the major home furnishing industries and what proportion they account for.
No matter how rock slabs are defined, let’s divide the applications of rock slabs into the following categories:
1. Rock slabs used for background walls are mainly used by high-end customers;
2. Replace the wainscot and become a wall decoration material;
3. The floor is paved with rock slabs, which mainly replaces the floor paving function of ceramic tiles;
4. Furniture slate, mainly dining tables, countertops, etc.;
5. Bathroom slate, mainly used for cabinet finishes, bathroom countertops, sinks, kitchen worktops, etc.;
6. Customized rock slabs for home use, mainly decorative panels, wardrobe panels, etc.
We can see that as a new type of board, slate has an extremely wide range of application scenarios, and slate can be used in almost the entire house. However, which of these scenarios are the main application scenarios of rock slabs, which ones are secondary application scenarios, which ones can be used to deeply explore user needs and newly expand product lines, and which ones require us to launch new products through technical transformation and cooperation with designers. All these require us to investigate the user needs, market analysis and competitive product analysis of the home furnishing industry in order to arrive at the true slate market capacity.
Prior to this, the wide range of application scenarios and market capacity of fantasy slate in the field of large home furnishings were all just a flower in the mirror and a moon in the water.
2
How to sell rock slabs? Do channels need to be restructured?
In the closed loop of the development of an industry, there is not only the supply chain side, but also the marketing side.
Recently, reporters have visited many ceramic brands, and most of them have established their own slate production lines. However, when it comes to how to sell slate and which sales channels to use, everyone is confused.
Because before the advent of rock slabs, largeSome ceramic brands have never had anything to do with the home customization industry!
And what is the entire industry doing? The entire industry is talking about how many production lines there are for rock slabs, how much production capacity they have, and what specifications they have. They are all talking about the production and supply sides of the entire rock slab industry. How many people are paying attention to how the rock slabs are sold after they are produced? Can traditional dealer channels be successful?
It is understood that some leading slate brands have already won the first share of the pie and have launched in-depth cooperation with some home customization companies; at the same time, some slate processing factories have also integrated with furniture factories to produce and sell some Slate dining table, slate bathroom products. The vanguard of the industry seems to have established its own marketing system.
Can strengthen BMI slate
But what about the industry as a whole? Most slate manufacturers still don't know how to sell and how to establish their own slate sales system. Let’s analyze the sales system ofrock slabs, which is mainly divided into four aspects.
1. The traditional ceramic dealer channel is only suitable for selling ceramic tiles with original ceramic tile functions such as background walls, wainscoting, and flooring slates that require less processing. Slate products;
2. Used for slate dining tables and other furniture slates, suitable for sales to furniture factories, slate furniture brands and other furniture channels;
3. Slabs used in bathrooms are suitable for sale to bathroom manufacturers and bathroom slate processing brands;
4. Slabs used for home customization are suitable for cooperation with decoration companies, decoration companies, and large customization companies to make high-end customized slates.
So, from the above four points, we can see that for ceramic brand manufacturers, the original ceramic tile dealers only account for a small part of the sales of rock slabs. Under the new situation, the sales channels of rock slabs need to be reconstructed, and This is a long-term process.
The industry talks about the production and manufacturing of rock slabs all day long, so why not spend more time thinking about the marketing system of rock slabs. After all, without the support of a good marketing system, rock slabs cannot be sold and will fall into the unfavorable dilemma of oversupply and oversupply.
3
Is the consumer demand for rock slabs a primary demand, a guided demand, or a pseudo demand?
On September 22, the official account executive published "Be careful! 20+ production lines have been added in 40 days, and the popularity of rock slabs may only be temporary..." article. The article points out that two things need to be clarified about the "fire" of slate: 1. Is it a fire driven by the industry's push or a craze caused by consumer demand? If it is the former, it will be quite dangerous; 2. Is it a temporary taste of consumers or the future? Will become the basic building block of furniture.
The author believes it is the former. The reasons are: 1. Alternative new materials have emerged. Whether it is veneer or other materials, the freshness brought by rock slabs is nothing more than texture and pattern, both of which can be substituted. ; 2. There are considerable technical and installation hazards in the combination of slate and wooden boards; 3. The slate production companies do not have sales capabilities, and the customized home furnishing companies that have sales capabilities do not have production capabilities. Behind this crossover is a serious The separation will fundamentally hinder the prospects of rock slabs.
I will not comment on the author's remarks, but I strongly agree with the point raised in the article, because it is related to whether slate can truly enter the field of large homes, that is: Is rock slab a real rigid need for consumers, a guided need, or a false need?
General Slate
First of all, I don’t think slate is a rigid need for consumers. Because slate is an alternative decorative material, on the one hand, it is produced to replace other decorative materials; on the other hand, it is also a brand-new decorative material in itself. Therefore, no matter from which aspect, slate is a substitute or decoration that is not a rigid need. At least for now, it is not a rigid need of consumers.
Secondly, just because it is not a rigid need now, does not mean that it will not be a rigid need in the future. Because of the various advantages and characteristics of slate, a large number of consumers will use it and like it. This requires our slate manufacturers, decoration companies, home customizers and designers to work together to promote and apply it, explore and guide user needs, educate the market and consumers, and gradually develop the material of slate into a rigid need of consumers.
Of course, this is just my opinion. I think before planning the future of slate, we must understand this point and formulate corresponding slate application and market education paths.
4
As an alternative material, slate enters the home furnishing field. How much competition does it face? How long does it take to complete market education and truly replace it?
Everyone knows that slate has entered the home furnishing field and is a replaceable material. However, have we analyzed the market share of substituted materials in the home furnishing field? Is there any reason why they must be replaced by slate? How long is the replacement cycle? These issues will be directly related to the home application possibilities and development cycle of slate.
If we don’t understand this issue clearly, it is also inappropriate for us to talk about the tens of billions of slates and home application scenarios.
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There are many debates about slate, but they generally focus on development prospects, application scenarios, standard formulation, production capacity, household applications, etc., and rarely involve aspects such as consumer demand, sales channels, competitive categories, etc. I think that instead of talking about the supply chain of rock slabs, it is better to calm down, let the bullets fly for a while, and let the slabs develop for a while. We can put forward some guiding suggestions from a high position, but more importantly, let the slabs follow the market rules. Self-development.
Author: Zhizun
