The market is changing, consumption is changing, and so are ceramic products and marketing!
Nowadays, consumers’ demand for building ceramics is becoming more and more diversified. Therefore, in addition to mainstream categories such as polished tiles, glazed tiles, and marble tiles, there are also subdivisions such as soft light tiles, pastoral antique tiles, and wood grain tiles. Categories can also “shine brightly” in their respective fields.
Take soft-light ceramic tiles as an example. Although they have experienced more than ten years of development, they are still advancing steadily with a "slow water" trend, and their market share is also gradually increasing.
01
8 years of hard work
Finally successfully "planted grass" in the hearts of young consumers
In 2013, soft light ceramic tiles entered the public eye for the first time.
At that time, Huapeng launched the first generation of 29° soft light bricks. The following year at the Foshan Autumn Ceramics Expo, Jinyitao, Xinzhongyuan, Asia, Balenciaga, etc. launched "soft light marble" and "soft light stone" ", "Soft light full polished glaze" products. The second half of 2015 ushered in a small explosion.
But in the following years, soft light ceramic tiles did not usher in the "big fire" development like modern antique and large/slates, and quickly swept the entire industry.
In fact, soft-light ceramic tiles have been developing steadily, and the development growth rate in the past two years has been relatively ideal.
“The growth rate of soft light tiles is the fastest in 2019 and 2020.” Yao Songrong, general manager of Huapeng Ceramics Marketing Center, told Ceramic Information that the current annual sales of soft light tiles can account for more than 30% of the company’s total annual sales.
According to Yao Songrong, when soft-light tiles were first launched in 2013, compared with other ceramic tile categories, the sales of soft-light tiles that year were completely negligible, and the sales in subsequent years were only at a slight growth level.
The development history of Huapeng soft light tiles is actually the epitome of the development of soft light tiles in the industry.
"I am very impressed. In 2017 and 2018, soft light tiles could not be promoted in the northern market at all. Even customers in Chaoshan and other regions of Guangdong could not accept it, and could even be said to be very repulsive." Yao Songrong recalled, however , entering 2019, the situation is completely different.
Especially after modern antiques, black and white and gray became popular, many consumers have gradually accepted low-gloss products.
After 8 years of cultivation and precipitation, soft-gloss ceramic tiles have finally successfully "planted" in the hearts of young consumers. Especially in the past two years, low-gloss products have become more and more widely accepted in the market.
02
Physical defects such as wear resistance and anti-fouling
It is not the key factor restricting the development of soft light ceramic tiles
Compared with mainstream categories, soft-light ceramic tiles have not experienced a blowout development, whether on the production or sales side.
Previously, the person in charge of a ceramics company in Foshan pointed out that the main reason why soft-light ceramic tiles failed to become popular was that the physical properties of their products were defective, including wear resistance, anti-fouling and other issues that had not been effectively solved.
In this regard, Yao Songrong also talked about his own thoughts. In his opinion, the key reasons why soft-light ceramic tiles have not become popular are: low market acceptance and low demand.
As we all know, the production of soft-light ceramic tiles is difficult, but problems such as wear resistance and anti-fouling can be solved. However, it is necessary to increase production investment, not only to select high-quality raw materials and adjust the formula, but also to slow down the production speed...
Judging from the current supply and demand situation of soft light ceramic tiles, the cost to solve the problem is not proportional to the market premium it brings.
Not most companies are willing to sacrifice two-thirds of their output to ensure the wear resistance and anti-fouling properties of soft light tiles, like Huapeng.
It is worth mentioning that the concept of "soft light" has been continuously amplified in recent years, and many companies have also included "satin tiles" into the category of soft light tiles. Some people in the industry believe that this is a good thing for the category of soft-light ceramic tiles. The product boundaries have been expanded, but it will also restrict the development of soft-light ceramic tiles.
According to the observation of "Ceramic Information", in recent years, many manufacturers and brands have joined the production and sales camp of soft light ceramic tiles, and many have withdrawn from this field. Some analysts pointed out that this was mainly because many companies entered the field of soft polished ceramic tiles and discovered that it was very difficult and costly to make truly soft polished ceramic tiles, and the market was not as hot as expected.
Among them, some companiesAdjust the production process and take a "shortcut" in order to quickly expand the market. As everyone knows, sometimes taking "shortcuts" may sacrifice product quality, and consumers will have a worse experience of the product, and may even mistakenly think that "soft light ceramic tiles" are like this. In a vicious circle, it is difficult for "soft light ceramic tiles" to become consumers' first choice.
But Huapeng Ceramics is different. Since 2013, Huapeng has been committed to the research and development and promotion of 29-degree soft light products. During this period, it has continuously innovated processes and increased investment to ensure the decorative and physical properties of soft light products. Sex, so far, Huapeng soft light products have been upgraded to the fifth generation, and have successfully "planted grass" in the hearts of many consumers.
03
A long stream of water
Maybe you can win a longer life cycle
As far as the current situation is concerned, soft-light ceramic tiles have not been overdrawn and have been steadily rising with steady development.
Yao Songrong believes that the development of soft-light ceramic tiles is relatively healthy, and product output has grown steadily in line with market demand. Compared with five years ago, there are more companies and brands promoting soft-light ceramic tiles, and the product line of soft-light ceramic tiles is also longer.
To date, many ceramic manufacturers have launched the "soft light ceramic tile" series, but have not vigorously promoted it as their main product.
Moreover, with the rise of young consumers, the market acceptance of soft-light ceramic tiles will further increase, but Yao Songrong predicts that soft-light ceramic tiles may not become a hot category. He further analyzed and pointed out that current consumption is very diversified and consumers have too many choices. Therefore, ceramic manufacturers and ceramic brands can no longer use the past thinking to make products.
Young consumers are pursuing differentiation, resulting in increasingly segmented products.
“I think the future market will only become more and more diversified, which will force production to become more professional. Now, most ceramic companies have soft-light ceramic tile series, but few will promote it hard.” Yao Songrong said Yes, but no matter how the market and consumption change rapidly, manufacturers and brands must stick to their core. "To be upright is to surprise, to be ahead and to be surprising." In the past, it was okay to "win with surprise". To put it bluntly, to be upright is to make products better. Do it well."
In the era of involution, the market and consumption are changing rapidly, but the only thing that cannot change isThe most important thing is the product, the quality of the product. There is no sunset category, and even microcrystalline stones in the past still have a market. As long as we insist on improving product quality and making our products the best, soft light ceramic tiles can also gain market recognition and win longer-term development.
(This article is reproduced from Ceramic Information)
