"The difficulty in finding customers and the increase in costs are not the scariest things. Sometimes your purchase price is someone else's selling price. This is the reason why many ceramic tile dealers cannot survive." The dealer who said this said Shang, who was just awarded the "Outstanding Dealer in the Building Ceramics Industry in 2022" in September. Although his performance in the first half of the year was not bad, he is also well aware of the cruelty of market competition. In his view, price is the most unstable and fatal factor.
In June, five leading ceramic companies, Hongtao, New Pearl, Mona Lisa, Marco Polo, and Dongpeng, successively announced increases in the prices of some ceramic tiles, with increases of up to 10%. At that time, some industry insiders predicted that as production costs continued to increase, the collective price increases of leading ceramic companies would most likely drive a large number of small and medium-sized ceramic companies to "follow suit." In fact, small and medium-sized ceramic companies that are trapped in price competition do not have the right to speak on prices. The news of "following the increase" has not yet spread, and some ceramic companies in the industry have been exposed to "stop kilns and take holidays."
Since September, the trend of price increases in the ceramic tile industry has resumed. Ceramics companies in Sichuan, Jiangxi, Shandong and other production areas have successively issued price increase notices, with price adjustments mainly focusing on some conventional products. With the arrival of a new wave of price increases, can ceramic tile dealers get out of the "bloody sea" of low-price competition and get a moment of respite?
Bricks from other areas with competitive prices
Start collective price increase mode
In this wave of price increases, Siwa manufacturers in Sichuan were the first to test the waters. In late August, many Siwa manufacturers in Sichuan issued price increase notices. Starting from September 1, the ex-factory price of Siwa products will increase by 0.15 yuan/piece. In addition to Xiwa, a porcelain tile factory in Sichuan also announced a slight increase in product prices. Starting from September 1, the ex-factory price of porcelain tile products will increase by 0.05 yuan/piece.
On September 3, some ceramic companies in Shandong issued price increase notices, raising the prices of some products such as medium plates, porcelain tiles, full-body marble, antique tiles, small floor tiles, etc., with the increase ranging from 0.1 to 0.5 yuan. Ceramic Industry News reported that some ceramic companies in Shandong production areas issued price increase notices in early August due to power restrictions, production shutdowns, rising raw material prices and other factors. Individual ceramic companies have issued multiple price increase letters so far.
Following the "rising trend" in the two major production areas of Sichuan and Shandong"Many ceramic companies in Pingxiang, Gao'an and other places in Jiangxi have also issued price increase notices, raising the prices of West tiles, small floor tiles, and antique tiles. It is understood that the main reason for the adjustment of the ex-factory price of ceramic tiles by Jiangxi ceramic enterprises is the increase in the prices of raw materials, energy, etc. The most obvious one is the rapid increase in the price of Gao'an centralized gas supply.
For a long time in the past, ceramic companies in production areas outside Guangdong were regarded as the "source of all evil" in price wars. Nowadays, the "bricks from other production areas" with the most advantageous prices have also started a collective price increase mode, which shows that these The prices of most conventional products of ceramic companies have bottomed out. Once production cost pressure increases, it will soon be reflected in product prices.
Some industry insiders believe that there are large gaps in the costs of raw materials, energy, logistics, etc. in different production areas, which exist objectively and cannot be eliminated. Guangdong production areas must go further when they have completely lost their price competitiveness. Quality route. The price increase of "bricks from other production areas" is actually a good phenomenon. After all, only reasonable prices can lead to reasonable competition, which is more conducive to the healthy development of the market.
Side B of rising ceramic tile prices
Some people are still "rolling" into death
As we all know, the development of anything has two sides. With production costs rising all the way, price increases for ceramic tiles are an inevitable result. This is side A. Side B, which coexists with it, is that some ceramic companies are going to extremes in price competition and are likely to "carry out the involution to the end." "The momentum.
In late August, the Ceramic Industry News reported the latest prices of ceramic tiles released by a ceramics company in Yunnan. Among them, the price of 800×800㎜ glazed tiles was 12.5 yuan/piece, and the price of 800×800㎜ full-body marble tiles was 13.2 yuan/piece. Yuan/piece, and the prices of related products are the prices of high-quality products. As soon as the news came out, more than one fan broke the news to Zhongtaojun that the price of the same product type in the Hebei production area was even lower.
With the development of mobile Internet, ceramic tile price information can be said to be completely transparent. Since the beginning of this year, a large number of accounts have emerged on video accounts, Douyin, Xiaohongshu and other platforms to reveal the "ex-factory price of Guangdong bricks". From the initial resistance, most people in the industry have gradually become accustomed to this feeling of "streaking", and evenEven when I saw the "ex-factory price of ceramic tiles" falling below the bottom line, I was not surprised.
Some dealers revealed that due to the severe market environment, many ceramic companies are facing huge pressure on production and sales, and have no choice but to lower product prices in order to seize the market. Last year, the ex-factory price of 800×800㎜ full-body marble tiles was as low as about 25 yuan/piece, but this year it has dropped to less than 20 yuan/piece. From the September product price list of a ceramics company in Foshan exposed online, we can see that the company's factory price of 750×1500㎜ ceramic tiles is only 35 yuan/piece, and 900×1800㎜ ceramic tiles are only 63 yuan/piece, compared with the same period last year It dropped by almost 50%.
On one side is the "tide of price increases" and on the other side is the "tide of price cuts", which is undoubtedly a fatal blow to ceramic enterprises that take the cost-effective route. However, those ceramic companies that take the high-quality route are not immune to the disaster. The sales manager of a brand in Guangdong told Zhongtaojun that this year, both big and small brands are paying close attention to investment promotion work. The investment promotion policy, especially the price policy, is simply "rolled" to the point of being "rolled" to the limit. For several leading brands, the sales volume has been reduced. Small and medium-sized brands simply cannot withstand the dimensional attack.
Tile store promotions have become the norm
Already "red-eyed"
Anniversary specials, brand day specials, Mid-Autumn Festival specials... In order to seize the "Golden Nine and Silver Ten", the terminal market ushered in a new promotion "carnival season", group buying bargains, discount coupons, buy one get one free Such routines have been launched in ceramic tile stores across the country, and the most popular among them is the whole-house ceramic tile package with a four-digit price.
Zhongtaojun learned that several leading brands offered whole-house tile package prices in promotional activities ranging from 6,888 yuan to 9,999 yuan. It can be said that there is no cheapest, only cheaper. For a small apartment, you can get ceramic tiles for the whole house for less than RMB 10,000, and it is a well-known brand, and it can save the time and cost of selecting ceramic tiles. This model has really impressed many consumers.
However, as more and more brands join the battlefield of "package promotions", some brand stores even offer free room measurements and thousand-yuan redemption packages.Board background wall and other "killer features". Within a limited budget, you can enjoy products and services that exceed the budget. This makes people wonder that the ceramic tile store is not doing business but doing charity.
“It’s not that we don’t want to follow the promotion, we are afraid that we will lose money and make a profit in the end.” A ceramic tile dealer told Zhongtaojun that in fact, various promotional activities on the market, including online activities led by some shopping malls and manufacturers, The dealer is really helpless. "We do more than a dozen events a year, each event takes half a month, and the routines change one after another, but consumers can always find ones with more affordable prices than yours. This is not about making money at a loss."
Zhongtaojun noticed that in a national Mid-Autumn Festival special event of a certain ceramic tile brand, the special store price of 800×800㎜ fully polished glaze is 49 yuan/piece, and the community group purchase price given by its competitors for the same type of products is 39 yuan. /piece, even the special price of 750×1500㎜ products is less than 80 yuan/piece. In this regard, some dealers bluntly said: Some peers are doing business even though they know it is a loss-making business, and they have already "red-eyed".
Weak market demand
Price war continues throughout the year
Some industry insiders have analyzed that the decline in transaction prices of ceramic tiles has catered to current consumer demand to a certain extent. Data from Kantar Worldpanel shows that under the influence of the epidemic, Chinese households have begun to tighten their "money bags" and various expenditures have gradually decreased. Especially starting from the second half of 2021, consumers will pay more attention to cost-effectiveness when decorating their homes. The original budget of 100,000 yuan may now be only 50,000 yuan.
Some time ago, the manager of a ceramic tile store in Shandong resigned and changed careers. During this period, he revealed to Zhongtaojun that the main reason for leaving his job was that business was not doing well. He used to open five orders a day, but now it has become five days. After placing an order, the sales volume of the entire store in the first six months fell by 40% compared with last year. Even though the price of ceramic tiles has been rising since last year, unfortunately the market is not strong enough. Not only can it not rise, but price competition has become increasingly fierce.
Even if the terminal selling price of ceramic tiles drops again and again, it cannot change the situation of weak market demand. It is precisely because of the substantial reduction in orders that most dealers are under tremendous pressure. Sometimes in order to retain customers, they do not even consider whether there is profit. Therefore, price wars are going on in the ceramic tile end market almost all year round.
Profits from ceramic tile sales are getting lower and lower, and service requirementsBut it is getting higher and higher, and at the same time, energy must be allocated to try more and more new channels. The living environment has put forward increasingly stringent requirements for ceramic tile dealers. The tasks of manufacturers, accounts receivable, store rents, warehouse inventory, personnel salaries... The current situation of most ceramic tile dealers is that they are overwhelmed by pressure from all aspects. In the increasingly fierce price How long can they last in the war?
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It has become an indisputable fact that the terminal transaction price of ceramic tiles has dropped again and again. From a consumer's perspective, they naturally want the price to be as low as possible. But without profit support, how can we get service and quality?
From the perspective of manufacturers and dealers, everyone has the mentality of "beating their opponents to death." However, the more difficult life is for everyone, the more they must face up to unlimited low-price competition. You must know that there is no future in a price war and there will be no winner. The industry must eventually return to the business essence of creating value.
