The future of Chinese furniture sellers

Real estate community, home store, investment promotion exhibition, training site, product exhibition... These occasions can now see the busy figure of furniture sellers. It can be said that in the current Chinese furniture industry, furniture sellers should be regarded as the busiest. a group. However, corresponding to the busyness of the sellers, the industry is very concerned about the “shuffle theory” of furniture sellers.

As a total of more than 150,000 people (calculation method: 1000 municipalities in the municipality, 400 in the provincial capitals and prefecture-level cities, 20 in the county-level cities, 10 in the county), and the dealer group with huge economic impact, after passing through After 10 years of rapid development and 6 years of adjustment, in the face of various predictions of the industry, how to choose the future path?

Pain after emergency braking

From the brand franchise to the expansion of chain home stores, the Chinese furniture industry, driven by the traditional model, grew from 1.08 billion yuan in 1978 to 1.13 billion yuan in 2012. China has become the world's largest furniture manufacturing country. At the same time as the rapid development of China's furniture industry, a large group of furniture sellers came into being.

The future of Chinese furniture sellers

From 1998 to 2008, it can be said that the Chinese furniture industry has developed rapidly for 10 years. The economic development has driven the huge demand in the home market. During this period, China's county-level and above cities have begun to have large-scale home stores. At the same time, the demand for brand chain expansion of furniture companies has become stronger, and the common development needs of stores and enterprises have created The development opportunities of furniture sellers. Under the rapid development model of this market, manufacturers, logistics companies and sellers promote each other, and the scale of the entire furniture market is constantly expanding.

But since 2008, this relatively balanced industry expansion model has begun to be challenged. In 2008, the domestic economic situation began to adjust, which also directly affected the development of the entire home market, and this impact has continued to this day. In addition to the changes in the big environment, the furniture industry has begun to see new situations, the most obvious is the expansion of chain home stores. There is a set of data to illustrate this expansion momentum: in 2008, the domestic home chain giant Red Star Macalline has about 40 stores in the country, including 16 self-operated stores. It is also in this year, Red Star Beauty Kailong accepted the first round of financing and has since expanded at a rate of no less than 10 new open stores per year. This expansion of Red Star Macalline is a microcosm of the expansion of the entire Chinese home chain store. As of mid-November 2014, there are about 120 Red Star Macalline and 100 Home Furnishings in the country (November 15th, The 100th store in the home of Lanzhou Wanjia Yanbei Road opened, 25 moon stars, 18 Ouyida, in addition to the above-mentioned chain home stores, the entire Chinese home market also includes many regional chain stores and local homes. Store.

Moreover, the distribution of these large chain stores, including the total number of East China and North China, exceeds 250, accounting for more than 65%, and is basically concentrated in first- and second-tier cities (municipalities, provincial-level cities). This directly caused the concentration of home shopping malls in the target area. From 2008 to now, it is precisely the region's policy and market impact. Under the influence of two phases, the operating pressure of furniture sellers has suddenly increased. The regional concentration of the store and the shock of the upstream market are the first to bear the brunt of the influence of furniture sellers. The sales are sluggish and the cost is high, which directly leads to the big change of the furniture sellers since 2008.

In addition, the internal operations of the store have also had a considerable impact on the furniture sellers. The shock of the home market has led to a significant shift in the business of the entire furniture market. One of the most obvious examples is the monopoly of solid wood furniture categories, and the brand structure of the store is constantly moving closer to it. This unbalanced investment strategy of the store has also accelerated the internal friction between furniture sellers to some extent.

In addition to the problems faced by traditional channels, the development of emerging channels has also caused many sellers to feel the chill of the bursts. Just past the double eleven, if the rise of the online furniture brand Lin's wood industry 320 million yuan sales is only to let the majority of furniture sellers once again feel the tremendous power of the network, then the traditional furniture brand Quanyou home over 100 million Yuan’s sales, sales of 50 million yuan in the 2 hours before the end of the pre-sale of Gujia Home, and sales of 54.48 million in Yalan’s home, let the majority of furniture sellers really feel the pressure of the channel. After all, their own market is Built on the management of these traditional brands, and now these brands seem to have relaxed signs of dependence on their own channels.

The future of Chinese furniture sellers: stick to, adjust, change

Faced with the development of the overall environment and the industry environment, the whole industry agrees that furniture salesmen can no longer follow the past business ideas, and changes are inevitable. In view of the development of furniture sellers in recent years, there are many options for the future development of furniture sellers.

1. Continue to deepen the market by relying on traditional channels

For furniture sellers, the traditional channel model is still in a state of expansion, which means that the market potential of furniture sellers is still very large, but the original market environment has indeed changed, in this situation, If the furniture seller chooses to stick to it, it must make the appropriate adjustments.

(1) Adjusting operational ideas

In the process of contact between the author and the furniture seller, some sellers will complain that the market is difficult to do, the store operation cost is high, and even some dealers finally choose to leave because they can't make ends meet. However, compared with the extreme situation of exiting the market, there are still many furniture sellers who can respond positively in the face of market adjustments.

Take a furniture seller in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province as an example. When the market first appeared to be shaking, the dealer took the opportunity to get several brands suitable for the market. At the same time, he concentrated in a store and gained more in the rental of the store. Offer. At the same time, the seller actively cooperates with relevant media. Since the brand of the seller's agent is differentiated from the style and material, each group purchase activity can be harvested a lot.

Dealers who operate Guangdong Banmu Furniture in a prefecture-level city in the central region have changed the traditional “sit-and-wait” mode and actively explored the market in the subordinate counties of the city, which has never been adopted by local furniture sellers. Market approach. The seller adopts the “inside and outside promotion” model, and at least one large group buying meeting will be held every month. Externally, before each group purchase meeting, the seller and subordinate staff will go deep into the residential buildings in the following counties to carry out ground promotion; when the group purchase meeting is held, the bus will be arranged to transfer the intended consumers to the store; After the end, the consumer will be sent back. Internally, each time the group purchase will be held, the entire store will be created to create a festive atmosphere, and all kinds of gifts will be placed in the store, the preferential price tag is also very eye-catching, in order to maximize the consumer's desire to buy . In this way, the dealer's sales are not only in the forefront of the long-term sales, but also its brand is also recognized by local consumers.

(2) Keep up with market hotspots

Although many furniture sellers feel that the market is in a downturn, if you carefully study the furniture market in China in recent years, you can still find a lot of highlights. For example, from custom closets to high-end custom, to home soft-packed, and increasingly smart homes, these have already set off one market after another, and their market demand is very strong.

As far as I know, when the market was unstable in the past few years, many senior furniture sellers chose the format adjustment. For example, a Nanjing-based seller of high-end panel furniture chose to enter the high-end custom furniture field. It avoided the subsequent plate furniture crisis and continued to maintain its benign development.

2. Establish own brand, transform brand operation

Furniture sellers build their own brands and operate them. This model is relatively mature abroad. Many domestic furniture sellers went to the US market in the past two years. This kind of furniture operation model in the United States is very important. Although this mode of operation is currently rare in the domestic market, this does not prevent furniture sellers from moving in this direction.

(1) Relying on emerging channels to establish brand operations

In China's traditional furniture channels, although furniture sellers are the final part of product sales, but throughout the system, furniture sellers have no brand ownership, store ownership is usually not their own, and this is why furniture sellers always think One of the important reasons why you don't have the advantage of the industry.

During the rapid development of the market, due to the profitability of the sellers, there is not much resistance to this situation. However, as the market begins to adjust to the adjustment period, the traditional operating model causes all market risks to be concentrated on the seller's body - the company pays the goods and then delivers the goods, and the store rents are correct. This means that only the market pressure of the seller is the biggest, and the emerging channel of e-commerce has made the furniture sellers see hope.

In 2009, the furniture industry began to rise in electricity and electricity, and with the successful operation of Qumei Furniture E-commerce, the traditional channel furniture dealers began to pay attention to this emerging channel model. However, the relationship between sellers and traditional channels is doomed to contradictions. Many furniture companies banned sellers from entering the e-commerce market at that time, and the fines were fined. The heavy publics even canceled the regional brand agency qualifications, including the current e-commerce At the time, Gujiajiao, which started from the water, also strictly prohibited its dealers from entering e-commerce. On the other hand, the situation at the time can actually find out the reasons: the furniture company adopts the brand agency system, each seller has a certain market sales range, and the e-commerce breaks through the traditional market area restrictions, which is absolutely impossible for enterprises. Tolerant.

However, in the face of market pressure, many furniture sellers have chosen the road to self-help. Since it is impossible to move the brand of the agent to the Internet, many sellers simply build their own brands. I have contacted two furniture sellers in Anhui and Henan, and have chosen to continue to operate the existing brands. Online operation, and this mode of operation is relatively mature: the source of the product can choose the foundry, and choose the domestic large e-commerce platform to settle in, local consumption can be solved by its own channels, if it is ordered in the field, cooperate with foreign dealers, Or directly let local logistics solve.

For many furniture sellers, this kind of self-owned brand and the choice of e-commerce channel development model is still very operative, because its requirements for brand operation are not very high, but also have ready-made The channel and offline service model are also quite mature. The only thing that furniture sellers have to do is the previous market accumulation.

(2) Relying on traditional channels to establish brand operations

If furniture sellers build their own brands and rely on emerging channels to operate the market, then the way furniture dealers rely on traditional channels and establish brand operations is a completely different level of development.

Compared with the self-built brand incorporated into the e-commerce channel, the establishment of its own brand into the traditional channel has higher requirements for the seller: from the financial strength to the brand operation, from product design to production supply, from store design to terminal sales, All of this requires a full solution from the furniture seller.

At present, this situation exists in Nanjing, Jiangsu, Jining, Shandong, and Suzhou, Jiangsu. For the seller, as long as the conditions are met, it is also an effective development model.

3. Discover new models based on your own situation

When the Chinese furniture industry is in a period of rapid development, few people will think about the business development model of the Chinese furniture industry. However, after several years of adjustment, many people in the industry are thinking about where the Chinese furniture business model should go. The Chinese-style home channel model with the home store as a big platform is significantly different from the mature European and American furniture market. And this naturally becomes the focus of industry discussions. For furniture sellers, if conditions permit, they can also try foreign home channel models to promote their next development.

(1) Transformation service provider

In the strict sense, the furniture industry service provider should be a market segment in the furniture industry in Europe and America, including product logistics and distribution (including the last mile), product installation and maintenance, fund settlement and so on. At present, the Chinese furniture industry is still relatively extensive in this respect, including manufacturers, logistics companies, and distributors all involved in some of these businesses.

At present, the domestic furniture industry has not seen it yet, but many domestic furniture sellers have expressed their wishes in this regard, and some sellers have even begun to have implementation plans in this regard. The provincial government of a certain furniture brand once said that it can fully provide third-party service support for the brand furniture sellers in the city, such as unified warehousing and distribution, unified installation and maintenance, and even establish a unified back-end system in the later stage. Within any brand store within the store, after the consumer places an order, the order can be automatically generated and the product delivered. This model allows dealers in various regions to save time and capital investment, focus on product sales, and make the operation of the entire brand more rational and efficient.

(2) Establishing a self-owned store

Furniture sellers choose to build their own stores, which have always existed, and this is happening everywhere. In fact, if you look at the history of the development of the Chinese furniture industry, you can find the home furnishing giants including Red Star Macalline, Yuexing Home or Jisheng Weibang. The leaders started from the furniture sellers.

At present, there are few self-owned stores established by furniture sellers in the first and second-tier cities. On the one hand, these areas are the concentration of chain home stores. Whether it is from brand strength or economic strength, the former is difficult to compete with the latter. And because the region also concentrates on a large number of furniture brands, even if the seller establishes its own store, it is more difficult to establish an advantage in terms of brand.

On the contrary, the third- and fourth-tier cities are the most concentrated areas for furniture dealers' own stores, which are mainly based on two reasons. First of all, the region is the concentration of Sichuan enterprises' furniture brands. The big store model is also played here. The area of ​​furniture stores in the region is often more than 3,000 square meters. After many furniture sellers have represented a Sichuan enterprise brand, It is often supplemented by several other differentiated brands, such as solid wood furniture, Office Furniture, etc., thus forming a large self-owned store invisibly. In addition, from the brand's point of view, due to the limited coverage of third- and fourth-tier cities, the number of furniture brands that entered the region early was limited, and they were concentrated in the hands of one or several furniture sellers, plus early The development of home stores in the region is not perfect, so sellers choose to build their own stores.

For the sellers, some third-tier cities and most of the four-tier cities, due to limited market capacity, it is more difficult to attract large-scale home stores after entering the market. Therefore, the choice of self-built stores in these areas is still very promising.

Conclusion

On December 2nd, the Real Home will hold a large-scale investment promotion meeting in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, including the investment in Baoding and Shijiazhuang, as well as the introduction of projects in Handan, Chengde and Hengshui. This actually reflects the future development strategy of the home chain store, that is, the third-tier city (prefecture-level city) will become the latest expansion area of ​​the home chain store.

Take Hongxing Meikailong, the largest home chain store in China, as an example. Although the proportion of the number of stores in the first- and second-tier cities still remains above 50%, the ratio is decreasing. Take the actual home as an example. In 2013, there were 16 new stores in the actual home, of which the proportion of the third-tier cities exceeded 75%. As of the time of publication, the number of new stores in 2014 has exceeded 16 of them, of which the proportion of third-tier cities is also not less than 70%.

For the majority of furniture sellers, the traditional store channels are gradually moving towards rationalization, which not only eases the operating pressure of furniture sellers in the first and second-tier cities, reduces costs, and improves single-store output. It also provides better platforms and opportunities for furniture sellers to expand into emerging markets.

In addition, I return to the furniture sellers. At present, there are not many people who are facing the status quo of Chinese furniture sellers. For those who have not immersed in this business, their suggestions may appear pale, but we may be able to engage in things. The general law of development has found some clues to solve the problem. The birth and growth of Chinese furniture sellers has been accompanied by the rise of China's furniture industry. The drawbacks of China's furniture industry, such as unreasonable channels, imperfect logistics and inconsistent brands, have resulted in a large number of sellers. The current situation, furniture dealers' operating level, economic strength, scale, and industry experience are also mixed. As the various drawbacks of the industry are removed, the internal integration of furniture sellers is naturally inevitable, and this is in line with the normal development needs of the market.

In the end, for Chinese furniture sellers, whether it is to carry out channel changes or deep-rooted market, the most important thing for sellers is to take a direction and path that suits them.