Text/Hong Xiaochun
Since the Bologna Exhibition, the slate trend has started, and the 2019 Foshan Autumn Ceramics Expo has responded quickly, and sandstone brands have emerged Theblowout phenomenon. As the market continues to heat up, slate has been hailed by many industry "experts" as the product with the most development potential. It is impossible to predict how much potential it has, but what is certain is that slate is definitely the hottest product at the moment. Most companies also have high hopes for this new product, rock slabs, and want to use it to open up new battlefields and achieve overtaking in corners.
▲The second slate production line of a gold medal enterprise
Since the beginning of the new year, online investment promotion has become more and more popular. The investment promotion platform of China Ceramics Network has received many messages from dealers looking for slate brands. Some dealers in the author's circle of friends also revealed their intention to represent the slate brand. It seems that everyone wants to be the first person to eat crabs in the local area, but knowing how to eat crabs is another matter. On May 18 (that is, yesterday), the second slate production line of the gold medal company was ignited. After the author forwarded it to Moments, a dealer left a message: "What are the requirements for getting a slate brand now?"
It all depends on human effort. Rather than saying what the requirements are for acting as a slate brand, it’s better to talk about what issues you should pay attention to. So the author summarized four things to know when acting as an agent for slate brands. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to contribute.
一 < /span>
Is it better to have thin or thick rock slabs
There are still divergent opinions in the industry as to whether the development prospects of thin slate or thick slate are more optimistic. Those who are optimistic about thin slate think that thick slate takes a long time to be fired and the product itself is heavy, which will increase the difficulty and cost of production, processing and transportation; while those who are optimistic about thick slate think that thin slate It can only be used as a facing and has limited application space. On the contrary, thick rock slabs will create more possibilities through processing.
From a production point of view, the current domestic thickness range for large-scale product production is generally 6-20mm, of which 8-12mm is similar to traditional ceramic tiles and is too common. From this point of view, thick slate will be more productive than thin slate. Advantages. However, in the context of accelerating the layout of slate slabs in global ceramic production areas, the production technology and equipment of domestic slate slabs are becoming increasingly mature. 3mm super Thin rock slab production is no longer a technical barrier.
▲ Beautiful 3mm ultra-thin rock slab
In December 2019, the launch ceremony of Haomei Haomei ultra-thin slate (1200×3600×3mm) under Hubei Meimei Group was held. This is also the first domestic super-large-sized, 3mm-thin slate production line; on April 27, 2020, Qianghui The group invested 200 million in the continua+ slate production line imported from Sacmi, Italy, which was successfully ignited and can produce products with a specification of 1600×3900mm and a thickness span from 3-25mm. This year, the continua+ slate production line from Sacmi was also introduced. With Inno Ceramic Tiles, it can also produce ultra-large rock slabs of 1600×3900mm, with thicknesses ranging from the thinnest 3mm to the thickest 25mm.
At present, most companies are still in the exploratory stage in the field of rock slabs. If they want to transform from ceramic tile manufacturers to plate suppliers, they need to look at the thickness of rock slabs from the perspective of market demand. I believe that the demand side will not prefer thick slabs, let alone thick slabs. Will blindly chase thin rock slabs. Since rock slab is a very good material, why bother to make a multiple-choice question about thickness? How to achieve flexible customization that can be thin or thick in the true sense is the key.
二
Should rock slabs be used as decoration or in homes
The application scope of slate is much wider than that of ceramic tiles. As a slate dealer, it is inevitable that you will be entangled - which one is more marketable when slate is used for surface decoration or home furnishing?
In fact, the choice of application fields of rock slabs is still linked to the thickness of the product. The slate dining table exhibited by Samit Ceramics at the 2019 Tanzhou Exhibition used 6mm slate; it is understood that the New Pearl Group is currently able to achieve the large size of 4.5mm For rock slabs, the production schedule of this thickness will be targeted at the home decorative panel market; in addition, New Pearl will continue to produce 9mm thick slabs as a universal product for wall and floor applications.
▲Application of slate in kitchen countertops
During last year’s terminal survey, the author learned that most existing dealers selling slate slabs sell their products to customers as background walls. Some designers will customize slate slabs for use on the upper walls and lower floors of hotels, high-end clubs and other spaces. Customized cabinets and kitchen countertops are very rare. AlsoA dealer revealed to the author that the application of slate in the kitchen space has increased on the market. Since the kitchen is a place where oil fume easily accumulates, and oil stains easily stick to countertops, cabinets and even walls, the slate itself is easy to clean and resistant to high temperatures and corrosion, which can solve the kitchen cleaning problem, so there is still a certain Production prospects.
If you want to work hard, you must sharpen your tools first. Slate is like a piece of uncut cloth, which gives designers greater space for home creation and also meets the individual needs of consumers. But there is a premise——Stone SlabThe deep processing technology must be very mature, otherwise the application of slate can only be limited to surface decoration, and it will be difficult to expand to the home furnishing field.
三 < /span>
Is it better to import or domestically produced slate
In 2020, domestic rock slab production lines will show explosive growth, and the competition that rock slab companies will face will become more intense. Before this, the number one competitor of domestic slate has always been imported slate; and slate first appeared in the terminal market, also in the exhibition hall of imported ceramic tiles.
Among high-end people, there is an atmosphere of admiration for foreign luxury goods - such as slate imported from Italy. Therefore, some companies have won the domestic agency rights for imported slate brands, which are very popular in terminals. Later, some people speculated and set up imported brands after wholesale slates from India. The "scandal" gradually became known to the industry, and the so-called imported slates were also From Hermès to a fake brand.
▲Stone slabs at the Bologna exhibition
In fact, in terms of production, whether it is Spain, Italy, India or China, the production lines of the head slate brands are only produced by Sacmi and System. The production technology and equipment can be said to be very different. On the contrary, the performance of domestic rock slabs is not inferior to imported rock slabs in all aspects.
Since the production capabilities are similar, dealers may be more concerned about colors and textures. It is undeniable that foreign designs are indeed good, but There is an aesthetic gap between the East and the West. Consumers may not necessarily buy the designs and colors of imported slate in the domestic market. Putting aside the problem of imported slate being acclimatized, dealers are worriedIt’s nothing more than homogenization of product designs and colors; in March this year, Gold Medal Asian Tiles won the design patent certificates for 12 large slate products issued by the State Intellectual Property Office in one fell swoop, gaining traction for domestic slate companies that focus on research and development. It greatly enhances the confidence of enterprises in independent innovation.
In terms of brands and channels, domestic rock slabs also have more advantages than imported rock slabs...After seeing this, you will definitely feel that the author has always been When I say good things about domestic slate, I actually just want to express my support for domestic products while telling the truth.
四 < /span>
Market space and operating costs of rock slabs
To represent a slate brand, you must also consider the market space and operating costs. Some industry media estimate that slate has a market space of about 500 million square meters in the field of building ceramics. If it extends to replace stone and enter the general home furnishing field, it will usher in a trillion-dollar market; some industry insiders estimate that Currently, the total sales volume of rock slabs in various markets does not exceed 1 billion...
Tan Tianqian, executive vice president and director of the brand operation center of Gold Medal Asia Tile, believes that integrating into customized homes will be the future development trend of slate. As a new material for the large home furnishing industry, sales of slate slabs cannot avoid custom home furnishing companies; data shows that only Oppein is the The company has an annual demand for approximately 2 million square meters of rock slabs.
▲Processing of ultra-thin rock slabs
Regarding how to measure the cost and profit of the rock slab sales process, one dealer said hopefully, "In the past, we relied on waterjet mosaics to increase the unit value. Maybe rock slabs can also be processed by processing." In the sales process of rock slabs, How to make customers understand and accept transportation fees, packaging fees, upstairs fees, and even crane fees, processing and paving fees, is very important for dealers who rely on services to increase value;Transforming into a service provider for rock slabs is a good direction. By then, dealers will no longer be just material middlemen.
A person in charge of a decoration company once revealed to the author that his company's designers complained: "Recommending slate products to owners is thankless." The reason is that the stone dealer usually subsidizes the "fuel cost" to the designer based on the total of the material fee + processing fee; but for the slate, which also needs to be processed, the ceramic tile dealer only subsidizes the material fee. The designer felt that since he had to travel back and forth for processing, why not push the stone to the owner. Obviously, most terminal dealers still regard rock slabs as ceramic tiles to sell, resulting in the failure of cross-border attempts to grab the stone market share.
To sum up, agents of slate brands must not operate according to the thinking mode of selling ceramic tiles. They must first consider who their target customers are; what resources and channels they have at hand; whether there is mature processing technology in the local area; At the same time, it is also necessary to continue to study and explore in design, distribution, paving, application, and service... By doing this, slate may become a weapon for terminal dealers to break through against the trend and an opportunity to embrace the large home furnishing field.
The above are the issues that need to be paid attention to when acting as an agent for rock slab brands. If you want to know more knowledge and information about rock slabs, please click Read the original article.
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