If floor enterprises can seize this opportunity, take the lead in developing e-commerce, and quickly channel their products through this e-commerce platform to the national or even global market, the regional pattern of the flooring industry will be broken. In the process of floor enterprises capturing the market, the survival of those enterprises that stick to their own local markets will become increasingly difficult.
Current Situation of the Flooring Industry: The Theory of Restructuring
The theory that the flooring industry will face restructuring has been around for a long time, with various merchants and scholars holding different opinions. However, everyone acknowledges some existing issues within the flooring industry.
China's flooring industry began to rise in the 1980s. With the development of the social economy, this market has continued to expand, attracting many capital inflows into the flooring industry, all vying for a piece of this pie. As a result, flooring enterprises have sprung up like mushrooms after rain across China, flooding the market. Due to the low entry standards in the flooring industry, it has led to a deterioration of competition, lack of culture, scattered brands, and no core competitiveness. Many flooring enterprises often develop around their own regions, rooted in their local areas, with the local market as their primary survival space. Although some enterprises have attempted to enter the national market, they eventually retreated back to their local areas.
This lack of strong industry brands in the flooring industry has led to excessive competition, resulting in reduced profit margins and resource wastage. At the same time, national property control policies, global timber resource shortages, rising prices of mainstream wood materials, and human resources also pose challenges to the development of the flooring industry. The flooring industry urgently needs the arrival of an era of industry brands.
How can flooring enterprises break through this predicament, transcend regional limitations, and occupy the industry market?
E-commerce might be the opportunity.
The E-commerce Era for the Home Furnishings Industry
With the widespread use of the internet, e-commerce has developed rapidly. According to reports, the global e-commerce market is expected to reach 680 billion US dollars in 2011. By March 2011, the number of internet users in China had reached 457 million. It is predicted that by 2013, the scale of online shopping transactions in China could exceed 1 trillion yuan... The enormous purchasing power cannot be ignored, and large-scale commodities being traded online has become a trend. When the traditional real estate home furnishings industry encounters modern network carriers, the e-commerce era for the home furnishings industry is bound to arrive.
Regarding the topic of the e-commerce transformation of the home furnishings industry, I interviewed some decision-makers from flooring enterprises. Among them, there are opponents, observers, and practitioners who have already achieved initial success on the e-commerce platform. Different enterprises have varying views on e-commerce, but most decision-makers see the immense potential of e-commerce. They believe that e-commerce is a very advantageous channel for enterprises and have a positive attitude towards it. They also indicated that they would take action in this area in the future.
Prominent Advantages of E-commerce
Compared to traditional sales channels, e-commerce has many incomparable advantages.
It offers a broader environment: people are not restricted by time, space, or the numerous limitations of traditional shopping; they can conduct transactions anytime and anywhere online. Meanwhile, the market space is more extensive: a merchant can face global consumers, and a consumer can shop at any merchant globally. Faster circulation and lower prices: e-commerce reduces the intermediate links in commodity circulation, saving a large amount of expenditure, thereby greatly reducing the cost of commodity circulation and transactions. It aligns better with the demands of the times: nowadays, people increasingly pursue fashion, emphasize individuality, and value the shopping environment. Online shopping better reflects a personalized shopping process.
Especially as modern networks increasingly influence people's lives, e-commerce has almost extended its reach into the private lives of individuals. If there is an e-commerce platform online, it is equivalent to opening a specialty store in the customer's bedroom. This absolute occupation of the end market undoubtedly stimulates the consumer's desire to purchase and leads to the signing of purchase contracts. In this process, both enterprises and consumers are unrestricted by geography. A customer in Guangdong can easily place an order to select a product from Heilongjiang that suits their liking, and vice versa. In this process, transactions completely transcend regional limitations, spreading the channels nationwide.
Having channels means having possibilities.
The Possibility of Strong Brands Emerging in the Flooring Industry
The flooring industry has its particularities.
For a long time, due to habits formed during use or differences caused by regional or climatic factors, there are significant differences in the specifications of floors. Additionally, during the sale of floors, logistics, installation, and after-sales service issues hold important positions, especially installation and after-sales services, which are generally completed by manufacturers. For an enterprise to spread out a logistics, installation, and after-sales service network across so many regions undoubtedly becomes a restriction.
So how can these problems be solved?
To address this, I interviewed Ms. Liang Weixia, the Shanghai manager of SouFun Home Electronic Mall. Ms. Liang informed me: the consumption regionality of the flooring industry is very evident, influenced by long-standing consumption habits and regional climate characteristics, such as homeowners in the Shanghai area generally favoring solid wood floors. However, with the development of the flooring industry, many large enterprises with strength are no longer confined to producing and selling a single category of products. From this perspective, there is no longer a regional restriction issue. In the process of e-commerce transformation in the flooring industry, what truly needs to be addressed are logistics, installation, and after-sales service issues. Those flooring enterprises that can quickly breakthrough and solve these problems, leveraging professional e-commerce platforms to spread their channels nationwide and become strong national brands, is entirely possible. The SouFun.com Home Under Heaven e-commerce platform has always been committed to enhancing user experience and controlling the backend of services. Currently, it has established long-term strategic cooperation with some well-known logistics companies and installation service companies to improve logistics, installation, and after-sales services, truly benefiting the industry and serving consumers.
If flooring enterprises can seize this opportunity, take the lead in developing e-commerce, and quickly channel their products through this e-commerce platform to the national or even global market, the regional pattern of the flooring industry will be broken. In the process of flooring enterprises capturing the market, the survival of those enterprises that stick to their own local markets will become increasingly difficult.
Home Furnishings E-commerce Era: Are Flooring Enterprises Ready?
E-commerce provides a good channel for the flooring industry to capture the market, but having channels does not equate to success. During the investment in e-commerce, flooring enterprises need to strengthen internal cultivation, make distinctive features in terms of materials, craftsmanship, and other aspects, make decisions with higher perspectives and broader visions regarding enterprise development and product production, and win the market and consumers with higher quality and better services.
This is the righteous path for the development of flooring enterprises. (End)