Bathroom counterbalances international brands need to improve cultural competitiveness

The sanitary ware industry has been developing as an exotic industry in China for more than 20 years. From the West School of Huida, Siwei and a number of old building materials companies to the West, they introduced production equipment from abroad and started the development of Chinese sanitary ware. Since the development of sanitary wares, the industry has become a great place.

The development of ceramic sanitary ware industry is inseparable from the progress of urbanization. Although there were only a few companies that started the manufacture of sanitary products, the main supply of products was also export-oriented.

With the continuous development of China's economy and the prosperity of the real estate industry, the Chinese sanitary ware industry has also ushered in a golden period of development. Foshan, Sichuan, Tangshan, Fujian and other places as the industrial center of the bathroom cluster gradually formed, ceramic ware usher in a blowout The growth depends on the strong market demand at that time and the good sales at home and abroad. As long as the sanitary ware companies that have entered the market can find a bucket of gold for economic development.

Such a scenario also attracted a large number of foreign brands to settle in China and want to get a share of the market. Duravit built a factory in Chongqing, adjacent to the then domestic large-scale professional bathroom manufacturer Chongqing Siwei Sanitary Ware, taking the brand as the forerunner, relying on the powerful products of local sanitary enterprises to do branding and branding, entering the domestic market for the first time, and winning through brand input. A large part of the high-end resources in the Chinese market.

It may be that Chinese companies at that time are enjoying the development of orders, but they do not know that "the wolf has come." Then a series of foreign brands such as TOTO, Hansgrohe, GROHE and Moen aimed at China's huge market, which brought a big impact to China's sanitary ware industry.

China's sanitary ware has ushered in its development for a short period of ten or twenty years. It has also ushered in competition and challenges. With its inherent brand advantages, foreign brands have brought new experiences to emerging segments that are eager to reach the world. The attraction exceeds the product itself.

China's sanitary ware companies are immersed in a tepid honeymoon period. A large number of companies are obsessed with product and sales, and forget to be their own brands. Only a handful of truly conscious companies are involved.

During this period, some private entrepreneurs’ semi-enlightened brand awareness was rising. A series of names with Western flavors were seen in the market. However, at this time, the enterprises that can truly represent Chinese sanitary ware are indeed some companies with pure Chinese taste. Huida, Wrigley and so on.

Since the economic crisis in 2008, foreign orders have shrunk, and export-led sanitary ware companies have been hit hard. More companies have begun to shift to the domestic market. However, at this time, the domestic market was full of people and suffered fierce competition. The company's sanitary ware companies are located in major production areas. Thousands of bathroom brands are flooded in terminal stores. Foreign brands such as predators in general, according to the high-end market, China's many bathroom companies in the low premium rate in the low-end market to kill the first blood, the price war one after another, home stores such as iron hit the camp plate, settled in the brand like water soldiers.

This is why everyone seems to suddenly realize why they did not implement brand strategy earlier. Of course, China's sanitary ware industry has also emerged a number of relatively strong brands in the chaotic market. Its products that dare to compete with foreign brands and excellent designs have made great influence inside and outside the industry.

In 2010 Shanghai International Kitchen & Bathroom Exhibition, the four-dimensional bathroom released "Blue Flower Impression" series of products, the sanitary industry hit a wave of Chinese style, to this exotic industry inject new cultural connotations.

However, it is undeniable that China's bathroom industry as a whole is not strong. Although there are a large number of companies, it is difficult to really pick up the sanitary ware of China's bathroom. It is difficult to find a bathroom company that can occupy 10% of the market.

In the competition with foreign brands, what we lack is not an excellent product. However, the development of sanitary ware in China has so far led to a lack of historical accumulation. More is the pursuit of profits for quick success and instant profits, and lack of thinking about brands.

Bathrooms not only sell products but also consume a sanitary culture and product culture. An excellent product is not only the product itself, but more importantly, the material spirit of the anti-Indian business. In addition to product value and practical value, it is more important to enhance cultural added value. These are exactly what our Chinese sanitary ware companies lack, and it is also difficult for them to compete with foreign brands.

Among foreign sanitary brands, Kohler promotes American-style kitchen and bathroom classics; Spain's Lejia is unique in its product design and innovation; TOTO focuses on intelligence, and the communicative language is: intelligent sanitary specialists. Foreign companies can make overall positioning and dissemination of their own brand image and understanding, and occupy the target consumers’ minds. This is a need for Chinese sanitary ware companies to learn and use for reference.

The competition in the sanitary ware industry is ultimately a cultural competition. Some people have done experiments to remove the branded domestic beverages and foreign beverages for the passers-by to taste, and almost no one can distinguish their differences in taste. However, we can only see that PepsiCo and Coca-Cola are popular in the world. The same is true for the sanitary ware industry. In today's severe product homogeneity, only brands can distinguish products, and only culture can distinguish brands.

China's sanitary ware may have many inherent disadvantages. Duravit's 190-year history, Kohler’s 140-year history, and more. It is worth thinking about how we can compete with foreign brands in the history of precipitation.

In 2012, it was exactly the 60th anniversary of the establishment of Chongqing Siwei Sanitary Ware Co., Ltd., as its name implies: courtesy and justice, four-nation state; four-dimensional arrogance, the country is dying. As a pioneer in China's sanitary ware companies, how can we really refine the heavy Chinese culture and inject products into the products that companies need to seriously consider.

In the future competition in the sanitary ware industry, we are more willing to see more Chinese companies rise. The English name of ceramics is called “china”. How can Chinese ceramics achieve historical achievements in the new environment and how can it be new? It will take a lot of effort to get behind in the category.