The cabinet industry exhibition attracted signs of fatigue

Since the 1980s and 1990s, the cabinet industry has entered a period of rapid development. Manufacturers need to find dealers. Distributors need to find cabinet brands , and industry exhibitions have emerged. At that time, the Canton Fair became the preferred exhibition for all home furnishing companies. Although the cabinets are only one of the largest exhibitors in the Canton Fair, exhibitors are still hard to find. The home furnishing companies that started from the Canton Fair are also proud to participate in the Canton Fair. If dealers can participate in the Canton Fair, they can be used as flaunting capital.

In the mid-1990s, the cabinet industry was the same as other home furnishing industries. The monopoly and agency model became the mainstream of the industry channel construction. The professional exhibitions were gradually released from the Canton Fair and incorporated into the building materials exhibition, gradually forming what we have seen so far. Will and professional cabinet show. These exhibitions attracted a large number of dealers with their large exhibition scale, highly concentrated mass information, direct dialogue of manufacturers, on-the-spot visits, preferential policies for joining agents, etc. The exhibition gradually became the main way for manufacturers to develop dealers.

This new model of exhibition investment has made cabinet manufacturers see business opportunities. Therefore, during this period, cabinet manufacturers are keen to participate in various construction fairs, and at the time there were relatively few exhibitions, so the manufacturers sharpened their heads. When you go to the camp, as long as you exhibit, you will definitely gain something. The dealers are also full of expectations for the building materials exhibition, the lack of information, so that they can not find an effective investment path, the exhibition is their only way to make a decision.

According to industry veterans reviewing the situation at that time, no matter whether it is a manufacturer or a dealer, there is almost no need to mobilize or organize. All local distributors or manufacturers who do not exhibit will organize a group tour to visit the exhibition, so each time The exhibition is almost a festival in the industry. In particular, many cabinet manufacturers that were just in the startup stage have won the first pot of gold from participating in the exhibition, and gradually developed and expanded. This demonstration effect has led more companies to participate in the exhibition, and the exhibition has become more and more prosperous.

After entering the 21st century, the exhibition is booming in developed regions such as Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Beijing, Suzhou, etc. The frequency is getting denser, the scale is getting bigger, the participating brands are more and more, and the industry is getting more and more. The finer, professional office furniture exhibition, hotel and hotel furniture exhibition, woodworking machinery exhibition, cabinet exhibition, etc. have appeared one after another. Zhang Dahuang, chairman of Hubei Daban Wood Co., Ltd., said that they have to receive invitations to participate in hundreds of international and domestic exhibitions every year.

Under the flood of exhibitions, the effect has also begun to be discounted. If every exhibition goes to participate, it is estimated that the production company will not have to do anything else in one year. Slowly, the production company lost its enthusiasm for the exhibition, and even began to feel the rejection of the invitation call of the exhibition; the dealers also lost their eager attitude towards the exhibition, too many exhibitions, various exhibitions are similar, no features, In addition, the dealers who achieved the achievement no longer change the brand easily. If they go, they only hold the attitude of “watching the excitement”, so that the signing rate of the exhibition is slowly decreasing. Although the organizers of the exhibition racked their brains to attract popularity, it is an indisputable fact that the exhibition effect is getting worse and worse. Except for some special charismatic exhibitions, other exhibitions have been difficult to have a remarkable performance.

Since 2009, the author has organized and led local furniture industry to watch exhibitions in Shanghai, Suzhou, Guangdong and Chengdu, and I feel that the industry's interest in the exhibition has declined. At the exhibition site, despite the crowds and the hustle and bustle of the scene, the proportion of manufacturers who have reached a cooperative intention or intend to cooperate is declining. Some manufacturers even “los and lose money”, and the exhibition’s weakness is still spreading. There is a great potential for "燎原".

What is the lack of motivation for joining?

The main purpose of the production companies participating in the exhibition is to develop dealers to establish their own brand sales channels. To this end, before the exhibition and at the exhibition, cabinet manufacturers will invite dealers from all over the country to look at their booths in various ways. Whether they have cooperated or not cooperated, they are invited.

At the exhibition, the production companies will adopt various means to attract dealers, so all kinds of publicity information are flooding, and dealers feel overwhelmed by the huge amount of information. Jing Xiaozhou, the general manager of Jingzhou Ivy League, said that after the Spring Festival this year, he received SMS, telephone and e-mail from the production company almost every day. Even the factory representatives took the initiative to ask for an interview. The only purpose was to hope that he could Consider an agent to join its brand. Liu Xuesong, general manager of Jingzhou White Swan Home Plaza, also said that in March of this year, he received hundreds of invitations, text messages and factory representatives. The purpose was only one, that is, I hope that the home plaza can make them The product enters the market for sale.

In the face of such a situation, what is their attitude? Shan Xiaodong made it clear that his purpose of participating in the exhibition this year is to go to several brand booths he has already represented, to supplement the goods, and will not consider increasing New brand. Liu Xuesong also said that people will be sent to the exhibition, but the brand introduced must be suitable for the overall planning of the local market and brand structure adjustment. Many dealers participating in the exhibition in Jingzhou even said that they would not consider adding and replacing brands. At the exhibition, they mainly replenished and learned about industry information.

Why are dealers not willing to change and add brands now? Dong Sujuan, general manager of Jingzhou Liqi Home, analyzes that dealers choose a brand to go through complicated processes, including to examine the strength, scale, product quality, style, price and service measures of the manufacturers. At the same time, it is necessary to make decisions in conjunction with local stores and stores. Furthermore, choosing to join a brand means reinvesting, which requires certain economic strength and business experience. Now opening a new store in the mainland cities, at least 200,000 to 300,000 yuan. This is not a small amount. Therefore, even if the dealers are not optimistic about the current business situation, they will not rush to join the new brand. Dong Sujuan believes that the most important reason for this phenomenon is that the market in the home furnishing industry in the Mainland continues to be sluggish, and the competition has led to the squeeze of profit margins for dealers. This is in stark contrast to the fact that dealers in the last century can find a brand to make money. In this tough market situation, dealers are cautious about making additional investments or replacing brands.

Now, the mentality of many mature dealers is "stability overwhelming everything", while watching the market trend while operating, until the market situation is clear and then shot. The current situation is that the dealer is not the question of which brand to choose, but the choice of any brand may not make money or even loss. This is the fundamental crux of the dealer's lack of motivation and the weak performance of the exhibition.

Where is the manufacturer's cooperation "life gate"?

Feng Qingshan, general manager of Hubei Xinxing Furniture, believes that under the system of monopoly and agency in the home furnishing industry, there are still two major fatal flaws in the cooperation between production enterprises and dealers, namely advertising and after-sales service. This is where the "life gate" of the manufacturer's cooperation lies. Without this level of cooperation, it is difficult for manufacturers to achieve the desired goals.

All production companies hope that without a penny of advertising, products can be snapped up; all products sold are also flawless without any quality problems. However, this is only an ideal situation and it is impossible to appear in reality.

Shan Xiaodong believes that the brand building of the home industry is still in the oral stage. Brands represented by dealers must stand out in the fierce market competition in the local area, and they must place advertisements in large quantities and accurately. The reality is that the production company “bundles” the amount of advertising and the dealer’s operating performance. In other words, the manufacturer determines the amount of advertising based on the sales of the dealer, so that it is difficult for the poorly performing regions to obtain the manufacturer. Advertising support, and it is unrealistic to expect dealers to spend money on advertising without profit, and eventually form a vicious circle. The stronger the stronger, the weaker the weaker. This is also the main reason why the regional terminal market is rare in home advertising. He also suggested that the advertising operation of the home industry can be boldly borrowed from the home appliance industry model, and regional terminal advertisements are proposed by local dealers, and the manufacturers implement them after approval. This will provide strong support for dealers to open the market, and dealers only need to focus on business management.

In addition, after-sales service has become the most contradictory aspect of vendor cooperation. At present, the home furnishing industry is mainly responsible for the after-sales service. Dealers must face fierce market competition, but also face the quality and after-sales service problems that may arise at any time. It is inevitable that they will lose sight of one another. Especially after the problem of after-sales service, the resulting transportation, materials, logistics, labor costs and other costs need to be borne by the dealers, which increases the resentment of the dealers. In contrast, in the home appliance industry, each brand has a special after-sales service organization or cooperates with a third party. The after-sales service problems of the products purchased by consumers can be solved as long as they are available to the after-sales service outlets. A number of furniture industry associations and experts have suggested that the after-sales service of the furniture industry should follow the path of the home appliance industry, but despite the appeal, the results have been minimal.

The cooperation model between production enterprises and distributors is still at a relatively primitive stage, and the interests are also in a state of dislocation. Many cabinet manufacturers are unilaterally pursuing sales and performance, only paying attention to immediate interests, and have no long-term vision of brand building and channel construction, which is unfavorable to the development of the industry. In fact, the cabinet industry can learn from the successful experience of China's home appliance industry in many aspects, and truly tie the interests of the production enterprises and distributors. On that day, perhaps the exhibition will reproduce the glory of the past!