Nowadays, if you search for decoration cases on the Internet, you will find overwhelming information about matte bricks and soft light bricks. Such things as "matte bricks and soft light bricks have good appearance and are super self-leveling" and "soft light bricks do not." It’s grainy, saves money and is easy to take care of” and so on. However, matte bricks and soft-gloss bricks have gained so much popularity in terms of brand communication and marketing, but their market sales and popularity are extremely disproportionate, far less than the sales of glossy bricks. Some industry insiders said that although matte bricks and soft light bricks triggered huge traffic, their sales at the terminal were average, the return rate was not high, and the product conversion rate was very low.
On the one hand, in recent years, almost every ceramic company has launched plain matte bricks, soft light bricks and other products, rushing into this track; on the other hand, matte bricks, soft light bricks and other products have The complaint rate is high and store sales are low. This phenomenon is closely related to the quality of the product itself, brand positioning and the evolution of consumer market trends.
The “popular” matte tiles and soft light tiles
Falling into a "unsaleable" situation
Many ceramic companies have followed the trend to develop and produce matte tiles and soft-gloss tiles, but this craze has had a mediocre response at the terminal level. Recently, Zhongtaojun visited building materials markets such as China Ceramic City and found that although the products displayed in most ceramic tile stores basically include matte tiles and soft light tiles, the proportion is not large.
In a visit to the brand headquarters of China Ceramics Network's 2022 "Tao Xing China" national ceramic tile and slate market survey, more than a dozen industry professionals from manufacturers expressed their views on the development trends of gloss tiles, matte tiles, and soft light tiles.
Dajiaolu founder Nan Shunzhi said that it takes a process for consumers to accept new products, and this process of replacing old products with new ones will be relatively slow. The most obvious manifestation is that the market share of matte bricks and soft light bricks is still lower than that of glossy bricks.
Wang Tinglong, general manager of Shunhui Tile and Slate Operations Center, said that depending on the specifications of ceramic tiles, the places and people who use them are different, which will also lead to different sales proportions of product categories. Judging from the specifications of 800×800mm, bright bricks account for about 80%; from the specifications of 750×1500mm, bright bricks account for about 65%, and matte bricks account for about 35%; and from 900× Judging from the specifications of 1800mm, the proportion of matte bricks will increase to about 55%.
In addition, by visiting building materials markets such as China Ceramic City, Zhongtaojun found that brands that work closely with designers will have higher sales of matte tiles and soft light tiles, while brands that focus on retail channels will have higher sales. Bright bricks account for the majority of the products displayed in its stores and sales volume. A shopping guide from Brand A said that most consumers who come to the store buy glossy tiles. If a designer comes to buy, they will buy matte tiles and soft-gloss tiles. A dealer also said that the fact is that most customers who use soft light tiles are recommended by designers. In fact, many customers prefer glossy tiles.
A shopping guide from Brand B even bluntly stated that she was not optimistic about the future development of matte tiles and soft light tiles. However, she did not explain the reason in further detail.
Recently, there have been many posts on the Internet about complaints about matte tiles and soft light tiles. From them, it is not difficult to see that product quality issues such as color difference and poor anti-fouling performance are the reasons why the shopping guide is not optimistic about this type of product. Industry insiders said that due to insufficient accumulation of production technology, matte tiles and soft light tiles have a low quality rate and a lack of surface "texture". In addition, they are not easy to clean, which also leads to average sales and low return rates.
Another dealer believes that the poor sales of matte bricks and soft light bricks is not a problem of craftsmanship, but a problem of price war. Not long after matte bricks and soft-gloss bricks became popular, they have already fallen into the quagmire of price wars. Because companies focus on price, they ignore product quality and consumer demand, resulting in poor sales of matte tiles and soft light tiles.
Bright bricks account for nearly 90%
Marble texture is still the mainstream
The stores of some brands display an equal proportion of gloss tiles, matte tiles, and soft gloss tiles, while the stores of some brands display basically gloss tiles. Among them, the gloss tiles in one brand store even account for nearly 90%. A shopping guide in the store said that the main display in his store is bright tiles, but recently three new soft-light tiles have been launched. In addition, there are also a few brands whose stores mainly display matte tiles or soft light tiles.
Many ceramic companies have remained rational amid the matte and soft-gloss trends because they understand that without a certain product and channel foundation, they have to make great efforts toThe launch of these two types of glossy products will have a negative impact on the brand's reputation. Some industry insiders said that the composition of a company's products has a great relationship with its brand positioning and consumer group positioning. If the brand focuses on the mid-to-low-end market and engineering channels, the audience will prefer bright bricks; if the brand focuses on young consumer groups , designer channels, etc., then the audience will prefer matte tiles and soft light tiles.
It is worth noting that although plain bricks have become popular and have quickly become popular throughout the industry, marble textured tiles are still the mainstream in terminal stores. Wang Baohua, deputy general manager of Romario Tile Sales, believes that if conservatively estimated, the market share of marble texture tiles will be at least 50%. Wang Tinglong, general manager of Shunhui Tile and Slate Operation Center, said that the market share of marble texture tiles can reach more than 80%.
You Jun, general manager of Haosheng Enterprise Brand Management Center, said that although marble texture tiles have always been liked by many people, as consumer groups continue to change and aesthetics become more diverse, the texture of the tiles will also become More diverse, rich, and marble-textured ceramic tiles will gradually decrease in the future. This is actually the evolution of the consumer market.
Matte tiles, soft light tiles
What are the prospects?
Different people have given completely different opinions on the answer to this question.
Some people believe that low-brightness ceramic tiles are more in line with the aesthetics of young people and have better development prospects. Matte tiles and soft-light tiles can create a sense of atmosphere in a space, which is something that bright tiles cannot achieve at all. A shopping guide from Brand C said that in the past two years, the sales of matte tiles and soft light tiles have grown faster than before. It is understood that the sales volume of a brand specializing in matte tiles increased by 84% year-on-year in the first quarter of this year. All these phenomena can indicate that the market share of matte tiles and soft light tiles is gradually expanding.
However, some people think that this type of tiles will be popular for at most one or two years. Taking soft light tiles as an example, many customers have reported that soft light tiles have poor anti-fouling performance during use. Not only are they not resistant to dirt, they are also difficult to clean. In addition, this type of tiles has high requirements for the integrity of the space, and the materials and styles of the hard and soft furnishings must match, otherwise the effect will be very poor.
The process problems of soft light tiles have also been criticized by many people in the industry. In the message area of a Douyin video about soft light tiles on the China Ceramics Network, some dealers left such comments:
"The brick surface is smallBlack spots, bubbles, so tired. ”
“It can still be used for walls, but it is definitely not recommended for flooring.”
“Only big brands have mastered this relatively high-end technology. The soft-light tiles I used to decorate my store 6 years ago are particularly easy to take care of and mop the floor, and are highly stain-resistant. Therefore, it is recommended that this type of product be the best choice. Big brands, don’t expect niche brands to do this kind of thing well.”
……
In addition, some industry insiders said that when a new product appears in the industry, there will always be people who bad-mouth it, saying that this is not good and that is not good, but seriously think about how many years ago this type of product was launched, and the technological maturity is definitely not as good as Products such as bright bricks.
Liang Xueqing, general manager of Ouwenlai Brand Marketing Center, believes: "The current trend has higher requirements for brands, and not all matte tiles can be sold. Matte tile products will continue to be subdivided. , Different brands will have their own core differentiated features, so they must have their own original elements or craftsmanship, such as product details, surface feel, etc., and use unique materials to express the space atmosphere just right. "For soft light tiles, The same is true.
So what is the prospect of matte tiles and soft light tiles? The opinions of more than ten industry professionals from manufacturers are basically the same. They all believe that the market share of matte bricks and soft light bricks will become larger and larger, while the demand for bright bricks will gradually decrease, but this process will take a long time. Time cannot change all of a sudden.
