I believe everyone must still remember the grand scene of the rock slab explosion that year.
It is necessary to review the "passionate years" of rock slabs from the beginning of 2021 to the first half of 2022——
The explosive growth of slate production lines has excited the entire ceramic industry, so much so that every time the media announces the number of slate production lines in the country, it triggers heated discussions; slate has become a popular product in the fields from ceramics to general home furnishings. The fried chicken stirred up the entire ceramic industry, so much so that many ceramic companies loudly shouted the slogan "No big name without rock slabs, no future without rock slabs"; the superior cross-border performance of rock slabs has made the entire ceramic industry... Intoxicated by it, many ceramic people believe that everything can be made of slate. In addition to making tables and cabinets on the walls and floors, it can also be used to make suspended ceilings, electrical appliances, and ship decks. They have made bold claims that slate can replace stone, wood and other materials... Suddenly, rock slabs were inexplicably praised as the "savior" that could lead the ceramic industry back to its peak of tens of billions (square meters).
It wasn’t until prices continued to “dive”, inventories gradually exploded, and quality and application problems occurred frequently that rock slabs slowly lost their aura as the “savior” and fell step by step. Along with this phenomenon, many stone dealers, slate processing factories and ceramic companies that blindly followed the trend have withdrawn from the field of slate. It is an indisputable fact that rock slabs are cold.
What is the next step for the development of rock slabs? The author believes that three issues must be clarified first.
Question 1:
Why has the development of rock slabs reached this stage?
From the perspective of many ceramic companies that have entered the field of rock slabs, there are two reasons, internal and external.
First of all, there are internal factors. Many ceramic companies and related players entered the field of rock slabs without thinking.
Many ceramic companies and related players blindly and hastily enter the field of rock slabs without thinking about why, what, and how to do them, as if they can gain supernatural powers by getting involved in rock slabs. And as long as you miss the rock slab, it is like losing the whole world. They are intoxicated with "standing in the wind"In the fantasy that pigs can fly just by talking, I thought that as long as I did it, it would be successful, but I never seriously thought about the logic of making a good rock slab.
The result is nothing more than a rush to develop rock slabs, redundant construction, disorderly development, serious overcapacity, and the entire ceramic industry is mired in noise and restlessness.
Secondly, there are external factors. Wrong public opinion guidance has led many ceramic companies into the wrong path of launching slate production lines regardless of cost.
With the encouragement of some industry prophets, experts and media, many ceramic companies have been confused, tempted and even bewitched by the so-called rock slab trend theories and trends, and have jumped into the follow-up team that has entered the field of rock slabs. They completely misjudged the situation, imagining the market for stone, wood and other materials into a trillion-dollar market for rock slabs. They thought that production was equivalent to making money in the market, but they never thought carefully about how to make it possible. The produced rock slabs are sold.
Looking back at the sluggish development of Yanban, many people blame the media’s irresponsible public opinion guidance and believe that the media must bear at least half of the responsibility for Yanban’s development to this point. Fortunately, China Ceramics Network, where the author works, has never made any irresponsible remarks advocating for slate from the beginning until now, and most of what it says is cool-headed.
Under the unified influence of internal and external factors, the development of rock slabs has reached this stage.
Question 2:
Will rock slab disappear like some ceramic tile categories?
The answer is unlikely.
Because, although rock slabs are derived from ceramic tiles, they are higher than ceramic tiles after all. Because slate has superior cross-border properties that ceramic tiles do not have (simple and elegant, infinite extension, decorative panelization, cross-border application, rich texture, strong plasticity, anti-destructive strength, acid and alkali resistance, wear resistance, anti-fouling), it has been It has become a new product species in the field of home building materials. To this day, if there are still people who insist that slate is just a ceramic tile regardless of the fact that slate is used across borders, they are either paranoid or have ulterior motives.
A certain category within a species may be short-lived, but the species as a whole will not.
For example, boats are a species, and wooden boats, steamships, etc. are each one of the categories. With the development of the times, steamships have long withdrawn from the stage of history, and wooden ships have long lost their leading role, giving way to other modern ships. ship'sA certain category may disappear, but the boat species will not disappear.
Back to the ceramic industry, ceramic tiles are a species, and polished tiles, antique tiles, microcrystalline stone, glazed tiles, wood grain tiles, marble tiles, etc. are each one of the categories. With the iteration of production technology, decoration aesthetics and market changes, categories such as polished tiles and microcrystalline stone will continue to withdraw from the market or even disappear, but ceramic tiles will not disappear as a species.
In the same way, rock slabs are also a species. A certain category may disappear, but the entire species will not disappear.
In December 2020, the author searched on Baidu using the keyword "sandstone", and obtained about 46,000,000 search results; today, I searched for "sandstone" as the keyword again, and the search results obtained As a result, the number increased to 100,000,000, more than doubled. This also proves from the side that the vitality of rock slabs is not easy to disappear.
Question 3:
What is the correct way to open the development of rock slabs?
The author thinks it can be summed up in 24 words.
The first is to “abandon illusions.”
On the one hand, we must decisively abandon the illusion that rock slabs can lead the ceramic industry back to the peak of tens of billions (square meters) and that everything can be rock slabs. In recent years, the ceramic industry's production capacity, output and revenue have declined sharply. The fundamental reason is the impact of the real estate market and the economic environment. This cyclical decline simply cannot be saved by a slab of new species. The market is ultimately determined by demand rather than product. On the other hand, while abandoning illusions, we must also strengthen our confidence. I believe that as long as we adhere to long-termism and make slate well in a down-to-earth manner, the future of slate, a new species, will be promising.
The second is to "strictly adhere to quality."
Strictly adhering to quality refers to maintaining the product quality and delivery quality of finished products. Product quality is the prerequisite and delivery quality is the guarantee. Both are indispensable. If these two points are not achieved, consumers’ expectations for slate will slowly turn into disappointment.. Slate practitioners in the ceramic industry can completely regard themselves as ordinary consumers. If they have been faced with slates for a long time that are low in price but of low quality and finished product, can they still expect anything from the slates that were once praised to the heavens? ?
The third is to "deliver well."
After the rapid popularity of rock slabs and their continuous cooling, it has become a consensus in the ceramic industry that only through the delivery of finished products can the last mile of rock slab sales be opened up.
The delivery of finished rock slabs is not just as simple as the literal meaning, but also includes packaging, logistics (palletizing, transportation, handling), design and application, processing, measuring and measuring, installation/laying, and cleaning. Wait for a series of steps. It can link up an industrial chain and also affect an ecosystem. The delivery of finished slate slabs cannot be achieved by any ceramic company alone. It requires the joint efforts of many practitioners from many companies in the entire ceramic industry and even the home furnishing field.
The fourth is to “pay attention to the brand”.
Only by building a brand can an enterprise bring lasting influence to its products, create trust and stickiness among users, and ultimately win enough profits to support long-term development. Therefore, whether they are willing to be a material supplier or determined to be a brand that can reach consumers directly, ceramic companies that have entered the field of slate must pay attention to brand building, otherwise they will be in a weak position in the slate industry chain and have to rely on The inner volume is temporarily renewed.
Nowadays, the development of rock slabs has been stagnant. The ceramic companies that swarmed into the field of rock slabs have already lost half and half, and most of the remaining ones are companies that really want to carry out the rock slab business to the end. At this moment, if you don’t seize the time to build your brand and actively speak out to promote and show yourself, when will you wait?
Finally, end this article with three sentences:
The era of "the press is the money printing machine" in the ceramic industry is gone forever. Slate cannot be the "savior" that leads the ceramic industry back to the peak of tens of billions.
If slate can really replace ceramic tiles, it will be no different from the fate of ceramic tiles.
Stone slabs should follow the path of "from ceramic tiles, higher than ceramic tiles".
