There is an old Chinese saying that goes, "Men are afraid of getting into the wrong profession, and women are afraid of marrying the wrong man." Throughout the ages, choosing a good career has been an important lesson for everyone entering society. "As long as someone renovates their house, there will be demand for ceramic tiles." This is the underlying logic behind Su Chenghuang, the general distributor of Samit Ceramics in Hefei, choosing to engage in the construction ceramics industry.
▲Su Chenghuang, the general distributor of Samit Tile Hefei
As a Chaoshan native known as the "Oriental Jew", Su Chenghuang started his business in Hefei, Anhui in 1998. With his business talent and savvy, he has made the ceramic tile business prosperous. In the past 24 years, the market environment of the ceramics industry has undergone earth-shaking changes, but in his mind, the ceramics industry is still an evergreen industry with great development prospects.
Just like he firmly believes that ceramic tiles will not be replaced by other materials, he also has full confidence in the future of the Summit brand.
Improved brand concentration
If you want to do it, be the vanguard
When making ceramic tiles 20 years ago, the market was in an extensive development stage. People did not pursue brands as they do now. At that time, there were almost all brands of ceramic tiles on the market. In recent years, with the increase in brand concentration, market share has begun to move closer to the top brands and continues to develop in the direction of quality and brand.
Regarding the future development trend of the Hefei ceramic tile market, Su Chenghuang analyzed: "In the future, there may be only five to seven brands left in the mid-to-high-end market, and there may be room for a dozen brands to survive in the mid-range and below. It is an irreversible wave of development of the times."
According to his introduction, in 2003, he went to Foshan to find a ceramic tile brand agent, and then became familiar with the brand Samit.I have a soft spot for cards. There are several reasons that prompted him to become a dealer of SUMMIT: first, the cultural connotation of SUMMIT, whose brand name is taken from the English "SUMMIT", meaning "peak", and has an international brand; second, SUMMIT In an era when the product categories of the building ceramics industry were relatively single, Samit's products were very novel in design and color, leading the market trend; thirdly, Samit's strength, backed by the New Pearl Group, a building ceramics aircraft carrier, was in the production It has strong competitiveness in terms of scale and technology research and development.
In the process of working side by side with Samit, Su Chenghuang changed from Samit's general distributor to an engineering agent. He said that although he did not operate Samit's retail stores during that time, he was still paying attention to the trends of the brand. It was not until 2019 that he joined hands with Samit again under the right opportunity and became the general distributor again.
As for why this decision was made, Su Chenghuang believes that "people" are the main reason. In his view, personnel are a very important part of a brand, which determines who will manage the brand and who will produce the products. From the beginning of contact with the Samit brand, he felt that the team at the brand headquarters is a group of energetic and dreamy people. These people's strong sense of innovation and serious work style make this 22-year-old brand Always keep up with the trend of the times, showing excellent personalization and youthful characteristics. For him, Samit's solid foundation and strong core potential are the source of confidence for him to become a "vanguard" in the local ceramic tile market.
Control the rhythm of channel layout
Performance has grown for three consecutive years
As we all know, 2020 is a very special year for all mankind. At the beginning of 2020, the sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic has become the social event with the widest coverage and the most serious impact so far. When Su Chenghuang joined hands with Samit at such a special node, he was bound to face many difficulties and challenges, but he chose to face them calmly, thinking only about how to use more methods to manage Samit well.
"First of all, I have confidence in our country. I believe that under the leadership of the party and with the joint efforts of everyone, the epidemic will be controlled and the virus will be defeated; secondly, ceramic tiles are a necessity for decoration. The release of market demand for products may slow down, but it will not disappear; finally, I believe that no matter what you do, you must first believe in it and actively strive for it, in order to reap good results," Su Chenghuang said.
It is understood that in recent years, Hefei SamitNot only was it not affected by the general environment, it also achieved performance growth for three consecutive years. The reason why it has achieved such outstanding results has a lot to do with its multi-channel layout strategy. Different from other ceramic tile dealers, Su Chenghuang pays special attention to the pace and rhythm in the process of opening up channels. He said, "Everyone's five fingers are of different lengths. It is impossible to do well in every channel at the beginning, so we focus on different channels at different stages based on our own advantages. Be low-key, work with heart, and serve everyone well." Customers, customer satisfaction is our greatest pursuit.”
Su Chenghuang emphasized that multi-channel operations must be rhythmic. “When offline stores were unable to operate normally, we focused on engineering channels; after the market recovered, we began to focus on retail channels, including old customers, cross-industry alliances, craftsmen, etc.; since last year, we have mainly targeted We have made great efforts in the home decoration channel. In order to connect with more decoration companies and designers, we have invested in building a boutique and a large store. ”
Hefei Samit did not adopt "walking on many legs" from the beginning, but adopted a step-by-step model, using its own strengths as a breakthrough point, with the purpose of serving every customer well, and consolidating efforts step by step. Channel foundation, finally complete the multi-channel layout and achieve performance growth.
Open two stores within one year
Opportunities only come to those who are prepared
Currently, most ceramic tile dealers are very cautious in investing in stores, but Su Chenghuang chose to go against the trend and invest heavily in building new stores. Of course, he did this not only because of his "lonely courage", but also because of his keen awareness of the market and decisive investment courage. He said that survival of the fittest, failure to advance or retreat, is an eternal law.
In 2021, Su Chenghuang launched a plan to build new stores, and the locations were Wanghumei Home Furnishings and Red Star Macalline Binhu Shopping Mall, the core high-end home and building materials stores in Hefei. Subsequently, the brand headquarters customized decoration design plans for the two stores based on the actual local conditions. With the joint efforts of brand leaders and everyone, the 200㎡ boutique store in Red Star Macalline Lakeside Shopping Mall was officially completed in May this year, while the 800㎡ flagship store in Wanghumei Home was successfully completed in November this year. So far, Samit's online store layout in the city of Hefei has also increased to 7 stores.
Su Chenghuang expressed great satisfaction with the effects brought about by the completion of the new store. On the one hand, the locations of the stores are at the core of the market, which helps to improve the brand influence; on the other hand, the decoration style of the stores is different from the same ceramic tile showrooms on the market, adding a lot of scene experiences, which is very leading sex. It is reported that the leaders of the group also gave valuable constructive guidance to the new store in Hefei Samit.
▲The leaders of New Pearl Group came to give guidance
As the saying goes, if the sky is high, the phoenix will come, and the fragrant flowers and butterflies will come. The upgrade of the store image will help Hefei Summit attract more retail customers, engineering customers, decoration companies and designers. “For customers, when purchasing materials, they must look for brands that match them. Taking decoration companies and designers as examples, they are more willing to recommend high-quality and high-end brands to owners, and owners will trust them more. Their professionalism," Su Chenghuang said.
In addition to investing in new stores, Hefei Samit also launched brand advertisements through various local channels. Su Chenghuang firmly believes that brand influence is a key factor in determining market share, and publicity can effectively enhance consumers' awareness of the brand. He said bluntly, "You can't suffocate yourself to death. Only when you know how to breathe can you survive; the same goes for branding. You can't lie down just because the environment is not good. You must know that there are always more solutions than difficulties."
Dual drive of products and services
Become the first choice for decoration for three generations
As a brand that has adhered to original design for more than 20 years, Samit's product innovation never disappoints. In recent years, Samit has created product advantages that combine design, culture and art by focusing on mid-to-high-end young consumer groups. It is understood that the Master co-branded series products launched by Samit aroused strong responses once they were displayed at the terminal, leaving a deep impression on every customer who entered the store.
In addition, Samit's products also adopt advanced technologies such as semi-polishing, fine carving, and micro-molds, many of which have obtained national patents. These unique advantages not only break the homogeneity of the building ceramics industry It also helps dealers break out of the vicious cycle of price competition. More importantly, Samit never innovates for the sake of innovation. Every product launched is to meet the current consumers' needs for quality, function, aesthetics and even emotion, so it has also been recognized by the majority of consumers. .
With the continuous upgrading of consumer demand, consumers not only have higher requirements for products, but also high-quality services have become their focus. "In the past, making ceramic tiles was just about selling the goods. Now we not only deliver goods, return and replenish goods, but also provide customers with free matching, room measurement, design and paving guidance. If there are consumers who need paving packages Services, we can also match them with construction teams." Su Chenghuang believes that selling ceramic tiles today is no longer just exporting semi-finished ceramic tiles to consumers, but providing consumers with overall space solutions.
Thanks to the dual drive of products and services, Samit has numerous fans in Hefei, including loyal fans who say "three generations choose Samit for decoration". Su Chenghuang introduced that about 17 years ago, a consumer purchased Samit tiles from him when he was renovating a villa. Many years later, the consumer recommended Samit to his son who was preparing to renovate a large flat floor. He took it to the store to buy it in person; later, in order to accompany his grandson to school, he bought a house next to the school and also used Samit's products.
Since 2003, Su Chenghuang’s careful management has allowed Samit to take root, sprout and grow in the Hefei market, and has accumulated a very good reputation among customers. future, Samit will serve every customer with heart and decorate the new homes of thousands of families.
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2022 is coming to an end. While Hefei Samit is completing the last month of work step by step, it has also begun to make development plans for 2023. Regarding how to achieve steady growth, Su Chenghuang always adheres to the thinking mode of "low requirements, high standards", that is, "when setting goals, avoid being too ambitious, be strict with yourself when doing things, be low-key, do things with heart, and serve every customer well." < /p>
To this end, he requires all employees of the company to always keep the goals of each stage in mind, do everything well, serve every customer well, seize every opportunity, constantly discover problems in the process, and solve problems in a timely manner. Make corrections, keep up with the pace of manufacturers, and achieve same-frequency resonance between manufacturers.
