Industry | Home furnishing dealers under the epidemic: can last up to three or four months

In the Spring Festival of 2020, due to a sudden epidemic, the "good start" that many businesses were looking forward to did not appear as scheduled because of the delayed start of construction.
For distributors of home building materials, the spring of 2020 is particularly difficult.
The news of rent reduction and rent exemption in some home building materials stores is undoubtedly a help.
"Even if you don't have to pay rent, you have to pay management fees, you have to pay for labor, and it's hard to be a boss.
This year, there is only one word: difficult.
" A dealer sighed from the bottom of his heart.
Some insiders predict that in 2020, it is estimated that there will be a group of home building materials distributors who can't stand it.
It is not that they do not want to continue to operate, but the situation is pressing.
Recently, Netease Home has interviewed several distributors from Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Wuxi, Ningbo, Nanchang and other places, listening to them share the current situation of the home building materials market under the epidemic, as well as the difficulties they encountered and the countermeasures.
01 01 Labor costs and rent are the main costs.
Existing funds can support up to three or four months.
Labor costs and rent are the main costs.
Existing funds can support up to three or four months.
In the face of the epidemic, Red Star Macalline is the first to announce that 82 companies nationwide Self-operated malls are exempt from rent and management fees for one month, and eligible merchants can implement it in any month of 2020.
Following the Red Star, other stores have successively announced rent-free for one month or half a month.
In Guangzhou, Jockey Club and Louvre have announced the exemption of February rent, or halving the charge.
Anhuahui and Utopa also announced the implementation of rents.
Halving policy.
As one of the more senior distributors in Guangzhou's home and building materials industry, Qiu Jichao, general manager of Xincheng Building Materials, was just in his early forties.
After graduating from university, he began to take over the building materials business founded by his father.
Now he takes care of the company's daily affairs with his younger brother.
The company has some The core employees have been in the company for more than ten years.
After everyone’s joint efforts, Xincheng Building Materials has become a small and powerful home furnishing building material agent and retailer in Guangzhou.
They have represented a total of 4 home furnishings in Guangzhou.
Building materials brand, there are 12 ceramic tile stores, 5 flooring stores, and 1 custom home furnishing store.
Affected by the epidemic, Xincheng Building Materials has not yet started construction.
When it comes to this year’s market, Mr.
Qiu is a little worried.
He said that for them, labor and rent are the bulk, which are estimated to account for about 60-70% of operating costs.
Each category The profit of sales is different, and the amount of capital return required is also different.
In the current situation, it is not a big problem to support for one or two months, and there is still a little cash flow.
The next cliff-like decline in consumer demand is trouble, and new changes in production and life.
Will greatly reduce the demand for decoration, and can't open so many stores? Can you afford to raise so many people? This is a headache.
The distributor representative from Guangzhou is also Lu Zhong.
As a senior sanitary product distributor and professional dealer, Lu Zhong is currently the deputy general manager of the company where he is currently acting.
In addition to an internationally renowned sanitary ware brand, his company is currently acting as an agent.
And floor drains, as well as shower rooms, bathroom cabinets, heated towel rails and other bathroom sub-categories, in the bathroom industry can be said to have achieved "one meter wide and one hundred meters deep" in-depth management.
In addition to the three stores of Huahua World, Panyu Jishengweibang and Pazhou Jishengweibang, Luzhong’s company has opened 13 stores in Guangzhou’s major stores, and there are currently no openings.
To maintain the normal operation of these stores, they also need one every month.
A lot of expenses.
Faced with the impact of the epidemic, Lu Zhong said that the first thing to see is whether the factory can resume work normally.
After the factory resumes work, some orders placed by consumers can be satisfied.
Secondly, after the resumption of work, there may still be no way to hold some major promotional activities in the short term.
What should the retail market do? Including the current communities are not allowed to enter, these difficulties are indeed difficult to predict.
For them, the current pressure mainly comes from the rent of shopping malls.
It is necessary to see if the government has relative policy support to the shopping malls, and the shopping malls then give relative support to the businesses.
Lu Zhong emphasized that although it is difficult, his company will not consider layoffs or rent withdrawal, and will ensure normal operations to the greatest extent.
A furniture brand distributor has its own stores in several cities.
Under the careful management of her and her team, the brand's products have a number of loyal fans in several cities.
She said that the company now has more than 20 employees.
If the work is started normally, the daily expenses will be very high.
Under such circumstances this year, it is indeed very stressful.
Ningbo dealer Xu Xiaoyan’s shop is in Ningbo AIA Furniture.
She said that it has not yet started.
If it starts normally, the monthly cost will cost about 100,000 yuan.
If the epidemic continues, for them, it will need to maintain 2 to 3 The daily operations of the month are equally stressful.
A certain kitchen appliance brand distributor in Nanchang has been operating in Nanchang for many years.
Affected by the epidemic, they have not yet officially started construction.
If they start normally, the company’s daily fixed cost will be around 100,000 yuan.
From the company’s current situation, it can support up to three Around the month.
Due to the impact of the epidemic, personnel cannot resume work normally, and the training and management of employees and customer operations are facing great challenges.
Wang Xilin, from Wuxi Xiangjiang Building Materials, is mainly engaged in the brand of ceramic tiles.
As a post-85 returnee, Wang Xilin began to take over the building materials business at home as soon as he returned to China.
He used Internet thinking to rethink the building materials industry his father was engaged in, and made many new attempts in Wuxi .
Their company currently has 30 employees and a store area of ​​about 2,000 square meters.
If construction starts normally, the monthly hard cost is about 300,000-400,000 yuan for rent and property, water and electricity plus labor.
Wang Xilin said that among the company's current major channels, engineering accounts for a relatively high proportion, while retail accounts for a relatively low proportion.
The current epidemic has a greater impact on retail and may have a smaller impact on projects.
However, it is estimated that the project will start much later this year, and the original performance target for 2020 will also be adjusted in accordance with changes in the situation.
Wang Weidong, a distributor of Natural Home Furnishings, is also from Guangdong.
Wang Weidong said that his company has more than 30 stores in Dongguan and Guangzhou, and the monthly operating cost is about 2 million yuan.
There is no problem with it for three or four months, but what is the follow-up It depends on the market.
He believes that the most difficult issue now is undoubtedly February.
Although all aspects have given some support, the follow-up impact of the epidemic needs to be looked at.
"The whole situation is still very serious, but we still want to treat it as a short-term difficulty, hoping to deal with the past.
" Wang Weidong said that Red Star Macalline played a very good leading role.
Most stores responded quickly and basically reduced the rent for dealers to reduce the pressure on dealers.
In addition, the response from the corporate headquarters was also very timely.
In addition to the product price policy, the headquarters of Nature Home also quickly organized a dedicated team to carry out online drainage work and online marketing training.
Zhang Ning, head of TATA South China, said that affected by the epidemic, TATA has 15 stores in Guangzhou.
It is expected to officially start operations on February 10.
During the epidemic, employees are on paid vacation, and the monthly fixed cost is more than one million yuan.
The current situation can last up to half a year.
At present, three stores have proposed rent-free in February, and other stores have also introduced rent-free policies.
Some are rent-free for half a month, and rents are halved for a week, with varying degrees of intensity.
Zhang Ning said that in fact, many businesses still have demands for rent reduction and exemption.
The cost of rent is very high.
The main reason is that they hope to give consumers greater discounts and promote sales and cash flow.
This is good for everyone.
02 02In response to the impact of the epidemic, online monitoring and drainage have become the focus of operations to respond to the impact of the epidemic, and online monitoring and drainage have become the focus of operations In order to cope with the impact of the epidemic, many decoration companies and building materials and home furnishing companies have recently launched online services to help Users solve decoration problems online.
Speaking of how to deal with the epidemic, Lu Zhong said that he believes that the state will provide some support policies for shopping malls, whether it is taxation or other aspects.
He believes that shopping malls will give merchants some preferential rental policies.
In response to the epidemic, their company will implement a 14-day quarantine in accordance with the policy for employees returning from other places.
Lu Zhong emphasized that since 2015, the company has focused its operations on retail.
At present, retail mainly consists of some customized products, as well as some imported high-end leaders.
Online (promotion) can only store customers.
In the end, customers still have to go to the store to see, or they have to come to the door to measure and make plans.
Online is now mainly based on promotion and drainage.
Part of the follow-up* of online sales is provided by some cooperative decoration companies.
In terms of active marketing, the company not only has salesmen from related channels, but also expanded some products.
In addition, it cooperated with major shopping malls to promote sales activities, but these activities are now unable to be held.
Wang Xilin said that the epidemic in Wuxi is fine for the time being, and housing prices are expected to be impacted.
All that can be done now is to do more online publicity work.
The only thing that can be done is to rely on the government.
I look forward to more preferential measures in Wuxi.
Everyone reduces the burden, "otherwise it will really force everyone to change careers.
"Faced with an unprecedented epidemic, Wang Weidong, who has many years of market experience, is also a little confused.
He said that for his team, what is not so clear is the needs, attitudes and ideas of consumers.
These things can only be figured out slowly after construction starts.
Their team will treat the epidemic crisis as a very difficult stage to deal with, and the sales model may need to be adjusted accordingly.
For example, in the past, it was mainly offline stores in stores.
Now we need to carry out more online activities.
From the original 7:3 may become 3:7; it used to be a team* model, and now it may need to be adjusted to a dedicated person.
Minimize contact opportunities.
For the entire team, it is also necessary to complete the corresponding conversion as soon as possible.
Speaking of the 2020 target, he said that when the plan was made at the end of 2019, he hoped to continue to grow, but whether this target should be adjusted or not will have to be judged according to the actual situation at the end of March or April.
In response to the current epidemic, Zhang Ning, the head of TATA South China, said that they first actively interacted with the original customer base, and quickly interacted with customers through the Guangzhou branch * hotline, WeChat VIP group, communicated the current situation, and soothed customers.
, Communicate follow-up* requirements, etc.
If you have after-sales problems, you can also use the form of * to guide customers to solve the problem.
At the same time, it actively carried out promotional activities and organized a new year opening event on WeChat, which was better than the expected order effect, but only accounted for 10% compared with previous years.
In addition, the TATA team is also actively making appointments* to test water to understand customers’ intentions for door-to-door*.
If necessary, TATA staff can take protective measures to door-to-door*, and provide masks, disinfectant, etc.
to customers to increase their sense of security .
Zhang Ning said that online channels such as TATA's official website, Tmall, and JD.
com have a unified system for offline store products, and the entire integration process is relatively mature, so there is not much to worry about online drainage.
However, the product line that customers choose will be different, so the online customer order value will be less than that of the store.
In the past, online products accounted for 30% and stores 70%.
Now the situation affected by the epidemic may change.
As for the support from the headquarters, Zhang Ning said that he hopes that the headquarters can attract more traffic so that dealers can have more customers and increase sales.
He also hopes that the factory can ship in time, guarantee the construction period, and ensure the timeliness of the delivery period.
Reaching this point is also a great support for the dealers.
03 03Support from all parties can only play a mitigating role, the key is consumer demand and consumer confidenceSupport from all parties can only play a mitigating effect.
The key lies in consumer demand and consumer confidence.
When it comes to market expectations, most dealers have expressed varying degrees of concern.
Lu Zhong said that in fact, at the end of last year, they estimated that the market this year might be similar to last year.
With the outbreak of the epidemic, it is estimated that the first half of the year was scrapped.
It is expected that everything will return to normal in the second half of the year.
In 2019, affected by the environment, they The company's overall sales have fallen by about 30%, and it is estimated that the target for the first half of 2020 will be voided.
In addition, they plan to represent a new high-end ceramic brand this year, and this work will continue to advance.
Xincheng Building Materials President Qiu said that the factory has not yet started construction.
For dealers, the key is not how much support the stores or manufacturers support, but because of the outbreak of the epidemic, various industries have been affected, and the incomes of bosses and workers are unstable.
, Who will consume? Decoration is not a required product.
Now there is a lot of demand for improved decoration.
People who just need it are buying hardcover houses.
With such a high hardcover rate in Guangzhou, the impact of the Guangzhou building materials retail market is expected to be great.
It will take at least half a year to a year to recover.
.
Speaking of the impact of the epidemic, a furniture brand distributor said that starting from the second half of last year, their team clearly felt that consumption was getting colder and the market competition was fierce.
The small partners tried every means to proactively market before they persisted.
With the outbreak of the epidemic this year, almost no one in the shopping mall will come out to purchase such non-essential items.
"If the epidemic continues to affect so much, it will be more difficult for us.
It is estimated that the entire market will not recover until the second half of the year.
" Wang Xilin said that in extraordinary times, in addition to hope to get support from manufacturers, but also hope to have bank loan support, these will serve as a buffer to a certain extent, but there is no way for everyone to return to normal life, and the problem of lack of customers will always exist, so now We can only trust the power of the country and hope that the epidemic will be brought under control as soon as possible.
In response to the current difficulties, a distributor of a kitchen appliance brand in Nanchang revealed that the headquarters has also given corresponding support policies for the epidemic.
At the same time, it is hoped that the stores can overcome the difficulties together with the merchants, and provide policy support and corresponding cost reductions in follow-up operations.
, The government can provide certain fund loans and tax support to SMEs.
He said that in 2020, all the goals are to "live, not reduce staff, and operate in a healthy way.
"Speaking of the mentality of responding to the epidemic, Zhang Ning, head of TATA South China, said that he is relatively optimistic.
She believes that the harder you are, the more you have to move forward.
The process of doing things is very important, and the mental state of the team is also very important.
In Zhang Ning's view, the TATA management team is relatively young and the mental state is relatively good.
Even if it encounters many difficulties, I believe it will be overcome.
Therefore, TATA Guangzhou currently has no plans to reduce storefronts or layoffs, and may even continue to open stores and recruit new employees.
For TATA, this may also be an opportunity for corners to surpass.
TATA plans to attract 15 businesses this year, and it will not be due to the epidemic.
Reduce the target, and even increase support, and allocate some outstanding talents to new stores.
Zhang Ning emphasized that she believes that the Guangzhou team can overcome the current difficulties as soon as possible and actively solve the problems.
"The country is in a difficult situation, and we cannot reverse this situation.
What we can do is overcome the difficulties and work hard to move forward.
" Just as optimistic as Zhang Ning, there is Wang Weidong, a distributor of Nature Home Guangzhou.
Wang Weidong believes that the key point at present is to increase consumer confidence.
We still have to overcome the difficulties together, because this is not a matter for one person or an industry, but for the entire society and everyone to work together.
No one can escape this influence, everyone should do something, and everyone should work together to overcome the difficulties.
Wang Weidong said that the concept of health and environmental protection will be more deeply rooted in people's hearts in the future.
Nature's own brand connotation is to advocate green and health, so I believe there will be more opportunities in the future.
Another point is that because of the epidemic, people have stayed at home longer, and their attention to home will increase.
After this wave of difficulties, there may be a small upsurge in home consumption.
04 04 The epidemic has exacerbated business difficulties and expected a recovery in consumer demand.
The epidemic has aggravated business difficulties and expected a recovery in consumer demand.
Generally speaking, the dealers or persons in charge interviewed have relatively rich market experience and ability to resist risks.
The main appeals are as follows: 1.
I hope to get support from manufacturers and stores.
In addition to rent reduction and rent exemption, I also hope to get support in terms of products and training, and online drainage; 2.
Looking forward to receiving financial support, most of the dealer’s funds It can only be supported for 2 to 3 months and faces huge financial pressure;3.
I hope that the epidemic will be brought under control as soon as possible and the market will return to normal as soon as possible.
In terms of coping strategies, most distributors have chosen to provide online* or online promotion.
At present, these efforts have achieved little effect.
Most home building materials products still focus on offline experience and effects, just like most distributors.
According to the business, consumer demand and consumer confidence are the key.
Finally, everyone is generally not optimistic about the market in the first half of the year, and hope that the market will recover in the second half of the year.
Since 2018, the building materials and home furnishing market has encountered various difficulties.
A large number of Internet decoration companies have closed down, market demand is relatively low, and dealers have difficulty operating.
The sudden outbreak of the epidemic in 2020 will undoubtedly increase the uncertainty of the market and operations.
For home furnishing companies As far as the dealers are concerned, the degree of difficulty has virtually doubled, and the threshold for operation has further improved.
For the majority of dealers, this is also a life-and-death test.
I hope that everyone will be proactive, united and overcome the difficulties together.
Postscript: In the course of this interview, we have also received support and subsidy measures from many home furnishing companies for distributors.
From financial support to logistics and product subsidies, various measures are multi-pronged, "Manufacturers’ community of shared future "It has been the most vivid interpretation.
The epidemic has brought an unprecedented test to the home building materials industry in distress, and it has also brought home furnishing companies and distributors closer together.
No one is an island.
In the face of disasters, there is no People can take care of themselves, and only by uniting can they overcome difficulties and overcome difficulties together.
We look forward to more home furnishing upstream and downstream enterprises to lend a helping hand, in the difficult times of the industry, do their part and contribute.
(Special thanks: the NetEase content team would like to sincerely thank all dealers and friends for your sincere sharing.
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