The door and window industry is known as the last blue ocean of the home building materials industry, the huge market capacity has attracted the attention of many enterprises and many dealers, and some giants in the field of home building materials have also entered the game, such as Oppai, Sophia, etc. Just as the door and window industry is developing rapidly and the project is hot, the door and window industry will begin to roll up frantically in 2022, which is multifaceted, starting from the price of the volume, the volume of products, volume marketing and so on; The involution war in the door and window industry can be described as full of gunsmoke.
The involution war in the door and window industry has been disturbed, what are the results?
In fact, the involution of any industry is carried out all the time, because the industry is competing all the time, and only by maintaining technological innovation, cost advantage, market share and other leading advantages can we ensure that enterprises are not eliminated by the market in the competition, so as to be invincible. The recent involution of the door and window industry, the reason why it should be described as a big war, is that since 2022, the price competition and quality competition in the industry have been extremely fierce, and in the face of fierce competition, many brands have to re-examine their strategies and tactics to respond, or passively or actively involved in this fierce competition. This fierce competition has continued from 2022 to the present, so what are the results of this involution war in the door and window industry? Judging from what Fan Jushi has learned, there are positive and negative effects; And the brands and businesses in the market are happy and sad.
The positive impact of the involution war
Due to the large number of brands in the door and window market, the competition in the door and window market is like a single-plank bridge; Quickly seize the market and expand market share is the single-plank bridge, especially in the case of the overall decline in real estate, whoever can break through, who can keep living, who can stand out in the crowd of brands, live better. In this context, some companies take the initiative to reduce prices and roll down prices; Some companies improve product quality, functional performance, and roll up quality. In the process of this volume, it has had some positive impact on the market and the industry.
First, consumers have benefited. Consumers can either buy the same product at a lower price, or they can buy a better product at the same price, in this case, the benefits are real.
Second, the industry has progressed. In this process of involution, door and window enterprises must continuously improve their operational capabilities, product research and development capabilities, and marketing capabilities. The price of the volume can have enough cost advantages to make the price war continue, and the quality of the volume can have enough technical advantages to enhance the differentiated competitive advantage of its own products. Only by practicing internal skills and constantly innovating, can enterprises make themselves occupy a favorable advantage in this involution war, and in this process, more good products and good enterprises will emerge, which is a good thing for the industry.
The negative impact of the involution war
The philosopher said that there are two sides to everything, and the involution war in the door and window industry is the same, which will inevitably bring some negative impact to the industry, mainly reflected in the vicious competition of low quality and low price.
The price war itself is a means of market competition, and its main internal driving force is market-driven, cost-driven and technology-driven, with the purpose of suppressing competitors, occupying more market share, digesting inventory, etc., which has the characteristics of strong lethality, short-term and fast.
Some of the door and window companies involved in the price war, in the case of cost and technology do not have much advantage, they reduce the price by reducing the quality, and finally form a vicious circle. In this case, there are two groups of people who are more affected.
One is consumers who have bought low-quality and low-cost doors and windows. Due to the characteristics of door and window products, it is difficult for non-professionals to distinguish the advantages and disadvantages of a product, which also provides an opportunity for some manufacturers. By reducing the quality of the product, they reduce the cost, and actually give the consumer a low-quality product. The extreme weather in Nanchang this year, the typhoon days along the coast over the years, and the frequent news of door and window accidents such as the safety of doors and windows tell us that the safety of doors and windows needs to be highly valued, and the safety of doors and windows is determined by the quality of doors and windows. The flood of low-cost and low-quality doors and windows in the market has brought hidden dangers to the safety of consumers.
The other type is the dealer of low-quality and low-cost doors and windows. Due to the manufacturer's low-quality and low-price strategy, the dealers who were forced to get involved in vicious competition, in this case, on the surface, the price came down and there were more orders; However, for dealers, signing an order is the beginning of service, and many problems such as installation and delivery and after-sales service will be faced in the later stage. The low-quality and low-price products themselves give the dealers little profit margin, and will greatly increase the operating costs of dealers in installation and after-sales. For dealers rooted in the local area, there is also a fatal problem, that is, the collapse of the local reputation.
Where should the current door and window brands and door and window dealers go?
In the current chaotic and complex market, where should door and window brands and door and window dealers go? It's a problem for some brands and distributors. The market economy has laws to follow, and no matter what industry it is, conforming to the market and conforming to demand is the right direction.
In the current consumer market of doors and windows, consumers still have several cognitive deficiencies in doors and windows, which need time to make up. The maturity of consumers' awareness of door and window products will promote the maturity of the door and window market.
1. Door and window products seem to be not very differentiated
The door and window industry is a low-profile industry, consumers may spend a lot of energy to compare and pay attention to which shampoo is better to use, or which mobile phone is more silky to operate, in daily life, consumers will rarely pay attention to the knowledge related to door and window products.
This leads to the fact that when consumers have a demand for doors and windows, they do not have enough knowledge, and in the eyes of many ordinary consumers, doors and windows are aluminum and glass, and they look similar after installation. When consumers buy doors and windows, in the face of seemingly undifferentiated doors and windows products, price sensitivity overcomes quality sensitivity, ranking first in the purchase decision.
2. The residential safety, use value, and emotional value of doors and windows have been ignored for a long time
In a long period of human history, the role of doors and windows is usually just a simple access, ventilation, lighting, with the progress of the times, people's requirements for doors and windows are getting higher and higher, doors and windows are constantly evolving. In modern living space, doors and windows are not only a barrier between indoor and outdoor, but also a bridge between indoor and outdoor; The importance of doors and windows to residential safety has gone far beyond the traditional understanding; At the same time, the door and window products represented by the system doors and windows can improve the aesthetics of the space from the appearance design and vision of the doors and windows, and can also improve the comfort of the space in terms of sound and heat insulation, air tightness and water tightness, sun protection and shading, etc., so as to bring a completely different living experience to the residents and create a value-for-money emotional value.
However, all these changes came too fast, faster than the cognitive changes of the majority of consumers, resulting in the residential safety, use value and emotional value created by high-quality doors and windows for consumers to be despised by consumers.
3. The use experience and feedback of doors and windows require a long feedback cycle
Doors and windows are durable consumer goods, the quality of its products, in the short term is difficult to have obvious contrast, often after a long period of use and experience to be felt by consumers, for doors and windows this feedback cycle is often calculated in years. Therefore, when the door and window industry volume price, inferior products are popular, consumers can not recognize the harm of low-quality doors and windows to them in just one or two years, in the face of uncertain harm and very certain low prices, the masses who do not know the truth often choose the "benefits" that they can reach. The time cycle of door and window use experience and quality feedback is long, and the system doors and windows have just emerged for a few years, which makes it difficult for consumers to distinguish the advantages and disadvantages of the brand in the short term.
Fan Jushi believes that after a period of baptism, consumers' perception of door and window products will be improved; As a result, the door and window market will gradually become standardized, the industry standards are clear, the market positioning of major brands is clear, the product price is kind, and the quality is touching. In the future, there is no doubt that consumers will have higher and higher requirements for the quality, performance and service of doors and windows; Only by providing consumers with high-quality products and services and improving consumer experience can door and window dealers open up the local market and establish a good market reputation; Similarly, only by always having insight into market demand, constantly improving business capabilities, and "volume quality", "volume service" and "volume experience", can enterprises stand out and win the favor of dealers and users.
On paper, it is shallow, and seeing is a real exploration brand
From the end of last year to the first half of this year, affected by the general environment and price war, the performance feedback of the door and window industry is quite divided, a large number of companies have reported the news of declining performance, and some companies have made steady progress, and the news of growth has been spread in the case of an unsatisfactory environment.
Let's explore a door and window brand that has achieved growth in the context of the involution war in the industry, and see how they break the volume and grow against the trend.
Alps – a brand that is growing against the trend
In the industry circle, I have long heard that Alps is a dark horse in the industry, which was founded in 2018 and has become one of the fastest-growing brands in the industry.
The emergence of any dark horse is not accidental, but the inevitable accumulation. If you count the marketing actions of Alps in the past year, you will find that Alps is also "rolling", but it is more about "rolling quality, rolling service, and rolling experience".
In the six months since the end of 2023, Alps has successively launched Lowe glass as standard, and the range of products covered by the standard equipment is unparalleled in the industry. The European standard 6060-T66 profile grade was used to upgrade the door and window profiles; Upgrade microwave seamless welding strips; Upgraded product bevel crimping; Upgrade higher quality hardware; Upgrade the product line, launch a series of new products, and launch new categories of entrance doors; The Green Product Certification and Passive Window Certification will also be upgraded soon......
According to Yin Daming, general manager of Alps Marketing Center, high-quality, high-performance system doors and windows products are the main reasons why Alps quickly opened the market, won market reputation, and achieved rapid growth. After in-depth communication with the senior management of Alps, we deeply realized that Alps's brand genes determine that it will never sacrifice product quality and price; Instead, stick to the original heart, quality first, experience first.
Alps System Windows & Doors is a system door and window brand that closely follows the needs of consumers and is committed to providing consumers with a higher quality of life with high-quality door and window products. The management team with Mr. Chen Liwei, the general manager, as the core, has been precipitated and accumulated in the door and window industry for more than ten years before the establishment of the company. Out of a keen insight into market demand, Alps has clearly adhered to the development and production of high-quality, high-performance system doors and windows products at the beginning of its establishment, which can be said to have engraved the concept of quality first and product innovation into the company's genes. In the years that followed, system windows and doors quickly became the mainstream of the window and door market, proving that Alps had a keen and extraordinary insight into market needs.
Alps has developed its own standards and guidelines in the field of R&D, production and delivery of system windows and doors, and has developed a unique "system view" centered on providing consumers with high-quality products, services and experiences.
1. Alps develops and manufactures each individual product as a system.
In terms of product innovation, Alps' 6Smix R&D concept in the product development stage is to think systematically about the product, through the profile subsystem, glass subsystem, hardware subsystem, sealing subsystem, accessory subsystem, installation subsystem and other 6 subsystems for independent and integrated systematic consideration, both for the door and window sound insulation, heat insulation, air tightness, water tightness, wind pressure resistance, Strict requirements for individual performance such as safety and durability, and full consideration of factors such as region, environment, climate, use scenario, aesthetics, ergonomics, etc., so as to develop system doors and windows products with the best comprehensive performance to match the needs of the target market.
In terms of product quality, we insist on using "ultra-high-precision" standard aluminum profiles; Adhere to the "world-class" surface spraying materials and coating technology; insist on making "new national standard" products; insist on making "standard European standard notch products"; insist on making "multi-sealed" products; insist on making "unified isotherm" products; Adhere to the use of "full injection" process; Adhere to the use of "quality branded hardware and accessories"; Adhere to the research and development of greener, environmentally friendly and energy-saving high-performance products; Adhere to the "system" doors and windows of the "whole house", and meet the product solutions of the whole house to accommodate doors and windows. Alps' "Top 10 Product Persistence" in the production and development of products is an institutional guarantee for maintaining the consistent high quality of doors and windows.
2. Alps considers the whole house door and window solution as a system to build a product matrix.
With the progress of the times, people's requirements for doors and windows are getting higher and higher, and doors and windows are constantly evolving. Compared with traditional doors and windows, system doors and windows bring a completely different living experience, with the improvement of the research and development and production process of system doors and windows, on the basis of improving the safety of doors and windows, it can also improve the aesthetics of the space from the appearance design of doors and windows, vision, etc., and improve the comfort of the space in terms of sound and heat insulation, air tightness and water tightness, sun protection and shading.
Alps insists on making "whole house" green, energy-saving, high-performance "system" doors and windows, and provides one-stop whole-house door and window solutions for consumers in different regions, different climatic conditions, different usage scenarios, and different individual needs based on Alps' system view.
3. Alps considers R&D, production, and delivery as a system to build a corporate system.
For doors and windows, the factory is far from the end of the service after strict product quality inspection, and only after the completion of the installation and consumer experience can the delivery be completed. Most people understand the delivery, limited to the installation link, and Alps system doors and windows have a unique system view of delivery, and launched Alps's "perfect delivery system", which consists of 8 subsystems, 16 delivery links to form a closed loop of delivery, from understanding customer needs and pursuits, door-to-door precision testing, developing perfect solutions that meet customer needs and pursuits, to production, quality control, installation, maintenance and even customer research, process upgrading, new product research and development and many other links are part of the delivery, only each link is perfect. is the perfect delivery. Alps has taken "perfect delivery" as the responsibility goal of each department, and uses this as the starting point to build the organizational system of the company.
Not only products, but also brands, services, and experiences......
System doors and windows is a heavy service industry, for the door and window brand, "heavy service" is not only reflected in the delivery to consumers, but also reflected in the brand's help to dealers. In addition to product excellence, Alps is also working tirelessly to build up its ability to empower its dealers.
In their view, from the beginning of cooperation with dealers, manufacturers need to assume the responsibility of supporting dealers. Ensuring the quality of products is the responsibility, training empowerment, activity empowerment, drainage empowerment is also the responsibility, based on this, Alps has built a very complete support system, especially its design and marketing assistance, to help dealers produce renderings, is Alps dealers to win the battle of community group buying, villa large orders.
Recently, it has been noted that Alps has reached a cooperation with Jiangsu Satellite TV's "Warm Inn", allowing the star guests in the program to experience the high-quality and comfortable space created by Alps doors and windows, in order to let more people understand the high-quality and comfortable life brought by Alps system doors and windows. In the context of fierce competition, it is still actively promoting the brand, which can be seen that it is not only about the quality, but also about the brand, service, and experience.
It is foreseeable that in the future of the door and window industry, the competition will be the comprehensive operation ability of door and window enterprises.
Write at the end
On the topic of involution of doors and windows, I once interviewed Mr. Chang Baochen, the founder of Alps system doors and windows, he believes that the involution of doors and windows is objectively inevitable, and only in the process of continuous involution, the industry will progress, he encourages positive involution, Alps will also actively participate in the positive involution of the industry, so that more consumers can experience Alps' high-quality products and services, so that Alps dealers can reap the success of their careers.