Consumption is delayed but demand is strong. The leading household building materials enterprises expand production against the trend
As a major category of social consumer goods, the sales of home building materials reached a new high since the outbreak of the epidemic with a retail sales of 363.4 billion yuan in 2021.
According to the main data of the total retail sales of social consumer goods in 2021 released by the National Bureau of statistics, the total retail sales of social consumer goods in the whole year was 44082.3 billion yuan, of which the retail sales of household building materials was about 363.4 billion yuan, a significant increase over 2020. Moreover, according to the information jointly released by the Circulation Industry Development Department of the Ministry of Commerce and the China Building Materials Circulation Association, the cumulative sales of building materials and home stores above Designated Size reached 1177.392 billion yuan in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 54.43%; The sales volume of building materials and household stores above Designated Size in China in December 2021 was 119.524 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 39.93%.
The reporter of the securities times interviewed people in the industry and learned that, affected by the epidemic and real estate regulation, consumers' demand for home building materials appears the phenomenon of "delayed consumption", but the market demand still exists and is relatively strong. At the same time, enterprises also show strong adaptability and tenacity in the complex and changeable market environment. However, it is noteworthy that affected by the rising prices of upstream raw materials, many enterprises have fallen into the dilemma of "increasing income without increasing profits". In the environment of epidemic superposition and regulation, the survival and development of enterprises still face no small challenges.
Consumption deferral happens for a reason
"I feel that the demand is rising steadily, but the customer has more time to think about it and is not as refreshing as before." Tan Ming, the person in charge of Foshan furniture enterprise no omission home culture Co., Ltd., told the securities times. Founded in 2004, buliuju has been focusing on the design, production and whole house customization service of solid wood furniture. The company's orders increased year-on-year in 2021. Covid-19, which he felt most deeply in recent two years, was the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, which overlapped the regulation of the domestic real estate market in the late period, and the demand for home furnishing market appeared a sign of "delayed consumption", but the overall demand did not decrease significantly.
Customized furniture brand Sofia has the same feeling. "Consumer demand has not disappeared, but has delayed consumption." In an interview with reporters, the relevant person in charge of Sofia said that the overall customer volume of the company showed an upward trend. On the one hand, the proportion of hardbound houses in the market continued to increase, on the other hand, the number of customers with second-hand house renovation demand was increasing.
It is understood that the home building materials industry is a cyclical industry. The first half of each year is the off-season and the second half is the peak season. Generally, the peak period of decoration will be ushered in from September to December. However, affected by the epidemic, furniture and building materials cannot enter the community due to sealing management in many communities, so there is a situation of "deferred consumption". In order to cope with the impact of the epidemic, many businesses actively promote digital management and pay attention to online service experience. "Generally, the decoration will be carried out within 3 to 6 months after the building is closed, and we will receive the customer's order within this time. Affected by the uncertain factors of the epidemic, the customer's decoration is delayed, and the order conversion cycle may become longer."
A relevant person in charge said that after the outbreak in 2020, relying on the new retail channels laid out by Sofia in the early stage, the sales form has changed rapidly from offline to online. "We pay more attention to online services, first retain customers and facilitate the conversion of orders later.".
The home building materials industry is a cyclical industry. The first half of each year is the off-season and the second half is the peak season. Generally, the peak period of decoration will be from September to December. However, affected by the epidemic, furniture and building materials cannot enter the community due to sealing management in many communities. Therefore, the situation of "consumption deferral" mentioned by the above-mentioned people appears. In order to cope with the impact of the epidemic, many businesses actively promote digital management and pay attention to online service experience. "Generally, the decoration will be carried out within 3 to 6 months after the building is closed, and we will receive the customer's order within this time. Affected by the uncertain factors of the epidemic, the customer's decoration is delayed, and the order conversion cycle may become longer."
It can not be ignored that the domestic real estate market has gradually entered a "cooling off period" with the high economic performance from 2017 to 2018. This hot market demand is finally reflected in the orders after the delivery of houses from 2020 to 2021. Therefore, the business volume of the home building materials industry in the past two years can be maintained. However, with the beginning of the regulation of the national real estate market in 2021, the trading volume of the real estate market has decreased significantly, and the home building materials market may face no small challenges in the next three years.
