In the early days of reform and opening up, the first batch of businessmen active in the first-tier ceramic tile market in China could be divided into two major factions, namely the "Fujian faction" and the "Zhejiang faction". Among them, Wenzhou businessmen who belong to the "Zhejiang School" are known as the "Jews" of China's building ceramics industry because they dare to fight hard, focus on teamwork, have strong brand awareness, and are willing to invest and share.
A few days ago, Zhongtaojun was fortunate enough to interview a very outstanding Wenzhou businessman. Under his leadership, even though the industry was in the throes of transformation, the company still maintained a positive spirit, moved forward unswervingly towards the set goals, and achieved impressive results. He is Liu Jiajun, chairman of Wuxi Xiyinglong Building Materials Co., Ltd., the dealer of Samit Ceramics in Wuxi.
Two generations take root in Wuxi
Witness the ups and downs of the market
Liu Jiajun is a very typical "second generation Taoist" born in 1995. His father came to Wuxi to work hard in 1995 and founded Wuxi Xiyinglong Building Materials Co., Ltd., which is engaged in the sales of ceramic tiles and other building materials products. . So far, two generations have been deeply involved in the field of ceramic tiles for more than 20 years. According to him, when the previous generation started their business, it happened to be a period when the country was vigorously developing construction. The market demand for ceramic tiles in Wuxi was relatively strong, and a building materials distribution center represented by Zhongchu Market was gradually formed along Xihu Road.
"At that time, the brand awareness of the ceramic tile industry had not yet awakened. Most merchants still relied on the traditional wholesale model. They could sell just by bringing back some goods, let alone any services." Liu Jiajun said that as people With the improvement of living standards, they realized that China would usher in a wave of consumption upgrades, so the company decided to leave the building materials market that was originally dominated by the "front store and back warehouse" model, and invested and built its own single-family house on Xihu Road. Building Materials Museum.
It is reported that the total area of the building materials museum is nearly 5,000 square meters. The 1st to 3rd floors are product display and experience areas, and the 4th floor is the industry area.Government office area. Liu Jiajun bluntly said that compared with chain home building materials stores, the business hours of single-family building materials stores are more flexible, and it is more convenient for consumers to choose materials in the store. In addition, as the rental cost of home building materials stores is rising day by day, building a single-family building materials store can be spread out. The cost of sales and operation is reduced, so that consumers can enjoy real benefits in terms of price. It is worth mentioning that in addition to ceramic tiles, the building materials store also offers bathroom ware, soft furnishings, furniture, wooden floors, wooden doors, etc., which can provide consumers with one-stop purchasing services.
Around 2018, as the real estate industry entered a downward cycle, the building ceramics industry ushered in an era of inventory competition, and terminal ceramic tile dealers faced huge challenges in transformation and upgrading. At this time, Liu Jiajun's parents also realized that the company's original business philosophy and management model urgently needed to keep pace with the times. Therefore, Liu Jiajun, who returned from studying abroad, officially joined Wuxi Xiyinglong Building Materials Co., Ltd. in 2019, starting from grassroots positions step by step. Now, Liu Jiajun has become the new helmsman of the company. Under his leadership, the company has achieved good results in building brand value.
Mutual achievements with Samit
Enjoy brand management dividends
As we all know, choosing a good manufacturer and good brand to cooperate with is the foundation for dealers to base themselves on the market and become bigger and stronger. As for the main reason for choosing Samit, Liu Jiajun gave the answer: As Chinese people become more and more aware of brands in the consumption process, it is difficult for ordinary brands to be promoted in Wuxi, a market surrounded by strong enemies. After many efforts, After inspection and comparison, only a high-end, international and youthful brand like Samit can fill the demand gap in the local market.
In 2018, Wuxi Xiyinglong Building Materials Co., Ltd. officially joined hands with Samit to compete in the Wuxi ceramic tile market. Samit also showed strong brand vitality and competitiveness. First of all, because it is backed by the New Pearl Group, the aircraft carrier of ceramic construction, Samit is at the leading level in the industry in terms of production capacity, equipment, technology and process; secondly, Samit's product research and development can always accurately control the fashion trends and establish A rich product system can meet a variety of consumer needs. Liu Jiajun also mentioned in particular that Samit will actively adopt the opinions of dealers in product development, respond quickly to the latest trends in the market, and conduct flexible production arrangements, so that it can always get the first bite of the cake at the terminal.
In Liu Jiajun’s view, dealers and brands achieve mutual success, and it is critical whether the two can advance at the same pace. With the acceleration of the younger generation of mainstream consumer groups, the popular styles of home decoration have also undergone earth-shaking changes in just a few years. Standing at the juncture of this transformation, they made an important decision, that is, to branch out in the building materials store. More than a thousand square meters of area were used to build Samit's new showroom, and this major project was safely entrusted to the brand headquarters. At the beginning of this year, Wuxi Summit’s new store officially opened. Liu Jiajun said that the biggest change in the exhibition hall before and after the renovation is that it has transformed from a local building materials museum into a modern and international home space experience museum.
With this remodeling and upgrade, in addition to the overall grade of the Wuxi Summit store being greatly improved, product update is also a core part. The mainstream products have been changed from the traditional 800×800㎜ to the 750 that is in line with the aesthetics of today's young people. ×1500㎜ large board, IP products jointly created by Samit and Doraemon are also unveiled in the new store. In this regard, well-known local designers, project purchasers and other partners in Wuxi gave high praise. Liu Jiajun said that channel partners now often have customers with needs come to the store to select materials. This situation was particularly rare before the showroom decoration. Precisely because the renovated exhibition hall provides certain convenience for channel partners to order and provide services, many designers, decoration companies and project purchasers are more inclined to cooperate with Wuxi Samit.
Create reputation with service
Manufacturers work together to develop new channels
Many dealers are struggling to find the secret to doing good business, and the experience accumulated by the previous generation tells Liu Jiajun that every consumer has a steelyard in his heart, and word of mouth is the most powerful competitive weapon, and sincerity Service is worth every marketing tool in the market. Therefore, Wuxi Samit has long prioritized word-of-mouth building, and continues to improve its service system under the leadership of the brand headquarters to bring a more considerate service experience to consumers.
According to Liu Jiajun, Samit has specially created a worry-free butler service, which includes space design, paving guidance, progress tracking, paving acceptance, tile maintenance, etc. Their company will also require store managers and design consultants , service stewards and other personnel remain online at all times. In terms of design services, Samit has invested huge funds to develop the "Quick Draw" design platform. Consumers can not only select materials online, but also experience VR real-life renderings; in terms of after-sales service, in addition to free returns and replenishments, they also Free ceramic tile maintenance services will be provided to consumers. It is precisely because of the great efforts in service that Wuxi Summit currently has a high proportion of sales from old customers.
“In addition to the original retail channels, the brand headquarters has also provided a lot of assistance policies for channel development in recent years to help dealers walk on multiple legs.” For example, through strategic cooperation to design awards, strengthen brand and The cooperation stickiness of local designers also assists dealers in organizing designer activities; and the development of a series of products for the self-contained channel, enriching the colors and specifications while in line with the cost-effective positioning of the self-contained company. In addition, Samit also uses online platforms such as Tmall, Douyin, and new media to attract traffic, grafting intended consumers to offline stores to help dealers solve the problem of reduced customer flow. Regarding the series of measures taken by the brand headquarters, Liu Jiajun said: Dealers must proactively cooperate to maximize the effect.
The boss who doesn’t know how to draw a pie
Know better how to make employees grow
It is understood that Wuxi Xiyinglong Building Materials Co., Ltd. currently has a team of nearly 70 people. In this huge team, the proportion of old employees can actually reach about 70%. At the moment when the building ceramics industry is losing a lot of talent, This situation is very rare. Liu Jiajun believes that the most critical core factor in building a stable and strong execution team is the company's management model.
“First of all, our boss is very down-to-earth and never tries to make a big pie for employees. Instead, he inspires employees’ fighting spirit through a system of clear rewards and punishments for more work. Secondly, our company has a very complete learning system. In order to cultivate the professionalism of employees, there is basically a small training once a week and a big training once a month. "Liu Jiajun mentioned that the smart stores launched by the brand headquarters have helped a lot in terms of employee learning and training. The smart stores have helped a lot. The above courseware is very comprehensive and can satisfy employees' systematic learning. In addition, in terms of event execution, the brand headquarters will also send a support team to the store to make plans based on the actual situation of the store to escort the entire implementation of the event.
As the saying goes, a boss who doesn't know how to spread the pie is more worthy of employees' following. Wuxi Xiyinglong Building Materials Co., Ltd. has always held the mentality that achieving employees means achieving themselves, helping employees develop upward so that employees can live a better life through their own efforts. Some people went from being poor when they joined the company to buying cars and houses later; some people successfully settled down in Wuxi and started families and businesses... It is worth mentioning that in this company, employees have enough room for growth. There are also more development opportunities. They will even provide policies or funds for individual employees who want to start a business, support employees to operate other categories in the building materials store, and transform the employment relationship into a partnership relationship.
Stick to an altruistic heart
Proactively perform corporate social functions
It is said that businessmen in Wenzhou like to share. During the interview, Mr. Zhongtao also clearly felt that the Liu Jiajun family always had an altruistic mindset when doing business. When asked about his original intention of representing the Samit brand, Liu Jiajun answered very frankly: We hope that by bringing such a competitive brand, we can reasonably increase the income of employees and further improve their living standards and happiness index.
“For the majority of consumers, brand representsWatch quality, brand represents professionalism. This is why we must represent brands. "Liu Jiajun said that many consumers have bought unreliable products, which has made the decoration and subsequent living process very troublesome, and they try their best to promote good products and brands, which can save consumers from making detours. . Even if consumers do not choose to buy Samit's products, they must use their professionalism and sincerity to popularize knowledge about ceramic tiles and decoration. This is a very meaningful thing.
In addition, Wuxi Xiyinglong Building Materials Co., Ltd. also attaches great importance to the fulfillment of social responsibilities. It not only actively participates in voluntary work for epidemic prevention and control, pays attention to and assists new citizens, women and children, but also provides assistance to groups in need on many occasions. Make charity donations. It is understood that Ms. Zhang Shiping, the founder of Wuxi Xiyinglong Building Materials Co., Ltd., has multiple identities such as a member of the Municipal People's Political Consultative Conference, a representative of the People's Congress of Liangxi District, and the president of the New Citizens Women's Association of Guangrui Road Street in Liangxi District. Under her influence and Under his leadership, the company has been particularly active in contributing to society over the years.
Liu Jiajun firmly believes that whether they are scholars, farmers, industry, or businessmen, they are all members of the country and society, and different roles need to perform different functions. As Drucker said: "The enterprise is an organ of society, and it exists to solve problems for society." If an enterprise wants to achieve long-term success, it must play its role and assume responsibility for its employees, consumers and the general public. , fulfill obligations.
From the perspective of meeting consumers' decoration needs, both the Samit brand headquarters and dealers regard meeting "the people's yearning for a better life" as their goal. At the end of the interview, Liu Jiajun firmly stated that Wuxi Samit will continue to work hand in hand with the brand headquarters in the future and continue to work hard in the same direction.
