On July 19, 2018, the multiple Chinese media united to release “2017 – 2018 Top 10 Hot Words of Home Furnishings in China”. With the year from July 2017 to June 2018 as a time node, Top 10 hot words were selected by survey and judgment to reflect the top concerns in China’s home furnishings industry throughout the year.

Industrial transfer

Two years after the home furnishings industry in Beijing started the industrial transfer, the home furnishings enterprises in the major cities nationwide upgraded the equipment, optimized the process and promoted the capacity through industrial transfer.

Furniture industry transfer direction 

Replacement of oil with water

On March 23, 2018, Mengtian Wood Door released the water-painted wood door and announced the comprehensive realization of “replacement of oil with water”. As an important line of enterprise transformation in the environmental protection reform, replacement of the oil paint with the water paint, that is, “replacement of oil with water”, in the production of wood products has become necessary.

Mengtian Wood Door released the water-painted wood door

Smart store

On March 3, 2018, 5 smart stores of B&Q in Beijing and Shanghai were opened at the same time to change the original storage-style shopping mode, and with the appearance of the black technologies such as face recognition, AR and VR, the smart store emerged at the right moment. EasyHome and Ali Group have been conducting the pilot transformation of smart store; the first smart store of Sogal in Beijing has been opened, and the fashion life experience center jointly built by Jingdong and Qumei Home has also appeared. With the online and offline integration and the digital seamless connection, the smart store has not only been a concept any longer.

 B&Q Smart Store

Overseas merger and acquisition

Qumei acquired Ekornes in Norway with RMB 4 billion; KUKA bought Natuzzi Italia and Natuzzi Editions with EURO 65 million, and Markor Home bought 60% of the stock rights of M.U.S.T. with the cash of USD 4.92 million… Overseas merger and acquisition has become an important strategy of the listed home furnishings companies.

The merger and acquisition of the overseas enterprises by the domestic enterprises means that the Chinese home furnishings enterprises have had the enough strength and have had the broader international view. Going to the world from China is becoming the pursuit of the home furnishings enterprises.

Overseas merger and acquisition of Chinese Companies

Crash

In March 2018, the subsidiary corporation of Apple Decoration in Hubei was put on record due to the involvement in the contract fraud so as to trigger the national crash. According to the statistics, nearly 120 Internet home decoration companies in China have gone into liquidation in recent three years. Five problems including lack of control, blind expansion, excessive advertising as well as neglecting profit and delivery have been the main reasons for the continuous crash of the Chinese home decoration companies.

Listed

In the year from 2017 to 2018, the home furnishing enterprises such as OLO, ZBOM, Mercury, Mona Lisa, Macalline and Shengshi Leju were listed one after another, and the home furnishing sector became a hot one favored by the capitals.

Customization

Customization has been the hot point growing most rapidly in China’s home furnishings industry, and the listed companies such as Oppein, Suofeiya, Homekoo and Holike were formed. The traditional furniture enterprises have successively turned to customization, which has actually been the performance of lacking innovation in the home furnishings industry.

Overall decoration

From hard decoration to soft decoration, accessory and the completely fully furnished, such overall decoration deemed as the ultimate mode of home decoration was favored by the numerous home decoration companies from 2017 t0 2018. The key to the overall decoration lies in really meeting the consumers’ demands.

Big-home

Providing the one-stop integrated home solutions for the users is called as “Big-Home” by many enterprises. From 2017 to 2018, as customization became hot, “Big-Home” became more popular. To make the big home, we need to start with the design, equip with the complete categories, provide the full solution design and display the lifestyle.

Crossover

Involving in the home decoration, from 2017 to 2018, crossover became more and more fashionable. The real estate giants such as Country Garden created the brand such as Ohome and produced the furniture; Xiaomi, MUJI, ZARA and H&M successively opened the HOME stores; the luxury brand Tiffany entered the home furnishings industry; Heilan Home opened Heilan Home Optimal Life Center; EasyHome opened the children’s playground, pension town and food plaza; Jimei Furnishings introduced the catering plaza and created the experience Mall business complex; Opp allied with the luxury racing car Aston Martin to push the ceiling and bath heater brands to the fashion circle…

Outsiders swarm into the home furnishings industry because they settle on the great potential of this industry; the external extension of the big home furnishings brand is aimed at extending the industrial chain. Crossover will inject the new blood into the home furnishings industry and bring the new reform.

(Source: JJgle.com)