American manufacturers already operating in China include wooden furniture manufacturers Stanley Furniture and Ethan Allen, as well as bedding giants Sealy, Simmons and Serta. Some brand manufacturers directly ship their products to the Chinese market; another part of the companies are franchised manufacturers with China that manufacture and ship in China.
EthanAllen: a model of successful local cooperation
Ethan Allen entered the Chinese market by signing a licensing agreement with Meike International Furniture Co., Ltd. in 2002. The two companies cooperated to open two retail chains at the time, and each store had both brands. The chain store is operated by Meikemeijia. In this model, Ethan Allen currently has 42 stores or design centers in 25 major cities in China, and plans to open 6-8 new stores next year, with a design center area of ​​5,00-2,000 square meters.
"Ten years ago, when Meikemeijia first proposed a cooperation proposal, I was still skeptical," said M. Farooq Kathwari, president, chairman and chief executive officer of Ethan Allen, "Meikemeijia was A manufacturing company does not have any retail experience in itself. But then they put a lot of energy and effort into this new plan, and it has made rapid progress and achieved success. "
Now, China has become a "bright prospect" market, and Ethan Allen's sales in China are increasing. "Our business in China almost doubled last year." Kathwari said. He added that 60% of Ethan Allen ’s homes sold in China are produced in his US factory. Of this number, about 70% are wooden furniture and 30% are upholstered furniture.
"To support our customized series of upholstered furniture, Meikemeijia has built a factory in China, which completely replicates one of our factories in the United States," Kathwari added. partner."
According to Kathwari, the Ethan Allen series purchased by Chinese consumers are diverse and range in style from traditional to modern. "Consumers like American design."
In order to promote its own brand in China, Ethan Allen and Meikemeijia cooperated to continuously use print ads for publicity. "When you have a well-known brand like us, you should use the best way to plan when possible, which is very important." Kathwari said.
Stanley: Traditional style is more popular
Stanley Furniture ’s CityClub bedroom furniture has a warm-toned exterior that incorporates 18th-century Federal, Sheraton, and Chippendale designs
Another American furniture manufacturer hoping to expand its business in China is Stanley Furniture Company. It entered the Chinese market about 3 years ago.
"So far, we are very satisfied with what we have achieved," said Kelly Cain, vice president of international sales and professional marketing at Stanley Furniture. "Chinese consumers are very interested in Western products and lifestyles. Our The product has great potential for development. "
In China, Stanley sells several fixed product lines such as bedroom furniture, dining room furniture and decorative furniture, mostly in traditional style. In the vast majority of retail stores, the series is positioned as a product with strong sales, and its American style is a major feature of the product. American teen bedroom series sales are particularly popular.
"Many modern-style furniture has emerged in the Chinese market," Cain said. "Chinese consumers value traditional values ​​more, so that's our focus. For our company, traditional furniture sales are good. For simple products. "
Stanley sells furniture through multiple retailers located in furniture stores in major cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. The company also cooperates with several retailers with independent showrooms. "This is not much different from our retail model in the United States," Cain said. "We work hard to find the best retailer in a specific market and get our products to receive the corresponding attention. At the same time, in a certain market only Retailers to work together to avoid price wars. "But he said the company is also" always looking for new partners, because China has many large cities with populations ranging from 6 million to 8 million, and we do not have agents . "
Because Chinese retailers usually display fewer product lines in stores than in the United States, Stanley ’s stores in China have the opportunity to display more products. "An American retailer may sell 40 or more furniture series," Cain said. "The average Chinese retailer will not own that many products. So they tend to show more of our products."
In order to promote the sales of its products, Stanley provides sales training and product education to sales personnel. "The sales people in China are very good," he said. "They work hard to learn the production process of the product so that they can communicate with customers about this information. They pay great attention to details."
Brands play an important role in stores in China, so retailers attach great importance to the Stanley brand, with prominent signs and in-store advertisements.
Simmons: After a long absence from the comeback
The BeautyrestBlack series launched by Simmons in 2006 is the focus of the Asian market plan
For Simmons Bedding Company, Asia has become a key element in its export planning. Tim, the company ’s executive vice president of marketing
Oakhill said it made mattresses in China as early as the early 20th century, and then discontinued it on the eve of World War II.
Since 2004, realizing that the luxury goods market is booming, Simmons began to work hard to resume exports to Asia (including mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea). The company's BeautyrestBlack series launched in 2006 became the focus of the new plan.
"We position the Black series produced in the United States as products that are necessarily strong in sales. Asian retailers purchase from our factory in Canada and several Japanese suppliers," Oakhill said. "We use a clear and cohesive marketing approach. To facilitate understanding and communication between retailers and sales staff. "
In Asia, Simmons authorized the Simmons brand stores and department stores to sell the Beautyrest Black series, and the sales network is spreading to regions with high recognition and acceptance of high-end home products. According to Oakhill, sales in regions where the United States owns or used to have overseas military bases are even hotter. "The United States has influence on these places, and consumers prefer Western goods and styles," Oakhill said. "They have great respect for American quality and craftsmanship."
In order to establish the popularity of the series among Asian consumers, Simmons ’retail partners emphasized Simmons’ brand and history in the advertisements, and Mandarin, Cantonese, Hokkien, and Korean were used in the promotional materials. "The core of advertising in Asia is brand history and reputation, not product features," Oakhill said.
Oakhill said the company's relationship with its retailers is a real partnership. The company's executives regularly meet with Asian franchised dealers to have an updated understanding of products and marketing strategies. "Our distributors in Asia helped modify the Black series." Oakhill said, "The style and structure of the product are generally the same as those sold in the United States, with only slight changes in size."
Serta: Choose Yalan to work closely
Bob Malin (middle), Vice President of Shuda International Franchise, and Shuda China's sales team, store owner, and Shuda dealer in Japan Hiro Watanabe opened a new store in Guangzhou.
Serta (Serta) is another American bedding manufacturing giant, intends to expand the Chinese market. From January 1 this year, the company integrated its franchised distributors in China, terminated its relationship with multiple distributors, and chose to work with only one distributor, Yalan Mattress. Yalan has a 50-year history and has 4 bedding factories and 500 retail stores in China.
"Yalan used to be our franchised dealer in southern China," Bob, vice president of Shuda International Franchise
Malin said, "Now, it is about to promote our products all over China. We will adopt a unified approach and work in the same direction. They are a young, aggressive and energetic team."
The Shuda series will be sold through Yalan stores and the increasing number of Shuda stores. In China, Shuda is also the only bedding supplier of Meikemeijia Furniture Store.
"We plan to open 120 Shuda retail stores across China in June next year," Malin said. "Our goal is to operate 500 stores in the next three years."
In China, Shuda focuses on promoting the Perfect Sleeper series. This series belongs to the company's mid-range products in the United States, but is regarded as a luxury item in China. "Its springs and specifications are the same as American products-just a little harder," Malin said. "It ranks first in sales in the United States and sells well in China's high-end market."
Malin added that Shuda hopes to introduce the junior PerfectDay series to China at some point in the future.
"Our products are recognized by consumers all over the world," Malin said. "The cooperation between the company and large hotel chains has increased the visibility of the products." Shuda has cooperated with Hilton Hotels in some very large projects. "Suite used at every Hilton hotel in China
Dreams bedding products are the same as those used in the United States. These are hard but comfortable mattresses that Chinese people like very much. "
It is still not easy to attract consumers in every market, especially for a foreign company.
"In the United States, we keep advertising mattresses," Malin said. "This is an industry driven by publicity. Unless you keep talking, consumers don't think they need to change a mattress. "Malin admitted that the challenges facing China are greater:" It is difficult to attract Chinese consumers. A standard furniture store may have 30 different sleep shops, and advertising is very expensive. "
Shuda's response is to deeply study non-traditional advertising forms to attract luxury consumers. For example, the company is considering advertising in aviation magazines to attract a special group of high-end travelers. The company also researches online advertising through the search engine Baidu and social networking sites.
"In the United States, almost all mattresses are substitutes," Malin said. "Every family has mattresses, and everyone understands the importance of quality sleep. Most consumers in China buy for the first time. The key to Shuda ’s success in China is to have the best location in the mall-our goal is to become the first mattress store that customers see when entering the mall-the network will build a brand image, but the location is still critical.
Malin said China has great opportunities. "The wealthy middle class in China reaches 250 million, and they favor Western products."
Sealy: Setting up factories in Qingpu heralds growth. China is a "giant market with unlimited potential," Larry, president and CEO of Sealy
Rogers agrees, "China's mattress market has only really started to rise in the past 20 years, and this market is still developing." Rogers said that China's furniture market is expected to have an average growth rate of 15% in the next 5-10 years. The growth rate of high-end products will be faster.
He added that Siren's operations in China are still small, but represent "a huge opportunity in the next few years."
After several years of research on the Chinese market, Silan began to enter the Chinese market at the end of 2008. It opened its first store in Shanghai in January 2009, and Shanghai is also home to its headquarters.
In the past 18 months, Silian has opened a total of 16 Silian brand stores in 12 major cities in China. This year, the company expects its bedding sales in China will be three times that in 2009.
Rogers attributed his initial success to Silan's local management team in China. "People are the key to the Chinese market. Our team in China seizes the core advantages of Silian and transforms them to meet the special needs of local consumers while maintaining the characteristics of the Silian brand."
"We have partnered with a local distributor in each market to open the Siren showroom," Rogers said. "Our showrooms are now spread across all first-tier cities and most second-tier cities. We are now preparing to move into wealthy inland areas. "
Siren also owns several boutiques in high-end department stores, which Rogers called "may become our emerging market in the next few years."
Rogers added that Silen's short-term goal is to become the number one brand in the "high-end market." "In the long run, the goal is to make Silian the number one bedding brand in China, just as we have achieved in the United States."
In order to achieve the expected development, Silian is building the first Chinese manufacturing plant in Qingpu outside Shanghai. The plant covering an area of ​​about 10,000 square meters is expected to be completed by the end of this year. It will be Siren's largest factory in Asia. The plant was built in cooperation with Sirian ’s Australian franchised dealer and will include Asia ’s first R & D center. The plant will meet the increasing demand for Selenium products in the domestic Chinese market and Selenium's Asian joint ventures in Hong Kong, South Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan and Singapore.
In the early stage, Silian will focus on its premium series of Posturepedic built-in spring mattresses, which is a luxury series. Once successful, the company may expand its products and launch more mid-range products.
"According to our research, we believe that the Posturepedic series uses a unique process and distinctive features to cater to Chinese consumers, and its competitive advantage surpasses other bedding brands sold in China." Rogers said.
Because customers around the world have similar basic mattress requirements—corrected back support, comfort, and long-lasting—the core technology used in Selean Posturepedic mattresses is the same for all markets. However, there are two differences between Selenium products sold in China. Firstly, the size of standard mattresses has changed; secondly, "we have selected harder mattresses from the existing series and have specially developed some products for the Chinese market."
Rogers said it is important to understand the preferences and needs of consumers in different regions. "This is why we are looking for excellent partners locally when entering a new market." Silian will also use the comprehensive media effects to determine the best sales method for the Chinese market based on the new market information. The company hopes to attract consumers by using social media, in-store activities and targeted mail delivery, rather than using traditional media.
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