Hardware "sea" has not encountered cold

In the past year of 2008, it was undoubtedly a crippling year for the Chinese hardware industry. *** Appreciation of value, rising labor costs, technical barriers to trade and other factors have caused the hardware industry to suffer pains. The raging global financial crisis has also tested the survival power of hardware export companies: A large number of companies have gone bankrupt, and layoffs and production cuts have become commonplace.

In 2008, it gradually drifted further and further away. The ice of the financial crisis showed no sign of abating. However, the news from the organizing committee of the "China International Hardware Show (CIHS ́09)" was a quiet 2009. A warm welcome: “In 2008, the overall form of import and export of hardware products has grown steadily and there is still potential.”

The annual CIHS, co-sponsored by China National Hardware Association and Cologne International Hardware Exhibition, has become the main channel for Chinese hardware companies to expand domestic and foreign trade channels, promote brand image, and understand market information in the industry. Although the “CIHS ́09” was held as far back as September 2009, the organizing committee had already started the research work before the bailout, and it was conducted with some of the leading hardware companies, leaders of the China National Hardware Association, and senior experts in the industry. In-depth discussion and exchange.



Exports are cold but no shortage of hot spots. For a long time, China's hardware industry has a strong dependence on exports. Therefore, most export-oriented enterprises are in a state of persistence due to the subprime mortgage crisis and the harsh overseas environment.

In the investigation, Jin Lixin, the deputy secretary-general of the China Hardware Products Association, made no hesitation: “At present, export-oriented companies have encountered the most difficulties, which are mainly affected by changes in exchange rates, market demand, and reductions in export tax rebates. In particular, export tax rebates. With the reduction of the rate, the tax rebate rate for hand tools, locks and stainless steel products has decreased by 8%, which has a great impact on the export of enterprises.In addition, export-oriented enterprises in Guangdong and Zhejiang have basically exported 100% of their products, but have abandoned domestic sales. When the external economic conditions are not good, it is clearly reflected.For example, in the lock industry, some export companies have a very difficult sales situation, this year the Canton Fair orders have been significantly reduced, only the past 10%. In addition, due to long-term neglect in domestic The market establishes brand expansion channels, so it is difficult to find a breakthrough in the domestic market in the short term.”

“It is worth noting that the industrial development is not balanced. Take the stainless steel industry as an example. Compared with the South, China’s business equipment is relatively backward, but the domestic market is relatively complete, while the southern part is mainly export-oriented. In the case of hindrance, although the domestic upstream steel industry's production and sales prices are upside down, the stainless steel industry cannot realize profitability, indicating that the company's patent capacity is insufficient."

However, at the same time, Deputy Secretary-General Jin’s other remarks also let us see the hope of the hardware industry. “The current overall operating characteristics of the hardware industry are: rising overall costs, blocking sales of the market, generally slowing growth, and making large profits. Although the overall situation is not optimistic, there is no shortage of bright spots.” The highlights of Jin Lixin mainly refer to the following two situations:

First of all, the development of some medium-sized enterprises with independent brands is very good. Take the tool industry as an example: Ningbo Jiejie Company, which manufactures toolboxes and sets of tool products, has increased its exports to the United States by 40%. It is understood that the reason why such a good result can be achieved in a situation where the environment is not very good is because, on the one hand, companies can deal with the difficulties correctly and respond positively; on the other hand, the company’s sales channels are more reasonable. The proportion of foreign sales is balanced and there is no single dependence on overseas markets. In addition, when exporting, companies are more proactive and use exchange rates to avoid exchange rate risks.

Second, although some large-scale enterprises with scale advantages have seen a decline in profits, overall, the production and sales situation is relatively stable and they have the strength to weather the crisis.



The growth rate is stable and there is still potential. “In the first half of 2008, the overall import and export of hardware products is stable.” The words of the person in charge of the CIHS Organizing Committee sent a warm welcome to the severe winter of hardware exports. .

According to customs statistics, the total volume of imports and exports of hardware products in the first three quarters of 2008 increased by 22.4% to a total of US$29.416 billion, of which exports increased by 19.41% and imports increased by 35.5%. From the perspective of regional growth in exports, the North American market is relatively stable, with the largest increase in the Latin American market being 33.1%, followed by 26.2% in the European market and 25.4% in the Asian market.

In terms of exports, construction hardware products were 10.597 billion, an increase of 27.7%. Among them, silk nail nets increased by 129.61%. Although there is an increase in the number of tax items, the overall growth rate is still relatively fast, but it is necessary to do a good job of anti-dumping; the previous "export big" tool industry fell a lot, the export of large categories only increased by 1.28%, but the pliers And the wrenches increased by 13.4% and 19.7% respectively, indicating that there are still certain advantages in the export of these two types of products; the daily use of hardware has grown normally, among which the lighter has grown by 37.82%. The most obvious problem was the stainless steel products industry, which dropped by 14.17%. In addition, the bedding industry grew by 45.2%, the gas water heater increased by 88.39%, and the shower room increased by 93.1%, which fully demonstrated that the above industries still have greater export potential and the overall strength of the hood industry. Enhanced, export strength increased. ”

In terms of imports, Europe, Asia, and North America are the main sources of imports in terms of the rate of increase. They are reflected in the countries: Japan, Germany, the United States, and South Korea. Among them, construction hardware grew by 54.8%, of which silk nails grew by 400%. This was mainly driven by the domestic real estate market. It also showed that the domestic market had great potential; the tools were basically stable, but the garden tools performed outstandingly, with an increase of 100%. Domestic emerging demand led to a large market potential; bedding growth was 50%, driven by the upgrading of domestic consumption, the demand for high-grade bedding products increased; and shower rooms increased by 40.9%, showing a trend of both rising and falling.

The weakness of hardware exports China is a big hardware country, but not a hardware powerhouse, because China's hardware products in the international market share only 3%. As we all know, China has abundant raw material resources and cheap labor, and our products are cheap, but why is the road to exports so bumpy?

Among the exhibitors participating in the CIHS exhibition each year, there are a large number of export-oriented enterprises. Through their investigation, it is found that the technology, scale, brand, and after-sales service of the products are the key factors that affect their occupation of overseas markets.

1. One of the important reasons for the small scale of the enterprise and the backwardness of the technology behind the hardware industry in China is that the technology is backward. Due to the generally small scale of enterprises, there is a lack of technological R&D and independent innovation capabilities. At present, there are more than 50,000 hardware companies in China and only 100 companies account for over 100 million yuan. At the end of 2008, the CIHS Organizing Committee passed a survey of business operations and export status. Although large enterprises with scale advantages experienced a decline in profits, overall, production and sales conditions were relatively stable, and they were able to weather the crisis. .

Experts explained that cheap labor was originally an advantage in the development of China's hardware industry. However, this so-called advantage has caused many companies to become inert. In order to meet processing requirements, they are more willing to rely on increasing labor force rather than improving efficiency and improving production. Equipment level.

Although China’s production of middle and low-end hardware products is relatively large, there is still a large gap between high-tech products and foreign countries. Therefore, experts also suggest that Chinese hardware companies should conduct market research and analysis in a timely manner to understand what customers need. Products, timely development of new products based on customer needs.

2. The lack of brand strength The export of hardware products in China is hindered, not only the problem of scientific and technological content, but also the brand issue.

The products of most hardware export companies in China lack brand awareness, and the number of OEM companies is huge. This is mainly because companies lack brand awareness and their ability to build brands is limited. Although there are also many exporting companies that have built up their own brands, they have started to build their own brands. However, their brand reputation is not high, their influence is limited, and they are still relying on hard labor to survive. At present, in the international arena, China's hardware products have almost no well-known brands. Even if Zhejiang Yongkang has such a well-known enterprise in China, it has not started the international market.

With the promotion of global economic integration, more and more international well-known brands have flooded into China, further exacerbating the competitiveness of the domestic market. Therefore, in order to survive and grow, hardware companies have to step out of the stage of winning with low costs. The advantages of brand competition. If our hardware products can be sold with their own brands and foreign brands, then bigger and stronger hardware industry in China is no longer just a dream. Through investigations, we have also found that in 2008, when the economy was devastated by the crisis, the development status is still better, and those enterprises that have their own brands.

3. The lack of after-sales service system is different from that of China's hardware companies. Many foreign hardware companies have a special after-sales service system to understand and meet the needs of users and provide them with perfect after-sales services. This requires hardware companies not only to familiarize themselves with their products. The performance, but also to be familiar with the requirements of the user on the processing process, the relationship with the customer should not be just a simple trading relationship.

According to the person in charge of the CIHS Organizing Committee, although we have been making use of the exhibition to actively develop the international market for the company, we found that only doing the exhibition service is not enough. We also need to conduct a large number of investigations on the company. Research to improve the exhibition's function, because only in this way can we help companies analyze the trend of the international hardware market, understand China's foreign trade support policies, and avoid foreign trade risks, so as to provide hardware companies with more effective "good ideas" for opening up the international market. .

Source: Office of the China International Hardware Show: Sun Jianwei