Can emerging consumer groups hold red new Chinese furniture?

â–¡â–¡Reporter Qiu Qiuju

In recent years, when traditional classical furniture encounters bottlenecks in development, new Chinese furniture that reflects the atmosphere of the times and has ethnic characteristics has shown a good development trend and is being accepted and loved by more and more consumers. As consumption continues to escalate, as a branch of modern solid wood furniture, new Chinese furniture with ethnic characteristics will drive a new consumer boom.

How to define a new Chinese style? What kind of development trend will the new Chinese furniture market show in 2017? What kind of marketing model should be adopted for new Chinese furniture companies? Relevant experts discussed this topic at the "New Chinese Culture Year" theme exchange jointly hosted by the China National Forest Products Industry Association's Traditional Wood Products Professional Committee and the China Traditional Furniture Research and Innovation Center of Central South University of Forestry and Technology.

New Chinese is not a building of elements

Due to the different understanding of the meaning of "new Chinese style", two categories have emerged: one is the symbolic new Chinese style, and this new Chinese furniture is a simple simplification of traditional Chinese furniture. One is the new Chinese style that is de-symbolized. These new Chinese-style furniture are characterized by Ming style furniture. They are elegant and concise, while paying more attention to the characteristics of the times. Sometimes they do not use traditional Chinese furniture symbols. However, the understanding of Chinese-style beauty is relatively in place, and the intrinsic meaning is not affected. The overall taste of the product. So, how do you define a new Chinese style?

Zhang Yachi (Professor of Beijing Forestry University): It is necessary to interpret the traditional furniture and the new Chinese development direction from the perspectives of materials science, furniture essence, furniture culture and life life thinking. Between Qinghong mahogany furniture and Chinese furniture, court furniture, bureaucratic furniture and The distinction and connection between folk furniture. As a socially responsible furniture person, he should be fully aware of and put into practice in the whole process of furniture culture, design, production and sales. New Chinese furniture should be a continuation of furniture that reflects Chinese culture, represents the Chinese spirit and the Chinese way of life.

Yu Lizhe (Associate Professor, School of Fine Arts, Tsinghua University): New Chinese furniture should study more about the essence of furniture - use and application, more should focus on the relationship between furniture and people, then furniture and interior space, architectural landscape, The relationship between living habits and the way people think, rather than pursuing style and style too much. The new Chinese style must be to find cultural self-confidence and return to a proper position in our people, soberly recognize the role of design in furniture and recognize its vitality. The new Chinese style should be the result of the superposition of the life of most Chinese people.

Niu Xiaotong (Associate Professor, Northeast Forestry University): New Chinese furniture should not define materials, and should define the spirit of thought and culture. What kind of thoughts are passed down, and what kind of furniture is made by clarifying its body. Thinking about the new Chinese style is also a reflection on the Chinese elite, thinking about the Chinese civilian population, and thinking about the Chinese. It is also necessary to solve the spiritual attributes of Chinese wood, and we must not discard the Chinese whenever and wherever. soul. At the same time, how to express Chinese furniture in a modern way is also a broader problem that the new Chinese needs to solve.

Audience, design, and culture

According to industry insiders, the new Chinese-style furniture, which has the imprint of Chinese traditional culture and is close to modern life, is the result of excavating and sublimating from the deeper connotations and essences of Chinese classical traditional culture. Along with the development of science and technology and the subdivision of the consumer market, people's pursuit of quality of life and spiritual life will lead to a new way of life. The consumer groups of the new Chinese-style furniture market are expanding, and the new Chinese style is becoming the mainstream trend of Chinese furniture. . In this regard, what breakthroughs will the new Chinese furniture have in the future?

Wu Shengfu (Vice President of China Forest Products Industry Association): As more and more solid wood gradually becomes the rare wood defined by the European Union, new Chinese furniture should not be limited to mahogany furniture, and there should be breakthroughs in new materials. Laminar materials, etc., meet the needs of the use of the time, in line with the trend of the times, adapt to the consumption habits of modern people.

Tian Yanbo (Inheritance of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Beijing): The development of new Chinese-style furniture requires academics or professionals with system knowledge and practical ability to make innovations in design. Good design must be valuable. New Chinese furniture in the new era will no longer be imitated and copied, but will focus on protecting intellectual property rights.

Yang Mingxia (Marketing Director of Beijing Jirui Xianghong Museum): The mahogany industry has experienced a development process from flat to peak to trough, always using wood as the entry point, not the furniture itself. At present, the trend of the new Chinese style is unstoppable, paying more attention to the essence of furniture, that is, using functions.

In the future, the Chinese furniture industry will be a three-point trend: first, high-precision antique furniture made of precious wood, mainly for high-end consumers; second, neoclassical furniture, which continues the context of Chinese furniture and has new The characteristics of the era furniture are mainly suitable for the middle-aged consumers from 40 to 50 years old; the third is the new Chinese-style furniture that adapts to the “post-80s” and “post-90s” consumer groups. The new Chinese-style furniture must have the characteristics of versatility and remarkable contemporary features, which not only satisfy the function of use, but also fit the living environment of modern Chinese people.

In addition, mahogany furniture wants to break through and develop. It must be based on the full understanding and research of traditional culture, agilely capture the information of the times, market information, and bold innovation.

Zhou Jingnan (Researcher of the Palace Museum): Today's furniture design should avoid blindly following the rules, and not artificially model the antiques, but should develop in a diversified direction, in harmony with our aesthetic and living environment.

Su Shi (Professor of the Central University for Nationalities): Traditional furniture needs to be passed down, but not followed and attacked. High imitation furniture certainly has a market, but it is not absolute. When the new Chinese style is completed, it is bound to be a historical and cultural accumulation to a certain extent, and the essence of Chinese and Western is applied to Chinese design.

Cross-border and scenario experience

Create a quality marketing model

As a new star in the development of the furniture industry in the new era, new Chinese furniture must establish its own product style, take its own path, and develop a new Chinese style that integrates Chinese national characteristics with the characteristics of the times. Furniture. In 2017, the entire home furnishing industry has also ushered in an era of experience economy, and new Chinese furniture is one of the cores of the development of the new era, with challenges and opportunities coexisting. As a related company, how to do marketing well?

Zhong Fushen (founder of Yichayimu): When I was developing tea furniture, I also subdivided the category, and on the basis of continuing Tang Feng Song Yun, I served the lifestyle of “drinking tea”. One tea and one piece of furniture often uses eucalyptus and bamboo mats. A variety of materials and new designs can surprise consumers from time to time. But as a designer, business models and new consumption trajectories are often ignored. When creating a brand concept, the new Chinese style must strengthen interaction with consumers and establish a close relationship. Engage consumers and get better development through interactive, emotionally-inspired and impressive terminal situational experiences.

Li Quan (Tengzhi International Planning Designer): The new Chinese market and the scope of the coverage are very large, and there is currently no definition. In the material, there should be a variety of attempts, because the material performance is more likely to reflect the sense of the times, more representative of a certain lifestyle. In terms of brand strategy, you can try cross-border cooperation, such as working with cafes, clothing brands, bookstores, etc., to rationally enhance the interaction between people, guide a lifestyle, and create a dynamic environment. In addition, the convenience of modern furniture detachable and easy to assemble can be applied to new Chinese furniture manufacturers, it is also worth considering.

Li Yun (Executive Deputy General Manager of Jiangsu Yuper Home Furnishing Co., Ltd.): To segment the consumer groups, we have always emphasized the needs of the mainstream consumer groups, but with the rise of the “post-80s” and “post-90s” emerging consumer groups, A variety of personalized needs, high-quality home pursuits, while the "post-60s" and "post-70s" mainstream consumer groups are gradually increasing in age, and their consumption characteristics, habits, and tastes are undergoing earth-shaking changes. The marketing and promotion of new Chinese-style furniture should accurately target consumer groups, attach importance to market research, adapt to the trend of the times, and promptly introduce new ideas.