Rise and Domination of Home Stores

From 1990 to 2000, the Chinese home stores ushered in the gold decade when housing privatization in China enabled the furniture market to develop. The mode of large-scale home stores emerged; in the 1980s, Jimei and Macalline dominated; by the 1990s, a batch of home stores such as Easyhome, Heungkong Home, Ayd, Chengwaicheng and HOBA appeared.

By 2000, the home stores became the main sales channel. In 2004, there were more than 2,500 furniture circulation places covering an area over 5,000 m² and more than 900 ones covering an area over 10,000 m² in China. The home stores represented by Easyhome and Macalline also entered the period of rapid expansion at the same time.

Online and offline new retail

In 2010, the flow competition became the mainstream, and the offline experience and online buying gradually became a trend. Stimulated by the modes such as Internet, new technology and new retail, the Chinese gradually became rational in furniture consumption and returned to the product quality and service experience. The experience-style stores, home malls and new retails emerged one after another. Many home enterprises started upgrading services and setting up brand and completing derivation from the sales to service and expansion from product sales to sales of experience and lifestyle. With respect to the channel, “online and offline new retail” became hot: the furniture e-businessmen made the offline layout through the physical stores; the traditional furniture retails enterprises conducted the in-depth online and offline integration by virtue of the Internet and AI. A batch of new retail home brands, such as Nome and Hometimes, appeared.

Hometimes

Though the home building materials stores have still been the primary channel where the Chinese consumers buy currently, the approaches for the consumers to obtain the furniture in the future will be increasingly disperse, with diversification of channels such as the deluxe house, Internet home decoration and e-commerce as well as dealers and designers.

(Source: JJGLE.COM)