China Laminate Flooring Review

The industry of China laminate flooring has developed for 13 years. The process can be dividened into 4 periods: 1. Import period(1995-1997) 2. Homemade period(1997-2000) 3.Domestic brand setup period(2000-2002) 4. Domestic brand reinforcement period(2002-2008)

1. Import period(1995-1997)
In 1995, the first lot of imported laminate flooring appeared in China market. The price was over RMB300/sqm at that time! The price made this product luxurious! Only a few Chinese could buy this product. There was almost no domestic production capacity for this product between 1995 and 1997. Most of the products were imported from Germany, USA and Belgium. The specifications, especially the dimensions and deigns are not completely in accordance with Chinese house structure and taste.

2. Homemade period(1997-2000)
Some China sales companies found the large profit share from the sale of imported laminate flooring. Attracted by the huge profit of localization, they began to import German equipment, technology and even raw materials to research and try to manufacture this product. In 1997, the first plank of homemade product was produced successfully. The relevant material and labor are cheaper in China. And now the homemade equipment is also cheaper. There is no ocean freight needed to pay for homemade products. The price of imported laminate flooring also went down. Chinese accepted and became to like this kind of homemade product due to its features such as strong wear resistance, various colors to choose and environmental protection. And the most important thing is that the homemade product is much cheaper than the imported products. Chinese earning and purchase ability rise continuously between 1995 and 2008. All these factors make this product popular little by little in China. And this industry grows up rapidly accordingly. The relevant suppliers of materials such as manufactures of HDF board, decorative paper, abrasion resistant layer also develops rapidly. Some manufacturers began to produce homemade accessories such as T-moulding, reducer, stairnose, underlayment, etc in this period.

3. Domestic brand setup period(2000-2002)
Due to the increasing demand for the product, more and more manufacturers of other industries began to produce this product. Till the end of 2002, there were more than 3000 China factories producing this product. The competition became very drastically. China laminate flooring is almost with the same appearance: same surfaces, same colors and same dimensions. Many manufacturers began to value and execute brand strategy. They didn’t compete with others entirely with the prices. They realized that brand can add to the value of their products. Many domestic famous brands were set up in this period. Their products are a bit more expensive than unknown China manufacturers in domestic market.

4. Domestic brand reinforcement period(2002-2008)
Market competition has become glowingly since 2002 because too much manufacturers participate in the production. Quality and service have become the focus for brand strategy. The manufacturers try every way to improve the quality and offer considerate service. They also try many ways to push sales. For example, many manufacturers engage China famous stars to make ads. And China government values the management of this industry very much. Relevant quality requirements and inspection systems have been set up one by one from the beginning of the industry. And the quality and management have been improved a great deal. Many new technologies have been created such as square shape laminate.

Most manufacturers explore and expand international market due to the perfervid competition in this period. And the export volume grows up rapidly. Now almost all the countries import this product from China. Even this product with some world famous brands is produced in China. The biggest market is USA, Russia, Turkey, Canada, Brazil and Ukraine. The color manufacturers became to produce colors which are terms of the taste of foreign countries. The export volume of this product from China ranks top one internationally now. The sales volume of 2003 and 2006 is 45million and 200 million separately. It is of 60% of wood flooring sales volume of China in 2006. The sales volume increases by the speed of 30%. Now the export volume has become a big portion of the total market share. The orders from domestic market are often with small quantity and many colors, while the orders from oversea market are often with large quantity but a few colors. So the production is easier for export order. The manufacturers attend B2B platform, relevant show and fly overseas to visit customers. Some of the manufacturers are going to set up sales office abroad.