Reporter: Hello, Mr. Tu, I'm glad you can accept our interview. First of all, we briefly review the development history of Germany and Italy in the kitchen industry.
Director Tu: The introduction period of German and Italian brands can be traced back to 97 at the earliest. Germany and Italy first made gas stoves, and it was the time when desktop stoves were transformed into embedded gas stoves. During the development of gas stoves, Germany and Italy seized the opportunity of product upgrading and produced embedded gas stoves. Then it gradually extends from this field to range hoods and disinfection cabinets. In 2003 and 2004, we began to produce sinks and faucets, and in 2002, we began to build cabinets. The whole product line is centered on the kitchen. From 1997 to now, we have been sticking to the field of kitchen products for many years. From the initial stage of brand creation, in Germany and Italy, we have been paying attention to product characteristics and giving full play to product differentiation advantages, emphasizing classic value, and have been committed to providing consumers with characteristic products with classic value.
Reporter: The financial crisis is a problem that has to be discussed. I wonder if Germany and Italy have been affected to some extent by the financial crisis?
Director Tu: The financial crisis that began in August 2008 did have a certain impact on the environment. As we all know, the financial crisis has greatly fluctuated on the real estate industry, and the kitchen appliance industry is closely related to the real estate industry. Only by buying a new house can there be decoration, and only by decoration can there be the purchase of kitchen appliances. We believe that the impact of the economic crisis is mainly reflected in the market. The crisis has led to a lack of consumer confidence and reduced demand, thus affecting the sales of the whole industry. But for Germany and Italy, we are not greatly affected. Germany and Italy are all on the rise. At this stage, we are not considering competing with others, but with ourselves. In our opinion, the market share of Germany and Italy still has a lot of room for development, and competitors are not the factors we should consider. We are developing steadily according to our plan.
Reporter: What are our expectations for the market situation in the second half of the year and what are our marketing actions?
Director Tu: After the Spring Festival this year, real estate began to show signs of recovery, entering a stage of rising volume and price, that is, entering a stage where prices and demand will be relatively stable. We believe that compared with the second half of last year, the second half of this year will be a predictable period of steady sales growth.
Last year's "Eleventh" peak season was not prosperous, which made the whole industry deeply aware of the coming crisis. But in fact, the crisis did not last long. Since March this year, sales have recovered quite quickly. Since last year 10, the whole industry has adopted a conservative attitude to minimize the impact of the crisis. Our ideas are just the opposite. This is not an impulse, but comes from our judgment of the market. In this market situation, we have adopted a positive attitude. Since 2009, we have taken intensive measures in brand promotion, product development, business structure adjustment and promotion. It should be said that the market result is satisfactory. In particular, the market performance since March this year reflects the forward-looking and accuracy of our measures. In the second half of the year, there may be some changes in market trends, and even rapid recovery growth. We will take a more positive attitude towards Germany and Italy.
Reporter: I just mentioned product development. What new products will Germany and Italy launch this year?
Director Tu: This year's product plan will be a qualitative change node in the history of our product brand development. Mainly reflected in two aspects.
First, it is a breakthrough in the core technology of our products. The gas stove that we will launch in September will make us a leading product of household cookers in China with its technical advantages.
The combustion system we have developed will make a qualitative leap in the improvement of combustion efficiency, the convenience of cleaning and the convenience of use. After the listing in September, the technical platform of the whole gas stove will change. In fact, before this, some domestic enterprises tried this, but we felt it was incomplete, and now it has been done.
Our new gas stove not only improves the combustion efficiency, but also helps to improve the whole family in China. Now the density of cabinets is getting better and better, and the requirements for cookers are getting higher and higher. Cooking stoves need air circulation. The higher the density of the cabinet, the worse the air circulation, which is not conducive to the stability and safety of combustion. Therefore, many enterprises use table holes or cabinet holes to improve this problem. But we have completely solved this problem, and the combustion system will supplement air from the burner surface.
Secondly, we also introduce some product categories that match the decoration of high-end family kitchens, such as embedded ovens and microwave ovens. These products are not only high-end in these categories, but also high-end in technology, design and technology, with comparative advantages. These products are expected to be launched on 10 this year.
Extending the product line, focusing on technology research and development and product breakthrough are one of the core factors supporting the rapid growth of Germany and Italy in this environment.
Reporter: Teacher Tu, can you summarize the characteristics of German and Italian products for us?
Director Tu: Actually, in terms of products, we have been emphasizing the differentiated advantages of products, which is the product strategic direction that Germany and Italy have always adhered to. As we all know, in the case of a large number of comparable products, the market often falls into a price war. This is what we try our best to avoid. Vicious competition often leads to a decline in quality.
At the same time, consumers' satisfaction with products is constantly changing. Kitchen appliances are no longer just functional products, of course, functional requirements are the premise, and consumers have more non-functional requirements for them, including design, technology, style, color, additional functions, convenience of use and so on.
In our product research and development, functional design orientation is the basic demand, and aesthetic design and technology have become a higher level direction, so we must pay attention to harmony. Now the kitchen also needs to be integrated with the home atmosphere. We believe that customers' likes are more valuable than the simple functions of products.
In product design, the originality of design and the integration with home atmosphere are emphasized to meet the aesthetic needs of consumers. For example, our near-suction range hood, consumers will find that the change of structure brings about the change of appearance, which is more fashionable and has more advantages in function.
Product differentiation will increase consumer acceptance. Just like the gas stove just mentioned, the decoration of the kitchen is becoming more and more upscale, and the sealing of the cabinets is getting better and better. How to ensure the function of the product, the key lies in the upgrading of the product, that is, upgrading. Emphasis on product differences, that is, our product advantages in Germany and Italy. Our range hood has a slogan "Germany and Italy advocate China near-suction range hood". It should be said that we did confirm this sentence with practical actions.
Reporter: For consumers, after-sales service is as important as product quality. How to ensure the smooth after-sales service provided by Germany and Italy?
Director Tu: The after-sales service that ordinary consumers understand is product maintenance and quality assurance. Our understanding of service in Germany and Italy is that service is the guarantee of people's experience in using products.
Consumers buy products based on their use value, and buy gas stoves based on their cooking and heating functions. Buying is not the end of selling.
The process of after-sales service is not only the maintenance of the product itself, but also a continuous sales process. We regard service as such a bond in Germany and Italy. Service is not completely around products, but around consumers, timeliness, service quality, influence on consumers and so on. We understand that services are not limited to product guarantee. The guarantee of products depends not only on the service, but also on the product itself, product quality, design, technology and materials, and the service itself is the satisfaction of people's experience. Based on this, consumers are quite satisfied with the services provided by Germany and Italy.
Reporter: A few years ago, we didn't see Germany and Italy in the field of online group buying. Recently, Germany and Italy seem to be getting involved in this field. What is our understanding and planning of Germany and Italy?
Director Tu: A careful analysis of consumer behavior will reveal that consumers have to go to the store to buy things, which has formed a habit and agreement. With the change of environment, especially the change of network, in some developed areas, especially coastal developed areas, the network has become the source of consumption information, and knowledge and experience come from the Internet. The development of online sales is closely related to social structure and human behavior. The more developed the economy, the higher the level of people's communication and the greater their dependence on the Internet. More and more people will collect information from the Internet before consumption. The diversity of human behavior leads to the diversity of sales behavior, and the diversity of sales behavior brings the diversity of channels. We think that the network has great development prospects or super-great development prospects.
But at present, online sales behavior is still in the development or trial stage. The purchase characteristics of the network itself are still being explored. Undeniably, tracking consumers' behaviors through online platforms will undoubtedly have great development prospects. Traditionally, consumers have to go to the mall to buy and check, and someone has to talk face to face to get information. The emergence of the network, a platform that provides massive information, enables consumers to actively obtain information and obtain enterprise information more comprehensively. Online group buying has brought about the innovation of consumer behavior. We are looking for a professional network platform to gradually open this field.
Reporter: Thank you very much for accepting our interview. Thank you.