When it comes to the rise of national brands, you have to mention Three Trees. This paint brand, headquartered in Putian, Fujian Province, has reached the forefront of the paint rivers and lakes with a "my life is up to me" spirit.
Looking back on the past few years, 3Trees' performance in brand influence, channel construction, product innovation and localization integration strategy can be said to be overwhelming and accelerating to catch up.
First, the channel is king. When Nippon Paint was trapped in the changes in the real estate industry, 3Trees has established its position in the third- and fourth-tier cities and rural markets, and now has more than 200,000 outlets across the country. With the advent of the era of stock housing, the fine decoration dividend that Nippon relies on for survival is fading, and the advantages of 3Trees' years of deep cultivation in the sinking market and C-end + small B-end dual channels will help it seize market opportunities.
(3Trees Store)
2. Differentiation + subdivision track layout. In 2023, 3Trees will also promote high-end art paint products such as "National Color" and "National Stone" to catch up with users.
3. Rejuvenation + national tide marketing. In 2023, 3Trees will join hands with the Palace Museum to launch a series of co-branded art paints, create the IP of "National Paint and National Color", and play with new media marketing to achieve differentiated "out of the circle", making itself a national fashion brand sought after by the new generation of consumer groups.
Fourth, localization strategy. In addition to being well versed in the Chinese market, 3Trees has made good use of localized language and emotions to touch consumers and create national tide products, and has actively responded to the national call for "building beautiful villages", developed overall coating system services for beautiful villages, and actively promoted the development of skilled talents in the coating industry by holding the "National Paint and National Craftsman" National Coating Competition for many times. These localized deep cultivation are difficult for Nippon to achieve.
On the other hand, Nippon, although still firmly in the top spot in the industry, has shown fatigue. In the past two years, the cold winter of real estate has greatly damaged its vitality, and its foreign investment status has also become a constraint, making it difficult to win the hearts of consumers who are increasingly seeking domestic products. What's worse is that Nippon Paint is gradually lagging behind 3Trees in terms of innovation. The contraction of the large B-end business and the slow iteration of new products have become a hidden concern for its future.
Admittedly, the road to 3Trees' counterattack was not an easy one. Three Trees has recently made headlines over a dispute over arrears with Evergrande, with some saying that this will be the beginning of its boom and bust and that it will lose out in the competition with Nippon. However, in fact, long before the real estate downturn, 3Trees cleverly laid out the C-end and small B-end markets, and made efforts to develop small B-end application scenarios such as old reform, schools, and hospitals, and sank county-level channels. Nowadays, in the B-end business segment of 3Trees, the proportion of non-real estate business has gradually increased, providing it with a stronger ability to resist risks, and the impact of the real estate "thunderstorm" is significantly lower than that of Nippon.
(Part of the urban renewal project of 3Trees)
If you savor it, it is not difficult to find that there is a profound logic of change hidden in this competition. With the general trend, national brands are ushering in a golden period of development, and 3Trees is coming with overwhelming momentum. Although 3Trees still needs to strengthen its prevention of litigation risks, it also needs to hone its operational capabilities in the midst of rapid expansion. Nippon Paint is not ancient, and its transnational resources and capital strength are still a moat that cannot be ignored. But this piece of rivers and lakes is obviously no longer Nippon's one-man show.