Interview time: January 2013

Interview location: Shanghai

Interview subject: Alan Kang (Jia-Xiang), general manager of Suwalper Wallpaper

Reporter: Tencent. Asia-Pacific Home Furnishing Reporter Jiang Xia-Qing

[Tencent. Asia-Pacific Home Furnishing]: Hello, Mr. Kang! Thank you very much for accepting our Tencent Asia Pacific home network interview, first of all, please tell us your views on the current wallpaper industry and the general status of Suwalper Wallpaper？

[Mr. Kang]: I think 2012 was not a very good year for the overall home furnishing environment. Affected by the macro economy, the purchase restriction order caused the overall demand to be not very strong. On the supply side, with the accumulation of 2008-10 and the increase of many wallpaper industries, older companies like Suwalper will also expand their production and make some plans. Therefore, under the premise that the imbalance between supply and demand is further enlarged, I think most companies are working hard. Suwalper made a transformation in 2012, from the traditional tooling-based to the home decoration. Before 2012, each company developed a lot of products related to the home decoration series and products suitable for retail channels. Our dealers also developed After facing the reversal of the retail market in 2011, many dealers are also changing their thinking. From the perspective of the factory, we are also changing our thinking. Summarizing the things in 2012, it can be divided into three parts, one is to use refined decoration as the development channel; the other is to increase the proportion of foreign trade in more than 10 countries; the third is to deepen and refine the original channel market, and then do some Classification, for example, high-end products are suitable for first-tier cities, and products with high environmental protection and high-cost performance are suitable for second- and third-tier cities.

[Tencent. Asia-Pacific Home Furnishing]: Briefly introduce to us the current situation of Suwalper wallpaper, and what is its biggest advantage compared with other brands? 

[Mr. Kang]: The current wallpaper industry is relatively competitive, and Suwalper’ s design is also considered to be among the best in terms of pattern research and development. Now it is more about brand promotion, but it is still immature, so I hope to start from the field of wallpaper design. I find that designers now have two levels of understanding of wallpaper. Some people who understand wallpaper and like to use wallpapers. Some people think that the versatility of wallpapers is not wide enough, because they must face problems in use and follow-up maintenance. Suwalper has also made many designer friends through the national designer tour activities in recent years. The most leading designers in China have given me a lot of advice and help. Because I personally think that the time for consumers to use wallpaper is usually once during decoration. Besides this time, we need designers to have a certain familiarity and understanding of wallpaper in the early stage of design, so that we can do large-scale promote. Invisibly, we will also show the advantages of our Suwalper wallpaper, which is to promote the development of the industry, let more people know about wallpaper, and at the same time let more people know about Suwalper and its brands.

[Tencent. Asia-Pacific Home Furnishing]: Is there any update plan for Suwalper’ s product positioning in 2013?

[Mr. Kang]: Our products have always been based on the proportion of tooling and home decoration, but in 2013 we will make some adjustments. In the field of tooling, we will develop some products, which will better match various fine decoration materials.  Simple design and strong practicability. It is more about the processing of color, and the designer will also think about the appearance of the entire space when designing, because more people hope that they can live in as long as they have simple furniture.

[Tencent. Asia-Pacific Home Furnishing]: In 2013, what aspects will Suwalper improve its brand competitiveness?

[Mr. Kang]: It is not too long for a brand to be in business for 70 years. It is very rare for Suwalper to launch a brand within a year. It is more about the understanding of design. So, in 2013, I will make this area wider and bigger, because of the change in the ratio of tooling and home decoration, we will promote our products more deeply; on the terminal, we will use a wider area to let More consumers see our brand.

[Tencent. Asia-Pacific Home Furnishing]: Thank you very much Mr. Kang for accepting the interview with Tencent. Asia-Pacific Home Furnishing!