Highlighting the unique taste of Chinese rich people spend 40,000 to buy toilets

A toilet with a price of about 40,000 yuan is now popular in the rich circle of China. But even among the wealthy in Europe and America, there are not many consumers who are willing to pay such a price for a toilet. “We used to think that sales in the US would be the best, but now China’s sales have surpassed that of the US.” Jia Jiaming, President of Kohler Group Asia Pacific, told Global Entrepreneur.

The smart toilet , called NUMI, launched by Kohler, is even compared to the iPhone by some Chinese buyers. Its square shape is very simple, difficult to luxury elements, unique is intelligent control, equivalent to half the size of the iPad electronic control board, you can operate without reading the instructions.

In the Chinese market, the price of other well-known brand toilets is usually between 1,000 yuan and 3,000 yuan, but the price of Newcom is more than ten times more expensive than those of the high-end series. Surprisingly, on the first day of the listing, Kohler sold nearly 40 New Zealand toilets in Xi'an, and Chaozhou in Guangdong also sold more than a dozen, most of which were individual customers. Some consumers who can't ask for it actually need to make a reservation to purchase, which in turn greatly stimulates the desire of the wealthy Chinese to buy.

Why do Chinese rich people suddenly care so much about toilets? The change behind this is that those who love New Zealand are tired of high-profile brands – a part of China’s high-end consumer “de-LV”. At the same time, the wealthy Chinese also have some different consumption characteristics of the world. For example, they are more willing to pay for products with "high-tech" selling points than Europeans and Americans.

This trend is not only reflected in bathroom products. Some consumers who have long consumed luxury brands are beginning to realize that "LV is not suitable for me." The wealthy in China are beginning to realize that these products are too common for them. In response to this trend, GUCCI has begun to reduce production for the "Double G" Logo product, Burberry also announced that it will remove the iconic plaid pattern on nearly 80% of the products. In the past many years, many Chinese buyers have opened the wallet with great enthusiasm for these two brands.

Merchants who agree with this shift will have to step up. Compared with the European and American markets, a new generation of Chinese consumers will mature faster and more demandingly for luxury goods, and have some consumption characteristics that are only available in Asia and even China.

Upstart

The selling point of the New Zealand toilet is high technology. Kohler’s referral information says that every function of Newcom is built around the needs of consumers. For example, the Kohler survey found that many people do not like to touch the toilet lid by hand, so the toilet lid of Newcom can be picked up by itself, and it can be picked up one or two layers according to the gender of the user. For users in northern China, the bottom of Newcom has deliberately designed the foot warm air function to cope with the cold weather in winter. Newcomer's core function is to have a body cleaner, which can be automatically washed and dried afterwards, which is close to the function of the smart toilet cover launched by Toto and Panasonic.

It is very intimate. But adding these intimate features will allow those who originally planned to buy a few thousand dollars to raise the budget to 40,000? Not so simple.

The secret is that the characteristics of Kohler's New Secret toilet just hit the hidden consumer demand of China's new rich. Luxury comes from the Latin word “Luxus”, which means “extraordinary creativity” and is used to describe the treasures that are time-consuming and effortlessly crafted. And this toilet is just like the luxury goods, the caring care, but not the essential function. But compared to cars or bags, the bathroom is an extremely private space. Why are Chinese rich people who are keen to be recognized by others who are willing to throw heavy money to buy a luxury that they can only enjoy for most of their time?

“We found that some customers would like to let friends go to their home to watch New Zealand, but more customers just want to enjoy it.” Yan Jiaming said, “When he listens to music, he can wash it very cleanly when he reads the book. The toilet area can be a space that makes him feel comfortable."

However, the resistance of this group of Chinese new rich to high-profile brands has caused problems for those who intend to impress them. The way traditional luxury brands advertise on a large scale is not suitable, so they can only push them farther. How to find those emerging wealthy groups in China who are the first to change and will lead the future consumption trend?

“They are a well-educated group of wealthy people, usually with an overseas background, and have been in contact with luxury goods for a while,” said Wang Kai, senior consultant for consumer goods and retail operations in Greater China, Monitor Group. Global Entrepreneur.

As early as 2003, Kong Tao, the president of the Swedish high-end mattress brand DUX, noticed such a group of people. In DUX's store in Shanghai's Hang Lung Plaza, the price of a mattress is between tens of thousands and 200,000 yuan, and the customers who come to buy have a trait that can be recognized at a glance. "They wear them, and they are not so arrogant. From his life status, things, attitudes toward things, he can feel that he is very low-key." Kong Tao said, "At that time there were many high-end brands abroad. I have not entered China, but these guests must have been to many places. You can't see the LOGO and trademarks from him, but they can clearly distinguish them from those who are used to buying big names."

Selling point

Conspicuous consumption is for others. High-end brands are not worthy of buyers as long as they create a certain group's appreciation for their products. But the expensive consumption of self-enjoyment must be just enough to impress the buyers themselves, which is even more difficult, and such products are not suitable for high-profile marketing of conspicuous brands.

“Luxury items such as fashion and cars are expressed outwards, and home appliances are an inward expression because they have a lot to do with improving their lives.” Director of Brand Operations, Continuum, International Innovation and Design Consulting Yongtai said that “When China’s consumer economic base reaches a certain level, they will also constantly improve their quality of life.”

In order to design products that meet the needs of high-end customers, Continuum will visit the homes of wealthy Chinese people and they will gain a lot of unexpected gains. "Age, income, etc. are things that are easier to grasp and tap, and we believe that values ​​are crucial to the choice of a high-end consumer product," Lei Yongtai said.

Among their visiting customers, “Chinese-Western integration” is a typical lifestyle of high-end consumers in China. The most distinctive feature is that the European-style open kitchen and Chinese-style mahogany furniture are presented together in the same mansion. In order to avoid the large amount of fumes in Chinese cuisine, these consumers have installed glass doors around the open kitchen, which has become a unique "landscape". These people have very high demands on themselves. "They hope that they can reach the level of internationalization," Lei Yongtai said.

In some people's homes, Continuum designers find that there are cheeses and red wines that foreigners often eat, and for these high-end Chinese people, this is not part of everyday life, just to adapt to the trend of internationalization, in the country. When you are friends, you can use it. Moreover, they are happy to entertain guests in the form of European and American “cocktail banquets” in their open kitchens, instead of waiting for the hot meals on the big table like traditional Chinese.

At the same time, these people are obsessed with their traditional culture, and in their homes can see high-priced antiques from Sotheby's or Christie's auction house.

Among these typical high-end consumers, Continuum found that they are very persistent about their diet. Some of them have even abandoned the traditional Chinese way of “cooking” and changed to vegetable salad. This is different from the traditional refrigerator for the structural requirements of the refrigeration equipment in the home. “We even found a lot of live big crabs in the family’s refrigerator.”

Some of China’s wealthy people’s spending habits are different from any other country. Products such as New Zealand toilets and Toto smart toilet covers are commonly found in Asian markets dominated by China, Japan, and Korea. The wealthy in Europe and the United States will not be interested in whether the products such as toilets have "high-tech". Therefore, for those high-end European and American brands, it is not necessarily successful to directly sell products that foreign rich people like to China.

Some high-end residences have also captured the characteristics of Chinese consumers who are “longing to internationalization” but “cannot escape the Chinese tradition” and integrate these two elements into the development of high-end residential buildings. In a villa with a price of 42 million in Jing’an District, Shanghai, Ms. Wu said: “We don’t want a traditional Chinese house. We want it to be comfortable and convenient, and bring some Chinese elements.” She will be China The elements are combined with the comfort and convenience of contemporary Western design. She worked closely with an interior designer to house the home with furniture collected from France, Canada and China. The interior walls of the house are also decorated with paintings by Chinese contemporary painters.

However, some of China’s deep-rooted ideas are still the qualities that cannot be erased in their bone marrow. Continuum's designers found that “some families with the highest-end home appliances are not the richest people themselves. Because of this, they themselves have the desire and demand to use better products. The real top consumers will Pay more attention to understanding the meaning behind the brand."

"Atmosphere" is also a characteristic of Chinese consumers. Among Hansgrohe's designer collections, the Axor brand, the best-selling product line in China. “Chinese consumers like big classical design.” Ren Quansheng, manager of Hansgrohe GmbH in China, told Global Entrepreneur. “And small product designs are not easily accepted by consumers.”

At a sanitary ware exhibition, the Shandong dealer complained to the sales manager of a sanitary ware brand that many customers with rich consumer feedback, the bathtub designed by the brand is not big enough, and it is not enough to be installed in a luxury house.

At the same time, because most of the decision makers of bathroom consumption are still women, Hansgrohe hired Spanish female designer Ozira, who is known as the master of “style fusion” among designers, all her designs. They all have a feminine touch and are able to blend ancient elements with modern elements, adding plants and folk elements to the fantasy style, and winning the love of high-end female consumers. These women are very delicate. In the bathroom designed by Ochella, there are usually two washbasins, so that in the morning, the wife can wash with her husband, can cultivate feelings and save time.

Siegfried Gnlen, global CEO of Hansgrohe, said in an exclusive interview with the magazine that many household items are in the hands of the hostess, so pay special attention to the needs of female customers. Provide them with an appropriate buying environment when purchasing. In the rich group, it is more common for the male owner to be particularly busy and hand over the task of adding interior decoration and daily household items to his wife. Ganslen particularly stressed: "This feature is obvious both in China and in Germany."