Porcelain maker fires up its kilns

Great Wall seeks to boost domestic sales

Like many other export-oriented businesses, Great Wall Group Co Ltd, one of China's biggest porcelain companies, is moving into higher gear to crack the domestic market.

But unlike most of them, this porcelain supplier is adopting a much more aggressive approach to achieve its aims.

One of its recent moves was to set up a sales network across China with an ambitious plan - to open 1,000 outlets by 2015.

The company has so far opened more than 40 stores in southern China, and plans to open a further 60 across the nation by the end of this year.

"The sales network is initially expected to cover the nation's first-tier cities and provincial capitals, and then second-tier and even third-tier cities nationwide," said Xiao Huizhe, vice-president of Chaozhou-based Great Wall Group Co Ltd, one of the few listed porcelain companies in China.

He said the company prefers to open outlets in shopping malls and upscale department stores.

"They are expected to promote the porcelain culture, help build the reputation of the Great Wall Group and better position our company in the mainland's substantial but competitive porcelain market," Xiao added.

Domestic focus

Ongoing economic woes around the globe are likely to take their toll on the company's exports, said Xiao.

As a result, Great Wall Group, like many of its industry counterparts, is attaching growing importance to the domestic market.

The company posted 357.03 million yuan ($56.67 million) in overseas business revenue last year, an increase of 16.71 percent year-on-year, according to its 2011 annual report.

Its domestic business revenue was just 50.88 million yuan last year, dipping 0.62 percent from 2010.

"We are looking forward to parallel growth in both the domestic and overseas markets when the nationwide network takes shape," said Xiao.

The company will also pay attention to diversifying its product range, citing bone china and artistic packaging porcelain as examples, he added.

Bone china, a type of soft-paste porcelain composed of bone ash, feldspathic material and kaolin, is known for its high levels of whiteness and translucency, very high strength and chip resistance.

A technician with the company, who wished to remain anonymous, told China Daily that the bone ash content of Great Wall Group's bone china can be as high as 41 percent, compared with the industry standard of 20 percent.

"That means our bone china can be thinner, whiter, more translucent, and more heat-resistant," he said.

And the company's artistic packaging porcelain has caught the attention of key liquor suppliers in China, added Xiao, citing the liquor bottle in the shape of the Water Cube - also known as the National Aquatic Center - as an example.

Moutai Group, one of the best-known liquor suppliers in China, has made big orders for Great Wall Group's packaging porcelain.

"The sector will hopefully become a growth point of our business revenue this year," Xiao said.

In tandem with its growth, Great Wall Group will need more high-caliber professionals, its annual report said.

The company currently has around 100 R&D experts, who have developed more than 10,000 varieties of products, and the company has obtained around 100 patents for its R&D achievements.

Zhang Jinhua, secretary-general of the Chaozhou Porcelain Industrial Association, said that the city enjoys great advantages in terms of its local traditions of carving and porcelain making.

"The application of traditional handicraft skills to porcelain making can make many of the city's porcelain products not only appealing to the eye and typical of China's traditional culture, but also practical," Zhang said.

"These value-added products are good for daily household use, or for ornamental purpose, or for both at the same time."

The city's porcelain exports were worth $1.03 billion last year, up 9.5 percent from 2010, according to official statistics.

The sector's exports were worth $188.99 million in the first quarter of this year, down 4.3 percent year-on-year.