News

The PVC flooring industry is experiencing a remarkable growth trajectory, presenting significant opportunities both in international and domestic markets. This article delves deep into the industry's overview, exploring its superior product features, diverse product categories, upstream and downstream dynamics, as well as the barriers to entry, highlighting why it's an opportune moment for exports and holds great promise for domestic sales.​

High-Growth Niche Track: The Rise of an Emerging Category​

PVC Flooring: An Excellent Track in Floor Decorative Materials with Outstanding Performance​

PVC flooring has emerged as a high-growth niche segment in the floor decorative materials market, steadily increasing its market share year by year. Among common floor decorative materials, including wooden floors, natural stones, carpets, ceramic tiles, composite floors, and plastic floors, PVC flooring stands out due to its comprehensive performance advantages. In 2020, the global total sales of various floor products amounted to 69.7billion,with PVC flooring sales reaching 18 billion, accounting for 25.8% of the total. This share represents a significant increase of 10.1 percentage points compared to 15.7% in 2016, firmly establishing PVC flooring as a mainstream global floor product.​

The core driver behind the growing market share of PVC flooring lies in its excellent comprehensive performance. Its main advantages are as follows:​

Eco-friendly and Non-toxic: Manufactured from polyvinyl chloride, PVC flooring eliminates the risk of harmful substances such as formaldehyde, which are common in traditional flooring materials.​

Wear-resistant and Slip-resistant: The floor features a specially processed transparent wear-resistant layer, with a higher abrasion resistance revolution number compared to traditional floor materials, ensuring a longer service life.​

Superior Thermal Conductivity: PVC flooring has good thermal conductivity and a low coefficient of thermal expansion.​

Fireproof and Moisture-proof: It is difficult to ignite, achieving a fire resistance rating of B1 (flame-retardant material).​

Impact-resistant and Sound-absorbing: The floor has certain impact resistance, capable of elastic recovery from heavy object impacts, and also offers excellent sound absorption effects.​

Upstream Prices Greatly Influenced by Commodities, Downstream Mainly B and C - end Customers​

The main raw materials for PVC flooring include PVC resin powder, printing fabrics, and wear-resistant layers. Both printing fabrics and wear-resistant layers are made from PVC, which is a product of the chemical industry. Therefore, the prices of upstream raw materials are significantly affected by commodity market fluctuations. In the domestic PVC flooring production industry, the downstream mainly consists of large floor brand owners, traders, and building materials retailers. The products are ultimately used in public buildings such as shopping malls, hotels, hospitals, office buildings, sports venues, as well as residential houses.​

Different Substrates Give Rise to Multiple Product Categories, with SPC/WPC as the Market Mainstream​

Based on substrate differences, PVC flooring can be divided into four categories: LVT, WPC, SPC.​

LVT Flooring: As the traditional form of PVC flooring, LVT has a relatively simple production process and is positioned as a mid-to-low-end product. Its market share is being gradually squeezed by WPC and SPC.​

WPC Flooring: With a wood-plastic composite substrate, WPC flooring was introduced in 2012. It features a complex production process and is positioned as a high-end product, currently being one of the mainstream products in the market.​

SPC Flooring: The substrate of SPC flooring is a stone-plastic composite material. It originated in 2015 when the PVC flooring market underwent a product transformation due to consumers' higher requirements for the environmental friendliness and economy of PVC products. SPC flooring has a simpler processing technology compared to LVT and WPC, resulting in lower production costs and more affordable prices for consumers, making it widely accepted in the terminal market.​

Industry Barriers Primarily Stem from Technological R & D and Sales Channels​

Technological Aspect: During the production of different types of PVC flooring, strict requirements are imposed on indicators such as the quality control of raw materials, material ratio, temperature, and pressure control accuracy. Mastery of these key techniques requires long - term practice and experience accumulation. Moreover, with the advancement of technology and the emergence of new materials, PVC products are constantly updated. Therefore, manufacturers need to have strong R & D capabilities to continuously enhance the technological content of their products.​

Channel Aspect: The PVC flooring industry in China is mainly export-oriented, typically selling products to floor brand owners, traders, and building materials retailers in developed countries such as Europe and the United States. Customers tend to prefer suppliers with stable product quality and good reputation. The supplier selection process is long and stringent, usually taking about a year. Once a cooperative relationship is established, it is likely to be maintained for an extended period.​

Conclusion​

With its outstanding product performance, diverse product offerings, and a clear understanding of the industry's upstream - downstream structure and barriers, the PVC flooring industry is well - positioned for robust growth. The current situation presents an ideal time for exports, taking advantage of the global demand for high-quality, cost-effective flooring solutions. Meanwhile, with the continuous improvement of domestic consumption levels and the increasing awareness of environmental protection and product performance, the domestic market also holds great potential. As manufacturers continue to innovate in technology and expand sales channels, the future of the PVC flooring industry looks bright both at home and abroad.