Case: Jingdezhen Porcelain Industry

Man Yang

IBM 480

Case: Jingdezhen Porcelain Industry

1. Summarize the case in five sentences

Jingdezhen is in danger of losing its finest porcelain making glory since it is facing more competitors at home and abroad. A number of state-owned porcelain factories have closed down. JCAC partnered with the best Jingdezhen porcelain factories to produce anew kind of ceramic ware with modern characteristics got succeed. Many local porcelain makers want to reposition themselves and pursue new market segments. JCAC also want to develop a global brand for their ceramic.

1. What are the problems (and the origins of these problems) facing the porcelain/ceramics industry in Jingdezhen?

• The competition is intense, more and more competitors at home and abroad
• In the domestic market, porcelain productions in Jingdezhen lagged behind other cities such as Tangshan, Liuyang and Chaozhou.
• In the overseas market, firms in Jingdezhen were losing their price advantage to makers based in Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
• The declining quality of Jingdezhen porcelain had disappointed a number of porcelain experts and collectors.
• The small scale of operations
• Unable to offer uniquely designed products and differentiate themselves from their competitors
• Lack of innovation

1. What marketing strategies set JCAC apart from its rivals?

The company manufactured top-of-the-line luxury ceramics in Jingdezhen and limited its distribution to the government and high-end retailers. The pigments imported by JCAC ceramics made the products unique in terms of their firmness, resilience and fade resistance. Their patterns gave an impression of embroidery, which could not be found on traditional ceramics. The use of high-tech equipment ensured that JCACís products were of consistently high quality.

1. Which market segments do you believe would be best for Jingdezhen porcelain makers (other than JCAC) to pursue?

In my opinion, the corporate market is the best segment for Jingdezhen porcelain makers since the largest corporate customers are department stores, furniture stores, restaurants and hotels. These customers looked for daily- used dinnerware and decorative porcelain. Certain customers created their own designs and preferred to have their orders customised. Moreover, they really demand a large quantity of porcelain products and not very high requirement on quality.