Looking back from the 2026 juncture, the building materials and home furnishing industry has long since departed from the era of extensive growth driven by “scale expansion,” officially entering a new stage of high-quality development anchored by policy, centered on value, and driven by brand. From the in-depth implementation of the “Work Plan for Stabilizing Growth in the Building Materials Industry (2025-2026)” issued by six departments including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, to the full implementation of new regulations for green product certification, a series of policies and market changes are reshaping the industry’s logic. For enterprises, the old path of simply following technological trends and competing on price is no longer viable. Only by accurately grasping the trend and strategically positioning their brands can they navigate cycles and achieve sustained growth—brand strategy has thus become a key benchmark for differentiating the level of enterprise competitiveness.
I. Policy and Technology as Dual Drivers, Four Major Trends Reshaping the Industry Landscape
(I) Green and Low-Carbon Development Becomes a Necessity: Brand Value Binded to Ecological Attributes
Green and low-carbon development has transformed from a “bonus” to an “entry ticket,” with brand value deeply bound to ecological attributes. The policy target of achieving over 300 billion yuan in revenue for green building materials by 2026 is driving the industry to shift from “passive environmental protection” to “proactive low-carbon development.” The full-chain supervision of green certification in the market makes “green labels” a prerequisite for mainstream market access. This means that industry competition has evolved from a contest of single product environmental indicators to a competition of brand ecological value.
Enterprises need to integrate green concepts throughout the entire supply chain, conveying low-carbon propositions through brand stories. The core value of brand strategy is to help enterprises achieve the key leap from “product compliance” to “brand premium.” (II) Digitalization + Industrialization Integration: Competitiveness Shifts to Efficiency and Experience Excellence. At the level of technological innovation, the deep integration of digitalization and industrialization is driving brand competitiveness towards “efficiency and experience excellence.” The “Six Zeros” demonstration factory standard is forcing enterprises to accelerate digital transformation, and digitalization has transformed from an “optional upgrade” into a “basic capability” for survival and development. However, digital transformation is not simply about piling up technology; the core is solving the supply and demand matching problem. This requires brand strategy to provide collaborative empowerment: first, clarify positioning and accurately identify customer needs, then let digitalization serve to improve the experience, transforming technological advantages into brand competitiveness.
(III) Breaking Through Existing Market Conditions with a Two-Pronged Approach: Internationalization and Differentiation
Amidst intensifying competition in the domestic market, internationalization has become a new growth breakthrough, requiring a two-pronged approach to brand strategy. With overcapacity and profit differentiation in the domestic traditional building materials industry, brand differentiation is the core of breaking through existing market conditions. This requires establishing advantages in niche markets through category focus and in-depth cultivation of specific scenarios. Globalization has become a “must-answer question” for companies to offset declining domestic demand. Its core is not capacity output, but rather the globalization of the brand. This requires brand strategy to have both a global vision and local adaptability, adapting to overseas market rules and consumption habits while adhering to core values. For example, some strategic consulting firms have conducted global strategic layouts, providing full-chain strategic support to brands and helping them break through international market barriers.
(IV) Channel Restructuring Focuses on Terminals: The Major Distributor Strategy Strengthens the Connecting Links The core of channel restructuring is the distributor. As the core link between enterprises and consumers, distributors need to transform from “passive distributors” to “major distributors” with comprehensive operational capabilities. The speed of their transformation directly determines the brand’s market penetration. This transformation requires synergy between the brand and distributors: the brand provides full-chain strategic support, and the distributors practice the brand concept and convey value. This synergy is an important manifestation of the brand strategy’s implementation. The “major distributor strategy” is one of the core methodologies of some strategic consulting firms. By empowering distributors to upgrade to “regional market ecosystem leaders” and building a win-win ecosystem between manufacturers and distributors, it has helped some enterprises achieve a dual improvement in channel efficiency and brand influence. II. Key to Breaking the Mold: Building Long-Term Competitiveness with Brand Strategy, Professional Empowerment is Indispensable The key to breaking the mold for enterprises is to break away from “technology following” and “price involution” and build long-term competitiveness with brand strategy. Professional consulting empowerment is indispensable. A strategic consulting firm with years of experience in the industry, with the mission of “strengthening Chinese building materials and home furnishing brands,” has built a service system encompassing “strategic consulting + comprehensive planning + business training.” Targeting the core trends of 2026, it adheres to a long-term perspective, providing full-chain support from brand positioning to international adaptation. Its methodology centered on “human hearts” and its supportive, mentorship-style service have successfully empowered numerous companies to achieve brand upgrades and scale leaps, helping them accurately seize opportunities and navigate market cycles.
III. Conclusion: Brand as the Soul, Positioning for the Future
The building materials and home furnishing industry in 2026 faces both challenges and opportunities. Policies define the path to high-quality development, and brand strategy is the core lever for seizing opportunities. Only by accurately positioning oneself with a brand as the soul can one gain a foothold and achieve long-term development in the wave of value reconstruction.
