How would you describe Guangzhou? A gourmet paradise? A fashion metropolis? Or an auto hub?
Well, apart from all the above, there’s actually a lesser-known title of Guangzhou, which is “UN-endorsed”: the global capital of customization. In fact, there’s a saying in the home decor circle: for global customization, look to China; for Chinese customization, look to Guangzhou.
Guangzhou hosts thousands of upstream and downstream customized home decor enterprises, forming China's largest home decor cluster with the most comprehensive range of product categories. It's also home to the country's leading enterprise in customized home decor — Oppein.
Oppein was founded in Guangzhou in 1994, starting with custom-made kitchen cabinets. In an age where handmade cabinets were a necessity in home decor, Oppein introduced the concept of "integrated kitchens" to China, sparking a "kitchen revolution" across the country.
As the industry grew bigger, Oppein "stepped out" of the kitchen, and ventured into whole-house decoration and furniture. Stepping into an Oppein showroom today, you'll see not just customized home decor but also doors, windows, bathroom fixtures, and even kitchen appliances — everything related to home.
Today, Oppein has established five major intelligent manufacturing plants across China. It leads the industry in customized home decor production with its products flying off the shelves domestically and making inroads into 118 countries in 6 continents. Thirty years ago, Oppein brought the contemporary European style to China, and now, it's taking Chinese "intelligent manufacturing" to the world.
Unlike traditional home decor, customization is the soul of tailored home decor. Achieving mass production of non-standard customized furniture is a challenge faced by all home decor enterprises. In the early days, customized home decoration relied entirely on manual labor. Each step, from order design to material measuring and hole positioning, needed manual involvement to meet the specific requests of each client. When daily orders increased to 1,000 or even 10,000, handmade furniture could no longer meet market demands.
Now, Oppein has developed its own information system, integrating the entire process from design to manufacturing to delivery. Non-standard product demands are transformed into standardized production commands, within one day, a million panels in different shapes and sizes are prepared for further assembly.
In Oppein's newly operational intelligent manufacturing plant, all production processes are fully automated and digitally managed. Here, each panel is tagged with a QR code, serving as a unique "ID card." Through this small tag, equipment on the production line can automatically identify production tasks, and complete the entire manufacturing process autonomously, progressing from "human-controlled equipment" to "machine-controlled equipment."
However, China’s weak property sales have brought challenges for Oppein. In recent years, although revenue continues to grow, the growth rate has been declining year after year. In 2023, the year-to-year growth fell below 2%, the lowest since the company's listing.
Oppein is clearly aware of the situation and made several moves last year, including initiating a price war, shortening its lead times, and finding a second growth curve in the market. Recently, Oppein launched a sub-brand, Hai Lie Niao, aiming to gain market share in future smart home solutions. Looking back over the past 30 years, from a single-business enterprise focusing on cabinets, to the trailblazer in the customized home decor industry, Oppein successfully upgraded its industrial chain from traditional manufacturing to smart manufacturing.
What does the future hold? This is a question not just for Oppein, but for every enterprise in the industry. In an increasingly competitive market, the ability to identify new growth opportunities holds the key to sustainable business development.
出品：南财国际传播中心 21新媒体中心 创意互动中心
策划统筹：于晓娜 丁青云
内容统筹：谭婷 张楠
责任编辑：金珊
执行统筹：黄欣然
设计统筹：林军明
视频统筹：白宇航
监制：施诗
英文翻译&配音：李莹亮
海外运营监制: 黄燕淑
海外运营内容统筹: 黄子豪
运营支持：曾静娇
审校：张晔 黄志明
