Have you noticed that the building materials stores around you that have been open for more than ten years are becoming increasingly deserted?
It used to be crowded on weekends, but now there are more shopping guides than customers.
It’s not that the location is bad or the product is bad, it’s that the customers don’t come.
What is even more worrying is that in the next few years, a large number of stores will close and a large number of dealers will disappear.
This is not alarmist, it is a reality that is happening.
So who will fill this gap?
A new species called “OPC” is rising.
Let’s talk today about what exactly this OPC is and what it has to do with us.
1. What is OPC?
One person defeats a team
OPC, the full name is “One-Person Company”, which translates to “one-person company”.
But don’t get me wrong, it is not a self-employed business in the traditional sense, nor is it a mom-and-pop shop.
Its essence is: industry brain + AI assistant + outsourced supply chain.
What’s the meaning?
You alone, relying on your deep understanding of the industry (brain), with the help of AI tools (copywriting, design, customer service), and outsourcing production, installation, and after-sales to a professional team, can complete the work that a traditional company requires more than a dozen people to do.
Customer acquisition, conversion, order signing, delivery…one person can handle the entire process.
The prototype has already appeared.
You must have seen this kind of home furnishing blogger: one person, one mobile phone, making short videos talking about decoration tips, and has hundreds of thousands of fans.
The customer saw his plan and went directly to him to buy building materials and furniture.
He has no stores, no inventory, or even his own installation team.
When the order comes, it is sent to the factory, the factory delivers the goods, and the cooperating master comes to install it.
What he earns is professional knowledge.
There are also those “second-generation factories”: their fathers ran factories. They do not take orders from traditional dealers and sell directly online.
Without the intermediate markups, the price is 30% cheaper than in stores, and your own profit is even higher.
These people are the prototype of OPC.
2. Why will OPC become mainstream?
Three reasons, each more deadly than the last.
1. The industry becomes transparent and information gaps disappear.
In the past, dealers relied on information asymmetry to make money.
You know the purchase price, the customer does not.
What now?
The customer took a photo and searched online, and the price, configuration, and user reviews were all revealed.
Do you still want to make money by “high prices and low discounts”?
There are no doors.
When the information gap completely disappears, the profit margins of traditional dealers will be squeezed to the floor.
2. Three major fragmentations, waiting for customers to come to your door is a dead end.
In the past, when customers bought a house, they delivered the house together. If you rent a good location, people will come naturally.
What now?
The demand is fragmented: some people renovate the entire house, some renovate parts of the house, and some only replace one toilet.
Fragmentation of residential areas: customers are scattered in various old communities and you can’t find them.
The decision-making link is fragmented: customers have checked out the styles and prices on Douyin and Xiaohongshu, and only come to the store to “inspect the goods.”
While you are still waiting in the store, the customer has already been intercepted online.
3. With the advent of the professional era, customers only recognize “people who know their stuff.”
Today’s customers are becoming more and more knowledgeable.
He will ask: What is the environmental protection grade of your board?
What brand is the hardware?
How many years is the warranty?
If you can’t answer, he will turn around and leave.
He doesn’t care how big your store is or how luxurious the decoration is. He only cares about whether you are professional and whether you can solve his problems.
Networks, stores, funds, these old-fashioned core competitiveness are rapidly depreciating.
Professional knowledge and trust links are the new king.
3. How to do OPC?
Three tools are enough
First, short videos.
Don’t find it difficult.
You don’t need to be a big internet celebrity, you just need to show off your professional abilities.
Today we will talk about “three pitfalls in renovating old houses”, and tomorrow we will talk about “remember these five points when choosing ceramic tiles”.
A video can be watched by hundreds of people. As long as two or three people come to you, you will be too busy.
The greatest value of short videos is: breaking geographical restrictions.
Even if you are in the county seat, you can still receive orders from the provincial capital.
Second, AI.
AI is your “super employee”.
Writing copy, making renderings, editing videos, responding to frequently asked questions from customers… In the past, two or three people were required to do these tasks, but now you can add AI by yourself, doubling the efficiency.
Don’t know how to use it?
Learn it and get started in a day or two.
Don’t wait for others to use it before you take action.
Third, outsource the supply chain.
This is the confidence of OPC.
You don’t do everything yourself, but leave production, installation, and after-sales service to professional partners.
You are only responsible for the core aspects: customer acquisition, design, and trust building.
Find a reliable factory to cooperate with and let them ship on your behalf.
Find a skilled installer and settle the bill.
You don’t need to support people or stock up on goods, and costs are kept to a minimum.
4. What will the industry look like in the future?
The chain is greatly compressed.
In the past: manufacturer → national general agent → regional agent → dealer → store → customer.
Five or six links, the price is increased layer by layer.
Future: Manufacturer → OPC (One Person Company) → Customer.
Just two levels.
The efficiency is higher, the cost is lower, customers buy cheaper products, and you earn more reasonable profits.
The value logic is completely reversed.
In the past, making money relied on location, inventory, and poor information.
In the future, making money will depend on professional knowledge and trustworthy links.
The better you understand your customers’ needs and the more precise solutions you can provide, the more willing your customers will be to come to you.
Even if you don’t have a store, even if you only have one person.
Opportunities for three types of people.
Big Boss: Transform into an OPC platform operator, integrate resources, and empower the following OPC.
Traditional dealers: take the initiative to learn the OPC model and transform themselves from a “seller” to an “industry expert”.
Excellent employees: If you have been working in the industry for several years, understand the products, customers, and have resources, you can do OPC independently.
No need to open a store or stock up on goods, it can be started with just a mobile phone.
5. Some suggestions for colleagues who are still waiting and watching
First, don’t wait for the store to close before you think of a way out.
When the trend comes, it won’t wait for you.
Start learning short videos, learning AI, and looking for outsourced supply chains now.
Second, let go of the “boss” attitude.
In OPC mode, you are sales, design, customer service, and content creator.
Don’t think that these jobs “drop in price”, the last word is that you can make money.
Third, find your “professional label”.
Are you the best at renovating old houses?
Or the one who knows smart home best?
Or do you know the best about small apartment storage?
Pick a point, dive in, and become the most trustworthy person in that field.
Fourth, don’t be afraid to start small.
Even if you only take on two or three clients a month, go through the process first.
As word of mouth accumulates, things will get smoother and smoother in the future.
In the final analysis, the home building materials industry is not dead, but the gameplay has changed.
Those who still guard big stores, wait for customers to come to them, and only compete on price will indeed be eliminated.
But those who are willing to embrace the OPC model, upgrade their professional capabilities, and arm themselves with new tools will live better than before.
In the next few years, it’s not that business will be difficult to do, it’s that the people doing business will have to change.
Are you going to be the one being replaced, or are you going to be the one replaced?
