At the Xiamen Stone Fair: Chairman Wang Guojii on the Future of Stone (2025)

From 16 to 19 March 2025 the 25th Xiamen International Stone Fair was held at the Xiamen International Conference & Exhibition Center, bringing together more than 2,000 brands from 40 countries and regions. During the fair, its strategic media partner NetEase Home visited Nan’an Jiecheng Stone Co., Ltd. for an in-depth conversation with chairman Wang Guojii.

In the interview Wang set out the company’s reading of the market in full: how buyers’ tastes are changing, how to win younger customers, what housing policy means for stone, where the industry is heading, and what the fair does for the whole sector. His answers are gathered here under five themes.

1. How buyers’ tastes are shifting

Wang sees three clear shifts in how consumers use stone at home: taste is de-standardising, with a search for natural texture and emotional resonance; marble aesthetics are becoming simpler and more natural, with colour moving from dark to light; and functionally, buyers care more about low emissions, easy cleaning and durability.

The company’s response, he says, is to widen the choice. Jiecheng Stone specialises in Italian light-luxury white marble, holds the Fujian general agency for Statuario Venato, and keeps the province’s largest stock of Arabescato — which lets it cover price points from entry to high end, serve different buyer groups and offer customised service.

Wang also offered a framing: stone interiors are moving “from material supplier to operator of spatial value.” Jiecheng Stone’s approach is to parameterise material performance, digitise the spatial experience and give environmental value a financial dimension — building, in his words, a new-generation stone ecosystem.

2. Winning younger buyers

With younger consumers becoming the main force in the market, the company is adjusting on three fronts:

• Products — design-led, contemporary boards with distinctive texture or colour, such as gradient and geometric patterns, plus custom, artistic pieces developed with designers. It is also developing low-emission, non-polluting stone and labelling environmental metrics clearly, and widening its range to smaller items such as stone home accessories and decorative profiles.

• Channels — stronger online marketing through short video and image-led platforms such as Douyin and Xiaohongshu, alongside partnerships with interior designers, fit-out companies and home e-commerce platforms.

• Service — one-stop service from selection and design to processing and installation, with online support to answer questions and gather feedback.

3. What housing stimulus means for stone

Wang analysed the effect of housing stimulus policies — trade-in schemes and national subsidies — on three levels. On demand, more new-home fit-out and released renovation demand for older homes revive stone consumption. On market, companies can reach wider regions and more potential customers while building brand profile. On industry, both the upstream — quarrying and processing equipment — and the downstream — building and interior decoration — are pulled along, forming a collaborative ecosystem.

4. Where the market is heading — and 2025 priorities

Looking ahead, Wang expects the stone industry to move along three lines: green (more environmentally sound extraction and processing), technology (CNC processing and robotic polishing becoming standard) and customisation (diverse demand requiring tailored service).

To meet these, Jiecheng Stone’s 2025 plan is to invest more in technology and digital transformation, adopt CNC and robotic polishing, optimise flows through smart production lines and digital management, and keep reducing cost. It will maintain green production and environmentally sound products, continue brand-building through domestic and international fairs and online and offline promotion, and use opportunities such as the Belt and Road Initiative to expand overseas. On products and the value chain, it will invest to raise added value, integrate upstream and downstream resources, and develop innovative products with designers.

5. The value of the Xiamen fair

Jiecheng Stone has taken part in the Xiamen fair for over a decade. Wang sees its role as threefold. For companies, it is a platform that raises brand awareness, attracts domestic and international customers and opens sales channels, and a chance to learn from peers and the wider chain. For the industry, showcasing the latest products and releasing reports and trend analyses steers it towards higher-end, smarter and greener development, while its forums help train talent. For the sector, the fair gathers the whole chain, drives collaboration and scale, and connects international buyers and suppliers — helping Chinese stone companies go global.

His wish for the fair: that it keeps leading, keeps innovating in format and content, and becomes, in his words, a stone industry event that never closes.