The art coatings industry will exhibit five major trends.

　　In 2018, professional, responsible, and artisan‑spirit‑driven art‑coating applicators will be in even greater demand—both among art‑coating brands and among the tens of thousands of art‑coating distributors nationwide. The need for training in artistic coating application continues to grow unabated.

　　In the internet era, it may not be your competitors who defeat you—but rather your own reluctance to adapt. The future is already here; if you fail to recognize emerging trends and keep pace with the times, you will inevitably be left behind. Today, it’s no longer outsiders overtaking insiders; it’s the forces of change that render outdated practices obsolete—and scale alone is no longer enough. After several years of rapid growth, China’s architectural coatings industry remains vibrant and poised for continued expansion. As a participant in and witness to this sector, how can we seize the prevailing trends and align ourselves with them? In my view, 2018 will see five major development trends shaping China’s architectural coatings industry.

　　I. With the industry’s growth accelerating, sales of decorative paints are expected to double.

　　Artistic coatings have been present in the Chinese market for nearly two decades, yet their rapid rise has only taken place over the past six to seven years. From a cautious, trial-and-error phase fraught with uncertainty at the outset to today’s explosive growth, these coatings have successfully reclaimed market share that had previously been eroded by diatomaceous earth and wallpaper. As a result, a plethora of artistic coating brands have emerged like mushrooms after rain, poised to surpass even diatomaceous earth in prominence.

　　In 2017, whether at national or industry‑level events, in professional gatherings, or even at any forum, discussions about coatings invariably turned to the topic of decorative paints. At the Guangzhou Building Materials Fair, decorative paints emerged as the mainstream offering, with over 50 brands participating—a record high. Meanwhile, at Chengdu’s second Decorative Paint Carnival, more than 2,000 professionals from across the country took part, three times the attendance of the inaugural event. It has become an undeniable fact that an increasing number of consumers are embracing and actively choosing decorative paints for their home renovations.

　　At the second Artistic Coatings Carnival, it was reported that many companies saw substantial growth in artistic coatings sales last year—some doubling their revenue, while others posted increases of over 50%. Take Vaco as an example: last year, sales of its textured wall films alone exceeded RMB 20 million, a several-fold increase compared with the previous year. All signs point to an accelerated pace of growth for the artistic coatings industry in 2018, with a significant portion of well‑established players expected to see their sales double.

　　II. The market will see the emergence of more art paint brands.

　　As the artistic coatings market continues to heat up and grow, the overall market is expanding rapidly, inevitably drawing more companies into the competition and giving rise to a plethora of artistic coating brands. Many comprehensive paint manufacturers have launched their own or specialized artistic‑coating lines. For example, in 2015, San Shu Mu introduced its San Shu Mu Art Paint after launching Saint‑Marc Art Paint; in 2016, Meituoshi, which had previously brought in Vantisi Art Coatings, followed with Meituoshi Art Paint; in 2015, Badishi, which had earlier imported Milan Starlight Art Coatings, also rolled out its own art‑coating brand, NOVACOLOR; and in the same year, Ali Master made a high‑profile debut with Tassani Art Coatings, subsequently introducing Giovanni Art Coatings as well.

　　Meanwhile, numerous specialized brands are set to join the fray in the decorative‑paint market. According to industry reports, excluding textured coatings and diatomaceous earth products, the number of identifiable decorative‑paint brands in China has already surpassed 300—some industry insiders even estimate the figure exceeds one thousand. The majority are professional‑grade paint manufacturers, such as Format Culture, Yituode, Cabali, Modern Master, Dairongwan, and others too numerous to list. According to a survey conducted by HC Intelligence, more than 80% of paint companies have begun producing and selling decorative paints, with roughly one in five reporting that decorative paints now account for 60% of their total output. Furthermore, 83% of respondents expressed optimism about the market’s growth prospects. As the decorative‑paint sector continues to heat up and offers substantial profit margins, 2018 is poised to see the emergence of many new decorative‑paint brands.

　　III. Market share will concentrate among strong brands, and industry concentration will increase significantly.

　　As numerous brands enter the fray to capture a share of the decorative‑coatings market, the landscape remains highly fragmented, with both large and small players competing on an equal footing for an extended period. Ultimately, market share will increasingly concentrate among a handful of comprehensive, well‑established brands—companies enjoying robust growth and bustling sales channels—while lesser‑known, niche decorative‑coating brands either struggle to survive and fade from the market or eke out a meager existence with dwindling foot traffic. With new entrants continually joining the scene and established names falling into dormancy, being mothballed, or even disappearing altogether, the industry’s level of concentration will rise sharply. The top ten decorative‑coating brands are expected to command roughly 50% of the market, far surpassing the overall coating sector’s degree of concentration.

　　Across the coatings industry, the 80/20 rule—where the strong grow stronger and the weak remain weak—is becoming increasingly pronounced. In recent years, as the consumer market has matured and raw material prices have remained elevated, many small and medium-sized coating firms have scaled back or shut down altogether. Meanwhile, well‑capitalized, large‑scale players have enjoyed smooth growth, advancing rapidly. According to Chen Bing, Chairman of Zhanchen Group, the group’s total sales in 2017 rose 25% year over year. Even Jia Bao Li, already a sizable player, posted double-digit growth last year. San Ke Shu reported 2017 revenue of RMB 2.619 billion, up 34.45% from the previous year, while Oriental Rainbow recorded RMB 10.19 billion in revenue, a 45.62% increase. These robust growth rates underscore rising industry concentration; the same trend is evident in the decorative coatings segment, where market share is increasingly concentrated among leading brands—particularly comprehensive, full‑line coating manufacturers. As with waterborne wood coatings in earlier years, many once‑high‑profile specialty waterborne wood‑coating brands failed to sustain their momentum, with market share ultimately consolidating in the hands of a few large, diversified coating companies. Decorative coatings may follow a similar trajectory: after all, established, large‑scale coating brands enjoy greater brand recognition, an extensive network of outlets, and clear channel advantages, making it easier to scale up promotion and adoption of decorative coatings.

　　Of course, some specialized art‑coating brands, if they identify the right market niche, focus their efforts on a particular area, and consistently deliver excellent service, can also build a strong reputation and dominate their segment—becoming a brand like Lanshe in the diatomaceous earth industry.

　　IV. Artistic coating enterprises with annual sales exceeding 100 million yuan will emerge.

　　Last year, industry media reported that Jia Baoli’s art‑coating sales had exceeded RMB 100 million. However, after cross‑checking with multiple sources, it appears the figure has not yet reached that threshold. That said, the likelihood that Jia Baoli’s art‑coating sales surpassed RMB 100 million in 2018 remains very high. In addition to Jia Baoli, other art‑coating brands with strong prospects of crossing the RMB 100‑million mark include Nippon Paint, Weiluo, and Fima.

　　Although Nippon Paint has not made any major moves or high‑profile investments in the artistic coatings segment, its long‑standing, deeply cultivated touch‑up service has unexpectedly borne fruit, enabling Nippon Paint’s MILANO Artistic Paint to achieve rapid volume growth. With annual sales from its touch‑up services already exceeding RMB 1 billion, the likelihood that its artistic coatings sales will surpass RMB 100 million is very high.

　　Next is Weiluo, billed as the “leader in China’s architectural coatings industry.” It enjoys strong sales in markets such as Shanghai, Northern China, and Henan Province. At one point, it was the professional‑grade architectural coating brand whose annual revenue came closest to that of Jia Bao Li. However, due to limited brand awareness and market constraints, achieving over 100 million yuan in sales remains quite challenging.

　　Then there’s Fima, which has rapidly opened stores nationwide thanks to the robust channel‑development capabilities of its commissioning partner, China Merchants. Before many could even react, Fima’s outlets were already up and running, with substantial support for dealers’ own retail spaces as well. According to insiders, Fima now operates 800 experience stores, with sales exceeding RMB 100 million. However, this figure’s credibility is somewhat questionable; if we strip out inflated numbers and factor in Crocodile decorative paints, Fima’s total shipments might only amount to RMB 20–30 million. After all, Sun Guojiang, who began as a Crocodile distributor before becoming Fima’s China general agent, managed to turn Fima into a dark horse in China’s architectural coatings sector within just a few years—and even successfully navigated the crisis triggered by the bankruptcy of Fima’s German headquarters. He certainly knows his stuff. It’s not entirely out of the question that Fima’s artistic coatings could eventually reach over RMB 100 million in sales. This scenario may differ from the early days of waterborne wood coatings; a more relevant parallel lies with Lanshe in the diatomaceous earth market. While mainstream coating brands were still catching on, the diatomaceous earth segment had already taken off, enabling Lanshe to post annual sales surpassing RMB 300 million. Will Fima have a similar opportunity? The challenge will undoubtedly be far greater, as established multi‑category paint players like Jia Boli have long since woken up and moved first.

　　V. Skilled construction professionals will be in greater demand, and outsourcing training has become highly sought after.

　　No matter how the industry evolves, anyone who has worked with or experienced artistic‑paint finishes knows that skilled application professionals remain in short supply—especially during the peak renovation season leading up to the Spring Festival, when seasoned artisans are as hard to come by as train tickets during the annual migration. In recent years, while many manufacturers have stepped up efforts to train their workforce and specialized art‑coating training firms have helped cultivate a large pool of qualified applicators, demand still far outstrips supply.

　　In 2018, professional, responsible, and artisan‑minded artists’ coating applicators will be in even greater demand. Whether it’s the brands themselves or the tens of thousands of distributors nationwide, the need to train application specialists continues to grow. Yet such training involves more than just qualified instructors—it also requires arranging accommodation, meals, hands‑on practice, and covering the costs of materials and tool wear. All too often, this effort yields little recognition from distributors, leaving them feeling that their investment of time and money goes unrewarded. The most effective solution is to send personnel to specialized training centers or partner with professional training providers to outsource these services—this way, you can resolve all your challenges while achieving far more tangible results. For many distributors’ technicians, the gap between a novice and an expert in artistic coatings is often just one training session away. Whoever can deliver high‑quality, professional application training for art‑coating brands will undoubtedly win widespread acclaim across the industry.