Experts Remind: Shoe Enterprises Overseas Acquisitions Need To Be Cautious

In the middle of this month, AOKANG shoe industry, a well-known private shoe manufacturer in Zhejiang, signed an agreement with Shanghai famous shoe brand Wanli wade in Italy to acquire the ownership of the latter in Greater China.

Not long ago, Daphne, another well-known shoe maker in China, announced an agreement with FullPearl to acquire a 60% stake in HK $195 million, thereby increasing its high-end brand from 2 to 6.

There are indications that, following the successful acquisition of Fila China Trademark in 2009, Anta is ready to fight again in 10 years; XTEP is also plotting to buy an overseas brand this year.

Looking back again, we have seen too many forerunners' footprints. The vigorous Pierre Cardin was bought by YOUNGOR (11.26, -0.23, -2.00%) 120 million yuan to acquire the Hongkong new Ma group incident of the US KELLWOOD company. Lining bought the brand name of LOTTO brand in China for 20 years.

The increasingly fierce buying boom has revealed the rapid growth of local brands and the ambition to seize the high-end market.

However, many experts have warned that takeover is another starting point. The real localization of overseas brands requires at least five years of labor pains.

  　　  現象

Frequent acquisitions aimed at leveraging high-end

Why do domestic brands focus on overseas brands when they develop to a certain scale?

Many industry experts believe that the most important reason is: the lack of high-end brands in China. How to seize the high-end market has become the hatred of many enterprises.

Chen Xiaomin, Secretary General of Guangzhou footwear industry association, believes that the cultural value of high-end brands comes from their historical value, traditional culture and social concepts. European and American brands often have long historical value and are easy to form a quality and noble image in the minds of consumers. However, the history of shoes and clothing brands in China is short, and cultural accumulation is thin, so it is difficult to undertake high-end responsibilities.

For example, Daphne has been insisting on the mass market for many years. It regards street shops as the main sales channel, but rarely in high-end market. It is difficult to compete with the high-end and high-end BELLE and Saturday (14, -0.51, -3.51%) brands.

The FullPearl bought by the company this year is a BVI company. The indirect holding company is mainly engaged in the retail business of middle and high grade women's shoes. It operates AEE brands such as "AEE", "BVI", "ALDO" and "JessicaSimpson4".

These brands will represent Daphne in the department store with BELLE and Saturday's series of high-end brands.

After the AOKANG shoe industry's high-profile acquisition of Wanli Wade's ownership in Greater China, Wang Zhentao, the chairman of the company, said publicly that AOKANG will set up an international team to carry out packaging planning and variety development, focusing on high-end market. It plans to invest 500 million ~6 billion yuan, and will create the most competitive high-end brands in China and even Asia Pacific in 3 years, and enter more than 300 domestic high-end shopping malls.

This shows that the acquisition of overseas mature brands can not only foreshadowed the future entry of Chinese enterprises into the international high-end market, but also help enterprises seize the domestic high-end share in the short term.

  　　  分析

The success of the acquisition is another beginning of running in period.

Many business operators know that the acquisition itself takes a long time to prepare for communication. It must go through the so-called "love" running in period. After the acquisition, how to localize overseas brands and realize the internationalization of management teams gradually emerge. This is another beginning of running in period. "This process takes at least five years or so. In the trial stage of these years, it will be faced with unavoidable labor pains."

Wang Hailong, director of Publicity Department of AOKANG shoe administration center, believes that after the successful takeover, the local enterprises should solve the following two problems: first, how to build an independent team to operate overseas brands, some enterprises still follow the way of running local brands, and eventually lead to incompatible foreigners.

Wang Hailong told reporters that after AOKANG acquired Wanli Wade, he would set up a team with an international management concept and solve the problem of "people".

Then we will open up the market with the help of the existing sales channels, and focus on the expansion of the high-end department stores in the first tier cities.

Secondly, how to maintain the original style and quality of overseas brand products after purchase, we should pay attention to absorbing the core technology and cultural connotations of the brand.

The Li Ning Co has made a good demonstration in this regard.

Recently, in order to develop the badminton market, Li Ning Co has acquired all the shares of Kaisheng sports enterprise, making full use of the advantages of the two brands, and rapidly improving the market share of the company in badminton.

　　　 專家提醒

Beware of "raising children for others" in overseas acquisitions

Chen Xiaomin, Secretary General of Guangzhou footwear industry association, believes that the trend of Chinese enterprises going abroad is the trend of the times. Overseas brands have been acquired successively, which also reflects the brand reshuffle brought about by the international economic environment and the rapid upgrading of Chinese shoes and clothing brands in the international market.

But in the process of acquisition, we need rationality, opportunity and risk coexist. If an enterprise only purchases the overseas brand's right to operate in China, it is likely to be "raising children for others". In the end, it will be empty handed. If the whole process of design, production and marketing is fully accepted, the original Chinese manufacturing enterprises will have great thoughts in the complicated management of enterprises, and the results need to be tested by the market.

Wang Hailong, director of the Propaganda Department of AOKANG shoe administration center, also stressed that we should not be blind to the strong purchasing power of the moment, and we should thoroughly analyze the basic issues such as market positioning, product characteristics and operation mode of overseas brands.

In this regard, piercade's acquisition is a lesson from the past. Its authorized operation mode is more involved in the Chinese market, and its branches are chaotic, which has been criticized in the industry.

Even if the local brand replans its operation in the future, it will also consume a great deal of inertia due to the brand's protracted pattern.