Interpretation Of AOKANG Shoe Industry'S Five Year Anti-Dumping Strategy For Famous Shoe Companies

On December 15th, labour intensive products became the biggest beneficiaries of WTO entry, and from the perspective of enterprise development, these are now

From the Wenzhou women's shoes shouted by everyone to the foundry of the world famous footwear brand, Wenzhou, the director of the triangle, was born.

In October 18, 2006, Li Haijun, a staff member of AOKANG's China trade export department, still stood at the counter of the Canton Fair. He had been in Canton Fair in the fifth year.

With the fall of the EU anti-dumping investigation into China's leather shoes, Li Haijun feels that the Canton Fair is a bit cold. The past European customers have become the great unity of the Asian, African and Latin American people.

The Wenzhou Footwear Company, founded in 1988, has been engaged in foreign trade since 2001, following the footsteps of China's entry into the WTO.

At first, Li Haijun always received some scattered foreign trade OEM orders. The price advantage made in China and the effect of industrial clusters enabled AOKANG to win easily among a group of international competitors.

To AOKANG's delight, on February 14, 2003, Valentine's day, GEOX, a famous shoe manufacturer in Italy, sent AOKANG a gift package, which signed a cooperation agreement between the two sides.

AOKANG has become the production base of GEOX and provides sales network for it.

At this point, AOKANG really began the internationalization of the marriage, this beautiful month of good luck in the industry for a time.

In the 4 years from 2001 to 2005, Li Haijun's AOKANG import and export company always can produce a beautiful pcript. Due to the GEOX's leading role, other foreign high-end brands are also following orders. The performance of AOKANG's OEM orders is increasing at an annual rate of doubling.

Gradually, AOKANG's total revenue is clearly divided into two major sources: 20% of foreign trade OEM orders and 80% of domestic orders.

If reality is as beautiful as a fairy tale...

Mutation

In July 8, 2005, Li Haijun turned on the computer as usual. Suddenly, a web page jumped into his line of vision. "The EU is going to take anti-dumping investigation on the leather shoes produced in China." Li Haijun opened the Ministry of Commerce's website to verify the accuracy of the information, and found the same announcement: the European Commission issued a notice in the EU's official gazette.

Under scrutiny, he was even more surprised. The EU will include all the Chinese leather shoes except the leather shoes, ski boots and sports shoes / boots of the European Union. It will be included in the EU's anti-dumping blacklist, which is based on the manufacturing cost of $35 per pair of shoes in Brazil. China's export price far below this level is suspected of dumping.

As a result, the import cost of AOKANG's big customer GEOX in Italy will increase without any reason.

"Will GEOX pfer orders? Will other foreign trade customers cancel the order?" Li Haijun rushed into the president's office and pulled out the door to Wang Zhentao, the president of the conference.

At the first time, Wang Zhentao was shocked and asked Li Haijun to confirm further. He immediately sent a letter to the European Union's partners.

A customer who wrote "incredible" was replying. Under everyone's "incredible" situation, faced with the European Union's anti-dumping, AOKANG looked up and could not find anyone to explain why.

In 5 months, by December 11, 2005, the pition period of China's accession to the WTO will be officially over for 5 years.

Wang Zhentao sat at the conference table and contemplated the solution.

Internationalization has always been a matter of Wang Zhentao's attention.

As early as in 1999, he invited the famous designer of leather shoes in Italy for millions of salary, and opened the chain store of pnational operation in New York.

But what really enhances AOKANG's quality and philosophy is the cooperation with Italy's brand GEOX, Europe's top ranked "breathing shoes".

GEOX has sent more than ten factory directors from all over the world to guide AOKANG and improve the technology and production process of leather shoes.

Wang Zhentao also took the opportunity to do a good job of knowledge sharing within the enterprise, interchanging production cadres from all over the place, and applying the experience learned from GEOX in the whole company.

In Wang Zhentao's mind, OEM is only a means. The ultimate goal is to have independent intellectual property rights through cooperation and make its own brand.

Is it so sudden that the process of internationalization will be interrupted, and can the cooperation with GEOX continue? Wang Zhentao hopes to seek the support of the industry association.

In 2002, the Wenzhou lighter had also encountered the EU anti-dumping investigation, and the Wenzhou Tobacco Association organized 15 enterprises together to put forward "industry no damage defense" to the European Union.

The association has taken the advantage of collective action in this lawsuit, and has undertaken a large number of public services, such as the unified recruitment of the respondent solicitor, the establishment of the responding group, providing the materials needed to meet the needs, and communicating with the European Importers Association of the same position, expressing the interests of the comprehensive industry and expressing to the government. Finally, in 2003, Chinese lighters enterprises won the first case of EU anti-dumping.

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This case is a great inspiration to Wang Zhentao.

Because of the time from the EU investigation to the final announcement in October the following year, Wang Zhentao decided to clarify the position of Chinese shoe enterprises to the EU with the shoe and leather industry association of Wenzhou.

Appeal

In March 23, 2006, the European Commission approved the import tariffs on leather shoes in China and Vietnam, and concluded that the leather shoes of the two countries were sold on the EU market at an illegal low price.

In April 7, 2006, the European Union announced a "temporary anti-dumping duty" on Chinese leather shoes for a period of six months.

Time is getting more and more urgent.

At the beginning of May, the Chinese shoe enterprise defense group went to the European Union Brussels to participate in hearing the "anti-dumping hearing on shoes products".

At the meeting, Wang Zhentao repeatedly stressed that the export prices of Chinese leather shoes did not constitute dumping at all, and it was "unfair decisions made by the European Trade Commission to protect their industries".

After returning home, Wang Zhentao immediately put forward the "Chongqing declaration" at the Bishan conference in Chongqing, which was attended by the leaders of the Ministry of Commerce and the leaders of industry associations, and took the lead in offering the banner of anti-dumping.

In June 15th of the same year, he was invited by the chairman of the European footwear Federation, Calvo, as the only representative of Chinese enterprises to participate in the Spanish footwear industry forum.

The global shift of industry is now an indisputable fact.

From the perspective of the development of the world footwear industry, Italy was the shoe industry in the world in the 50s and 60s of last century. The foundry route map of footwear industry started in Japan and Korea in 70s, and moved to Taiwan in 80s, and came to China in early 90s.

The old shoe making powers, such as Spain and Italy, are mainly engaged in the design and sale of high value-added products because of their high labor costs in China.

Asia, represented by China and Vietnam, now accounts for more than 70% of the world's footwear production. The European Union's Italy, Spain and Portugal have occupied less than 20% of the production volume and have realized the global division of labor and cooperation.

At the level of manufacturing technology, China is also superior to other OEM countries.

Unfortunately, the last boot was still on the floor.

In October 7, 2006, the European Union officially launched a 16.5% anti-dumping duty on leather shoes originating in China for a period of two years.

Wang Zhentao was not surprised when the news came.

After nearly a year's rush, he has begun to touch some doors and lawsuits with foreign governments and enterprises.

Appeals to the European Union Court are the only way to change the status quo.

However, other shoe companies in the industry do not think this way. They find that litigation is time-consuming, laborious and costly, and it may not necessarily bear fruit. Now that the EU closes its doors, it will attack other markets.

But Wang Zhentao, vice president of trade association, does not see this. Once the anti Matthew effect of the European Union comes out, the market of other countries will have the same kind of learning. Chinese shoe enterprises will only continue to narrow their living space in the process of humiliation.

In December 28, 2006, Wang Zhentao and Tamar, Jin Lu, new Hong Kong dollar and 5 state owned shoe companies formally submitted the prosecution materials to the European Union Court in Brussels, Belgium, on the grounds that the cost analysis of the European Commission's export of footwear products to Chinese enterprises was not accurate, and became the "first debate" after the end of the 5 year pition period of China's accession to the WTO.

After initiating the proceedings, the European Commission and the Chinese enterprises will carry out two rounds of written defense in turn. After the conclusion, there will be another round of oral defense. Finally, the European Court will make a ruling on this basis.

The main reply is written, and the written defense time of each round is about 3 to 5 months.

It is estimated that a set of procedures may take about two years.

The industry is concerned about this. Maybe two years' lawsuit has not yet been completed, and the tax time is over.

But Wang Zhentao had only one idea: "win is win, lose win," and when this is an opportunity to learn anti-dumping cases, it is always more dignified to resist and resist corruption than to accept sanctions.

However, in 2008, after the final review of the anti-dumping period, the European Union announced the extension of 15 months. After the extension of the tax period, the European Union intends to plan "sunset review" in order to delay the tax.

At this time, millions of lawyers' fees in AOKANG have been smashed down, but the lawsuit still failed to see the hope. The other 4 enterprises gave up fighting again, and time, energy and cost could not be dragged up.

Wang Zhentao decided to bring the lawsuit to the European Union High Court alone.

The strategy of AOKANG's appeal is not confrontation or accusation, but an attempt to seek a clear answer in the EU Court on the interpretation and clarification of the terms and conditions of the market economy status in the EU anti-dumping regulations, which will directly affect the use of the terms in various industries in China.

At the same time, AOKANG's appeal is also concerned by Reuters. AOKANG is actively communicating with foreign media, so that it can report objectively and objectively the position of Chinese enterprises and voice the voice of enterprises in different channels of public opinion.

Turning point

In the face of the attack of anti-dumping, some domestic shoe manufacturers are losing their orders to export to the European Union, but a phenomenon has also attracted the attention of Wang Zhentao. The order volume of GEOX has not dropped. Some of the orders with high technology and high technology are still placed in AOKANG. The pfer to other countries is just some orders with low technological requirements.

At the same time, Wang Zhentao had a deep understanding of the low cost and low added value of the OEM industry. The advantage of cheap labor will be lost one day. There is no patent technology and design of shoes. Closing the door will not only be the EU market. Sooner or later, other countries will also close their doors to the Chinese shoe industry.

In 2007, AOKANG decided to move the international R & D center from Dongguan, Wenzhou to Dongguan, where fashion information is gathered. AOKANG regards it as a window to expand the internationalization order, and also facilitates customers to confirm and try it out in the form of AOKANG.

Internationally, AOKANG has set up a R & D center in the traditional shoe making town of Victoria, near Milan, Italy. Designers and craftsmen are invited to collect new technology, new materials and new design concepts of Italy, and bring them to Wenzhou. They also invite designers from a design studio in the United Kingdom to collect the needs of European and American companies and collect information to bring them to the R & D department.

On the other hand, Wang Zhentao has expanded the domestic demand market in an effort to expand the industrial chain.

As early as 2003, AOKANG built the industrial park of West China's shoes city in Bishan, Chongqing, and planned to build a complete industrial cluster. When the labor cost of coastal areas was rising, the cost advantage of the western region gradually emerged.

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In order to advance to the high-end, AOKANG itself is also changing the visual image design of the enterprise, shifting the main target from the two or three line cities in the country to the first tier cities, opening up the exclusive stores, implementing the multi brand management, and launching the products of different brands, such as AOKANG, Kanglong, red fire bird and beautiful beauty, aiming at different groups.

When other companies are targeting the middle class shoes, AOKANG aims to put women's high-end shoes on the top of the ladies' shoes. The price of the "beautiful lady" is in line with the first-line brand of the high-end women's shoes in China, and the multi-channel strategy combined with chain store and shopping mall is adopted. The designer is led by Italy's senior designer marnio.

In the layout of the entire industrial chain, the innovation of production links, the internationalization of product design and the creation of high-end brand image, every effort of every link reflects the deep understanding of the smile curve of enterprises, and the design and sale of the two ends with the highest added value.

A few years of experiments proved the efforts of AOKANG.

After 5 years of hard journey, AOKANG finally waited for the day of lifting the ban. Winning and losing is no longer important for AOKANG.

In March 31, 2011, the European Union lifted the ban on anti-dumping duties on Chinese leather shoes, and the GEOX orders for AOKANG jumped by 60%.

In the face of soaring orders, what Wang Zhentao thought was that although China's shoe companies had survived the crisis, there were no other protective measures.

In addition, over the past few years, China's main raw materials, labor and fuel costs have risen, as well as five monitoring measures for Chinese footwear products, which are still overhanging by the European Union. AOKANG has set up a "magic spell" on its own to insist on not taking over the foundry of ultra low price shoes, positioning the brand as a high-end shoe, long-term cooperation with the international brand, taking the high-end development route, and increasing the added value through the brand.

Today, the average export price of leather shoes exported to leather shoes is more than 25 US dollars when the leather shoes exported to the industry are on average 6 US dollars, which is different from that of the European Union in.