Jin Zhenjun Talking About The Remodeling Of Lining'S Brand

(P) facing the competition between Nike (Nike) and Adidas (Adidas) and other foreign counterparts and local low-cost brands, the same name company, founded by China's former gymnast Lining, is now struggling.

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< p > the shares of the company listed in Hongkong fell 86% from its peak in 2010, down more than 1/3 since January this year.

In the first half of this year, the company's profit fell by 85% over the same period last year.

Four months ago, Jin Zhenjun joined Lining from Private Equity Investment Firm TPGGroup as executive director.

TPG is Lining's main investor, and Lining is also one of China's largest sportswear retailers.

Jin Zhenjun interviewed FionaLaw on the topic of China's changing retail market and Lining's future.

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< p > below are edited and arranged interviews.

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< p > FionaLaw: where did Lining have problems? < /p >

< p > Jin Zhenjun: in the short term, a lot of people poured into the industry, and there was a situation of oversupply.

Five years ago, sportswear brands were wholesalers in China, not retailers.

At that time, these brands focused their efforts on growth rather than sales planning, brand building and understanding of customers.

Chinese retailers should pay more attention to brands.

In the past, you had to do a good job of store opening and channel management. Now is not the case.

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< p > FionaLaw: specifically, what aspects do Lining need to improve? < /p >

< p > Jin Zhenjun: there are many good ways for the former management team, but this does not mean that they are very effective when the market asks Lining to make great changes.

Lining used to do a good job, but when the situation is over and needs to be changed, it will not work.

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< p > FionaLaw: < a href= "http://www.91se91.com/news/index_c.asp" > Lining brand < /a > has lost some attraction for younger consumers.

How do you solve this problem? < /p >

< p > Jin Zhenjun: there are still many loyal customers in the last generation who are loyal to the brand of Lining, but it is not enough to pay attention to them.

We must truly understand what our core customers are, understand what they want, and carry out their needs in our business.

This has not been done well before.

Therefore, one of the things we are doing recently is to invest in China Basketball Association and basketball star Dwayne (DwyaneWade) because it is in dialogue with the most important sports events for the young generation of China.

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< p > FionaLaw: how do you attract the Chinese consumers who do not buy brand sports clothes now? < /p >

< p > > a href= "http://www.91se91.com/pioneer/" > Jin Jun Jun < /a >: there is a vast market between Nike and other high-end brands of Chinese brands and most of China's local brands.

What we need to do is real innovation, focusing on functional sportswear, as a leading product to attract those consumers.

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< p > FionaLaw: can you give a better example of innovation? < /p >

< p > Jin Zhenjun: we have set up a new product team responsible for design, brand building and target customer service, from small details to color to category design.

All of this is more professional.

Next year we plan to sell some of the lightest runners and < a href= "http://www.91se91.com/news/index_x.asp" > shoes < /a >.

In addition, we also have new antifungal insoles.

This kind of insoles, because of their special fabrics, are very breathable and sweat absorbing, which can reduce peculiar smell.

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< p > FionaLaw: will the average price of Lining's products change? < /p >

< p > Jin Zhenjun: No, I don't think there will be much change.

But for some product categories, we have too high or too low price.

So we are making adjustments.

For example, in terms of basketball products, we think there is a good young consumer group, so the price of some basketball shoes will be as low as RMB 300 yuan (about 48 US dollars).

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< p > Lining's badminton product is probably the best in the market. In this category, we can make a higher price, up to RMB 2000 yuan.

In the final analysis, we should return to the idea of paying more attention to customers.

This is very different from the past. In the past, you didn't have to worry about the end-user market.

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< p > FionaLaw: what is the Li Ning Co's plan for the store network? < /p >

< p > Jin Zhenjun: according to the latest quarterly report, we have more than 7000 stores.

The number of stores has been relatively stable.

Some stores must be reformed due to poor location or improper form or too much focus on certain areas.

Not only depends on the number of stores, but also the efficiency of stores.

There may be a slight reduction in the number of stores in the near future.

The growth of business in the past depended on new stores, but now things are different.

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< p > FionaLaw: Lining himself is once again a managerial position in Li Ning Co.

What role does he play in daily operation? < /p >

< p > Jin Zhenjun: Lining has the ability to mobilize resources inside and outside the company.

Our cooperation is very close.

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< p > he spends a lot of time attending management meetings and decisions, and also participates in government affairs and sports activities.

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< p > FionaLaw: when do you expect the Li Ning Co plan to show tangible results? What are the indicators for the plan to start to work? < /p >

< p > Jin Zhenjun: it will be effective in less than two years.

The effect will not be very obvious yet, but we will see the trend of development.

One of the indicators of business improvement is the performance of new products and stores that we have begun to clean up.

These are leading indicators.

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< p > FionaLaw: in view of the large number of Chinese tourists visiting Hongkong for sightseeing, other retailers think Hongkong is a good showcase.

But earlier this year, Li Ning Co closed its only store in Hongkong.

Why is this done? < /p >

< p > Jin Zhenjun: we really focus on the core market of the mainland.

This is not my decision.

We have an approval procedure for where to open and close stores.

The closure of Hongkong stores is not a bad thing for us.

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