Cheng Weixiong: Zhou Chengjian And His Metersbonwe

Recently, Cheng Weixiong, general manager of Shanghai Liang Qi Brand Management Co., Ltd., tells the story of Zhou Chengjian and Metersbonwe. Metersbonwe now has a certain market in China and has its own factory director's experience.

Expand by force

As an entrepreneurial enterprise, a large amount of start-up capital is needed at the initial stage of development.

However, Zhou Chengjian is not born rich. He can only rely on the initial development of millions of dollars to develop. In order to expand production and advertising, the money has been almost made. Now that the brand has been established, it has to invest in advertising and publicity, and also set up stores.

As a small and medium-sized private enterprise, it is almost impossible to get large loans from banks that are poor and rich.

In desperation, an unproductive Guangdong clothing company inspired him.

I recall the experience of the OEM processing that I first married.

After a lot of deliberation, the decision has been made to expand the production capacity by means of commissioned processing. Since the production capacity is unable to meet the needs, it is possible to cooperate with the Foreign Trade Commission to establish long-term cooperative relations with some state-run and joint venture garment processing plants in Guangdong, Jiangsu and other places with first-class production equipment and management standards, so that they can become Metersbonwe's "production base".

This is a wonderful move. After the signing of the cooperation agreement, it costs almost no money. Metersbonwe has a strong production capacity of about 10000000 annual casual wear products, making use of them for licensed production.

This not only solves the thorny problem of capital, but also saves a lot of manpower, material resources and the cost of rent.

With the help of external resources, we can solve the problem of production. Can the sales problem be processed in the same way?

Zhou Chengjian, who has initially tasted the sweetness of resources in production, copied the same practice to the sales field, and adopted the franchise chain operation strategy to expand Metersbonwe's franchise territory rapidly.

The franchise chain's business strategy includes the use of Metersbonwe's trademark, trade name, service mode and so on.

This method has achieved remarkable results. Franchised stores can increase by 50 more per year, which not only successfully solved the problem of quantity and scale of sales channels, but also effectively promoted the brand.

Because of the effective integration of external resources, the United States headquarters has gradually left the low-end, crowded management stage.

Apart from several business negotiation rooms and several computers designed for clothing design, at ombang's headquarters, almost no surplus office equipment can be seen.

The staff of a company only need to understand and monitor the sales situation of the exclusive stores through several computers. Several salesmen in the business negotiation room introduce the design concept of Smith Barney to the customers, everything appears succinct and effective.

With the help of external forces to make up for the shortage of their own funds and save costs, Zhou Chengjian created a new business case in China's clothing industry, namely, "production outsourcing, direct marketing and joining simultaneously" business model.

This is still new in China at that time, but it is not new in the international arena.

In fact, Metersbonwe's business model is different from that of Nike's top sports brand operators.

However, in order to adopt this mode of operation, Zhou Chengjian once faced many criticisms and colleagues' incomprehension.

In the commercial society at that time, the OEM and franchised chain management were regarded as typical Bag Companies by many people.

It is a contract to maintain the manufacturer and distributor. Once the other party suspends cooperation, Metersbonwe will face a disaster.

Zhou Chengjian does not think so. He thinks that virtual management is a way of borrowing. In fact, this "OEM" mode of production has also made many international brands. If others can succeed, then he and Zhou Chengjian can make the same success.

If Zhou Chengjian first used the "OEM" (OEM) and "franchise chain" approach in the beginning, then he would have to take the initiative to follow and learn the experience of the "virtual" industry and other similar enterprises as the market situation changed.

He once set a goal for the United States and increased the turnover rate of goods. Generally speaking, the turnover rate of foreign goods is 50 days for Chinese manufacturers, and 180 days for Chinese manufacturers. Metersbonwe must close to foreign manufacturers and eventually surpass foreign manufacturers.

The leading rate of goods circulation in China has benefited from the IT system initiated by Smith Barton in 1996. The use of information technology has made production and sales truly enter the stage of social collaboration.

At the same time, Metersbonwe also spent 100 million yuan to invest in the logistics information platform, through which it can grasp the status of each store's purchase, sale and storage in time, and it can also change production orders according to these figures.

Of course, the design and development of new products should be grasped by the headquarters as a whole. This is the soul part of a brand, and there is no deviation from it.

It can be said that China's clothing retail enterprises did not have a mature line at the beginning, there were no mature cases, no system management, no system management knowledge and values platform, everything was crossing the river by feeling the stones, and the clothing industry in Wenzhou was no exception.

Zhou Chengjian abandoned the "big and complete" development model at that time, which is a fearless and fearless pformation challenge.

"Everything that has been done in the past may not be as clear as it is today, but it will have an impact on the future development.

Although lack of knowledge, experience and vision, let's change more passion. "

Zhou Chengjian used his "embrace of change" in his corporate philosophy to easily lead the way. In his view, "do not take the unusual road" just illustrates his persistence in the American version of the brand.

If the pursuit of material motivation is only phased, what Zhou Chengjian is chasing is actually the core values of Wenzhou clothing enterprises.

In fact, he has already had the specific goals and plans of enterprise expansion. He has been concentrating on concentrating and insisting that there are many opportunities for investment and speculation in China's reform and opening up. It's easy to move, but the most difficult thing to do is not to take the unusual road. What Metersbonwe is showing is an innovative thinking of Chinese clothing enterprises.

stay

Zhou Chengjian, who has been on the run for more than ten years, knows very well that the clothing industry does not have any core technology at all. If you will, others will also. Because of the high imitation and replication ability of the clothing industry, many hot selling styles can be copied overnight, while the foreign clothing brands can quickly occupy the market in the mainland, and rely on the brand and the shorter and shorter marketing lead cycle.

This helped Zhou Chengjian to make bold decisions, not to take the unusual road, and to outsource all 100% aspects of clothing and sales to other enterprises. He kept only the core part, including the brand, product design, brand promotion and a small number of direct outlets, fully mobilizing the enthusiasm of other production enterprises and franchisees, and taking "win-win" as the fundamental basis for operation.

What does the real value chain mean? It is a manifestation of value for your upstream and downstream partners. Zhou knows very well that only when you can create value for others, your existence will be meaningful.

So he recognized the virtual operation and persistently put it into practice. On the one hand, he kept copying the United States and expanding the scale all over the country. On the one hand, he always focused on providing fashion products for young consumers, because this is the vitality of the brand and the magic weapon for winning the brand.

Division of labor in social resources usually requires focusing on one area and maximizing marginal benefits.

Metersbonwe integrates hundreds of factories and thousands of agents for our own use. This kind of focus has achieved the maximization of marginal benefits.

But the so-called "virtual" is just a business model, not a core element.

That is to say, the form of virtual, but for the needs of profit, it is real, all people have to earn money on this chain, this is the key.

Dream of Shanghai

To this day, Zhou Chengjian must remember clearly that the conch shirt he bought from Shanghai a few years ago was very loud at that time (now nothing), and Wenzhou people knew that it was a brand-name garment from Shanghai.

This not only stimulated Zhou Chengjian's brand thinking, but also made him yearn for the fashion capital of Shanghai.

Since then, Zhou Chengjian has set a goal for himself, and one day he will also make his own clothing brand, and make the capital of fashion capital Shanghai.

Zhou Chengjian's idea of moving headquarters for the first time was in 2000.

That year was the first year when I came to the United States. Zhou Chengjian decided to move the company headquarters from Wenzhou to Shanghai. But when it was announced just now, it was opposed by most executives.

Opponents generally worry about the fact that Metersbonwe can not dominate the Wenzhou side. To Shanghai, it is more like making friends and making insult.

In addition, Zhou did not make up his mind about the decision, and eventually the plan was temporarily stranded.

In the following year, Metersbonwe's sales revenue has reached 800 million yuan.

In the year, Zhou Chengjian originally planned to build a 21 storey high-rise building in the Lucheng Development Zone of Wenzhou. She originally planned to set Metersbonwe's strategic headquarters in Wenzhou and plan to make Metersbonwe the first brand in Wenzhou.

However, Zhou Chengjian turned to think about whether he was a big fish in a small pond or a whale in the sea. He still had no desire to sell clothes only in Wenzhou. He thought that Shanghai should be an upgraded springboard for the enterprise to become bigger and stronger. Through the international metropolis of Shanghai, it can enhance Metersbonwe's corporate status and brand and create greater value.

However, the brand of Metersbonwe has been developing in Wenzhou for five or six years. As the saying goes, one side of the water and soil is not a simple thing to move.

After the relocation proposal was thrown out, it was not surprising that there was a new patriarch who stood up against Zhou Chengjian's views again. They said: "Metersbonwe can't do the first thing in Wenzhou. It will only lead to a dead end in Shanghai. Death is inevitable. Life is an accident. If we really want to move, we will not go."

This is not a simple question of intimidation. Such a huge migration project is bound to bring about various problems, especially those of many senior entrepreneurs. This may directly affect the future life and death of enterprises.

For this reason, Zhou Chengjian broke the traditional train of thought or decided to make a positive attempt. That is to set up a branch with the same scale in Shanghai first. Through the development and the test of time, we can see where Metersbonwe is more suitable for the development of Metersbonwe.

In Zhou Chengjian's view, this is a perfect idea.

However, with the establishment and operation of the Shanghai branch, the contradiction between the Wenzhou headquarters and its headquarters began to highlight in the process of their development. Many senior executives and elders who followed Zhou Chengjian's business chose to leave.

At that time, Zhou Chengjian began to feel that he was under a lot of pressure. He thought that these entrepreneurial partners were leaving, but they could not help themselves. Perhaps this is the price that enterprises must bear during the reform period.

In 2003, after three years of deliberation and labor pains, Zhou Chengjian found that he could not hesitate any more. He had to make up his mind to make a decision. He formally announced to all the Americans that Metersbonwe headquarters moved from Wenzhou to Shanghai.

With the launching of a series of relocation activities, Metersbonwe has completed an important strategic layout of its own development.

After its headquarters in Shanghai, Metersbonwe started to expand its stores on a large scale according to the established strategy and launched advertising campaigns in various media.

Although no one has been willing to do this traditional business in recent years, the sword has a fantastic effect, because Shanghai's clothing industry has a good foundation and a thick foundation, which has created enough room for Metersbonwe to develop.

As an international metropolis, Shanghai has huge talent, information and pportation advantages. There is also a strong fashion atmosphere. In this environment, Metersbonwe has developed into a new orbit.

During this period, the United States spent 100 million yuan on management consulting and made radical changes in organizational structure, talent change and governance structure.

In other words, the way of managing people and people in the past is pformed into a combination of people and institutions.

This led Metersbonwe to bid farewell to the mode of small businesses, and the framework of a large enterprise was gradually built up.

After two years of relocation, in 2005, Metersbonwe management headquarters moved to the Nanhui District of Shanghai as a new management headquarters. Although there was no production plant in Shanghai, it gathered the core management team. The R & D, product management and distribution of more than 300 factories in the United States and the state were distributed through Shanghai headquarters. Shanghai headquarters, like the brain, directs the normal operation of other institutions throughout the country.

In the first half of 2005, various international trade frictions reduced or even eliminated a large number of clothing export orders, leading to the shortage of domestic textile and garment enterprises, and even the phenomenon of shutting down production, and export enterprises were sluggish.

At this critical node, Zhou Chengjian moved in time to sacrifice the great trick of building a large brand store and dig deeper into the domestic market. He plans to open 100 5000 square meter 10000 square meters flagship stores in the country by 2010, and achieve the target of 4 billion yuan in 2005 and 10 billion yuan in 2010.

Zhou Chengjian's five year plan has greatly stimulated the enthusiasm of producers and sellers, competing for their domestic orders.

First of all, Metersbonwe felt the great charm of an international metropolis.

In this sad and happy market atmosphere, Zhou Chengjian always feels that he lacks something, but what is that?

Zhou Chengjian, who once shut down factories and sold short, started to build a core factory in the next five years.

As early as 05, Zhou Chengjian had collected 160 mu of land in Pudong, Shanghai, with a total investment of more than 100 million yuan, and was ready to build more than 20 thousand square meters of logistics center and Leisure Industrial Design village.

In fact, Zhou Chengjian, as an industrialist, does not know much about it. Under the condition of virtual operation, he constantly thinks of improving his core competitiveness. He must have production as a guarantee. It is best to have 10% to 20% of his production capacity under his control, so as to provide consumers with faster and more fashionable products.

After realizing that virtualization did not solve all the problems, Zhou Chengjian began to think this way.

Zhou Chengjian's worries are also reasonable. Domestic enterprises who have long been engaged in foreign garment enterprises are familiar with fashion trends and fabric information. Once they create or buy brands to compete in the domestic market, Metersbonwe will face more pressure and competition. How will the United States react to that?

Shanghai is an international city that can create pressure everywhere.

Over the past thirty years, China has joined the global division of labor with huge labor force and has become the center of the global manufacturing industry.

In the future, we should vigorously develop the headquarters economy, and the knowledge and radiance of the headquarters economy will bring the development of modern service industry better.

According to the relevant statistics of Shanghai Headquarters Economic Promotion Center, Shanghai has now formed a complete map of headquarters economy. What is more prominent is the headquarters economic belt that runs through Shanghai from east to west, which is formed by Lujiazui, Nanjing Road, Huaihailu Road, Hongqiao airport area. For example, the regional headquarters of 233 IT enterprises such as Lian Qiang international and Ctrip are gathered in Hongqiao airport.

In the statistics of the profit distribution of the textile and garment industry, production and processing account for only 10%, while the profits of the remaining 35% and 55% are shared by brands and channels.

In recent years, although China's casual wear market has been increasing dramatically, the brand is highly fragmented and hard to sustain.

"We need to change the situation of 800 million shirts for a plane."

In order to break the embarrassing situation made in China and create a strong brand with Chinese characteristics, Zhou Chengjian once expressed his passion to the outside world.

"800 million shirts to change a plane" is a well-known Chinese Minister of Commerce, which once became a portrayal of low labor costs, low energy prices and low added value in China's export processing industry.

Especially since 2007, with the rising exchange rate of RMB and the rising cost of raw materials and labor, many manufacturing enterprises are facing a dilemma of pformation.

In the case of Zhejiang's private enterprises and the general lack of export, Metersbonwe has been on the market to become an "alternative". It has been rejected by some of its peers as "light asset management mode" which only focuses on brand and "copy and imitate". Now it has become a target that those commentators are competing for.

"The United States today can be listed successfully, we should say that five years ago we walked the right way."

After the successful listing of enterprises, Zhou Chengjian first thought of the merits of the pfer of strategy five years ago.

To this day, Zhou Chengjian often mocked himself: "there are so many excellent enterprises in Wenzhou, I am not very good there, and Shanghai has a very good environment, but it does not attach much importance to traditional industries. It is because of such a quiet land that it is more suitable for the development of the United States."

Facts have proved that

The unique headquarters economy has provided fertile soil for the explosive growth of the US state.

The world is mine, and I am the world.

It doesn't matter how much resources you have, but how much resources you can integrate. "

Zhou Chengjian is right. This is a world of resource integration, which can integrate more resources to create greater value.