From Bankruptcy To Annual Sales Of 80 Million Pairs Of Shoes, How Do Old Cards Return?

An old brand of sports shoes with a history of more than 90 years has rebuilt the vitality of nostalgia.

It is the force of return.

Data show that from 2014 to 2018, sales in the past 4 years increased by 65 times. In 2018, it created a record of 80 million pairs of shoes sold in one year.

Walking on the street, we can see that the force is no longer just the exclusive of our fathers. Many of the 90's are stepping on this old "old guy" for shopping, eating and gathering.

Obviously, this "Chinese time-honored brand" has become the representative of the young trend.

Before the strong rise, Huili also experienced a period of extreme darkness. Loss, bankruptcy, transformation, rebirth. What made this 92 year old brand fall into the abyss? And what brings it back to life?

Today, we will review the past and present of the "time-honored brand of China".

Once brilliant, 80s Fashion

Speaking of Hui Li, many people's memory still stays in 8, 90s. When we were at school, the opening ceremony of the sports meet was on the feet of a pair of small white shoes.

Tracing back to the origin of back force, in 1927, a factory called "Yi Chang Rubber Product Factory" appeared on Tangshan Road in Shanghai, producing a shoe called "eight auspicious", which is the "past life" of the back shoe. Subsequently, the Yichang rubber factory was renamed CHINT letter Rubber Factory, and later became one of the landmark enterprises in the old China national rubber industry.

In April 1935, CHINT Shanghai officially registered the Chinese "Hui Li" and the English "Warrior" brand. The creativity of the trademark is derived from the English "WARRIOR", meaning "warrior, warrior and fighter". Therefore, the homonym of "WARRIOR" can be called the Chinese name of "back force". "Hui Li" implies "the power to return to heaven", which refers to "the great power to overcome difficulties".

However, it is a basketball team and a volleyball team that really make the force become a national brand.

In 1948, after the completion of the National Games in Jiangwan stadium of Shanghai, the war broke out because of the war of liberation, and the members of Liaoning men's basketball team who were competing in Shanghai were hard to return. Through the introduction of sports personage Qian Xucang, CHINT Xin Ji rubber factory decided to set up the "back force basketball team". With this team moving around, "Huili" has become a favorite footwear for professional athletes.

In 1979, WB-1 basketball shoes were developed. 2 years later, the Chinese women's volleyball team won the Third World Cup in this shoe. So, young people are competing for it, changing their shoes into the fashion before 80s.

Hui Li's head recalled that WB-1 basketball shoes accounted for more than 80% of the sales of the company's shoes at the time, and probably produced two to thirty million pairs a year.

The fall of the shoe king

With the market economy and reform and opening up, the force has faced an unprecedented crisis. On the one hand, a large number of foreign sports brands such as Nike, Adidas and CONVERSE have poured into China, becoming the new trend of young people's pursuit. On the other hand, domestic private enterprises have sprung up, with only 3 shoe making enterprises, of which 1/3 are rubber shoes factories.

Worse still, it was ten years before the force came into the market economy. After shutting down the first branch plant in 1994, Huili entered a fast closing shop, almost shutting down a branch every two years. After 6 years, 7 branches and 1 research institutes under Huili have been closed, and 8600 workers have been laid off.

In February 2000, faced with the situation of "having wolves before the wolf", Huili was eventually eliminated by the times and declared bankrupt.

Until 2006, things changed again. Huayi announced an exclusive investment in Huili. The former "shoe king" seemed to hear the bugle bugle rising.

An opportunity brought by Oolong

Although Huili has captured Huayi's life-saving straw, the revival does not seem so easy. From 2006 to 2008, the return force is still in a state of loss.

However, there must be a turning point behind the desperate situation, but it is a "Oolong" that brings the biggest turning point to the force.

In 2008, Orlando, a male star in Hollywood, was photographed on the feet of Manhattan's "I love you" in New York, wearing a pair of "back shoes", which suddenly triggered a crazy discussion about back force. Although it was proved that those shoes were leaping, the force still earned the customers' eyeballs with this misunderstanding.

For a time, many famous stars began to wear back shoes. Fans also followed suit and rushed to the market. Huili has become the shoe net.

The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the 2010 Shanghai World Expo once again gave rise to the opportunity of the rally.

During the Olympic Games, heads of state went to Beijing's commercial city to buy back power, and athletes began to have a sense of the force. Back in 2010, it won the qualification of World Expo licensed manufacturers and retailers. Its creative hand painted shoes have been put into the museum as exhibits.

The 5 innovation, shoe Wang Zhongsheng

Seize the vitality of the back force also learned the lessons before, because products, production, management and other aspects are too old, resulting in a period of quiet back. At present, Huili has been pushed to the top by the hot topic. At the same time, it has made innovations in 5 aspects: its product, positioning, mode, promotion and brand upgrading.

1. product innovation.

In the development and design of Huili products, adhering to the idea of "combining classic with fashion, combining sports with leisure", has changed the old style of the product with a backward style and a monotonous color. By 2014, Huili also launched popular products like "magic shoes" and "skin friendly shoes".

2., "positioning" innovation.

The implementation of the "full product" market positioning mode is a reflection of the unique advantages of the brand, and an attempt to explore risks.

3., "mode" innovation.

The shoe industry has also made changes in its marketing mode, including low-level "wholesale", "sports monopoly" at the middle level and "fashion quality" at a high level. At the same time, in sales, Huili uses "terminal direct supply platform + electronic business platform" mode, and takes the "two wheel drive" development path.

In June 2012, it entered Tmall mall, and flagship store sales exceeded 200 million in 2018.

4., "promoting" innovation.

The shoe industry has made innovations in brand promotion. Huili brand is popularized in the form of "promotion of activities", "media marketing" and "event marketing". Inviting celebrities to do endorsements, such as Yang Mi and Wu Yifan, have led fans to buy "star money".

5. brand upgrading and innovation.

With the change of consumption habits and the maturity of Internet technology, Huili launched the brand upgrading strategy, trying to reach the high-end consumers.