Wenzhou Ge Mei Chi Shoe Industry Li Shaozhong: Winning The Brand And Winning The Future

Li Shaozhong, general manager of Zhejiang Ge Mei He Shoes Co., Ltd.

From the family workshop to the modern factory area, from quality to enterprise, Zhejiang Ge Mei Chi Shoes Co., Ltd. has made a way out in the highly competitive Wenzhou footwear industry. Wenzhou women's shoes industry A wonderful flower.

In 1995, Li Shaozhong and his brother Li Jiange and Li Bingzhong joined hands to establish the GM's footwear industry. Ge Mei Qi From scratch, from small to large. In recent years, Wenzhou women's shoes have also undergone tremendous changes in brand building, channel construction, R & D and design.

The company has always adhered to the business philosophy of "quality enterprise and brand development" to promote sustained and rapid development of enterprises. Through accurate market positioning, obvious price advantage and style innovation, the brand value and economic benefits of Ge Mei have doubled. It has two industrial parks, more than 3000 employees, a standardized factory area of more than 51000 square meters, and an annual production capacity of 8 million pairs. However, Li Shaozhong is not satisfied with this. He believes that there is still much room for improvement. In the future, we must first create a brand personality so that we can have a place in the fierce competition in the future. "Many shoe companies in Wenzhou have strong brand awareness, but the brand personality is weak, and the positioning and characteristics of the brand are not clear." For future development, Li Shaozhong said that it is particularly important to strengthen product differentiation and create a better human environment. He also has the strength and confidence to go further.

So far, the company has been constantly adjusting its strategy to cope with the uncertain market environment, so that enterprises can grow stronger. Li Shaozhong has also been considering the future planning of enterprises, not just for survival. After 17 years of development, he realized that he had achieved everything from scratch to the present, and the hardships behind it can be imagined. It also reflects the difficulties of Wenzhou shoe enterprises in starting a business.

Li Shaozhong is very concerned about employees. He has always stressed the harmony of labor relations. "The working atmosphere of a company is very important. There is no good working atmosphere, even if the employees are paid high wages, they will not do it here." While actively creating a good working atmosphere, enterprises also provide learning opportunities for their employees to recharge themselves at work. "Enterprise atmosphere and learning environment are the foundation of the company's foundation, and today's development depends on staff's efforts and perseverance." In the process of managing enterprises, Li Shaozhong always adheres to the management concept of "quality based enterprise and brand development", focusing on integrating modern management ideas into enterprises. Through constant innovation, she has made her shoes in the Chinese women's shoes industry.

Socialization of family businesses

Reporter: most of the shoe enterprises in Wenzhou are family businesses. Will there be some drawbacks in the operation and decision-making process?

Li Shaozhong: we are also a typical family business. It is true that relatives and friends are of great help in the development of enterprises, and they are also a booster. But unlike other family businesses, our family businesses are not exclusive, and we pursue them in a relatively fair and democratic way. So I think family businesses should be socialized in their business ideas.

Reporter: we know that the environment in recent years is not very good. Wenzhou Enterprises The advantages are not as obvious as before. What factors do you think led to this?

Li Shaozhong: in the early years, Wenzhou enterprises were trying to expand production. Now, with the transfer of Eastern industries to the west, Wenzhou enterprises lack of people is more common. I think this is a national problem. Now the contradiction between supply and demand of manpower in China's manufacturing industry has emerged, so the future will also be a battle for human resources.

Reporter: to what extent should we change these situations?

Li Shaozhong: keep your attention first. We will introduce competitive salaries, plus humane benefits to retain old staff, and will continue to train new people.

Understanding brand and culture

Reporter: now the brand pays attention to the brand culture. More and more enterprises also value this piece. Is there any room for improvement in shaping the brand culture?

Li Shaozhong: I think competition can be divided into four stages: quality competition, price competition, channel competition, and then brand competition. We now do a lot of brand building shop to build channels. At present, our own conclusion is that there are many stores but lack of planning. We plan to do a good job of channel planning as soon as possible, strengthen the terminal hardware construction, and constantly enhance the shopping experience of stores.

Reporter: will you sell the goods and convey the brand idea to consumers?

Li Shaozhong: our brand idea is to pass through the internal atmosphere of the direct store, and we should do well in the shop atmosphere. Let consumers come to your store, and gradually form a sense, and through the shop decoration to let more female consumers into our store, choose to buy our products, will gradually have a good impression on the brand, improve brand loyalty.

Production and marketing are quite different.

Reporter: you talked about channels before. What is the distribution of the channel?

Li Shaozhong: at present, we are vigorously breaking away from public channels and building our own channels. Our mainstream stores are in the south of the street stores, and in the north are shops and counters.

Reporter: we can see that Wenzhou shoe enterprises will take the way of direct store and agent to do brand marketing. In recent years, some leading enterprises, such as AOKANG, have not seen a good sales situation. How do we see the change of this channel?

Li Shaozhong: This is the right thing to do. If the direct business is not profitable, it may be more related to site selection and team management capabilities, and only to enhance its own team operation capability.

Reporter: will there be some difficulties for some companies that are strong in manufacturing?

Li Shaozhong: production and marketing are two entirely different tasks. The main objects of production are objects, equipment, products, etc. they are static and thoughtful, and the main objects of marketing are people, customers, employees and so on. They are thoughtful. Many enterprises that are accustomed to production will have some difficulties in marketing transformation, which requires active adjustment and adaptation.

The future is not just for survival

Reporter: Wenzhou people build their businesses from the idea of starting from scratch and fighting hard. How can we bring the spirit of Wenzhou people to enterprises and brands?

Li Shaozhong: at the very beginning, our enterprises, like most brands in Wenzhou, do not have much height or dream to do anything. We also start from the family workshop and go to the present scale step by step. But in the process of starting a business, we constantly adjust our strategy and gradually expand our business. After that, we begin to consider the future planning of the enterprise instead of doing something for the sake of survival.

Reporter: how many years have you worked in the shoe making industry? What is the overall characteristics of the footwear industry in Wenzhou in your career?

Li Shaozhong: I have been engaged in the shoe industry for 17 years. The overall characteristics of Wenzhou footwear industry are: R & D, the product is mainly imitation, independent research and development is still lacking. But from the point of view of production, the advantage of Wenzhou footwear industry is that the production level of the whole industry is the leading position both in terms of efficiency and quality, and the best PU companies in the domestic market are also in Wenzhou. In Guangdong, they also had advantages over ten years ago. But maybe everyone's impression is that Guangzhou shoes are better, but now this stage is replaced by Wenzhou.

Reporter: what is the biggest competitive pressure in Wenzhou shoe industry these years?

Li Shaozhong: in recent years, great changes have taken place in Wenzhou's environment. Manufacturing industry itself must have a precondition -- full labor resources. In fact, the industry is now facing a relatively big challenge: the dramatic changes in the external environment and the pressure on us are relatively large. The scarcity of staff will cause enterprises to not play the conventional cards on the recruitment stage, resulting in some irrational competition for the whole industry to attract employees. This is a relatively heavy pressure for us, and we do not want to see it happen.

Reporter: has Ge Mei ever thought about how to train talents and retain talents?

Li Shaozhong: at the grass-roots level and the middle level, our enterprises have always been mainly training their own talents, and some paratroopers may be introduced to executives. In fact, the business atmosphere is very important, if the working atmosphere is not harmonious, even if the employees pay higher wages, they are not willing to. In addition, there is also a personal career development plan for employees, which provides space for the employees to learn in soft power and space for self growth. Nowadays, the social changes are very fast, and the professional requirements are also very high. Nowadays, the professional skills are not enough to represent the future. At present, many basic knowledge and professional knowledge have been dried up by the enterprises. If the enterprises do not provide opportunities and do not learn themselves, then they will do the best. I also participated in many field studies, and the company also promoted every one of our staff to learn.

Reporter: what kind of performance chart does he want to make?

Li Shaozhong: we have just issued the development plan of the enterprise in the next five years, but I think the most important thing is to do well in our own business. We are also talking about the future of our enterprises from their own point of view. We have been doing business for so many years, we still have some strength. We do not have cross industry investment. Our investment in the future brand development will also increase year by year. The division of labor of the whole board of directors is relatively clear.