51.com suffers from profit dilemma: turnover of key staff

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Starting in November, the 51.com, which has been hit by huge profit pressures, has been trying to turn away from the original line of business, turning around in a brighter direction. But, along with it, the 51.com will also have to endure the loss of labor and the risk of a transition failure.

Turn the direction.

After learning that he was transferred to the web Game group, Xiao Y decided to submit his resignation to 51.com.

At the same time, several of his colleagues have chosen to leave the 51.com.

"Research and development of large-scale online games is my specialty and interest, now the company let me turn to do web games, then I might as well go to other big companies to do, big companies can provide a better chance." "Little Y" said.

In fact, little y is just a small microcosm of the 51.com business transformation. Since November, other directors of the Shengdong East and 51.com have decided to perform a major operation on 51.com, cutting off open platforms and large games and gaming platforms, and shifting the company's focus to more lucrative web games.

"It's like driving, a year after 51.com No. 4500 stepped on the accelerator to open the platform and the game, but in the end, they found that these two businesses are not making money." So managers decided to turn around before the crash and run to the brighter Golden Road. 51.com insiders said.

According to 51.com confirmation, starting from November, 51.com abandoned the original open platform mode, removed more than 80% of the platform Plug-ins. 51.com Marketing Director Long Zhenwei earlier in the interview with Sohu it said that 51.com will be larger, more excellent team cooperation, joint operation of the game.

According to another source, 51.com also recently suspended the development of the internal large game and leisure gaming platform, in addition to retaining the necessary maintenance personnel, so that other research and development personnel to engage in web game development. And before that, from 08 until now, the large game and leisure gaming platform has been the focus of 51.com business, 51.com also from other large game companies "digging horns" a lot of talent.

In response to the above news, 51.com related public relations director said that 51.com is indeed in some adjustments, the adjustment process there are indeed some individual employees because they do not adapt to leave.

Investor stress

Various statements suggest that 51.com has suffered from investor pressure.

The source said that 51.com did not achieve the expected income growth of investors, as soon as possible to achieve profitability, but in how to expand revenue, the trend of the quagmire in the direction of the faltering.

Earlier, Shengdong east to Foreign said, the profit is 51.com faces a big problem. In May this year, Shengdong said in an interview with Sohu it that 51.com expected to make a profit by the end of the year. By November, 51.com executives still said 51.com was on the verge of profit and loss.

As early as 2008, 51.com did not achieve revenue and profitability targets. Earlier this year, in an internal mail, the 51.com management team acknowledged that 2008 's performance was unsatisfactory, with the main responsibility being on the management team, in addition to the macroeconomic environment and the impact of competitive patterns.

In addition, the 51.com was originally booked in the 2010 listing scheme has basically failed, which is to make investors dissatisfied. In July 2008, the giant network bought a 51.com 25% stake in 51 million dollars. At that time, giant network CEO Shi Yuzhu has publicly said that 51.com will be listed in 2010.

Today, the relevant investment industry insiders said, 51.com next year is almost impossible to market, to achieve profitability is the urgent matter.

And now there are some signs that the Giants network seems not very satisfied with 51.com. Recently, there is news that November 20 afternoon news, has invested in SNS community 51.COM giant Network, launched Community products Fun Community (qule.com), giant network pass users can directly use the pass and password landing.

Last year, there has been news that, in the giant investment 51.com, Shi Yuzhu and Shengdong East signed the agreement: if Shengdong East led 51.com can be listed in three years, then the Giants will be as 51.com strategic investors exist; Giant will be the largest shareholder in the capacity of the 51.com, and Shengdong East will lose control of the company, and may even be kicked out.

Although the betting agreement has not been confirmed, analysts say the 51.com shift is an important part of the investor's account.

The law of the jungle

China has never had "plagiarism" of successful internet companies, but only if the plagiarism must be innovative and the fittest in the jungle to prevail.

51.com is a "successful plagiarism" of the internet company, it has been a copycat to imitate Tencent has been a variety of questions. But have a considerable user is only a successful start, how to change the user, traffic is the management team of a major challenge.

"Also as a SNS website, 51.com because the brand reputation is not strong, so it is difficult to attract a lot of advertisers, which also caused the value of 51.com advertising is difficult to achieve very well." In addition, the 51.com, while playing games, has not worked well and has not contributed to a significant increase in its revenue. People familiar with the matter said.

According to observation, compared with QQ game clients, 51.com gaming platform users are pitiful, in the morning session, each game at the same time online number of only hundreds of people to thousands of people, and can not contribute to the 51.com scale income. While 51.com has been trying to improve the brand reputation, but the effect is not good.

"How to manipulate 51.com is also a huge challenge for the shengdong of the helm," he said. "People familiar with the Shengdong East said.

Although Shengdong East has the ability to make a grassroots company bigger, but how to bring a start-up company to the market, this is an unknown. According to 51.com insiders, recently, Shengdong East has ceased to pay attention to the company's meticulous development, and more focus on thinking and control direction, another founder Zhang Jianfu actually fulfill the duties of CEO. This may be the beginning of a change in the east.

In addition, 51.com is still suffering from the competitive pressure from other big companies. "Shanghai is the most intense competition for research and development talent, 51.com game talent is also a number of well-known companies to dig the corner of the object, in the welfare and income at a disadvantage, the talent is very easy to lose." People familiar with the matter said.

In the jungle of business, the creator must be able to respond quickly to changes in the marketplace. 51.com is changing, but it remains to be seen how the effect of this change will end.