Aging: We are challenging our limits every day

"We are challenging our limits every day. "Van Vancl" CEO aged said. The company was originally founded only want to do a "high performance ratio men" brand, less than two years, VANCL product line from the original standardized men's shirts, polo shirts, quickly expanded to women's wear, children's clothing, footwear, jewelry, almost every week to introduce new style products. This rapid growth of explosive force, let aging feel this speed "very exciting"!

One day in 2007, did the magazine editor, wrote a novel, operating a network of excellence, but no garment industry experience of aging, holding old friends Lei, joint venture source, IDG and other institutions invested 6 million yuan start-up funds, to find a domestic brand-name clothing enterprises to do a foundry, "I'm going to make a shirt like this," says one of his finest-brand shirts. ”

In November, the VANCL was officially launched. Prior years of operating experience in the network of excellence, let him realize that the price war between the platform is the inevitable fate, while operating brand clothing can get more generous gross margin. Like a calm hunter, when more than 30 domestic shirts were Shiji in 2007, aging has been in the noisy field for a long time: he has quietly and the Internet at the time of the men's brand PPG company executives had a number of exchanges, and even got its advertising media list and best-selling product line list. He also persuaded the former network of colleagues to join, this has a tacit understanding of the team in E-commerce experience, quickly built a mature web site architecture and shopping process, and by virtue of aging and Lei and other people's network resources and Word-of-mouth, VANCL before the establishment of the attraction to the venture capital, Six months after the establishment of the soft silver race rich, qiming venture capital of tens of millions of of dollars.

However, although the team has a relatively thorough understanding of the Internet, it does not understand the apparel industry. To this end, aged for several months to soak in the clothing factory in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, to understand the fabric of clothing, production processes and costs. "Those months of work laid out today. "Old saying. Nevertheless, in the footsteps of VANCL follow the leader ppg three months after the pace of operation, PPG in the quality does not pass, the capital chain break and other negative news, but the impact of the rapid decline, which has caused a lot of the internal impact of aging.

Aged: For patterns and patterns, it's a big bogey

After the investigation, aging found a surprising fact: ppg, although known as the Internet brand, its 95% of sales from the mail-order catalogue and telemarketing, rather than the Internet, PPG in television and print media on a large number of ads, marketing costs are very high; PPG attaches too much importance to marketing, But the production process and the quality control of logistics services are somewhat neglected.

"For mode and mode, this is a big bogey!" Old summed up the lesson. He quickly dismissed the direction of his previous moves to follow PPG and shifted the marketing focus entirely to the Internet.

Starting in January 2008, VANCL began trying to put some ads on the internet. One months later, VANCL's order volume first broke through 10 million yuan, the order from the network reached 50%. This exciting result proves that Internet marketing is the right way. From March 2008 onwards, in the major portal sites, video sites and even some small sites and peer-to-peer clients, began to appear vancl 68 yuan Polo shirt "first experience" ads.

However, large-scale internet advertising does not bring unbearable marketing costs. Vancl in the form of ad alliances, will be a large amount of scattered web site traffic to gather, through the mature effect measurement and monitoring technology, in accordance with each single sale, each effective click to and the site, the main alliance transparent split, marketing costs and sales results become more transparent, greatly reducing the cost. At present, the proportion of network promotion accounted for the total sales of Vancl 40%, and as the brand more and more mature, the user two times the purchase rate will gradually increase, aging that the ideal proportion will be reduced to less than 10%.

In addition to playing low prices on the Internet, VANCL also widely used Word-of-mouth marketing, viral marketing, blog marketing and other trendy marketing methods, to convey to consumers "business elite simple and appropriate lifestyle" brand image. Aged for this, he masterminded a campaign to give corporate executives a shirt to write about their feelings of wearing vancl shirts. He even persuaded his investors lei, sheep and other people to shoot the first phase of the product brochure. On the two anniversary of the founding of VANCL, the "Elite Endorsement program" was launched, inviting nearly 20 elites from the IT and media sectors as their free spokesmen. When microblogging t.sina.com.cn in China, Vancl quickly created a corporate microblog in Sina, planning a series of activities to attract fans.

Customer Experience is the soul

However, "snowball effect" has also let Vancl eat a lot of big losses. In the 2008, due to the surge in orders, the logistics system response speed is too slow, such as "VANCL Service quality Too bad" of the angry comments spread like flames on the Internet. Aging quickly launched the "Fire action", immediately reply to consumers, and the message cc company management, warning. At the same time, he also published a consumer-oriented apology letter on the homepage of the VANCL website.

This thing makes old realize: on the Internet, the user experience is king. Thus, VANCL launched the "30-day unconditional return" policy and "door-to-door, on-site test" service, at the same time in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou self-built distribution system, so as to ensure that Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, four major cities within two days of delivery, other cities by Third-party distribution partners to complete.

These actions to improve the user experience also bring operational cost pressures. According to the statistics for the second quarter of this year, the proportion of Vancl returned from 3% to 8% or even 10% per month, destroying tens of thousands of pieces of returned clothing; on-site testing means paying more to the logistics company and reducing shipping efficiency. From May 2009 to August, Vancl launched a "Free shipping policy", operating costs increased by 7%.

2009 sales share of China's self-selling business apparel online shopping market (point picture enlarged)

Continuous optimization of the customer experience although the "operating costs" of the rise, but age is considered this is to elevate the service capacity threshold and the user's brand trust the necessary process. When the brand has grown to a certain stage, the expansion of new users will become more and more slow, how to attract the old customers back to buy, customer experience becomes a key factor. Aging firmly believe that the VANCL in improving customer experience in the form of investment in return, will soon usher in a "quantitative" to "qualitative change" of the outbreak. One of the data supports that prompted him to do so is that the two-time purchase rate for VANCL is now above 30%, much higher than the two-time purchase rate of the 6-year operation of the network.

Uncertainties

2008, VANCL turnover reached 300 million yuan, at the end of the year will be changed to brand positioning "by the Internet achievements Apparel home fashion products brand." "Adhere to the international line of quality, the middle class reasonable price, promote a simple and decent way of life." In this glitz far to return to the real atmosphere, VANCL brand spirit, more tacit understanding in the general trend. "This slightly poetic brand description is the core concept of its brand transformation."

In the 2009, VANCL's product line expanded rapidly, and now there are many kinds of products such as men's, women's wear, children's clothes, jewelry and household. At the same time, VANCL also want to give more fashion, sexy elements in their own brand, rather than before that serious, dignified, lively and insufficient image. For example, Vancl hired Han famous fashion designer Kimme to join, presided over the design work. Recently VANCL even cooperated with the famous movie star Xu Jing, and introduced Xu's "open" accessory brand. The actress, who has the largest number of fans on the Internet, hopes to exploit Vancl's channels to open up business opportunities, and for VANCL, working with a well-known actress can also give the brand more fashion elements.

These are far beyond the courage and imagination of a two-year-old venture. Perhaps the growth rate is too fast, aging has no time to stop to think carefully about "how to operate a diversified product line on the Internet brand" question: This will blur VANCL original brand positioning? Sales of standardized men and sell personalized, stylish women's operation is the same way? When the user size is getting bigger, the original according to the effect of the Internet advertising mode is still applicable?

Once there was a clothing industry experts said: "Although the VANCL is very hot now, but did not completely get rid of advertising ' do not put, order down ' network of its own brand apparel marketing cycle. "This is not unreasonable. At present, the dominant factor to attract customers ' VANCL is still "low price"; From the initial emphasis on "standardization, cost-effective" to "fashion route" to "Home fashion products brand", this brand promotion of the focus of continuous adjustment, also shows that VANCL to the market and its own positioning has a lot of uncertainty.

"I can't locate it in a traditional fashion," he said. "In the face of these questions, age seems very cautious," perhaps it would be more appropriate for me to answer that question next year. Many of Vancl's current actions are just "try". After all, to create a pure Internet clothing brand, such exploration in the domestic is still avantgarde, and there is not much experience to follow.