Chen Tenghua, founder of the Dangdang Vice President, founded the Home textile company 100

2010, when the independent platform for the rising of the company, Chen Tenghua retired Dangdang vice president, founder of the Home textiles, 100 elegant. Over the past four years, Chen Tenghua has experienced the excitement of the start-up period, venture capital after the initial acquisition of the ambitious, the financial market after the plight of the mutation, the company transition period of tolerance, the same group of vertical business from the brilliant to dim, elegant 100 is that they can survive a few representatives.

Tencent Science and technology reporter Wang Coxin to elegant 100 founder Chen Tenghua interviewed, in-depth discussion of the future fate of vertical and transformation of the way, and the written "Elegant 100 Chen Tenghua: Entrepreneurial needs of the day after the transformation of the opportunistic breakthrough," sent on the basis of the original on the reorganization.

Positioning Enlightenment of Elegance 100

In the 2009, Chen Tenghua and start-up partners began to brew a business, discussing the key topic is how to position.

One is to do vertical electric business platform or do own brand? At that time the former representative is red Child, the latter representative is a guest;

Second, in a category to do all-inclusive, or for a certain category of target users to do cross category business? The red child is to be in the pregnant child category to do all-inclusive, the Muji good product pattern is aims at the specific target user group to cross the category, from the home to the stationery, from the clothing to the daily necessities, but each category product is not wide, helps the consumer select.

In the formation of a clear brand image, if each category is to do a little, it is easy to cause each category is not fine, it is difficult to use fewer varieties to truly meet the needs of customers, resulting in blurred website image, users do not know what you are doing.

Therefore, be careful to choose the "admission strategy", starting from a point. Elegant 100 choice of breakthrough is home textile. "When home textile category in the formation of the target audience for the attraction, brand image, trust, and then expand to other categories." "Chen Tenghua such planning.

The transition process of Elegance 100

September 2010, elegant 100 rented a 60 square meter office in the East Four ring, at the same time rented the underground garage in 200 square meters of modified warehouse, with more than 2 million yuan own funds began to operate. Website at the end of 2010, the first round of financing smoothly launched, the investors from IDG and DCM.

To achieve a platform for a user group across categories, the first round of funds is only the start-up funds, is far from enough. As planned, in the first half of 2011, Chen Tenghua began talking about a second round of financing. But what has not been expected is that the capital market's attitude towards E-commerce has plummeted. At this point, the company's funds have obviously failed to support the original platform strategy. Chen Tenghua realized that there had to be a big shift.

At the beginning of 2012, Elegance 100 began to make strategic adjustments. The core is, from the multi-brand platform, into a private brand in multi-platform sales. Will be the main focus on the major electric platform sales channels, reduce the official website input. This shift, in contrast to previous positioning, has shifted from platform to supplier.

With the company's strategic changes, the staff structure has been adjusted accordingly. Long platform sales, independent technology, servers, procurement personnel have been reduced, the operation of the structure also changes.

"From the breadth of its own brand to the expertise on a third-party platform, this is a huge transformation." This transformation causes our original commodity structure, the category strategy all does not apply, the adjustment is very long, painful. "Chen Tenghua said. "This will be particularly difficult to adjust, as there is a conflict between short-term and long-term strategies." In the long run, its own platform has the greatest value to the brand, so we will stick to the long-term strategy. ”

Coping with channel fluctuations

Into the 2013, elegant 100 main keynote is in the major electric platform sales. But the biggest problem is that the rules on the platform have no right to speak and need to deal with the fluctuations of each platform.

In 2012, for example, sales from a group buying site accounted for nearly 50% of monthly sales. But as the site's parent company's internal adjustment, positioning changes, the way the operation changes, starting from 2013 Q2, the site's sales to drop by 30% per month quickly disappeared.

Another big channel of volatility comes from a certain big platform. January 2013, the platform will buy business from the open platform stripped, independent operation.

Group buying under the open platform, the whole operation is mutual cooperation, the merchants will choose cost-effective products to do group buying, as an open platform for operations. But after the split, group buying business needs to create additional value, so began to bid, sales guarantee, which increased the cost of the merchant, and at this time the platform group purchase business is still far from the level of the quality of the traffic, some high-quality old businesses do not want to lose money to do this, brave new businesses and failed to provide cost-effective quality products, Led to the flow of group buying has been lower, the overall home textile open platform sales also fluctuate enormously. ”

There is also a channel change from the only product will. Now, after less than half a year of cooperation, only goods will already be elegant 100 of the highest sales volume of channels, more than other platform for the business. "Because the only product will provide a completely different from Taobao also different from the traditional consumers shopping experience." More similar to consumers familiar with the traditional way of shopping, at the same time through the flash purchase to create scarcity, improve user retention. "Chen Tenghua said. But what worries him is that, as a sales channel, it is easy for suppliers to rely on too much.

At present, relying on the third party platform sales of the road is relatively easy to make money, but for Chen Tenghua, this is only a transitional strategy. "Even if you make money, there is a limit to the growth of corporate value." "In Chen Tenghua heart, still keep the dream of the platform." But unlike the original, Elegance 100 will choose the distinctive platform orientation.

However, "traditional ' vertical platform ' obviously has been very difficult to do, if only intelligent shelves stacked goods, and jingdong, when there is no essential difference." The innovation in the field of electronic commerce is constantly happening, from the Community electricity quotient, the fee member, to the personalized customization, the new pattern emerges endlessly. ”