Guoqing radical Reform: "Kill" the past

Zhang

Guoqing hurried into the interview room, change the gap, he walked along the way with the Chinese Fashion Designers Association Secretary-General Zhangqinghui Chat, the topic involves fashion, France, design ... It all sounds as if he is the CEO of Dangdang. He was even very much in line with the fashion photographer's posture requirements, a set of films filmed, for 6 or 7 sets of clothes, he was not impatient.

Privately, he would say that's his job, after all, when it's no longer the book-selling site. The latest two-quarter earnings show that the size of the apparel category has exceeded 50% of the overall platform, while the sales of apparel-oriented wireless services, at the peak of the time, orders over the total of 35%. "But not many people really know that, and they think it's selling books." "So, guoqing is conscious to do the company's" icon "every moment, not only public appearances, even if the usual in the office, seemingly sloppy shorts, he will be with a pair of stylish little boots.

When Yumen, a social media marketing and brand director, said, internally, the relatively conservative senators were also beginning to accept the fact that they were doing fashion.

He appeared as president of the Fashion Week, the first time in the electric business industry, so there is not much energy to take into account another battlefield--double 11. This coincides with the release of brand new brands, in the latest advertising films, guoqing pressure axis exit, very feelings to say, "Brave, is to do what makes them afraid." "October 20, Dangdang announced renamed" when ", deleted the non-keyword" NET ", while launching a pair of red" round bells "as brand new logo. In addition, when 15 years of slogan "online shopping" to enjoy the "when" also changed today to a new era of the characteristics of the cry-"Dare to do". "It's time for more people to know what we're doing," he said. "By saying this, his company seems to be being marginalized by the inherent logic of the society to the electricity business." The presence of reporters are still asking when the proportion of users is not more male, do clothing will not be difficult, for this, guoqing only over and over to explain.

Bet

What really touched him was the surge in clothing business last year. When the share price fell to around $4 trillion, and in the nearly 6 months of the IPO in 2011, its share price was firmly maintained at 24 dollars. The most extreme situation happened again, guoqing to appease the executive, with a 5 dollar price to make an equity incentive, "the result is that a lot of people to five to five sell, it is terrible, no one believes that the company can return to 24." ”

So, when he's "gambling" the future in the department store, it is easy to know the board, as well as the attitude of friends around, of course, also can understand last year department store business for the first time over the book business, his heart is how much joy. What's more, in this year, his most valued clothing business is the same way to stand out.

But when the immediate challenges are almost endless, or the more than 10-year experience of the appliance business giant is useless. The head of the new business, such as clothing, began to complain to guoqing that they continued to put the vast majority of their money into the new category of promotional advertising, but increasingly difficult to bring the ideal of new users. "If when the story to discount, do not worry about the flow, replaced by clothing, but no one came." "Yumen was specially picked up by Guoqing last year to investigate the matter, they invited some consulting companies, but also did a lot of internal communication, the result is somewhat expected, when the brand has been aging," we are in the marginal effect of the inflection point, we must go to the brand, or business difficult to come. " We have to admit that when the brand has always been a problem. ”

In fact, Guoqing did not have much determination, made the decision later: Give Yumen a year to comb the brand, the November 9 of this year when the 15 anniversary of the celebration, as well as "double 11" as the node, he will be in the most sensitive time, when the new brand launched.

He is also starting to push for more radical reforms internally, as he realizes that the "flow dividend" of the apparel business is over, and that he must find a more rational business model to match the new brand utility that is coming. He could have seen the road, "bet." Right, in the 2012 clothing business in the initial stage, when the annual sales of less than 600 million yuan, and to 2013 years, a quarter can do a year of the amount.

He flattened the entire company's management structure, the state of his initial venture. Originally only 6 people reported directly to him, but now become 12, many business units have only three-tier architecture. Guoqing has few foreign affairs activities, he is keen to travel in various conference rooms, and strive to participate in each department's regular meetings.

Especially in the new business or guoqing considered strategic projects, Yumen level is only the director, but he reported directly to Lee. And in another new business--the wireless shopping division, guoqing, deputy general manager of the department, Zhouhonggang, said, "The boss will change his character from moment to moment, a meeting, he always jokingly said, ' I just said as president, now I am the general manager of Wireless." ”

For the "challenge" of the traditional business, guoqing is always firmly on the new business side. Yumen to meet with various business units regularly to communicate new brand issues. "They (refer to the traditional business unit) even just want to put the" net "word out of Dangdang, if the tone and design, they all think it will arouse the resentment of old users. ”

The new slogan also with the original "shopping to enjoy when" almost, "this is actually nonsense, is completely hawking style, not too many brand value-added." "But a lot of people think they welcome change, but the right path should be to maintain the old user first and then develop new users," Yumen said. ”

At this time guoqing will stand out resolutely very Yumen, many times in his attendance at the meeting, will Yumen of the scheme greatly appreciate. In private, he is said to be doing the ideological work of "the Old school".

Zhouhonggang's feelings should be deeper, not to mention in May this year, before the preparation of the wireless shopping division, he has made the department store business thriving, in the company has a high prestige.

In the guoqing concept, the wireless business should be a new when, so, he put clothing, mother and child these new business all stuffed into, and very targeted to dilute the book business. When you open the app, you'll see the display fashion element. "This, of course, is challenged by the traditional business sector, where apps are positioned as a channel where all the business units sell." "Zhouhonggang said," The boss of the way is a beat table, directly open scold, ' after all no PC, what can be argued! ’”

Throughout the transition period last year, Guoqing's internal image was "arbitrary", and every business he valued was immediately and strictly enforced.

Zhou has just been asked to build an editorial team quickly, and in Lee's view, the platform will be sufficiently differentiated only with media attributes. So, he called the fashion editor director Wang in the middle of the night to interview, he also personally confessed to the Department of Personnel to the editorial team's recruitment in the highest priority, "so many years, I have never seen HR so efficient." ”

"Kill" the past.

For young people in the market, guoqing some "crazy" to gamble. In a year of poor performance, he changed a lot of his way of behaving. Did not accept any technical media or financial media interviews, but he is willing to attend various fashion occasions, with his years of "old when", and his tone is more and more different. and the new business unit introduced a lot of young people, they have similar characteristics, understand the fashion, networking, mobile phones do not leave the body ...

Deng, vice president of the apparel business, has a good taste for clothes, and her department has surged in the past two years, much of it from offline department stores. This group of young people have rich experience in buying hands, and Guoqing is willing to pay for their growth. "Over the past two years, we've smashed 200 million of dollars in the apparel category, half of which we made ourselves, and the other half for our book business." "Deng said. You know, in order to go public, guoqing to bite the teeth to hit 30 million dollars.

In order to line cashmere business, guoqing followed them to Inner Mongolia for a long visit. This makes even when talking about this obscure topic, he also appears very professional, "finally with our cooperation of several manufacturers have previously been to the luxury brand to do foundry, but the domestic market is mixed." Finally, he decided to invest 200 million yuan to establish the cashmere online open platform, and 100 million yuan to establish a sheep base.

"Sometimes it looks like hype, but that's what bosses want to do," he said. "When an employee told the economic observer that he didn't want to be named.

The same example is happening in the independent designer industry. In the international Fashion Week, when the contract with 13 designers, their 2015 Spring and Summer series of new products will be the exclusive pre-sale. Guoqing's sales are expected to be within 1 years, 100 of the works of designers to achieve 600 million yuan sales scale, "China does not like the United States to buy the hand system, which for independent designers there is no living space, and we are to do this together, although the risk is not small." ”

These independent designer's works basically all belong to the wireless service department management, Guoqing even lets Zhouhonggang set up an independent system and the investment promotion system for this purpose. Wang's team in the beautiful said nearly thousands of brands, screening out the most adjustable of a number of home, which also includes Taobao quality brand.

"The boss said very clearly, the wireless end of the pattern is still far from set, we are to have enough differentiation." "Guoqing is willing to put more money into this business model that has no template to draw on," Zhouhonggang said. Wang is not responsible for the business, the most important task of dozens of content editors is to do a good job of recommending products such as accent and Chicnow.

It is also because these new businesses are taking up most of the app's location, and Zhouhonggang is also constantly facing the challenges of traditional business units. But Guoqing does not care about these, his clothing business on the wireless side of the development prospects are very optimistic, "every day asked me when I can do the total order of 50%." Guoqing in private, even with him half jokingly said: "Old Zhou Ah, or we all quit to make a special mobile shopping platform?" ”

This at the same time let Zhouhonggang pressure doubled, every day, he has to deal with dozens of of the merchant contract, this speed is too slow, at least from Guoqing's expectations still have a great distance.

In a way, he is the "victim" of the old brand, Yumen communicate with him a lot, Wang is strongly to cooperate with Yumen's work, this includes her team in the new user operators a lot of experience.

But Guoqing is not willing to create a new brand of the whole process was too much resistance, until the final version of the late, he agreed to Yumen to communicate with the boss of the division. Sure enough, at the end of the vote, many executives voted against it.

Guoqing is the strong backing of Yumen, so he dares to break some conventional logic. For example, in the second phase of the new brand's spread, he wants to find 15 people who have an impact on the young to do something similar to the "when-body" spread. Han, Guo, Hua Shao These are listed, and in such "old relationship" such as Yu Qiuyu, Yumen decisively "pass", "I really can't catch him with our ' I'm afraid but I dare ' what relationship." ”

Later, the whole brand promotion program by guoqing appreciation, they find a lot of urban white-collar empathy scene, such as "I am afraid of pain, but I dare to try tattoos." "We want to resonate with young people, which is the best way to build a brand." "Yumen on Weibo (18.5,0.46,2.55%) launched the" I fear but I dare "discussion, the first day rushed to the top 20 of the topic list.

They also selected a few mascots, Yumen take these to guoqing to see, Lee suddenly elected to Monkey King as the prototype of monkeys. "He was still longing to do something against the usual, like this hero," he said. "Yumen said.

By changing the mark, Guoqing again in the interior reiterated his view of the new, "he means that we should be a young site, he does not care how others to determine whether this is ' salted fish, ' or ' hero return ', which is what he thinks right. "The above anonymous when insiders told the Economic Observer.

"Guoqing has all the qualities of a beikewen, he is either alone or defeated, but he is definitely not an ordinary person." "A friend whom he has a good relationship with is so appraised.

Guoqing to this also quite complacent, "you see, our department stores, mother and child, clothing added up earlier than books, this is the Chaoyang period of the field, how safe!" "Of course, he's more ambitious," he said. "Give me some time and I'll do the best I can." ”

At least at this stage, when most employees choose to continue trusting the "crazy" person. Of course, this is still full of uncertainties, after all, when and guoqing have missed too much.