Honey Bud Baby CEO Liu: 2014 is a turning-point year for me to find myself again

Absrtact: For Honey Bud Baby founder and CEO Liu, 2014 is a turning-point year for her to find herself again. Liu, who was a full-time mother, was founded in 2014 by Xiaoping, the founder of the foundation for the cause, and the founder of the New Oriental Union, and the People

For Liu, the founder and CEO of Honey Bud, 2014 was a turning-point year for her to find herself again.

Liu, who was a full-time mother, was born in 2014 with the support of the founder of the Serious fund, Xiaoping, founder of the New Oriental Union, and a major change in the role of life in the 2013. March 2014, Liu founder Honey Bud Baby officially online. Since the start, Honey Bud Baby has been around the rounds of nearly billion dollars of financing. The latest round of C-Rounds was completed on December 15, 2014 with a financing amount of USD 60 million.

Why does the capital have a love for honey Bud? What's the story behind this? What is the relationship between the mother and the baby and the cross-border electric business? To this end, the recent Chinese business newspaper reporter interview Honey Bud Baby founder and CEO Liu.

Optimizing the supply chain is more important

China Business daily: Recently Honey Bud Baby Got the H capital, the last investor Sequoia and the big fund with the investment of the C round of 60 million dollars of financing, this is less than half a year in honey Bud Baby Get the second round of financing, you think Honey Bud treasure successive gain capital favor of what?

Liu: Unlike other entrepreneurs, I get financing to start a business. My first funding came from Xiaoping, whose strong support gave me the incentive to start a business. However, once I decide to take the investor's money, I have to be accountable to the shareholders. Therefore, I spent 4 months to think about the future direction of entrepreneurship-to do imports of mother and child supplies limited time to sell.

Sequoia Capital will give me a second round of financing, its recognition honey Bud Baby's limited selling mode is a very important reason. In addition, Sequoia Capital also fancy the honey Bud Baby's performance, including gross profit margin, inventory turnover, sales, crowd distribution, category planning, supply chain management and other aspects. This, of course, is also the main reason why Honey Bud is gaining capital again.

China Business News: C round financing distance in the last round less than half a year, your demand for capital why so strong?

Liu: Once again the choice of financing, because I want to build a good overseas supply chain, so as to build our solid "moat", so that our future career development can attack.

As we all know, if it is lower than the price, we must be more than Taobao. So, I take so much money mainly to do three aspects: first, deepen and optimize overseas supply chain, integrate overseas resources well; second, at present our user experience has not reached my ideal state of mind, took this money I will be the user experience to do better, so that consumers satisfied with our services; third, so far, The mother and child areas, whether platform or entrepreneurial companies, play is too rough, need to use knowledge to arm, we will be exerting force in this respect.

In addition, on the financing problem, the entrepreneur should have a clear understanding, must be in the time you do not lack of money to finance, so there will be a lot of options, you do not need to fund to seek investors favor, and reduce their control over the company. And if you choose to finance when you are short of money, it will be very passive, and may not necessarily be able to melt funds.

China Business newspaper: What do you think Honey Bud Baby's mother and child electricity business and the future development of the cross-border electric business industry is the biggest challenge?

Liu: I think the biggest challenge is people. Honey Bud Baby is currently standing in the mother and infant electric dealer and Cross-border electric distributor of the Tuyere, but also these two areas of the intersection. However, from the mother and infant electrical quotient level, I can dig people only from the red children, jingdong such enterprises. In the Cross-border electricity business, there is no object for me to dig, and others want to dig people from me. At the same time, although our mobile side sales accounted for 75%, but the mobile end of the talent, the market is also very scarce.

I think that restricting the development of an industry is always a matter of talent. If the talent problem solved, the industry will certainly enter the high-speed development period, and the industry, industry upgrades will also be accompanied by talent upgrades. At present, whether it is the mother-child electricity business or cross-border electrical business, the most important thing is to bring people from all walks of life to come in.

Electric dealers should be brave to do "heavy" things

China Business newspaper: positioning in the import of mother and Child limited sales mall, Honey Bud Baby can be said to cross-border electric business. But for cross-border electricity dealers, the source of goods is a controversial point. So far, honey Bud Baby's merchandise source of goods? How do you guarantee the stability of the source and quality of honey Bud baby?

Liu: At present, our commodity procurement channels have three kinds: first, the brand has made a contribution in China, set up the Chinese region or China's general agent, for many years to similar to the new light world such as supply of traditional retailers, we will cooperate with such legal entities. Since they are the official agency or distributor of the brand, the quality of the goods is guaranteed. Second, because China's market share is not large or the cost of opening up the Chinese market is too high, some brands have not entered the Chinese market, for these brands, we directly and overseas brands to cooperate. These goods are sent directly by the brand, so do not worry about the authenticity of the goods. Third, we have an international sourcing team to buy goods directly from large overseas retailers such as Metro, and then enter through two modes of general trade or cross-border electricity.

Because of this, there are investors say, in fact, Honey Bud baby is using internet means to do import trade. I think that's a very good judgment. We not only spend money to prepare, but also in the upstream supply chain import trade, operating mode is more "heavy". Because of this, our commodity stability can be guaranteed.

China Business newspaper: Up to now, Honey Bud Baby A total of more than 400 brands, a total of more than 30,000 kinds of goods, these are you directly after the purchase of Honey Bud baby on sale? Do you not worry about the speed of the company's capital turnover?

Liu: To observe the development history of the electric business, it is no doubt more reliable than the third party to come into the electric business platform. At present, on Honey Bud Baby, only clothing this one category is to the third party merchant own delivery, the others are by US self.

As for the self will not affect the speed of capital turnover, the answer is inevitable. To do imports of mother and child Supplies limited to sell the mall is not destined to be a light asset business model. In fact, in my opinion, the start-up enterprises must be courageous to do "heavy" things, if you are afraid of this, afraid of that, nothing to bear, then your final value where? for example, in the early years, Jingdong's self-built logistics strategy was criticized by countless people, but now it has become an advantage that other electric dealers cannot surpass. Therefore, we are doing the overseas supply chain deepening, building warehouses in foreign countries, do import trade, the future will become difficult for others to surpass a threshold.

Focus on user needs

China Business newspaper: As the import of mother and Child limited sales mall, Honey Bud from the brand of China's regional General Agency procurement of goods, this will not weaken your price advantage? Will the future honey Bud baby not shrink the purchase quantity of this channel?

Liu: In fact, the destructive power of the Cross-border electricity business is not as big as everyone think, I do not think we from the brand side of the domestic general agent to take the goods there is no price advantage. Our price advantage is mainly embodied in the optimization of the supply chain. For example, Japan's diapers we can be shortened than the competitor four or five links-less domestic traders, wholesalers of the link, but also less foreign traders, wholesalers and other links.

China Business newspaper: Some people expect that by 2017, China's cross-border electricity market size can grow to 86 billion U.S. dollars, to reach the Chinese market share of 7%, what do you think of this?

Liu: I don't care much about the future of the industry. Just like now many people say, Liu How you will catch mode, the first half is limited to sell mode fire, the second half of the Cross-border electric business model fire, are you caught. In fact, I would like to say that I did not take the initiative to grasp, if the real catch is not so accurate. We are concerned about the market because we have always been based on user needs as a starting point to operate.

Therefore, I do not care whether the market size of the cross-boundary electricity dealers will increase to 7% of the market share of China's net purchase in 2017. I only care about how the consumer demand for powdered milk and diapers will change in the 2017, and how we should meet these changing consumer needs. I think that continuous attention to consumer demand change is the key to enterprise development.

China Business newspaper: as a new person in the field of vertical electric business, how do you see the fall of the vertical electric quotient, such as the customer, Macaulay, red children, or be acquired? Cross-border electricity quotient is regarded as the last blue sea in the field of electric business, what do you think vertical type of cross-boundary electricity trader should shape its competitive advantage at this stage?

Liu: For some of the failure of the vertical electrical quotient, I have come to the conclusion that everyone in the past in the development process stressed that more is the speed, this year, how much money investors, next year should reach how big scale, the growth rate to achieve how much ... These concerns are lacking in rationality. We will take a look at Poly-Mei excellent products and only the two vertical electrical business can be successful, I think they cut into the consumer population is more accurate, that is, only from the user's needs, and truly meet user needs is the survival of the enterprise.

Take only the goods will come to examples, just set up, only the goods will be cut into the three or four-line city more consumption of women, and to the special selling low price to meet them. And the United States to cut the best products are just graduated and work for a year or two young female population.

And the big difference is that honey Bud baby cut into the family consumer groups. I've always thought that having a baby is the trigger for a family consumption upgrade, such as when you give yourself a 25-dollar cup before you have a baby, but you want the best for your child, and you buy a 150-dollar cup. In this way, you will eventually change yourself into a 250-dollar cup. At present, our average customer price is about 1000 yuan, this is a high level in the industry.

Overall, the vertical electric business wants to develop around the user, rather than according to investors ' expectations to make a fuss. Because the investor's expectation will change, may today hope you do the mother and infant electricity quotient, next year will want you to do the Cross-border electricity quotient, also hoped that you do the platform electricity quotient, you change to change to finally possibly lost oneself. and the electric business mode of operation is also not eternal, just like a lot of people say that the vertical electric business model is not, but the United States excellent products and the only product will be successful; others say the electric business platform is dead, but the cat and Jing Dong are very successful. So, the pattern is also fleeting, the true eternal only one, is the user demand. Where are your users? Who are they? What do they care? Seize these enterprises to truly grow and develop.