Shudegang: To be a High-tech consumer electronics company

　A more than 40-year-old middle-aged man, often in the circle of friends to share gender topics, show some or peach or green toys, you must think he is a "rogue", but in fact this is his 11 years of career.

Shudegang, the founder of the Spring Hall of adult supplies shop, called "Uncle Chun", the pseudonym "Carry a kitchen knife." Founded in 2002, the Spring Hall, positioning sex goods retailer and brand, early to do the electricity to join later, after the failure of the center of gravity again into the electric business.

When the city more and more pink spice shop appeared, this long-term secretive industry ushered in the development of opportunities: the Spring Hall sales of sexual health care, sex toys, sexy costumes of these three categories of products, 2013 sales revenue close to 100 million yuan. The Spring Hall team wrote in the press release that this was "the first time in 11 years to face the media" and announced the completion of a round of financing of 20 million yuan.

Now is the best time for the Spring Hall to do publicity: only the goods will, Poly-Mei excellent products by the pursuit of capital, proved that the vertical electric dealer is not a fake scam. and adult supplies long-term profiteering state, who can be the first in the electricity business dividend brand, can be in the 30 billion size of the total plate Rob more market share.

In the half cover of the adult products industry in the 11, was labeled "China Gender Relations Preacher" label Shudegang, must be a read a lot of stories uncle. He will open a taste shop experience to write a best-selling book "Oblige", but also many well-known fashion media writers of the gender column.

The real Shudegang looks honest, talks a lot, and takes proper words to avoid misunderstanding. And whether it's a partnership or an interview, his role can easily be turned into a "bosom uncle": to encourage men and women who are shy about sex to look at sex correctly, to see the full potential of the body correctly, and to enjoy the pleasures of sex.

"You must think I'm a famous sex sport." "Often dubbed the" rogue "title Shudegang very accustomed to from the black, usually haha a smile after stressed that the sex itself this thing is colorless, but to see people wearing tinted glasses.

Shudegang looks a lot younger than 40 years old, and he laughs at the industry's hormones more than the average person. He is no different from the average entrepreneur, the ordinary T-shirt jeans and the dedication and enthusiasm from the heart.

In the exchange of technology with Sina, Shudegang chatted a lot, including how to define the erotic High-voltage line in the internal management, the Ma Jiajia phenomenon triggers which men's hormones, the sensitive industry should do the marketing, the appeal intelligent hardware depends on the unreliable and so on.

In Shudegang planning, the electrical business is not the ultimate goal, there are independent research and development products of the Spring Hall, after the electricity business has a clearer plan: to be a High-tech consumer electronics company.

Internal management boundaries

Z is recently joined the Spring Hall of the employees, as a new employee every time in the chat, he will feel particularly embarrassed: such as a new line of the Netherlands imported toys, the company's female staff experience feedback after playing this is very tired, z do not know how to answer the words.

Not all employees are as shy as Z, the young girl L in order to adhere to work in the spring Hall, almost with their parents.

As an adult products company, sex is a closed topic, the scale of internal chat is extremely open, only more than 80 people on the scale of the spring Hall is the average, technical operations warehousing are boys, customer service is basically girls.

The staff of the Spring Hall are divided into two groups: the first part is optimistic about the industry, they from the Internet, electricity and other industries turn around, hoping to struggle after 3-5 years Bo a better future, these people will usually like Z have an adaptation period.

The second part is the humanistic feelings of identity, such as such as the initiative to go to the staff, this part of the proportion accounted for about 50%. The analogy with Shudegang is that if you compare people to an apple, sex is the closest part of the kernel, and when some people know this part, it makes him better.

Many of these employees are visitors to the Spring Hall, who find Shudegang via Weibo or phone calls, and Shudegang usually ask two questions: What are your talents? How much do you want? And if the interviewer is a woman, he also has to ask a few boyfriends to infer his sexual experience.

Shudegang said that the more proud is that the Spring Hall attracted a lot of people who give up high salaries to join, he has never received interviews "sexual harassment" complaints.

Every company's employees must understand the product, the Spring Hall culture is all staff are experience, whether it is the agent products or independent research and development of the brand, employees experience accumulated feedback. For example, Shudegang will send a plane cup to the male staff, request feedback comfort, elasticity and other parameters, to the female staff to send vibration rods, demand feedback length, material and other opinions.

This is a sexy topic, even if serious discussion is very easy to deviation, how to avoid internal problems?

"The spring Hall is not promiscuous!" Shudegang laughed, and he asked all employees to confine themselves to professional discussions and not to involve private life. In addition, clearly stipulates that the internal staff fall in love, but prohibit one-night stand culture.

Aquarius's Shudegang, who claims to be a moral freak, respects all sexual relationships that are not selfish and voluntary, but is disgusted with the power-type relationship, such as leadership and subordinates, whose principle is to dismiss immediately.

The Spring Hall also organizes the activities of the online and gender salon regularly, about 15-20 persons per period. Also have a friend to ask Shudegang, will have "about cannon" tendency, police will not come to catch?

Shudegang sometimes feel that this is a funny question, "We all wear clothes, very transparent discussion of sex issues rather than erotic, when a bunch of people to sex as a pure topic of discussion, people who have other ideas are not fit." "Shudegang again," sex itself is colorless, with a colored attitude into, you will feel very shameful. ”

The negative demons of sex

Although now can easily do the two sexes intimate uncle, Shudegang also has a long-term demons.

Director of the Institute of Sex and Gender studies, Beijing Forestry University Fang Memories and Shudegang of the exchanges, there is a paragraph of the impression: Shudegang said he engaged in the sale of sex goods, the heart for years to see the sun. See the Sun has two meaning, the first is the industry is not in the sun, embarrassed to say to others, the second is the industry has no future, do not see the sun to make money.

Founded in 2002, the Spring Hall in 2003 feel good, the first business leader, the second that is the beginning of the electric business era, the spring Hall to capture the privacy of people willing to buy online mentality. After completing the initial primitive accumulation in 2003, Shudegang has begun to think that the industry of adult goods is really worth doing for a long time.

After all, the whole industry is still a scourge, often negatively reported by the media. Shudegang Although this industry does not feel vulgar, but also did not spring to be able to write in T-shirt "adult supplies practitioners" a few characters.

and the external environment is, the 2004 adult supplies from hundreds of rapid breakthrough million home, but everyone is subject to the Wholesaler product line, there is no difference between the operation, the only way is the price war, so that the industry at that time become a chicken. It also made Shudegang determined to find a more spring industry.

"I need an archway, just like the old false prostitutes or the virtuous chastity." "Shudegang said.

Two months later, Shudegang's network marketing consultancy company opened, mainly to do search engine optimization, and soon the company from five or six to 66 people, and the spring Hall only reserved two people compiled. So when people ask "what is your company doing", Shudegang can answer "do marketing consulting."

Shudegang most of the focus on network marketing, the Spring Church business continues to shrink. First three months of a good live, Shudegang to "carry a kitchen knife" as the pseudonym, become a marketing-type website of the special author. Unfortunately, 2004 is the rapid development of the search engine stage, only half a year from spring into cabbage, the price was killed to the floor.

In the winter of 2004, Shudegang, the spring company, dragged the financial situation into China, suffering in the brink of bankruptcy, when Shudegang was 30 years old. However, before the spring Hall, Shudegang has experienced 2 pioneering, training a strong psychological balance ability, he self-deprecating pat buttocks stand up to see where is the way out.

The answer is to return to the Spring Hall. At that time, he was very helpless, using a sentence to describe his situation: after the ancient prostitutes, in the face of setbacks can not continue to do the lover, the easiest choice is to do the flesh business.

Start to get rid of the adult products industry psychological shadow is in the second half of 2005, Shudegang found that the concept of "erotic goods", especially the British called Annsummers of the Fun products business, 2005 by online shopping plus 50 physical stores, the annual sales incredibly more than 1 billion yuan, Become one of the famous British enterprises.

For Shudegang, the psychological ceiling was punctured, the original industry can do this height, he began to regard this as a long-term cause. 2006 Spring Hall completely out of the desire of the Times, and has a clear customer concept of "fun hundred change true love Forever", the importance of this is cognitive: The Spring Hall is not a Do "sex" business, but a Do "love" business.

After many years Shudegang recalled this experience, the feeling to strangle him is actually not spring, but sex, in the negative heart demon, let him give up the spring Hall.

But then Shudegang chose a less smooth way: Open the physical store to expand to the offline.

Originally thought that through joining can rapidly expand the popularity of the spring Hall, but operation for a period of time, Shudegang found small workshop-type entrepreneurs difficult to manage, and constantly have different channels to find a lower price supply, resulting in uneven goods, damage to the Spring Hall brand. In the face of huge losses, Shudegang back to join the store began to do straight camp, and in 2012 again to focus on the regression line, to catch up with the new wave of the development of the electric business.

Ma Jiajia Phenomenon and marketing

Total and "sexy" linked to the sex products, how can be labeled "serious" label, is Shudegang often pondering the problem. Not only has the industry been in grey for a long time, it has not had the opportunity to "wash the white"--the mass media were not allowed to publish sex-related advertising.

But if we want to positively influence the public's mentality in this industry, we must use the mass media. Shudegang adopted a charitable donation strategy, such as donating sex products to people with disabilities. Although the process is not smooth, but eventually made and attracted a lot of media attention, the first time, "attention to the sexual health of people with disabilities," the social problem revealed.

Next Shand just started to do value output through content, 2006 fashion magazine "Bride" to find his partnership wedding items, and then "Men's Dress" "Fashion Cosmo", "Fashion health" and many other fashion magazines and the spring Hall for Content cooperation, topics related to sex toys, SM games, gender relations and so on. Shudegang became a contributor to several fashion magazine gender relations columns.

With the pseudonym "Carry a kitchen knife" to do the network marketing company of that time, Shudegang also in the Tianya and MOP series "Spice shop Those Things", won thousands of people in pursuit of Reading, 2010 he officially published "oblige" book. The second book, "The Sex of the Bible-toy tycoon", which works in partnership with men's health, will soon be published.

Like the founder of Chen Au, "I speak for myself," Shudegang became one of the most exposed sex educators. Of course, "experts" is not Shudegang pursuit of the goal, although 11 years ago to do the electricity business, but in the electronic business Internet industry is too low visibility, he needs to continue to find ways.

Now there is no doubt that "pigs can fly to Heaven's Tuyere", many home appliances business site listing by the capital sought after, the spice is no longer a vulgar topic, but become a kind of life attitude, although very annoying "internet thinking" the word but Shudegang had to let it become their own armed.

Used to do adult supplies electric dealer, want to burn ads have no road. Now the Spring Hall embarked on the rapid strategic market share of electric dealers to improve brand awareness of the only way: Promotional price war. Just like Jingdong 618 store Celebration Day, cat Double 11 Singles Day, Shudegang to borrow a sexual position in sex, on June 9 that day to create a "69 knots."

In the past year at least, the Internet industry is not unfamiliar with, or even interested in, adult products. This one of the biggest credit is the University of China University of Communication graduates Ma Jiajia, she graduated on the day near the school opened a creative sex shop powerful, later in Central Europe to share the thinking PPT caused huge repercussions red network.

When Ma Jiajia in the media University to open a shop, Shudegang noticed the girl, hope to pull her into the spring Hall, "But the little girl heart is bigger." Shudegang said, but from Ma Jiajia's popularity, he also see Ma Jiajia not do this line of business, but with "elite" "Girl" "Chest big" "Dare say" "Sex goods" label to do personal brand.

Ma Jiajia attracted a lot of Uncle Investor's pursuit, Xiaoping is one of them, he not only invested Ma Jiajia, but also gave "the body has the most lack of Chinese entrepreneurs the power of the direct strike Heart" evaluation, as if she was pinned on their desire to achieve, has been the youth of betrayal.

Speaking of which, Shudegang and LOL, he directly defined the phenomenon as "a bunch of whenever Uncle Ma Jiajia", he explained with physiological logic: Whenever uncle has the capital and power, but about 40 age is impotent fear, Ma Jiajia caused by the cultural field of impotence fear, "most of the erotic consumption is in 40 and 50 years old. ”

Can Xiaoping is also the indirect investment of the spring Hall, Shudegang so evaluation, investors know? Shudegang said easily, "I have communicated with investors." "He thinks Ma Jiajia is very clever, she does not deceive the public and cock silk uncle, but very cleverly hang everybody's appetite."

Xiaoping and Shudegang in a hiking activity, later Xiaoping and Shudegang said, "Why don't you accept the Ma Jiajia team." "Shudegang hurriedly shook his head," Ma Jiajia in addition to personal brand, can have let the user remember to live product? Whether it's security, service, or category, it's not good for the brand. ”

At present the spring Hall own brand proportion has reached 30%, for the adult toy This profession technology, Shudegang has the deep feeling. Although he thinks "elephant" these condoms brand in internet marketing to do well, but the product is OEM, do not master real technology, only like Okamoto such companies have competition barriers.

Shudegang For example, Malaysia is a rubber producing area, the production of condoms, "the weight of the foot", "thin" is not his pursuit. And the ultimate condom experience is to be close to none, only Okamoto to the point, this technology Malaysia can not do. So it doesn't make much sense to buy a local brand, "If I have money and Okamoto, I'll take it without hesitation." Shudegang sighed.

Sexy Smart Hardware

The spring Hall, which has completed a round of $20 million financing, is planning a B-round financing. In the use of financing, in addition to the promotion to seize more market share, another important budget is sexy smart hardware.

Let's not say that Google Glass is being used to shoot adult movie stunts, and more interesting smart hardware has been introduced. The famous Durex, for example, has set up a project team to study smart underwear that can be remotely controlled by apps, and at CES this year there are similar products being exhibited by the British Fun toy company.

Durex This smart sexy underwear named Fundawear, is divided into male version (underwear only) and female version (including underwear and underwear), this smart sexy underwear in the built-in vibration massage device, when the user in the mobile phone app application interface slide over the corresponding origin, will produce vibration effect.

This kind of fun smart hardware by the outside world as a "love artifact", many domestic companies are doing similar development, at least 4, 5 teams to talk to Shudegang, design ideas are basically the same: with the Aircraft Cup, vibrator and mobile phone app connected, but Shudegang think not reliable.

"Too small and anti-human." "Shudegang said," Using the mobile phone app you want to see the other body, but only to show their feelings, the use of the scene is very strange. ”

In fact, most of the fun smart hardware is more to create an environment, such as the vibease intelligent jumping eggs, through Bluetooth and smartphone connected to achieve the vibrator and audio synchronization, users can set the mood from the audio fantasy list.

The music massage stick that comes from the manufacturer OhMiBod, just link the iphone or audio device and play music, will automatically adjust the frequency and amplitude of vibration according to the rhythm of music.

At present, the Spring Hall is also in the interest of intelligent hardware to explore, Shudegang shows a pink vaginal contraction ball, a product that usually restores the woman who gave birth, but the past workout was boring, and the spring Hall designed a game app that matched the pressure through the vagina to give the toy feedback, In the app for game clearance.

These look more like sensors on the original toys, Shudegang has the ideal model in mind: for example, the vibration rods used by girls, some products are used to adjust the vibration amplitude (OhMiBod with music has been a big improvement), but the human body is usually in a continuous state of feeling, can be based on the state of automatic real-time adjustment of vibration amplitude, Interacting with the human body is the most reasonable intelligent design.

But even the sex toy, also still did not reach an ideal state. Shudegang said that although the sex toys field every year 10,000 new products out, but 11 years down he can remember not more than 50, most of the new is a meaningless SKU.

If the reason is traced back, although many European and American brands in China Foundry, but the Chinese factory designers uneven level, after all, excellent people will do 3C or other design, the designer of sex toys either in accordance with the needs of Europe and the United States to produce, or repair changes to create new products, they are difficult to contact consumers get feedback.

Shudegang that this is the opportunity of the spring Hall, both inside the company or the spring Hall of customers, are collecting experience feedback important channel, this 11 he accumulated a lot of data, very clear a toy good and bad.

"As long as the investment in research and development, in this field has the opportunity to make millet." Shudegang said, "Private brand development in this field, as long as you go to the second floor, you will find no opponents." "In his future planning, the spring hall must be a focus on ergonomics, aesthetics of High-tech consumer electronics companies."