Suning Appliance: The big change of electric business

In Su Ning's eye, the choice which oneself makes does not move toward the electric business model so simple. The company is looking at and adapting to the evolution of the retailing industry from a larger perspective, and its choice will have a significant impact on the direction of China's retailing industry.

In Chinese retail companies, the companies with the highest penetration rates for smartphones and ipads may be suning.

Suning Electric Appliance Chairman Jindong In an interview, sometimes unconsciously pick up the phone, point open a name "Suning BI" application cast a few glances. Whether it is the day's online sales, sales chain, or each large area, the department of the KPI ... For Jindong at least, the company is already a data-flow enterprise, and his judgment of the company and a lot of decisions come from these numbers.

Although Suning is a traditional genetic business, its backend is now more like a company running on data streams and the Internet. And this time, Su Ning at the front end is determined to complete a more thorough transformation. E-commerce model will no longer be test water, but will become the company's most important core model.

If we turn over the old scores, we will see Jindong these two years in fact has a very big change: the 2010 "NPC and CPPCC" on Jindong has openly to the media said not optimistic about E-commerce. How does a "person who is not optimistic about E-commerce" achieve a big reversal of 180° in two years?

"Zhang always said this, and our Tesco is actually doing it." He will not disclose our strategy so early. According to the explanation of Li Bin, the executive vice president of Suning, the chairman is using a camouflage. Suning easy to buy after 2009 years of Beta, in February 2010 has been officially online.

In the January of 2012, Su Ning completed two things, one is the clear and unified strategy and resources, the second is the organization structure and talent deployment. Weimin said that in the second quarter began to face the market, 20 billion of the target began to gradually achieve.

Line: is the mutual stroke or complementary?

"The line cannot be replaced offline. This is an enterprise development phase, with a new technology to do complementary system problems. "The reporter found in the interview, in this point, Su ning from top to bottom of the caliber is very consistent."

Outside the general trend Jindong very clear, although the overall market is expanding, but the development of the line will no doubt on the offline entity things have impact. For decades of retail business, channel substitution and diversion is very normal. If you don't go to the development line, the next line will fall faster. And the development of the line of reaction, will drive the line to promote. "The advantage of any innovation, if you do not, you can not guarantee the original status." ”

Suning from selling air-conditioning all the way, the traditional line under the gene has been the core advantage of survival, which also decided that entrepreneurs like Jindong can not make the so-called severed arm and cutting, but in his eyes, suning only one, this is a problem a war. Instead of abandoning the offline business, he is using a combination of strategies to complement two parts of the business.

In the Sunin 10 strategy, offline operations will continue to be extended to target 3,500 stores. Under the two-brand strategy, the other in the first line, second-tier cities, to create flagship stores and core stores to Suning appliances (will be removed "electrical appliances"), Expo, Tesco, and online suning easy to buy synergy development.

At the same time, Suning easy to purchase the direction of development is very clear, will complete 3 positioning. One is the platform of diversified operation, namely "go to electrical", product category to extend; the second is to make it as a platform for the transformation of suning marketing, to commodity as the core, customer-oriented, self-orientation, and the third is the platform of technology transformation.

The Rhythm of Change

The hardest part of a business is not knowing what to do, but knowing what to do at what time.

"8 15~8 18" a few rounds of strong price war for just determined to jump into the electric business pond Su Ning, the price war may come just right. In the next few years, Su Ning believes that price war will be a normal. "In fact, we are very clear inside, we are not very deep and not fine, but for Su Ning, we must now quickly build a large enterprise framework." Weimin a bit of a burn to say.

In the development of physical stores in the past, Suning has been using rent, build, buy, and the way to expand the volume, and now the acceleration of the electricity business, especially in the clear "to the electrical" of the whole category development strategy, through the acquisition of the way to penetrate more professional category, is clearly the most effective way at present. The most famous case in history is Amazon's takeover of Zappos.

However, good mergers and acquisitions are not accomplished by simple addition, and must be differentiated to form complementary.

Another problem with rapid exerting force is the shortage of talent reserve. March 2012, Suning easy to purchase moved into the headquarters and set up a 4000-person management platform for easy procurement, the domestic establishment of 8~12 data research and Development center. At that time, the group began a large number of diaoren from within the system to enrich the easy to buy team. But according to the reporter understands, this year only Suning buys the university student's plan to break through the historical record up to 2000 people, but has only recruit less than half.

Although the general direction of the transformation is recognized, but all of a sudden to fight a lot of battles, it seems that where is the main contradiction. If the parallel propulsion strategy is the biggest risk. E-commerce has never been an overnight thing, "you are putting our gold-plated, a little downward scraping." Even Jindong himself also said that the user experience is not easy to buy, but he also saw the speed of the first perfect second, it seems to be the only way suning at this stage.