The decline of the fast schoolbag brings us some enlightenment

January 23, Fast Schoolbag CEO Xu Zhiming on Weibo on the public "Hawking" fast schoolbag. The start-up company, which was founded in 2010 to be an "online 711", has become a focus in the industry with its unique "one-hour delivery" service. Sina Technology later interviewed Xu Zhiming, the latter spoke some of his "mistakes", but Xu Zhiming later said that several reports did not accurately express his meaning, so he published an article yesterday (February 3) to explain his sale of fast schoolbags. Now the two articles combined excerpts are as follows:

According to Sina Science and Technology report

1, quick schoolbag "Get up early"

June 9, 2010, the fast bag set up, the slogan is to create "online 711", but the first year the main sale of books. Operating ideas are free shipping, self-built logistics and warehousing. In the 2011, the fast-schoolbag tried to do marketing on the burgeoning microblog, a cannon red, saving a large amount of company-initiated marketing costs.

"I never doubted my own pattern. Xu Zhiming said that the service is valuable to customers, but also a point of transmission, but the implementation of the way there are times limitations.

In the last two years, the distribution of electrical business, short-term distribution needs are more and more exuberant, Jingdong Mall, Suning easy to buy, Amazon and so on are pushing fast delivery service. But the 1 small delivery model was too difficult to implement in 2010.

A very clear background is: 2010 China's smartphone has not been popular, the whole idea and operation of the bag is based on the PC, can not be combined with geographical location and mobile phones to solve the problem of efficient allocation of human resources.

Xu Zhiming recalled that he had tried to notify the distribution by SMS, but the implementation of the effect is poor and chose to give up. At first, he divided Beijing into more than 30 areas, each of which was responsible for a piece of the area where the goods were kept at the distribution staff's home. However, due to the high demand for personnel stability, this model is changed into centralized warehousing, which increases the storage cost.

2. Is it appropriate to lead the book?

In the early start of the book to choose Books Distribution, Xu Zhiming have their own reasons.

Before the establishment of the fast schoolbag, Xu Zhiming has been in the book industry more than 10, and launched the Dragon Media online bookstore. He believes that books are characterized by extremely standardized and priced goods. Consumers can see in advance what book books are and are able to visually view discounts.

In addition, book Sales is on sale, the knot period is relatively long, this is not sufficient for the initial capital of the fast schoolbag is very important. And the earliest use of electronic commerce in China with a group of people are buying books crowd.

In the "Jobs biography" listed in the three days, fast schoolbag sales more than 20,000 copies. This is a gratifying achievement. But as Xu Zhiming says, there is actually not a lot of bestsellers to keep the sales high. More importantly, people who buy books are less sensitive to delivery times. One-hour service is not a strong demand for this segment of the population.

3, overwhelmed by the self-built distribution

Dangdang CEO Guoqing has publicly said that China's book market scale of only 30 billion yuan, and operating too difficult, the industry is characterized by 800,000 varieties, low prices, low gross margin. But in this low margin of the book industry, Xu Zhiming has made a decision that he now regrets, the self-built distribution team.

For the self-built distribution team, Xu Zhiming has obvious regrets. It is understood that the human cost of fast schoolbags to account for the entire operating costs of 70%-80%. This is a bit overweight for startups, especially startups that don't have enough money.

Xu Zhiming Quite frankly admitted such a point. He said that over the past few years the main compensation in the manpower, in this piece of the annual fast schoolbags to be affixed to 3 million, five years a total loss of 15 million.

Xu Zhiming in 2012, Sina Science and Technology interview, said that the faster the cost of delivery, the lower the test distribution of 12-14 per day distribution is no problem. But the speed of the rapid development of schoolbags has not let the distribution staff to achieve saturation, but to the logistics and distribution staff of the fixed wage is not less.

Xu Zhiming said that the fast schoolbags do not have enough money to change the distribution model, the annual cost of human resources in the huge amount of money to let fast schoolbags in the strategy of some "do not open hands and feet."

Xu Zhiming said he was very appreciative of the e-generation mode of cooperation, that is, the driver is a part-time, e generation driving orders by the driver, according to each single will charge the driver information fee.

4. Charging mode and capital chain

2010, the domestic electricity business competition brutal, Jingdong, Dangdang and so on do not charge freight, fast schoolbag can only keep up. In addition, in the early development of fast schoolbags, customer unit Price is not high, if the charge will be lost a large number of price-sensitive customers. But in the follow-up development process, although the fast Schoolbag's customer unit price has been improved, but still did not choose to collect the expense.

There is no freight revenue and gross profit and the number of passengers is not to be a reason for the lack of funds for fast schoolbags. The start-up fund for the Fast Schoolbag is 3 million RMB.

Start to do book distribution, for Xu Zhiming, on the one hand is familiar with the choice, on the other hand, some forced ingredients, because the capital restrictions lead to fast schoolbags can not choose other more suitable commodity category to sell.

In addition to the speed of delivery, fast schoolbags have tried 1 hours to send medicine. The reason for the failure Xu Zhiming himself talked about a lot, in addition to distribution mode, the 1-hour concept was also some ahead of time, he also thought he was in the mobile internet age ideas change not fast enough.

In the fast-bag business in a few years, the capital operation has not been very smooth. Xu Zhiming revealed that the April 2011 bag had signed a 3 million-dollar investment letter with an investment agency, but in July the investment agency broke the contract. As the fast-schoolbags have turned down other investors, they have not been able to get other investments very quickly in the ensuing time.

The lack of funds so that the fast bag can not be in the mobile Internet tide when the rise, in time to enter the mobile field.

5. The model of similar emerging companies

For fast schoolbags, many of the patterns it has tried have become a hot area today. The recent rise of many companies have more or less can see the shadow of fast schoolbags, such as love fresh bees, Community 001, the community worry-free, the United States Instacart.

Just got 210 million dollars financing Instacart main fast delivery mode, and the model of the fast schoolbag is somewhat similar. The difference is that the company at the beginning of the charge of freight, and the distribution of people to take the way the package of cooperation.

Without their own products, Instacart does not need to build warehouses, and its main purchase is the Xu Zhiming that the gross profit of the daily groceries. Instacart's main income comes from freight rather than goods.

The difference between the love of fresh bees is to draw a large number of communities in the convenience store as a distribution point, the general requirements of groceries to the convenience store to earn their own distribution fee, love the fresh bees themselves operating relatively characteristic food.

Now, these similar companies have become the pet of venture capital, but the Han Shu package is desperate and forced to sell money because of no follow-up funds. This makes Xu Zhiming quite feeling. He said that the climate, geography, people and, for entrepreneurs, "particularly important."

Looking back on his entrepreneurial experience for nearly 5 years, Xu Zhiming a little bit of advice for startups--must have a particularly sharp, clear positioning that can poke users into pain points. And for his future, he said he wanted to see the decision of the buyer in the future.

Xu Zhiming article: Exactly is why I want to sell fast schoolbag

Fast schoolbag 2010 on line, to 2013, a total of 16 million yuan of investment, coupled with the advance of my own investment of 1 million yuan, to 17 million yuan of investment, operating seven cities an hour to arrive business, is indeed facing great financial pressure. By May 2014, because of the tight funding, I had to abolish the technical team, hoping to keep an hour of delivery in order to maintain an hour of arrival. But while business is growing, after all, it is still less than break-even, and the rest of the money is only enough to support the distribution business to the end of August 2014. By the beginning of September, I had to have a big increase in the number of business hours in each city, the Beijing business has been close to a single city profit, reluctantly abolished the distribution team, suspended an hour arrival business, scaled down to wait for the time.

According to rational considerations, maybe then should seek to sell the fast schoolbag, but I am still a little reluctant, after all, is their own middle-aged entrepreneurial brand built up, this brand has been and an hour to arrive has established a natural, solid relations, has gained considerable visibility, reputation, and to say a word of audacity, The Fast schoolbag is the leader of the wave of arrival in recent years. Really reluctant to, so look forward to the new opportunity, can again in their hands to the fast schoolbag bigger, do well.

A few months past, although there are opportunities, but I also pain, if there is no new capital injection to fast schoolbags existing financial capacity, it is difficult to achieve the good goals once conceived. Therefore, only painful determination, formally seek to sell fast schoolbag.

Fast Schoolbag is a good brand, is a valuable brand, as an hour of the arrival of the Representative brand, in the new wave of one-hour arrival of the upsurge of great potential and imagination; as an independent electrical commodity card, also has a mature business processes and operations team, if the vision, the strength of the enterprise to operate, should be able to glow its due luster. This is my determination to entrust the fast Bag brand to the real reason.

As for the current situation of the Fast schoolbag company, it can be affirmed that, in addition to do not do one hour arrival, all the business is in normal development ... But because of the capital investment ability limit, will the fast schoolbag such a valuable brand limits in afore-mentioned business, obviously is not the ideal result. I still hope that, in the right circumstances, to the brand to find a better path and space for development.

As for the old Xu, whether in the scope of the sale, different companies want to buy the law, and some may wish me in the package of sales, some may not want me, some may want me as a consultant transition. I will fully cooperate in three forms.