Foreword:
By chance, I met President Wu in Linxiang for the first time, and knew me uninformed. I still "wrapped my head" in the presence of President Wu, and thought over and over again on the return journey. I felt that there was something wrong, the one I just met " "Uncle", who is sacred in the end, facing my "mouth hangs like a river", I laughed frankly, so that I could be free and easy.
Go home and turn on the computer, enter the word "Wu Nanchang", and a series of titles will pop up: "100 people affecting the development of the ceramic industry in China", "Southwest King", "President of the Porcelain Huangpu Military Academy", "Visiting Professor of Southwest University of Science and Technology" "Guest Professor of Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute", "Founder of Foshan Xinmei Ceramic Group", "President and General Manager of Foshan Xinmei Ceramic Group". It's really "stepping through iron shoes and finding nowhere, no effort is required"! In the ancient times, a monk from the Tang Dynasty went to Xitian to learn scriptures, and now I am close at hand. I also want to go to President Wu ’s “Porcelain Sea” and get a spoonful of “Porcelain Classics”. Under the invitation, President Wu readily agreed to my interview request.
Witty humor, witty talk, and his insights into the ceramics industry for 30 years allowed the original one-hour interview time to be unconsciously extended to three hours.
Analysis of the status quo of the industry
Reporter: Mr. Wu, as far as we know, you have been engaged in the ceramics industry for more than 30 years. It can be said that you are a leading figure in the Chinese ceramics industry. Would you like to analyze the development status of this industry today?
Wu Nanchang: It ’s impossible to talk about the leading figures. China ’s building ceramics is developing very fast. The current development of the industry is reflected in the following six aspects:
First, the awareness of market service of ceramics enterprises is becoming stronger and stronger, especially some big brand companies, which generally produce their own products based on popular elements today. Unlike what products were produced by previous companies, dealers sell what they sell. Information from suppliers to guide companies' R & D and production.
Second, the layout of ceramic enterprises has begun to diversify. In the past, ceramic companies like to gather together, "three or five clusters" or even hundreds of enterprises. Now there are ceramics producing areas all over the country. It is no longer the high concentration in the past. The phrase "three mountains and one sea and two rivers" has begun to fade.
The third is that the original ceramic products are small at the middle and large at the middle, that is, the original high-end product market is relatively small, and the very low-end product market is relatively small, but the mid-range market is relatively large. All varieties are the same, antique tiles, polished tiles, porcelain tiles are no exception. But now the overall product level is moving faster, the low-end product functions are more complete, and the update speed is faster.
Fourth, with the improvement of people's material and cultural level, the impact of the consumption concept, the demand for beautification of human settlements is getting higher and higher, and the life cycle of products is getting shorter and shorter. Products such as marble, full polished glazed, microcrystalline stone, etc., are updated very fast, and even change them in a few months, which is dazzling.
Fifth, the ceramic industry has begun to focus on the construction of market terminal links and attach importance to dealers and customer service. "Everyone scans the snow before the door, and they don't care about others putting on the frost." In the past, the dealers' store construction channels were expanded, and manufacturers were not directly involved. Today, enterprises actively participate in helping dealers and do a good job in terminal construction.
Sixth, some brands use their own brand identity and have a tendency to gradually break away from production. Some major brands have occupied a certain position in the market after more than ten or twenty years of hard work. Consumers have recognized this brand. I started to stop the production process slowly, and began to look for manufacturers to do OEM. This is also the inevitable result of the development of industrial production.
Reporter: This year, the real estate market is regulated by the state. Under the influence of purchase restrictions and property taxes, how do you judge the trend of real estate? Will the ceramic industry be affected as a result?
Wu Nanchang: As the downstream industry of the real estate industry, the ceramics industry has always changed with the development of the real estate market. The introduction of the new real estate policy has indeed had a greater impact on the building materials and ceramics industries.
According to the current trend of real estate, according to my estimation, the real estate industry will have a low period of at least 3 to 5 years. At present, it is only the initial stage of national macro-control. The central government ’s regulation of real estate has only achieved initial results and has not achieved the expected goals. . Regulation cannot be accomplished overnight, and a long adjustment period is definitely needed.
The state has introduced affordable housing and vigorously supported the construction of housing projects. The "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" plans to launch 36 million sets of social housing. Once the effect of the policy appears and housing prices fall, the rigid demand of ordinary people will be fully released. The money spent on buying a house is less, and the people ’s funds for decoration are relatively abundant, which will help our entire building materials and ceramics industry. But I think that the biggest beneficiary in the ceramics industry is still a company that makes mid- and low-end products, because it has the same positioning as affordable housing, and it will have little impact on high-end products. The rich will not buy affordable housing. They are not eligible to buy social housing, for fear of "losing their identity."
Looking at the industry phenomenon "Successful companies cannot simply replicate"
Reporter: There was a case in the industry where a good product made a company or brand, which shows that product development plays an important role in marketing, so many companies now attach great importance to the development of new products. What do you think of this phenomenon?
Wu Nanchang: There are indeed many such cases, such as the previous golden flower beige, Pilates, rain flower stone, composite sheet, full polishing glaze, etc., which has created a large number of enterprises. As far as I know, these companies have secretly worked hard for a long time. Before, it was not possible to "recruit fresh food all over the world." Being a business or brand has to be pragmatic. Do n’t rush into success and eager to achieve success, you want to become a hundred overnight. Millionaires must step by step and work hard.
I think an enterprise must pay attention to innovation, take the initiative to go to the market, collect all kinds of information, establish a technological management innovation mechanism that is conducive to product quality improvement, support and promote product quality innovation with technological progress, and continuously develop products that are popular with consumers. In this way, we can really open up and occupy the market.
Reporter: Many companies attach great importance to the cultivation and construction of brand culture. How do you think that brand culture should be integrated with all aspects of enterprise operation in order to continuously promote the development and progress of the enterprise?
Wu Nanchang: The brand culture of an enterprise is actually nothing. It is rooted in corporate culture and management culture, and brand culture is attached to corporate culture. Many companies believe that the brand culture is to publish a newspaper, put in a few advertisements, open a few phenomenon stores, conduct several group purchase promotions, and decorate the exhibition hall luxuriously. These performances are also required, but the fundamentals are invisible activities such as management, quality, and service. Some business owners entrust a brokerage company or a planning company to carry out brand operations. The brokerage company planning company itself does not understand the manufacturer's enterprise and internal management culture. How do you tell him to operate and manage it? worse and worse.
Making a brand is a very difficult thing. To make a good brand, you must continue to improve the brand operation system after years of accumulation, from the internal management mechanism of the enterprise to the channel business management and supervision, to the customer after-sales service. Ignore. Promote enterprises with brands and promote brand development with enterprises. Only with a deep foundation can we build ten thousand tall buildings to stand invincible. Anxious pulling seedlings is very undesirable. Although I know this, I haven't done it well, and I still have to summarize it in the future.
Reporter: In your opinion, what kind of road should ceramic enterprises in Hunan area take in the future in order to develop stronger, bigger and go further?
Wu Nanchang: As a ceramic enterprise in the Hunan production area, competition is fierce in the market. Guangdong is in the south, Gao'an in Jiangxi in the east, Jiajiang in the west, and Zibo and Dangyang in the north.
But our Hunan ceramic products, except for some high-end points made of polished tiles, are mostly in the mid-range. Under this circumstance, if ceramic enterprises in Hunan want to develop, they should enlarge and strengthen the mid-range market, and do a good job in product quality. The scale of the enterprise cannot be too large. After all, the market has a saturation. It is appropriate that a large-scale production line can only become a decoration, and the factory price cannot be raised.
I would also like to remind you that if you want to go long-term, you must pay attention to environmental protection, use resources reasonably, and avoid the old road of "polluting and then treating". You must take the initiative to adapt to the local government's administrative thinking in the external environment. You cannot change it. It can only slowly adapt to it.
Interpretation of the "Xinmei Model"
Reporter: With the expansion of the rural market and the impact of national policies, many ceramics and sanitary brands are eager to move to the "building materials to the countryside". Xinmei Ceramics Group has a large market share in the second and third markets. In your opinion, what are our main advantages? How will Xinmei Ceramics Group meet the challenges of other brands?
Wu Nanchang: The rural market is indeed a big cake. Many pottery companies are scrambling to "go up the mountain and go to the countryside." Xinmei Ceramics Group's nine production bases produced the largest total of the year, accounting for 1.15 of the country's total ceramic output. %, There are new American distributors in Beijing, Wuhan, Shanghai, Xi'an, Shenyang and other places, but our main sales market is still at the county level and below the township market.
After we have accumulated some experience in urban and rural development, and the continuous development of urban and rural economic levels, the development of high-end products will be a trend. In addition to continuing to do good mid-range products. We will also strengthen brand operations and enhance brand added value. Then there was the former traditional regional wholesale enterprise. Xinmei already has its own ceramic research institute. At present, it also cooperates with Southwest University of Science and Technology, Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute and other universities to run schools, strengthen cooperation in various fields such as research, production and research and development of various new products.
Reporter: In the first half of this year, how was Xinmei's overall sales? Compared with the same period of last year, has sales decreased or increased?
Wu Nanchang: Xinmei Ceramics Group has solid foundations, strong financial strength, and sales channel outlets all over the country. Its products are mainly targeted at low- and medium-end markets with low impact. Our sales in the first half of the year were good. Compared with the same period last year, it increased at least. 10% of sales.
Reporter: As far as we know, Xinmei Group is the first company to allocate asset shares to senior management. It has always been ahead of other companies in terms of personnel training and corporate management. Please let President Wu specifically talk about Xinmei here. How does aspect do it?
Wu Nanchang: To be honest, the distribution of asset shares to senior management personnel, except for listed companies, is indeed the first of its kind in the industry. As early as 2000, the Xinmei Group started implementation.
This requires a broad mind of an entrepreneur, but also has to rely on a sound modern management system. At that time, Xinmei's purpose was mainly to attract and retain talents, and to attract some talents to Xinmei. No company was able to grow and develop without talents, and Xinmei was no exception.
But later, some of Xinmei held huge sums of money, went out to start a business and copied the management model of Xinmei's existing enterprises, and cultivated many millionaires and multimillionaires, which promoted the development of the ceramic industry to a certain extent. Therefore, I also have the title of "President of the Whampoa Military Academy" in the industry. After many successful people go out, we have always kept in touch with each other.
In addition, many Guangdong ceramics companies invest abroad, dare not to trust locals easily, and dare not reuse locals. Even the factory building, which has just started, asks construction companies for construction from Guangdong. Xinmei, on the contrary, fully believes in the locals, dares to use locals, and values the cultivation of locals. This is an important factor in our ability to achieve today.
Xinmei's Future Trends
Reporter: Which new products did Xinmei Group launch this year? What big moves will there be in Linxiang, Hunan?
Wu Nanchang: In the second half of this year, the focus of Xinmei Ceramics Group is mainly on the construction of the second phase of Foshan Xinmei Ceramics (Linxiang). Now the construction of the plant and infrastructure of the three antique brick production lines has been completed. A kiln press is finally installed and can be ignited at the end of the year at the latest. Among them, Xinmei's longest kiln is 388 meters, which is the largest among all ceramic enterprises in Hunan. The output of one line can reach the sum of the previous two lines.
In terms of new products, Xinmei is currently investing heavily in researching new varieties such as Yuhuashi and Pilates, and is currently in the process of further development. Xinmei's products are struggling to be "unknown, but have become a blockbuster."
Reporter: How will Xinmei Group strengthen its brand operation? Can Mr. Wu disclose it?
Wu Nanchang: In the next step, Xinmei will strengthen the brand operation and intend to take the line of professional brand management. The talents in the industry are a bit like chaos in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods. They are very messy and complicated. Although there are many real people, most of them are unwilling to leave Foshan, which is difficult to find. But because there are still many, we are trying to find. In the field of marketing, we will introduce some planning and advertising companies to cooperate with them, or allow them to invest in stocks, conduct character operation on the enterprise, and continue to focus on the construction of corporate culture and production.
Xinmei will increase the creation of terminal channels, focusing on dealers. When looking for a good dealer, you must also examine his character to see if he has the ability and professionalism, because future cooperation is not a matter of a day or two. After all conditions are met, Xinmei can provide strong support and training for it.
Reporter: Every enterprise has key strategies and tasks in each period. What is Xinmei's next development strategy? In what areas will investment increase in the next five years? What are your plans? Mr. Wu please tell us about the blueprint for the future development of Xinmei Group.
Wu Nanchang: At the beginning of this year, Xinmei Group formulated a "three, six, nine" plan. In Linxiang, Hunan, it took three years to build six production lines. By the end of 2013, the annual output value reached 900 million. We will make stable and strong mid-range products and develop in the direction of trying high-end products.
We have a high-quality, high-efficiency, truth-seeking, pragmatic team, and a large number of loyal dealer friends. We believe that in the future, we will definitely face difficulties and follow the trend to make the company better and achieve catch-up, Leap-forward development.
Of course, the plan cannot keep up with the change, and our strategic plan will change with the actual situation.
Reporter: As the helm of Xinmei Group, under your leadership, Xinmei Group has achieved today's achievements. What do you think of Xinmei Group ’s most successful experience?
Wu Nanchang: First, he is good at finding ways. As Chairman Mao said, he has succeeded in carrying out the "revolution" in weak places. At that time, there were a lot of ceramic enterprises in Foshan. I also inspected them. At that time, I had little funds and could not afford a ceramic factory. I turned to the west and took root in Sichuan. I bought a state-owned ceramic enterprise. In fact, there is no shortage of talents.