Metersbonwe Chairman Zhou Chengjian: Doing Tailoring and Internet Tailoring

Introduction: On August 28th, 2011, it was a special day for Zhou Meijian, chairman of Shanghai Metersbonwe Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Meibang Fashion (002269), 002269.SZ), Director of Metersbonwe. Zhou Chengjian said he wanted to be a world tailor and Internet tailor.

On this day three years ago, he led Smithsonian Sportswear to register at the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, with more than 1.3 billion yuan. And more than 10 years ago, the company was still a small garment factory in Wenzhou. Zhou Chengjian led the company in the light asset model, rapidly emerging in the field of domestic leisure apparel.

After listing, Meibang Garments not only changed its single operating model, but also launched ME&CITY, online brand AMPM, and footwear brands. It also continuously enriched the product line of Meters/bonwe to meet the needs of consumers of different ages.

In May of this year, the BrandZ most valuable global brand list was released. Metersbonwe ranks among the top 10 global apparel brands with a value of 1.446 billion US dollars, and is the only Chinese local brand selected for this ranking.

However, the company has not been smooth for three years. ME&;CITY has been operating as an independent business unit since its inception, and has invested heavily in signing big-name celebrity endorsements. As sales costs, rentals, and renovation costs rise, in 2010, Smithland’s first-quarter net profit fell by 90% year-on-year. Declined by 83%; In addition, inventory increased, in the first quarter of 2011, more than 3 billion inventories.

Standing at such a time, Zhou Chengjian warned himself and his team, "We must insist on doing this tailoring." His goal has changed from "Chinese tailoring" to "world tailoring," and using the spirit of the Internet to transform the entire company. One of his dreams is that his own e-commerce website, State Purchase Network, is equivalent to the best country in the world that e-commerce giant Amazon has done in the world.

However, he knows well that persistence is not an easy task. At the same time, we must continue to summarize the past and continue to innovate in management models, processes, and personnel training.

Reflection on "gain and loss"

Can not blindly innovate, the present and the future is always a coordinated and balanced development of the "21st Century": Can you share some of the thinking and experience of the listing over the past three years?

Zhou Chengjian: In these three years, there are gains and losses. In general, the gains are greater than losses, and things that can be used for a long time are obtained.

In the past, Chinese companies only sought scale and speed, and did not really think deeply about internal management, including us. This has been the case for many years. The society is changing, the times are changing, and consumers' habits are changing. These three years have made me understand more clearly how to meet and adapt to these changes and do my job well.

With the opening of the retail industry to the international market, the Chinese market has gradually become competitive. When there is competition, it is not a speed issue, nor is it a scale issue. It is more a question of internal management and management and control capabilities. In the past three years, I have thought more about product development, management processes, talent team construction, organization, and business model.

In addition, over the past three years, I have gradually changed from a pure opportunist to a person with a strong sense of risk. In the past, I had only opportunities in my mind and no risks. In the face of today's fierce competition, we must have sufficient awareness of risk and do 360-degree risk thinking to do anything.

"21st Century": What made you from a fearless state become a strong sense of risk?

Zhou Chengjian: This is also the change brought about after the listing. Every time when the financial report is announced to the outside world, has it not reached the ideal state of the market? Has it reached our ideal state? We all go to analyze and think.

Many things are better than doing less. Why do more? It is because there is no sense of awe, because your heart does not want to know clearly where the value of doing this is?

"21st Century": Do you think about ME&CITY?

Zhou Chengjian: Being a ME&; CITY is too valuable for the entire company. It targets urban white-collar workers in the 22-35 age group, and forms strong complementarities and support with the "Meters/bonwe" group of 18-25 year-old students.

But there are also regrets. At that time, it planned to invest 2 billion yuan in sales in 2009. Marketing and other investments were very large. The result was not achieved. The cost was already there, and the financial impact was very great. If we don't start a large-scale shop at the time, we don't expect to go large overnight. For example, sales in 2008 will be 1-2 billion, 2009 will be 3-4 billion, and 2010 will be 506 million. This will be very healthy. This is because there is not enough risk awareness, no fear, no fear. Next, we will not do so.

"21st Century": Think about risk 360 degrees. Does it include financial performance?

Zhou Chengjian: Of course.

"21st Century": If you consider the financial report performance, will it restrict you to a certain degree of bold innovation?

Zhou Chengjian: I don't think so. In the past few years, our innovation work has not stopped. ME&CITY has continued to do so, shoe brands have come out again, and e-commerce has also been doing. It is always innovating. Of course we cannot blindly innovate. What we emphasize is that the present and the future are always a coordinated and balanced development.

“21st Century”: You pioneered the “Light Company” route in the apparel industry in the mainland, and you can quickly develop. Why did you throw a heavy gold to open a direct-run store after listing?

Zhou Chengjian: "Light Company" is like a brand like Nike or Adidas. They don't do channels, they only do wholesale, but one of the brand's necessary skills is the brand appeal, which can be changed at any time. Many brands in China are now brand-name models, but their brands are not appealing and are easily kidnapped by dealers.

Ten years ago, Mebon was a 100% brand dealer model, and later the provincial dealers bargained with me. I did not feel right. In 2004, the direct operation model was started. In the first-line cities that are difficult to do, all the provincial capitals and municipalities directly under the Central Government are directly operated. After the listing in 2009, the direct operation system was expanded. Good to do the second and third line market, so that franchisees do, and franchisees are loose.

Now, if we convert direct marketing into wholesale, we can at least make more than 600 million yuan of profits a year, because many costs are saved. But 10 years ago I insisted that what I want is not today's financial profits, but how the brand continues. Branding is not sustainable in the wholesale model. If Li Ning had established a direct system at the beginning, today’s status is by no means akin to Nike or Adidas, let alone those brands in Fujian who do “Internet tailors”.

It is a combination of traditional stores and e-commerce. It should be the carrier of the Internet in philosophy, culture, management processes, supply chain, and the entire mechanism. "21st Century": Li Ning and other traditional enterprises have long been doing electricity providers. Your e-commerce platform state purchasing network was only launched at the end of 2010. Is this the best time?

Zhou Chengjian: Because this time I just felt it, but it is not necessarily true. This feeling is not necessarily correct, it may be wrong.

"21st Century": What kind of platform will the state purchasing network become?

Zhou Chengjian: I hope one day, at least in terms of market share and in this area, to achieve the leading level of the best, this is a basic goal. The state purchasing network should be China's Amazon.

"21st Century": refers to the mode of operation as successful as Amazon, or do you want to be an Amazon-like platform-based e-commerce company?

Zhou Chengjian: It is its mode of operation. Amazon is very successful in the world. We hope that the future state purchasing network will be equivalent to Amazon's best country in the world. This is my pursuit.

"21st Century": How do you grasp the success?

Zhou Chengjian: Thinking from my own strategic level, it should be said that ** is not different from ten. In terms of tactics, we are still at the starting point. There are not many good mechanisms to support us to achieve this. It will take time.

"21st Century": What are the other thinkings at the strategic level?

Zhou Chengjian: In the next 5-10 years, the entire enterprise should turn from a traditional tailor to an Internet tailor. The so-called Internet tailoring is not just the sale on the Internet. It is a combination of traditional stores and e-commerce. However, in the concept, culture, management process, supply chain and the entire mechanism, it should be the carrier of the Internet. This is what I want to do. I always think and promote this matter.

I personally feel that in the future people will truly enter the Internet life. Internet life includes media, business, social and other aspects of life.

"21st Century": Supply Chain Management is Amazon's most commendable aspect. What do you think the ideal supply chain looks like?

Zhou Chengjian: From the factory to the consumer, it is 5-10 days. This is the most ideal state. Of course, this refers to some products, after all, they still need to cover the number of games, the number of pre-season, and finally the mid-quarter to make up the speed of singles, fabrics and other things to be prepared.

Different speeds have different costs. As long as you analyze from the market, what speed can match the market demand is reasonable. You can do it from the workshop to the consumer within 10 days. If you are willing to spend it, you can do it. We must build the mechanism around this direction.

The origin of the original Smithsonian supply chain is in the design center and planning center. The real and efficient supply chain should be based on the store and the consumer as the origin. The two logics are completely different. Our past supply chain management was based on wholesaler-based supply chain management, not retailer-based supply chain management, and now our supply chain management is based on the combination of the Internet and retailers.

To comprehend "taking a team and taking a team"

In the end, people will return to an instinct. The manager and the administer will first trust each other. This is very important. 21st Century: You once said that you feel more and more about the importance of “building a team and taking a team”. How do you understand now?

Zhou Chengjian: First, for a post, whether people are suitable or not is not a question of ability. This is what we learned lately. We may blindly think that one person is very capable, but he does not know how to put him in the right position. In the end, he has not played his due role.

Second, the manager is to support and assist the manager, which is an important relationship between the manager and the manager. We didn't understand these things at first. It may be more of an accusation, or even a cry, at the beginning. This is useless. The ability of a man is not strong, because he has the ability to take the team's head, and his incompetence is his own incompetence. This is what I've been slowly summing up over the years.

Thirdly, for managers, if the success is someone else's responsibility, the responsibility is theirs. Then everyone will be happy to work with you. If the success is their own, the failure is all else, then what will everyone follow you to work? strength? Start with this idea from me, slowly throughout the company, so that the entire gas field will be smooth.

In the past, it may have been more to use the brain to consider the problem. Now more is to carefully consider the problem. As long as the intentions, the heart than the heart, the other party will feel, so that the team is built, and things will be done smoothly. Not so complicated.

"21st Century": What are the leadership methods and factors that you value more?

Zhou Chengjian: Career and focus. The management strategies and methods for how to achieve the goals and results are clear, and whether there is institutionalized and humanized understanding of management understanding. However, there are no specific leadership methods and elements.

The deeper your understanding of management, the more you live and normalize, and the best way to do it. You have to forcefully sum up a set of theory and a set of values ​​that are not necessarily suitable. People will eventually return to an instinct. It is important that managers and adminis- trators trust each other first.

"21st Century": In the company's decision-making, whether you finally have to make a decision?

Zhou Chengjian: We are ** centralized system. Many decisions are now made. The first step is to discuss and study the various departments, and then submit their own opinions. What is ** centralized system? In the end, the leader is definitely going to make a decision. If you don't get a board, it's impossible to draw lots. Lottery isn't a matter of luck. That's a hassle.

A leader can understand a lot of things, but he must be able to distinguish who is right and who is wrong. He must be able to decide which of the three or five points to use, or to pull it out of it to become a point of view. Instruct everyone how to do it. This is the ability that leaders must have, otherwise things cannot be done well.