Ministry Of Commerce: Opportunities For The Development Of Time Honored Brands In The Surging National Tide

Recently, the Ministry of Commerce held a national working conference on promoting the innovation and development of time-honored brands in the form of video, and deployed and implemented the opinions of the Ministry of Commerce and other eight departments on promoting the innovation and development of time-honored brands. The 2022 "time honored brand Carnival" organized by the Ministry of commerce is also being carried out as planned. In the "national tide" surging, time-honored brands are ushering in rare opportunities for development. How do time honored enterprises see the innovation and development of time honored brands? What are the good experiences and practices in innovation and development? This paper specially invited senior executives of four "China time honored brands" enterprises, including Wang Zhihe, Xuelian, Maolong and Xinghai.

Expert round table

Wu Dongdong, general manager of Beijing ershang Wangzhihe Food Co., Ltd

Mengze, Secretary of the Party committee and chairman of the board of directors of Beijing Xuelian Group Co., Ltd

Wang Ying, deputy general manager of Beijing Maolong Cultural Industry Development Co., Ltd

Zhao Runxiang general manager assistant of Beijing Xinghai Piano Group Co., Ltd

(regardless of rank)

　　 1. What are the excellent genes of time honored brands? Why should we attach importance to the innovation and development of time honored brands?

Wang Ying: the time-honored brand has experienced arduous entrepreneurial process and cruel market competition, withstood the double test of time and market, and finally stood out and became the benchmark and representative of excellent national skills and traditional business culture. It can be said that time honored brand is not only a brand, but also an excellent gene of Chinese traditional culture. It is the crystallization of Chinese people's labor and wisdom since ancient times. Time honored brand has become one of the important supports for Chinese people to strengthen their cultural confidence.

In the tide of economic globalization and increasingly fierce market competition, time-honored brands are facing great survival crisis and development dilemma. Only by taking innovation as the edge and breaking the situation with development can we realize the continuation of the life of time-honored enterprises, and then realize the inheritance and dissemination of Chinese traditional culture and intangible cultural heritage technology.

Wu Dongdong: in recent years, the government has attached great importance to the development of time-honored brands, and the society has also paid extensive attention to them. Time honored brands have ushered in new development opportunities. The system and mechanism of time-honored brands are constantly changing and their vitality is increasing, which makes us see a bright prospect for the innovation and development of time-honored brands. Time honored brands have many excellent heritages. Consumers are more assured to buy products with time-honored brand labels on the market. In a certain sense, time honored brand is a symbol of integrity.

Innovation and development is the magic weapon of the time-honored enterprises. Wang Zhihe, as a Chinese time-honored brand with a history of 352 years, has its brand development and continuation only under the continuous innovation of generations of Wang Zhihe people. We have inherited the spirit of ingenuity, integrity and entrepreneurship, from the invention of stinky tofu, to the automation of white blanks, to the direct loading process of sufu, liquid Mucor strains, reducing salt content, etc. we have always adapted to market changes and led the trend of Sufu consumption with innovation.

　　 Mengze: insisting on innovation is the lifeblood of enterprise and brand development. Only by innovation can old brands break the shackles and inject vitality into the brand. As a double time-honored brand of "China Time-honored Brand" and "Beijing time-honored brand", Xuelian has achieved the breakthrough of "zero" in New China cashmere sweater, and enjoys the reputation of "state guest gift". In the long process of development, we have been trusted and loved by consumers. We are benefiting from persisting in inheritance and innovation, adhering to the concept of "quality and reliability", and always providing high-quality cashmere knitting products and services for consumers.

With the ever-changing demands of consumers, we are moving forward on the road of fashion transformation and development with innovative thinking. From the original "Cashmere single" to "the whole category knitting brand with cashmere as the core material", we have entered a new track with multiple characteristics of fashion, technology and culture, so as to better meet the needs of consumption upgrading and industrial development.

Zhao Runxiang: time honored brands represent the inheritance of quality and are rich in Chinese cultural connotation. Born in China and brought up in China, they are the essence left in the competition of Commerce and handicraft industry for hundreds of years, the wisdom crystallization of the working people in the historical development, and the important carrier of Chinese commercial culture, bearing people's beautiful memories and emotions.

With the growing of young consumer groups, a small group with different aesthetic taste appears, and their requirements for products vary greatly. In order to obtain new development, time-honored enterprises should not stick to the past. They should constantly change in innovation, deeply tap the inside information and essence of time-honored brands, adapt to the needs of the market and the times, open a larger market, and play a greater role in domestic consumption and international competition.

　　 2. What are the weaknesses in the development of time-honored enterprises? How to understand the connotation of innovation and development?

Wang Ying: the development advantages of time-honored brands are "old", and the problems are also "old". From the perspective of enterprises themselves, there are two shortcomings: one is the slow iteration of old products; the other is the old style business model is conservative; From the perspective of market feedback, there are two weaknesses: one is that the old brand has credibility but lacks vitality; the other is that the consumer group of old customers is fixed. These problems are restricting the development of time-honored enterprises in the contemporary.

Poverty leads to change, and there are ways to change. Change can't give up the cost. The innovation of time-honored brands is to provide consumers with better experience in terms of products and services, based on the spirit and quality of brands, guided by consumer demand and by means of modern technology. Insincere, incoherent and ineffective innovation can not only make enterprises profit from it, but also make brands lose their old money.

Mengze: there are a series of development problems caused by the alternation of new and old customers in time-honored brands. At present, Xuelian brand is also faced with the situation that the recognition of old customers is high, but the cognition and love degree of young consumers are low. Therefore, we need to focus on fashion design, brand culture, technology empowerment, consumption experience and other directions close to new consumer groups, constantly break through and upgrade, let the old brand "young", continue to provide new and old customers with products and services to meet their different needs, and create greater value for customers.

Wu Dongdong: time honored enterprises have common and personalized weaknesses, but each time-honored enterprise faces different contents in innovation and development. To Wang Zhihe, there are four major tasks of innovation and development: first, with the development of new channels and new formats, we should follow the market and develop. At present, in the face of new changes brought about by the development of consumer market and science and technology, the previous retail concept, retail mode and retail management mode need timely reform.

Second, in the face of new policies and plans, production-oriented enterprises should accelerate the transformation and upgrading. In 1958, Wang Zhihe settled in Tiancun, Haidian District, Beijing. With the orderly release of Beijing's non capital core functions, Wang Zhihe needs to shift the focus of production to realize the transformation and upgrading of enterprises.

Third, there are many varieties and large volume, so it is necessary to upgrade products and technologies. Wang Zhihe has more than 120 product varieties, involving sufu, wine, seasoning, sauce, gift box and other products. Most of them are produced in the form of entrusted processing. It is necessary to upgrade the food safety, quality, production and processing technology, raw and auxiliary materials, packaging, processing personnel, processing environment, machinery and equipment, so as to continuously improve the brand reputation.

Fourth, industrialization and large-scale development need to strengthen the construction of talent team. There is a lack of craftsmanship relay in the process inheritance of time-honored brands, and the construction of talent echelon such as craftsman team construction, technical talent team construction and management talent team construction is still very arduous.

Zhao Runxiang: there is no continuity in the marketing of most time-honored enterprises, and there is a generational effect. That is, as the young people who use the products get older, the enterprises do not continue to let the products impress their next generation, which leads to the aging of the brand. Young people are a dynamic concept. Brands should focus on "who is young", not a certain age stage. Innovation and development is a new development mode, which can provide users with more consumption experience, and win more possibilities and richness for themselves, and actively integrate into the young consumption circle.

　　 3. Why can time-honored brands become the beautiful scenery in the "national tide"? What are the opportunities and challenges for the innovation and development of time honored brands?

Wang Ying: "Guochao" is a fashion trend and consumption wave with Chinese products and Chinese brands as the guide, highlighting Chinese culture and Chinese aesthetics. Time honored enterprises with a long history and profound cultural skills are destined to have the potential to ride the storm in the "national tide". The young generation's strong demand for traditional culture and consumption complex help time-honored brands to overcome difficulties in the "national tide" and create their own world.

In recent years, with more and more time-honored enterprises' gorgeous transformation, their outstanding performance and ingenuity have become a beautiful landscape in the "national tide". However, the road of innovation and development of time-honored brands is not always smooth. In addition to the limitations of time-honored enterprises in terms of production mode, system and mechanism, the competition pressure from domestic and foreign enterprises in the same industry, the potential threat of substitutable product manufacturers, the uncertainty of supply commodity control, and the influence of channel expansion and other factors, as well as serious product homogenization caused by lack of creativity, To a certain extent, they have hindered the innovation and development of time-honored brands.

Meng Ze: as "cultural confidence" continues to be deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, time honored brands not only have valuable historical accumulation, but also have the cultural advantages of creating "national trend" products. However, only through innovation, can we make the time-honored brand radiate new vitality and gain more and more attention and love of young people.

In recent years, the expansion and upgrading of domestic consumer market, customer segmentation and other significant changes have not only brought impact and challenge to time-honored brands, but also brought great opportunities for "Second Entrepreneurship". For Xuelian, only by actively exploring the brand fashion transformation, taking consumer demand as the starting point, and meeting customers' demand for fashion and personality, can it be recognized by more and more consumers.

Zhao Runxiang: the vigorous development of "national tide" reveals a signal: China's strength. The trend of "national tide" will become more and more powerful with the development of the country. "Guochao" is not only to satisfy young consumers' pursuit of fashion and personality, but also a natural return and awakening of traditional culture. With the rapid rise of the word "Guochao", the integration of brand elements with Chinese characteristics and modern design makes local brands gradually present an irresistible trend in the consumer market, pointing out the direction and bringing new opportunities for time-honored brands to rejuvenate.

In recent years, the Ministry of Commerce has taken the lead in formulating relevant documents to promote the reform, innovation and development of time-honored brands, and many governments have successively issued plans to revitalize and cultivate time-honored brands, thus creating a good development environment for the protection and inheritance of time-honored brands. While inheriting the tradition, time-honored brands also need to carry out product, technology and brand innovation, so as to better meet the needs of consumers whose thinking, senses and preferences are gradually innovated.

Wu Dongdong: the reason why the time-honored brand can become the beautiful scenery of "national tide" is closely related to the many advantages of the time-honored brand. Take Wang Zhihe as an example, there are five advantages for a brand to survive in the market competition: first, the brand advantage, behind the brand is the accumulation of quality, technology and word-of-mouth. Second, the channel advantage, Wang Zhihe's product sales in the national distribution. The third is the advantages of product and scientific and technological innovation. Through scientific and technological innovation, it has basically realized the automatic production of sufu, cooking wine and other products. In particular, it has developed new technology products represented by low salt sufu, and has four invention patents including the automatic production line of Sufu white blank. The fourth is the advantages of business model. In practice, the management mode of "one cultural system + two objectives + three teams + four level inspection + five unification" has been formed, which has realized the effective management of each entrusted processing base and achieved very good results. The fifth is team advantage. At present, the company has formed a number of scientific research and technical personnel, quality management personnel, sales personnel and other teams, laying a good talent foundation.

　　 4. How to realize the innovation and development of time honored brands? What are the good experiences and practices of time honored enterprises?

Wang Ying: the long-standing brand lies in its adherence to quality; Time honored brands are always fresh because of their pursuit of innovation. The two complement each other, so that we can see those golden lettered signboards still shining after a hundred years of vicissitudes. The innovation and development of time-honored enterprises should not only abide by the original intention, but also conform to the needs of the times. Time honored enterprises should, according to their own characteristics, fully tap the core competitiveness of their brands, actively embrace digitalization, dare to walk out of the "comfort circle", extensively seek cooperation opportunities, and find their own innovation path through bold assumptions and trial and error.

Since its establishment, Maolong has been exploring and advancing on the road of innovation, never stopping. From Sanjianfang foreign trade warehouse to Beijing Maolong cultural industry creative park, and then to the gradual construction of digital smart park; From the establishment of shengyashi public bonded warehouse to the establishment and business development of Maolong international company; From the opening of online stores to the date of meeting with consumers every night to live online; From the traditional museum school cooperation cultural inheritance and dissemination mode based on visiting to the "Yanjing eight unique education courseware" developed by cross-border cooperation with educational institutions, Maolong has been keeping pace with the times, constantly self-renewal and iteration, maintaining the vitality and vitality of the time-honored brand. In the period of the "14th five year plan", Maolong is seeking the road of high-quality development driven by innovation. It will continue to seek and strengthen close cooperation with various brands inside and outside the industry, make horizontal joint efforts, and deeply plough vertically. Guided by the national strategy of rejuvenating the country through culture, and by means of digital transformation, Maolong will transform and develop from a commercial and trade oriented enterprise to a platform enterprise, and strive to create a time-honored brand as the core A platform linking Eastern and Western cultures.

Zhao Runxiang: the innovation and development of time-honored brands must be rooted in the excellent traditional Chinese culture, combine products with cultural heritage, take advantage of the east wind of "national tide", dare to change, dare to remove their own outdated factors, adapt to the development and change of society, broaden the sales model, and use the Internet to achieve innovation and income generation.

Time honored enterprises can accelerate their innovation and development from three aspects: first, playing the emotional card and taking the nostalgic marketing route. The second is to take advantage of "Guochao" to create cross-border new species, actively look for the connection with Chinese elements, give full play to the uniqueness and design sense of its own brand, and create national tide products in line with the characteristics of the times, such as "Laoganma sweater", "Sanjiu dermatitis lipstick", "big white rabbit perfume", etc; The third is to promote the "national tide" to go out to sea, let "ancient elements" and "modern concern" coexist, break the stereotype of space, and infuse "cultural blood".

Wu Dongdong: after long-term exploration, Wang Zhihe has formed five major systems, laying a solid foundation for the innovation and development of time-honored brands: first, establish a base control system to improve food safety and quality. The second is to establish a technology R & D system and enhance R & D strength. The third is to establish a channel development system, sort out product lines, promote network marketing rapidly, innovate the forms of existing laboratory research and development products, and form marketing modes such as experience marketing, cultural marketing, network marketing, differentiated marketing and channel marketing, so as to promote the inheritance and development of time-honored brands with high quality. The fourth is to establish a talent training system. The headquarters of the company has established various talent education and training bases, implemented the continuing education system for on-the-job employees, trained and built a management team with one specialty and many abilities, and formed a trainer team with standardized management system. Fifthly, we should establish a cultural heritage and publicity system, make full use of existing resources, and gradually upgrade the science museum into a Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum. By using the original plant facilities and equipment, through the transformation of sound, light and electricity control, we can expand from a single Sufu theme to an experience activity center with the theme of soybean food, In the dissemination of Wang Zhihe sufu production skills, but also popularized the concept of healthy life of soybean food.

Mengze: seeking innovation in the inheritance and keeping the center, Xuelian keeps pace with the times, continues to build the core competitiveness of the brand, pays attention to the corporate responsibility, and constantly upgrades and improves the quality management system. Xuelian combines the pursuit of quality with the demand of fashion with the spirit of craftsmanship; In the rapid development process of "Internet +" and new consumption upgrading, we should actively innovate and change the development mode, build an operation system guided by scientific and technological research and development, commodity planning and customer-centered, and create new achievements in transformation and upgrading.

(source: International Business Daily)