The atomization of the technology industry
Research sample: Shenzhen Leiyan Technology Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Magic Flute")
Survey date: November 18
People: MG, founder and CEO of the Magic Flute brand
At the beginning of 2021, when the pattern of the e-cigarette industry is gradually clear, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the State Tobacco Administration will publicly solicit opinions and will strengthen the supervision of new tobacco products such as e-cigarettes, and the market will shake. Different from the one-way provisions on the e-cigarette industry made in the previous two years, the Decision on Amendment (Draft for Comment) intends to implement new tobacco products such as e-cigarettes with reference to the relevant provisions on cigarettes in the Regulations. Nearly 9 months after the public solicitation of opinions, the industry recently ushered in the landing of official documents, and at the same time, the State Tobacco Administration released the draft opinions of the "E-cigarette Management Method", clearly establishing a unified e-cigarette trading platform, and enterprises pay taxes in accordance with regulations. Throughout, many people in the industry believe that the clarity of regulatory documents is a positive signal. In their eyes, the improvement of supervision, or the tightening of regulations, is one of the main lines of the development of the e-cigarette industry, which also means the advent of the era of order and compliance.
Shenzhen is almost the "place of origin" of e-cigarettes. According to the data of the E-cigarette Industry Committee of the China Electronics Chamber of Commerce (hereinafter referred to as the "E-cigarette Industry Committee"), in 2018, the output value of e-cigarettes in Shenzhen has accounted for 90% of China's. In 2020, affected by the epidemic, e-cigarette exports still achieve counter-trend growth. China's e-cigarette exports are estimated at 49.4 billion yuan (US$7.559 billion) in 2020, an increase of 12.8% over 2019, and domestic retail sales are estimated at 14.5 billion yuan.
Nandu Electronic Cigarette Industry Observation Group focuses on the changes in the industry and the governance of the industry, and aims to use media power to promote industry enterprises to embark on the road of standardized, standardized and international development. On November 18, with the help of "in-depth research", the research group joined hands with industry, academia, research, capital and securities companies to form a Nandu atomization technology industry research group, and walked into Shenzhen Leiyan Technology Co., Ltd. (Magic Flute), the head enterprise of electronic cigarettes.
Look back at history
Technical iteration and supervision improve the dual main line
"MOTI Magic Flute (Lei Yan Technology) was established in 2018, but we have been making e-cigarettes for 11 years." MG, the founder of Magic Flute, said that he entered the electronic atomization industry in 2010 and participated in many industry head projects at home and abroad before establishing Leiyan Technology.
In addition to MG, the main executives of Magic Flute also have very rich experience in the e-cigarette industry. Recalling the development of electronic cigarettes, MG said that it and the founding team can be said to have crossed the four cycles of electronic cigarettes, from the use logic of the electronic atomizer itself, experienced from the Cig-a-likes era, APV (open electronic atomization equipment), the rise of China's small tobacco, and then to the standardized development of the industry brought about by today's regulatory intervention, "The development of the entire industry has two parallel main lines: technical iteration and regulatory improvement." ”
A series of measures in mg's view is a positive signal, it believes that the regulatory action is actually corresponding to the development of the e-cigarette industry at all stages of the problem, it can be seen that each large-scale regulatory action has brought better changes in the industry, the industry not only embraces but also desires supervision.
"The willingness of the head enterprise to self-restraint is relatively heavy, and it is very sensitive to some chaos and negativity in the industry, and I think that in the current situation, it can be said that it is a very high proportion of (head enterprises), and the self-restraint is done very well." MG admits that the industry should have stricter requirements for product standards, should be in the forefront of supervision, and the protection of minors should be the most basic to be proactive and take responsibility.
Look to the future
The supporting system behind product-driven development
With the continuous tightening of supervision, the domestic e-cigarette market has cooled rapidly since the second half of 2019, and the iterative reshuffle of the industry has accelerated. In 2021, the market situation has changed again, and many well-known companies have crossed the border into this industry. On August 25, BYD Electronics officially joined the e-cigarette industry committee, at that time, it had completed the patent layout and carried out mass production of products. Subsequently, on September 18, another listed company, Luxshare Precision Industry Co., Ltd. (joined by the corporate entity of Luxshare Electronic Technology (Enshi) Co., Ltd.), officially joined the committee.
"Market competition is certainly unavoidable, but also the benign performance of the industry," MG explained, e-cigarettes are a young industry, but also a traditional business, belongs to the consumer retail sector, then a company is bound to need to invest its main energy in brands and products, which is another need to establish a "system" to answer a good proposition.
MG introduced that Lei Yan Technology has established three major concepts, one is to adhere to product-driven, the second is to adhere to long-term ism, and the third is to maintain a sense of awe. It said that the e-cigarette industry is a sensitive industry, practitioners need to be more cautious, the three concepts are to hope that enterprises can establish their own driving force, and maintain a stable, so the bottom of the product, brand is the company's research and development capabilities, sales channels, supply chain are maintained to maintain health to support.
First of all, in terms of technology research and development, Magic Flute hopes to explore products that consumers can quickly identify, and the company has been trying to achieve it through various technical means for three years since its establishment. "From the nebulizer heating system, the temperature regulation system, the smoke oil blending, etc., the design and adjustment of the oil silo chip and the MCU chip," MG said, and Leiyan science and technology researchers have been in the test and inspection.
During the visit, MG introduced to the research team that there is a one-stop whole-life cycle testing and monitoring process for the company's products in the Magic Flute 2019 laboratory, which has chemical experiments, physical tests, and reliability tests to test and test the stability of product performance. The experimenters told the research team that they were testing the sense of use of the proposed product and recording the data. The test includes machine testing and personnel measurement, and strives for the scientific nature of the experiment.
"Smore has made a lot of investment in basic materials, from the perspective of the development direction of the entire industry, there is room for upgrading of basic materials, chips, circuit control also has many possibilities, many consumers' use logic, product architecture may be torn down and restarted," MG said, the current market needs more originality, user experience also needs to be continuously improved, sustainable development needs to be considered in many ways.
Secondly, in terms of supply chain, MG introduced to the research team that good products must ensure a stable and high-quality, industry-leading supply chain system, and at the same time, it is also necessary to ensure that the company implements comprehensive tracking and control of suppliers from material selection, manufacturing, quality inspection, process flow and other links.
Operating model
Increase efficiency through store digital management
Official data shows that Magic Flute has about 6,000+ terminal stores across the country.
At the symposium, the research team asked questions about the operation mode of magic flute stores. Magic Flute offline stores are mainly divided into direct stores and franchise stores, MG said that in terms of corporate management, it has always been in awe. At the level of building an urban service provider system, Modi has developed and launched a special store digital management tool - Mopaomen, which enables stores across the country to obtain more efficient operations through digital management.
In addition to being used for the day-to-day operation and management of stores, digital management tools can also help companies practice social responsibility. In terms of the protection of minors, MG said that it will strengthen the social responsibility awareness of store managers through training, supervise stores through comprehensive tools such as magic gates and membership systems, prevent minors from contacting electronic cigarettes, and prohibit stores from selling electronic cigarettes to minors.
Zeng Reignwood, a member of the core management team of Magic Flute, introduced to the research team that in the management of stores, participants, managers and executors need to form a joint force. As a service provider on the chain, the Magic Flute brand side hopes to support the terminal with a more self-disciplined and long-term vision, "We will choose a partner with better cooperation in the middle of the middle link, and long-term ism is not only a brand side thing, but a matter that runs through the whole chain from the brand side to the terminal." ”
At the same time, Magic Flute also launched the "Junior Shield Plan" to the store system. On the outer packaging of the product, the taiwan card of the offline store, etc., the relevant warning statements such as "do not sell this product to minors" and "minors are prohibited from using this product" are conspicuously marked. It also strictly requires partners to prohibit the sale of e-cigarettes to minors by issuing regulations to them.
The research team suggested
Brands should erect barriers in three aspects
"I have been emphasizing a concept that e-cigarette companies are different from conventional consumer goods in the current situation." Zheng Zhi, a member of the research team and an expert in the field of PMTA certification, said that brand owners should establish at least three barriers, one is a patent barrier, one is a market barrier, and the other is a certification barrier.
The so-called patent barriers, spelling product innovation and research and development, whether it is new materials, new formulas, new technologies, must have their own expertise patents, and even global trademark protection.
With the expansion of the market, including the development of the European and American markets, market barriers will widen the distance between enterprises. This aspect is mainly reflected in the impact of the brand, from the establishment of local promotion teams to the resolution of cultural conflicts, etc., which requires a lot of time and effort to create.
Finally, there are certification barriers, that is, compliance barriers, in China, the current embodiment is the application for market franchise licenses to meet the compliance of production and sales. At the same time, there is also to meet the national standard of electronic cigarettes, production, testing, sales, after-sales need to meet the corresponding standards. "The United States now has a very clear PMTA, but I believe that other countries will follow suit, and the regulations will become more and more stringent and more meticulous," Zheng Zhi further analyzed, saying that these need to invest a lot of manpower and material time to solve, so it will form a high barrier.
"It's not that brand owners must do THE PMTA in the United States," Zheng Zhi said, the company may choose to do some relatively good countries based on the current situation and conditions, the investment is small, the effect is fast, and then according to the actual situation, adjust, after all, for overseas markets, the United States PMTA must be taken into account. "The overseas road of e-cigarettes is actually the same as the barriers," Zheng Zhi said, if you want to develop for a long time, the basis is the consideration of the above three barriers, while according to its own situation of strategic arrangements.
Magic Flute proposes in the brand vision to become a world-class consumer goods company. For e-cigarette brand owners aiming at the global market, the research team suggested that at present, many overseas countries have a high threshold for the import of e-cigarette products, and it is the proper meaning of facing industry competition and meeting market requirements to enhance product competitiveness with technology-driven and innovation-driven. At the same time, we should pay attention to the diversification of product layout, enhance the research and development capabilities of core technologies, actively adapt to the challenges brought about by changes in the domestic and foreign markets, and help enhance the international status of the atomization technology industry.
concern
From quantitative change to qualitative change, Shenzhen's urban development has broken the "GDP-only theory". Nandu has entered Shenzhen for 21 years, resonated with the same frequency as urban development, launched the "Shenzhen New Industry In-depth Investigation", focused on new technologies, new manufacturing, new industries, launched a series of new economic reports, and jointly witnessed the process of Shenzhen's industry climbing over the obstacles, transformation and upgrading, and looking for new momentum of Shenzhen's economy. The series of reports will focus on specialized new "little giant" enterprises, strategic emerging industries, digital economy and new manufacturing and other fields, and ask how Shenzhen's economy can achieve high-quality development under the background of the "dual-zone" driving strategy.
Producer: Southern Metropolis Daily Shenzhen Big Thing Media
Written by: Nandu reporter Ye Linfang researcher Zheng Shaochun
Video: Chen Jiaxin Li Zhaofeng
Design: Xiaocong Liu