On the afternoon of January 3, @Three Squirrels issued an apology letter: Recently, there were network reports that an advertising page of our company in 2019 used the "red scarf" pattern, which caused social concern. In this regard, we express our most sincere apologies to consumers who care, support and trust the three squirrels and all sectors of society.
In view of the above problems, the company set up a working group at the first time, combined with similar issues discussed recently, from advertising, official website, product packaging and detail pages and other aspects of self-examination and self-correction.
After investigation, the advertisement was launched on March 28, 2019, and our company did not strictly control the online review of this page. After receiving the letter from the Wuhu Municipal Committee of Young Workers, our company realized the seriousness of the problem, and has rolled off the relevant pages and products on April 1, 2019, and strengthened the internal compliance audit and staff training publicity.
Rooted in China, Three Squirrels was founded in Wuhu, Anhui Province, and is a native national brand. Welcome all sectors of society to continue to pay attention to the three squirrels, we will humbly accept the supervision and criticism from consumers, regulators and the media, as a lesson, correct deficiencies, and avoid the recurrence of such problems.
Three Squirrels Inc
January 3, 2022
Source: Three squirrels
Previously reported: Three squirrels again caused controversy, and it was exposed that a red scarf appeared in the marketing poster 3 years ago
Recently, the "first share of national snacks" three squirrels (300783. SZ) is once again controversial over marketing posters.
After being scolded on the hot search because of the poster model makeup incident, the Red Star Capital Bureau noticed on January 2 that another netizen pulled out the "331 Brain Patch" advertising map released by three squirrels 3 years ago, and pointed out that its advertising was suspected of violating the law.
In this regard, a lawyer said in an interview with the Red Star Capital Bureau that according to relevant regulations, the red scarf worn by the Young Pioneers is a symbol and symbol of the Young Pioneers of China, and has strict production and use specifications, and must not be used for trademarks, commercial advertisements and commercial activities.
Three squirrels stir up controversy again
Netizens flipped out the marketing poster of "Red Scarf Boy" 3 years ago
Recently, a poster provided by netizens shows that in the poster printed with "Three Squirrels 331 Brain Supplement Festival", the Young Pioneers wear red scarves and hold a snack gift package of "5 years of anti-deception, 3 years of brain supplementation".
At the same time, the two posters are also printed with words such as "Strive for a great leap in brain power, and keep the prevention of deception in mind" and "The spring breeze of reform blows all over the ground, and there is nothing wrong with eating more than May 3" and so on. However, these sentences are traditional Chinese characters.
On January 2, Red Star Capital Bureau did not check the above posters in the official Weibo of Three Squirrels, but found that there were still relevant activity posters and materials on the public account of "Three Squirrels Shop" where the main body of the account was Three Squirrels Co., Ltd.
According to the public number of the three squirrels shop
It is understood that with the popularity of network culture, post-95s like to joke with each other and "hate each other", saying that each other's "brains are not enough". Therefore, on the eve of April Fool's Day in 2019, Three Squirrels and NetEase News launched the "331 Brain Supplement Festival", and the #331 Brain Supplement # Weibo topic launched by both sides was only 1 day online, and the number of readers reached 30 million. At the same time, the two sides also issued a "brain supplement recipe" - three squirrel nuts first aid kit, by creating a poke in countless post-95 exam memories of the "five years of college entrance examination three-year simulation" fun product packaging, symptomatic brain supplement.
For the above poster, some netizens pointed out that according to the regulations, the relevant information of the Young Pioneers cannot be used for advertising. At the same time, the netizen also posted a rule: the Flag, Team Emblem and Red Scarf of the Young Pioneers of China, the logo of the team cadres and their patterns shall not be used for trademarks, commercial advertisements and commercial activities.
In response to netizens' claims, Zhao Liangshan, a senior partner at Shaanxi Hengda Law Firm and a well-known public interest lawyer, told the Red Star Capital Bureau that according to the document number "Zhongshaofa [2005] No. 20" issued by the National Committee for Young Pioneers, "Several Provisions on the Production and Use of the Flag, Team Emblem and Red Scarf of the Chinese Young Pioneers, and The Logo of team Cadres" stipulates that the Flag, Team Emblem and Red Scarf of the Young Pioneers of China, the Logo of the Team Cadres and their designs shall not be used for trademarks, commercial advertisements and commercial activities. "The use of the Young Pioneers and the red scarves they wear as marketing posters is a clear violation of the regulations."
At the same time, You Yunting, a lawyer at Shanghai Dabang Law Firm, told Red Star Capital Bureau that the above-mentioned marketing posters released by the three squirrels violated the provisions of Article 58 of the Advertising Law. "If you use items related to primary and secondary school students to advertise, you may face a fine of 100,000 to 200,000 yuan, and if the circumstances are serious, you may be fined 200,000 yuan to 1 million yuan."
Marketing costs remain high
The "three squirrels" seek transformation
According to public information, in 2012, Zhang Liaoyuan received $1.5 million from IDG Capital and established three squirrel brands in Wuhu City, Anhui Province. At that time, the three squirrels quickly became the "network explosion" of the nut industry through the "OEM + e-commerce" model and with the help of Internet marketing. In July 2019, three squirrels were listed on the Growth Enterprise Market of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, becoming the "first share of national snacks".
Red Star Capital Bureau noted that the three squirrels have not only repeatedly "overturned" on the marketing road recently, but also encountered many other problems.
Bao Yuezhong, a new retail research expert, once pointed out that the three squirrels started online and have a heavy dependence on traffic, and their online business accounted for 74% in 2020. "Once the cost of traffic rises, the entire financial structure of the three squirrels will inevitably be affected."
Red Star Capital Bureau noted that the sales costs of the three squirrels, especially platform services and promotion fees, have remained high in recent years. According to the financial report, from 2019 to 2020, the platform service and promotion fees of the three squirrels were 660 million yuan and 961 million yuan respectively, and a total of 1.6 billion yuan was spent in two years. In the first three quarters of 2021, the company invested a total of 1.466 billion yuan in sales expenses. At the same time, the financial report shows that from 2019 to 2020, the annual revenue of the three squirrels is 10.173 billion yuan and 9.794 billion yuan, and the net profit is 240 million yuan and 301 million yuan, respectively.
To this end, the three squirrels are also seeking transformation, through the layout of the offline market to get rid of the excessive dependence on e-commerce channels.
However, the offline expansion of the three squirrels is not smooth. According to the financial report for the first half of 2021, as of June 30, the total number of its offline food stores and alliance stores was 1104, while the number of good shops reached 2726 in the same period. At the same time, in the first half of 2021, the three squirrel alliance small shops opened 191 new and closed 122, a net increase of 69, and the small shop closure rate was as high as 63.87%.
The 2021 semi-annual report shows that the three squirrel alliance stores have opened 191 new stores and closed 122
In addition to the decline in revenue, the three squirrels have also been exposed to food safety and other issues many times.
Chinese food industry analyst Zhu Danpeng Zhu Danpeng told Red Star Capital Bureau that the business thinking of the three squirrels is to use the asset-light operation model to avoid the operational risks of heavy assets, and the starting point of reducing costs is beyond reproach, but the foundry model is easy to get out of control for the management of food safety, and enterprises cannot focus on the production link. "The root cause of the frequent public opinion storm of the three squirrels in recent years lies in the production mode of 'OEM + OEM', and its foundry factories are mostly small enterprises with low configuration in quality inspection and control, and product problems appear frequently."
Red Star News reporter Li Weiming Li Chen
Edited by Yang Cheng