Interface News Reporter | Chen Qirui
Interface News Editor | Xu Yue
On January 2, the People's Court of Yuhang District, Hangzhou City, issued an announcement ruling to declare a tear of packaging technology (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd. bankrupt. Tianyancha shows that the company was established in 2017, the legal representative is Xing Kai, and the registered capital is 10 million yuan. Its parent company is Beijing Yitear Logistics Technology Co., Ltd., and the legal representative is also Xing Kai.
As a packaging material manufacturer, Yitear is not directly facing consumers, but it is the box designer for beauty brands such as Guanxia, Huaxizi and Perfect Diary. According to its official website, Yitearde's clients include major e-commerce platforms such as Alibaba, JD.com and Vipshop, as well as international brands such as Helena, Armani and Yves Saint Laurent.
The zipper carton is the most famous idea, which solves the problem of difficult to tear the tape of the express box. "China Europe Business Review" once reported that Yitear has won orders from e-commerce platforms such as Ali with this carton, and its annual sales have reached hundreds of millions of yuan.
Make achievements in a field that is often overlooked, and let a tear quickly become a star company. In 2015 and 2017, Yide completed angel round and A round of financing respectively. Dai Xiaoyang, the CEO at the time, said in an interview that he hoped to change the low-value-added, manufacturing-driven model of the packaging industry to promote the industrial revolution.
But now it's hard to protect itself.
According to the announcement of the Yuhang District People's Court, as of November 30, 2023, the total liabilities of Hangzhou Company were about 71.83 million yuan. According to Tianyancha, the company was involved in 185 judicial cases as a defendant, with a total amount of 105 million yuan. The number of cases involved in the Beijing company was 184, and the amount involved was 95.37 million yuan.
Xing Kai, the legal representative and founder, was ordered to restrict consumption 192 times. On Tianyancha's personal homepage, his personal description is "the youngest Acorn International executive at the age of 28, and the owner of Taobao store with annual sales of tens of millions at the age of 36".
Tearing it apart, it fell quietly, and there was little report on why it was in trouble.
The interface fashion called the phone left on its official accounts on Tianyancha and Douyin, but no one answered. On social media, Yide's most recent WeChat public account was posted on September 16, 2022, while Douyin and Xiaohongshu ceased operations in April and February of the same year.
It is worth mentioning that in July 2022, Yitear announced the launch of a franchise platform through its WeChat public account, which is aimed at packaging material manufacturers, providing discounts on patents, raw materials and equipment, and training manufacturers. The founder, Xing Kai, publicized his successful experience through a public speech in April 2021, but the company's lawsuits have increased rapidly since 2019.
According to Dai Xiaoyang's vision, Yitear should be a product-innovative company. As it grows in size, it will have greater bargaining power with suppliers, and will extend from traditional corrugated boxes to diversified packaging businesses such as plastic packaging, pulp molding, color boxes and ceramics.
The packaging material industry does not have high requirements for capital and technology, and the key to determining whether it can survive lies in whether it can improve the efficiency of the supply chain to reduce costs. Yiduo has integrated customer requirements, raw material prices and production processes through a digital system. According to the official website, the packaging materials can be proofed within 24 hours, and shipped nationwide within 48 hours to meet the needs of large-scale production and small-batch customization.
But first of all, a customer needs to order. Although it claims to have more than 100 patents, including the most famous zippered cartons, it has been copied by other packaging material manufacturers. Although the waterproof, anti-bacterial and more environmentally friendly zippered carton style was introduced, these are all cost-increasing measures, and it is difficult for consumers to perceive them when they are used up.
As for those more high-end and dazzling gift box packaging, it is usually only made for a certain brand or a certain marketing node, and there is still a gap compared with zipper cartons, which can be widely used on a large scale. Products such as the Nbag series of plant-based plastic bags and recycling boxes have not received the same market response as zipper cartons.
In addition, due to the changes in the retail environment, many companies are interested in reducing their spending on fancy creative packaging materials. The trend against over-packaging has also influenced the decision-making of these companies to some extent. Large customers who need large-scale production are gone because of the lower cost of others, and these companies that are willing to pay higher prices to make customized products will also leave with the change of operational strategy.
The fierce competition and the changes in the retail industry are destined not to make it too easy. And this is not an isolated case.
Jinsheng New Materials, which is mainly engaged in the research, production and sales of cosmetic plastic packaging materials and containers, saw its revenue fall by 3.41% year-on-year to 180 million yuan in the first three quarters of 2023, with a loss of 17 million yuan. Another listed packaging material company, Shanghai Ailu, saw its revenue and profit fall by 9.7% and 38.1% in the first three quarters of 2023, respectively. Even Baixinglong, which successfully launched in North America and emphasized avoiding low-cost competition through creative packaging, has the problem of over-reliance on top customers.
Under the news that the Hangzhou company went bankrupt, some netizens said that "it is strange that the pseudo demand is not bankrupt". In the era of consumption upgrading, more creative and sophisticated packaging can help brands attract consumers and establish an image, and brands are willing to invest money in this regard. Today, however, the most common slogan is "do your job", and all kinds of additional value-added measures have been put aside.