Zong Qinghou "encounters" the problem of retirement again, can Zong Fuli support Wahaha?

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On the afternoon of February 22, it was reported that Zong Qinghou, the founder of Wahaha, was treated in the ICU ward of Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital affiliated to Zhejiang University School of Medicine. Subsequently, Wahaha Group issued a statement saying that Zong Qinghou is indeed being treated in the hospital for physical reasons, and his condition is currently stable, and the company's various businesses are operating normally.

Zong Qinghou's hospitalization also made the outside world's target focus on the "second generation". Previously, in an interview with a media in 2023, Zong Qinghou said that it is more difficult to keep a business than to start a business, "I shouldn't retire, but I will take a back seat, let young people charge in front, I watch from behind, turn around when I go astray, and come up with some ideas." ”

Now, Zong Qinghou's daughter Zong Fuli has already taken over the company's affairs, under the leadership of the second generation, can Wahaha tell a new story?

01

Leading the "rejuvenation"

Under the leadership of the founder Zong Qinghou, Wahaha has become one of the leaders in the domestic beverage industry, and Zong Qinghou has also become the richest man in China many times. Zong Qinghou, who was born in 1945, is getting old, and the follow-up development of Wahaha has also attracted much attention.

Born in 1982, Zong Fuli was appointed as the head of brand public relations of Wahaha Group in 2018, leading the brand renewal. In 2020, Zong Fuli began to serve as the deputy general manager of the group's sales company and was deeply involved in the group's sales business.

In 2021, Zong Fuli was appointed as the vice chairman and general manager of Wahaha, although Zong Qinghou is still the chairman of the group, but it is also interpreted by the outside world as a signal for Zong Fuli to take over.

At that time, Wahaha, which Zong Fuli took over, was facing the dilemma of declining revenue. Data shows that in 2013, Wahaha's turnover reached 78.28 billion yuan, and has continued to decline since then. Wahaha's revenue in 2020 was 43.98 billion yuan, the lowest level of Wahaha in the past decade.

The outside world's impression of Wahaha is that "the product is old" and "lacks innovation".

Therefore, "rejuvenation" has become Zong Fuli's biggest change to Wahaha. It is most well-known to the outside world that it terminated the contract with Wang Leehom, who has served as the brand spokesperson of Wahaha for 20 years, and since then, Xu Guanghan has become the spokesperson of Wahaha pure water, and Gong Jun has become the original spokesperson of Nutrition Express.

At the same time, Wahaha has also increased the speed of new product launches. According to the media, in the past five years, Wahaha has released a total of about 80 new products at the sales work conference, including upgraded products such as children's nutrition solution and nutrition express, as well as new products such as a tea, soda, and electrolyte water. At present, Wahaha's soft drink products involve milk drinks, bottled water, carbonated drinks, tea drinks and fruit juice drinks.

However, under the wide net, although Wahaha has achieved growth, it has not yet given birth to new core products. According to the data, Wahaha's revenue in 2021 will be 51.915 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 18.04%. More media said that mineral water, AD calcium milk, nutrition express, and Shuang Crooked are still the best-selling products of Wahaha offline.

In order to reverse the public's old impression of the Wahaha brand, Wahaha has increased various marketing methods. For example, in 2018, it launched AD calcium nipple mooncakes and nutrition express makeup palettes, in 2019, it launched a co-branded underage ice cream with Zhongxuegao, in 2020, it launched a co-branded pH 9.0 soda with Bubble Mart, from 2020 to 2021, it became the official partner of the League of Legends Professional League (LPL), and Wahaha soda will also become the league's designated drinking water, and in 2022, Wahaha became a partner of the RNG League of Legends team. 

But judging from performance, it is not easy for Wahaha to return to the top - in 2022, Wahaha's revenue will be 51.202 billion yuan, a slight decrease of 700 million yuan year-on-year. In front of Zong Fuli, in addition to Wahaha's own development, there is also the intensification of industry competition.

02

How to catch up?

As an industry covering many subdivisions, the competition in the beverage industry has only increased in recent years.

Hua Chuang Securities once said in the "Seeking Progress in Change, Competing for the Stream - In-depth Report on China's Soft Drink Industry" that before 2013, the industry was still in the stage of volume increase, and it was also the stage of national expansion of enterprises. In 2014 and beyond, the laying of staking channels is nearing the end, the industry volume has peaked, the quality demand has improved, and the characteristics of new consumer groups seeking innovation and difference have been highlighted.

At present, the requirements for product innovation and iteration speed are higher, and Internet thinking enterprises represented by Yuanqi Forest have entered the game, and have become innovators in the industry by virtue of the efficient innovation model of rapid testing and rapid iteration, as well as the marketing method with distinctive characteristics and outstanding highlights.

Although it is difficult for beverage companies to become the No. 1 in various sub-categories, in terms of Wahaha's performance, its competitiveness is obviously weak. In 1996, Wahaha purified water sales reached 100 million yuan, becoming a bottled faucet, and in 2001, Nongfu Spring surpassed Wahaha in the market share of bottled water, and ranked first for many years. According to Euromonitor International, Wahaha's bottled water market share continues to decline, ranking fifth at only 2.2% in 2022.

In other tracks, there are Wang Laoji, Jia Duobao and Master Kong in the tea industry, Wang Tsai and Yili in milk drinks, and Coca-Cola in carbonated drinks. Previously, Yuanqi Forest was out of the circle with the concept of "0 sugar, 0 fat, and 0 calories", and under the popularity of the concepts of "sugar-free" and "healthy", the oriental leaves of Nongfu Spring have eaten dividends. Wahaha's series of products are much less well-known in the market.

Hua Chuang Securities said that emerging categories such as sparkling water, NFC juice and oat milk under the trend of functionalization and sugar-free are still in the category penetration stage, and the enterprises that take the lead in the layout may enjoy a certain first-mover advantage in the occupation of consumers' minds, but while enjoying the dividends of rapid market expansion, they are also facing fierce competition brought about by the entry of all parties.

And Wahaha is also laying out emerging categories. At the 2024 National Sales Work Conference, Zong Fuli said that this year, Wahaha said that it should be both "comprehensive" and "gathering". That is, in terms of market channels, it is necessary to make a comprehensive layout and expand new markets; more than 200 products in more than 10 categories, such as packaged drinking water, protein drinks, carbonated drinks, tea drinks, fruit and vegetable juice drinks, coffee drinks, etc., should achieve a "two-pronged approach" of new and old products to meet the needs of consumers of different ages; at the same time, we will focus on the big health strategy and continue to develop low-sugar, low-fat, zero-sugar, zero-fat beverages and probiotics and other products.

At the moment when category updates are accelerating, Zong Fuli's pressure is obviously not small. Under her leadership, whether Wahaha can return to its former peak is also the focus of attention from the outside world.

Author丨Taro

来源丨征探财经(ID:teccj6)

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