"Jiangnan Tannery has come to life. ”
On the afternoon of March 16, the official Weibo of the Internet baking brand "Panda Don't Go Cake" suddenly released a message saying that Yang Zhenhua, the founder of Panda Don't Go Cake, lost contact, nearly 1,000 employees had not been paid their wages for three or four months, the social security provident fund was cut off, and the DingTalk company group was suddenly disbanded.
Founded in 2017, Panda Bugo Cake was once a star enterprise, with full direct sales, online orders, and panda people sending cakes to dance to establish market barriers, stationed in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Chengdu and other 24 cities, the official website claims to have more than 20 million users, respectively in November 2018 from Toutou Shidao tens of millions of yuan in Pre-A round of financing, in March 2020 by IDG 10 million yuan in Series A investment, in January 2021 from XVC hundreds of millions of yuan in Series B investment, in November 2021 Yang Zhenhua said that "there is a listing timetable".
Source: @熊猫不走蛋糕
Now, Panda does not go and falls into a storm of bankruptcy. On March 18, Yang Zhenhua responded to the media's denial of "lost contact", saying that he was raising money to pay wages to employees, and that a total of more than 60 million yuan was owed to employees' salaries, supplier payments and consumer stored value cards.
On the morning of March 19, Yang Zhenhua's latest response said that there are currently three plans being promoted, one is to contract the regional operation to colleagues and even suppliers, and the contractor will undertake the arrears of wages and exchange for the right to use the brand, but it will not be successful due to "being led by a few people to distort the rhythm"; the second is to find peers to merge and sell production tools; and the third is to finance and borrow.
As of press time, there has been no public substantive progress in the self-rescue operation of Panda Bugo, and many employees and suppliers have told Nanfeng Window that they are still unable to directly contact the boss or other senior management, and can only learn their response through the media.
When a brand is in crisis, the fate of its employees, suppliers, and other parties who make a living has also taken a turn for the other, and they are still anxiously waiting for the company to deal with payment and contract issues.
Use hot searches to find the boss
"If you don't leave, lock the house!"
For Gao Xiao, the content director of the marketing department in Hangzhou, everything happened very suddenly.
On March 11, the property came to lock the door while everyone was working, and the department leader replied that the rent was in arrears, and it was expected that the rent would be paid around March 15, and the employees would temporarily work from home.
On the 14th, Gao Xiao saw a number of colleagues in the DingTalk group @ boss continuously, saying that "the city (business) is suspended, the rent is not paid, the electricity bill is not paid, and the salary of employees is not paid", hoping that the boss will give a reply.
On the 15th, the heads of each city returned to the headquarters to negotiate with the executives, and that night, the vice president of the company informed all departments to work normally on March 16 and "make money to pay everyone's salary".
On the 16th, the headquarters office was also locked. At around 6 o'clock in the evening, Yang Zhenhua spoke in the company's DingTalk group, saying that because of his own decision-making mistakes, the company's capital chain was broken, the company was closed and personal bankruptcy, and the individual was unable to repay the debt, and suggested that employees, shareholders, and cooperative suppliers should take legal means to protect their rights as soon as possible. Subsequently, the working group was disbanded.
Yang Zhenhua spoke in the company's DingTalk group
On the 17th, the online platform where Panda does not go can still place orders and recharge, and customers reported on social media that they had ordered the cake on the 17th, only to be told that it could not be delivered that morning. It was not until the evening of the 17th that the stores and platforms showed that they were temporarily closed under the complaints of users and employees.
"It's too drama", Gao Xiao said with emotion, at the beginning of the month, the company also issued a notice of Women's Day activities, but it was not implemented on Women's Day, and she thought it was "too busy during the festival" at that time. She has only been in the company for half a year, although her salary has not been paid since January, but she has been working normally under the promise of the department leader to "help urge and give priority to on-the-job", after all, the leader's salary is "more in arrears than the employee".
There were quite a few people who felt the chill earlier than Gao Xiao.
Panda Don't Walk Cake at the Women's Day launch event
A cake accessories supplier in Zhejiang told Nanfeng Window that the payment for Panda Bu Leave was only paid until September 2022, and the current cumulative arrears are as high as 5.6 million yuan. "Every time they pay for goods, they only pay a little, and they don't pay all of the money for a certain month. We demanded the money many times, and they defaulted on various reasons, and the time was slowly extended. ”
As far as he knows, many suppliers continue to try to call Yang Zhenhua, but the other party is on the phone. "We all took out loans to do business with him, and some people in the [supplier] group couldn't even pay the lawyer's fees. ”
Li Wei, the warehouse manager in Shenzhen, was also owed two months' salary, like most colleagues in the area. He said that in the last two or three months, there have been strikes, and "some colleagues who have worked for five or six years have also left." Years ago, the landlord repeatedly urged him to pay the rent, "until he can't urge anymore, and the company will pay it when he is ready to lock the door."
During the Chinese New Year, the company said that he would give a bonus of 500 yuan when he came back to work on the fourth day of the new year, "even if it is the New Year's fee", and he also rushed back to Shenzhen from his hometown on the third night of the new year. "Just for the 500 yuan, the result is definitely not going to be done now. ”
Liu Xiaoan, who joined Panda in 2020 and did not leave, served as the general manager of a regional branch before leaving.
However, from the second half of 2023, the company began to default on the salaries of senior executives, and by September, he was in arrears of front-line wages. He mentioned it again a year ago, and the company replied that it hoped that he would survive the 315 node before leaving. "I didn't expect it to be 315, and the boss ran away first. ”
Panda does not go cake founder Yang Zhenhua / Source: CCTV
On March 18th, "Panda Don't Go Cake Suddenly Stopped Work Nationwide" appeared on the hot search, and Yang Zhenhua responded to the Southern Metropolis Daily that night that he did not lose contact, nor did he run away with the money, he would always assist the relevant departments to deal with the matter, and he was also actively trying to find a way to save the company. "Because there were so many people on the phone, and there were a lot of people who were abusive, I set my phone to be on call. ”
Gao Xiao didn't understand: "The boss is raising money, we are worried about money, if we really want to save the company, why dissolve the company group?"
According to the screenshot of the DingTalk group provided by the employee, on the morning of March 19, Yang Zhenhua summoned a small number of employees to join the group and responded
Where does the money go?
Regarding the company's development strategy in recent years and the reasons for the shutdown, Yang Zhenhua said in his response to Yicai on the 20th: "First of all, I misjudged the epidemic, thinking that it would be controlled in 2022, at least not more serious than in 2021. In addition, the decline in performance due to the impact of the epidemic led to the withdrawal of loans, and then investment institutions no longer invested in consumption, and they could not get the investment that they thought was at most an unsatisfactory valuation. The follow-up cost control action is effective, the bleeding has been stopped, and there was not much net profit in the fourth quarter of last year. But in the past, there were too many payables and cash flow was cut off. ”
On March 21, the vice president of the company's business, who advocated the resumption of work, told Nanfeng Window that he proposed that the headquarters send money to the cities where the business was located to solve the rent, water, electricity and material problems to start work normally, "but then the money did not arrive, so the matter was over." He said that the company's business, finance and personnel were separated, and he could not grasp the financial sector, so he did not know the specific reason why the money could not be called.
Panda does not go cake Huizhou headquarters was locked on the afternoon of the 16th / Source: Internet
He is one of the company's directors and describes himself as "the most owed salary in the company". At present, he is still in contact with Yang Zhenhua to try to solve the problem, to see if he can get the money to do things or license the brand to various cities to continue to do it, but the implementation of various plans, including acquisition and financing, ultimately requires the consent of shareholders.
On March 22, Luo Chunyan, co-founder of Panda Bugo, told Nanfeng Window about his observation of the company's development process, he left in March 2020 at the beginning of the epidemic, and was responsible for corporate strategy, human resources and public relations before leaving.
Since the end of 2019, the company has introduced an external professional manager management team due to financing, with high ambitions, and the management team has written "Nezha's Demon Boy Descends to the World" on the arms of the management team, "My life is up to me, not by the sky", and the original team's right to speak has been reduced, "The team has gone from a day to a day, and the team has become a fanatic", although tattooing is a personal behavior, this kind of "self-aggrandizement" makes Luo Chunyan feel uneasy.
The lines of the movie "Nezha's Demon Boy Descends to the World" "My fate is up to me, not to the sky"
Luo Chunyan recognized Panda's brand recognition, cost-effectiveness and service, but the company's significant strategic mistakes were reflected in its blind expansion during the pandemic. "The steps are too big, and they misjudged the external environment, especially when the epidemic was under control in the middle of 2021. ”
In 2021, Panda will take advantage of the low rent price to go north, and open new stores in first- and second-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Wuxi, Zhengzhou, Xi'an, and Taiyuan. Luo Chunyan said. The team of Xiao Ma Song, who used to do strategic marketing for Panda Bugo, also said that this was a relatively big strategic mistake: "The operating costs of first- and second-tier cities are too high, and it is not easy to obtain high repurchases. ”
According to Yang Zhenhua's response to the media, at first Panda did not go to the favor of investment institutions, bank loans are also very convenient, when entering the new city to increase publicity investment, take a variety of preferential subsidies to open the market, operating costs remain high, revenue and growth rate did not meet expectations before the start to control costs, banks began to draw loans.
"I didn't expect that in 2022, the situation will turn down, financing will not be so easy, and our costs will be high. "In the second half of 2022, the consumer sector is no longer on the outlet, coupled with the tightening of listing policies, investment institutions have lost interest in "Panda Don't Take the Cake".
Yao Zhen, director of Panda Bugo and managing partner of Toutou Shidao Fund, said in a live broadcast of Inspur New Consumption in early 2023: "2022 is a year with a broader and deeper impact in the past three years, and if you make great strides to expand and iterate in 2022, then the injury may be double or even exponential." When your actions are contrary to the rhythm of the industry, many actions will be more difficult. ”
Luo Chunyan said that after 2023, Panda will still be profitable in the southern cities after adjustment, "There is no problem for a city to earn more than 2 million a year, if we were resolute in cutting down loss-making cities, the company may not have problems." ”
Source: Panda doesn't take the cake
In addition to cultural and strategic mistakes, Luo Chunyan regretted that the company did not communicate in a timely manner when public opinion and complaints arose.
Like the "virtual warehouse" problem named by 315, Luo Chunyan said that the company adopted the mode of operation with a central kitchen, N processing points, and N distribution points (1+N+N) in each city, and some outlets were merged into distribution points with larger single volume due to insufficient distribution volume. He also called on the company to respond to the crisis in a timely manner and "not to produce information gaps".
From a more macro perspective, China's baked food industry has achieved rapid development in the past five years, but behind the rapid development is more capital empowerment and rapid building of Internet celebrity brands. The bankruptcy and liquidation of Hutou Bureau and the retreat of Momo Dim Sum Bureau to Changsha are all lessons from the past, "Blind expansion is the core reason for the decline of many big brands and Internet celebrity brands. Zhu Danpeng, an analyst of China's food industry, said to Nanfeng Window.
Pandas don't go, let's go?
Rather than asking about the ups and downs of the company and the industry, employees who have experienced a company shutdown are more concerned about where they go next.
On the afternoon of March 18, Gao Xiao went to Shangcheng District, Hangzhou to go through labor arbitration procedures. The staff informed that since the company did not go through the procedures for reducing the number of social security employees, according to the regional policy, she could only wait for three months of arrears in social security before she could apply for the suspension of insurance as an individual. In other words, if the company does not take the initiative to reduce the number of employees, she and her colleagues will have to find part-time jobs without social security before May.
Since January, the salary has not been paid, and now the income has been cut off, "many of our colleagues have not been able to repay the loans, and they are anxious and insomnia." Due to the loss of social security payments, Gao Xiao decided to postpone this year's birth plan.
On March 18, Li Wei also went to the local street comprehensive center accompanied by the staff of the neighborhood office, and there were more than 20 colleagues in charge of distribution at the scene. After inquiry, it was found that the company did not purchase social security for grassroots delivery workers.
Grassroots delivery workers are known as "red pandas" within the company, and Li Wei told Nanfeng Window that the current tricky thing is that a considerable number of colleagues sign third-party contracts, and according to the contract, they need to go to the location of the third party to initiate labor arbitration or litigation. According to the contract documents, the labor agreement signed with "Little Panda" is Henan Provincial Erection Technology Co., Ltd., which belongs to Huaiyang District, Zhoukou City, Henan Province, established in April 2023, and the legal representative is Wang Yun.
"Little Panda" / Source: Weibo @panda does not walk the cake
As of press time, employees in Li Wei's area have submitted relevant materials with the help of local staff to apply for arbitration Panda does not leave the local company and the Henan company.
He Man, the decorator of the decorating group of the Changsha production department, told Nanfeng Window that she and her colleagues in the production department had also signed a labor contract with a third party in other places, and they could arbitrate together with the Changsha branch of Panda Bugo. At present, she and her colleagues have accepted the arbitration with the Labor and Personnel Dispute Arbitration Commission of Furong District, Changsha City, and the trial will be held on April 9.
Due to being kicked out of the DingTalk group, attendance and performance cannot be counted. At present, according to the incomplete statistics initiated by the employee "salary group", there are more than 50,000 in arrears of wages, and more than 2,000 in the least, with a total amount of "at least 800 to 10 million". According to Li Wei, most of the 500 people in the "salary group" are grassroots employees, and the highest position is the regional department manager.
On March 16, the official Weibo of "Panda Don't Take the Cake" released salary information
Levi and two other colleagues were able to stay in the dormitory for the time being, and the landlord was considerate of their situation and allowed them to stay there until they found a new tenant, while the female colleague "heard that the landlord had evicted her." He made several appointments for job interviews, but still failed to apply for the resignation certificate and social security reduction at Panda, worried that it would have an impact on joining the new company. He also needs to rely on his credit card to pay for food before his next job salary is paid.
Li Wei recalled the previous time when Panda did not go to the city to expand the market, and he suspected that the original operating costs were inflated, "no matter how high the rent is, it can be approved." When Panda doesn't go to a certain first-tier city, "it costs more than 60,000 yuan to rent a warehouse, and a factory store rents such an expensive location", while they only rented a warehouse for more than 10,000 yuan when they reduced costs and increased efficiency last year. "When you have money, you spend big, and when you don't have money, you pick your hands. ”
In the production station where Li Wei is located, Xiao Chen, a colleague in the production post, can't find a place to go, and only has a few hundred yuan left on him, planning to go back to his hometown first with his luggage. Colleagues in other cities told Li Wei that some people had decided to give up defending their rights, "There is really no way to spend it, and they still have to eat." ”