"Selling sweet potatoes also has to pay off debts", Zhong Xuegao's founder responded to being limited in height!
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Most of the netizens who have been "stabbed" once did not buy it, and left messages saying that "it is natural to repay debts" and "please don't make roasted sweet potatoes into Zhong Xuegao".
Reporter丨Kong Wenxie
A month after being restricted, Lin Sheng, the founder of Zhongxuegao, responded publicly for the first time, saying that "no running, no bad, no cowardice". As of press time, Zhong Xuegao's related topics have been read more than 210 million times and discussed 17,000 times.
Like most brands that rose in the Internet celebrity era, Zhong Xue took too big a step and made a fatal mistake, and was eventually eaten up by traffic. Lin Sheng once said, "The cost is there, it's this price, love to buy it or not", and also promised to "sell sweet potatoes to repay the debt" after being restricted. But under the whirlpool of wage arrears, suspension of production, and height restrictions, whether Zhong Xuegao can still repay his debts needs to be a big question mark.
After the height limit, Lin Sheng spoke for the first time
Zhong Xuegao is experiencing the "darkest hour".
On the evening of April 22, Lin Sheng made a rare statement on Weibo: Although the height is limited, he is still not afraid to take a green train to Beijing overnight. Even if I sell sweet potatoes, I have to pay off my debts. On behalf of all private entrepreneurs who have encountered difficulties, I would like to say: "Don't run, don't run, don't coax." "This is the background color of our Chinese private enterprises.
"Zhong Xuegao's founder said that selling sweet potatoes should also repay debts" The topic rushed to the first place in the hot search. Later, Lin Sheng issued another article: Although Zhong Xuegao is currently facing many difficulties, our determination to change and take responsibility has not changed. Make every effort to make the country prosperous, and shoulder the responsibility to employees, partners and society.
It's just that most of the netizens who have been "stabbed" once didn't buy it, and left messages saying that "it is natural to repay debts" and "please don't make roasted sweet potatoes into Zhongxuegao".
Since last year, topics such as layoffs, salary arrears, and lease surrender have revolved around Zhong Xuegao. According to the China Enforcement Information Disclosure Network, on March 11, 2024, the Shanghai Jiading District People's Court issued a consumption restriction order, taking consumption restriction measures against Zhong Xuegao and Lin Sheng, and Zhong Xuegao was executed with a total amount of 818,100 yuan. The paid-in capital of Zhong Xuegao is only 819,406 yuan.
According to the national enterprise credit information publicity system, from December last year to the present, Zhong Xuegao's frozen equity exceeded 35 million yuan. At present, there are 14 affiliated enterprises under Lin Sheng's name, of which 6 are in existence, including Zhongxuegao Food (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., Zhongmao (Shanghai) Food Technology Co., Ltd., Xiangsunflower Food (Beijing) Co., Ltd., etc., and its business scope involves food, advertising, etc. Among them, Zhongxuegao Food (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. was established in March 2018, with 14 foreign investment enterprises, all of which are 100% shareholding, and currently 8 of them exist. It is worth mentioning that all 21 branches of the company have been deregistered.
Bai Xiaoyong, a lawyer at Beijing Bosheng Law Firm, believes that Zhong Xuegao is currently facing many difficulties, such as a large total amount of execution and a large amount of frozen equity, and a small amount of paid-in capital, which has caused great pressure on the company's operation.
The new product is 3.8% off and 3 monthly sales
"I didn't have Häagen-Dazs's life, but I got Häagen-Dazs's disease. In the summer of 2022, Zhong Xuegao has been on the hot search many times with "can't be burned", becoming the "ice cream assassin" in the eyes of most people.
Or insight into this, Zhong Xuegao launched a new product series of affordable ice cream products "Sa'Saa" led by AI in March 2023, priced at 3.5 yuan. However, a reporter from Beijing Business Daily searched for Zhongxuegao products near Dongcheng District, and the "Sa'Saa" series was as low as 9.89 yuan/5 in some supermarkets, equivalent to 1.978 yuan/root. There are also stores that sell for 1.35 yuan / root, which is equivalent to 3.8% off, and the monthly sales volume is only 3.
At the same time, Zhong Xuegao, whose original price was more than 20 yuan, began to enter various supermarkets and street freezers, competing with ice cream below 5 yuan. On April 22, 2024, the owner of a supermarket told a reporter from Beijing Business Daily that he would no longer enter Zhongxuegao's goods a year ago, mainly because it was too expensive to sell, and it was not possible to sell it.
A reporter from Beijing Business Daily searched the e-commerce platform and found that Zhong Xuegao of many shops was also selling at a reduced price. For example, "Rice Rabbit Cold Drink Wholesale", 10 Zhongxue are priced at 100 yuan, and "new" is also specially marked. The customer service told reporters, "It's not an expiration date, it's all 2024 dates, there are many batches, and they will be shipped randomly." At the same time, Zhongxuegao's production capacity also seems to have problems, and many of its flagship products are out of stock, and the customer service said, "It has not been produced yet, the warehouse is being adjusted, and it will take a while to ship."
Zhong Xuegao fell to this point, Lin Sheng was not without responsibility. In 2022, Lin Sheng faced consumers' questions about high-priced ice cream, and his response was "The cost is there, it's this price, love to buy it or not". Even the founder is so "arrogant", and Zhong Xuegao's impression in the hearts of consumers has been greatly reduced.
Ice cream is not a real luxury, even Zhong Xuegao, known as the "Hermes of ice cream", is just an expensive FMCG. Selling expensive, because of the particularity of the product, Zhongxuegao from the beginning of the choice of short, less, fine product route, through a small number of SKU strategy layout product structure, changed the ice cream seasonality, random characteristics, prolonged the consumption time, but in addition to the particularity of chocolate flavor raw materials, Zhongxuegao is not much different from other brands; can sell expensive, is to capture the consumer's curiosity psychology, but after all, ice cream is a seasonal commodity, consumers after a period of experience, soon have aesthetic fatigue and value doubts.
Zhang Shule, an industry critic, said, "Zhong Xuegao today has actually fallen into the pit dug in his early days. Behind the high premium of ice cream is an ice cream version of the lipstick effect, that is, Hermes is too expensive to afford, and Hermes in the ice cream industry can eat it if you grit your teeth. This lipstick effect is characterized by rapid iteration and aesthetic fatigue, that is, with a new brand (not necessarily ice cream), it may inherit the mantle, while the old brand will gradually decline once it is no longer fresh and no longer has social attributes."
How many steps does it take to make a comeback?
Lin Sheng's public response that he would strive to change and take responsibility shows that Zhong Xuegao is willing to solve the current problem. "However, it is not only the responsibility of the company to resolve the debt problem, but also requires the cooperation of creditors and whether the company has sufficient assets and cash flow to repay the debt. Pan Jun, a visiting professor at Donghua University and senior consulting director of global commodity strategy, said, "Whether Zhong Xuegao can repay the debt, or even make a comeback, depends on many factors, including the company's financial situation, operating ability, market conditions and policy environment." At present, Zhong Xuegao is facing some difficulties and challenges, including a relatively high amount of execution and a frozen equity of more than 35 million yuan. ”
In the view of Chen Fangchao, general manager of the industry department of Kmind, from the perspective of the brand, it is difficult for Zhongxuegao to have a chance to turn around, "mainly because once its perception of 'ice cream assassin' is established, customers will put this brand into a 'small black box' in their minds, and no longer consider it when making cold drink purchase decisions." Zhongxuegao entered the market with high-end in the early days, and the subsequent prices once dropped to single digits, and frequently appeared in street shops. These mistakes have made customers perceive that their high-end is not real, and the trust and reputation of the brand have been depleted."
Zhan Junhao, a well-known brand positioning and crisis public relations expert, said that whether Zhong Xuegao can make a comeback mainly depends on whether the brand can truly recognize its own problems and take effective measures to improve. First of all, brands need to strengthen the management of online public opinion, actively respond to consumers' doubts and criticisms, resolve crises, and rebuild trust; secondly, brands need to re-examine their positioning and find a positioning that is more in line with market demand and consumer psychology; in addition, brands also need to focus on product innovation and quality improvement to meet the new needs of consumers and enhance consumer satisfaction and loyalty.
Song Liang, a senior dairy analyst, also said, "The business war is as deep as the sea, any enterprise, when the industry is good, no matter what it does, when the industry is difficult, no enterprise can make any mistakes." Zhong Xuegao's incident has taught everyone a lesson: in today's Chinese consumer market, any product must be carefully crafted, stand up to scrutiny, not fool consumers, and win the respect of consumers with sincerity."
Regarding the debt repayment plan, production capacity, financing situation and other issues, a reporter from Beijing Business Daily sent an interview letter to Zhong Xuegao by email, but did not receive a reply as of press time.
Editor丨Lin Qin
Picture丨Beijing Business Daily, Sina Weibo @Deng Qingxu screenshot, Sina Weibo @林盛中薛高 screenshot, Sina Weibo screenshot, Sina Weibo @中新Jingwei video screenshot