Written by Li Jiaman
Editor|Yang Yong
Source | Produced by hydrogen consumption
ID | HQingXiaoFei
On the evening of May 3, a Weibo quietly ignited the Internet. The self-media "Sweet Potato Bear Lao Liu" released a photo showing the shelves of Japanese supermarkets, with satirical text about Japan's nuclear sewage printed on the fragrant packaging. The news quickly attracted widespread attention on domestic social media.
On the morning of May 4, related reports sprung up like mushrooms after a rain, and the number of #香飘飘日本超市讽核污水#的话题迅速登顶热搜 views soon exceeded 200 million. At this time, Xiang Piaopiao said that it had noticed the relevant information on the network and was investigating. Netizens watched one after another, on the one hand, they expressed surprise at Xiang Piaopiao's "bold" behavior, and on the other hand, they also began to speculate about the driving force behind this behavior.
On May 8, a patriotic marketing incident caused by Xiangpiaopiao's product packaging ushered in a reversal.
It can be said that there are twists and turns.
It is not denied that this brand, which once sold 1 billion cups a year, and the cups can circle the earth three times together, has become popular all over the country with the advertising slogan, but it seems to have fallen into an embarrassing situation in recent years.
Xiang Piao Piao Event:
Twists and turns of patriotic traffic
Looking back on the whole story, some netizens speculated, saying that this behavior may have been committed by a post-00s female employee, and they were worried that she might be punished by the company for this. For a while, the voice of "protect this little girl" sounded on the Internet, and many people expressed support for Xiang Piaopiao, thinking that they should keep the employee.
However, Xiang Piaopiao's response was quite subtle. They officially praised the employees for being good, but seemed to imply that this was the employee's personal behavior and had nothing to do with the company. This ambiguous attitude not only made netizens feel the support of the company, but also left a way out for themselves.
That night, the chairman of the fragrant and fluttering board of directors even pulled up a banner and personally went to the airport to welcome the return of this "warrior" employee. This move undoubtedly pushed the emotions of netizens to a climax. People have expressed their support for Xiang Piaopiao, believing that they have backbone and responsibility. At the same time, the live broadcast room of Xiangpiaopiao was crowded, and product sales and stock prices soared.
On May 8, just when netizens were immersed in this "patriotic" carnival, things took an unexpected turn.
It is reported that Xiang Piaopiao's overseas business is actually very small, and their main customer group is still Chinese. In other words, they probably don't have too many Japanese customers to please in the first place. What is even more shocking is that some media contacted the employees of the supermarket involved and learned that the supermarket had never sold Xiangpiaopiao products with satirical texts.
This news undoubtedly poured cold water on this "patriotic" carnival. Although there is no direct evidence that Xiang Piaopiao posed or hyped it up, the heat of this incident has begun to cool down rapidly.
As the investigation of the incident deepened, some details that were originally vague gradually became clear. It turned out that the packaging photo that caused an uproar may not have been taken in a Japanese supermarket, but someone posed for it in China. This discovery caused the originally one-sided public opinion to begin to diverge, and some netizens began to question Xiang Piaopiao's motives, believing that it may be using patriotic feelings for commercial hype.
In the face of the reversal of public opinion, some netizens who originally supported Xiang Piaopiao believed that if Xiang Piaopiao was really hype, then this behavior was undoubtedly a deception and exploitation of public feelings.
Some netizens also commented: In the whole incident, some traces of planning can indeed be seen. For example, from the initial revelations, to the later employee insider information, to the final return of the "warrior", every link is like a well-designed script. Xiang Piaopiao always maintains a delicate distance throughout the process, both putting herself at the center of the conversation and subtly avoiding direct responsibility.
However, when the truth gradually emerged, we had to re-examine the truth behind this "patriotic". Is Xiang Piaopiao really as backbone and responsible as netizens imagined? Or are they just cleverly exploiting patriotic feelings to create buzz and get traffic? The answers to these questions may only be known to Xiang Piaopiao herself.
However, some netizens expressed their understanding. They believe that in today's increasingly fierce business competition, enterprises may adopt some special marketing methods in order to obtain more attention and traffic. While this is somewhat inappropriate, it is understandable.
Since then, the number of viewers and sales in Xiangpiaopiao's live broadcast room have begun to decline sharply. The originally lively live broadcast room has now become deserted, and netizens have expressed their disappointment and anger. They believe that they have been deceived by Xiang Piaopiao, and express strong dissatisfaction with this behavior.
The development of this matter can be described as twists and turns. From the initial revelations that attracted attention, to the later controversy over employees' personal behavior, to the final revelation of the truth and the cooling of the heat, every link is full of drama.
But it is undeniable that Xiang Piaopiao still gained huge exposure and traffic in this incident.
But now it seems that it has also been subjected to "traffic backlash", indicating that "if it is deliberate marketing, this method is not advisable".
"Emphasis"!
Xiangpiaopiao Financial Data: The Road to Transformation
In the first quarter of 2024, Xiangpiaopiao's financial data was newly released, revealing information that not only showed the tenacious vitality of the long-established milk tea brand, but also revealed the market challenges it faced and the pressure of internal adjustments.
Let's start with the latest financial data. According to the first quarter report of 2024 released by Xiang Piaopiao, the company's revenue and net profit have increased year-on-year, of which the operating income reached 725 million yuan, an increase of 6.76% year-on-year; The net profit attributable to the parent company achieved an astonishing year-on-year increase of 331.26%, reaching 25.2126 million yuan. This performance is undoubtedly a positive sign compared to previous years. The gross profit margin and net profit margin also increased by 8.45% and 305.28% year-on-year, respectively, indicating that the company has achieved remarkable results in improving profitability.
However, a closer look at this earnings report shows that Xiang Piaopiao still faces some challenges. First of all, from the perspective of cash flow, the net cash flow from operating activities in the first quarter of 2024 was -157 million yuan, although it was narrower than -308 million yuan in the same period last year, but it still showed a lot of pressure on the capital side. In addition, the net operating cash flow in 2023 decreased sharply, by as much as 51.2%, which undoubtedly further exacerbated the company's financial pressure.
So, how did Xiang Piaopiao achieve a rebound in performance in such a severe market environment? Behind this, it is not only inseparable from the company's internal positive adjustment, but also closely related to the subtle changes in the market environment.
From an internal point of view, Xiang Piaopiao has been trying to innovate and expand the market in recent years. Its ready-to-drink business, with Meco juice tea and Lanfangyuan frozen lemon tea as its core products, achieved an operating income growth of 41.16% during the reporting period. This achievement is inseparable from the company's strategies such as increasing advertising and establishing a ready-to-drink sales team. At the same time, the company is also actively expanding new channels, and its direct sales revenue increased by 119.29% year-on-year, mainly due to the year-on-year increase in sales.
However, the high marketing expenses have also attracted the attention of the market. In 2023, Xiangpiaopiao's sales expenses will reach 860 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 53.42%, which is 3.07 times that of the net profit attributable to the parent company. This undoubtedly poses a certain squeeze on the company's profitability. Therefore, how to effectively reduce sales expenses and increase R&D investment while maintaining market expansion will be an important topic that Xiangpiaopiao needs to face in the future.
From the perspective of the external environment, the rise of new tea brands undoubtedly poses a huge challenge to Xiangpiaopiao. New tea brands such as Cha Baidao, Hey Tea, and Nai Xue's Tea have attracted a large number of young consumers with innovation and health as their selling points. As a traditional cup milk tea brand, how to maintain its market share and brand influence under the impact of new tea drinks will be the key to its future development.
In the face of market challenges and internal pressure, Xiangpiaopiao is also actively seeking a path of transformation. After Jiang Jianqi resigned as general manager, Yang Dongyun was appointed to take over, trying to promote the company's strategic transformation through management changes.
It is worth noting that the "ironic day" incident during the May Day period pushed Xiang Piaopiao to the forefront. This incident not only aroused strong attention and criticism from public opinion, but also caused the company's stock price to fall for three consecutive trading days, and its market value evaporated by about 500 million yuan. This incident undoubtedly cast a shadow on Xiang Piaopiao's transformation path.
However, Xiangpiaopiao has also accumulated a certain brand influence and market share in the years of development. Its layout and deep cultivation in the sinking market still have a certain competitive advantage. In the future, how to balance the relationship between market expansion and brand building, how to maintain its own characteristics and advantages under the impact of new tea drinks, and how to move forward steadily in the transformation process? These are all problems that need to be deeply thought about and solved.
Fragrance Piaopiao:
New ways to play, new chips and challenges
In the past few years, Xiang Piaopiao, once known as "China's first milk tea", has experienced a lot of twists and turns. The sharp drop in the share price, the abortion of the convertible bond fundraising plan, and the decline in revenue and profit all show the plight of the traditional brewed milk tea brand under the impact of freshly brewed tea. However, just when the market expressed doubts about its prospects, Xiangpiaopiao achieved a rebound in performance through a series of strategic adjustments and product innovations.
So, what are the new ways of playing "suitable for youth"? What about the results of these plays? More importantly, in the face of the future, what new chips does Xiang Piaopiao have to deal with the increasingly fierce market competition?
The transformation of Xiangpiaopiao can be said to conform to the healthy trend of new consumer demand. Driven by the country's first "Nutritional Choice" grading label, Xiangpiaopiao responded positively and integrated the concept of health into product research and development. They have launched a variety of healthy new products, such as milk tea, coffee, etc., which not only enrich the product line, but also meet consumers' demand for healthy drinks. As a result of this strategic adjustment, Xiangpiaopiao's brewing business has achieved recovery growth, and the ready-to-drink business has maintained a solid revenue.
However, for Xiang Piaopiao, product innovation alone is not enough to support its long-term development. As a result, they have also made bold attempts in their marketing strategies.
Although some people questioned whether the huge investment in advertising and marketing was worth it, Xiang Piaopiao still stuck to this strategy. They were able to increase their brand's exposure by increasing their advertising and marketing spending. The key promotion in popular programs such as "The Sound of Life" and "Brother Who Overcomes Difficulties", as well as diversified marketing methods such as Focus Ladder Media advertising, have made Xiangpiaopiao's brand image more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
Of course, for any company, R&D is the core driving force for its sustainable development. Although Xiang Piaopiao has invested relatively little in research and development, they have begun to increase their investment in this area.
So, how effective are these new plays? Judging from the financial report data, Xiangpiaopiao's brewing business achieved a revenue of 583 million yuan in the third quarter of 2023, a year-on-year increase of 14.50%. The ready-to-drink business has also made significant progress, and the revenue of Lanfangyuan Frozen Lemon Tea has exceeded 100 million yuan in just a few months.
Does this mean that Xiang Piaopiao has found a new point of growth? How do they adapt to the new consumer demand and transform into "healthy"? Now, let's take a look at what new chips Xiang Piaopiao has in his hands.
The first is product innovation. According to the 2023 annual report, the company continues to promote product innovation and upgrading by focusing on the two major routes of "health" and "pan-brewing", and has launched a variety of healthy new products, such as milk tea, coffee, etc. These measures not only achieved the recovery growth of the brewing business, but also ensured the solid revenue of the ready-to-drink business.
The second is the innovation and upgrading of the team. Xiangpiaopiao split the two major sectors and set up a new ready-to-drink sales team, which operated independently and made full efforts, which not only solved the problem of insufficient terminal sales power, but also realized the professional empowerment of the terminal and effectively stimulated the potential of the terminal market.
The second is the refined operation of channels and marketing. Xiangpiaopiao combines the different development stages of products and different product characteristics to carry out refined operations, and in terms of marketing, it also combines its own products, platforms and other characteristics to carry out focused and targeted marketing activities, which has successfully enhanced brand awareness and reputation.
In the process, will Xiang Piaopiao be able to maintain its leading position in the market and continue to expand its market share? Will their new style of play and new chips be up to the challenge of the future? These are all issues that deserve our continued attention.
epilogue
Although the "ironic day" incident brought huge traffic and sales growth to the company in a short period of time, with the reversal of the incident and the revelation of the truth, all this seems to have quickly returned to the original point. The decline in the number of viewers and sales in the live broadcast room undoubtedly sounded the alarm for Xiang Piaopiao.
Netizens shouted that "patriotism should not be used as a tool for commercial speculation, sincerity is the cornerstone of the long-term development of enterprises!" ”
So, where is the future of Xiang Piaopiao? Do you continue to rely on advertising and marketing to maintain brand exposure, or do you want to find a deeper and broader path to innovation? In the face of fierce competition in the new tea market and the ever-changing tastes of consumers, Xiang Piaopiao needs to come up with more powerful chips to meet the challenges.
Only in this way can Xiang Piaopiao stabilize its position in the unpredictable market and regain its former glory.