Text: Xiao Yu
"Golden throat throat treasure, early use early good", this advertising slogan believes that many people still remember it. However, this popular national brand is now delisted from Hong Kong stocks. On 12 August, Hong Kong-listed company Golden Throat announced that it would take it private at HK$2.8 per share, and the Offeror had appointed Standard Chartered Bank as financial advisor for the transaction. After the completion of the privatization transaction, Golden Throat will be delisted from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, ending the 6-year-long Hong Kong listing process.
Looking back at the development of Golden Throat in recent years, although it has long been the leader of the domestic throat candy industry, the development of Golden Throat since its listing has not been smooth. In addition to the stagnation of performance growth, its stock price has also been declining. According to the data, as of October 8, the latest share price of Golden Throat Company was only HK$2.64, down more than 60% from the high of HK$7.93. In addition, the current risk of the golden throat itself is as high as 34.
It is reported that Guangxi Golden Throat was restructured from Liuzhou City Candy No. 2 Factory in the 1990s, and the original factory, Jiang Peizhen, was the actual controller. Up to now, there are 17 enterprises under Jiang Peizhen's name. However, Jiang Peizhen, as the actual controller, is now also plagued by scandals, and according to media reports, in recent years, Jiang Peizhen has even been listed as a dishonest executor because she has not repaid her debts, and has become a veritable "old lai".
If you look back on the past, Jiang Peizhen and the golden voice she founded are legendary. In Liuzhou, Jiang Peizhen, the founder of Golden Throat, is also known as "Jiang Lao Niang". Jiang Peizhen, born in November 1946, ancestral home in Pingnan, Guangxi, grew up in a poor family, with an older brother above and 4 younger siblings at the bottom. In 1959, due to the death of her mother and the fact that life was even more difficult, 13-year-old Jiang Peizhen dropped out of school and went to work in the liuzhou candy factory at that time.
Although the factory did not allow the recruitment of child labor, because Jiang Peizhen was too pitiful at the time, the factory turned a blind eye and let her enter the factory. After entering the sugar factory, Jiang Peizhen also cherished this hard-won opportunity. She started from an apprenticeship, step by step became the leader of the production team, the director of the workshop, and Jiang Peizhen, who was only 18 years old, had already become the deputy director. In February 1979, Jiang Peizhen was promoted to director of the factory and led the factory to carry out reforms.
In the 1980s, Jiang Peizhen led the factory to introduce three candy production lines. In 1983, chocolate production technology was conquered. By 1988, the annual output of the second sugar factory exceeded 20,000 tons, the output value was 97 million yuan, and the staff had risen from 48 when Jiang Peizhen entered to nearly 1,000 people, and 10 indicators ranked first in the country.
By the early 1990s, however, China's confectionery industry was mired in multiple crises. On the one hand, the price of raw materials has increased and the cost has increased. On the other hand, the homogenization competition in the industry has also intensified, and counterfeit goods are rampant. And foreign candies are also constantly squeezing into the Chinese market, and local brands can only struggle. As a result, the operating conditions of Liuzhou Candy No. 2 Factory deteriorated, and even once reached the brink of bankruptcy.
Just when Jiang Peizhen was in a hurry, Jiang Peizhen met a "nobleman" who changed his life, that is, Wang Yaofa, a professor at East China Normal University in Shanghai. Perhaps it is really the road of heaven, jiang Peizhen, who heard that a professor at East China Normal University was studying the formula of throat lozenges, hurriedly ran to the university to seek "good medicine". Jiang Peizhen, who "searched for medicine in a thousand miles", quickly got wang Yaofa's approval. After getting the formula, Jiang Peizhen rushed back to Guangxi and began to study new products according to the formula.
In 1993, a year after getting the recipe, the "Golden Throat" was born. The following year, in 1994, Guangxi Golden Throat Pharmaceutical Factory was formally established, and the sugar factory was also formally transformed into a factory specializing in "throat sugar". Due to the remarkable efficacy and the fact that there were not many competitors at the time, Golden Throat exploded after its launch, and the factory turned a profit.
After the smooth mass production, Jiang Peizhen did not continue to increase investment in research and development, but opened continuous advertising and marketing. In 1995, Jiang Peizhenhao threw 5 million yuan to CCTV to advertise, and the effect was indeed remarkable. In 1996, the revenue of Golden Throat exceeded 100 million. At the end of 1998, the output value of Golden Throat Company approached 200 million, becoming one of the top 50 enterprises in Guangxi and one of the top 100 pharmaceutical enterprises in China. Not only that, Jiang Peizhen is also a person who is accustomed to routines. What makes Golden Voice famous is not only based on advertising, but also on the "spokesperson" it cheats.
In 2003, Real Madrid came to China to participate in business competitions, along with football superstar Ronaldo. As a football superstar, his influence is unparalleled, and Jiang Peizhen wants to hire Ronaldo's contemporary spokesman, but his budget is only 300,000 US dollars. As a world superstar, $300,000 is certainly not moving. So Jiang Peizhen set up a set and invited Ronaldo to eat a "Hongmen Feast".
Jiang Peizhen said that as a fan, she wanted to invite her idol to a meal, spent 300,000 yuan to invite him to the hotel, during which he let Ronaldo change into clothes with the golden voice logo, and let him hold the product of the golden voice in his hand to take a photo with himself. Ronaldo also seems to be aware that it may be commercial propaganda, but Jiang Peizhen also assured him that it will not be used for publicity. But to Ronaldo's surprise, after returning to China, Jiang Peizhen rebelled. Immediately used the material on the dinner table to make an advertisement for "Ronaldo Endorsement Golden Throat Tablet".
Due to the underdevelopment of Internet information at that time, it was not until 2007 that Ronaldo learned of the matter and took Kim's voice to court, and soon Kim's voice made compensation and withdrew the advertisement. But at this time, the golden voice has earned a lot of money. And ten years later, in 2015, Golden Throat was successfully listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. However, the development of the golden voice after the listing is far from as smooth as expected.
From the financial report data, its revenue has been maintained in the range of 600 million to 800 million after listing, and the net profit is only about 100 million. In June 2019, Golden Throat Holding Group was also listed as a "dishonest executor" for defaulting on advertising fees of 51.67 million yuan. Jiang Peizhen, the actual controller of Golden Throat Food, was also included in the list of "restricted consumption personnel".
Until now, in addition to the long-term lack of performance growth, only 6 years after the listing, Golden Throat was forced to delist on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The reason for all this may have been planted as early as 18 years ago, when he lured Ronaldo to a banquet. As we all know, the most important thing to do business is to pay attention to integrity, and there is no fundamental without integrity.
In addition, the product is also very important, but throughout the establishment of the golden throat for so many years, the product that can be taken is still only the golden throat throat tablet. And this "strong woman" Jiang Peizhen, who once dared to fight and dared to fight, also brought herself into a dead end after taking shortcuts.