China Times (www.chinatimes.net.cn) reporter Guo Haoyi Ge Aifeng reported in Shenzhen
The countdown to delisting is in, but business continues.
On October 29, Guangxi Golden Throat Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Golden Throat") announced that it plans to privatize the Company through an agreement arrangement and is expected to revoke the listing status of the shares on the Stock Exchange at 9:00 a.m. on December 15, 2021. At the close of the day, Golden Throat's share price fell 0.37% to HK$2.69, with a total market value of less than HK$2 billion.
Recently, the "China Times" reporter found a new product called Golden Throat Intestinal Treasure Prebiotic when browsing the Flagship Store of Golden Throat Throat, which features a flavored solid beverage and is priced at 299 yuan / 200g. The reporter asked the customer service about the efficacy of the product, and the other party introduced that "the intestinal flora is regulated", but when the reporter further asked for specific information, the customer service said that he was not clear about this product.
Historical financial report data show that throat tablets and throat treasures are the main force of golden throat revenue, and the two products have continued to account for about 90% of the company's total revenue in recent years. In recent years, the performance growth of Golden Throat has been weak. From 2015 to 2020, the sales of throat tablets fell from 129 million boxes to 0.91 billion boxes, and the annual sales revenue fell from 649 million yuan to 582 million yuan.
Behind the launch of the new product, it is not difficult to see the attitude of the golden voice to save the market. In response to the information of the golden throat and the company's future development planning, the reporter of the China Times called the golden throat several times, and the other party responded that "it is a trade secret and it is inconvenient to disclose." ”
The next "throat treasure"?
In fact, Golden Throat Intestinal Prebiotic is not a product that Golden Throat has only recently launched. Public information shows that at the end of last year, Golden Throat has held a new product release conference for Golden Throat Sausage Treasure.
At the meeting, Xie Yonjun, global general operator of Golden Throat Intestinal Treasure and director of operation of Golden Throat Group,Ltd., introduced the invention patent of golden throat group's scientific research team in Golden Throat Intestinal Treasure products - isomaltultanol. Isomaltultoneitol can effectively promote the growth and reproduction of Bifidobacterium, improve the structure of intestinal flora, play endogenous activation and consolidate the body, enzyme a large amount of butyric acid, anti-cancer and anti-cancer effects.
So, is the term "anti-cancer and anti-cancer" appropriate? The reporter learned that solid beverages are powdered, granular or blocky products processed with food raw materials and accessories, food additives, etc., for brewing or brewing and drinking, which belong to ordinary food. According to the first paragraph of Article 8 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China, business operators must not make false or misleading commercial publicity about the performance, function, quality, sales status, user evaluation, and honors they have won, so as to deceive or mislead consumers.
However, on the Tmall flagship store, the product details of Golden Throat Sausage Treasure only have an introduction to the product ingredients, and there is no information about the efficacy of the product. When the reporter asked the customer service as a buyer, the other party also responded that it was "not very clear."
At present, the sales of Golden Throat Intestine Treasure in the Tmall flagship store are few; in addition, after visiting a number of pharmacies in Shenzhen, the reporter found that the offline physical store did not list the product, and some clerks even said that they had not heard of it.
In the case of the company's core product single, the new product has not yet achieved full online and offline coverage, golden throat to create a new product of golden throat intestine treasure, can it be turned into another explosive product? Chinese food industry analyst Zhu Danpeng told the "China Times" reporter that it is not easy for golden throat intestine treasure to become a strong competitor, "First of all, from the product side, 'intestinal treasure' does not belong to the blue hat product, can not promote the efficacy of the product; secondly, from the consumer side, the awareness and recognition of the 'intestine treasure' is not high; moreover, from the company's data, its marketing cost is higher than the production cost, indicating that the product itself is not valued, and this mode of operation has long been outdated." ”
Wang Haiping, deputy general manager of Cinda Futures, pointed out to this reporter that Golden Throat Throat Treasure has super competitiveness and has been selling well all year round, compared with other products of this listed company.
At the above-mentioned new product launch, Jiang Peizhen, chairman of Golden Throat Group, announced that the golden throat intestinal treasure launched by Golden Throat for the intestinal health of the Chinese people has come out, and Golden Throat, which has always regarded innovation as the life of the enterprise, will use this product as a new competitiveness and burst out of new vitality.
However, whether the golden throat intestine treasure can continue the glory of the "throat treasure" still needs time to prove.
How to break the single dilemma of the product
Guangxi Golden Throat Group was originally Liuzhou City Candy No. 2 Factory, was founded on March 6, 1956, in 1994 the company self-raised 7.8 million yuan to establish Guangxi Golden Throat Pharmaceutical Factory, in 1998 by the Liuzhou Municipal People's Government approval, by Guangxi Golden Throat Pharmaceutical Factory and Liuzhou City Candy No. 2 Factory restructuring and establishment.
According to the information on the official website, Guangxi Golden Throat Group focuses on the pharmaceutical and food health industries, and its main products are golden throat tablets, sugar-free gold throat throat treasure, golden throat health sugar, gold and silver sanchi capsules, ginkgo biloba leaves, luo han guo jade bamboo granules and other more than 60 kinds of drugs. Among them, the production of products Golden Throat Throat Tablets has been among the best in the market share of similar products for many years.
While sitting on the gold medal product, Golden Throat has also fallen into the dilemma of a single product. According to the financial report data of the past years, the throat tablet and the throat treasure are the main force of the golden throat revenue, and the two products have continued to occupy more than 90% of the company's total revenue in recent years.
In this case, the company relies on price increases to maintain profits and turnover. In August 2013, the price of golden throat tablets increased from 20 tablets per box to 12 pieces, and subsequently, the price of gold throat tablets per box rose from 4.3 yuan in 2014 to 6.4 yuan in 2020, an increase of 48.83%.
However, this approach does not seem flattering to consumers. From the sales data, in 2015, the sales of golden throat throat tablets were 129 million boxes, and by 2020, the sales of golden throat throat tablets decreased to 0.91 billion boxes. According to the 2020 financial report, the sales revenue of golden throat throat tablets was about 580 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 19.3%; the sales revenue of throat treasure series products was about 53.7 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 19.6%.
However, Golden Voice also understood the problem. In announcing the delisting news, Jin said: "During this period, the company's financial performance has been mixed, and the new products launched have been insufficiently attractive, resulting in a decline in stock prices and an increasingly insufficient liquidity for stock trading. ”
In fact, Golden Voice is also trying to diversify its business. In 2016, Golden Throat launched herbal drinks and also raised market awareness of new products by sponsoring TV shows such as The Masked Singer. However, Because She did not recognize the ratings of the program, She refused to pay the remaining advertising fees, and eventually went to court, and Jiang Peizhen was once listed as a restricted consumer.
In fact, from the perspective of data, Golden Throat is not "reluctant to spend money" in marketing. In 2016, Golden Throat spent about $319 million on sales and distribution, mainly from advertising. Looking back at the financial reports of previous years, it can be found that since 2012, the annual sales expenses of Golden Throat are not less than 200 million yuan, and the marketing costs are higher than the production costs. In contrast, the research and development expenses of Golden Throat in 2020 are only 2.79 million, which is about 1/60 of the cost of sales, accounting for 0.43% of revenue.
On the other hand, in recent years, when the golden throat "eats the old money", the penetration rate of the domestic throat drug retail market has continued to grow, and the market competition is also intensifying. According to data from the intranet, among the top 20 manufacturers of throat proprietary Chinese medicines in 2020, Yangzijiang Pharmaceutical Group won the throne of "sales crown", and the market share exceeded 20%. Guilin Sanjin ranked second, with an upward trend in market share; Golden Throat ranked third, with its market share falling below 10%. Under the background of the growing market of traditional Chinese medicines for throat medicines, golden throat has gradually "lost its voice".
A professional investor told this reporter that the end of the golden voice is because it did not control the market changes in time and keep up with the pace of the times, "the advantages of traditional enterprises in the new era of competition, the need is not only capital, but also the need for product innovation and model upgrades, just like the mobile phones we use, although the function of communication has not changed in essence, but the auxiliary and additional new functions are changing with each passing day." The biggest change in the new era is change, and the era without change is equivalent to self-regression. ”