The sudden new crown pneumonia epidemic has changed our lives.
After the ups and downs of 2020, people will begin to adapt to the normalization of epidemic prevention and control in 2021, and they will also be more active in facing new changes in economic life under the influence of the epidemic.
In the epidemic that lasted for two years, everyone is changing more or less, but some industries and people feel more deeply.
Some of them bottomed out and rebounded, struggling to find new possibilities in the predicament; some were new opportunities that created new demands, and they took advantage of the trend to nurture new economic growth points.
At the moment of saying goodbye to 2021 and welcoming 2022, the Economic Daily reporter approached these industry groups and read the profound changes in economic life from their 2021 stories.
Today, let’s first pay attention to the industries and groups that have been hit harder by the epidemic.
In their stories, they can read the helplessness and struggle that have been hit repeatedly; they can read the determination and hard work that is unwilling to give up; they can read the confidence and confidence given to them by the recovery of domestic economic stability; they can read the hope of looking for opportunities in the future. Expectation and hope.
The new year calendar has opened, the global pandemic has not stopped, and the impact of the epidemic will continue.
But from the interviewees' words, it can be felt that they, who have survived the most difficult period of the epidemic, will not stop moving forward.
"It must be transformed", "Opportunities are greater than pressure", "We will have a lot to do", to get out of the trough, to become better, and become everyone's unanimous wish and goal.
Move forward even if the tide is over your lips
Our reporter Zheng Yang
"Life is a difficult journey for me. I don't know if the tide will rise, or even go higher without my lips, but I want to move forward." Yan Youchun, chairman of Guangdong Roman Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. opened A gift box co-branded with the National Gallery of the United Kingdom showed reporters a paragraph of Van Gogh’s words that came into view first, which seemed to be a portrayal of the situation of Roman and many small and medium-sized foreign trade companies in Dongguan in the past year. .
"It is too difficult to do foreign trade this year, especially for manufacturing companies." Yan Youchun clearly remembers that in early 2021, he bid farewell to the roller coaster of 2020, and he was determined to make a big splash in the oral care market at home and abroad.
Unexpectedly, entering the second quarter, due to the continuous transmission of international bulk commodity prices to the middle and lower reaches of the industrial chain, raw material price increases will fly in like snow flakes.
"Chips, plastic materials, packaging... All the materials of our main product, electric toothbrushes, have been increasing in price. The price rose slowly in March last year, but it soared in April and May, and the profits were gone. I went to talk to the supplier. One family talked about it, and they said there was no way, and it couldn’t be done without raising the price."
Finally, in August and September, the price of raw materials has stabilized a little, and the more troublesome problem has come-"It is hard to find a container" by sea.
Roman has been a major international OEM for 16 years and has a full reputation, with customers in more than 30 countries and regions including the United States and Japan. Despite the raging global epidemic in 2021, Roman's overseas orders have increased by 30%.
However, the epidemic has caused congestion in global ports and terminals, and the turnover of container containers is not smooth. It is difficult for the electric toothbrushes produced to be delivered to customers.
"Until now, one-third of the cargo is held at the Shenzhen terminal every month. Customers are anxious, but we are even more anxious. If we lose 10 to 20 million yuan in a month, we lose 3 to 4 million yuan in profits. It has a big impact on a company of our size."
The long duration of the epidemic made Yan Youchun unexpected. However, if 2021 is placed in the long river where he has been at the helm of Roman for 16 years, he and many manufacturing colleagues have already been familiar with this feeling of "the tide has not passed his lips."
Yan Youchun rented a 60-square-meter house in Shenzhen in 2006 and started his own business. With small high-quality orders, he has won the trust of international first-line brands step by step. So far, he has accumulated more than 60 overseas customers who have cooperated for more than ten years.
During this period, he experienced the 2008 financial crisis. In 2018, overseas sales were cut in half. In 2020, when the overseas epidemic broke out, orders were almost cut in half...
Breaking through the suffocation of the tides, the "small sampan" has become a "surfer master", fighting in two seas at home and abroad.
The reporter walked into the new park where Roman moved into, and saw the clean workshop, the automatic production line of electric toothbrushes and dental flushers. There were both the hot-selling Roman own brand ROAMAN on Tmall Mall and some OEMs for internationally renowned brands. Products, as well as OEM products of European brands that are rarely seen in China.
"At present, there are four to five hundred electric toothbrush brands in the domestic market, including big brands such as Philips and Oral B. ROAMAN ranks in the top five on Tmall, and it is one of the few brands that has the ability to research, produce, and sell the entire chain." Lin Jiaxin, Director of Production Department, introduced.
Competition emphasizes knowing oneself and the enemy.
The cabinets in Yan Youchun's office are filled with products of major brands. He has thoroughly studied the technical routes, advantages and disadvantages of different brands.
But during the epidemic, he realized more and more deeply that it is better to study consumers than to study opponents.
In fact, since entering the domestic market with his own brand in 2017, Yan Youchun has been faced with the soul torture often encountered when manufacturing in China is transferred from abroad: the same quality, technology and production line, why is it labeled "European" and "American" Double the price?
After several years of exploration, Roman found a way to get rid of the cycle of price competition: to find the right target consumers to innovate.
In 2019, Roman launched an electric toothbrush "Small Fruit Brush" co-created with Alibaba Commodity Design Incubation Center, which accurately hit the hearts of young women, with sales exceeding 140 million yuan; in 2020, it launched a couple electric toothbrush "Caution Machine" , Continue to be popular; in 2021, the first "small battery" that "charges once a year" was created, which solved the pain point of the battery life of electric toothbrushes, and once again sold out... On Tmall Taobao, the best selling electric toothbrush is priced at 99 In the range of RMB 129 to RMB 129, Roman’s hot models sold for two to three hundred RMB per customer. In 2021, the repurchase rate of regular customers will increase by more than 80%, relying on differentiated innovation aimed at market segments.
"According to industry data analysis, it is found that domestic consumption is gradually stratified, and people at different consumption levels are also more segmented. People pay more attention to the effectiveness of health care products, and young people pay more attention to the pleasure of themselves." said Yan Hongping, director of the Roman market brand department, so Roman side Continue to be an "old scalper" in core technology research and development, while working hard to give products the ability to "tell stories".
At the 4th CIIE, the limited-edition Van Gogh dental flusher co-branded by Roman and the National Gallery of the United Kingdom surprised consumers. The “Double 11” day sold more than 2 million yuan.
"Because it is not only a dental tool, but also a texture tool for artistic life. When consumers appreciate Van Gogh's "Sunflower", they will feel that life is full of sunshine."
The calendar of 2022 has been opened. The epidemic has made the future market full of unknowns, and the suffocating breath cannot be relaxed.
"If you continue to spend money to buy traffic, no one can afford to spend such a high cost; if you don't deeply solve the pain and itching points of users, it will be difficult to form a repurchase." In Yan Youchun's view, the core technology breakthrough based on user needs is The "grain and grass" for the winter.
"We have united with Alibaba, using big data to insight into consumer demand, and accurately innovated; we have united with Huawei Hongmeng system to develop AI smart products, and become Huawei's partner for smart life in all scenarios."
"Opportunities are always greater than pressure." Yan Youchun is full of hope for the new year.
"The country is paying more and more attention to manufacturing. In 2021, Roman was selected as the national specialization and special new "little giant" and won the central financial award. When moving into the new park, the Dongguan city and town governments also came to congratulate. In the most difficult At that time, these supports are shining into the heart like the sun. With such a large consumer group in my country, the penetration rate of oral consumption is still relatively low. We continue to iterate technologies and products and cultivate market segments. We still have a lot to do."
What makes him even more looking forward to is that during the epidemic, Roman's own brand electric toothbrushes have won their first victory in markets such as Japan. Next, they will explore the use of cross-border e-commerce channels such as TikTok and Amazon to let their own brands set sail.
Domestic brands are becoming a major trend overseas, which is an unstoppable trend.
In the first 11 months of 2021, Guangdong's general trade import and export volume increased by 20%, far exceeding the 13.4% growth rate of processing trade.
In the past, domestic overseas shopping for foreign goods was popular, but now overseas consumers have become accustomed to "reverse overseas shopping."
I believe that under the support of the platform ecology created by the country, more and more "little giants" like Roman with core technology and excellent manufacturing capabilities will show their true colors in the international market.
Coexistence of Learning and Uncertainty
Our reporter Zhang Xue
"If we are not interrupted by the epidemic, our net profit may have reached tens of millions of yuan by 2021," said Jia Jianqiang, CEO of 6Renyou.com.
Before the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, 97% of the business of 6-person travel.com relied on outbound customized tours, but to this day, outbound group tours are still in a state of complete interruption.
Since the establishment of the company in 2013, Jia Jianqiang still remembers the moment when he won the first customer, the first order, and the operating income reached the first 1 million yuan and 10 million yuan.
However, the sudden outbreak gave the company a good momentum to press the pause button.
Struggling to survive has become the only proposition of the 6-person travel website in the past two years.
6Renyou.com.cn has experienced big and small storms in recent years. Fortunately, there are no dangers, but the impact of the epidemic is different. It has caused the tourism industry to suffer a storm from top to bottom.
According to the analysis of the United Nations World Tourism Organization, the number of global international tourists in 2020 will decrease by 70% year-on-year, a 30-year regression; from January to July 2021, the number of global international tourists will drop by 80% compared with the same period in 2019.
"From around the Spring Festival in 2020 to before the announcement of the resumption of inter-provincial team tours in July, our business has completely stagnated. Since 2021, the epidemic has shown a partial spread, and our business is still unstable. The Spring Festival, summer vacation and mid-October have been intermittently affected by 3 This is a relatively large impact.” Jia Jianqiang summed up his experience in the past two years with “four zeros and four rebirths”.
The tourism industry is an asset-light industry, and the biggest risk brought about by shutdowns is reflected in the capital chain on the one hand, “because there is no way to form a group, customers will refund collectively, and at most we have refunded nearly 100 million yuan of funds”; on the other hand, This is reflected in the brain drain, many years of practitioners are forced to leave their jobs and change careers.
When looking back on the experience of the past two years, it is difficult to see the waves on Jia Jianqiang's face.
"Get used to it, no company grows smoothly. Just like people, it has to go through something before it matures." After the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia, he and the company are learning to coexist with uncertainty.
贾建强说，自己不是冒险主义者，当年选择旅游创业是深思熟虑的结果。“人们的物质生活越来越好，消费升级成为必然趋势，旅游肯定是一个重要的消费选择。”数据印证了他的判断：疫情发生前的2019年，国内旅游人数达60.06亿人次；而出境旅游人数也几近翻番，达15463万人次。
“我一直在思考互联网化的旅游该怎么做。”作为一个后来者，该选择哪条赛道挤进已经高手林立的旅游市场，他找到了一片空白地带。贾建强说，“传统的在线旅游企业主要依靠机票、酒店等旅游产品的预订服务，相对而言，对团队游服务投入不多；传统的旅行社擅长团队游，但主要依靠线下网络”。6人游旅行网则把这两者交叉，切入线上定制游这个细分市场，依靠互联网挖掘和积累中高端客户，向他们提供个性化、私密化的小团定制出游服务。
执迷于过去解决不了问题，理性思考更有助于和不确定性共存。“必须转型，在自己擅长的领域转型。”
2020年7月跨省团队游放开后，6人游旅行网把主营方向拉回国内，“得益于国内成功的防疫措施和庞大的内需，我们还能在国内市场做些事情”。和境外游相比，客户对国内游没有签证、语言等服务需求；此外，国内游市场的透明度更高，可替代性强，竞争更加激烈。“我们要走差异化路子，把重点放在资源和服务上。比如，在资源上，和度假酒店深度合作；在服务上，提供房车旅行等更多个性化选择。”
疫情也并非全无好处。贾建强认为，消费者意识转变以及疫情影响，加速了私密化、个性化旅行需求的发展。“这次疫情让旅游从业者和消费者都把目光放到了国内，这些年国内的酒店、民宿、餐饮以及服务等都有升级，为追求品质的旅游消费提供了基础。”这些都为定制游这个细分领域的加速成长提供了空间。
疫情还给6人游旅行网带来了反思的机会——公司的经营模式是否合理？经营效率是否还能提高？比如，以前公司为了扩大客户群体会花很多钱做推广，疫情之后推广经费极尽压缩，结果发现之前积累的客户依然稳定存在，这让贾建强开始思考之前的逻辑是否正确，是否应该把更多精力放在老客户的维护与挖潜上。
"We must do things on the trend." Jia Jianqiang said that the epidemic will eventually pass, the tourism market will recover sooner or later, and the demand for tourism services will increase.
These are all trends, and they are also the reason why 6Renyou.com.cn sticks to it.
"The epidemic has made us go through the darkest moment, and it has also made us mature." The voice fell, and looking up, the warm sun had been shining into the green-based office, and the employees were quietly busy with what they were doing.
At this moment, the warm sun, green and busyness in front of us all seem to indicate hope.
The market needs to change
Our reporter Liu Jie and Dong Qingsen
"Goods arrive in Hankou."
Hankou has been prospered by merchants since ancient times, and Hanzheng Street in Wuhan, Hubei is "the main street of ancient Hankou", where thousands of merchants gather.
Twenty years ago, Huang Lijuan, who quit her job in the bank, followed her husband to this old street to wholesale buttons, and grew up with this street.
"Usually I don't come here so early." At 9 o'clock on December 23, 2021, at the "One Button" experience store on South Youyi Road, Wuhan, founder of "One Button" and general manager of Wuhan Hongma E-Commerce Co., Ltd. Huang Lijuan invited the reporter to the store as she said. She made a good tea skillfully and said: "Before, this kind of ease was unimaginable."
In the lobby of the "One Button" experience store, there are countless small grids filled with various buttons.
"There are tens of thousands of buttons here, how do you tell them?" Huang Lijuan faced such a problem when she first opened a store on Hanzheng Street.
She needs to remember the button's color, quantity, size, material, purchase place, purchase price... Many times, buttons that look exactly the same, come from different manufacturers, and purchase prices are different. "If you make a mistake, you will lose money." ".
During this time, Huang Lijuan discussed with programmers late into the night every day, and they were debugging and optimizing a WeChat applet.
In this small program, clothing accessories manufacturers such as buttons and belts make their products into electronic card catalogs, which are recommended to clothing designers and manufacturers for purchase. It also allows downstream clothing manufacturers to freely match elements and carry out personalized customization.
"For example, if a manufacturer wants buttons for the spring and summer of 2022, it will be displayed here. If you like, you can contact them directly."
The motivation that prompted her to develop this product stems from the difficult experience of 2020.
Due to the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia, Hanzheng Street was closed for more than 4 months.
Huang Lijuan said that a new style of clothing enterprises only has a fresh-keeping period of 3 to 5 days, and a piece of clothing involves more than 50 kinds of accessories. If there is no clothing in place, it will not be produced.
If you delay for a few more days, the market will be robbed.
Huang Lijuan described that the clothing industry has become a "car" that runs at high speed, but the accessories are still a "pallet truck", which is quite difficult to follow.
After Wuhan was unblocked, Huang Lijuan's team was divided into multiple teams and spent more than half a month purchasing back thousands of trendy accessories. Only she knew the difficulties.
“At that time, it was very difficult to collect outside. Wearing a mask, standing outside other people's factories and communicating with designers, the cost of each sample collected was very high.” Huang Lijuan said.
Business has gradually improved, but Huang Lijuan began to reflect: The impact of the epidemic is still there. This traditional way of running errands and face-to-face procurement and distribution is too constrained by time and space, and can't keep up with the development of the clothing industry.
And the procurement can't keep up, and design innovation can't be discussed.
"The epidemic prevention and control will remain normal, but the market is extremely sensitive. To be honest, I can't stand this kind of toss anymore. I think it must be changed."
As a result, an autonomous, remote, and easy-to-operate WeChat ordering mini program roughly formed in Huang Lijuan's mind.
In fact, Huang Lijuan has been chasing the road on the "cloud" for a long time.
When faced with the difficult problem of tens of thousands of buttons being difficult to distinguish, Huang Lijuan thought "If only there was a special statistical system."
In 2008, she established "One Button", a trading platform for the accessories industry, and built the basic framework of the new standard for buttons.
By 2019, the "One Button" standard has covered 415 categories of 17 clothing accessories categories such as buttons, laces, zippers, ribbons, accessories, hangers, trademarks, models, tools, etc., making it the largest clothing accessories trading platform in Central China. Attracted the attention of more than 2,900 designers, and the order turnover reached more than 30 million yuan.
Operators, manufacturers, and consumers can complete ordering, delivery, and settlement on the "One Button" platform.
On April 25, 2020, "One Button" became the first batch of enterprises to resume work in Wuhan's apparel industry.
Huang Lijuan said frankly that after experiencing the epidemic, mutual trust has greatly improved after everyone overcomes the difficulties.
"Now the upstream apparel company design department will share the new product development plan with us. We receive the information and send it to the downstream factory. The factory develops new products based on the needs of the enterprise, and achieves precise docking and precise services. Tripartite cooperation, a new product The development cost of the company can be reduced by almost half."
Many merchants on Hanzheng Street that have suffered the impact of the epidemic are actively seeking transformation like Huang Lijuan.
Ke Wei, Director of the Working Committee of the People’s Congress of Hanzheng Street, introduced that in the past, Hanzheng Street was mainly based on offline transactions. Nowadays, live broadcast platforms and cross-border e-commerce have injected new vitality into the old street. Production, transformation and upgrading.
"In 2020, we planned to build a headquarters in Wuhan. Because of the delay of the epidemic, we will continue to start the construction of the headquarters in 2022 and open the experience store to Hangzhou." Huang Lijuan said that the buttons are small but indispensable.
She is confident that while restoring the domestic market, she will go out with her button standards and find a place in the international market.