(Economic Observer) After Zong Qinghou passed away, how did these "second generation" successors perform?

　　China News Service, Beijing, February 25th: Question: After Zong Qinghou passed away, how did these "second generation" successors perform?

　　Author Chen Haoxing

　　On February 25, 2024, Zong Qinghou, chairman of Wahaha Group, passed away due to illness at the age of 79.

　　Zong Qinghou’s story has too many labels, such as “legendary”, “richest man”, “strong”, “low-key”, “modesty” and “bold”… In recent years, Zong Qinghou has topped the list of the richest people in Mainland China listed by Forbes several times. rich.

　　Zong Qinghou’s death is regrettable, but Wahaha Group will continue to move forward.

Many of China's well-known private enterprises are now entering an era of transition from old to new.

As the "First Generation" ages, can the "Second Generation" successfully take over?

Successors perform differently

　　According to survey statistics, nearly 80% of China's private enterprises are family businesses.

Nowadays, a new generation of successors has intensively stepped onto the stage.

　　The succession list is very long, such as Wahaha Zong Fuli, New Hope Liu Chang, New World Third Generation Zheng Zhigang, Hopson Development Zhu Juerong, Tongwei Liu Shuqi, Heilan Group Zhou Lichen, Shanshan Group Zheng Ju, etc.

　　Taking Wahaha as an example, the group’s successor has already been decided.

Zong Qinghou's daughter Zong Fuli was born in 1982. After returning from studying abroad in 2004, she joined her father's Wahaha Group. Starting from the most basic production workshop, she was gradually promoted to the head of the brand public relations department, the deputy general manager of the sales company, and finally reached the " Succession" position.

Her performance within the group was rated "90 points" by Zong Qinghou.

　　Zong Fuli has made drastic changes to Wahaha, such as breaking the brand circle and creating IP.

In addition to taking over Wahaha, Zong Fuli also owns her own business. The Hongsheng Beverage Group she built has grown from one production line to a comprehensive enterprise with 20 production bases, more than 40 subsidiaries, and a full industrial chain layout across the country. Beverage Group has repeatedly ranked among the "Top 500 Chinese Private Enterprises" and "Top 500 Chinese Private Enterprises in the Manufacturing Industry".

Zong Qinghou expressed his affirmation to his daughter many times, praising Zong Fuli for becoming a mature entrepreneur in recent years and "better than me".

　　Another star company, New Hope, is also in the stage of succession.

In 2023, New Hope Investment Group underwent industrial and commercial changes, and Liu Chang was added as chairman and director.

Liu Chang is the only daughter of New Hope founder Liu Yonghao.

In 2011, Liu Yonghao publicly introduced his daughter under her real name Liu Chang for the first time.

　　Liu Chang, who was sent to study in the United States by Liu Yonghao when he was in high school, went through a period of "extreme decadence and collapse" and longed to "express a different version of himself."

Soon after returning to China, she entered New Hope Dairy Holdings Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of New Hope Group, under the arrangement of her father.

　　Liu Yonghao, chairman of New Hope Group, talked about Liu Chang in an interview with China News Service in 2020, and expressed his true feelings, "In fact, she has done quite well. She works very hard and often thinks about problems at night, and sometimes she can't sleep. She is also a mother, raising a pair of twins. Liu Chang is a person who loves fashion. It is not easy to give up the yearning and pursuit of fashion and engage in the most practical, basic and traditional agricultural industry. I hope she can By balancing work and life, we can face challenges and opportunities with a more normal mind, and we can go on the road to long-termism more smoothly and better."

　　During the interview, Liu Yonghao rated Liu Chang's work performance, "at least 85 points or above."

　　Private enterprises are entering a peak period of replacement, and the problem of cultivating successors has become increasingly prominent.

But the performance of some successors was less than satisfactory.

　　In 2016, Metersbonwe founder Zhou Chengjian handed over control of the company to his daughter Hu Jiajia.

In the more than seven years since Hu Jiajia took over, Metersbonwe has only had a positive annual net profit, with a cumulative loss of nearly 3.2 billion yuan.

On January 5, 2024, Hu Jiajia resigned from her positions as chairman and president, and Zhou Chengjian announced his return to the helm.

How will the “second generation” take over?

　　According to "40 Years of Chinese Family Business Ecology", the average lifespan of a family business is 24 years, which is exactly the same as the average working years of the company founder; 30% of family businesses can be passed on to the second generation, of which less than one-third Two-thirds of the companies can pass on to the third generation, and only about 13% of the latter can pass on to the third generation.

　　Li Zibin, president of the China Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, pointed out in a previous interview with the media that most private enterprises in China are family-owned enterprises, which has its own reasons at a certain historical stage.

However, we must consciously overcome the shortcomings of family-owned enterprises, strive to establish a modern enterprise system, and introduce advanced management technology.

　　Some surveys also show that the new generation of Chinese family businesses are more proactive than their global counterparts.

　　PwC's 2022 Global New Generation Survey China Report shows that looking forward to the next five years, compared with the new generation of global family businesses, the proportion of new generations of family businesses in mainland China who aspire to take on corporate leadership roles is 69%, much higher than the global Survey results of 51% within the range.

　　72% of the new generation of Chinese family businesses believe that achieving business growth should be their company's top priority in the next two years, followed by the adoption of new technologies.

At the same time, 35% of the new generation of Chinese family businesses believe that they can create value in the field of "realizing business growth", which is higher than the global level of 31%.

　　In the long history, succession has always been an arduous task with constant challenges.

The challenges and opportunities faced by the "second generation" are, as the ancients said: It is easy to conquer a country, but difficult to defend it.

(over)