Shanghai Jahwa upgrades in brand promotion

August 23, 2010, on the Bund, Shanghai, in the newly renovated Peace Hotel, the world's first store of "Shuangmei" was grandly opened. From that moment on, Shanghai Jahwa's strategy of transforming itself into a high-end fashion brand took a key step.

Despite its well-known brands such as "Herborist" and "Qingfei", Shanghai Jahwa is still an image of a local daily chemical manufacturer in people's minds. At the same time, international big-name companies such as L'Oreal and Procter & Gamble are eroding the territory that Shanghai Jahwa is good at. Obviously, this is a market in which there is no advance or retreat, and is full of crises. Only through transformation and upgrading can we have the opportunity to keep our territory and then push back our opponents. The "Shuangmei" brand positioned in the high-end skin care, beauty and accessories market is Shanghai Jahwa's strategic layout to face international competitors and enter the high-end fashion industry. "To compete with rivals such as L'Oreal, Unilever, Procter & Gamble and Kao, we must enter the high-end fashion industry," said Ge Wenyao, chairman of Shanghai Jahwa United Co., Ltd. "In the future, we hope to be involved in more fashion fields."

Success stems from precise brand positioning

If "Shuangmei" is a key pawn in Shanghai Jahwa's layout of the high-end fashion industry, then "Herborist" is the forward of "Shuangmei". This brand is not only welcomed by consumers in the domestic market, but also across the ocean. With its unique Chinese cultural heritage and brand new brand image, it leads the trend of traditional Chinese medicine beauty in France and other international markets.

If it had not been stimulated by a manager of a multinational company, Shanghai Jahwa might not have had the success of "Herborist" today.

In 1995, the manager said frankly to Jahwa: "We don't like your Shanghai Jahwa products, they all imitate the West. Such products can only be sold in China at most. If you want to enter the international market , is simply impossible."

The stimulating power of these words made Ge Wenyao determined to develop a truly original Chinese brand that can go abroad. Thus, "Herborist" came into being. This is a brand that features the compatibility of ancient herbal formulas, combines Chinese beauty classics and modern biotechnology, and is full of Chinese elements. The reason for choosing such a positioning is that, on the one hand, Chinese herbal medicine is the traditional culture of the Chinese nation and can form a differentiated competition with foreign brands; Six years of experience, which makes Herborist have a certain technical foundation.

"Looking back, we were quite insightful at the time and found such a position. Relying on Chinese herbal medicine and the brand concept of Chinese culture, we realized the personalization and differentiation of the 'Herborist' brand." Shanghai Jahwa United Wang Zhuo, deputy general manager of the company, said.

However, it is not an easy task to make and always adhere to this brand positioning in the environment of the entire cosmetics industry "worshiping foreigners and fascinating foreigners", and various twists and turns have been accompanied by the development of "Herborist".

In 2001, "Herborist" entered the Hong Kong market for the first time. Due to the lack of confidence in its own strength, Jahwa made adjustments to the "Horborist" products in the Hong Kong market in many aspects. "Instead of the packaging and description in full English, I hope to use Western elements to reflect the brand. However, it is precisely this approach that makes "Herborist" lose its most important Chinese concept, followed by brand personalization and differentiation. The characteristics were greatly weakened, and soon, "Herborist" was defeated in the Hong Kong market.

There are many similar lessons. Shanghai Jahwa once placed high hopes on a perfume brand. The perfume took the route of replicating European brands in an all-round way. All imported raw materials were used. From fragrance to packaging, they were all designed by first-class Western designers However, it is still unable to compete with European and American brands, and it can only end in gloom.

Fortunately, "Herborist" lost its way to Hong Kong, and the high-end perfumes were smashed into the sand, which made Shanghai Jahwa realize that blindly imitating Western brands can only end in a dead end. overseas brands. If Chinese enterprises want to stand out in the international competition, it is very important to use Chinese elements in brand positioning.

Shanghai Jahwa, which has learned this lesson, used product packaging with very Chinese characteristics when "Herborist" landed in the flagship store of Sephora Champs-Elysées in Paris, France in 2008, and put the Chinese characters "Herborist" in Chinese characters. The enlarged display is displayed in the center of the package, and the English logo is arranged below the Chinese. Facts have proved that such a strategy has achieved considerable success, and Chinese elements have helped Herborist stand out in foreign countries. The success of foreign markets, in turn, boosted the development of the domestic market.

Brand promotion relies on "system war"

To achieve brand competitiveness, Jahwa relies on "system war", that is, in product development, appearance design, channel development, marketing, etc. In terms of brand-oriented work. "Jahwa is a company that believes in the power of its products. We believe that brand building must be based on the improvement of scientific research level." Wang Zhuo said. To this end, Shanghai Jahwa has established a professional R&D team, whose personnel account for more than 10% of the company's total staff, and the company's R&D investment exceeds 3% of its annual sales. The investment in technology ensures the quality of Jahwa's products, and also lays a solid foundation for the building of the brand. From Liushen, Meijiajing, to Herborist, the quality of Jahwa products is well-known.

In addition to continuous investment in research and development, Shanghai Jahwa is also working hard on marketing methods. As fast-moving consumer goods, product packaging and labeling are very important. To this end, Jahwa has made various attempts according to the different situations of each brand. In 2006, while retaining the original packaging, Jahwa launched a new spray-packed "Liu Shen" toilet water, which changed the slightly bulky product image of glass bottles in the past and made the brand younger and more fashionable. Good reviews from consumers. In the design of "Herborist", it fully reflects the most critical Chinese elements in its brand positioning. The bottle body adopts the freehand shape of bamboo joints, and the flower pattern on the bottle cap is like a seal, with strong Chinese colors. .

In addition, Shanghai Jahwa also introduced an experiential marketing model into the "Herborist" store. Its green-based storefront looks elegant and fresh. The fragrance of essential oils surrounds the surrounding environment. Accompanied by natural and lively music, it creates a unique atmosphere. Relaxed and harmonious atmosphere. Let consumers fully appreciate the natural and balanced concept of Herborist from the five senses of sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste, and greatly enhance the brand level of "Herborist".

In the development of "Shuangmei" and "Herborist", Jahwa also began to strengthen the role of designers. Take the overall creation of the brand image of "Shuangmei" as an example, including the brand logo design and product packaging design, all of which were entrusted to the Orange Fruit International Design Company of Chiang Kai-shek's great-grandson, Jiang Youbai.

With the goal of building a luxury brand around "Shuangmei", Jahwa has injected strong cultural elements into it with the help of the glorious history of this brand, giving it a brand connotation to reshape the beauty of Shanghai ladies. In the publicity, a typical luxury operation method is adopted, and the main focus is on disseminating the story behind the brand and creating a rich connotation of the brand, but not too much emphasis on the product itself.

From the initial mass brand "Liushen", to the mid-to-high-end brand "Herborist", and then to the current "Shuangmei", with the continuous improvement of the brand, the overall strength of Shanghai Jahwa has been greatly enhanced. According to relevant data, in 1992, Jahwa’s gross profit was only 10%, but today’s gross profit has increased to 57%. Shanghai Jahwa, which has tasted the sweetness of the brand upgrade, is continuing to move forward. "Sooner or later, Chinese companies will have to create a convincing and recognized high-end brand, and we will do our best for this." Wang Zhuo said this with a firm tone.

Discussion: How to improve brand value?

The improvement of brand value is very important for enterprise upgrading, but such a goal is a longing for most enterprises, but cannot be achieved. Shanghai Jahwa has achieved this with the help of precise brand positioning and the improvement of its all-round capabilities. So, dear managers, has your company ever tried this? Whether it is a successful experience or a failure, we are looking forward to your sharing with us.