Strength speaks louder than words

The first time I saw him was on a TV shopping show many years ago, across the screen, I already thought he was a very infectious and articulate person. When I learned that I had the opportunity to interview him, I was looking forward to it, as if I was about to meet an old friend, I was a little excited.

Actually, the good impression of Mailifeng comes from the appreciation of the Zwilling brand. A few years ago at Zwilling's counter in a shopping mall in Shanghai, I bought some kitchen utensils for my family. One of them was a shovel, but it broke after a while. After many days, I went to the counter in the mood to give it a try. I asked, it was said that it could be repaired for free, so I sent it to repair (no invoice required), and when it was time to pick up the goods, when I went to pick it up, I found that they even replaced me with a new shovel. As one of the toughest Chinese consumers, I was flattered by this treatment, and since then I have remembered the brand and

the man named Ma Ma.

17 years of sharpening knives

It has been 17 years since I joined Zwilling Shanghai in 1996 until today. This is his second job, and he didn't expect to do it for so long. Born in 1970, Ma Lifeng accomplished many important things in his life during his career in Zwilling Company. At the same time, his own position was also promoted from an ordinary regional sales manager to the current director of Shanghai Zwilling Henx Co., Ltd. / General Manager, and Director / Deputy General Manager of Shanghai Zwilling Henx Kitchenware Co., Ltd.

Maybe the title is not so intuitive. To put it simply, Zwilling is a German family business, and Ma Ma is now the boss of Zwilling Shanghai (actually a Chinese company), and he reports directly to the German headquarters. big boss. We are too accustomed to capable local people who have worked in a company for many years, and climbed to the second or third position in China. We can’t stop, this kind of bird anger that has nothing to do with ability but has nothing to do with nationality has become a habit. The problem of something, I took it with a light sentence.

It is undeniable that his achievements are there for all to see.

Since the mid-to-late 1990s, Chinese people were not used to buying kitchen utensils and choosing brands. Now everyone has a very clear understanding of Zwilling. He has made a lot of efforts. At present, Zwilling China is in Zwilling. The global sales volume has accounted for 25%, becoming one of the most important sales markets, and he has also successfully shaped the brand into a fashionable high-end kitchenware brand, which has been recognized by many consumers. As Mr.ClausHolst-Gydesen, the global CEO of Zwilling said, Zwilling has achieved miraculous development in about 18 years since it entered China, and now China has become the largest market for Zwilling in the world.

Higher Vision

In October 2013, Zwilling China opened the first flagship concept experience store in China and even in Asia on the 5th floor of Hangzhou Tower by the West Lake. As the "Zwilling Home", the store not only sells products, but also invites cooking experts to teach, and also provides a venue for guests to experience kitchen life, where anyone can show off their cooking skills and show their side of life.

“We are not only selling products, but also promoting a way of life. I think cooking is a very enjoyable thing. Usually on weekends, as long as I am at home, I will cook by myself. The dishes tasted pretty good," Ma Lifeng smiled, picked up a big red Staub enamel cast iron pot on the table and said, "Recently, I have become obsessed with stews, so I used our newly acquired "French" The national treasure brand' Staub enamel cast iron pan. It's very fast, and it's done in more than an hour. The whole process of cooking in the kitchen, then eating and chatting with my family is very warm and happy for me. ."

Yes, under the leadership of Ma Lifeng, Zwilling China has given consumers not just a piece of kitchen utensils, but a way of life with infinite positive energy. , is also warm, still sweet, and fashionable and artistic.

"Maybe it's a bit wasteful to spend such a large space as a showroom, but we have always believed that the smoky kitchen life in the traditional Chinese sense misleads most people, especially young and middle-aged people, including your readers. -Manager. Who said that men can't go to the kitchen, aren't most famous chefs men? Our kitchen utensils use better performance and efficiency to tell everyone that cooking is a beautiful thing, very modern, kitchen , restaurants can also be used as social venues, no less than any coffee shop.”

“What we want to do is to bring the concept of social cooking (social cooking) to Chinese consumers, so that they can perceive the kitchen. Social fun and unique table culture, love the kitchen ever since,” he added.

The game of input-output ratio

Colleagues describe the horsepower peak as a very energetic People, very contagious, he has German-style rigor, but also innovative spirit. He is meticulous at work, but not paternalistic, respects everyone's opinion, and is open to good ideas.

"It was my first time to participate in the annual meeting since I joined the company. Wow, I didn't expect Mr. Ma to be so active. He would provide a lot of ideas, and he would also personally participate in the party to create the atmosphere and let us drink - that time we specially invited A German band came to a hotel to hold an annual meeting similar to the 'German Beer Festival', and everyone had a great time!" A colleague of Zwilling's marketing department told me on the phone. She also revealed that Ma Lifeng even spends a lot of time communicating with colleagues about the content of the "micro-drama" of the flagship store's opening show. "He came up with several wonderful dialogues." His performance on the TV shopping channel can imagine the above-mentioned scene. Regarding his personal TV shopping, Ma Lifeng said that he does not think it is a waste to spend so much time on producing such a program. He first explained to us that he had done a comprehensive investigation of the TV shopping channel itself, and assessed that the channel's fashion and brand effects were positive and high-end, in line with Zwilling's own positioning, and "in the In the early stage of their cooperation, if I personally appeared on the show, their attention to the Zwilling brand would be raised to a very high level, which would be a win-win situation," he explained.

Indeed, with just one TV shopping channel in Shanghai, their annual sales are 100 million yuan. Selected TV shopping channels in several cities across China can earn 200 million yuan a year. This is a number that cannot be ignored.

"For us, this number is not very large, but I think it is very meaningful - not only in terms of sales, but also a good interpretation of the brand image." Yes, in the early days of entering China , Zwilling has never been recognized by the counter, and now it can open a concept store in a relatively large venue in high-end shopping malls such as Hangzhou University, which is inseparable from its good brand image and reputation. Ma Lifeng and his Chinese team spared no effort to promote brand building, and finally bore fruit in China. For a German classic brand with a history of 282 years, it has a very valuable unremitting persistence and cultural accumulation, and it is inseparable from continuous innovation and progress.

Too many names that were very popular at one time and then faded away and disappeared, we learned early on that relying on money alone won't work in this era of rapid updates. It is not easy for Zwilling China to always maintain the first position in the ranks of high-end kitchen utensils in China.

“We have five R&D centers around the world, in Germany, Belgium, France, Japan and China. In China, we have 7 German employees, 5 of whom are working on products and R&D. Today, about 55% of our products are produced in China, and only 45% are imported directly from Europe."

Maintaining local awareness is a very important aspect of Mailifeng. Indeed, since many foreign dishes can be added with local flavors after they arrive in China, naturally, according to the traditional Chinese habit of "people take food as their heaven", kitchen utensils suitable for Chinese must be one of the important goals of Zwilling China's research and development. .

I was told a long time ago that Ma Lifeng is a person with high emotional intelligence. Although he is in a German company, he does things objectively and never follows others' opinions. He knows very well that not all foreign hot-selling products will also be hot-selling in China. On the contrary, he will consider the market acceptance more as the criterion for decision. For example, to do this concept experience store, not every branch will think of it. This is also in response to China's market and development needs.

He said with a smile that he has been in Zwilling for so many years, but he still does not speak German. Fortunately, the senior management of the company are also used to communicating in English. Every time we have an idea, we all discuss the details and feasibility together. Because the company culture is relatively democratic, we naturally speak freely.

“I will never rely solely on the support of the headquarters. Of course, we need to be creative and motivated by ourselves, so that such a company will have a healthy development. Therefore, it is not necessary to adopt the German experience, but it depends on our own needs. Our company especially supports me in this regard." Ma Lifeng said, his pride was beyond words.