Yongfengyuan: Chinese Porcelain Plays the World Card

In 2009, two things made Liu Quanhui, president of Yongfengyuan Ceramics, particularly happy. First, in 2009, in the year when the global financial crisis was deepening, Yongfengyuan recruited a group of designers from big foreign brands and completed the integration of the entire R&D team; secondly, in August 2009, Yongfengyuan was in Farah, New York, USA Shengfeiyue Queen Shopping Center opened the first high-end ceramics store in China, which perfectly displayed high-end daily-use ceramics with Chinese culture in front of the world. The monopoly of Japanese manufacturers.

China's ceramic production has ranked first in the world for many years, but what embarrassing the Chinese is that although China's ceramic production accounts for 90% of the world's, its value is less than 10% of the world's total ceramic value. On the contrary, the total output of foreign ceramics is only 10% of the world's, but the value is 90% of the world's. Although the export volume of China's ceramics has grown rapidly, it is mostly in the form of OEM, and the export price is relatively low.

Yongfengyuan insists on building its own brand, using its "Shenzhen porcelain" to go to the world, and establish a brand new high-end daily-use ceramics brand. Yongfengyuan created the original "full house red" and "imperial yellow" glaze colors, supplemented by exquisite underglaze painting techniques, and introduced high-end porcelain full of Chinese cultural charm to the world. Royal wealthy families and high-end hotels in the Middle East and Europe have been dyed red by "Shenzhen porcelain", and the Japanese royal wedding has also adopted a pure "full house". Yongfengyuan's "Shenzhen Porcelain" is also infiltrating the European and American markets, the commanding heights of the world market.

And these were still a distant dream in 1982, when Liu Quanhui started his ceramic business at the age of 16. After Liu Quanhui arrived in Saudi Arabia with a business delegation in 1993, he learned that if there is no brand in the international market, no matter how exquisite and high-quality your ceramics are, foreign dealers will not even look at them.

After it was determined that Yongfengyuan would not be a cheap commodity from street stalls, but should be positioned as a market for high-end porcelain, in 2003, Liu Quanhui invested 300 million yuan to establish Yongfengyuan Porcelain Industry Co., Ltd. in Shenzhen. Since it was put into production in November 2005, its high-grade bone china products have been favored by customers at home and abroad, achieving a 40% increase in performance every year. Even in 2009, due to the adverse impact of the serious decline in demand in the European and American markets, Yongfengyuan finally achieved a growth that surpassed the performance in 2008 by relying on the development of the domestic market, with an annual sales of nearly 400 million yuan.

Where does Yongfengyuan's growth impetus come from? Liu Quanhui's answer is that he is committed to the pursuit of becoming a world brand of high-end ceramics, using "best design, advanced technology, excellent quality, and innovative products" to achieve Yongfengyuan's brand and win customers and markets.

Learn brand segmentation from major international companies

The trip to Saudi Arabia in 1993 is still fresh in Liu Quanhui's memory today. It was this business trip that made him fully feel the power of the brand.

As early as 1989, Liu Quanhui started international trade. He sold the daily-use ceramics produced by the Chaozhou factory to the Middle East, and the annual sales volume reached one or two million US dollars. In 1993, when he followed a business delegation to Saudi Arabia, he found that there were no Yongfengyuan porcelain products in major department stores and supermarkets. Later, after being introduced by customers, he realized that his products were just cheap gifts from gas stations, and Disposable items used by locals when they worship. Shopping malls and supermarkets are full of Japanese and European ceramic brands, and Chinese ceramics are not even on the shelves.

What is the reason why dealers are reluctant to sell Chinese porcelain products? With this question in mind, Liu Quanhui asked a friend from the Chinese embassy to visit a Saudi businessman. Unexpectedly, the Saudi businessman gave Liu Quanhui a blow as soon as he opened his mouth, "I only do business with the Japanese, not the Chinese." Liu Quanhui found through investigation that the porcelain manufacturers in Europe, America and Japan are selling culture, which is expensive, and The Chinese, however, simply sold their labor and fought hard for a few processing orders.

"If we want Chinese porcelain to get the respect it deserves, we must make a difference in the high-end market, instead of getting stuck in the quagmire of homogeneous competition." With this belief, Liu Quanhui focused his attention on the international market, especially the In the high-end ceramics market, he spent 110,000 euros to invite ceramic art experts from Germany and Italy to design brands and trademarks. Launched three core brands of "AURATIC", "BAMBOO" and "STAR FESTIVAL". "AURATIC" is positioned for high-end people, representing the world's most luxurious high-end daily-use ceramics in the future; "BAMBOO" is positioned for the working class, representing the world's best-selling ceramic products and industrial pigments in the future; "STAR FESTIVAL" is positioned as a hotel Porcelain brand. Yongfengyuan has applied for trademark registration for 3 core brands in more than 40 countries and regions around the world.

After four years of hard work, "AURATIC" has defeated many famous brands in Japan, Europe and America in the Middle East and Southern European markets. Now, "AURATIC" has become a world-renowned brand of high-end daily-use ceramics.

Challenge first-class product innovation and design

In 2009, with the deepening of the international financial turmoil, the global high-end ceramic daily necessities industry experienced severe tests. In January, Wedgwood, the world's largest ceramic company with a history of 250 years, went bankrupt due to the debt crisis. Facing the rapid decline in European and American market demand, its peers cut prices to grab orders one after another. At this time, Liu Quanhui, the president of Yongfengyuan, clearly realized that a crisis is an opportunity. He announced that the price of all products would not be reduced, and proposed a development direction based on product innovation.

This echoes marketing guru Philip Kotler's view that at the heart of a successful brand is a great product or service backed by innovative design and excellent marketing.

Yongfengyuan has created three "world firsts" in the ceramic industry in technology and process innovation after two years of research after its factory in Shenzhen was put into production: the self-developed "Full House Red" and "Emperor Yellow", For the first time in the red and yellow glaze color, lead-free and cadmium-free, exceeding the world's highest sanitary standard for ceramics "American California Standard"; for the first time, the red and yellow colors are highly uniform and delicate, and the porcelain color and primary color are basically the same; "Shenzhen porcelain" series The reinforced porcelain "Super Century Porcelain" in the product is 3-5 times stronger than the general reinforced porcelain in the world. The glaze and light transmittance of bone china are higher than international standards.

In 2009, Yongfengyuan successfully launched a series of high-end ceramic products with Chinese characteristics, such as underglaze carved fine porcelain, crystal exquisite fine porcelain, semi-relief fine porcelain, and underglaze painted fine porcelain. Or combine the elements of Chinese classical culture and modern craftsmanship, or combine the elements of Western utensils and Chinese culture, to bring consumers the enjoyment of beauty.

Yongfengyuan's ceramic roasted flower production can be traced back to the middle of the last century. The founder, Mr. Liu Shifeng, has been focusing on the ceramics business for decades, and he has taught his own experience to the production workers, making Yongfengyuan far ahead of his peers in the level of roasted flowers. In addition, Yongfengyuan's embossed gold technology is made by combining traditional handicrafts with modern high-tech means.

Liu Quanhui knows that to become a first-class international ceramic enterprise, strong R&D capability is the key to success. He spared no effort to attract innovative talents. In February 2009, Yongfengyuan made a perfect appearance at the Frankfurt exhibition. The turmoil of international enterprises brought about the accelerated flow of senior talents such as design. Liu Quanhui seized the opportunity to introduce a number of well-known overseas designers in time. , and set up an ultra-luxurious international design and development team at a lower cost.

At present, the number of Yongfengyuan R&D team has reached more than 80 people. The R&D team includes not only top designers from the United States, Italy and Japan, but also domestic designers from civil society and domestic universities such as the Central Academy of Arts and Crafts. The design presents an orderly state of complementary advantages and division of labor. Foreign designers are mainly responsible for the surface and shape of ceramics, while domestic designers are responsible for ceramic materials and craftsmanship.

“Our goal is that 60% of the future will be the design of Chinese culture, and 40% will be the combination of Western culture.” Liu Quanhui analyzed: “In 2009, Yongfengyuan can buck the trend, and the main reason is to improve Product design. In the past, most of our main export markets adopted the strategy of following Western design. In 2009, the export market declined, and the domestic market provided a lot of room for product sales growth. Yongfengyuan set 2009 as the year of innovative design. In the export market, we mainly focus on Western design. In the Chinese market, we focus on Chinese cultural elements, combined with Western design concepts, and use Chinese culture to influence the West. Only in this way will we have the possibility of surpassing in the future.”

Brand dissemination: high quality and artistic enjoyment

Liu Quanhui has positioned Yongfengyuan as the world's high-end daily-use ceramic product manufacturer since 1998. In the competition with international big brands, it is a promise to realize a good brand.

If Yongfengyuan wants to be recognized by high-end customers and provide the best quality, everything it does should strengthen the quality of this feature; Yongfengyuan should use culture to enhance the added value of porcelain, it must provide customers and consumers It is a pleasant cultural product that distinguishes it from its competitors in other countries.

"To improve quality, we must first discover our own weaknesses and problems. Before establishing Yongfengyuan in Guanlan, Shenzhen, I traveled to ceramic factories all over the world. The Japanese who do the best quality work are Japanese, and the Japanese are the enterprises. The idea is not to leave problems to others." Liu Quanhui said, "The Chinese people's idea of quality is to start with problems and fix them in the end."

"Yongfengyuan does not make products from the beginning of the mold. The problem is left to others, and the entire standard is very strict. From mold to firing, we have established strict product standards for every aspect of ceramic production."

Liu Quanhui said, "Every employee must know , Yongfengyuan selects the world's top raw materials for production, strictly controls the quality of listed products, and destroys those that do not meet the standards. Only by respecting your own labor can your products be respected by customers."

In order to improve the company's product management and At the level of quality management, Liu Quanhui has invested heavily in hiring the world's top ceramic manufacturer and a core member of the Japanese NORITAKE company's senior management team, Sasaki Masaharu, as CEO, introducing first-class corporate management concepts, and sending technical backbones to study abroad to fully understand the high-end technology of international ceramics And quality requirements, after returning to China, he will take an important position in quality management, laying a good foundation for continuous quality improvement.

The porcelain produced by Yongfengyuan is not a simple "appliance" that carries the function of use in life, but more embodies a new attitude and way of life, and reflects the user's hobby and taste. In 2006, its "Full House Hong" high-end tableware was selected by the Japanese royal family as the porcelain for wedding banquets; in March 2007, its "Emperor Yellow" Pu'er tea set was selected as a national gift for President Putin, who praised it as "sounding". Chinese goods".

If high-quality products and artistic enjoyment are the basis of Yongfengyuan brand communication, then the construction of marketing channels is a direct way to maximize the value of the brand.

Yongfengyuan's products are mainly exported, and more than 60% of its high-end products are exported to Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the United States. Adopt the mode of cooperation with agents in the local area.

Since 2008, due to the shrinking demand in overseas markets, Yongfengyuan shifted the focus of channel construction to the domestic market, and successively invested 30 million RMB to establish a nationwide sales network. By the end of 2009, except for Xinjiang and Tibet, which were relatively remote In addition to the region, a marketing network of more than 30 provinces and cities across the country has been established. The channel operation mode is divided into direct sales and dealer franchise. In 2009, there were 38 domestic direct sales stores and 65 distribution franchises. Thanks to the rapid expansion of channels, Yongfengyuan's domestic sales reached 200 million yuan in 2009. , 1 times the domestic sales in 2008.

Liu Quanhui said: "2010 is Yongfengyuan's market channel year. Our goal is to let the market and channels recognize Yongfengyuan. The focus of this year's work is to make details of channels, and to test the market's response to products from product sales. Feedback." In 2010, Yongfengyuan will develop another 20 directly-operated stores and 50 franchisees, and continue to deepen the domestic market.

The company Liu Quanhui admires most is Japan's NORITAKE Ceramics Company. He believes that Yongfengyuan should learn from this company in the refinement of ceramics, speed up the development of refined products, establish a refined management system and The unremitting pursuit of high quality. Although the road ahead is not smooth, the dream of becoming a world-class ceramic enterprise still inspires Liu Quanhui and his team to keep moving forward.

Photo/real photography, Yongfengyuan