GXG Yang Herong: To coordinate the overall situation and do a good job as a "catcher"

As the interview began, Yang Herong wiped out the personal aura and emphasized that “Our GXG innovation is not a person but a team.” And in a baseball game, it has the name of “court coach”. This is the catcher. Its most important is the ability to defend, match and command the team. Yang Herong has successfully played the role of a “catcher” in GXG, using his keen ability to discover market opportunities and the wisdom of managing the overall situation of operating companies.

The key to alternative players in the mall is Yang Herong’s business philosophy. The key lies in whether you are smart enough to be able to transfer superior resources to where they are most needed. The business logic of Yang Herong is, before selling products, always try to understand what you are serving, and what is more important is to attract their natural interest.

"Men's Wear" is more passionate. Yang Herong could have lived a calm and comfortable life because he had enviable bank public positions before he started business. The savvy he seems to prefer the turbulent business world. As his work needs more and more contacts with business people, he is becoming more and more attractive to that unknown area.

But it is not easy to complete this transformation, but he still decided to try. The first company that Yang Herong founded was to cooperate with others, mainly to OEM foreign brands.

Throughout this whole process, he clearly understands the price to be paid by the “low end” of China's garment industry chain than anyone else. “Creating a brand” has become what he most wanted to do at the time.

Home textiles, children's wear, men's wear, and women's wear Yang Herong have various considerations in the selection of brand types. He once stood at the entrance of a home textile store and observed the passenger flow of the day. In the end, however, he chose menswear.

Of course, this choice was determined after careful investigation and analysis by him and his team.

“Why do we do men's wear? At that time, this market position was chosen based on the entire national apparel market. Clothing categories can now be divided into four categories. One is children’s wear, the second is sportswear, and the second is women’s clothing. Men's wear, sportswear With the end of the Olympics, total sales have fallen, including several large sportswear brands have encountered bottlenecks in development, while women's growth rate has slowed in recent years, men's clothing annual compound growth The rate is going up. According to our analysis, there is a market growth rate of 15%, and women's wear only 7%. So we chose men's clothing."

Yang Herong mentioned that the original choice was still well-founded. “After men's wear was chosen, the market should be subdivided in the men's wear field. Younger, Shanshan, Luo Meng, and Pei Luocheng were all men's wear; there were also seven wolves. Lilang, they are also men's wear, but we classify them as traditional men's wear, more emphasis on careers such as suits and shirts, and they have added a noun to business menswear.”

“GXG has targeted this group of people in the 18 to 35 age group based on an analysis of the market. Their fashion sense is very strong, and there are no good brands on the market that can suit their multi-angle choices. So we put forward “elegant blue The style of Hugh's position is that the office can wear it, and it can be worn during leisure time. This market point is not covered, so we have shot it."

Yang Herong’s grasp of market opportunities is always very precise. Of course, this cannot be separated from the 100% effort he had made. The opportunity is indeed reserved for those who are prepared, and those who are prepared are more likely to find opportunities.

The most valuable team "Each period has different methods for creating a brand, and we can't copy it along the old model. Integrating resources is the key to creating GXG." Yang Herong has a clear strategy from the very beginning.

From a traditional foreign trade enterprise to a brand enterprise, there is a fundamental change in the middle. First of all, the construction of the team is very important, and the thinking mode of doing OEM talent is not the same as that of the brand.

“To transform, the first important element is to form a team. GXG can have such a success today. I feel that our team composition plays a key role. Our team consists of four people, one responsible for the product, including product positioning. , product design, product quality, the second is responsible for brand image, the third is responsible for product sales, the fourth is the company's management and **. We have all four talents. "Yang Herong is very proud of this.

In addition, it is understood that the age range of GXG brand designers is consistent with the age range of the main target customers of the brand itself. “They understand what kind of image this age group needs. I will give them a lot of space to play, respect their opinions, and ensure that our clothing always stays at the leading edge of fashion,” said Yang Herong.

In GXG, each employee has a strong sense of belonging and honour. Their contributions have also made Yang Herong very moved. He also clearly remembers such a thing: “In April 2008, GXG opened its first store in Cixi. At that time, our goal at that time was to open the store at 9 o'clock in the morning. At that time, my general manager and I arrived in Cixi at 9 o'clock the evening of the first day and saw that our employees and the construction team were also brushing together. Walls, together with our props, have been working until 4am, but when the renovations are basically completed, the employees are very hungry but the shops around them are closed and there is no place to buy a bowl of instant noodles. What's more, just drank some water, and then sat down and fell asleep.”

Today, Yang Herong mentioned that GXG's success is always attributed to the excellence of his team, and he is more than happy to let his team and his employees share GXG's success in their joint efforts. One's personal decision is the height of his career.

“Although many employees say that money is not the most important thing to do here, we must be clear that the boss uses money to make money and employees use money to support the family. Money is very important to employees. If a boss only cares about his own development and wealth growth, he just forgets. Employees supporting these people need more money, and such bosses will not have big development,” Yang Herong said.

In the past three years, the increase in the wages of GXG front-line workers has been more than 50%. In the current economic downturn, when many companies are busy dealing with layoffs and pay cuts, GXG still raises its employees by more than 15 percent annually. In recent years, many companies have had to make a labor shortage each year during the Spring Festival. GXG does not have this problem at all.

With a cautious stance, “You can't be greedy for doing business. You just need to be serious about what you do in your market. As for the rest, you need to wait until the right time, and be prepared to do so.” Yang Herong as a leader, It is prudent and focused.

All along, GXG focused exclusively on menswear brands and achieved very significant results. Yang Herong also said that children's clothing will be listed on the market in the second half of 2012. “Because people who buy children's clothes are all parents. Now that young people after 80s are married and have children, they need to buy clothes for their little ones, so we will create one. Kind of children's clothes like 80's like that." Yang Herong also said that the company is planning to launch women's clothing.

"Of course we can't launch a brand and it will be very popular at once. We don't expect this miracle to come to us every time. We will have a 2 to 3 year cultivation period for women's clothing and children's clothing."

In addition, the company plans to open stores in Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Singapore in the next 3-5 years. However, he also stressed that GXG will not consider Europe and the Americas in a short period of time. The road still needs to be taken step by step to be practical.

Yang Herong’s caution is also reflected in GXG’s brand promotion. For a long time, GXG did not advertise on television, did not call for spokespersons, and then conducted a massive advertising bombing.

Yang Herong explained: “Because we are a transition company, we have very strict requirements on cost control. This is something that all transition companies must keep in mind and put the limited money where they should be spent. So we abandoned the most expensive TV ads. , and chose to go three ways: one is our young people now, a lot of the Internet, our customer base is also very like the Internet."

“We did a survey. The proportion of people in our customer base who like to watch TV online is about 37. 70% prefer to go online and 30% watch TV. So we will launch some GXG networks on the Internet. Image, we also have our display on Taobao and other websites."



“There is also a shopping area where we put limited money in each city. We enter the store while we are in the neighborhood. We will have outdoor advertising, there are some flags, etc., to render the atmosphere. Advertising campaigns actually cost less, but they work well. Plus, our products are indeed worth the money. After the young people have bought it, they finally rely on their reputation to drive the entire consumer group.”

Yang Herong always has a clear idea of ​​development for the brand. He is cautious and is recognized step by step. He does not like to imitate the success of others, but closely catering to the preferences of their own consumer groups, rely on and integrate their own superior team to find and come out of a successful road for their own.

The popular figures in the "GXG" brand circle just a few years ago, and the enviable commercial figures laid the foundation for GXG's position in the men's field in China and even in the entire Chinese clothing field. Despite its popularity, "mindfulness" is exactly what Yang Herong has as a The excellent quality of leaders, the development of brands must be combined with China's, or the world's entire economic situation, so GXG 2012 will slightly reduce the speed of some development.

In 4 years, the opportunity of entering the market was very important for the 26 billion yuan. Yang Herong explained that “putting into the market is early and may become a martyrs. If you are late, it is possible that people have already done it. You can only become a follower and cannot Become a leader in a fashion brand, and we happened to be launching what they needed when the young people just needed it, so we succeeded."

Although GXG began its formal operations in China in 2007, its terminal sales reached 2.6 billion yuan by the end of 2011 and the refund amounted to 1.5 billion yuan. From a brand that has been established until now to only 4 years, Yang Herong feels satisfied. .

After the clear market positioning, GXG will design style to Baroque, the overall color is black, white, gray, "Our clothes are very strict on the crowd to wear, if it is too fat may not wear, need a very good body, Adding to our sense of design, after you put on our clothes, you feel that the whole person will be very spiritual, very sunny, and very stylish. Through these few points, we have impressed our consumer groups and gained everyone's recognition. Of course, this is also thanks to God's very good time given us." Yang Herong said excitedly.

It is reported that GXG's sales in 2010 was only about 800 million yuan, but in 2011 it has soared to 1.28 billion yuan. Perhaps this is also related to the stage in which the brand is located. GXG is still in its growth phase, so there is still a lot of room for growth in 2012.

“GXG is now in stores across the country, and the market's capacity is still far from being developed. Now the two series that GXG has done, one can be worn during work, and can also be worn during leisure. Another positioning is complete. Brands worn during leisure time. By subdividing the brands in this way, the coverage of the brand market has increased, which can ensure the brand's long-term growth and ensure our growth rate." Yang Herong explained.

Now, GXG's share of similar apparel market in Southeast Asia and other coastal areas has maintained its number one position for several years in a row, rising rapidly. In 2010, GXG was also awarded the "China Fashion Brand 2010 Fashion Award".

The GXG phenomenon was also defined as the "New Chinese New Gentleman Fashion Brand" by Korea's famous clothing special report, which caused the South Korean garment industry to be highly concerned and sought after. In addition, GXG has also been invited to participate in the "Asian Busan Clothing Week", the most famous costume feast in Asia.

“In recent years, the domestic demand market for the apparel industry has exceeded the export market and has become the biggest driving force for the development of China's garment industry. The biggest opportunity for garment companies is the expansion of domestic demand, and companies must firmly grasp.” Yang Herong said. GXG can stand out from many domestic clothing brands in the shortest period of time. The key is to keep up with the trends, identify the positioning, and innovate continuously.

41.95 million Taobao single-day results On August 6, 2010, GXG's Taobao official flagship store opened, as of the end of December 2010, a short period of more than 4 months, a total of more than 56,000 single sales orders, sales More than 77,000 pieces, sales of more than 30 million yuan. In 2011 Taobao "double 11" campaign, GXG also achieved a single day performance of 41.95 million, occupying the first Taobao clothing sales ranking. Yang Herong said: "E-commerce is a very important sales channel for us."

The "Double 11" campaign is indeed like a pinch, and Yang Herong and his GXG are excited.

“Double 11th night, I was just attending the annual meeting of IDG Capital. That day just discussed the development of e-commerce. How can we make e-commerce in China ahead of the times. I have been paying attention to our own sales progress. Discussion on that day The meeting was also opened very late. By 12 o'clock in the evening, the results of online sales came out, and Taobao’s three brands exceeded 40 million. One was GXG, one was a camel card, and the other was Bo Yang. Ten million is one of us."

“The Camel brand is selling shoes, Bo Yang is the total value of home textiles and clothing added together is more than 40 million. In terms of clothing items, we should be the only brand operator in the country with more than 40 million, that is to say, In the costume we won the first place of Taobao, 41.95 million.” Yang Herong still remembered the situation of the day.

At the time, there was an episode. The first eight hours of the Singles Festival saw the flow of Taobao's backstage was a black screen because of the large amount of incoming traffic. If these eight hours can run smoothly, GXG's sales may exceed 50 million.

"Of course, in order to achieve this sales of more than 40 million, the whole team of GXG has done a lot of efforts behind the scenes. On the one hand, two months ago, it started a lot of stocking, and with the support of Taobao, signed four. The logistics company came to serve us. After the sales of more than 40 million yuan came out, we promised to complete delivery within five days," said Yang Herong.

"In this way, things are sold out, how to get users to get things in the time we have said, this workload is very large. At that time I went back to Ningbo and immediately went to the warehouse and saw a lot of things. Employees and logistics company staff were fighting high-figured bags. Actually they had been working day and night at that time, but they seemed to be very motivated. The general manager of our e-commerce company also took a hike in each group one by one. I asked her what this was doing. She said that they had not slept for more than 30 hours and that they were very sleepy. I was afraid that they would make a mistake and give them a little stimulation."

Perhaps this "more than 40 million" seems to be just an embarrassing figure, but the entire team behind GXG has paid too much. "At that time, when we sent out the parcel, the entire people collapsed and fell asleep immediately lying on the ground," said a staff member who was involved in the shipment.

Yang Herong also talked about the future plan for e-commerce.

“The annual growth rate of total e-commerce platform transactions in the next five years may reach 40%. Therefore, e-commerce is an important sales model that modern retail enterprises must pay attention to. As a modern fashion brand, GXG will surely keep up with the trend of the times and strengthen e-commerce. The investment in business, based on the use of existing e-commerce platforms, may consider building a B2C platform to allow fashion brands to enter the fashion sales channel.

In the past four years of innovative personality, GXG has taken a completely different path from traditional clothing companies. Only men's wear, and tailor-made only for people aged 18-35. However, in terms of brand development and sales, it is full of personality and innovation.

Their designers in Japan and Hong Kong are all in the same age group as the target audience. This ensures that the brand's internationalization is accompanied by the aesthetic orientation of consumers.

In terms of sales, GXG does not like to “buy long”, prefer big shopping districts and core business districts, and concentrate on creating momentum by focusing on stores. For example, there are more than 10 GXG stores in Ningbo Tianyi Business District and nearly 70 GXG stores in Shanghai.

In terms of brand promotion, GXG walks on two legs; GXG analyzes the characteristics of both young and trendy consumers after 80 and 90. The first is relying on word of mouth, relying on brand image, relying on terminal services to establish a rational image of GXG in the consumer group. And cultural connotation.

The second is to establish brand fashion, taste and trend through the Internet, print media, concerts, outdoor advertising, and official Weibo.

At present, GXG brand apparel sales in the domestic market take the "self-operated ten-joined" model, the iconic shop style, elegant and elegant fashion personality, smart fashion design ideas, and even hot fashion sales guide, have become the GXG for human resources Le Dao brand image.

With the expansion and extension of the market, GXG is constantly learning about the image of modern elite men with a superior design and rigorous attitude, with the understanding and concentration of 18 to 35-year-old urban fashion men, and promoting the GXG brand to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Wuhan. Almost all large and medium-sized cities such as Chongqing, Dalian, and so on have so far boasted more than 1,000 stores, of which franchise stores accounted for more than 90% of the total stores.

This sales model gathers the energy of franchisees and brands and quickly pushes GXG to China’s Tiannan Haibei. This may be another deep reason why this young fashion brand can be accepted and rooted by Chinese consumers in the short term.

“After a clear market positioning, our design and planning can keep up. In the brand image, we have a lot of brains. Buy clothing seven points by feeling, three points is a function. Feeling is the embodiment of your brand culture, exactly what you How to express this feeling and allow consumers to accept and appreciate it well, this requires the product of the garment itself to be better, the shop image is better, and the quality of the salesperson is also better."

"Why, when people buy things, he wants to go to the shopping district to buy. There are many brands in the shopping district. To see the GXG brand, and then rely on the image of the store to bring him to the GXG store, to our store. At the same time, through the display of the product and the design of the product itself, consumers are attracted to stop, and then the sales staff shows the product to the customer.” Yang Herong has an accurate grasp of consumer psychology.

Therefore, GXG has made great efforts in the training of sales personnel. All store managers in the country are trained through the headquarters, and all store employees in the outlets have to go through headquarters training.

Now, GXG's main sales channel is a combination of specialty stores and department stores. “Our brand was born late and many places are occupied by other brands. If we simply expand the stores, the development speed will not be as fast.

In addition to the specialty stores, we also enter the department stores. The latter also just can improve the grade of our brand. Now GXG has maintained the top three performances in Intime department stores. There are many shopping malls that rank first, and these shopping malls There are also quite a few famous brands abroad.

In 2012, we will be making efforts in Beijing to enter high-end shopping malls such as Oriental Xintiandi, to do front-end image display, and to pave the way for the creation of “China's new-generation wave brand”. "Yang Herong said.

As for how to cope with the rising raw material and labor cost pressures this year, Yang Herong said that there are indeed 5% to 10% growth in procurement costs each year, but younger consumers have limited disposable funds.

"How can we balance this contradiction? The most basic thing is that quality cannot be low. It is better to sacrifice the profits of the company and to protect the interests of the customer base. Only they feel that it is worthwhile to buy GXG products. It is worth it. Only when they can go long can they be loved by them."

“Quality is the premise of the expansion of the brand and the market, and it is also a reflection of the integrity of customers and consumers. A company that has no credit for users, advertising will be repeated and will eventually be eliminated by the market.” GXG has a complete set of strict The quality management system requires the extension of product quality assurance to sales terminals.

In addition, a brand victory is the victory of the entire chain. As GXG must ensure good quality, then we must treat the suppliers well. “We cannot squeeze the profits of suppliers until they cannot maintain normal production, and we cannot guarantee quality. So we supply The merchant’s payment methods, including the prices given, are all very fair. As a supplier, because the production of the brand makes money, they will also like the brand and use this brand as their own brand. Can be guaranteed." Yang Herong said.

For the future listing plan, Yang Herong said that in the fierce market competition, the listing is a way for a brand to go further.

Listing can allow companies to obtain billions of dollars through the capital market. This money can be used for the construction of industrial chains and for the construction of channels. Brand competition happens to be the competition of the whole industry chain and the competition of the whole industry chain. Factories, stores, logistics and logistics bases may all require capital investment. "Listing is a road to be considered in our next strategy."

“There are about 300 million people in our country, and there are probably more than 10 million people who fit in with the GXG apparel body characteristics. If they can buy one of our T-shirts, a shirt, a piece of A coat, a coat, and a pair of trousers add up to 4,000 to 5,000 yuan, and then multiply it to 10 million. This is how it counts. With this calculation, we can achieve more than 400 million yuan in sales for a GXG brand." Yang Herong is very optimistic about the domestic market and is very excited.

As a "catcher" Yang Herong, who is good at seizing the opportunity and having a thorough planning, he has also set an annual sales growth target of 40% or so for GXG in the next five years. By 2015, he will pay back RMB 5.7 billion. With sales reaching 10 billion, GXG has become the "China's first wave of men's fashion brand."