[Face-to-face interviews with people in the ceramic industry] Issue 3
Interviewed Guests｜General Manager of New Hang Lung Enterprise Luo Haobin
Interviewer｜Director of the Editorial Department of China Ceramics Network Zou Sijin
Interview time｜The morning of March 26, 2021
Interview location｜New Henglong Corporate Headquarters
Text writing｜Hong Xiaochun
Video shooting｜Li Feng
Xinhenglong Enterprise was established in 1998. It has been based in Foshan for more than 20 years and has accumulated a good reputation in the construction and ceramics industry. Recently, Mr. Luo Haobin, general manager of New Henglong Enterprise, accepted an interview with the "Ceramic Industry Face to Face" column of China Ceramics Network.
As a representative of outstanding young entrepreneurs in the construction and ceramics industry, Luo Haobin possesses the pragmatic and diligent spirit of the previous generation of entrepreneurs, while also possessing the innovation and breakthrough ideas of the younger generation of entrepreneurs. During the conversation, he unfolded for us word by word the historical scroll of the step-by-step transformation and upgrading of New Henglong Enterprise and the grand blueprint for vigorous development...
01
2021 is a year full of hope
Reporter:The outbreak of the epidemic in 2020 has resulted in a not very good situation for the entire industry. Compared with last year, how has New Hang Lung's production, marketing, investment and other aspects of work progressed since the beginning of this year?
Luo Haobin:Since the beginning of the new Hang Lung, all aspects of work have been progressing relatively smoothly and orderly. In terms of production, due to the impact of the epidemic in 2020, the resumption of work alone was postponed four times. Thanks to the country’s rigorous epidemic control work, this year’s production lines were successfully ignited and resumed production on the 10th day of the lunar calendar, and all kilns were restored on the 15th day of the first lunar month. Bricks appear normally.
In terms of sales, we are always paying attention to the market situation. After the beginning of the new year, the sales reported by dealers are basically in a good state. In addition, through the company's internal data statistics, we can clearly see thatthe sales data from January to March 2021 increased by 80% compared with the same period in 2020, and compared with 2019 Growth over the same period exceeded 30%.
In terms of investment promotion, every spring is a good time for ceramic enterprises to sow seeds, so New Henglong focuses on investment promotion at the Spring Ceramics Expo. It is not ruled out that some dealers will choose to go to Foshan to look for brands after the Chinese New Year. This year, the number of successful signings by such proactive customers has exceeded 20. From a regional perspective, the number of new outlets in second- and third-tier cities is obviously increasing.
Reporter:This year’s workThe operation is going relatively smoothly. So compared with last year, does New Hang Lung have higher expectations or more specific goals for 2021?
Luo Haobin: In fact, the goal for 2021 has been clarified with all employees and dealers of the company at the previous annual meeting. It can be summarized in two sentences: Unconditional growth, unconditional growth. First of all, in 2021, New Henglong must achieve unconditional growth in sales volume, distribution outlets, and number of specialty stores; secondly, the company must achieve unconditional growth in terms of operational capabilities and service capabilities. The former is a "quantitative" increase, while the latter is a "qualitative" improvement.
Nowadays, the living environment of the ceramic industry has changed its requirements for enterprises. In the past, enterprises only simply and crudely sought improvement in "quantity", but now they also pay attention to "quality" to achieve breakthroughs. On the one hand, New Henglong will help dealers grow by improving the headquarters' service capabilities for terminals; on the other hand, New Henglong will also create higher-end products and increase added value for products through innovation, making companies more competitive. At the same time, dealers can also make money. Therefore, the sales proportion of high-end products in 2021 will be one of the indicators for the development of our entire enterprise.
02
The opportunity for the fifth transformation and upgrading is now
Reporter: Since its establishment in 1998, New Hang Lung has experienced four upgrades and transformations in 1998, 2003, 2009 and 2018. What is the core of the reform at each stage?
Luo Haobin:In fact, New Henglong Enterprise has grown from small to large. When the factory was built in 1998, there were only 15 acres of land in Xiaotang, Nanhai, Foshan; in 2003, New Henglong acquired 30 acres of land on Zidong Road, Nanzhuang, Foshan; in 2009, New Henglong built a 180-acre land in Aoyong, Nanzhuang, Foshan Production base; in 2018, a 400-acre production base was built in Sanshui, Foshan; in 2020, New Henglong added a new production base in Zhaoqing, Guangdong.
In short, what can keep an enterprise in an invincible position must be the continuous strengthening and expansion of the enterprise itself and keeping pace with the times. New Henglong has always followed this development law. Before 2018, it was the development stage of New Henglong from small to large, and it mainly produced ordinary cost-effective products; after the completion of five production lines at the Foshan Sanshui production base in 2018, New Henglong began to produce high-end cost-effective products. From now on, the product quality of New Henglong will be directly benchmarked.The high-end quality of first-tier brands has undergone a "qualitative" change.
Reporter:You mentioned that New Hang Lung has made a "qualitative" leap, so where is the opportunity for the fifth upgrading and transformation of the company?
Luo Haobin: Now may be an opportunity for the fifth upgrade and transformation of New Hang Lung. In terms of trends, I think there are two trends that can be grasped.
The first is high-quality development. Now the entire country is advocating high-quality development. High-quality consumer demand is gradually improving, which means that the market has higher and higher requirements for product quality and services, and terminal partners have higher and higher requirements for enterprises. Come higher and higher. Therefore, New Henglong has accurately transformed its positioning from ordinary cost-effectiveness to high-end cost-effectiveness. In November 2018, the New Henglong Foshan Sanshui production base invested in the construction of five brand-new Zhongpeng high-speed railway era kilns. In 2020, the Guangdong Zhaoqing production base also invested in the construction of two brand-new top-level kilns. In terms of production strength, product quality and overall cost, New Henglong has certain competitiveness.
The second is to develop products that keep pace with the times, such as the currently popular rock slabs. The product category of slate is an outlet for the industry and the terminal market. Almost all powerful companies are trying their best to promote this product. The market popularity and consumer awareness will surely become higher and higher, and consumption will increase. Demand will also increase. Keeping pace with the times and putting into production slate products is a value innovation for the company.
New Henglong Enterprise Exhibition Hall
Reporter: In each stage of the transformation and upgrading of New Henglong, are there any higher requirements in terms of environmentally friendly production?
Luo Haobin: Enterprises in Foshan production areas have done relatively well in environmentally friendly production. It may be said that the biggest problem they face is the "coal-to-gas" transition. In fact, New Hang Lung began trial burning natural gas in January last year, but had to suspend it due to insufficient gas supply. At present, weThe equipment has passed the acceptance inspection and will be fully converted to natural gas in April this year. With the implementation of "coal to gas", enterprises will inevitably face an increase in costs. How to improve product value is a key task for enterprises. The improvement of product value must be supported by quality. Even if New Henglong is making popular products, it must also make high-quality popular products.
Reporter: As the reshuffle in the industry intensifies, many companies are upgrading products and technologies, updating channels, and integrating resources. Some leading companies have taken a series of actions such as listing on the market and expanding production. To adapt to the development of this industry, how does New Hang Lung plan to adapt to the trend in such an environment?
Luo Haobin: Market reshuffling is an inevitable process, and it is also an inevitable trend for big fish to eat small fish. In order for enterprises to adapt to this trend, they must first develop their internal skills to make their ability to resist risks stronger. In this regard, New Henglong has comprehensively upgraded its production hardware since 2018, at least leading the industry in product quality and production costs. In addition, the efficient management mechanism and operating system within the enterprise are an advantage of soft power. New Hang Lung has always advocated upward power, and this spirit has also created many opportunities for us.
You need to practice internal skills internally and assist externally. Externally, New Henglong has always been committed to helping dealers do business well. It was just mentioned that New Henglong’s positioning after its transformation is high-end and cost-effective. This positioning provides dealers with a broader market opportunity. There is room for development, so in the past two years, more and more high-quality dealers have joined New Henglong Enterprises.
03
Slate helps dealers transform into service providers
Reporter: We learned that New Henglong has launched a new high-end slate product - the 750x1500㎜ healthy slate series. What do you think of the market prospects of the combination of slate + health functions?
Luo Haobin: The 750x1500㎜ healthy negative ion slate product is the first of its kind in the New Henglong industry. With the continuous improvement of modern people's living standards, the pursuit of home decoration is more healthy and high-quality, so New Henglong has launched a slate + negative ion functionNew.
In fact, before launching the healthy slate, New Henglong also added negative ion health functions to ordinary ceramic tiles, and the negative ion values and radioactive safety of New Henglong health products can withstand data testing. With genuine materials and long-term persistence, the market's awareness and trust in this product have been cultivated, and this will be a promising market.
Reporter:Continuing the previous question, what are New Henglong’s plans for production capacity layout and marketing strategy in the field of rock slabs in 2021?
Luo Haobin: In terms of production capacity, New Henglong always adheres to professional production lines to produce professional products. Foshan Sanshui production base mainly produces 750x1500㎜ rock slabs for walls and floors. This Ceramics Expo is preparing to produce 900x1800㎜ supporting 600x1200㎜ rock slabs; Guangdong Zhaoqing production base mainly produces rock slab products in the home field, as well as some Large rock slab. This distinction not only makes the quality more stable and the cost more controllable, but also gives New Henglong's rock slab products a more competitive advantage.
In terms of marketing, slate is a cross-border product, and the market growth is mainly in some home customization, furniture companies, and stone companies. In the future, New Henglong will gradually integrate rock slabs into the dealer system, allowing terminal dealers to sell some rock slabs.
Reporter: Do you think the terminal sales model of slate is different from that of ceramic tiles? Does the agent need to build an image store or even invest in a processing plant?
Luo Haobin: Traditional ceramic tiles are more presented in the form of materials, which is actually the same nature as the current slate products on the wall and on the floor. If the sales of slate are aimed at furniture and customization channels, then you need to face a series of design, processing, application and after-sales issues.
Stone slab, as a high-end product, naturally needs a good scene to reflect its application effect, so it is necessary to build an image store. Regarding processing, although some New Henglong dealers have their own processing plants, we do not encourage dealers who are just starting to make slates to invest in building processing plants. We can first reduce the pressure through resource sharing. When we have a certain Depending on your sales volume and operating strength, you will then consider supporting processing plants.
Reporter: Regarding store construction, what support will New Hang Lung provide to dealers? In addition, what about New Hang Lung’s promotion, training and other empowerment work for terminals?
Luo HaoBin:New Hang Lung really attaches great importance to store construction and continuously upgrades the SI version of the store from 1.0 to 3.0. This year’s annual meeting also proposed indicators for the construction of specialty stores. Of course, as long as it meets the acceptance standards, the distribution Merchants can enjoy the specialty store subsidy policy provided by the headquarters.
Regarding terminal empowerment, New Hang Lung has its own set of dealer assistance systems called "Super 6+1" assistance system . In order to build this system, New Henglong specially hired a relatively powerful consulting company in Beijing, and then established it based on the actual situation of the company. The 6+1 includes positioning, team building, training, store construction, channel investment, after-sales service, and event promotion. This is also where New Henglong is different from other ceramic tile manufacturers - in addition to selling ceramic tiles to dealers, we think more about how to help dealers do business well.
To realize the cycle of this system, a professional execution team must be matched. For this reason, New Hang Lung combines internal and external forces. Part of the power comes from external consulting companies. They help dealers establish a complete system point-to-point in the early stage. We call it "Golden Butler"; Another part of the power comes from the support group composed of personnel from the company's brand management center. They are mainly responsible for following up on follow-up services and providing long-term support and assistance to dealers, so as to create a sustainable profit system for dealers.
Now is no longer the era of simply selling bricks. Both the headquarters and stores need to improve their overall service capabilities, including increasing the ability to implement the slate section. Allow terminal dealers to also do some slate supporting projects other than wall and floor, transforming from traditional tile dealers to tile & slate service providers in a true sense.
04
Relying on multiple combinations of internal and external punches to gather momentum and seek further development
Reporter:Business school has become indispensable for a company to build an efficient team. New Hang Lung Corporate Business School also often sets up open courses. What kind of training do you think is good for employees? Training is most important?
Luo Haobin:Actually, there are several aspects of learning that are very important. The first is that employees must identify with the company’s vision, mission, and values. This is also the company’s primary training content, because a team, company If you want to have combat effectiveness, you must be on the same page from top to bottom. Only with the same goal and consistent thinking can things be done more smoothly. The second is training on the company's internal management systems and processes. Employees must understand these so that they can work in an orderly manner. The third is to master the professional knowledge and skills of the company's products, help terminals, etc.The company's employees are more familiar with their customers, so they are more It is necessary to have the ability to help dealers, rather than simply relying on consulting companies.
Reporter: New Hang Lung is in a stage of rapid development in recent years, and there is definitely a great demand for the introduction of talents. What are your efforts in recruiting, educating and retaining talents? Experience sharing?
Luo Haobin: On the one hand, it is to focus on the promotion and training of original internal employees and improve the promotion mechanism. New Hang Lung has three criteria for judging talents. One is that they are in step with the company, the other is that they have positive energy, and the third is that they have outstanding performance. On the other hand, New Hang Lung will also introduce talents from outside. Most of these people come from higher-level companies or unfamiliar fields. They can inject innovative power into the company. In addition, when companies invest in new sectors and projects, we will also recruit partners to jointly establish a business unit.
Reporter: Last question, the theme of the New Hang Lung Corporate Marketing Summit at the end of last year was "Gathering momentum to make progress and creating a better future". What new models and new models will New Hang Lung use in 2021? Motivation to empower new brand upgrades?
Luo Haobin:I believe that in running a business, you must follow the trend. Only by following the trend can you get twice the result with half the effort. The entire trend can be summarized into three points: The first is to become stronger and bigger. If you want to survive, you must be strong; the second is to develop with high quality.If an enterprise wants to be strong, it must have technical content and the ability to resist risks, so New Henglong’s determination of the entire enterprisePositioning, product positioning, dealer positioning, and internal team requirements will all become higher and higher; the third is the big slate, which is a hot spot in the industry, and companies must seize the opportunity.
In the next few years, the overall development direction of New Henglong will be around these three points. At the specific execution level, our company will continue to focus on promoting the New Henglong operation and service center model. .
With the re-segmentation of the market, information transparency, accelerated product updates, and increased product varieties, the operation service center model will be the core of the rapid development of many companies in the future. On March 26, 2018, New Henglong Sichuan Operation Service Center officially opened. It has been its second anniversary. As Sichuan is one of the most difficult markets in the country, New Henglong chose to start from scratch with a completely direct operation model. In 2020, sales exceeded 10 million, with more than 60 dealers. The expected sales target in 2021 is 20 million. In just two years, the development speed is very fast. The rapidity also fully proves the superiority of this model. This year, New Henglong also plans to continue to add direct operation service centers in difficult markets to enhance the confidence of dealers across the country. Only by successfully creating direct-sale samples can we promote this model nationwide. At present, New Henglong has established more than a dozen operation service centers across the country. Excellent cases include Heilongjiang, Wuxi, Tianjin, Jinjiang, etc.
