Text | Fuyu Shuoyue
Editor | Fuyu Shuoyue
In 1994, Su Zengfu, who was already 53 years old, embarked on his way back to Zhejiang.
At this time, he faced an important choice, whether to retire peacefully or to try again.
Logically speaking, Su Zengfu’s sons have already married and established businesses, so retirement does not seem to be an unacceptable thing.
But Su Zengfu is not convinced. He just wants to create a Chinese brand.
What happened to Su Zengfu? Why did he have to start a business?
Now 28 years have passed, has Su Zengfu’s ideal been realized?
1.
Su Zengfu, who was born in Zhejiang in 1941, was destined to be unfortunate in his childhood.
Since he was a child, he followed his parents through hunger and also experienced natural and man-made disasters.
In order to make a living, Su Zengfu had to travel around with his parents at a young age.
In the process, Su Zengfu saw many people and things, and gradually came up with the idea of ??serving as a soldier to protect his family and country.
So in 1960, the 19-year-old Su Zengfu finally met the standards and became an honorable soldier.
Su Zengfu’s military career lasted for eight years.
After retiring, Su Zengfu chose to return to his hometown and use what he learned to contribute to the construction of his hometown.
According to Su Zengfu’s own opinion, farming at home is actually quite good, but he couldn’t resist the enthusiasm of the villagers and worried that he would not adapt to the situation. People kept coming to introduce him to jobs.
Especially in this era of "one person serving as a soldier, the whole family will be honored", Su Zengfu, who was born as a soldier, is undoubtedly quite popular, and various local departments are vying for Su Zengfu.
Unable to resist everyone's enthusiasm, in 1969, Su Zengfu worked as an ordinary salesman in the "Chenyu Town Community and Team Enterprise".
This work lasted for 6 years.
In 1975, Su Zengfu was transferred to "Chenyu Agricultural Machinery Factory" as a supply and sales clerk due to factory business adjustments.
During this period, due to his outstanding performance, Su Zengfu's position began to rise frequently. By 1980, he had become the director of "Chenyu Agricultural Machinery Factory".
Later he was even transferred to the "Yuhuan County Pressure Cooker Accessories Factory" as the director.
And this became the most important turning point for Su Zengfu.
2.
Before Su Zengfu took over the "Yuhuan Pressure Cooker Parts Factory", the factory was losing money every year and was almost on the verge of failure.
This is mainly because pressure cooker accessories have low technical content and are not widely used in China.
Although pressure cookers seemed rare at the time, they were not.
As early as the end of the 17th century, a French doctor named Denis Papin had taken the lead in inventing the pressure cooker.
However, the main function of the pressure cooker at that time was sterilization, which was basically used in the medical field. Coupled with the fact that high pressure is prone to explosion, the pressure cooker has not been widely used.
It was not until the 18th century that people discovered that pressure cookers could be used to cook food. They began to try to eliminate its dangers, and gradually became popular in various countries.
The development of pressure cookers in my country was relatively late. It was not until 1964 that Shenyang developed the first pressure cooker, named "Jinji Brand" pressure cooker.
Once this "Golden Rooster" pressure cooker was released, it ignited domestic consumer enthusiasm. Almost every household must prepare a "Golden Rooster" pressure cooker.
Since then, the "Golden Rooster" brand has almost always been the benchmark in the domestic cookware industry, accounting for half of the pressure cooker market.
Including "Yuhuan County Pressure Cooker Accessories Factory", most pressure cooker industry factories can basically only be reduced to foils.
Until 1986, the "Golden Rooster" pressure cooker underwent industrial optimization and reorganization and was officially renamed "Double Happiness".
It was at this time that Su Zengfu decisively seized the opportunity and went to Shenyang in person to win the parts supply order for "Double Happiness".
Su Zengfu saw clearly that although "Double Happiness" had been renamed, many users in the market did not recognize the brand.
But this is just a period of labor pain. After "Double Happiness" recovers, it will be easy to return to the top.
If you choose to hug your thighs tightly at this time, the benefits in the future will definitely be huge.
Facts have proved that Su Zengfu was right.
Although the market share of "Double Happiness" has declined due to the name change, the impact is not significant.
And with the establishment of the "Double Happiness" brand, it will be easier for the company to promote it, and it will soon seize the market it lost before, and even once occupied 70% of the market share, becoming a well-deserved leader in the industry. people.
As Su Zengfu, who was the first to "rely on", he was naturally able to get a share of the pie.
Soon, "Yuhuan County Pressure Cooker Accessories Factory" turned losses into profits and achieved positive profit growth.
It was precisely because of Su Zengfu's actions in saving the "Yuhuan County Pressure Cooker Accessories Factory" that in 1988, he was selected as the outstanding factory director of Yuhuan County.
In 1989, Su Zengfu was again selected as the Outstanding Factory Director of Taizhou City.
At this moment, Su Zengfu can be said to be blessed with glory and fame.
But Su Zengfu was not satisfied.
In Su Zengfu’s view, pressure cooker accessories are just a niche after all. If you want the factory to truly develop, you still need to form an industrial chain.
To this end, Su Zengfu specifically consulted professional and technical personnel, and relied on market research and negotiations with the "Double Happiness" company to finally clarify the idea of ??producing a pressure cooker.
However, his move was opposed by everyone inside and outside the factory.
In everyone’s opinion, the development momentum of “Yuhuan County Pressure Cooker Accessories Factory” is obviously good and it can make profits every year. Why bother to set up a complete pressure cooker production line?
Moreover, pressure cookers are different from ordinary pots. There are certain dangers in the production process. Su Zengfu has never been engaged in related industries before.
In addition, Su Zengfu was already 47 years old at this time and his children had grown up. Everyone advised him not to bother anymore.
But Su Zengfu was not convinced.
In 1988, he officially changed the name of the factory from "Yuhuan County Pressure Cooker Accessories Factory" to "Yuhuan County Pressure Cooker Factory".
Although the word "accessories" was simply removed, it expressed Su Zengfu's determination.
He vowed to produce his own pressure cooker.
To this end, he raised money everywhere and prepared to introduce a production line.
But no one believed him at all and would not lend him money at all.
In the end, Su Zengfu faced the risk of being fired and went to Shanghai to get a loan of 2 million yuan from the bank.
With this money, Su Zengfu can at least start negotiations with foreign companies.
At the same time, during this process, Su Zengfu also asked his subordinates to publicize the matter.
This gave many people the "illusion" that Su Zengfu was about to become rich.
So many people lent their spare money to Su Zengfu.
Based on this, Su Zengfu quickly prepared 1 million, plus the loan he had previously obtained from the bank, and raised 3 million to introduce a complete production line for pressure cookers that is the most advanced and safest in the world.
In particular, the safety systems of this production line are all built to the highest international standards.
Su Zengfu also used this as a propaganda point to recruit many outstanding technical workers.
It was by relying on this link-by-link plan that Su Zengfu finally built the first international-level production line in Yuhuan County.
But after the construction started, Su Zengfu discovered that the money was not as easy to make as he imagined.
The biggest problem is cost.
Although "Double Happiness" has changed its name, the company's personnel structure has also changed many times.
But "Double Happiness" is an old domestic company after all, and its most basic production lines and industrial layout have not changed.
Coupled with the structural optimization carried out during the name change, the production cost of "Double Happiness" has been controlled at a very low level.
But Su Zengfu cannot. Whether it is the purchase of raw materials or sales channels, Su Zengfu is far inferior to "Double Happiness".
And the most important thing is that the pressure cooker produced by Su Zengfu is not recognized at all on the market.
With no choice, Su Zengfu could only find "Double Happiness" again and promised to help it with OEM production of products.
Although the turnover of "Yuhuan County Pressure Cooker Factory" at this time is not good, it is because of the limitations of raw material costs and sales costs.
But after all, its production line has introduced internationally advanced levels, and the quality is still no problem.
After negotiation, the two parties agreed that the pressure cooker produced by "Yuhuan County Pressure Cooker Factory" would be sold under the brand "Double Happiness".
In this way, Su Zengfu was able to maintain the early survival of the "Yuhuan County Pressure Cooker Factory".
3.
Time flies to 1992. This year, the domestic market and business environment has undergone tremendous changes.
This year, various regions began to encourage industry and encourage highly educated intellectuals to "go overseas" to help the development of industry in various regions with knowledge and technology.
After being inspired, many high-ranking intellectuals gave up their stable jobs.
Or enter first-line industrial enterprises to change the status quo of the industry.
Or start your own company and use technology to inject vitality into the industry.
Riding on this wave, Su Zengfu’s company also recruited many outstanding university talents, including his son Su Xianze.
Su Xianze is a top student in the Department of Chemical Engineering of Zhejiang University, having just graduated in 1991.
Just in time to catch up with the "sea wave" in 1992, I also wanted to use my knowledge to promote the development of local industries.
Anyway, I didn’t want to work with anyone, so I simply stayed at Su Zengfu’s “Yuhuan County Pressure Cooker Factory”.
But I have to say that college students such as Su Xianze are indeed different.
Perhaps in terms of experience, Su Xianze and others are not as good as the old masters in the factory, but their knowledge and novel ideas in college are far beyond the old man.
A most typical example.
Su Xianze once proposed that when Su Zengfu produces pressure cookers, he should add his production location in front of the brand "Double Happiness".
In other words, all pressure cookers produced by "Yuhuan County Pressure Cooker Factory" in the future will be named "Yuhuan Double Happiness".
Su Zengfu didn’t understand why he did this at first, but as things progressed, he gradually came to his senses.
This move is to create a small brand of its own within the big brand "Double Happiness".
The brand "Double Happiness" is naturally synonymous with "word of mouth", and the quality can also be guaranteed.
But there will be a huge gap between "qualified" and "qualified".
One of the most obvious examples is the "Yuhuan County Pressure Cooker Factory."
When the factory was built, the products used by Su Zengfu were of international first-class quality, and the technicians were all local masters with well-known skills.
In addition, after college students such as Su Xianze joined, it brought new ways of thinking to the management of the factory.
It can be said that the quality of the "Double Happiness Pressure Cooker" produced by the "Yuhuan County Pressure Cooker Factory" is definitely well-known in the industry.
However, Su Zengfu is not only the OEM for "Double Happiness". The production lines of most OEMs are also far inferior to Su Zengfu's level.
This leads to the fact that although the pressure cookers of the "Double Happiness" brand are all qualified, the quality is very different.
Although Su Xianze added the label "Yuhuan Double Happiness" to the pressure cookers produced by the factory, there was no visible effect in the short term.
But as time goes by, people gradually realize that the quality of "Yuhuan Double Happiness" is better, and the adhesion will develop.
Even with word-of-mouth promotion from customers, it can attract many new domestic customers.
It is precisely because of this initiative that the sales of "Yuhuan County Pressure Cooker Factory" have skyrocketed.
By 1994, the total sales volume of "Yuhuan County Pressure Cooker Factory" had reached 2.3 million, and the annual output value was as high as 180 million.
Looking at the pressure cooker industry alone, this achievement is, after all, twice as high as that of "Shenyang Double Happiness".
Now the "Double Happiness" company is a little unhappy: Why is the effect of OEM better than that of the main factory?
So "Double Happiness" chose to terminate the cooperation and prohibited "Yuhuan County Pressure Cooker Factory" from using the "Double Happiness" brand.
This made Su Zengfu anxious. He knew in his heart that the reason why his sales were so good was that "Yuhuan Double Happiness" had become a quality guarantee in the minds of customers.
If you cannot use the "Double Happiness" brand, then how do customers know which pressure cooker is produced by your "Yuhuan County Pressure Cooker Factory"?
In order to solve this problem, Su Zengfu and Su Xianze, their father and son, took the train overnight to Shenyang and started negotiations with the "Double Happiness" company.
However, the "Double Happiness" company was afraid of raising tigers and was determined to refuse to let go.
Both parties even went to court over this matter.
But in this matter, although the "Double Happiness" company is not authentic, there is no fault after all.
The final result was no surprise. Su Zengfu and Su Xianze lost the case.
After returning to Zhejiang, Su Zengfu had an epiphany overnight.
No matter how good the production is, the initiative is still in the hands of others. You can only do it if they ask you to do it, and you can't even think about it if they don't let you do it.
If you want to develop stably in the industry, then building your own brand is inevitable.
So in 1994, Su Zengfu established the "Supor" company and began to build his own brand.
This year, Su Zengfu is already 53 years old.
4.
After the establishment of "Supor", Su Zengfu established a firm foothold in the industry with its excellent quality.
With the help of Su Xianze and other college students in planning and promotion, "Supor" has occupied more than 40% of the market in just one year.
By 1996, "Supor" sales exceeded 4 million, accounting for nearly half of the national pressure cooker market.
It was also this year that Su Zengfu joined hands with "Supor" to officially surpass his old club "Double Happiness" and became the new "Pot King" in the industry.
This year, Su Zengfu was only 55 years old.
It was also at this time that Su Zengfu's ambition was no longer satisfied with being the "cookware king". He wanted to further expand his industry to the entire kitchen utensils industry.
There are both traditional kitchen appliances including pots and pans, as well as new kitchen appliances including rice cookers and juicers.
And this move is tantamount to poking a hornet's nest in one fell swoop.
The first is the traditional craft brands headed by "Zhang Xiaoquan" and "Wang Mazi".
These brands may have only specialized in one of them before, but as they grew bigger, the industry also began to expand.
The second is emerging domestic kitchenware brands including "Aista".
Most of these companies, like "Supor", started out with certain kitchen appliances, and then slowly expanded their industry to the field of all kitchen appliances.
But no matter which one it is, it has the most direct competitive relationship with "Supor".
In addition, many major international brands have also begun to emerge in the country.
It can be said that although "Supor" looks brilliant at this time, there are crises everywhere, and one wrong step will lead to death.
However, at this time, Su Zengfu suddenly wanted to enter the stainless steel industry in a big way.
This can’t help but surprise people. How can anyone rush to expand their fields before their main business has fully established itself?
Many people even came to persuade Su Zengfu to slow down his steps first.
But Su Zengfu didn't care at all. In other words, when he founded "Supor", he never thought about dominating a certain industry.
In Su Zengfu's own words: "I am engaged in industry, and I also know the importance of industry."
The reason why Su Zengfu insisted on establishing "Supor" was because he He felt that his pressure cooker was of good quality, and he wanted all Chinese people to be able to use high-quality pressure cookers.
If other companies want to gain a foothold in this industry, they must develop pressure cookers with higher quality than "Supor".
This is the greatest contribution of an entity enterprise. A good entity enterprise can often promote the progress of the entire industry.
But now that "Supor" has become the leader in the domestic cookware industry, Su Zengfu is not prepared to continue to delve into this industry.
And his next target is the stainless steel industry.
Su Zengfu once revealed that he has seen many well-made stainless steel processes, but due to high patent fees, they cannot be promoted in the country.
But Su Zengfu didn’t believe in this evil. He wanted all Chinese people to use cheap and high-quality stainless steel products.
Su Zengfu’s goal was ambitious, but he ignored a very important point.
That is stainless steel products for kitchen utensils. The most direct competition is traditional craft brands such as "Zhang Xiaoquan" and "Wang Mazi".
Although "Supor" is famous now, it is only in the pressure cooker industry.
In the tool industry, "Supor" has been ranked below "Zhang Xiaoquan" and "Wang Mazi" all year round, and its best result is only third place.
This competitive relationship between the two parties has lasted for ten years.
Until 2004, "Supor" chose to go public for financing, but for unknown reasons the stock price plummeted one after another and the market value continued to shrink.
Su Zengfu thought carefully and decided to sell the famous "Supor" for 4 billion.
This move shocked the industry media at the time, but Su Zengfu said that he had no regrets.
After Su Zengfu received the money, he began to study stainless steel with all his strength.
But this time Su Zengfu was smarter. He consciously avoided the kitchen appliances of "Zhang Xiaoquan" and "Wang Mazi", and instead used faucets as a seesaw to enter the sanitary ware industry.
Today, "Supor Sanitary Ware" has become the leading brand in the industry.
Su Zengfu is engaged in industry, and this is what he has always done.
The two entrepreneurial ventures were based on industry and would never stop no matter what others said.
Perhaps it seems now that Su Zengfu suffered a bit of a loss when he sold "Supor".
But if you think about it carefully, Su Zengfu has received enough funds to continue to explore new fields.
This spirit of always facing challenges and always being on the road is an important guarantee for his current achievements.