"Look at the washing machines in 97, I estimate that the manufacturers have gone out of business. ”
The words of the big brother in Henan made the power of the obscure for decades in the comment on the aggrieved speech of the district committee:
I'm sorry everyone, Weili is still insisting, thank you for the support of cloud shareholders. ”
This scene made countless netizens burst into laughter, and some people laughed and said that the sentence Power is equivalent to "I heard that you said everywhere that I was dead?" ”
Once a well-deserved leading enterprise in the washing machine market, it has landed in this field, which has made countless people sigh and deeply shocked by the strength of the old domestic brand.
The history of the power of the network map can be traced back to the end of the 70s of the last century, when the common people did not talk about washing machines, when they got married, they got together with "three turns and one ring", which were all rich and noble.
When the Chinese became rich, everyone began to pursue "made in foreign countries" again.
In this way, the power has entered the dead end of the times, and like most domestic products, it has been forgotten by people.
Because of this, when everyone knows that the power manufacturer is still running, it will be so shocked, after so many years of being squeezed, how did it persevere?
Network diagram
In a cramped factory, dirty floors, a few elderly workers are operating machines, and old washing machines are being moved from the end of the assembly line to trucks, and the countryside is their final destination.
In the minds of many people, the power of losing the position of the faucet should be such a scene.
The power that can be imagined to be miserable is actually not so miserable.
As the only country with a full industrial line, China's manufacturing industry is too volatile, and the competition in the home appliance industry has become more and more fierce year by year since the turn of the millennium.
Among the thousands of home appliance brands, although Weili has a market of 30 million, it still cannot gain a foothold without restructuring and transformation.
As a result, as early as 30 years ago, this nationally famous washing machine brand has begun to find another way to save itself from fire and water.
The method is simple and crude, but effective - restructuring, OEM, exporting overseas, and occupying the rural market.
Gradually, WEINIG no longer devoted all its energy to domestic business.
Processing, OEM, and overseas export for domestic first-line home appliance brands have become the direction of their key development in recent years, and they are doing very well.
Of course, this does not mean that it has given up its main business.
Weili Company was formally established in 1980, after experiencing the torrent of the times such as market opening, company restructuring, foreign goods impact, bankruptcy crisis, etc.;
Although it is no longer as glorious as it once was, it still has factories and buildings covering an area of 1,000 acres.
The plant equipment is updated year after year and is now almost completely automated.
With the help of technology, the intelligent and upgraded Weili production workshop can produce a washing machine in as fast as 11 seconds, and the process is completely transparent, and the data is clear and clear with the help of AI.
In 2022, the number of employees was 1,600, and today, it has soared to 3,000.
Last year, its output value reached 1 billion yuan, compared with other big-name household appliances industry in China, this data is not eye-catching, but don't ignore it, this is just output value.
As early as the 80s of the last century, WEINIG tried to open up other production lines in addition to washing machines.
Over the years, it has tried to manufacture refrigerators, air conditioners, cooking utensils and other products, but the effect is not obvious, and the most well-known is the washing machine industry.
Currently, the WEINIG plant produces around 2 million washing machines per year.
According to the disclosure of relevant data, Haier, which ranks first in the sales list of washing machines in 2023, will have an annual sales volume of about 3.3 million units, and the second and third Little Swan and Midea will have about 3.1 million and 1.9 million units.
That is to say, the power of the little-known "small brand" in China, the annual output is a quarter of the top three in the Chinese market.
Although it could not be restored to its former glory, the power of the other way to save itself has worked.
A company can never rely on the past glory to continue to survive, but looking back at the past, the power of the past will still be shocked by its glory period achievements.
In 1979, an iron frame dismantled from an abandoned old ship was sent to Zhongshan Shiqi Agricultural Machinery Repair Factory, which was the first time Xu Jihai saw a "foreign thing" like a washing machine.
It took several months for the employees of the repair shop to figure out the structure inside;
A few months later, the first single-cylinder washing machine in China was born in this humble agricultural machinery factory.
In 1980, 2,000 washing machines were distributed to the whole country from here, and "Zhongshan Shiqi Agricultural Machinery Repair Factory" was officially renamed "Zhongshan Washing Machine Factory", and the washing machine brand was "Clean White Brand".
In 1981, the twin-cylinder washing machine was developed, the factory was officially put into operation, and the brand was renamed "WEINIG".
Xu Jihai, in the super high call of the people, became the first head of the family of Power.
In the next 15 years, China's washing machine market is the world of power.
"Might, might, might. ”
"The old and the new, or the power. ”
"The washing machine, a mother's love. ”
I have to say that there is an era of propaganda in an era, and the advertising words that seem to be a little rustic today undoubtedly succeeded in grasping the pain points of the market back then.
Buying a washing machine for his mother, who had washed clothes all her life, and using machinery to free her hands, became the latest trend of consumption at that time.
In the era when people's living standards are soaring, household appliances such as washing machines are worth a lot of money, and most families can't afford them.
But even so, in 1990, WEINIG exceeded the 1 million unit sales mark for the first time.
By 1995, the number of users of Weinig washing machines had exceeded 10 million; In the early years of the millennium, the market retention rate of 30 million was awarded the title of "washing machine king" by the state.
At that time, whether it was market share, sales volume, or popularity, Weili was a well-deserved first place.
Today's famous home appliance brands, such as Little Swan, Midea, Gree, etc., are still at the second-tier level in the market, and the leading position is firmly occupied by other brands.
For example, the "Rongsheng" refrigerator of Guangdong Kelon, the "Aucma" freezer in Qingdao, the "Chunlan" air conditioner and so on.
Weili was the pride of countless Zhongshan people, and at its peak, the country's No. 1 person had set it as an inspection site.
It can be said that even the cleaners who are powerful in cleaning will unconsciously straighten their backs when talking about their place of work.
But the torrent of the times is rolling forward, and even gods can't escape the vicissitudes of life.
If the success of Weili is inseparable from the east wind of the times, then it is far more than the only one who has taken advantage of this shareholder wind.
In fact, 10 years after the founding of the "WEINIG Group", the company's management was already aware of the changes in the market.
The washing machine market is approaching saturation, the impact of a large number of foreign capital with abundant capital, the improvement of people's living standards and the pursuit of high-quality goods are all crises that Weili and even all domestic brands will face in the future.
Thirty years ago, the newspapers expressed this idea with concern:
Japanese air conditioners have invaded the Chinese market in a big way. A considerable number of Chinese people donated generously as soon as they saw foreign brands, and in the face of this situation, some people of insight expressed serious concerns. ”
Some Japanese companies are keen to build joint ventures, not to introduce advanced technology and products, but to seize the Chinese market, grasp the market initiative, defeat domestic products, and realize the monopoly position of Japanese air conditioners in China. ”
Today, 30 years later, we have to sigh that the long-term vision of "people of insight" is admirable.
The involution of the domestic industry and the accumulation of foreign capital made many old domestic brands live quite miserably during that period.
Weili's family background is quite thick, so it is not "miserable", but it has also experienced several ups and downs.
First of all, the company entered the air-conditioning industry in a big way, and the steps were too big, resulting in almost no revenue from the industry.
Then, under the mutual tilting of domestic and foreign home appliance brands, the competitiveness was greatly weakened, and the debt exceeded 1.6 billion in just a few years, and layoffs and attrition became the general trend.
Just when the outside world was talking about this, the rumors of "discord between the generals" were exposed within the power, which quickly collapsed the brand's already precarious reputation.
Finally, in 2005, the famous power washing machine had to be packaged and sold by the brand processing plant due to poor management, which caused a huge controversy for a while.
With a mature processing industry line and experienced assembly line workers, Weili is actually not short of sellers, and ordinary small companies are not ranked.
The first company to send a negotiation team was Kelon, a well-deserved leading enterprise in the home appliance industry, which has a strong interest in "opening up territory".
At that time, the news was very vigorous, and many ** described this acquisition as "getting married".
However, soon, Kelon director Gu Xiaojun was caught in a financial lawsuit and was eventually imprisoned.
It's just that Kelong was hit hard by this battle back then, and it fell into the **, and many plans were forced to be shelved, including the powerful acquisition plan.
In the end, Zhongshan Weili Group and Dongling Kaiqin "married" with 1The value of 500 million yuan was successfully "remarried".
At that time, this merger and acquisition case attracted the onlookers of many bigwigs in the circle, and Dongling Kaiqin even said that he would "revive his strength".
But the times have changed, and if you miss the bonus period, you can only go with the flow like the sand of the Yellow River.
After surviving that period, Power also had to face the fact that he had finally stepped down from the altar.
In the business field, time, place, and people are indispensable.
Why is the power there?
In the 80s and 90s, "people" played a very important role in leading the tide.
When the company was first established, the leaders set an iron law: "All the employees want to do, they should do it first, and all the employees should abide by it, they must abide by it first." ”
One of the deputy directors of the factory, who has smoked for more than 30 years, led by example to enforce the rule that smoking is not allowed in the factory.
This incident was a great shock to the employees, and everyone followed suit, and many people quit smoking, and at the same time, Weili has also become a well-known "smoke-free factory".
It is worth mentioning that the power from top to bottom has never used power for personal gain, the factory has an annual turnover of nearly 10 million, and every penny in the accounts is clear and clear.
In addition, WEINIG knows that "the customer is God", and this concept is deeply rooted in the minds of every WEILI person.
For example, once, a batch of washing machines produced in the factory had a short circuit and wire burning failure all over the country, and after investigation, it was found that it was caused by different voltages in various places.
Strictly speaking, this has nothing to do with washing machines, but the factory still decided to recall all relevant models, regardless of whether they are sold or not, whether there is a problem or not, all refunds plus compensation.
It is the business philosophy of Weili that is solid and hardworking, honest management, attaches importance to quality, and regards consumers as the parents of food and clothing, which has allowed it to expand rapidly and seize a large market in just a few years.
"He" has indeed brought rare brilliance to Weili, but the scarcity of the right time and place still makes it a little less lucky.
Even after exhausting all means, the power was not "revived" in the end.
Network diagramLuckily, he ushered in his next spring.
The story of Mighty can't help but remind people of the team building of domestic products some time ago.
Counting their past, everyone found that over the years, although domestic products have been miserable in their own way, the resilience and strength in their bones are quite consistent.
After countless days and nights of being crushed by foreign capital, the domestic products that can persist have finally ushered in the dawn.
The power of 45 years of ups and downs, looking forward to it unleashing its "power" again!
-end-
References: 1Electrical appliances: the new owner reshapes the new image of WEINIG.
2.Household electrical appliances: power wants to revive the former glory.
3.Zhongshan History: "Might, might, power enough", the first single-cylinder washing machine in China, the pride of Zhongshan people.
Author: Again, and double.
Editor: Ichiyigi.