The legend is over, and the afterglow is still there.
At 10:30 on February 25, 2024, Comrade Zong Qinghou, founder and chairman of Wahaha Group, was ineffective due to medical treatment. This legendary Zhejiang businessman who is still at the helm of the enterprise in his seventies and has influenced countless people has suddenly drawn an end to his life.
There are too many labels and stories for this business figure to describe all of him. And there is one word destined to be intertwined with him, and he will share honor and disgrace throughout his life, and that is Wahaha.
As for Zong Qinghou, he prefers to regard himself as a mortal.
In the preface to his biography, he wrote: "I am an ordinary person, a mortal who has risen from the bottom. Luckily, I was born in a big time; Fortunately, I got an opportunity to create a company, and because of it, I became the 'richest man in China', and my value was realized and recognized. ”
Data map. Start a business for the rest of your life.
It's never too late to become a legend.
Old Hangzhou people know that at No. 160 Qingtai Street, less than two kilometers away from West Lake, there is a 6-story gray building with a small courtyard in front of it, which is the old headquarters of Wahaha.
Sandwiched between residential buildings and shaded by several large trees, this inconspicuous small building is the place where Zong Qinghou set off.
Zong Qinghou's office photo in the early days of entrepreneurship.
Back in 1945, Zong Qinghou was born in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province (also known as Suqian), and moved to Hangzhou with his family as a child, which is also his ancestral home. Zong Qinghou has 5 brothers and sisters in his family, and in order to reduce the burden on his family, he began to work around after finishing junior high school.
From planting tea, cutting rice, to cultivating fields, to digging and drying salt, he spent most of his youth from the age of 18 to 33 on farms in Zhoushan and Shaoxing.
In 1987, after the reform and opening up, 42-year-old Zong Qinghou began to write his legendary career, borrowing 140,000 yuan to contract the distribution department of the school-run enterprise in Shangcheng District, Hangzhou, which was the predecessor of Wahaha.
Zong Qinghou became the "general manager" of the distribution department, wholesale stationery, paper, mops, brooms, and beverages to elementary schools. Although he is a manager, he has to pedal a tricycle, make deliveries on the streets, and save money by cent.
Many years later, Zong Qinghou talked about the biggest regret in his life, that is, he was 42 years old when he started his business, "It's too late, I feel like time is catching up with me every day." ”
In 1989, he founded Hangzhou Wahaha Nutrition Food Factory. With an eye for the children's market and a pair of legs that can't be broken, Wahaha nutrient solution became an instant hit.
Wahaha children's nutrition solution old packaging.
At that time, the nutrient solution was selling well in the country, and Wahaha, which only had more than 100 employees, was seriously under-produced. To this end, Zong Qinghou made a bold decision: to merge the state-owned Hangzhou Canned Food Factory, which has more than 2,000 employees.
In just 3 months, Zong Qinghou staged a miracle of "small fish eating big fish", Wahaha took advantage of its products and market advantages to quickly revitalize the stock assets of the cannery and turn losses into profits.
To run ahead of the market, you must be decisive and courageous. In 1996, Zong Qinghou boldly transformed and switched to bottled pure water. Relying on the phrase "I only have you in my eyes", the advertisement spread all over China, and Wahaha pure water conquered most of the Chinese market.
In 1998, after thousands of improvements, Wahaha developed "Very Coke", which made Wahaha rush out of the country.
The later story is familiar to everyone. AD calcium milk, nutrition express, eight-treasure porridge and other products have achieved the memory of a generation. Wahaha, which follows the times, has always stood tall in the huge waves of the market.
More than 200 varieties of product lines and more than 80 production bases across the country have made Wahaha a giant aircraft carrier, and Zong Qinghou has become a "beverage king". In 2010, Zong Qinghou became the richest man in China by Forbes with a net worth of 53.4 billion yuan. Subsequently, he became the richest man in Chinese mainland three times in four years.
At the end of 2023, Wahaha's office headquarters will be relocated to a new location, from Qingtai Street to a new building on the bank of the Qiantang River. The small building on Qingtai Street, which has stood for 37 years, has completed its historical mission.
Having worked in a low-key small building for more than 30 years, Zong Qinghou has talked about it countless times: "I set out from here and went to a vast distance, which even surpasses my imagination, the imagination of others, and the wealth, success and glory itself." ”
1993 data map.
His feelings for this building are very similar to his feelings for Wahaha, "I have run this business in my life, and my life's career is this business, so I cherish it very much." ”
Not retiring for the rest of your life.
It is hard for others to imagine that after the 70-year-old Zong Qing, he still insists on fighting on the front line.
In Wahaha, Zong Qinghou has always been the "most diligent person", and the "second most diligent person" is his daughter Zong Fuli.
In the old age, Zong Qinghou was still busy every day, and for him, holidays did not exist. Most of the time, he lives directly in the company, wakes up at 6 a.m. and works from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Work made up almost the whole of his life.
Although the mode and form of entrepreneurship have undergone great changes, the entrepreneurial spirit of overcoming obstacles and overcoming obstacles at that time is always needed. ”
In Wahaha, the boss's diligence is well known. For example, he never stays overnight when he reviews reports, and he is no exception when he is on a business trip or when he is sick. He used to look at the paper version, and every time he went on a business trip, his entourage would bring a small printer, A4 paper and a number of ink cartridges.
There was a saying back then, "On the land of China, where there are people, there is Wahaha". Behind this, Zong Qinghou travels an average of 200 days a year, with footprints all over the country, and is familiar with every product line and every advertisement.
At Zong Qinghou's office scene, you can often see neatly arranged suitcases.
There is unbranded bulk tofu on his desk, which is the best choice for him to often accompany him to the market.
Even if he became the "richest man", Zong Qinghou still lived a simple life, wearing a jacket and a pair of cloth shoes all year round, and eating in the canteen. He once quipped, "I spend less than 50,000 yuan a year."
Once, after netizens met Zong Qing on the high-speed rail, what was surprising was that he sat in the second class seat like everyone else. The old man also makes the children around him happy, and he doesn't have the "richest man" frame at all.
After this anecdote was reported by the Qianjiang Evening News, it became a national hot spot at that time and caused a sensation.
On March 31, 2017, some netizens photographed Zong Qing at Wuhan Tianhe International Airport, waiting for the flight in the waiting hall alone with his suitcase, still sitting in economy class.
workaholic" and "old scalper", these labels have accompanied Zong Qinghou throughout his life. Everyone hoped that he would enjoy his old age in peace, but he refused, saying that he would work until he was 90 years old, and he always adhered to the style of doing business when he started his business.
Someone asked him for experience, and he said 12 words: "focus on the main business, run in small steps, and keep innovating".
Focus on the main business" four words, it is light, but the weight is very heavy, it tests concentration and patience.
Last year, 78-year-old Zong Qinghou stood up and publicly stated several times: have confidence and hope, stick to the main business, and strengthen the industry.
In 2023, Wahaha's main business will achieve double growth in revenue and profit. Daughter Zong Fuli has stood in front of the stage, he said: "I should not retire, but I will take a back seat, let the young people charge in front, I watch from behind, turn around when I deviate, and come up with some ideas." ”
In December 2023, Zong Qinghou and Zong Fuli appeared at the Wahaha Group's 2024 National Sales Work Conference.
A belief that is not listed.
For enterprises, it is difficult to start a business, and it is even more difficult to keep a business. Guarding is a territory, but also a belief.
When making money is no longer the goal, he said: "My dream is to be a century-old store that protects the health of the people and benefits the people." ”
He also said that drinking water thinks of the source, and springs to repay kindness. We must do our best to repay reform and opening up, so that more people can share the sunshine and rain of reform and opening up.
Now it seems that Zong Qinghou's way of returning is really a bit "unpretentious".
In addition to doing charity, for more than 30 years, he invited employees to eat Chinese New Year's Eve dinner and gave red envelopes every year. He always said that employees should be paid higher and that young people should have houses to live in.
Zong Qinghou invited employees to eat Chinese New Year's Eve dinner for many years, and personally distributed red envelopes every year.
Wahaha launched a bonus to make everyone envious. Wahaha's Chinese New Year's Eve dinner, every year there are countless **** staring and competing to report. In recent years, Wahaha has issued a year-end bonus of 600 million yuan every year. In August last year, because of the growth of performance, Zong Qinghou issued additional rewards to all employees, with a total amount of more than 10 million.
In 2019, after the demolition of the old Wahaha canning factory in Hangzhou, Zong Qinghou ran around to build thousands of low-rent houses on the original site for his employees.
Some people think that Zong Qinghou is too stupid, why not go public, if it goes public and gets more money, the company can have greater development.
Wahaha has not been listed for 30 years, not only has it not been listed, but it has also not raised funds.
Zong Qinghou has the confidence not to go public. Wahaha has deposited tens of billions of dollars in the bank, and enough cash flow is his way to deal with market risks.
This kind of "stupid method" that is not favored by others, but it is like a needle that has passed through the economic cycle and stabilized the chassis of the enterprise.
Listing is responsible to shareholders. If it falls in the end, so that the people lose a lot of money, I don't think it is appropriate. Zong Qinghou said.
In recent years, Wahaha has been very stable, and in the eyes of some people, this stability is conservative and outdated.
In fact, Wahaha is a follower of the trend. Zong Qinghou has broadcast live, and he also knows Weibo and Xiaohongshu, and he likes to communicate with young people in the company. "Whatever product is popular, whatever is popular, they will tell me. ”
Like young people, Zong Qinghou also maintains the habit of learning about new things, and he seems to be "slow and half-beat", but he has his own standards.
In May 2020, Zong Qinghou tried live broadcast for the first time.
A product is popular, and it is gone after it is popular, this thing does not last long, and the most important thing is that the product quality must be passed. Zong Qinghou has repeatedly mentioned quality and integrity, and in his eyes, quality is the key to the "long-term popularity" of products.
Looking back on the achievements of his life, Zong Qinghou once said: