On February 25, 2024, Mr. Zong Qinghou, a legend in the Chinese business world and founder of "Wahaha" Group, passed away due to illness at the age of 79, leaving behind the only ** person - daughter Zong Fuli. The details of Zong Qinghou's death are heartbreaking, especially since he had shown extraordinary foresight and perseverance during his lifetime.
In 1987, Zong Qinghou started with a school-run enterprise and two retired teachers as a start-up team, with a loan of 140,000 yuan, through the first sales of soda, popsicles and other goods, relying on its excellent product innovation, technological innovation and marketing innovation strategy, successfully created the world-renowned "Wahaha" brand, and became an outstanding representative of private entrepreneurs in the reform and opening up period.
Zong Qinghou's life experience is legendary, and he once shared frankly on the show that he regarded the hardships of his early years as a process of wealth accumulation. Since he was a child, he has been selling sweet potatoes to subsidize his family, and has been involved in the automobile repair and service industries. Whenever these past events are mentioned, Zong Qinghou always smiles, and regards those hard years as the grinding of growth and the accumulation of valuable experience.
Unfortunately, a year ago, Zong Qinghou was admitted to the hospital with cancer**, and even during the Spring Festival, he still stuck to the ward, and his condition seemed stable for a while. However, on the day of the Lantern Festival, this business giant suddenly passed away from the world, which is regrettable.
What is particularly touching is that Zong Qinghou seems to have a premonition of his death, so he arranged for his daughter Zong Fuli to take over his career three years in advance. Although Zong Qinghou still served as the chairman of Wahaha Group until his death, in fact, the group's work has been carried out in an orderly manner. As early as December 2021, Wahaha Group officially announced that Ms. Zong Fuli, who was born in 1982, was promoted to vice chairman and general manager of the group, while her father Zong Qinghou continued to retain the position of chairman of the group, completing a smooth transfer of power.
In a talk show, Zong Qinghou proudly commented on his daughter Zong Fuli's outstanding performance in Wahaha Group, saying that her ability even surpassed herself, and gave an evaluation of up to 90 points. Although the 42-year-old Zong Fuli is still unmarried, her outstanding ability and achievements have undoubtedly won the high recognition of her old father. It is a pity that Zong Qingqian was unable to witness his daughter enter the marriage hall and give birth to an heir, which may be a regret in his heart before his death.
However, it is rumored that Zong Fuli got married in a low-key manner in the United States last year and had a pair of three-year-old dragon and phoenix fetuses, and the identity of the child's father is still an unsolved mystery.
As a brand that has accompanied countless people through their childhood and youth, the spokesperson of "Wahaha" has long been Leehom Wang, whose image is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and to a certain extent, it is also a strong promoter of Wahaha's entry into the mainland market. However, the first major decision made by Zong Fuli after taking over was to change the spokesperson, she believes that the public aesthetic needs to be constantly updated, and brands should dare to challenge new areas and inject new vitality. Although this move was not fully approved by his father, Zong Qinghou, he finally respected his daughter's choice. However, this move failed to win the recognition of the majority of consumers, which indirectly led to a downward trend in Wahaha's performance in recent years.
Now, with the sudden death of Zong Qinghou, many netizens are deeply saddened. Zong Fuli will inherit the business of her father and shoulder the important responsibility of leading the group forward. Regardless of whether those rumors about her private life are true or not, Zong Fuli has shown extraordinary strength with her rich experience and strong wealth accumulation. What makes people sigh is that Zong Qinghou said goodbye to the world in such a way and failed to spend the last reunion year with his family. Here, we can only express our deep condolences to this business giant: go all the way!
Zong Qinghou, the founder of Wahaha, passed away