On February 25, 2024, there was a shocking news in the Chinese business community that Zong Qinghou, the richest man in Chinese mainland and the founder of Wahaha Group, passed away from lung cancer at the age of 79. Mr. Zong Qinghou's life is full of legends, and he relied on his perseverance and excellence.
Business wisdom has not only created Wahaha, a well-known brand, but also made indelible contributions to the development and growth of China's national enterprises.
Mr. Zong Qinghou is a famous general of the Song Dynasty, after Zong Ze, his father also worked as a clerk in the national **. Although the family was prominent for a while, soon after birth, his father lost his job, and the family lived on the salary of his mother, who was a primary school teacher.
However, he showed extraordinary perseverance and wisdom from an early age. At the age of 17, he dropped out of school due to family hardship, and began to work in small businesses in order to reduce the burden on his family. Later, as the advance party among the educated youth, he traveled to Zhoushan Farm, Shaoxing Tea Farm to plant tea, cut rice, burn kilns, dig salt on the beach, dry salt, and pick salt to engage in manual labor. In the countryside, one stay is 15 years.
In 1978, Zong Qinghou returned to Hangzhou with a large number of educated youths and replaced his mother's position as a primary school teacher. However, due to his low level of education, Zong Qinghou, who returned to the city to take up a job, was arranged to work as a worker in the carton factory run by the Workers' and Peasants' School of the Post Circuit Primary School in Shangcheng District, Hangzhou, which also belongs to the education system.
During the 10 years that he ran the school's factory, he worked as a salesman, and also ran an electric fan factory and an electric meter factory. On the road to entrepreneurship, Mr. Zong Qinghou went through hardships, but never gave up, and only really started his business at the age of 42. He has always adhered to his beliefs and pursuits, and has continued to develop and innovate with advanced vision and unique insight, and finally built Wahaha into a leading enterprise in China's beverage industry. 1996 Wahaha Pure Water Year, 1997 Wahaha Calcium Milk Year, Wahaha AD Calcium Milk. In 1998, it was the year of the very cola series, in 2000 the year of Wahaha milk series, the year of Wahaha tea series drinks, and in 2001, the series of Wahaha tea drinks and fruit juice series drinks.
Mr. Zong Qinghou's life is full of struggle and hard work, and his success is not accidental, but the result of long-term accumulation. From 1981 to 1988, he studied business management and business leadership at different schools. He always firmly believes that only by continuous learning and progress can we be invincible in the fierce market competition. It is this spirit of continuous improvement that has enabled Mr. Zong Qinghou to achieve such brilliant achievements in the business field.
Mr. Zong Qinghou has always adhered to the concept of people-oriented and integrity-based in business operation. He knows it well
The success of the enterprise is inseparable from the hard work of employees and the support of society. Therefore, he always puts the interests of employees first, pays attention to the growth and development of employees, and strives to create a good working environment and development space for employees. At the same time, he has always adhered to the principle of honest management, and won the trust of customers and the recognition of the market with integrity.
Under the leadership of Mr. Zong Qinghou, Wahaha Group continues to innovate products and services to meet the needs of consumers. He keenly captures the trend of market changes and adjusts corporate strategies and market strategies in a timely manner, so that Wahaha has always been at the forefront of the industry. At the same time, he also pays attention to brand building, and enhances brand image and popularity through advertising and public welfare activities, making Wahaha one of the representative brands in China's beverage industry.
As the richest man in Chinese mainland, Mr. Zong Qinghou has a deep understanding and unique concept of wealth. He believes that wealth is not only a symbol of personal success and status, but also a manifestation of social responsibility and responsibility. Only by allowing more people to prosper together will the wealth of entrepreneurs be respected. Therefore, he always puts corporate social responsibility in the first place, actively participates in public welfare undertakings and charitable activities, and gives back to the society and the people.
Under the leadership of Mr. Zong Qinghou, Wahaha Group actively participates in public welfare undertakings in the fields of poverty alleviation, education support, and environmental protection. They not only donated funds and materials to support the reconstruction of the disaster area and the development of poor areas, but also set up scholarships to fund education and promote the progress of environmental protection. Mr. Zong Qinghou's kindness and commitment have won wide praise and respect from all walks of life.
Mr. Zong Qinghou's life is full of legends and outstanding achievements. With perseverance and excellent business wisdom, he has written his own business legend, and has also made indelible contributions to the development and growth of China's national enterprises. His business philosophy, wealth concept and social responsibility have all set an example and model for us.
Although Mr. Zong Qinghou has left us, his spirit and career will continue to be passed on. We should bear in mind his contributions and dedication, learn from his spirit and wisdom, and contribute our strength to promoting China's economic development and social progress.
Here, we would like to express our deep condolences and high respect to Mr. Zong Qinghou! May he go all the way and live on his spirit!