I Sell Cashmere In Shuo Yin. In Summer, I Can Sell Tens Of Millions Of Cashmere Every Month. The Annual Gmv Is Nearly 800 Million Yuan

Hello, I'm Hongling, the founder of Hongling cashmere.

Founded in 2019, Hongling is a brand focusing on cashmere clothing. Based on the unit price of cashmere, we hope to become a good cashmere customer in China.

Cashmere is a very difficult category to make. Before I started my business, I worked hard in the cashmere industry for many years. When I was an upstream supply chain, I suffered a great loss from the chaotic market; When I opened a store offline, I was Cashmere The seasonal factor of the loss. Later, I found that cashmere is not suitable for business, only suitable for brand building.

July 2020 is the turning point for us. It can be said that the self broadcast of the e-commerce of Shuo Yin has opened a chapter of our rapid growth. We actively explore self broadcast, with a single sales volume of 10 million. Last year, we sold more than 500000 cashmere sweaters through the tremolo channel, and the annual Gmv reached 750 million.

Although it's summer and cashmere is out of season, we can still sell 20 million yuan a month in Shuo Yin, of which the summer cashmere products account for nearly 80% of the sales. Recently, we have also won the top ten brands award of 2021 issued by dithin e-commerce.

　　 BotF Jingyi, the editor in chief of the future brand, is very curious about our summer sales. She wants me to talk about how we break the seasonal limitations of cashmere products, use products and services to promote repurchase, and use self broadcast to achieve a leap in performance.

We hope that our experience in the past two years in the Dublin e-commerce can give some reference to the brand friends who are still hesitating in the field of live broadcast and short video, so as to help you set sail.

Hong Ling, founder of Hongling cashmere

　　 Past events: from business failure to reputation and brand

I love and hate cashmere.

To be ashamed, I started to make cashmere in 2010. The reason for my admission was very simple. I thought cashmere was naturally suitable for Chinese people.

70% of the world's cashmere raw materials are produced in China, which is the natural advantage of China's cashmere brand. The core barrier of textiles lies in the advantages of raw materials and technological innovation. The ability to control raw materials can even determine the life and death of a brand.

In line with the mentality of opening a shop and selling cashmere, we started from the process of opening a factory and selling cashmere. I can not only roll the machine, but also wash water and cashmere. It can be said that except for cashmere sewing, the rest of the garment making steps are familiar.

However, as I learned more about the cashmere industry, the more I hated it. Cashmere sales season is too strong, only autumn and winter make money every year, and spring and summer can only "lie flat". This kind of sales mode is very easy to cause vicious business cycle, that is, merchants make quick money by using inferior goods as good ones in peak season, and clear up stocks and change places to cut leeks in off-season. Market chaos occurs frequently and real beneficiaries are few.

The market was not stable, I began to lose confidence in the whole industry, and left the cashmere track in 2015 in disgrace. I have seriously thought about whether cashmere is a good business. However, when I see that Chinese people want to buy a Loro Piana and Brunello cucinelli's cashmere sweaters were waiting for hours outside the store, and all my doubts were dispelled.

　　 I realized that cashmere needs brand, not just business; Single category brands are not impassable, but need strong brand premium support.

If we separate from the dimension of raw materials and look at cashmere from the perspective of products, we will find that it has several characteristics that are very suitable for brand.

First of all, the repurchase rate of cashmere is very high, and its softness and warmth retention will make consumers buy again after experiencing it; Secondly, cashmere has a higher sense of value and has certain consumer mentality and brand attributes; Finally, most cashmere consumers have medium and high income, and they are more willing to pay premium for the brand and are the target customers of brand business.

After making clear this general direction, I made a comeback in May 2019, entered the cashmere industry again, and firmly bound my name with the brand. This time, my brand positioning for Hongling is "UNIQLO of cashmere industry", focusing on basic models and focusing on online channels. At the same time, I also officially joined the chattering e-commerce in July 2020, hoping to use the e-commerce live mode to lower the channel cost of cashmere.

80% of our SKUs are basic, and the remaining 20% are mainly used to enhance the brand tone. There are two reasons for this product layout.

First of all, 70% - 80% of the sales of clothing brands are contributed by basic styles, which are the embodiment of brand image and mind, and consumers' perception of brands is generally generated by basic styles. Secondly, if the material becomes more complicated, the cost of cashmere will be greatly damaged. And the price of fashion is also generally higher, the audience will become more narrow.

There are two advantages of the main basic model. First, the inventory problem can be greatly reduced. Inventory is a difficult problem for all garment enterprises, which greatly tests the supply chain coordination ability of enterprises. The advantage of focusing on basic funds is that even if we generate inventory, if the price of cashmere rises in the next year, we will make more money.

Second, the basic payment is a standard product, which is suitable for e-commerce channels both in form display and pricing. The channel cost of traditional cashmere products is relatively high. If you want to improve the sales volume on the basis of brand building, the most efficient mode is to use a way close to DTC, that is, e-commerce can knock down the price of cashmere. The price of cashmere on the market is basically maintained at 1000-1500 yuan per customer. We set the price of cashmere at about 1000 yuan per customer, which can greatly shorten the decision-making path of consumers and make it easier to start the volume.

　 Fast start: leverage e-commerce with content and pull demand with self broadcast

The reason why we have been able to start the business rapidly in the past two years and achieve double growth year after year is that quality and service are the most important points. We also benefit from our active exploration in the e-commerce ecology of Shuo Yin and the great encouragement and support we have gained as a brand.

Today, twitter e-commerce has become one of the preferred positions for the growth and development of new brands. We have just caught up with a wave of traffic and policy support. Through the operation of short video and live broadcast, we have achieved rapid sales. At present, our matrix number layout has several different types of accounts. This year, we will add another men's clothing number and high-end number. It is expected that a total of 20 accounts will be arranged in the next year, and the types will be more detailed.

The logic of shaking tone e-commerce is to find people. What kind of products can match with what kind of users. If you want to reach more new fans with different portraits, the most efficient way is to establish a matrix number. Although we have more than one million fans, we still want to get more new users of different ages.

Self broadcast is an important driving force for us in recent two years, and it is also the channel that contributes the largest proportion of our sales. In my opinion, self broadcasting will become an important trend and normal competition in the future. There is no opportunity for brands that do not do self broadcasting.

We started the first live broadcast on July 19, 2020. At that time, there were only 40 members in our team, and the sales volume of the whole show was only 1000 or 2000 yuan. On July 19 last year, our live broadcast volume was nearly 100 million yuan and the sales volume was 15 million yuan. I have summarized the following key points for the rapid growth of self Broadcasting:

　　 First, the founder of IP, direct off the scene to do live.

Or start a new business in person. For all innovative businesses, if the founders and core executives do not end, the project will soon become yellow and difficult to continue.

The founder can maximize and most efficiently mobilize resources, but it is difficult for new anchors to mobilize resources. The founders have the right to make decisions, and they can deal with emergencies as soon as possible in the live broadcast. Moreover, leaving the scene in person is equivalent to the imperial expedition in the past, which can boost morale.

If the founder has a feeling for the live broadcast and is willing to end the live broadcast, the success rate of the live broadcast will increase. If the founder is not sensitive to the camera, he needs partners or shareholders to appear in person. The founders of traditional enterprises generally have the "idol burden", but in fact, this is a very good business starting method, which can not only enhance the stickiness of fans, but also strengthen the brand awareness of new fans.

Founder IP and brand are not contradictory, but can endow each other. In the Internet age, it is very high for capital and the ability of the founding team to build a brand completely from 0-1. The advantage of Founder IP is that consumers can quickly form brand mentality based on their trust in founders, such as jobs for apple and Lei Jun for Xiaomi. Consumers may be curious about the product because of a speech or a live broadcast of the founder. If they recognize the product strength after purchase, they will form a recognition of the brand, and the founder's IP and the brand will form a virtuous circle.

Take myself as an example, I will output some values and tell stories about me and customers during the live broadcast. When a new user knows nothing about the brand, the only thing he knows about the brand is how he feels about the host and his content. In many white label studios, consumers pay not for the products, but for the anchors. A good anchor usually solves the problem of trust with unfamiliar users. Although I have more and more affairs now, I will still insist on live broadcasting, at least 5-6 times a month.

　　 Second, cultivate the culture of live broadcast and pay attention to the training of anchor.

The flow of the live broadcast room depends on whether the product can meet the needs of users. The ultimate meaning of brand selling is to meet the user's certain needs, either physically (to buy products), or spiritually (to accompany and please).

The efficiency of live broadcast is very high, and the weight depends on the anchor. Therefore, how to recruit and train a continuous, stable and capable anchor has become the biggest problem when most brands do self broadcasting.

First of all, the enterprise should reserve a large number of anchor resources, and never expect the new anchor to start broadcasting immediately, but must go through a set of detailed process training. To this end, we have set up a special course called "101" for the company's senior managers, and each of them has to take part in the company's special training course, and we hope that every new anchor will pass the company's cultural training.

Different anchor types represent different audience groups. We seldom choose the same type of anchor. In screening, we will distinguish according to the characteristics of fans, and absorb the differentiated customers through the anchor.

　　 Third, use content to pry interest and retain users with authenticity.

Shaking tone e-commerce interest e-commerce focuses on content and uses content to leverage interest. There are two key points in content production, the first is authenticity, the second is interesting.

"A better life, within reach", the real content of the original ecology can generally be broken quickly. For example, many users and we have never seen goats, let alone how cashmere is spun into thread into clothing. So we planned a traceability activity, which was broadcast live in Alashan ranch. We also shot a short video to distinguish sheep from goats, which was played more than 500000 times.

As for interesting, it is necessary to constantly use the scene or content innovation to attract and accompany users, and give users a different sense of freshness from time to time. At the beginning, I popularized cashmere knowledge in tremolo, and even wrote ppt lectures. In the live studio, I took Lianmai exam and sold goods in Lianmai PK. We will invite fans to set a sales target, even wheat to sell goods. If the target is achieved, there will be a reward. This mode innovation is very interactive and will attract a large number of new fans.

Live broadcast should not focus on data, too much attention on data will lead to invalid anxiety. Live broadcasting is a more content interactive sales model, which emphasizes the sense of participation and two-way. Therefore, the original intention of live broadcasting must not be to force users to place orders, nor can they constantly consume users for transformation. Users are attracted by the content and watch it for an hour unconsciously. It is not only interesting, but also can learn something. They want to continue watching it tomorrow, which achieves the purpose of live broadcast.

　　 Fourth, actively respond to the platform activities of chattering e-commerce and participate in various traffic support plans of the brand.

This one may seem like bullshit, but it's most important for a new brand explosion. When you are just beginning to be weak, you must actively use the influence of high potential partners, take advantage of development, and earn the maximum return with minimum effort is a good business model.

As a brand growing up on the sound of shaking, we actively participate in the characteristic marketing activities of the brand, and enjoy many rights and interests in the support plan, which not only gives us a lot of exposure opportunities, but also gives us real gold and silver bonus incentive.

We have participated in a number of live promotion activities organized by the platform. For example, during last year's annual goods Festival, we won the sixth best result in the clothing and shoe bag industry by using the promotion resource package exclusive to the brand; In addition, this year's 38 major promotion brand track activities, with the support of the platform resources, our sales volume has also made a major breakthrough.

The brand has been greatly promoted in our brand marketing activities.

　 Retention and Repurchase: using demand to force innovation and company to enhance stickiness

The essential difference between brand business and white brand selling lies in sincerity to consumers, which is embodied in two aspects: excellent products and considerate services.

First of all, we will carry out detailed user insight when developing products, and at the same time, we will force the supply chain to carry out material and technological innovation with demand. The summer products we are selling now account for 70% - 80% of the total SKU, which directly proves the success of our summer cashmere products.

Why do people wear cashmere in summer? This is not only a problem of user demand insight, but also a problem of innovative research and development.

In fact, most people don't often stay outdoors in summer, but they will spend more time in air-conditioned rooms. At this time, they need extra clothes to keep their knees and cervical vertebrae warm. This is the suitable scene for cashmere in summer. Cashmere short sleeves, shawls and other products demand arises at the historic moment, we will match worsted, silk cashmere and other fabrics to solve the heavy and breathable problem of summer products. When we gain a large number of users' trust in winter, establish a sticky foundation, and then promote summer cashmere products, old users will be more likely to accept and re purchase.

We will also force supply chain innovation according to customer demand. If chip is the core competitiveness of science and technology, then fabric is the "chip" of clothing. The greatest opportunity for clothing brand in the future is in the supply chain. We hope to do deep research and innovation, such as developing machine washable cashmere sweater, cashmere plus silk and hemp, and even innovative fabrics with everything. In response to environmental trends, we recently launched a recyclable garment that can be directly degraded into fertilizer.

Let's talk about service. The importance of service is that every experience is 100% brand perception for new customers. If the experience is not good, users will leave decisively. A customer once bought our imitation cashmere sweater, but she had never worn worsted before. She thought worsted cashmere was thick and long, so she left a message for us. I immediately called her to explain the difference between worsted and ordinary cashmere, and gave her a refund to let her leave the clothes to try on. 30 days of unreasonable return and life-long washing service are also our major features. As a result, she was out of control after wearing them. At present, she has purchased nearly 50000 yuan of cashmere clothes.

We also have many imperfections in our service, but we dare to admit our mistakes. Since its establishment, we have publicly recalled our products five times because of some minor problems. In the recall of cashmere sweaters, users feel that the recall will not only create an invisible bond but also enhance their trust.

　　 Future message: quality stability + Organization certainty = good brand

Our focus this year will be on brand building, and the core is still to consolidate quality and service. Otherwise, even if we have more marketing skills, the core value will be unstable, but we will die faster.

Quality stability is the requirement of the supply chain. If it runs too fast, there must be quality problems. If it runs too slowly, it will not keep up with the market pace; And service consistency is the requirement of organizational force, and strong organizational force will ensure the effective inheritance of corporate culture to every front-line employee.

The biggest problem we are facing now is the construction of organizational power. Quality and service are the characteristics of our business, but it requires a lot of manpower. Hongling now has 200 employees, and the service is thousands of people. In order to ensure stable quality and service output, front-line staff must thoroughly understand our concept and culture.

But how to effectively inherit corporate culture, and how to ensure the consistency of team culture? When the team is getting bigger and bigger, the corporate culture is doomed to be diluted. How to solve this problem? This year, we have put forward two returns: return to quality and return to essence. We hope that new employees will recognize our core concept and stick to it, so as to improve the overall management coordination ability.

In the future, we want to continue to do a deep and thorough study of cashmere. We may even focus on this core development in the next 30 years. Our definition of success is very simple. If one day foreigners can queue up to buy our cashmere, then the Chinese cashmere brand will not be far away from success. We are looking forward to the day when cashmere becomes China's clothing chip.

Finally, if you want to know more about me and cashmere, you are welcome to lock in the public account of botf future brand. I will participate in the live program "restart 2022: how to break the situation of shaking brand" on June 23, and further share how I used self broadcast of twitter e-commerce to quickly rise.

Also welcome to achieve rapid growth of new brands to join Brand shaking Under the strong support policy of Shuo Yin e-commerce, we will grow rapidly and set sail together!