Ding Hui: To Be A Major Clothing Brand In Third And Fourth Tier Cities

from agent Instead of OEM, insist on low profit , making Ding Hui Starting from roadside stores, he successfully implemented the chain strategy. Now he has more than 500000 members and is preparing to go public.

In the 1990s, when Ding Hui only owned a miscellaneous clothing store, it seemed impractical to talk about large-scale chain stores. However, Ding Hui has long had the heart to be a chain operator, and in order to enter the basic reserve of chain operation in the future, he will focus more on understanding the clothing retail industry, accumulating experience in terminal store management, and training store managers.

Now, Ding Hui has helped Norge build a strong channel. Through the strategy of deep channel digging, small profits but quick turnover, member loyalty maintenance, strict cost control, etc. It has more than 500000 loyal members. It expanded from Fujian to Guangdong, Jiangxi and other provinces, with more than 60 stores. It can be said that he entered the temple from the Jianghu.

As a retail terminal

Ding Hui is very particular about clothes, and his love of fashion can be traced back to 20 years ago: "When I was young, I saw that foreign people in the pictures were dressed beautifully. Who didn't have a love of beauty?" At that time, Ding Hui had a chance to go to Macao, and he took the time to make a pair of men's trousers in the local area. It was this beautiful pair of pants that changed his life. Taking advantage of the east wind of reform and opening up, Ding Hui, who had not finished reading in senior high school, set up a small clothing factory in the sea. Starting from imitating this pair of Macao pants, he produced men's clothing.

Three years later, Ding Hui named this clothing factory "Norge". At that time, he also began to realize that the dominant link in clothing production: retail terminal. "As a manufacturer, you need to find another channel to wholesale and retail for you, and have no control right at all." After experiencing debts and unclear bad debts, Ding Hui finally decided to disband the garment factory with more than 100 workers in 1997, and opened the first "Norge Fashion Fair Line" on the road in Jinjiang to do retail and ensure cash flow. {page_break}

Like the small clothing stores that can be seen everywhere on the street, Norge was a mixed brand army at that time, and the clothes sold were bulk goods from different manufacturers.

Insist on 8% profit

In the earliest period, he could not avoid the necessary stage for entrepreneurs starting from channel agency. But it has an advanced core: Ding Hui, who just entered the retail channel at that time, is also planning the future chain business.

However, it seems impractical to talk about large-scale chain stores when there is only one brand clothing store. Especially in the 1990s, domestic informatization was still quite immature. Ding Hui is powerless and can only focus more on understanding the clothing retail industry, accumulating experience in terminal store management, and training store managers.

In the following four years, Norge's parity strategy of "sticking to 8% profit" hit the heart of consumers in third and fourth tier cities. They also did not choose the best commercial location to open stores, so they controlled the rent cost and made small profits but quick turnover.

In 2001, the level of informatization in China was also improving. Ding Hui, referring to the successful experience of international chain enterprises, prepared a series of plans to promote standardized operation: unlike single stores, chain enterprises are not only managed by people, but also by processes and systems.

Be careful to maintain members {page_break}

Soon, Norge began the process of chain. However, Ding Hui was cautious. By 2003, only the sixth store had been opened. The main task of those two years was to improve the membership system and the team.

Up to now, most physical stores still do not attach much importance to the information of customers entering the store, while Norge began to pay attention to the data behind the sales behavior at that time, and also began to provide members with value-added services such as ironing clothes, changing the length of pants, in order to improve the stickiness of users and gradually cultivate their loyalty to the brand. Through the targeted promotion of members through mass SMS, Norge also saved a large amount of advertising expenses, thus ensuring the implementation of the parity strategy.

So far, Norge has more than 500000 members and is a member group with high quantity and quality. According to statistics, members account for more than 80% of the total, and the average consumption of each member is about 1000 yuan per year. "Nokey is not simply selling clothes," Ding Hui said. "We are selling databases."

From 2004 to 2006, Norge increased its expansion speed, with more than 60 stores, and expanded from Fujian to Guangdong, Jiangxi and other provinces.

"Ant Ambition" of "Second line Grass"

If you are not growing up in the front-line entrepreneurial paradise of Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, but in the second and third tier cities with few opportunities and low consumption level; If you have no family background, no overseas returnees, or even no college degree, you will enter the "social university" early to make a living; If you work for others from the very beginning, doing a typical "Party B" agency business; If you don't want to just sell other people's brands, but seek to build your own brand and turn your former partner (Party A) into your own enemy; Finally, if you are not satisfied with the regional market after building your own brand, but are marching towards the whole country, then you are just like Ding Hui. Although you are a "second-line rascal", you have "ant ambition". {page_break}

From Lv Jingang in Huiji, Chengdu, Sichuan, to Ding Hui in Nuoqi, Jinjiang, Fujian today, the former started as a food agent and now makes his own "fried food"; The latter was the earliest clothing terminal channel, and now it is determined to become a fast fashion brand in China. From any point of view, they are very similar to the grassroots who joined the entrepreneurial tide in the mid-1990s, but not many survived. However, they started from a small place, built their brands and targeted the national market with the background of agents in the consumer industry, recently gained capital support and reached the starting line of going to IPO.

The uniqueness of Huiji and Norge lies in that they are from selling products for others to letting others sell products for themselves, which is the biggest difference between them and other consumer brands from small places.

From selling products to selling brands, this is the difference between agents and private brand dealers, and it is also the key point to distinguish business from commerce.