Editor | Li Bo
When Suning was in trouble and decided to sell some shares, Gome, which had been dormant for a long time, rallied and made a high-profile appearance. Some people say that the high-light era belonging to Suning and Gome is over, and now the retail market belongs to Ali, JD.COM and Pinduoduo. So, can Suning get out of the predicament? Can Gome reproduce its glory?
First of all, the past is like smoke
Born in the 1990s, Suning and Gome, who enjoyed the dividend of the times and rose in the new century, had a bright moment. Unfortunately, with the advent of the Internet, Suning failed to continue to "call the wind and call the rain". Gome, which provoked the naval battle of retailers, also dormant with Huang Guangyu's imprisonment.
Suning and Gome were once one of the best retail appliance giants in China. From the end of the last century to the beginning of this century, Suning and Gome were definitely the protagonists in the shopping mall, and Zhang and Huang Guangyu were all-powerful figures. A protracted "Soviet-American War" was waged between them.
Suning and Gome began to confront each other in terms of supply, management, capital and scale. In 2005, Suning, whose scale was temporarily backward, began to accelerate. By 2007, Suning's net profit exceeded Gome for the first time. In 2009, the then Prime Minister visited Suning and told him that "Suning should not only become the Wal-Mart of China, but also surpass it".
Suning Gome is not bad, who is the first? Zhang's words: Suning can't do Gome, so I'll leave it to you. ; Huang Guangyu's tough words: Until Suning and Gome merged. As for Ali and Zhang, they said, "How can adults compare with children?"
It was an era full of excitement and glory. At that time, only Suning and Gome were still active on the battlefield, while Ali and JD.COM were unknown.
Internet retailing has changed the logic of the market. The power of e-commerce and the great changes of the times have made Gome and Suning step down from the altar. Ali, JD.COM and Pinduoduo are the representatives of the third generation retail enterprises, and they have all achieved enough success.
When online retailing started, Liu solved the problem of "only selling real goods", and Ma Yun's Alipay solved the problem of online payment, thus laying the foundation for e-commerce retailing. Later, Ma Yun and Ni Liu attacked successfully, while Suning and Gome fell behind.
In September of 20 15, Pinduoduo was born, grabbing food from Tmall and JD.COM through the mode of team warfare, and also grabbing market share from Suning.cn and Gome.
In order to meet the challenge, Suning changed its name to Suning Shang Yun on 20 13, and transformed into Internet retailing. In 20 18, Suning Shang Yun changed its name to Suning.cn again, and started the whole retail strategic layout, but the effect was not satisfactory. Because online and offline prices are the same, they also lost the opportunity to make more profits online, which directly devalued their store traffic.
The frequency of social and economic iterations is getting faster and faster, and sometimes a disagreement will be abandoned by the times. By 20 19, Tmall and JD.COM will be the first and second place in China 100 Top 100 Retail List, and the third place will be Pinduoduo instead of Suning.cn.
202 1, after four IPOs, Liu is expected to win the fifth IPO of Jingdong Logistics-listing, successfully surpassing "Ermayina". Zhang is faced with the situation of selling himself. Zhang, 58, would never have imagined that when Suning was 30, it was no longer a heroic hymn, but a life-and-death test. As for Huang Guangyu, his story of making wealth is legendary. He won the title of the richest man in China several times, but was sentenced for economic crimes. To borrow a word, everything in the past is a preface.
For Suning and Gome, their time has passed. Under the rules of today's game, it is very difficult to return to the center of the stage, but it is not absolutely impossible.
Second, Suning Nirvana
1990, Zhang Zaining founded Suning. Ten years later, Suning went from the region to the whole country, another decade later, Suning.cn was put into production, and another decade later, Suning encountered the biggest difficulty in history.
1, poor money is not a secret
On February 25th, Zhang decided to sell some shares of Suning.cn. The most meaningful sentence is that according to the proportion to be transferred, it may involve changes in the company's control rights.
When the news came out, public opinion was in an uproar, pointing directly at Suning cn's high debts. As the media said to RT Mart, the traditional retail leader of "selling yourself" Ali, and Duan, its founder, "When the times abandon you, you won't even say goodbye".
In fact, Suning is not short of money.
According to Morgan Stanley's financial statistics, as of the third quarter of 2020, the net cash flow generated by operating activities in Suning.cn was-2.429 billion yuan, while Suning.cn had to spend at least 30.526 billion yuan in cash that year. If the company's financial situation deteriorates in the fourth quarter, it is likely to lead to the break of the company's capital chain.
Since last June 165438+ 10, Suning has been caught in rumors of debt default and capital chain problems for many times. Years ago, Zhang and his son pledged 0/00% of Suning Holdings/KLOC-to Taobao China. In less than February since 20021,Zhang and Suning Appliance Group pledged * * * 10 shares, totaling 675 million shares, with a market value of nearly 5 billion yuan. Suning's debt crisis is approaching step by step, and it is logical for Zhang to sell Suning.cn's equity. Otherwise, Suning is likely to be the next glory.
In the past, Suning was bought in buy buy, but now it is being sold, dragging Suning down. Diversified expansion and mergers and acquisitions are one of the important reasons.
In 2009, Suning became the largest shareholder of LAOX, a famous old home appliance store in Japan. In 20 12, Suning Appliance acquired Red Kids, a maternal and child platform, with a total investment of 64 million US dollars. In 20 13, Suning spent $250 million to acquire the video platform PPTV；; ; 20 17 Suning Shangyunzi Company Jiangsu Suning Logistics Co., Ltd. completed the acquisition of Tian Tian Express for 4.25 billion yuan; 20 18 Dia Tian Tian Discount Supermarket under Carrefour Group was acquired and merged into Suning Store; In 20 19, Suning.cn first spent 2.7 billion yuan to buy 37 Wanda department stores, and then spent 4.8 billion yuan to buy 80% shares of Carrefour China.
However, most M&As did not bring about performance increment, but consumed limited funds. Among the eight plates, burning more money and bleeding less, it was also hit by black swan in 2020. The consequence of large-scale expansion is the rapid depletion of funds. It is understood that because of the acquisition of Tian Tian Express, Suning lost nearly 600 million yuan in the first half of last year.
Helpless Suning had to break his wrist and give up his life to protect his handsome, so Zhang made such a decision: "It's time to close it, it's time to cut it." Suning Football Club, which just won the Super League championship 108 days, announced that it would stop operating and become the first project to be cut off.
The current situation in Suning is really not optimistic. As the main revenue source of Suning, Suning.cn has deducted non-net profit as negative for six consecutive years, and the profit and loss is not a big deal. Business is most afraid of tight cash flow, but the actual situation is not satisfactory.
There are indications that Suning really needs money, and selling herself to Du Jie has become a choice she doesn't want to make. However, the circus has been paved. Zhang said many years ago: "A small enterprise means a big society and a big country."
"Lack of money" has become an unspeakable pain in Zhang's heart. How to "survive" has become an unavoidable problem for Suning. So there was an announcement on February 25: it is planned to transfer the company's shares, and the transfer ratio is expected to be 20%-25%. According to the proposed transfer ratio, it is expected that it may involve changes in the company's control rights.
After all, survival is the basic need of a company. From the domestic retail giant to the now helpless "prostitution", the ill-fated Suning stepped down from the altar, which is embarrassing.
2. Sad circle of friends, helpless shopping mall
Anyone familiar with Zhang knows that Zhang is diligent and enthusiastic, and he is a brave man. This is also the case.
2065438+In August 2005, Zhang and Ma Yun announced that they would cross-hold shares. For Ma Yun, Suning may always be a good card to balance JD.COM. The fierce catch-up of COM.
2065438+2007 10, 165438+2007, Suning Appliance strategically invested 20 billion yuan in China Evergrande through its wholly-owned subsidiary "Nanjing Runheng". At that time, Evergrande Real Estate was planning to borrow Shenfang to list on the A-share market, but no one expected that Evergrande Real Estate's backdoor failed. In the end, strategic investors such as Suning signed a supplementary capital increase agreement with Evergrande, and the money originally due was not used, and debt-to-equity swaps were implemented. Evergrande successfully survived the crisis, but Suning put itself in.
In 20 19, Suning officially acquired all 37 stores of Wanda Department Store, which was another big donation after Suning Shang Yun spent 9.5 billion yuan in 20 18 to buy about 3.9 1% shares held by Wanda commercial shareholders. This is Wang Jianlin's active turn after trial and error. Suning helped him reduce the burden and help Wang Jianlin successfully realize Wanda's slimming strategy.
Friends are in trouble and give generously. Correspondingly, Suning is also rapidly expanding its business territory with a vigorous attitude.
However, just two years later, Suning is facing the test of life and death. It's time to test Zhang and consider his circle of friends.
During the years when he led Suning to expand its business territory, Zhang has his own circle of friends spanning retail, real estate, Internet, manufacturing and other industries, including Ma Yun, Wang Jianlin, Sun Hongbin and Xu Jiayin.
According to informed sources, as early as six months ago, Zhang sought financial support from many parties, and upstream and downstream partners all asked for money from giants bigger than Suning, but the results were not optimistic. It is said that a big boss explicitly refused Suning's help because he was pessimistic about Suning.cn, which was heavily in debt.
Suning's 100 billion-level gap needs to be filled. Suning looks around, and former friends are watching, as if silent. This is perhaps the cruelest and truest aspect of the business world.
This is exactly how Zhang felt when he founded Suning. "I realized the horror of business for the first time. People who used to call each other brothers suddenly treated you like this-it is hard for ordinary people to accept." Fortunately, God never shuts one door but he opens another. At the critical moment, state-owned assets helped.
3. Lu 'an is blooming and reborn in the fire.
In the most difficult moment of Suning, the state-owned assets took the shot. It is rumored that the takeover party is Jiangsu state-owned assets, and the result is Shenzhen state-owned assets. On February 28th, the identity of the big buyer of Suning.cn's share transfer was announced, and Shenzhen International, a listed company of Hong Kong stocks, took over.
Different from the rumor that Suning will change hands, after the equity transfer, the equity of Suning.com has changed. Although there is no controlling shareholder, Zhang and his concerted actions hold 265,438+0.83% of Suning Holding Group and Suning Appliance Group, with Reng Zhang as the largest voting shareholder.
At present, the roles of actual controllers and existing management teams in Suning.cn will not change, and the management will remain stable. After all, Zhang is the one who can lead to win this battle. The investment in state-owned assets is likely to be only a financial strategic investment.
Suning.cn's introduction of state-owned strategic shareholders has also proved its value and imagination, and the stock market has also given a positive response.
As early as 2020, Suning further upgraded its strategy from "retailer" to "retail service provider", and this strategic imagination space is undoubtedly very broad.
At this time, the state-owned strategic shareholders invest in shares, focusing on the existing high-quality retail assets in Suning.cn, and optimistic about the imagination of the story of "retail service providers" that Suning.cn is telling.
The advantage of the state-owned assets background lies in the rich resources in the field of factor foundation. The endorsement of state-owned shareholders will benefit Suning.cn to some extent in terms of policies and financing, and become the best helper for the future development of Suning.cn.
The joining of Shenzhen State-owned Assets also means that it has more help in the expansion of the South China market, especially in Greater Bay Area's business ability and brand awareness, and effectively enhance its market share.
Now it seems that Suning has held on. The introduction of state-owned assets in Shenzhen has helped Suning usher in a new starting point and create a new situation. Suning experienced wind and rain and was reborn. Compared with Zhang, the founder of Hainan, it is a blessing in disguise. The change of Suning's equity is not a hero's dusk, but the beginning of a new era.
It should be reminded that debt expansion is very difficult for any enterprise in Zhang Zhilu. Suning's expansion in Zhang Zhilu should stop and remain calm. Expensive trial and error is not feasible.
The business world is like a battlefield. No one can guarantee that he is an ever-victorious general, but if he falls down, he will surely stand up again. Business and competition are like rolling wheels, which have plagued Suning's commercial transformation for many years and many heroes at present. However, some people can successfully survive the crisis, and some people have struggled for decades and one night to clean it up.
Third, Gome awakens.
At the delicate moment when Suning.cn just announced the announcement of share transfer, Huang Guangyu, the founder of Gome, made frequent moves and began to make a high profile.
On February 18, the day after its official release, Huang Guangyu announced that he would "strive to restore Gome's original market position in the next 18 months."
Just as Dong Mingzhu is to Gree, Lei Jun is to Xiaomi, Huang Guangyu and Gome. Huang Guangyu's return rekindled Gome's hope.
However, compared with more than ten years ago, the pattern, development trend and market environment of China's retail industry have undergone tremendous changes. Resources have been carved up, and internet giants have controlled the entrance. Huang Guangyu has no internet weapons. How to play this card?
Gome's once strong offline advantage is no longer, and online is its shortcoming. In addition, the promotion of digital transformation can hardly see any information, and the ecological construction of new retail also lags behind the main competitors.
The whole retail industry is brewing a new round of digital transformation. Gome under the leadership of Huang Guangyu should not only grasp the mode of great changes in the industry, but also play a differentiated competitive advantage.
Gome needs to streamline and digitize the resources accumulated in the core business districts of major cities in China over the past 30 years, and refine these digital assets into differentiation.
Gome refines and highlights the "entertainment" attribute. The carrier of "entertainment" is the "true happiness" app-from the visual level, this is a relaxed e-commerce shopping platform.
On February 26th, founder Huang Guangyu led the executives to release "I am not perfect, I have you!" To all employees of Gome, partners from all walks of life and national consumers. How happy I am! "Signal, announced to the outside world that Gome has launched another groundbreaking change, which is completely in line with market expectations-he led Gome to do it, and now he only needs to do it again. Gome's heritage is still there, its value has been recognized, and now it has the conditions for remodeling.
Looking back, Pinduoduo has proved that Internet e-commerce is not an unbreakable monolithic block, and the digital assets accumulated by Gome over the years also have the opportunity to restructure the industry with Huang Guangyu personally.
Over the years, it was Huang Guangyu's wife Du Fu who helped her husband keep his job, but Gome finally lacked a leader who could lead the company out of the downturn and towards glory. Huang Guangyu himself has dual attributes in Gome. On the one hand, he is a spiritual leader with high internal prestige; On the other hand, he is indeed a unique master of Gome, a person who can fight hard and dare to fight hard. How he will reshape Gome is still full of expectations.
Liu did not leave too many opportunities for Huang Guangyu. Perhaps, as some people say, Gome is still Huang Guangyu's Gome, and the times are no longer his era. Whether the founder of Gome can lead the company back to the peak is full of expectations and doubts. In any case, for Huang Guangyu, the arrow is imminent, and the retail rivers and lakes will definitely set off waves again.
Conclusion: 20021This year, with various internal and external factors intertwined, is destined to be a year of special significance in the development of Suning, and it will also be a turning point for Gome to return to the status of rivers and lakes. The greatest charm of business is that it is full of uncertainty and infinite possibilities. Ten years later, it may be another scene.