In 2006, Wal-Mart took China as its strategic focus in Asia after setbacks in South Korea and Germany, but it lagged behind Carrefour's China market in terms of opening speed and performance, and was in a chaotic state of alternating old and new management and just acquiring Trust-Mart. Chen was transferred to Wal-Mart at the end of 2006 and officially took office in February 2007. Subsequently, Wal-Mart, which has always been low-key, became the protagonist of many topics in just one year, including high-level changes, layoffs, the game with Langsha, the relocation of headquarters, and the formation of trade unions. But at the same time, the new coach of Wal-Mart China, who touched these most sensitive nerves, went into seclusion and refused all media interviews.
It was not until the day before that Chen and Dong Yuguo, senior director of Wal-Mart China, were interviewed by reporters for the first time. It is understood that Wal-Mart has just announced its performance in 2007, and 80% of its market share of continuous growth in overseas sales comes from Mexico, Canada and China. Among them, the sales in China market grew at a double-digit rate, and the sales growth rate of stores for more than one year was two to three times faster than that of their main competitors.
I like the process of integrating Trust-Mart.
China Business News: In February last year, Wal-Mart bought a 35% stake in Trust-Mart for $264 million. At the same time, Wal-Mart also provided $376 million in loans to other shareholders of Trust-Mart in exchange for another 30% of the voting rights. In other words, since February 2007, Wal-Mart has obtained 65% of the voting rights of Trust-Mart. Can you tell us about Wal-Mart's current process of integrating Trust-Mart and what difficulties it has encountered?
Chen: By March of this year, Trust-Mart has just joined for one year, and we are very satisfied with its cooperation, providing suppliers with more space to play their resources. For example, Wal-Mart's own brand suppliers, which used to have only 100 stores, have now become 200. This year's YBM has more than 3,000 people, and every trust-mart store will have 8 ~ 10 colleagues to participate. Trust-Mart's products are well localized, more authentic than Wal-Mart's products in the same region, and closer to customer needs. Wal-Mart has learned a lot from Trust-Mart's product structure and projects in Chengdu and Chongqing. On the other hand, Trust-Mart is learning how Wal-Mart can operate more effectively under central control. Wal-Mart enjoyed Trust-Mart's integration process without encountering too many difficulties.
China Business News: The most interesting thing now is that Wal-Mart will not renew the employment contracts of 18 middle and senior managers of Trust-Mart in East China, South China and West China after their expiration. The insiders believe that this is the beginning of Wal-Mart's big exchange of blood for Trust-Mart, right?
Dong Yuguo: Actually, in addition to paying attention to those who will not renew their contracts in 18, we should also know that 90% of Wal-Mart employees whose contracts expired in March have already renewed their contracts.
China Business News: In July last year, when Wal-Mart streamlined its organization, there were massive layoffs. It is said that Wal-Mart canceled the administrative department and all managers, and changed 6 of the 65,438+00 managers in the mall to assistants and 4 to directors. Each store will reduce at least 10 ~ 12 people, and the number of layoffs will be close to 1 10,000. What was the reason for this practice at that time?
Chen: It was a natural trend to streamline the organizational structure last year, and it was not the first time for Wal-Mart to do so in China. We streamlined the company structure, mainly because of market demand. It's not just cost saving, but how to make the process run more efficiently. In fact, all the talents we saved went to support the opening of new stores. Last year, Wal-Mart opened 30 new stores, which increased the staff cost. On the other hand, cost-saving shops can give more discounts back to customers.
Continue to buy in China.
China Business News: Earlier, the British Daily Telegraph reported that Wal-Mart had asked a consulting team of Credit Suisse to draft a plan to acquire some or all of Hualian Supermarket. Although the above news has been denied by both parties, will Wal-Mart consider China's M&A in the future?
Dong Yuguo: When we acquired Trust-Mart, we confirmed that we have the right to become its largest shareholder in the next three years. At present, this plan is progressing smoothly. At present, Wal-Mart has opened stores through its own investment and expanded through mergers and acquisitions. Since M&A has set a precedent, it will not be ruled out that M&A will continue in China in the future.
China Business News: You just mentioned that Wal-Mart opened 30 stores in China last year, but in fact there were only 14 new stores in 2005 and 15 new stores in 2006. Does this mean that the expansion of Wal-Mart in China will continue to accelerate in the future?
Chen: China is one of the markets that Wal-Mart attaches great importance to. The speed at which we opened the store is actually to achieve the goals set by the company. In the future, it will develop in a balanced way in third-and fourth-tier cities and second-and third-tier cities. Land costs in first-tier cities are getting higher and higher, but second-and third-tier cities are also growing. Considering the cost, balanced development can reduce the cost as a whole. In fact, there is a huge market in China. Last year, we developed rapidly, but our development was scattered. Next, our most important thing is to meet the development needs of customers and employees. We won't raise profits at least at this stage.
Wal-Mart, a multinational crocodile born in a "fifty cents and ten cents" store, has always been proud of serving the working class. Among its 654.38+0.65,438+0 billion customers per week, the vast majority (64%) belong to the class of eating and running, with an annual salary of 25,000 to 50,000 US dollars. However, in recent years, more and more stores have been opened in rich areas, and the traditional parity strategy has begun to be "subverted". For example, in the past, the TV sets it sold were mainly miscellaneous brands. A 19 inch color TV is only for sale 100. Now, the 60-inch screen of 1700 dollars appears on the shelves at the same time, and it is also a famous brand. Last year 178, all the newly opened stores had a food department, which was the size of a general large supermarket, and the prices ranged from low to high.
In addition to the changes in customer structure, competitors' strategies also stimulated Wal-Mart's idea of "climbing high". With the introduction of high-end goods by low-priced stores such as Target, traditional discount stores have actually moved closer to department stores. In addition, the land in urban areas is more expensive, and the cost of opening a shop is higher than that in rural areas. Selling a digital camera with a few hundred dollars is always more profitable than selling something with a few dollars.
However, Wal-Mart's move has two "reefs". First, this strategy may alienate traditional customers. Imagine what those customers with limited income will think when they see many goods on Wal-Mart shelves that they can't afford. French cookers, Swiss chocolates, Japanese high-end appliances ... these are not essential consumer goods for ordinary families. Their cost structure and market demand are often very different from Wal-Mart's previous products. In retail jargon, diamond rings are not necessarily more profitable than milk. So the risk of selling high-end goods is much greater. Besides, it is sometimes difficult to have both, and Wal-Mart has already suffered in this respect. Two years ago, it accidentally bought a fake when buying brand-name clothes, was sued by a genuine company, and finally paid millions to make peace.
Second, it is also a difficult problem how to make rich people step into the store generously. It is human nature to hate the poor and love the rich. In America, Wal-Mart mingles with the poor. Will the rich feel uncomfortable when they walk in? However, Wal-Mart executives believe that the rich also like to bargain. For example, a Puls Mart in the suburb of Seattle has a group of loyal Microsoft customers, who are called "Millionaire Club". Rich people are rich, but they are not stupid. They know the difference between staple food and quality products at reasonable prices.
Another possibility that needs to be considered is whether Wal-Mart will give a new cheap store a chance after upgrading. The secret of Wal-Mart's success is not mysterious. Its innovations in inventory management, procurement policy and staffing are easily imitated by competitors. However, Wal-Mart's super size gives it a greater advantage than its competitors. For example, it won't take long to enter the supermarket business and become a champion in this field. Some customers who only visit high-end stores occasionally go to Wal-Mart to buy daily necessities, and are pleasantly surprised to find that it has all-encompassing features, such as everything needed for a holiday, and they can buy everything they want without going to five stores or 10 stores.
The success or failure of Wal-Mart is not only related to American retail industry and American economy, but also closely related to China economy. A casual stroll around Wal-Mart will reveal that many products are labeled as "Made in China". In other words, behind Wal-Mart's high quality and low price, it has the credit of China's manufacturing industry. Of course, it will also greatly promote China's exports and China's economy. Some people say that "one store brings economic prosperity to both countries". Although this statement is exaggerated, it is not all a lie. Whether the change of Wal-Mart's sales strategy will affect this is worthy of people's attention.
When Chen Yi took office, he pointed to the most sensitive nerve of Wal-Mart China-personnel adjustment. He vigorously pursued the policy of streamlining the army and simplifying administration, striving to save the cost of human resources and improve efficiency at the same time.
At present, the personnel changes in Wal-Mart China are vigorous and unambiguous, including top-level exchange of blood and layoffs.
On June 5438+February 65438+March 2007, Wal-Mart announced to the world that as the largest retailer in the world, its sales in China in 2007 were two to three times higher than those of its competitors. For quite some time, Wal-Mart China and even the Asian region have fallen into a trough: Japanese business is independent but not good; The Korean region is losing ground, and Wal-Mart China is especially valued, but it is also in jeopardy under the competitive pressure of powerful rivals such as Carrefour. Today, Wal-Mart China is alive again in the difficult crevice, thanks to the new president Chen.
Appear calmly
In June 2006, Chen joined Wal-Mart, and in February 2007, he officially took over the post of President and CEO of China. Since Zhang Jiasheng, the former president of Wal-Mart China, resigned in March 2005, the position has been vacant for nearly two years. However, the appearance of Chen, who was not well-known in the mainland before, made the outside world feel a little surprised. Indeed, Chen's appointment is a bit abrupt, even the president of Asia, Zhong, doesn't know. He even recommended an American candidate to the headquarters.
More than 20 years ago, an analyst at McKinsey was the starting point of Chen's career. Two years later, he went to BMG Records, a subsidiary of Bertelsmann. Now, Chen began a period of rapid development of his career. 1989 was promoted to the enterprise development manager of new york Company in the United States, and was appointed as the chairman and general manager of BMG in Taiwan Province Province, China, until he became the chairman and general manager of BMG in Hongkong and Chinese mainland.
Finding the combination point with Wal-Mart stems from Chen's experience in joining Pan-Asian retail giant Milk International Holding Group. This is the starting point for Chen to contact the retail industry. Milk International has more than 3,000 stores in Asia, operating supermarkets, beauty salons, convenience stores and restaurants. Among them, there are more than 250 in China. At Milk International, Chen is the CEO of Wellcome Supermarket in Taiwan Province Province. 200 1, 1 1 was promoted as the chairman of North Asia and the director of the milk management service company under the group, and was fully responsible for the retail business of the group in China, Hongkong, Taiwan Province and South Korea, involving more than 400 stores, with sales of about 2.7 billion US dollars. He also participated in many transactions of the company in M&A as a regional director.
Chen's retail business has two highlights: Wellcome Supermarket and 7- 1 1 convenience store, in which Wellcome is the leading supermarket enterprise in Hong Kong and Taiwan, while 7- 1 1 is the largest convenience store in the world, with operating licenses in Hong Kong and South China, and 7-1/kloc-. From this perspective, it is no accident that Chen became the president and CEO of Wal-Mart in China. Wal-Mart needs and has been looking for long-term professional background, excellent leadership, rich retail experience and familiarity with retail business in China.
However, the challenges facing Chen are quite severe. In 2006, Wal-Mart withdrew from Korea and Germany, and its poor performance in Japan made China one of the focuses of its global strategy. However, Wal-Mart, which entered the China market from 65438 to 0996, did not seem to show the demeanor of the global retail leader, and its opening speed and performance lagged behind that of French retailer Carrefour. On the other hand, in order to expand the China market, Wal-Mart just acquired Trust-Mart before Chen took office, and the task of integrating and saving Trust-Mart was placed in front of Chen. At the critical moment of business development in China, Wal-Mart hopes that Chen can bring breakthrough progress to its business in China and even Asia.
Will Chen become a revolutionary figure in Wal-Mart China? In 1 1 year when Wal-Mart entered China, Yao Chang, Chen Can promoted Wal-Mart to achieve a historic breakthrough? The outside world has been paying attention to Chen.
From June 5438 to February 2007, Chen, who had been in office for less than a year, handed over a good answer sheet: "In 2007, the turnover growth rate of our stores opened for more than one year was above double digits. This far exceeds our other major competitors in China. " . By the end of June, 5438+February, 2007, Wal-Mart had opened 94 supermarkets in China, and 24 supermarkets were added in 2007 alone. In 2005 and 2006, Wal-Mart maintained an annual growth rate of 14 to 15. This is the rare expansion speed of Wal-Mart in China for more than ten years.
New officials and new policies
Since he officially became the president of Wal-Mart in China in February 2007, Chen has quickly made the outside world feel his extraordinary courage. Different from the gentle style of his predecessor Zhong, Chen is vigorous and vigorous, showing a typical tough guy style. Many people in the industry even think that Chen's hard-line style may be the key to help Wal-Mart break the ice in China.
In March, Chen, who took office in February, appointed Tian Ruikun, who had worked in the American home furnishing company Home Depot, as the vice president of Wal-Mart's development department. Subsequently, Meng Yongming, the former CEO of Wal-Mart, was stationed in Trust-Mart as the chief operating officer. In June, Li Chengjie, Vice President of Wal-Mart's China Affairs Department, and Yu Jianrong, Chief Operating Officer, second only to the President, officially resigned. Four of the five former Wal-Mart executives in China who report directly to the president of Asia, Zhong, have changed their positions. These four people are in charge of the core procurement, operation and development departments of Wal-Mart. Together with Zhong, they were once called "American Club".
After the change of top management was settled, Wal-Mart China began a larger-scale personnel adjustment on July 1 2007. Speaking with political achievements is Chen's ruling thought after he took office. This time, he pointed the finger at the reform of the store operation department, canceled the administrative department, canceled all managers, and changed six of the store 10 managers to assistants and four to directors. The number of layoffs in each store ranges from 10 to 12, and the final number of layoffs may reach 1000. This will greatly reduce Wal-Mart's labor costs in China. This move has attracted the attention of the outside world. It is breaking the original rigid model and giving stores more management and procurement rights. In Chen's words, the talent structure should fully adapt to the market. "Wal-Mart is now entering small and medium-sized cities. What we have to consider is that the personnel structure must be set around the profitability of the store. "
When Chen took office, Wal-Mart's new store plan in China had run aground, because Wal-Mart's boycott of "Chinese-style public relations" hindered the implementation of the new store expansion plan. As a native of China, Chen naturally knows the national conditions of China. Since taking office, he has been very active, patrolling shops, meeting suppliers and promoting government relations. He is almost busy. Facts have proved that Chen's activities are necessary and effective. On June 5438+February 2007 1 1, the 94th Wal-Mart store in China opened in Loudi, Hunan Province, and the application for the opening of the100th Wal-Mart store in China was also approved by the Ministry of Commerce.
Chen Ye, who is familiar with China's market competition and consumer psychology, figured out a cruel trick to change Wal-Mart's "everyday parity" strategy since its establishment, promote preferential goods, and turn "everyday parity" into "everyday low price". Walmart, which entered China 1 1 year and never had a large-scale promotion, started the price war for the first time. On July 5, 2007, Chen broke through the low-key style and personally publicized his new policy of "lower price", announcing that from that day on, 80 Wal-Mart shopping malls and community outlets across the country would jointly launch more than 1000 kinds of preferential goods. On the basis of "everyday parity", we will give back to consumers at more favorable prices. This shows Wal-Mart's determination to be more active in the market. On August 8, Wal-Mart opened its first store in Hangzhou in a low-key manner, but its preferential commodity policy attracted 654.38+million people on the first day of opening. The spectacular crowd confirmed the correctness of Chen's bold change of Wal-Mart's strategy. However, Chen stressed that "preferential commodities" are not short-term behaviors and will be promoted as a long-term project.
The suspense of the future
At present, the competition in China's first tier cities's retail industry is very fierce. Chen said that the first-line market plays a vital role for multinational retail enterprises like Wal-Mart. Therefore, Wal-Mart will continue to expand its development in first-tier cities. However, he also said that second-and third-tier cities also have good development opportunities for Wal-Mart, and the expansion of these new market areas is another highlight of Chen. At present, 40% of Wal-Mart's stores in China are located in small and medium-sized cities, and this proportion will increase in the future. The opening of Wal-Mart's Loudi store in Hunan shows Wal-Mart's determination to enter small and medium-sized cities in China. It is understood that Wal-Mart currently has plans to open new stores in second-and third-tier cities such as Jingzhou, Hubei. Wal-Mart will maintain an annual expansion rate of over 30% in China in the future.
Under Chen's leadership, the integration of Wal-Mart and Trust-Mart is progressing smoothly. On the issue of integrating Trust-Mart, Chen's tough style is somewhat "convergent", but the difference is that it is a gentle and coordinated way. "At present, it is more important to share the experience of both parties, such as training employees and improving the operation level of stores. The integration situation is satisfactory." Regarding whether to keep Trust-Mart brand in the future, Chen said that customers need to help him make a decision, "because Trust-Mart is also a good brand."
For quite some time, Wal-Mart did not perform as well as Carrefour in China. In 2007, under the leadership of Chen, Wal-Mart made great progress in China. Although the gap between Wal-Mart and Carrefour has not been qualitatively reversed, the new vitality that Wal-Mart has given itself and the outside world has indeed given itself new hope.
On February 5th this year, Wal-Mart announced that it would donate 1 10,000 US dollars to the China Red Cross to help the freezing rain and snow disaster areas. During the disaster, Wal-Mart and Trust-Mart successively carried out various rescue operations with local communities and relevant departments through shopping malls in the disaster area to provide food and drinking water for stranded passengers and families with difficulties in daily life caused by freezing disasters. This commonweal behavior shows that Wal-Mart China is actively promoting its social image while constantly seeking business progress.
Since Chen took office nearly a year ago, Wal-Mart China has recovered its vitality. But this is only the beginning of Wal-Mart's change in China. Can this good trend be maintained to further promote the development of Wal-Mart?
Everything has yet to be tested.
1 1 year, at the critical moment of Wal-Mart's development in China, Chen came.
Today, Chen is still a mysterious figure in the industry. He has been the president and CEO of Wal-Mart China for nearly a year, and his appearances are few and far between.
65438+February 10, China Oriental Grand Hyatt Hotel, Chen, who just attended the approval of Wal-Mart 100 store and the opening ceremony of Loudi store, sat down. The reporter asked him: "The industry believes that Wal-Mart needs someone to make a breakthrough in the critical period of market development. So, why choose you? "
Obviously, this question makes him feel interesting. Chen sharp eyes with corners of the mouth slightly wide smile, gradually become gentle and meaningful. "This is a very interesting question, but it is difficult for me to give you a perfect answer." Even when he was laughing, his voice was as deep as ever: "My predecessor, Mr. Zhong, worked in Wal-Mart for more than 30 years and reached retirement age. Wal-Mart just needs a person in charge in China, and I just want to have a new choice. So, here I am! "
Coincidence and harmony
Your gestures, words and manners are gentle, your voice is low when you talk to them, and the humor that pops up from time to time will make you laugh. Compared with Zhong born in America, Chen born in Hong Kong is short and looks like a southerner, but his bald head makes him particularly attractive.
In fact, without close contact and communication, he gives the impression that when he is serious, his thin figure and sharp eyes seem to exude more coldness. However, once he laughed happily, even his eyes were full of smiles, which made people feel like a spring breeze, as if everything around him had become warm.
It is such a person who should shoulder the heavy responsibility of Wal-Mart's breakthrough in the China market.
More than 20 years ago, Chen started his career in McKinsey, a world-famous consulting company. He worked as an analyst for two years.
After that, Chen worked for Bertelsmann's record company, and from 65438 to 0989, he began to work as an enterprise development manager in New York State. Later, he was appointed as the Chairman and General Manager of BMG in Taiwan Province Province, and was promoted to the Chairman and General Manager of BMG in Hongkong and Chinese mainland.
Joining Hong Kong Dairy Group is the beginning of Chen's retail career, and this industry has kept him working until today. He used to be the CEO of Wellcome Supermarket in Taiwan Province Province, a subsidiary of Hong Kong Milk Group, and 20011became the chairman of Milk North Asia and the director of Milk Management Service Co., Ltd., responsible for the retail business in Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan Province Province and South Korea.
Among them, Wellcome Supermarket, one of the two giants in Hong Kong managed by Chen, and 7- 1 1, the world's largest convenience store with operating licenses in Hong Kong and South China, are the most noteworthy. Wellcome Supermarket has become one of the leading supermarket enterprises in Taiwan Province Province. The development speed of 7- 1 1 in China, especially in South China, is obvious to all in the three years since the retail industry in China opened.
For Wal-Mart, which urgently needs to expand its market network in China, Chen Ziran, who has rich retail experience and many years of successful background, has become a "lighthouse". Because, it is not "I just want to have a new choice" that can make a global crocodile like Wal-Mart "tempted".
In June 2006, Chen officially joined Wal-Mart, and in February, he officially took charge of Wal-Mart's retail business in China, including the integration of trust-mart stores.
Buddhism pays attention to karma, so do Chen and Wal-Mart.
Chen style
In 2006, Wal-Mart successively withdrew from Korea and Germany. Meanwhile, despite years of expansion, its performance in the Japanese market is not good. This makes Wal-Mart headquarters pay special attention to the development of China. Undoubtedly, China is one of the most important markets in Wal-Mart's global strategy. However, Wal-Mart, which entered the China market from 65438 to 0996, did not seem to show the demeanor of the global retail leader, and its opening speed and performance lagged behind that of French retailer Carrefour. The development of China District has reached a crossroads, and the challenges that Chen will face can be imagined.
It is reported that "Chen came directly from Wal-Mart headquarters with tokens".
Then, will he become a revolutionary figure of Wal-Mart in China and push Wal-Mart to complete the historic breakthrough of 1 1 in China? This is a common guess in the industry when Chen took office.
In fact, after Chen took office, Wal-Mart's "China Speed" began to appear.
In 2005, Wal-Mart opened 65,438+03 stores in China, compared with 65,438+05 stores last year. In 2007, the speed increased significantly, reaching 23 stores-this speed has basically tied the number of Carrefour stores in China in one year. "Since the beginning of this year, the sales growth rate of our stores that have been open for more than one year has reached double digits. This is two or three times faster than the main competitors. " He said proudly.
From Chen to the personnel adjustment of Wal-Mart in China, we can also clearly feel the changes in his behavior style and development strategy. Shortly after taking office, he appointed Tian Ruikun as the new vice president of the development department, replacing Kang Bin, the former vice president of the development department. Then, the former CEO Meng Yongming was transferred to the Chief Operating Officer of Trust-Mart. Soon, Li Chengjie, vice president of corporate affairs at Wal-Mart China, and Yu Jianyi, chief operating officer, also left. In just a few months, Chen Wan has become the top leader of the most core departments in China, such as procurement, operation and development, which has laid a solid foundation for its development.
Subsequently, Chen began to "slim down" Wal-Mart and lay off employees in the store operation department. Cancel the administration department, cancel all managers, and among the store 10 managers, 6 are changed to assistants and 4 to directors. The number of layoffs in each store ranges from 10 to 12, and the final number of layoffs may reach 1000. This will greatly reduce Wal-Mart's labor costs in China. In Chen's words, the talent structure should fully adapt to the market. "Wal-Mart is now entering small and medium-sized cities. What we have to consider is that the personnel structure must be set around the profitability of the store. "
After the "two fires" achieved results, Chen Xiang burned the "third fire". On July 5th, 2007, Chen announced that Wal-Mart had launched more than 65,438+0,000 special items in its shopping malls and community stores in China. On the basis of "everyday parity", we will give back to consumers at more favorable prices. This is the first time that Wal-Mart 1 1 has adjusted the commodity prices in the China market for years. When this move came out, there was an uproar in the industry: Wal-Mart, which has always had a stable price strategy and never promoted sales like other stores, began to shift from "everyday parity" to "everyday low price"?
"This is not a short-term behavior and will be promoted as a long-term project. We will cooperate with more suppliers to provide more and better special offers. " Chen said to:
From "flat" to "low", Chen's car-scrapping has been highlighted. What kind of surprise will Chen, who is familiar with the China market, bring to Wal-Mart?
use both hard and soft tactics
From the outside world, Chen, who is bald, is a tough guy, which is exactly the same as the evaluation of Wal-Mart headquarters, and also different from the golden mean in China. "Mr. Chen is resolute and energetic," the staff around him told reporters.
Moreover, after Chen took office, both outsiders and some insiders of the former Wal-Mart thought that he had come to "revolutionize" China.
More people in the industry believe that Chen's toughness may be the key to help Wal-Mart break the ice in China.
However, Chen himself does not fully agree with this view. "I don't want to change, but to push Wal-Mart's philosophy deeper and more thorough. The concept is to fully communicate with employees, listen to their voices and strive to satisfy customers. " He commented on his work in the past year.
When he heard a netizen say that he was a kind CEO, he smiled happily, shrugged his shoulders at the reporter and said humorously, "Of course I don't object to them saying so."
Chen has been very busy and fast this year. "There is nothing special about nature." He said. Changsha, Kunming, Nanjing, Xiamen, Harbin ... Most Wal-Mart supermarkets in China have left his footprints. He goes to two or three stores every week. "Most of them are very busy, patrolling stores, visiting suppliers and communicating with government departments." What he wants most is: "to have a lot of time to communicate directly with employees and customers."
"Our suppliers and customers have good feedback on Wal-Mart." In his view, there is no need to change too much, just need to combine Wal-Mart's business philosophy with the China market more closely and implement it vigorously. "Wal-Mart's working style and corporate culture are very suitable for development in China." He also feels lucky, because Wal-Mart China District "has trained a group of outstanding local cadres in this 1 1 year. This is very important for Wal-Mart to be more thoroughly localized in the China market. "
Therefore, in addition to continuing to consolidate and expand the first-tier market, second-and third-tier markets and even fourth-tier cities will become Chen's future territory. At present, 40% of Wal-Mart's stores in China are in small and medium-sized cities, and this proportion will increase in the future. Of course, he also said that the first-tier market plays a vital role for Wal-Mart, so Wal-Mart will continue to expand its development in first-tier cities. The opening of Hunan Loudi Store shows Wal-Mart's determination to enter small and medium-sized cities in China.
Under Chen's leadership, the integration of Wal-Mart and Trust-Mart is also progressing smoothly. On this issue, he unexpectedly did not impose an "iron fist." "At present, it is more important to share the experience of both sides, such as training employees and improving the operation level of the store. The integration situation is satisfactory. " And whether to keep Trust-Mart brand in the future, he thinks that customers need to help him make a decision, "because Trust-Mart is also a very good brand." He said.
In less than a year, employees have quickly accepted and recognized this airborne boss. At the opening ceremony of Loudi Store, when a reporter asked employees how they felt about the new president, all the employees present, including the vice president, stood up and cheered loudly to show their respect for the new president. This move made Chen, who was sitting quietly in the front row and not ready to appear in front of the media, get up quickly and smile at the employees.
On rest days, the person in charge of Wal-Mart China usually goes swimming to accompany his wife and three lovely daughters. Talking about the deepest experience of working in Wal-Mart for a year, he said with deep affection: "I sincerely thank the employees for seeing Wal-Mart growing in China and the benefits of its stores getting better and better ..."