In the perspective of Wu Jianmin, “By virtue of reform and opening-up policies, Chinese textile enterprises have fully opened up the global market and learn from foreign advanced technology and management concepts constantly; the variety of products becomes multi-category, multi-component and even multi-brand. Actually, these enterprises find their positions in the global textile international division of labor and become an indispensable force in the world pattern of textile and clothing.”
20 years of growth trilogy of Showlong
Showlong is one of Chinas most representative high-quality brands of womens fashionable clothes. Over the past 20 years, the group has been paying attention to customer experience under the leadership of Wu Jianmin, to pursue technical innovation, create multi-brand operation capability with the brand concept of “sunshine woman, Showlong style”, and devote to providing customers with more comfortable, fashionable and high-quality clothing products. So far, Showlong has accomplished the establishment of business system covering womens wear, mens wear, childrens wear, accessories and household supplies, and developed into a clothing brand group with billions of annual sales.
Looking back on the past 20 years, Wu Jianmin divided the development history of Showlong into three stages. The first stage is the era of single item; Showlong chose and adhere to the route of “independent innovation and national brand” instead of being intermediate production or OEM manufacturing at the beginning of the establishment. It has always been committed to product R&D; of Showlong brand, improving the quality of products and continuously enhancing added value of products through brand creation; hence, traditional pattern of the clothing industry in Shandong province that emphasizes processing over independent innovation is broken.
The second stage is fission era, the Showlong brand is evolved into five major brands, including Showlong, MTENG, GOGIRL, ZU.KU and Kaleidom, etc. The transformation from single womens wear brand to Clothing serialized products creates the beginning of Showlong multi-brand.
The third stage is age of cluster, market segmentation is carried out based on age, style characteristics, needs preferences and other elements of different consumer group, to accurately grasp the quality, diversification, personalized consumption trend. Besides, by adopting brand dynamic management, the group vigorously expands the depth, breadth and height of the brand, and eventually creates multilevel brand clusters relying on parent brand of Showlong and evolution from single item to a series of products.
Speaking to the world Steadily advance the road to internationalization
For Showlong, the tide of reform and opening-up policies brings about opportunity. President Wu said that, “on the one hand, the brand construction has been accelerated, and the “6+1” model has set out a distinctive path of independent innovation, the stores cover all online and offline channels and more than 30 provinces and cities; on the other hand, they accelerate to speak to the world.” During the 20 years, Showlong constantly adapts to the rules, engages in industry exploration and becomes a leader of the industry. Showlong continuously broadens its international vision, increases internationalized elements and speeds up international pace.
Wu Jianmin states: “Showlong is an outcome of rapid development of Chinas reform and openingup policies; in recent 20 years, Showlong has closer communication with the world, and adapts the complicated changes in market and industry through constantly studying and comparison, self-negation and circular rise. Furthermore, Showlong also forms its own brand concept, brand system, and brand language.
In a dialogue with the world, Showlong has accomplished the road to internationalization. They select the worlds advanced equipment and surface materials, introduce design talents from international fashion circle, and collaborate with domestic designers, to build a highly stylized brand. Therefore, the customers experience unique and personalized costume and deepen the trust in Showlong.
Especially in 2015, Showlong group entered into men's wear brand through investing overseas mens brand, introducing Denmarks four major international menswear brands and deep capital cooperation with international brands. Thus, the group can better integrate into the world, enhance the R&D; level, brand strength and international influence of enterprises, accelerate the development and upgrading and transformation of Showlong, participate in the global competition, and usher in the great development era.
Over the years of international development, Wu Jianmin shares his experience: “adhering to the concept of ‘quality is uppermost, Showlong constantly make attempts to seek international cooperation and position the international market; I advocate rational judgment, persist in steady development with the craftsmanship and dedication, to occupy a stable position in international and foreign markets by virtue of product quality and Accurate self-positioning.”
The enterprise culture of “Showlong style, people oriented”
In recent 20 years, Wu Jianmin, as the leader of Showlong, infuses excellent and unique genes for the establishment and development of Showlong. Showlong group always adheres to the mission of“sunshine women, enjoy Showlong style”, the enterprise vision of “committed to becoming a leader in multi-brand portfolio strategy in the Chinese apparel industry, and a world-renowned fashion company”and corporate value of “concentration, innovation, effort, harmony”.
The founder Wu Jianmin notes that, Showlong means comfortable and happy life style, which is the mental state of work and life he pursues, and he also hopes that everyone can enjoy the comfortable and cheerful life. Meanwhile, he says: “Being free, comfortable and clear is the ideal state I pursue, which will be permeated into the enterprise operation and the employees will feel the full happiness in the comfortable and clear cultural atmosphere.”
The culture of Showlong attracts numerous people who identify with its culture, have dreams and are active; the employees can maximum play to their talents. Meanwhile, through strengthening emotional communication with employees, Showlong establishes sense of ownership and belonging of employees and provides a relaxed and pleasant working environment, which greatly enriches employees' amateur cultural life, improves their quality of life, and more effectively stimulates employees to exert their joint efforts and bring out all the energy in their hearts.
As Wu Jianmin concludes: “In the process of enterprise development, real talents should take root; the employees can find appropriate position after incorporating into the culture of enterprise and the big family of Showlong; only if the enterprises have cohesive force and centripetal force, the employees can have a sense of belonging and future direction, so that the group can better retain talents and give play to their greater energy.”
Intelligent manufacturing, striving for future
Under the guidance of such pragmatic development ideas, Wu Jianmin leds Showlong to make new achievements in the development of the new positioning of “technology, fashion and green” advocated by Chinas textile industry.
In terms of technology, Showlong owns one national innovation platform, 2 provincial innovation platforms, and 27 provincial innovative and technological innovation projects at present. In addition, the independent research and development of textile clothing technology of the company has obtained 64 items of national patent authorization, consisting of 9 items of patent for invention, 32 items of utility model patent, and 23 items of design patent. The above technology is second to none in the entire Chinese garment industry, which has formed a unique advantage in industrial technology innovation, transformation and upgrading.
Especially in terms of intelligent manufacturing, Showlong experiences four self-transitions, innovation-driven development, to actively promote the upgrading of leading industries and to actively implement multi-brand strategy and internationalization strategy. Meanwhile, new fields and new markets are developed and cultivated constantly, online and offline omni-channel mode is established, to realize the situation, launch the intelligent store project and create a new shopping online and offline experience store for womens wear in China. In addition, online agent operation and distribution franchise mode are fully implemented, “Yunyishang” one-stop service mode is launched timely, to form an all-channel and all-open mode of “self-owned professional design team + superior-quality supply chain management+ online and offline retail franchise and wholesale channels”. With the help of full-channel marketing network, C2B customized service will be expanded and radiated on a national scale; by virtue of “new growth driving force”, the enterprise will be successfully transformed and upgraded.
In fashion terms, Showlong has entered into a new era of rapid development and qualitative leap from brand initial stage and hatching period. The company witnesses scale production, technological innovation and industrial upgrading; currently, the efficiency and quality of products have been improved. Under the general trend of cultivating “new driving forces” and developing “new economy”, the company launches two tasks of innovative manufacturing and upgrading of traditional kinetic energy, to step on the road of intelligent upgrading and successfully realize the conversion of “old and new growth driving forces”.
With regard to environment protecting, Showlong clothes not only focus on the environmental protection of the products which manufactured by natural fiber fabrics such as cotton ramie silk, but also fully implement the concept of low-carbon environmental protection concept in the actual actions.
For the future, president Wu also modestly expresses his hope on local brands: “Although some competitive brands have emerged in China in recent years, while the international perspective is still relatively weak compared with mature international brands; our root are not robust enough due to short time. Hence, high-quality supply chains of domestic garment brand should be integrated, and Chinas large market should be classified according to consumption, and brand segmentation should be well carried out in a long time in the future, to achieve a steady development.”