Some may overlook small profits, but certain enterprises thrive on everyday consumer goods. Daily necessities are the most frequently used and replaced products; despite low unit prices, they enjoy high repeat customers, akin to small profits but quick turnover!
Detergents, laundry liquids, powders, shower gels, shampoos, toothpaste—these are all daily chemical products, and giants like Liby, Nice, Blue Moon, and foreign brands Unilever and P&G have been quietly profiting for decades. Many assume these old brands have faded into the market jungle, but in reality, they are still making money quietly! Chen Kaixuan (younger brother) Take Liby, for example. The founders are Chen Kaixuan (younger brother) and Chen Kaichen (elder brother), who established this leading daily chemical enterprise in Guangzhou, Guangdong in 1994. Chen Kaichen (elder brother) Now, the older generation has stepped down, and the children have their own paths, with different business philosophies. Liby's Successor: Chen Zebin Chen Kaixuan and his son 2024 brings new beginnings, especially for Liby, as it has a new chairman. Chen Zebin has taken on the role of chairman of Liby Technology Group. Although he had been president since 2019, his responsibilities were not fully comprehensive until this year. Chen Zebin, who bears a striking resemblance to famous host Nigmaiti, is Chen Kaixuan's son and the heir to the Liby Group. Born in 1986, he is a typical post-80s, now 38, approaching the age of forty without confusion. Liby is a traditional private enterprise, and the new broom sweeps clean. Even before officially becoming the successor, Chen Zebin ignited the "digital fire." Young people in business must keep up with trends, so the older generation willingly stepped back to enjoy leisure. Chen Zebin's father, Chen Kaixuan, serves as Liby's chief advisor, while his uncle Chen Kaichen is the deputy chief advisor. Chen Zhanxiong, Chen Zebin's cousin, is the vice chairman and president of Liby Technology Group. Chen Zhanxiong If Liby weren't his family's business, Chen Zebin would still be considered a veteran employee. He has been with Liby since 2010, following the typical path for family business successors—starting from the grassroots. Chen Zebin was no exception, especially in a Chaoshan family enterprise like Liby, which places great emphasis on children's business acumen. So, he began in the brand department as an intern and, within less than five years, seized the e-commerce opportunity. Chen Zebin It's worth noting that e-commerce can be a lucrative venture if done well, but if not, the promotional costs can be daunting. Surprisingly, Chen Zebin proved capable. He built the e-commerce department from scratch, and from then on, it was all about data and sales. This department became a "wealth department," with sales doubling every year. Consequently, it's no surprise that Liby has collaborated with many e-commerce influencers over the years; it's at least the first step in transforming a traditional private enterprise. Now, under the relatively young Chen Zebin, Liby has embarked on the so-called "digitalization" track. In 2020, opportunity favored the prepared, as the environment took a sudden turn. Liby managed to hold online ordering conferences, generating nearly 1 billion yuan in sales. The strong never complain about the environment because they plan ahead. Since 2021, Liby has collaborated with over 1,000 partners online, achieving a cumulative GMV of over 6 billion yuan. Essentially, it's just selling on a different platform, in a different way, stripping away the fancy forms—it's still one selling, one buying, just more complex than traditional methods. But this is akin to a second startup for the enterprise, as Liby is fundamentally a traditional company. Transitioning to e-commerce has advantages but also challenges. Liby's Internal Factions The first challenge is people. As Chen Zebin candidly admitted in media interviews, many within the company outwardly support his digital transformation, but behind the scenes, they create various obstacles. So, while it appears smooth on the surface, everyone understands what's happening behind closed doors. Reforming a traditional enterprise means many things must become transparent, inevitably stepping on many people's interests. It would be abnormal if there were no opposition. But Chen Zebin is no pushover; he's tough and doesn't accept negotiations unless you can beat him with data. It's common for large enterprises to have factional cultures, especially family businesses with nepotism, which is even more troublesome. Unexpectedly, the new successor is quite resolute! Data has its merits, but it's also imperfect; data-driven decisions imply a purely online channel. For a product like Liby that still relies on large supermarkets, dataization may not be entirely reliable or scientific for the physical economy. However, if they pursue e-commerce live streaming and new retail channels, dataization is an inevitable path for Liby and many future brands and enterprises. Take East Buy, for example. It's not just family businesses that have factional cultures; the relationship between Dong Yuhui and East Buy was complicated, and in the end, Yu Minhong won. To ensure Liby rides the wave of the times, Chen Zebin, who is not socially outgoing in real life, appeared in the brand's live stream, surprising employees. After all, this boss usually doesn't even like giving speeches. It's not that he can't speak; maybe some people are just like that? Not all bosses are eloquent. Liby's successor prefers to let data speak. So, to catch the live-streaming traffic, Chen Zebin, who dislikes public speaking, went all out as a "host" for his products. Of course, that CEO live-stream show achieved sales exceeding 30 million yuan, which is decent. Starting from Scratch Liby's "Borrowing a Chicken to Lay Eggs" Chen Kaichen and Chen Kaixuan One of Liby's founders, Chen Kaixuan, once mentioned in an interview with Times Weekly that he and his brother Chen Kaichen went from their hometown Puning to Guangzhou in 1994 to start a business. They had only 300,000 yuan, so they had to do OEM laundry powder, similar to Midea's approach. Chen Kaixuan called this "borrowing a chicken to lay eggs," and a more sophisticated term is asset-light operation—sounds high-end, doesn't it? Describing starting from nothing in such a refined way? Only wealthy entrepreneurs can make success theories sound right. By 1998, Liby was selling well, ran advertisements, hired celebrity Chen Peisi as spokesperson, and found more advanced factories to produce washing products. Naturally, they also formalized, and Guangzhou Liby Enterprise Group Co., Ltd. was officially established. Liby became a household name! Now, the advertisements feature Chen Peisi and his son together. And now, Forbes Global Billionaires list includes former Liby Group chairman Chen Kaixuan, with a net worth of $2.9 billion, approximately 18 billion yuan. Unlike other old-timers who are reluctant to hand over to their children, Chen Kaixuan believes the younger generation of the Chen family keeps up with the times. Mainly, if Liby can master the "online" way of making money, it can solve most of the traditional enterprise's problems. Although Liby's internal affairs are not entirely "white," the two founders have given strong support to the young generation for a brighter future. 2023 Revenue Approximately 28.4 Billion More Than One Competitor Does Liby have competitors in the daily chemical market? Yes, there's Nice, akin to Alibaba and Tencent in the tech circle. According to public data from the "2023 China Top 500 Private Enterprises List," Guangzhou Liby Kaisheng Holdings, i.e., Liby, had revenue of 28.41941 billion yuan, ranking 495th, down 9 places from 2022. Now, looking at Nice Group, its revenue was 31.12666 billion yuan, ranking 428th, up 67 places from 2022. The gap is about 3 billion yuan, so Liby needs to work harder to be "whiter." In any case, both are in the first tier of washing products! Nice's brands are rarely named Nice, but Diao Pai is one of them. Many think Diao Pai is just a company, but Chao Neng is also Nice's. Liby has quite a few brands, not all named Liby. Familiar ones include "Liby," "Good Daddy," "Liby Master Fragrance," and "Lantian Liubizhi." There are also "Liby Yupin," "Liby Xiaobaibai," "Qingyi," and more, totaling over a dozen. Then there's Blue Moon, which once wanted to position itself as the "Hermès" of laundry liquids, held its head too high, withdrew from large supermarkets, but later returned sheepishly. It's unavoidable; large supermarkets and brands are interdependent, but most platforms are more important. However, Blue Moon's marketing has its merits, like leveraging Mid-Autumn Festival galas on various satellite TV stations every August 15th, using traditional culture marketing effectively. Of course, domestic brands should unite and compete fiercely on product quality! After all, there's Unilever with Omo and other comparable products! P&G, the giant, cannot be underestimated! These are not just Liby's competitors but also competitors for domestic daily chemical enterprises. Look at P&G's brands; they cover almost everything in daily chemicals, from head to toe: shampoos like Pantene, Vidal Sassoon, Head & Shoulders, Rejoice; toothpaste like Crest; skincare like SK-II and Olay; body wash like Safeguard; and feminine care like Whisper. The list is endless, and their layout is daunting even now! Think about it; they planned this when they first entered the domestic market. The problem is that any single brand could stand alone and support itself. Traditional Enterprises: To Compete or Not This year marks Liby's 30th anniversary? Not too long, not too new—it's a middle-aged brand. If a brand can last 30 years, it's quite an achievement in the current domestic market. But whether it can survive another 30 years or become a century-old brand depends on the descendants of Chen Kaixuan and Chen Kaichen. The daily chemical and washing market seems crowded, but in reality, it's just a few major brands. Big fish spawn many small fish, meaning brand verticalization and further category segmentation. In today's market, it's increasingly difficult to benefit from traffic dividends because consumers are rational and compare prices, some even selling at a loss to attract customers. Therefore, brands and enterprises with weak foundations and poor management, lacking resilience, are being eliminated from the market faster! In the past, a bucket of laundry powder could wash a large basin of clothes; now, underwear requires a dedicated product. It's getting more complex, making it easier to find new ways to profit. This is the result of intense competition among energetic brands. Old brands like Vitality 28, unless they get lucky and go viral, can't compete and get overwhelmed by the wheels of competition. Previously, people might go to the nearby supermarket to grab a bag of laundry powder for washing clothes, smelly socks, and a pile of dishes. Now, it's different; people are lazy and prefer things delivered to their doorstep, even wishing the washing machine would dry and put away clothes and dishes. Now, brands must first appear on consumers' phones! Then, on various e-commerce platforms, whether traditional e-commerce or new retail, they must first be "listed" before their detergents, laundry liquids, or laundry pods can enter consumers' kitchens and bathrooms. Do you think traditional enterprises should stick to their knitting or also chase the latest trends? Please leave your thoughts in the comments. PS: From March 14-16, 2024, the 9th China FMCG Innovation Conference, the 2nd China FMCG Hard Discount Conference, and the 2nd China FMCG Distributor Conference will be grandly held in Chengdu! This conference will revolve around the theme of "Supply Chain Revolution." Over three days, with one main forum, over ten sub-forums, and closed-door exchange meetings, we will gather with thousands of FMCG brand owners, distributors, retail innovators, and industry service providers from across the country in Chengdu to discuss the challenges, opportunities, changes, and solutions in the era of supply chain revolution. Under this supply chain revolution, a new business era will emerge. We hope every participant will still have a place in this wave, and we believe this will be a worthwhile conference! For business cooperation, please contact: 🔺Scan for ticket inquiries🔺