“Each generation has its own mission and battlefield; the lives of the second generation will inevitably be completely different from those of their parents. Last night, Master Kong Holdings announced that starting January 1, 2019, founder Wei Yingzhou would resign as executive director and chairman of the board; his eldest son, Wei Hongming, would take over as chairman of Master Kong Holdings and also serve as a committee member. Additionally, Wei Yingzhou's third son, Wei Hongcheng, was appointed as an executive director. This news has drawn attention from industry insiders, turning our focus to the group of second-generation business leaders. Many private enterprises founded after the reform and opening-up have now passed 20 years, and many have exceeded 30 years. Bao Yujun, former vice chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce and president of the Private Economy Research Association, recently stated: After 30 years of development, whether the private economy, i.e., family business economy, can successfully transition is both a private matter and a national matter. Today, let's take a look at the 'second generation' in the FMCG industry. 01 Those who have taken over their father's baton Wahaha: Zong Qinghou → Zong Fuli Not long ago, Zong Fuli was appointed as the head of Wahaha Group's Public Relations and Brand Department, which was interpreted by the industry as a prelude to her full takeover of Wahaha. For over a decade, the Wahaha baton has been held by Zong Qinghou on one end and his daughter Zong Fuli on the other. Zong Qinghou recently said in an interview that many people are concerned about Wahaha's succession. Zong Fuli is now the head of Wahaha's brand and PR department, and she manages her projects well. As for whether she will take over in the future, it depends on her own decision; I won't force her and will let her do what she likes. "For me, I don't want to be a successor. Why must I inherit? I don't want to inherit a company, but I can own it. If I succeed, I hope to acquire Wahaha. That is ownership, not inheritance, right?" she said in an interview. Shuanghui: Wan Long → Wan Hongwei / Wan Hongjian On August 6 this year, Shuanghui Development held a board re-election, and Wan Hongwei entered the board of directors. Wan Hongwei is the second son of Shuanghui founder Wan Long. Also in August, Wan Hongjian took over as vice chairman of WH Group. WH Group is the name change Shuanghui made to address its globalization strategy. Rumors about Shuanghui's successor have been circulating for years. Many say WH Group is Wan Long's WH Group, and no one can bear such a heavy burden after Wan Long. Question: Will Wan Long continue to turn the tide at the front, or will he strategize behind the scenes while his two sons fire the first shot of succession? Want Want: Tsai Eng-meng → Tsai Shao-chung / Tsai Wang-chia As a successor, Tsai Eng-meng certainly has more to say; he is both a first-generation founder and a second-generation successor. After taking over the family business, he lost everything in Taiwan. Forced to come to the mainland to start a business, he instead achieved Want Want's current success. Currently, Tsai Eng-meng's eldest son, Tsai Shao-chung, is responsible for Want Want's media business. The mainland-audience-familiar show "Kangxi Coming" is produced by Want Want's CTTV. His second son, Tsai Wang-chia, is responsible for Want Want's food business, but since food is the foundation of Want Want's success, it's unlikely Tsai Eng-meng will fully delegate power. Especially some old employees who fought alongside Tsai Eng-meng see themselves as "tutors to the crown prince," becoming a hindrance to Tsai Wang-chia's reforms. Huiyuan: Zhu Xinli → Zhu Shengqin Since Coca-Cola's acquisition of Huiyuan was blocked, Huiyuan has fallen into one vortex after another. As Zhu Xinli's daughter, Zhu Shengqin has faced many obstacles in the succession process. Although Zhu Xinli nominally stepped down as CEO of Huiyuan, in reality, Huiyuan remains under his one-man rule. Over the years, Huiyuan has experienced the eras of externally hired professional manager Su Yingfu, and insiders Yu Hongli and Cui Xianguo. Finally, Zhu Shengqin invited her classmate Wu Xiaopeng to serve as CEO. This seems to mark Zhu Shengqin officially taking over Zhu Xinli's gun, but the actual situation is unknown, especially since Huiyuan's stock suspension has not improved. New Hope Group: Liu Yonghao → Liu Chang Compared to Huiyuan, New Hope's succession journey seems relatively smoother. Liu Chang was initially named Li Tianmei because, given the family's wealth, Liu Yonghao worried about his daughter's safety and had her take her mother's surname. She entered the public eye in 2002, having been kept hidden by her father before. Born in 1980, she went to the U.S. at 16, returned after obtaining an MBA in 2002, holds 36.93% of New Hope Group, indirectly holds shares in two listed companies, New Hope and Minsheng Bank, and also serves as chairman of Sichuan Nanfang Hope under New Hope Group. On the Hurun Rich List, her personal assets reached 9.2 billion yuan. On May 22, 2013, she became co-chairman of New Hope Liuhe. On May 26, 2016, New Hope Liuhe Co., Ltd. announced that Chen Chunhua, co-chairman and CEO of the previous board, officially left New Hope, and Liu Chang was elected chairman of the seventh board. Dali: Xu Shihui → Xu Yangyang Xu Shihui founded Fujian Dali Foods Co., Ltd. in September 1989 and is now its chairman. Dali is one of the fastest-growing food manufacturing enterprises in China. In April 2014, it was listed on the "2014 China Charity List." In the 2016 Hurun Rich List, the Xu Shihui family ranked 27th with 45 billion yuan in wealth. In the 2018 Hurun Rich List, the family ranked 26th with 65 billion yuan. Xu Yangyang graduated from the UK in July 2008. In 2015, when Dali Foods was listed in Hong Kong, Xu Shihui became Fujian's richest person with a market value of 24.1 billion yuan, and his daughter Xu Yangyang became Fujian's richest woman with 19.3 billion yuan. On October 26, 2017, the "2017 Hurun Women Entrepreneurs List" ranked Chen Liling and Xu Yangyang (mother and daughter) ninth. Xiwang Food Group: Wang Yong → Wang Di Wang Di currently serves as chairman of Xiwang Food Co., Ltd. and director of several companies including Xiwang Sugar (Holdings) Co., Ltd. He has been called "the second-generation rich who least looks like one" because he started as a frontline worker at Xiwang Group, the controlling shareholder of Xiwang Food. His father, Wang Yong, was extremely strict, requiring Wang Di to have solid grassroots work experience. From 2005 to 2014, Wang Di and his team vigorously promoted capital operations, laying out development with a global perspective, and listed three companies—Xiwang Food, Xiwang Special Steel, and Xiwang Property—creating the history of the "Xiwang system." Mengniu: Niu Gensheng → Niu Ben / Niu Qiong Niu Gensheng's story of "doing business in the first half of life and doing good in the second half" is well known, but you may not know the mysterious "Niu second generation." Niu Ben, born in 1982, does not look like many second-generation rich. When Niu Gensheng proposed donating his equity, Niu Ben, then a university student, said: "Anyway, the money is earned by you; it has nothing to do with me." Studying in the UK, Niu Ben originally wanted to study advertising design, but under his father's influence, he studied accounting. After graduation, he wanted to do his own thing, like starting a business, but ultimately, on his father's advice, he put aside his dreams to participate in family charity, focusing on "environmental protection." Niu Gensheng's daughter, Niu Qiong, similarly devotes herself to child care. In March 2015, the two siblings co-founded a public foundation (referred to as the "Old Niu Siblings Foundation"). In media interviews, the siblings said they have chosen a simple and clear life path and are determined. Apart from trying social investment and social enterprises, they have not considered stepping into business again. The siblings share the same goal as their father Niu Gensheng in the second half of his life: family charity. Of course, there are more. Nice, Liby, Laoganma, Jinmailang, Vitasoy, Tianwo, etc., have become hot topics in FMCG succession discussions in recent years. According to data, about 90% of China's private enterprises are family-run, and their economic output accounts for over 60% of GDP. In the next five to ten years, about 3 million private enterprises in China will face succession issues. 02 To take over or not? The released "China Family Business Succession Report" shows that only 40% of the second generation surveyed explicitly expressed willingness to take over, 15% explicitly refused, and 45% were unclear about their attitude. Forbes also published a report titled "More than Half of China's Family Businesses Lack Successors," stating that many of the earliest pioneers of China's reforms find their children unwilling to take over the family business. Today's second generation, mostly with overseas study experience, have completely different attitudes toward life, career, and wealth compared to their parents. If the parents started businesses for survival, the second generation does business out of interest. The former's mindset is endurance and grit, while the latter is to advance when possible and enjoy the process. On the succession issue, Mr. Wu Xiaobo once expressed that the parents' industry is their own; in essence, the foundation of inheritance is capital, not machines or workshops. The children have no obligation to help their parents continue their dreams. Any modern enterprise is a limited liability company with its own complete governance system and personnel mechanism. If the second generation does not take over, it actually opens a path for talented individuals from humble backgrounds who have served the company for years and love the industry, greatly benefiting the growth of professional managers. In the history of global family businesses, successful succession has always been a small probability event. Research by the Brooklyn Family Business Institute in the U.S. shows that less than 20% of family businesses truly pass from the first to the second generation, 70% fail to reach the next generation, and 88% fail to reach the third. Today, these numbers are even smaller. But in China, many enterprises are still rushing forward, hoping their children will take over. If this is true for enterprises, it is even more so for China's distributor community. If the "old hands" who entered the wholesale industry in the 1980s and 1990s are called the first generation of wholesalers, then the young post-80s and post-90s are the second generation of wholesalers just appearing. In the parents' era, business opportunities were limited and information was asymmetric; as long as you were willing to work, wealth was everywhere for the taking. Today, industries are saturated or near saturation, and the same effort no longer yields equivalent results. 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