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Xiaoming Classmate, Wei Chuan juice, Uni-President black tea, Master Kong green tea... The drinks on the shelves are dazzling, with various packaging, but Huiyuan juice in the corner still has its original packaging and taste. Looking at the latest financial report on the table—2015 loss of 228 million yuan—Zhu Xinli's face showed little emotion. Since founding Huiyuan Juice, he has experienced ups and downs; perhaps he had already anticipated today's report card. If he hadn't gone into business 24 years ago, Zhu Xinli might now be at home holding his grandson, enjoying his old age; If Coca-Cola's acquisition of Huiyuan Juice had succeeded 8 years ago, Zhu Xinli might have already retired from the scene, leisurely strolling on a sunny beach... However, there is no "if," and Zhu Xinli has no choice. The Choice at Forty In 1992, Zhu Xinli had just reached the age of forty. Before 40, his life goal was to pursue a career in officialdom; after 40, he began to engage in business. At that time, Deng Xiaoping was on his Southern Tour, encouraging people to boldly step out from the system. Although he had spent the first 40 years climbing from village official to deputy director of the Foreign Economic Relations and Trade Commission, transforming from a farmer to a city dweller, this time Zhu Xinli did not hesitate much. With financial support from relatives and friends, Zhu Xinli "plunged into business" and founded Huiyuan Company. Within less than a year, he imported advanced fruit processing equipment from Germany, and in 1993 began exporting concentrated apple juice. Subsequently, Zhu Xinli moved the company from Shandong to Beijing, starting to explore the domestic juice market. In 1995, Huiyuan's first 250ml pure juice successfully launched and sold well. After making a splash in the market, Zhu Xinli accelerated the national expansion. First, he placed advertisements during prime time on CCTV, then built factories nationwide and established eight major marketing networks across the country. Huiyuan entered a period of rapid development, continuously "stepping on the accelerator," expanding from domestic to overseas, establishing strategic alliances with France's Danone Group, the U.S. Warburg Pincus, and the Netherlands Development Bank. From 1992 to 2007, it was a glorious 15 years for Zhu Xinli and Huiyuan Juice. In the Chinese market, Huiyuan's 100% juice occupied half of the pure juice market share, and medium-to-high concentration juice held 45% of the market share, making it the leader in China's juice industry. In 2007, Zhu Xinli even took Huiyuan to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, successfully listing it. The Trauma of Coca-Cola When Huiyuan was at its peak, news that "Coca-Cola would acquire Huiyuan Juice for $2.4 billion" caused a stir in the market. In 2004, Huiyuan had a sensational "breakup" with D'Long, when Zhu Xinli said he would not sell Huiyuan, "even if short of money, I won't sell." Now, how should the "acquisition storm" with Coca-Cola be resolved? Facing external doubts, Zhu Xinli did not explain much; he went to a cave and stayed for three days, leaving his phone in the office. During these three days, he reflected on everything he had done over the past 16 years. "These three days I was numb, unable to say whether I was successful or failed. If I say successful, so many people are unhappy and scold me; if I say failed, I have brought this company to where it is without harming anyone, whether it's employment, fruit farmers, or taxes, all have benefited." When facing the media again, Zhu Xinli opened his heart. Six months later, the Ministry of Commerce vetoed Coca-Cola's acquisition of Huiyuan. This time, Zhu Xinli did not go to the cave but shut himself in his office. The Ministry of Commerce's veto caught Zhu Xinli off guard, shattering his plans. Originally, Zhu Xinli intended to focus on orchards and fruit processing after the acquisition, which had always been his dream. A few years earlier, Zhu Xinli had traveled to all fruit-growing areas across the country and jointly built "Huiyuan Orchards" and "Fruit Tree Banks" with many regions, investing 2 billion yuan in just two months. Perhaps Zhu Xinli never imagined that one day he would suddenly fall from the clouds to the bottom. The unsold Huiyuan rapidly declined from its peak. Investments of billions and thousands of acres of land had to be re-laid out, re-recruiting employees and distributors, and redoing channels. Since then, Huiyuan has been inextricably linked with losses, debt, difficulties, and bottlenecks. "Desperate Remedies" Despite the failed "marriage" with Coca-Cola, Zhu Xinli did not give up his "agricultural dream." For him, 2 billion yuan was just a small step in the Long March. In the following years, Huiyuan's agricultural dream grew bigger, and the expenditure quickly accumulated from billions to tens of billions. On one hand, upstream investment was gradually expanding; on the other hand, downstream investment was also essential. Facing competition from beverage giants like Master Kong and Uni-President, as well as local small brands all vying for a piece of the juice drink market, Zhu Xinli had no choice but to increase investment in brand products, market, and sales. Zhu Xinli, wanting all-round development, gradually lost his direction in the flurry. Huiyuan Juice had always focused on medium-concentration juice products, with a stable market share of over 45%, but in the entire juice drink market, high-concentration juice drinks only covered about 20% of the market. To seize market share in low-concentration juice, Huiyuan Juice began to resort to "desperate remedies." In 2009, Huiyuan launched "Lemon Me" with great fanfare, targeting low-concentration juice drinks; in 2010, it invested 5 billion yuan to launch a new carbonated drink "Juice Joy," but neither caused a significant response in the market. Moreover, due to launching new products and strengthening the sales team, Huiyuan's marketing expenses increased to 660 million yuan in the first half of 2010, with a net loss of 72.247 million yuan. After hitting a wall in the low-concentration juice market, Huiyuan turned to tea drinks. In 2011, it won the auction for all 164 trademarks of "Xurisheng" and the exclusive name "Ice Tea" at a high price of 12.01 million yuan. However, three years after "Xurisheng" "married" into Huiyuan Juice, it did not develop significantly and is currently in a state of temporary production suspension. In 2013, Huiyuan Juice grabbed the "last lifeline"—Suntory China—hoping to use Suntory's market position and influence in the tea beverage field to turn the tide. However, contrary to expectations, Huiyuan has always been unable to make ends meet, showing signs of fatigue. The Incurable "Family Business Syndrome" The reason Zhu Xinli could not realize his agricultural dream, besides desperate remedies, was internal—the family business disease. Zhu Xinli, who came from a rural background, has a strong sense of family and hometown sentiment. From its inception to growth, Huiyuan has always relied on family members and fellow Shandong natives. About 70% to 80% of management and employees are from Shandong. For a long time, Zhu Xinli's children, brothers, and sons-in-law have held key positions in the Huiyuan Group. Although some do not hold high positions, the businesses they manage are crucial, making the family's control over the enterprise very strong. As a company with strong family characteristics, within the Huiyuan Group, Zhu Xinli's word is law. Over the years, Zhu Xinli has been busy with capital operations, neglecting corporate governance. When he realized the harm of nepotistic management, he was physically and mentally exhausted, unable to reform, and could only seek outside help. At this time, Zhu Xinli thought of Su Yingfu. Su Yingfu had worked at Cadbury, Philip Morris China, and Lee Kum Kee, with over 20 years of management experience. He was known for his management style of "killing bureaucracy" and had ample experience in de-familialization management. In July 2013, when Su Yingfu first sat in Huiyuan's conference room, he thought this would be another peak in his career. Before Su Yingfu took office, Huiyuan organized its structure by business divisions for major product marketing, dividing the national market into 20 major regions and 7 special zones. Two months after Su Yingfu took office, he eliminated all business divisions, dissolved the 7 special zones, and re-divided the national market into 7 major regions. At the same time, he introduced many professional managers to Huiyuan. Through bold reforms, Su Yingfu presented a decent annual report for Huiyuan. The report showed that Huiyuan achieved sales revenue of 4.5 billion yuan, with a net profit of 229 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13 times. But the good times did not last long. The 2014 interim report brought Huiyuan Juice's performance back to "original form." In the first half of 2014, Huiyuan Juice's sales were 1.966 billion yuan, down 4.7% year-on-year, and net profit was 20.47 million yuan, down 82% from 114 million yuan in the same period last year. Su Yingfu was forced to leave. After Su Yingfu resigned, Zhu Xinli re-employed veterans and relatives such as Yu Hongli and Zhu Shengqin, and family-style management returned to Huiyuan. Although Zhu Xinli later "poached" Liang Jiaxiang, former vice president of beverage operations at PepsiCo Greater China, to fully take charge of Huiyuan Juice's production and operations, Zhu Xinli hoped that Liang Jiaxiang's joining would further strengthen Huiyuan's senior management team. However, the family-style management style has been deeply ingrained in Huiyuan's "bone marrow." No matter how brilliant the management experience of professional managers, when subordinates do not execute or are passive, strategic execution deviations occur, leading to management failure. Huiyuan's deep-rooted family-style management style stems from Zhu Xinli's employment philosophy: "Do not avoid relatives internally, do not avoid enemies externally." The Test of the Juice King The Juice King eventually reached a dead end. Huiyuan's financial performance first showed a loss in 2014, with a loss of 127 million yuan, and in 2015, a loss of 228 million yuan. In fact, since 2011, Huiyuan's main business had already been in a loss-making state. Although Huiyuan receives subsidies of over 100 million yuan from the government each year, facing declining performance year after year, Zhu Xinli conceived the idea of "selling off subsidiaries." Starting from 2013, as of now, Huiyuan has sold 12 subsidiaries, with a total transaction amount of 2.8 billion yuan, setting records in the industry for the frequency of company sales and transaction amounts. From product transformation to parachuting in professional managers, the most common word used by outsiders to comment on Huiyuan is: "fussing." There have even been many criticisms in the industry, believing that Huiyuan Juice has too many speculative actions, unclear development ideas, and increased enterprise development risks. This time, Zhu Xinli chose silence, only saying: "You can see in the future." Since then, Zhu Xinli has rarely appeared in public. Will the Juice King come back? Source: Business (WeChat ID: sj998_) At 8 PM on the 26th, this platform will host an online salon sharing session titled: "What Preparatory Work Should Distributors Do After Self-Building Platforms?" Interested friends can long-press the QR code below to register for free. 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