"Jiangxiaobai may not survive a year!" In early 2012, Jiangxiaobai was predicted to fail within a year. Six years later, Jiangxiaobai is still alive and doing quite well. Besides the modest achievement of 1 billion yuan in sales in 2017, Jiangxiaobai seems to have secured the last ticket to enter the national market—reportedly, it can be seen in 50% of the national market. Jiangxiaobai is frequently discussed in the liquor and FMCG circles, with imitators as numerous as carp crossing a river. A competitor of Jiangxiaobai commented in the comment section of an article about Jiangxiaobai: "Objectively speaking, thank you, Jiangxiaobai, for pulling young people back from beer and foreign spirits to baijiu. It has shown the post-80s generation the gap between fashion and tradition in baijiu, and helped them understand the profoundness of baijiu culture." In the "New Beer" WeChat group founded by famous marketing expert Fang Gang, every move of Jiangxiaobai triggers heated discussions; and a major figure in the liquor industry privately told a Weijiu reporter: "The industry should thank Tao Shiquan. He not only brought new ideas to the industry but also opened a larger market for xiaoqu qingxiang (light aroma) baijiu." In 2013, a Weijiu reporter happened to meet Tao Shiquan backstage at an event. The reporter wanted to learn more about this newcomer to the baijiu market, but was stopped by Tao Shiquan's words: "You wouldn't understand." A few days ago, the reporter met Tao Shiquan again, and this time he was very open. On July 31, Tao Shiquan posted a recruitment notice for "Jiangxiaobai Tavern" on his Moments, and said in the group: "Jiangxiaobai Tavern is the first direct-sale store we are building. We can share our experience with everyone, including IP, management systems, and food and drink research." Tao Shiquan always manages to surprise everyone. △Jiangxiaobai Tavern might be a form of its specialty store. 01 Turtle, Soft-Shelled Turtle, and Eggs On December 14, 2015, Tao Shiquan published an article titled "Turtle, Soft-Shelled Turtle, and Eggs" on his personal WeChat public account "Jiangxiaobai Laotao." More than two years later, when communicating with media people, he still fondly mentions these five words. In his view, he has already thought through many things, and now he just needs to persist simply. "Turtle" refers to a strategy. The article wrote: "In terms of corporate development strategy, we must go slowly. Don't look to big companies, don't dream casually." In Tao Shiquan's view, once you've thought things through, don't adjust or toss around easily. Do fewer things, but do the right things. "Soft-Shelled Turtle" refers to a character trait. The soft-shelled turtle's nature is to bite and not let go. When Jiangxiaobai expands into a market, it's the same: it won't easily bite into a new market, but once it bites, it persists. In this process, no matter how great the difficulties, it doesn't give up. Tao Shiquan admonishes his team: "Remember, we are like soft-shelled turtles." As for "eggs," it expresses determination. It's the opposite of "don't put all eggs in one basket"—put the eggs in one basket and focus on carrying that basket. Jiangxiaobai is simple; Tao Shiquan is simple—identify the strategy, focus on it, overcome obstacles and temptations, bite firmly, and persist. △Tao Shiquan is probably the person in the liquor industry who best understands young consumers. 02 Jiangxiaobai's Strategy "To get to where we are today, our biggest insight is to stay true to our original intention, adhere to long-term value, and stick to our judgment of the future," Tao Shiquan said. In his view, adhering to the three directions of easy-drinking, fashion, and internationalization, and combining Chinese elegant liquor culture with new-generation liquor industry innovation, is Jiangxiaobai's long-term strategy, which cannot be changed arbitrarily. "This kind of industry exploration requires not only forward-thinking ideas but also long-term validation. It should be implemented step by step with 10 years as a strategic time unit and 3 years as an execution time unit. The industry analysis based on the past to today is experience; only the predictive analysis based on today to the future yields long-term strategy. The 'Jiangxiaobai Liquor Industry Centralized Industrial Park' and 'Jiangxiaobai Sorghum Industrial Park' projects you see today were planned three years ago." △Jiangxiaobai's full industry chain has been initiated. Since strategy is a judgment of the future, what does Tao Shiquan think the future liquor market will look like? Tao Shiquan believes that what can be judged now is more about which elements will change and which will not. If we take a 5-year period, the post-90s generation will definitely become the mainstream consumer group, and consumers will have more and more choices. Baijiu should not just focus on itself. "Today, foreign spirits have a 2% share. What if it expands from 2% to 20%? This is a high-probability event," Tao Shiquan said. In addition, Tao Shiquan also stated that data shows that in recent years, the frequency of family dining out has grown at an average annual rate of over 10%. In the next 5 years, casual dining scenarios will continue to increase. What will not change? Tao Shiquan believes that alcoholic beverages, in the long run, tend to grow. Alcohol is a product of civilization, related to consumption levels; the stronger the social demand, the better it sells. Countries like South Korea and Japan consume more alcohol than China. However, the current baijiu may not bring consumers a sense of pleasure; it is more often consumed under pressure. Pleasure definitely comes from comfort, and Jiangxiaobai's easy-drinking and light taste align with this trend. So this is the path Jiangxiaobai insists on. Tao Shiquan, who led Jiangxiaobai to carve out a new path, is called an outlier in the industry. However, in his mind, he firmly believes in three sentences: First, taking the old road won't lead to new places. If one day Jiangxiaobai resembles another company, we must take a new path in the innovation system; we must be different! Second, it's the athletes who change the outcome of the game, not the commentators. Third, a good strategy is based on changes in magnitude, not changes in quantity. When everyone is comparing who has more sesame seeds, if you bring out a watermelon, that's a change in magnitude—"I don't care about changes in market numbers; I focus on whether the company will undergo a change in magnitude over 5-10 years." As for mergers and acquisitions, Tao Shiquan also has his own three criteria: If it significantly improves high-quality supply chain capabilities, do it! If it contributes to high-quality brand assets, do it! If there are good team resources, why not do it? 03 Jiangxiaobai, a Paradise for Young People From Chongqing to the whole country, from sales to the full industry chain, Jiangxiaobai, less than 6 years old, is not developing slowly. Behind the strategy, organizational support is necessary; otherwise, it would be a disaster. Today, Jiangxiaobai has over 2,000 employees. In its organization, youthfulness is the biggest characteristic; middle and senior managers are relatively young, and there are several post-90s directors. "We place organizational building in the most important position. Both the Human Resources Department and the Organization Center are responsible for this," Tao Shiquan said. In Jiangxiaobai, the Human Resources Department is responsible for grassroots employee management, while the Organization Center manages deputy directors and above. In terms of training, Jiangxiaobai has established three plans. First, the Excellent Operator Training Plan, which includes Tao Shiquan himself. In Tao Shiquan's view, corporate development requires not only a corporate leader but also a group of people. This training lasts ten years. Second, the Young Cadre Development Plan, which includes more than 200 people, including managers and directors. These people are all born after 1985, most of them after 1990, and the main cadres come from this class. Tao Shiquan personally leads it. Third, the Management Trainee Plan. Jiangxiaobai recruits some college students every year; in 2017, the number was 300. "We want people with both ability and integrity. The attrition rate for new college graduates is not low; our failure rate is over 50%, but those who stay grow very quickly. Those who joined Jiangxiaobai in 2016 have already become provincial office managers. In another 3-5 years, our talent pipeline will be very complete." In Tao Shiquan's view, good liquor, good people, and good brands are the three most valuable assets with the greatest appreciation potential. Perhaps it is because of the large number of young people that Jiangxiaobai has done many things that are out of step with the industry. Rap music festivals, graffiti art festivals, international street dance competitions, anime... In these fields that baijiu never touched before, these young people have more and more fun, become more natural, and lead the younger generation of consumers to drink more joyfully. △To make young consumers happy, Jiangxiaobai also plays with anime. 04 Is Jiangxiaobai's Product Simple? When it comes to Jiangxiaobai, almost everyone talks about its products. An industry bigwig also told a Weijiu reporter: "If you're used to strong aroma and sauce aroma, it's normal not to be used to the optimized xiaoqu qingxiang based on Chongqing sorghum liquor. For liquor, as long as it tastes natural, liking it is enough." In terms of products, although Jiangxiaobai has tried launching products like Sanwu Zhiyou and S100 in recent years, the main products are still the Expression Bottle and the Gold Award Youth Edition (500ml bottle). Among them, the 100ml Expression Bottle accounts for 80% of market share. △Jiangxiaobai has reserved some products, but the main product is still the Jiangxiaobai Expression Bottle. "Last year, the 30,000-ton capacity of Jiangji Distillery was put into production, which can meet current sales. So our product structure is simple, just two products. The third phase with an investment of 2 billion yuan is under construction and will be put into production in 2019. This is a reserve for the future," Tao Shiquan explained. In addition, in the view of the Weijiu reporter, entering the full industry chain is undoubtedly building a moat for Jiangxiaobai's quality. "We have 5 national-level judges. For the sorghum planting at Jiangji Farm alone, I invited several national-level research institutions to tackle technical problems. We are absolutely serious about quality. We are constantly innovating," Tao Shiquan said. While the industry is discussing it, Jiangxiaobai has also resolutely entered the international market. Its products have been recognized at international professional liquor competitions such as the Brussels International Spirits Competition, and have entered more than 20 overseas markets. "I don't go to Chinatown; I want foreigners to really drink our products," Tao Shiquan proudly and stubbornly believes that foreigners, who are not bound by traditional baijiu taste, will find it easier to accept Jiangxiaobai. On the question "What kind of baijiu do young people like?" Tao Shiquan's answer came out without hesitation: "The lower the alcohol content, the better!" We have reason to believe this is one of the directions for Jiangxiaobai's product development. It is precisely because they are optimistic about casual drinking scenarios that Jiangxiaobai cooperated with Wahaha and Uni-President to produce beverages. △Beverages are a synergistic product for Jiangxiaobai. 05 The Lonely Tao Shiquan Without Tao Shiquan, there would definitely be no Jiangxiaobai. At his core, Tao Shiquan is someone who must take new paths. So he is an outlier in the liquor circle, even anti-mainstream. Before Tao Shiquan figured out the logic of how Jiangxiaobai would survive and grow, few people could understand him. But now, Tao Shiquan is clearly willing to actively communicate with others. Opening his public account "Jiangxiaobai Laotao" established on November 4, 2015, we can see that he used five articles to explain his thoughts. In answering a reporter's question, he wrote: "'Passable but not good enough' will be the norm for a long time to come. The value of operators is to improve the state of 'passable but not good enough' a little bit, every year, every month, every day. Continuous improvement is our operational methodology, which has penetrated the bones of most of our employees. As long as we have this mindset of acknowledging shortcomings and continuous improvement, we can persist in 'I am who I am,' regardless of external opinions, and await natural results." He even said that the loneliness of enterprises and operators is not a bad thing. Only with deep thinking can there be loneliness; only by pursuing long-term value can there be loneliness. The general shallow thinking and lively group unconsciousness have no practical value. Habits, conventions, and empiricism do not cause controversy, but they often lead to mediocrity. If you are rational enough, if you think independently enough, loneliness is the norm that drives long-term value. Source: Weijiu -END-