--- title: "Year in Review | Nice Group, Yunnan Baiyao, Saky and Other Major Events in the Daily Chemical Industry in 2018" description: "This article reviews major events in China's daily chemical industry in 2018, including Nice Group's internal turmoil due to its contracting system, Yunnan Baiyao's controversy over its toothpaste ingredients, and Saky's successful foray into electric toothbrushes." author: "纳兰醉天" publisher: "New Distribution" email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com" telephone: "+8615854817671" published: "2019-01-15" language: "en" canonical: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/year-in-review-nice-group-yunnan-baiyao-saky-and-other-major-events-in-t-4eb83b08/" markdown: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/year-in-review-nice-group-yunnan-baiyao-saky-and-other-major-events-in-t-4eb83b08.md" original_source: "https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/UD9X04K1DJKH_mqYIdiS_A" translation: "https://xinjignxiao.com/zh/articles/%E7%9B%98%E7%82%B9-%E7%BA%B3%E7%88%B1%E6%96%AF-%E4%BA%91%E5%8D%97%E7%99%BD%E8%8D%AF-%E8%88%92%E5%AE%A2-2018%E5%B9%B4%E6%97%A5%E5%8C%96%E8%A1%8C%E4%B8%9A%E5%A4%A7%E4%BA%8B%E8%AE%B0-4eb83b08.md" attribution: "New Distribution — https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/year-in-review-nice-group-yunnan-baiyao-saky-and-other-major-events-in-t-4eb83b08/" usage_policy: "https://xinjignxiao.com/ai-policy.txt" --- # Year in Review | Nice Group, Yunnan Baiyao, Saky and Other Major Events in the Daily Chemical Industry in 2018 > This article reviews major events in China's daily chemical industry in 2018, including Nice Group's internal turmoil due to its contracting system, Yunnan Baiyao's controversy over its toothpaste ingredients, and Saky's successful foray into electric toothbrushes. Long press to scan the QR code or click "Read Original" for details. Text | Lao Na 2018 has passed, and I miss it. 01 Nice Group's "Explosion" "Explosion" refers to the running away of various internet lending platforms, causing investors to lose everything. In 2018, Nice Group showed signs of such an explosion. That year, employees of Nice Group were on the verge of tears, lacking the courage to fight, yet feeling that enduring it would betray their year of hard work. The reason lies in the contracting system implemented since 2015. The contracting system was once Nice Group's pride and a model for other companies to emulate. However, it also exposed various problems that can arise when a company is not prepared to share prosperity with its employees. In the first year, under the contracting system, Nice Group's performance in 2015 was flat compared to 2014. But to prove the viability of the system, the company increased incentives, leading to a significant performance boost, far exceeding the budgeted bonus of 120 million yuan. This directly caused the 2015 contract bonuses to be delayed by three months. By 2016, because President Zhuang Qichuan proposed "creating another Nice Group," the contracting policy changed several times within the year, and performance requirements were repeatedly raised. Employees tried various ways to cope... It can be said that by 2016, the contracting system was already on its last legs. In 2017, the system not only required employees to return the bonuses they received in 2015 but also forced them to pledge their own salaries to the company. Afterwards, dissatisfaction grew with the full-scale contracting system and stricter deposit requirements. Many people's "promises" for 2017 were not fulfilled, and some employees were even deducted their 2018 contract deposits upon resignation... This ignited everyone's anger, and for a time, employees seemed ready to rise up. But in the end, everyone held back, and no large-scale conflict occurred. The most important reason was that on July 11 last year, Nice Group's legendary figure Zhuang Qichuan passed away due to illness at the age of 66. While Zong Qinghou and Zhu Xinli were still fighting, Zhuang Qichuan could no longer lead the team, and he would not live to see another Nice Group created. 2018 marked the 50th anniversary of Nice Group, and this private enterprise was at its most critical moment. On one hand, the spiritual leader was gone; on the other, employee morale was unstable. To commemorate the 50th anniversary, Nice Group launched a commemorative edition, but it wasn't released until September, meaning there were only three months left in 2018. Market feedback and distributor feedback became difficult. A new ruler brings new policies; what the previous leader left behind was almost abolished. The IP of Diao Xiong Shuo (Carving Brother Says), which had been heavily invested in, was also discontinued. On the path to rejuvenation, apart from an advertisement designed with Genius Little Panda, there were no other moves. Left: Diao Xiong Shuo; Right: Advertisement with Genius Little Panda Due to unreasonable expense planning, distributor expenses were frozen from November, with the promise of reimbursement in 2019. Many distributors had hundreds of thousands of yuan in expenses withheld. In an era emphasizing capital flow, distributors' "necks" were tied. The good news is that the new leaders, He Liming and Zhuang Binbin, are pragmatic people. They no longer emphasize creating another Nice Group but focus on stabilizing morale and maintaining the current market. Many employees are waiting to see after the Spring Festival how much they will lose from their 2018 contracts and how to proceed in 2019. Perhaps this year there will be more employee rights protection actions and resignations... May Zhuang Qichuan's spirit in heaven guard Nice Group... 02 Yunnan Baiyao's Western Medicine Controversy Nine years ago, Tang Jun, known as the "working emperor," helped Fujian's richest man, Chen Fashu, buy 12% of Yunnan Baiyao (referred to as Yunbai) from Hongta Group. But the deal was later rejected, and although Chen got his money back, he lost the opportunity to hold this high-quality stock. In 2016, Yunnan Baiyao proposed equity restructuring again, and Chen Fashu did not let the opportunity slip away. He spent 25.37 billion yuan to acquire 20.76% of the shares, causing Yunnan Baiyao's premium to exceed 50 billion yuan. In July 2018, Chen Fashu became chairman of Yunnan Baiyao, and despite opposition from another major shareholder, China Ping An, he resolutely demanded the overall listing of Yunnan Baiyao. Just as Yunnan Baiyao was suspended from trading, a certified doctor from a top-tier hospital's hematology department, known as Boya, posted online questioning: Yunnan Baiyao claims to prevent gum bleeding, yet its ingredients include the Western medicine tranexamic acid. The doctor stated that tranexamic acid is a common hemostatic drug and a prescription drug. But she didn't know that toothpaste falls under cosmetics, and tranexamic acid, which she considered a prescription drug, is a very common additive in cosmetics for whitening and hemostasis. For a moment, anti-TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) critics went wild, saying things like "Chinese medicine cheats money, Western medicine cures diseases," forgetting that Qu's White Medicine, made by Qu Huanzhang, had already been "clinically" used across China a hundred years ago. Is Yunnan Baiyao's century-old reputation all due to Western medicine? But anti-TCM critics didn't care. They said, "You claim the formula is confidential in China, but you publicize it in the United States." In fact, the so-called publicization is just listing all ingredients, and modern laboratory equipment can also identify the components of Yunnan Baiyao. But can you say you have mastered the formula? Such consumer attitudes are also related to the lack of integrity of many companies. For example, the public account "Xiao Sheng Bi Bi" revealed that international versions of various video apps (Youku, iQiyi, Tencent) do not require various privacy permissions and have no lengthy ads. No wonder Baidu's CEO Robin Li "shamelessly" said: Chinese consumers are willing to sacrifice some privacy for convenience. There's also Lenovo, which uses domestic subsidies to support the US market and doesn't allow Chinese consumers to buy, earning the title "American conscience." Yunnan Baiyao is not the first time it has been attacked for product ingredients. The aconitine incident in 2016 gave people like Fang Zhouzi the opportunity to popularize the pseudoscience of TCM, and now the tranexamic acid incident. We admit that some people are discrediting TCM, but these discreditors are not science popularizers like Fang Zhouzi, Boya, or Dingxiang Doctor, but rather pyramid schemes like Quanjian and Hongmao Yaojiu that use TCM's reputation. They deceive people by treating TCM as a panacea for profit. But you can't say the inventor of the telephone is an idiot just because scammers use phones. You can't deny TCM's thousands of years of history just because some people exaggerate its effects. Facts prove that whether Western or Chinese medicine, it's the ones with bad intentions that are poison. In handling this matter, Yunnan Baiyao was relatively appropriate, not aggressive, and the issue gradually faded. Yunnan Baiyao also cherishes its reputation and does not license its brand to others, unlike Wang Laoji, which has irresponsibly licensed to countless companies and has now entered the direct selling market, intending to stand shoulder to shoulder with Quanjian. 03 Saky's Overtaking on the Curve In 2017, Saky spent millions to buy a three-session report from the well-known strategic consulting firm IBM, which concluded that China's toothbrush industry had entered the electric era. For Guangzhou Weimeizi, established only 11 years ago, this undoubtedly provided an opportunity to overtake on the curve. It should be noted that Saky was originally a sub-brand of Youke, created by Weimeizi. Although it had carved out a place in the oral care industry with its team's execution and promotional gimmicks, Saky wanted greater achievements, but with its existing product portfolio, it couldn't challenge international giants. After all, it lacked Yunnan Baiyao's historical heritage and the brand protection of Oral-B, P&G, and Colgate. In 2017, Saky focused its main efforts on Saky sonic toothbrushes. Sometimes, choice is more important than effort. Saky had already introduced many innovative concepts in the toothbrush industry, such as small-head crystal diamond toothbrushes and soft-bristle toothbrushes. This time, the concept was Saky sonic toothbrush, which was more appealing to consumers than simple electric toothbrushes. It can be said that 2017 laid a good foundation for Saky sonic toothbrushes, and 2018 was the year of "harvest," bringing Saky's performance close to Yunnan Baiyao. As the saying goes, "fame brings trouble." Saky sonic toothbrushes also attracted acquisition interest from Colgate and Unilever. Unilever reportedly planned to spend $1 billion to acquire Saky, prompting Saky to issue a denial: "Since its inception, Saky has aimed to create a great brand." However, there is no smoke without fire. In reality, Colgate did have contact with Saky, and it was very in-depth. The two parties conducted pre-acquisition interviews and research. Clearly, the research results were not satisfactory, leading Colgate to eventually stop the acquisition. As Saky insiders often say: "Endless city battles, impenetrable distribution channels" (referring to cosmetics, mom-and-pop stores, chain stores, etc.). This indicates that Saky has significant limitations in channels and marketing. Moreover, Saky has hundreds of SKUs in just one distribution channel, which broadens its applicability but also leads to a lack of focus and high product return rates. Saky's two founders, Wang Ziquan and Cao Rui'an, are completely different in personality: one is bold and chivalrous, the other scholarly and refined. Some say this is like the relationship between a commander and a political commissar in the military, but for a company, it's like having two spirits, which can cause "mental confusion." This is why Saky has no other sales model besides city battles. Even though the Colgate acquisition didn't go through, Saky achieved good results in 2018. Will Saky become the next "Today you ignore me, tomorrow I'll make you look up to me" company? In any case, Saky's emphasis on consulting and trust in authority are worth learning from. 04 Finally This year, Liby and Blue Moon were relatively quiet. Liby did nothing except continue to learn the contracting system. Blue Moon made minor adjustments without causing widespread employee dissatisfaction. Lao Na wrote this article to tell those friends in the daily chemical industry who follow me that I won't forget you, and I will continue to focus on daily chemical content. I am still the same Lao Na; when you need me, I am here. Source: Food Headlines (ID: fbc180) **-END-** --- ## Copyright and AI use This article is sourced from New Distribution. Search, quotation, summarization, and model training are permitted, but every use must credit New Distribution and retain the canonical source URL. Contact: zhaobo258@gmail.com · +86 158 5481 7671