Click to read the original text for details On May 27, Zong Fuli, head of the brand and public relations department of Wahaha Group, said in response to media questions about Wahaha's listing, "Wahaha's listing is a very normal move, because for the entire enterprise, listing can achieve upstream and downstream integration." From never listing to considering listing As one of the largest beverage companies in China, every move of Wahaha attracts attention from inside and outside the industry. Once upon a time, there was a "Never List Alliance" in the business world, consisting of SF Express, Huawei, Laoganma, and Wahaha. Zong Qinghou previously said in an interview with Blue Whale Industry and Economics that he did not want to list: "We don't lack money now, our cash flow is good, we have no debt or bank loans. Listing requires raising funds and being responsible to shareholders. If we don't lack money, listing would leave the funds unused and provide poor returns to shareholders." However, in 2017, SF Express listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. In the same year, Wahaha founder Zong Qinghou said that Wahaha would consider listing at an appropriate time. In March this year, Wahaha repurchased employee shares at a price of 2.6 yuan per share, because the new Company Law stipulates that when a company plans to list and applies to the CSRC, the number of shareholders must not exceed 200. Wahaha has implemented employee shareholding since 1993, with a total of more than 15,000 shareholders. The move to buy back employee shares is also seen as a step forward for Wahaha's listing. It seems that Wahaha is about to withdraw from the "Never List Alliance" list. Revenue falls back to nine years ago Behind the shift from resolutely not listing to repeatedly expressing willingness to list is full of Wahaha's bitterness. In recent years, Wahaha's performance has declined sharply. In the 2018 ranking of China's top 500 private enterprises, Wahaha ranked 141st with revenue of 46.4 billion yuan, while in the 2009 ranking, Wahaha ranked 11th with revenue of 43.6 billion yuan. In nine years, Wahaha's ranking dropped by 130 places, and revenue first increased then decreased, falling back below 50 billion yuan. In 2010, Wahaha's revenue exceeded 50 billion yuan for the first time, and Zong Qinghou made a bold statement to reach a target of 100 billion yuan. However, the very next year, Wahaha's performance saw its first decline. Although it achieved a record revenue of 78.3 billion yuan in 2013, performance has been declining since then, and by 2017 revenue had fallen to 46.4 billion yuan, far from the 100 billion yuan target. Besides the overall decline in the beverage industry, the primary factor in Wahaha's performance decline is lack of innovation. According to Wahaha's official website, its product line currently covers fruit and vegetable juice drinks, carbonated drinks, milk tea drinks, drinking water, protein drinks, tea drinks, etc. Although there is some innovation in the product line, it remains more at the level of imitation. For example, Wahaha's Future Cola corresponds to Coca-Cola, Ceylon Milk Tea corresponds to Afternoon Milk Tea, and Activate corresponds to Mizone. Image source: Wahaha official website Second, Wahaha lags behind its peers in channel layout and marketing strategy. In 2013, when Wahaha's revenue was close to 80 billion yuan, Zong Qinghou said in an interview that Wahaha's success had only one key element: the channel, namely the joint distribution system. Zong Qinghou proposed the joint distribution system in 1994, where distributors are required to submit corresponding deposits based on annual tasks, receive year-end rebates for meeting targets, and are dynamically eliminated if they fail to meet targets. This indeed greatly helped Wahaha's performance growth in previous years. However, as Wahaha's product competitiveness weakens, without strong product power and brand power as support, and unable to create sustained profit growth for distributors, how much enthusiasm will distributors have to promote and sell products? In addition, under the new retail background, Wahaha's main sales channels are still concentrated in supermarkets, and Wahaha products are rarely seen in convenience stores such as FamilyMart and Lawson. Third, with its main business struggling, Wahaha has begun to take unconventional paths, frequently engaging in cross-industry businesses in recent years. Starting from 2013 when performance began to decline, Wahaha announced its entry into the liquor industry with the launch of Lingjiang Guojiu. However, years later, Lingjiang Guojiu is still rarely seen in the market. In 2014, Wahaha invested over 1.7 billion yuan in the first phase of the WOW mall, which was reported to have suffered heavy losses and unpaid rent within less than three years of operation, and has now closed. At the end of 2017, Zong Qinghou said he would return to Wahaha's original products and found a partner, Zhongnan Holdings Group, to enter the health industry, stating that within a year, 1,000 Wahaha functional food stores and 200 Wahaha maker centers would be established nationwide, and 500,000 family businesses would be supported. After the first Wahaha functional food store opened in Nanjing, there was no further news. On March 27, 2019, Wahaha even established a smart robot company. For a beverage company, establishing a science and technology company is indeed a difficult cross-industry move, and the results remain to be seen. I wonder if Wahaha has counted whether the projects it has invested in are more than the new products it has launched. Why all the frequent fuss? Zong Qinghou once told reporters: "In my life, I have only done one thing: founding Wahaha. I cannot let the company fall while I am still alive, and Wahaha's 30,000 employees cannot lose their jobs because of this." From selling popsicles with a bicycle in the early years, to a school-run small factory merging a state-owned large factory, to the property rights dispute with Danone, and until becoming the richest man in China three times, Zong Qinghou can be said to have reached the pinnacle of glory. But his Wahaha then declined rapidly. We see that its products are gradually disappearing from first- and second-tier cities, and even at the G20, Nongfu Spring, also from Hangzhou, stole the spotlight. If this continues, Wahaha is very likely to disappear from sight like Robust and Jianlibao. I wonder how the 74-year-old Mr. Zong feels inside. In addition, who will be the successor? Zong Qinghou is still uncertain. Although his biological daughter Zong Fuli has been in the Wahaha Group for more than ten years, he has never fully delegated power. Luo Jianxing, a former secretary of Zong Qinghou, said that Zong Qinghou does everything himself, leading to a lack of talent advantage at Wahaha. Entering a new era Despite being Zong Qinghou's biological daughter, Zong Fuli is currently only the head of the brand and public relations department of Wahaha Group. The position is not high, but the responsibility is heavy. It is reported that Zong Fuli's mission is to rejuvenate the Wahaha brand. Since last year, many people have noticed that Wahaha has quietly undergone some changes: from AD calcium milk-flavored mooncakes, colorful version of Nutri-Express, cross-border makeup palettes, to opening offline color-matching rooms for Nutri-Express in Hangzhou, Guangzhou, and Wuhan, and decorating subway trains with heartfelt copy about "outstanding views on love"... Wahaha has quietly become younger. In addition to creating a new image for Wahaha, Zong Fuli also launched Kellyone, named after her English name, at Hongsheng Beverage Group. This is the first health fruit and vegetable juice drink in the country that focuses on "personalization, customization, and freshness," allowing young consumers to customize their own drinks online. "My father has said on other occasions that he doesn't think highly of this brand, but I wasn't discouraged. It's a matter of opinion," Zong Fuli said. "Whether it's product, marketing, or even channels, we need to innovate." Speaking of innovation, Zong Fuli is very bold in seeking Wahaha's listing path. "In the future, only by combining with the capital market can we go further. This is something every company must do." In Zong Fuli's view, Wahaha's listing is a normal move. But it is definitely not simply pulling in a partner or because of funding needs. She believes that for Wahaha, on the listing platform, it can do more upstream and downstream exchanges, let more foreign companies see it, and achieve strong alliances, hoping to better develop the industry. Technology, product innovation, and model development are all directions. As early as 2017, Zong Fuli attempted to acquire "China Candy" to achieve a backdoor listing, but unfortunately encountered a scam stock and lost 500 million yuan. After suffering a big loss, Zong Fuli was labeled as "immature." Two years later, when Wahaha again mentioned listing, a complex capital game, people couldn't help but worry for her. But she herself is relatively optimistic: "I want to see what capital means can bring us." Perhaps Wahaha's future fate will still be entrusted to this post-80s generation. So, where will Zong Fuli lead Wahaha? Click to watch the latest interview with the straightforward "girl"/Video source: People's Daily Online · Asking the Way Text source: Qianjiang Evening News, Sina Finance