Interview
Interview with Yen-Cheng Chen, Chairman of Hoplong: Good things should be made available to Taiwan.
You may not know, top down apparel brands Moncler, Canada goose down material, in fact, from Taiwan's old down factory - Hop Lung Woolen Factory. The down jackets produced by major international brands such as Burberry and Coach are also customers of Hop Lung! Originated in Dadaocheng, Taipei in 34th year of Qing Dynasty, the century-old Ho-Lung Woolen Factory is the oldest down manufacturing foundry in Asia, with the current down material output accounting for 1/6 of the world; and in Japan, Ho-Lung Co., Ltd. has more than half of the market share, which is definitely not an exaggeration to say that it is the light of Taiwan.
Originating from Dadaocheng, Taipei in the 34th year of the Guangxu reign in the Qing Dynasty, HELONG Yuzou is the oldest down manufacturing factory in Asia, and is the true light of Taiwan. 2016, Chen Yancheng took over the position of chairman, and after assuming his duties, he carefully examined the organizational structure of the company, and re-branded the original Health Life Bedding Museum, and invited Process to create a brand that is a combination of precious down from the West and delicate and elegant elements from the East. Pro brand construction and design, combining the precious down originated from the West, and the delicate and elegant elements of the East, to create an exquisite down brand - "HELONG QUILLZHOU", and even won the German iF Design Design Award, the German National Design Award, the German Brand Award recognition.
The ingenious combination of the Western luxury down with the Oriental elegance and delicacy has been unanimously favored by the international award iF Design and the German National Design and German Brand Award judges.
The body is like a muscle in the body. Without exercise, it starts to atrophy.
Chen Yen-Cheng, who once conquered the four major polar ultramarathons with his father, describes the company as a physical construct. In the past, his father focused his resources on core businesses such as raw materials and OEM, so although he set up Health Life, he didn't take the business too seriously, but he believes that "not running the business properly is actually depleting the company's resources", plus he sees that many Taiwanese consumers don't know how to choose good down products, "we obviously have such good raw materials, why can't Taiwanese consumers use them? Chen Yancheng, who is full of a sense of mission, said.
Therefore, he took a bold step to re-brand the original private label image from the 80's. Process's Creative Director, EPILEDS YEH, said that they were deeply touched by the meticulous skills of the master craftsmen during their visit to the factory in Hop Lung and wanted to bring an element of sensibility to such a rational industry, based on the long history of Hop Lung, which was originated in the Qing Dynasty. The concept of "Duo Bao Ge" and "Window Flower" were added to the design of the word "Zang", highlighting the fact that good products are worth treasuring, as well as presenting the traditional and restrained oriental style of Taiwan.
A century-old enterprise that began in the Qing Dynasty, the concepts of "dobby" and "windowpane" are fused with the meticulous techniques of rational craftsmen and sensual modern elements, allowing the images of elegance and preciousness to be deeply rooted in people's hearts and minds, and intertwining them into the irreplaceable Hualong Feather "Collection".
As the fifth generation successor, Chen Yen-Cheng took over a century-old company at the age of less than 40. In the process of brand building and reengineering, he has experienced some challenges, such as the elders do not quite understand the process of brand building, "what are you really doing"? For example, the elders may not understand what the brand building process is all about, or they may be worried about wasting the company's resources and neglecting the core business. However, Chen Yancheng, who has been working in the company for 12 years, said that he is also aware of the personalities and temperament of the elders, so he uses a relatively conservative and reasonable way to communicate and carry out the process, so that everyone can have a sense of participation, which is easier to accept mentally, and the team is also more willing to cooperate.
We thought it would be a big burden for us to take over this old brand, but what Chen Yen-Cheng saw were the advantages. For example, they had the habit of keeping records of the company's history for a long time, which allowed the brand design company to quickly capture the core spirit of the enterprise; in addition, the original brand had not spent a lot of money and time on management, so there was not much baggage, and he could let go of his hands and plan for the new business model, which would be sold online and combined with semi-customized consulting services in physical stores to cultivate an experiential and loyal customer base," he said. Combined with the semi-customized consulting services of the physical stores, to cultivate an experiential loyal customer base, he said: "We hope to understand the customer's habits and type of life, to select the down products that are really suitable for the customer, and even customized, rather than buying the product back, but because of the use of the product is too hot or cold, and then finally put it in the high corner.
Utilizing existing resources to quickly understand the lifestyles of our customers. Adopting semi-customized consulting services to make products the best choice for consumers' needs.
In fact, after the construction of the brand and the successive winning of well-known design awards, Chen Yen-Cheng admitted that it has become easier to communicate with the media and consumers. Consumers trust this brand from Taiwan, but also mastered the raw materials, and has pure technology and quality, increased, whether in stores or online shopping, often full of orders, the special sale is even sold frighteningly, the results continue to grow.
Combined with the design of the website, the traditional industry, which has just entered the e-commerce market, has been able to successfully convey the right brand spirit, and has opened up new revenue channels through different business models.
The moment you take the baton, you are the operator who holds the power and responsibility, not the successor.
However, when it comes to succession, Chen Yancheng corrected that after taking over the role of chairman, he will be the operator, not the successor, and he must have such a mentality. Although he said that he has to respect the successor, he still has to be firm in his position and establish his own authority and responsibility in the face of his work and the company, just like when he disagreed with his father, Chen Yancheng told his father, who had already handed over the baton, that "you have the right to 'advise' on things". You have the power to 'suggest' things." Otherwise, employees will not know who to listen to, and will become a multi-horse cart, which will make things more difficult for them.
"I had a lot of ideas about the company before I took over," he said. Chen Yancheng said, after all, different generations, people have different styles of doing things, in the era of his father took over, it is the rapid development of the economy, the first to seize the first to win the period, but now you need to do a good job of the overall planning, every step has to be more cautious, in order to take over the company's adjustments in order to minimize the pain of the period of time. Therefore, he emphasizes that the young generation must have the right attitude when they take over the company. When they are preparing to take over the company, they should be cautious and learn to cooperate with each other in order to make things successful; however, after they have taken over the company, they should be clear about their roles as operators, and conflicts with their predecessors are definitely inevitable, so how to make adjustments for both sides and at the same time insist on their own original intentions is a very important issue.
He also mentioned the importance of branding, don't be confused by the past myths, "build a good brand, for the company's internal up and down, there is a clear goal, in fact, we are better to do things. Mr. Lee Kwok Wing, General Manager of Process Pro Brand Taiwan Branch, also added that many people are still stuck in the traditional myth that branding is all about logos.