First interview after the new CEO, WANG Shoucheng, took office: Yonghui has emerged from the critical period.

Author | Li Xiaoxia

Editor | Qiao Qian

On September 24th last year, Miniso publicly announced that it had acquired Yonghui Superstores at a price of nearly 6.2 billion yuan. It was like a thunderbolt out of the blue, and no one could understand the significance of Ye Guofu taking over what seemed like a hot potato.

Amid the skeptical voices, Yonghui Superstores adhered to the adjustment and reform route following the "Fat Donglai" model. The "Fat Donglai-style" reform of Yonghui Superstores was decided after Zhang Xuansong, the chairman of Yonghui Superstores, and others visited Yu Donglai in May last year. And the reform, timed from Ye Guofu's involvement, had just completed one year in September.

Meanwhile, on October 13th, Yonghui Superstores held a grand new product launch event in Guangzhou. At the event, Wang Shoucheng made his debut as the new CEO of Yonghui. This young man, born in 1991 and having joined Yonghui as a management trainee after graduating from Peking University with a master's degree, finally filled the CEO position that had been vacant for half a year at Yonghui.

Wang Shoucheng, who is 34 years old this year and has been with Yonghui for eight years, has been participating in this large - scale reform as the deputy team leader since Ye Guofu established the Yonghui reform team.

The appointment of the CEO seems to be a signal, indicating that Yonghui's reform is entering a more stable phase. The reform data and the release of a series of private - label products further confirm this state.

According to Wang Shoucheng, the average Net Promoter Score (NPS) of customers in 102 reformed stores of Yonghui Superstores exceeded 40%. The average customer flow in the reformed stores of Yonghui Superstores increased by 80%, and more than 60% of the reformed stores that have entered the stable phase have exceeded the highest profit level of the past five years.

In the past year, Yonghui has made drastic adjustments in organizational structure, supply chain, etc., and has spared no effort in getting closer to Fat Donglai in terms of cultural construction. And one can always see the influence of Yu Donglai in Wang Shoucheng's words. He often says: kindness, beauty, and love.

Regarding the three - year reform plan, Wang Shoucheng said that Yonghui is currently in the initial stage of the Fat Donglai - style reform. Can Yonghui blaze its own trail?

Recently, we had a chat with Wang Shoucheng, the CEO of Yonghui Superstores. This is also his first interview since taking on the position of CEO.

(Wang Shoucheng, CEO of Yonghui Superstores and the person in charge of the national reform)

The following is the dialogue between 36Kr and Wang Shoucheng, the CEO of Yonghui Superstores (edited and organized):

"Believe only after seeing the results"

36Kr: Were you always firm about following the "Fat Donglai" route? There must have been some hesitations in the early stage, right?

Wang Shoucheng: If there were any hesitations, it was even earlier. In 2023, we had contact with Brother Donglai. Maybe we still wanted to forge our own path. But in May last year, the company saw a lot of things and figured out many issues, so we became firm about the Fat Donglai - style reform.

Mr. Ye (Ye Guofu, the same below) has greatly contributed to Yonghui's reform, bringing many new perspectives and fresh blood to Yonghui. For example, Mr. She (She Xianping, the vice - president and chief product officer of Yonghui Superstores) was invited by Mr. Ye.

36Kr: The employees at Yonghui initially had no confidence in the reform. How did they regain it later?

Wang Shoucheng: "Believe only after seeing the results." Before, when we told everyone about the reform goals, many people thought it was unrealistic. But as one store after another completed the reform, the changes were real. Whether it was the customer flow, performance, or the employees' income and satisfaction, everything was different from before. When everyone saw these changes with their own eyes, they naturally thought, "We've really found the right method," and gradually gained trust.

On the other hand, it is the influence and change of people. Whether it is Teacher Donglai, myself, or other Yonghui employees promoting the reform, we are all influencing those around us. For example, when I go to the stores and see excellent employees, I will take the initiative to hug them, sit down and communicate with them, and help them solve problems. They can feel that "the company is really changing."

In addition, in the past, Yonghui employees were more reserved and would not speak out even if they had ideas in mind. But Brother Donglai said, "If you love something, speak out boldly." Now we are all actively discussing how to follow the quality route, how to be altruistic, how to help others achieve success, how to make employees love their work more and be more professional. When everyone communicates around these directions, a positive atmosphere and consensus are gradually built up, and naturally, people are willing to believe in the reform direction.

36Kr: Besides the cultural aspect, what other major changes have taken place in the past year?

Wang Shoucheng: Generally speaking, in the past year and a half, there have been thorough and systematic changes from culture to organization, and then to the supply chain and the operation end. For example, at the operation end, the operation standards and management systems have been adjusted. We have a clearer positioning for employees, and the core is to help employees achieve success.

36Kr: Was the establishment of 28 regions (now reduced to 26) the most correct change in this organizational adjustment?

Wang Shoucheng: As a national enterprise, Yonghui must solve a problem: how to balance the speed and quality of strategic implementation? The key strategy at that time was to split the original 15 provincial regions into the initial 28 regions. The scale of each region is roughly equivalent to that of a Fat Donglai store. In this way, 28 teams can learn simultaneously and then promote the reform in their respective regions.

The model is that Teacher Donglai teaches first, then the national reform team provides assistance, and finally, the regions learn to make adjustments on their own. Currently, most of the 28 regions can independently complete the reform. If each region reforms one store per month, there will be 28 stores being reformed, gradually balancing speed and quality.

Actually, at the beginning, the first 40 stores mainly relied on the assistance of the national reform team and the support of Teacher Donglai. It took us more than half a year to reform only 41 stores. But we couldn't keep this pace. Time waits for no one for Yonghui. Therefore, from the perspective of meeting the needs of a national enterprise to "promote the reform quickly and with quality," the establishment of 28 regions is very important.

36Kr: In the past, the provincial regions had great power. After the establishment of the regions, it seems like a centralization of power?

Wang Shoucheng: This is not absolute. At the operation end, we give full authorization. We hope that the current 26 regions can develop independently and become enterprises like Fat Donglai. But at the supply chain end, we have indeed made centralized adjustments. The core logic is "let professionals do professional things." The regions are best at operation and are not professional in procurement. So, procurement is entrusted to a professional national - level team led by Mr. She. And the operation teams have learned the reform for more than a year and can focus on doing a good job in operation. We will also provide sufficient support for the independent operation of the regions.

(She Xianping, vice - president and chief product officer of Yonghui Superstores)

From "seeking gross profit" to evaluating "customer satisfaction" and "product turnover rate"

36Kr: Yonghui has taken many wrong turns in the past, and there has been a lot of corruption within the company. Have these problems been solved now?

Wang Shoucheng: Yonghui is now very firm in combating and governing corruption and has established many safeguard mechanisms. For example, the business card printing specifications mentioned by Mr. She before, along with a series of internal systems, can guide people to improve their personal value and income through correct means without crossing the red line.

Actually, the root cause of many past problems lies in the wrong guidance direction of the enterprise.

We rarely see corruption problems in Fat Donglai. The core lies in its cultural system. On the one hand, the cost for employees to make mistakes is very high. Crossing the moral and legal red lines will seriously affect personal value. On the other hand, everyone in the enterprise works sincerely, and the atmosphere makes people feel ashamed to take the wrong path.

In the past, when cooperating with suppliers, we often thought about "how to squeeze them and get more profit." The starting point was all about "self - interest." In this case, suppliers would not cooperate with you sincerely. They would only think about "how much they can earn from Yonghui this year, and who knows what will happen next year." Naturally, it was easy for corruption to breed.

But if we change our thinking and tell suppliers, "I'm willing to help you succeed. You earn a reasonable profit, and I get a reasonable return. Let's grow together in the long run." Then, once they violate the rules, they will lose stable income for the next five or ten years. Naturally, they won't easily make mistakes.

36Kr: Compared with the past, what changes have there been in the requirements and indicators for the procurement and product teams at Yonghui?

Wang Shoucheng: In the past, the core evaluation indicator for the procurement team was "gross profit margin." But it was difficult to increase the gross profit. They had to spend energy adjusting the product structure and optimizing the display. To meet the indicators, they easily took shortcuts by simply increasing the back - end fees.

In this model, the procurement team's energy was focused on collecting back - end income and demanding higher deductions. Over time, when suppliers were forced into a corner, they might offer "favors" in exchange for lower deductions or free resources. This is how the root cause and scenario of corruption emerged. But now, it's completely different. We have directly cancelled the unreasonable "back - end income," fundamentally eliminating the scenarios where mistakes could be made. Naturally, such problems no longer exist.

Now, the core evaluation of the procurement and product teams has become customer satisfaction and product turnover rate. For example, when a new product is introduced, it will be tested for three to six months to see how well customers accept it, and then the team will be evaluated based on the data. This will drive them to develop products with "better quality and more favorable prices" and truly focus on product quality. The overall direction is towards "goodness."

The core of Yonghui's customized products and branded Yonghui products shared today is the concept of "mutual benefit and win - win." Only by holding this concept can we attract excellent partners and work together to make good products.

36Kr: But Yonghui also aims to implement direct procurement at net prices?

Wang Shoucheng: The core of direct procurement at net prices is to make the industry cost more real and transparent. However, the specific operation has a special supply - chain plan and will not be a one - size - fits - all approach. For products that can be directly procured, we won't go through first - level or second - level agents. But we won't force all products to be procured at net prices directly.

36Kr: The implementation of direct procurement at net prices should not have been that smooth, right?

Wang Shoucheng: Definitely. The key is to let suppliers see the value, and the decision - making must be firm. Take low - temperature milk as an example. In the past, there would be a row of sales promoters in the low - temperature milk section of many supermarkets. These people were sent by manufacturers or agents, and the cost was very high. All these costs would be added to the products. When we wanted to negotiate direct procurement at net prices, suppliers definitely wouldn't agree because their costs included the fees for sales promoters.

To promote this, for example, in April and May this year, we resolutely cancelled nearly 20,000 sales promoters across the country. First, we told all partners, "You can save this cost." We first reduced the supply - chain cost and then negotiated the net price. Through sincere pricing, we ultimately benefited customers. This decision brought us pain at first. At that time, I was in charge of operations. Many non - reformed stores had only seventy or eighty in - house employees but had to take over the work of thirty or forty sales promoters. There were huge pressures in business connection and labor costs.

Employees also complained, "Before, there were sales promoters to help, but now we have to do it all ourselves." But if we weren't so firm, suppliers would never believe us. If we talked about net prices today and then asked for sales promoters tomorrow, we would never succeed.

Mr. Ye was very decisive at that time. Even though there were short - term cost pressures and internal challenges, he insisted on implementing it. It was because we first let suppliers save the money on sales promoters that they were willing to sit down and negotiate the net price.

To develop private - label products, let partners earn a reasonable profit

36Kr: Everyone in the market is now developing private - label products. What are the key points for Yonghui to do this well?

Wang Shoucheng: First of all, it's the development concept. You need to be clear about how to create unique value for customers and what the product positioning standards are. We have learned from the successful concepts and methods of Fat Donglai in developing private - label products and at the same time utilized Yonghui's own advantage: economies of scale. Relying on this advantage, we can cooperate more deeply with production factories and achieve "better than others when they have it, and unique when they don't."

In addition, to do well in private - label products, two "stabilities" are indispensable: stable quality and stable supply, which both depend on partners. To make partners cooperate firmly, the core is to let them earn a reasonable profit. We may even give back part of the profit when they perform well to support them in improving their standards. If partners keep losing money, no matter how strict the management mechanism is, they may cut corners.

(Yonghui's private - label orange juice)

36Kr: Didn't Yonghui realize these things when developing private - label products in the past?

Wang Shoucheng: In the past, when developing private - label products, we pursued "speed." We quickly developed hundreds of products. But when the speed increased, the standards naturally decreased. Now, we follow Fat Donglai's standards and implement scientific and efficient management in processes such as factory inspections and factory tours to ensure the new quality of the new Yonghui.

36Kr: You don't take seeking gross profit from suppliers as the main goal, but Ye Guofu has mentioned that Yonghui's core goal is to turn losses into profits. How can this be achieved?

Wang Shoucheng: We don't mean not to pursue profit. We just changed the way of obtaining it. For example, for single products like salmon and customized bananas