Exclusive interview with Dong Mingzhu: What is the significance of speed growth?

On February 19, the day when the reporter from "China Entrepreneur" came to Gree's headquarters, Dong Mingzhu was participating in the recording of "Tian Tian Shang Shang" in Changsha. She had not known about this program before. "It turned out to be a talk show. , I was confused even when I stood on the stage.”

After becoming an internet celebrity, Dong Mingzhu’s social roles became more diverse – entrepreneur + internet celebrity + spokesperson for China’s real economy + city ambassador, which also made her She's more eye-catching and controversial, and that's all she's fighting for for the future.

“Only five minutes.” Dong Mingzhu said to the reporter of "China Entrepreneur" who was waiting at the door of the hotel and asked for an interview. Nearly 20 minutes later, Beijing Gree General Manager Zhou Tianyu, who had been following around, interrupted the interview. Dong Mingzhu stood up and said half-jokingly, "I won't necessarily finish the interview even if I give you 50 minutes."

< p>"When will Gree mobile phones be mass-produced?"

Dong Mingzhu: "You don't believe me when I say 2017, right?"

"When will Yinlong launch a new energy vehicle?" Use a car?"

Dong Mingzhu: "I tell you the time now, what will you do if you can't get out by then?

In 2012, he shouted "Build a Gree in five years", and Compared with Lei Jun's "bet against 1 billion", Dong Mingzhu's words are still sharp, but there are some differences, that is, he rarely announces any "big goals"

Perhaps. , after demonstrating Gree’s ambitions in a high-profile manner, what Dong Mingzhu needs most now is the confidence and patience of the outside world in Gree.

Breaking through

“These places need to be expanded. This year has been stressful. ”

Following the direction of technician Chen Pang’s finger, the land for the new factory has been fenced off, but the ground has not yet been broken. There are about hundreds of large cargo boxes occupying both sides of the road. Inside are the most precise ones. CNC machine tools are used to process the core components required for Gree robots.

Recently, Gree split its original intelligent equipment business into three parts. The factory in Nanshui mainly produces robots and the machinery in Beiling. The institute focuses on automated production lines, and the old factory located at Jinan University currently focuses on the research and development of upstream technologies.

Dong Mingzhu said that this is not a "big move" compared to a 100-billion-level air conditioner. In terms of business, smart equipment is just an "insignificant" small unit of Gree. In 2013, it was just an automation equipment manufacturing department. In 2015, it had an output of 2,000 robots, and it also established an smart equipment Co., Ltd., which was operated independently. It is digested internally and will start external sales this year. ”

According to Dong Mingzhu’s consistent thinking, Gree’s products must be independently developed from the inside out. For example, if you plan to launch a washing machine, you must first produce the internal drum mold instead of relying on other companies like other companies. External procurement also reduces the cost to a certain extent. “It costs US$300 to import from abroad. ”

Gree’s mold factory officially opened for business in 2016, and many orders were from fields that had not been involved before. The most difficult task came from a top European automobile brand. Zhou Yang, a technician at the mold factory, pointed at The mold at the air inlet part said that it was the most difficult because of the many holes in it. Many domestic mold factories were afraid to accept it. It is said that the agreement at that time was very strict. If the delivery could not be delivered on time, every minute of delay in the production line would result. It is possible to compensate for the loss of several thousand dollars.

Panoramic view of Gree Headquarters in Zhuhai

This job was also "acquired" by Dong Mingzhu. Like other departments, the mold factory will receive it. The boss had a lot of "wonderful" requests. When the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference were held in Beijing a few years ago, Dong Mingzhu wanted to do one when she came back. Engineers initially said it was impossible to build an air conditioner that did not consume electricity. However, at her request, Gree launched a photovoltaic air conditioner two years later.

“There are so many failures in the development of a new technology. "Times, we lost 100 million or 200 million. As long as the direction of the research is not wrong, I will allow it," Dong Mingzhu said. "There is no reason to say that the research will be successful as soon as it is done, but it must be successful in the end." "

Such pressure makes Zhou Yang often unable to sleep at night.

"Is there anyone who can't get out in the end?"

"What Mr. Dong said There is really nothing that cannot be accomplished. "

In Dong Mingzhu's view, "When a person says there is no pressure, it is basically impossible to make progress. Enterprise development itself cannot be broken or established. "

It took three years of long progress for the intelligent equipment business to finally have a robot that can be "hands-on". At first, the first generation was basically an assembled product, and by the second generation it had Some parts are self-developed, but the core products are still imported from Germany and Japan. A big breakthrough was made in the third generation. The three core components of the robot, the reducer, the controller, and the motor, can be generated internally. This cuts down 1/3 of the cost. “Otherwise, it would not be price competitive when put on the market. "Chen Pang said.

"The same thing may be a different version of the story if it is applied to Midea, another domestic home appliance giant.

In 2016, Midea spent tens of billions of euros to acquire 95% of the equity of KUKA, a century-old industrial robot company. In 2017, Midea may make another attack in the field of robots. Recently, there is news that this The second target was an Israeli robotics company with a history of 30 years. Some people believe that acquisitions can enable companies to enter this market more quickly.

"Chinese companies can do nothing other than mergers and acquisitions?" Regarding this issue, Dong Mingzhu made no secret of her disgust, "Many companies now often say that we innovate and cooperate with others. , which technology did you buy, but I think what you bought was just the past. If it had a future, it wouldn’t be sold to you, right?”

In Dong Mingzhu’s view, technology is like a Life forms evolve dynamically. If you buy technology but don’t have a team that grows with the technology, it will be difficult to upgrade the technology. “The more profound the thing you buy, the less you understand it.”

For many companies It is said that mergers and acquisitions are a shortcut to capture emerging opportunities, and the most direct effect is to expand the scale of the enterprise.

As the undisputed “boss” in the air-conditioning industry, Gree’s market share in the domestic air-conditioning field has exceeded 40%. Has it hit the “ceiling” of growth? Gree Electric’s Secretary to the Board Wang Jingdong A reporter from "Chinese Entrepreneur" magazine said that the effect of clearing inventory in 2016 was very good, and Gree had basically shed its historical burden. At the same time, Gree also ushered in the best profit margin in history. Central air conditioning and overseas markets have become new growth points.

Compared with the domestic market, Gree’s overseas markets have been making slow progress. Now Gree’s products are sold in more than 160 countries and regions around the world. Production bases have also been established in Brazil and Pakistan. However, the export business The proportion of revenue has always been less than 20%.

“The current proportion is not large, but from another perspective, there will be greater room for growth in the future.” Wang Jingdong calls Gree’s overseas layout a strategy of “rural areas surrounding cities” , that is, first in the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia, and in the next step, we will further explore the European and American markets.

Brand and channel are the two biggest obstacles. This is the logic behind Haier’s bid for GE Home Appliances at a high price of US$5.58 billion, and it is also the logic behind Midea’s purchase of Toshiba Home Appliances, which can simultaneously gain ready-made brand influence. and distribution channels. But Gree still insisted on his own logic.

"These brands and departments now have relatively low profitability. Can Chinese companies transform their profits by taking them? It cannot be said that they just take over a brand and use China's cost advantage to expand. This is not Gree’s goal of internationalization,” said Wang Jingdong. Gree would rather start slower, harder, but more solidly.

In the opinion of an industry insider, the different choices made by Gree and Midea appear to be differences in business strategies, but actually represent the differences between the two routes faced by Chinese manufacturing in the process of growth. "Should we expand rapidly or proceed steadily?"

"What is the significance of speed growth?" Dong Mingzhu asked rhetorically.

Risk taking?

Does Gree need speed?

What is certain is that if Gree is still growing at an acceleration rate of 20 billion per year, then Dong Mingzhu will suffer The criticism may not arise.

The turning point was in 2015. In 2012, Gree Electric's revenue exceeded 100 billion for the first time. Dong Mingzhu proposed the goal of "200 billion in 2018". In the following two years, Gree successfully achieved the annual growth task of 20 billion. Until 2015, the entire industry fell into rectification and Gree was not immune to the recession.

Yuan Liang (pseudonym), who has been a Gree dealer for 20 years, witnessed the most difficult year. “Many years of inventory pressure accumulated in 2015, and it suddenly broke out.”

< p> In this year, Gree's revenue and net profit both declined, and those doubts about Gree and Dong Mingzhu began to amplify. Some people said that Dong Mingzhu's 200 billion goal was the "Great Leap Forward", and some regarded Gree as the "Great Leap Forward". The decline in performance has been attributed to Dong Mingzhu’s insistence and mistakes in diversification strategies. Gree’s mobile phone business has also become a target for criticism of her “advantage.”

“If I don’t have confidence in my own products, how can others have confidence?” Whether internally or externally, Dong Mingzhu insists that Gree mobile phones are the best. Even when meeting with superior leaders, Dong Mingzhu insists that Gree mobile phones are the best. Will promote mobile phones as soon as possible.

Dong Mingzhu has always been a person who is very firm in his own judgment.

Objectively speaking, Gree has no inherent advantages in making mobile phones. From a technical perspective, Gree has authorized 15,862 patents, but few of them are related to the mobile phone business. From a production perspective, there are also shortcomings. According to Dong Mingzhu, the reason why Gree mobile phones are not mass-produced is that the production capacity cannot keep up. ; Speaking of the channel level, Gree's second generation has already been sold on JD.com, but there is no offline layout yet. It may be difficult to leverage the advantages of traditional channels for air conditioners and small home appliances. "It is impossible for us to sell mobile phones through this channel." Yuan Liang, an out-and-out Gree "fan" thinks.

"To be honest, mobile phones are not our strong point. It is indeed quite a challenge." Wang Jingdong said, "But I think the concept of pursuing the ultimate and pursuing user experience should be applied to mobile phone research and development. This is the competitiveness of Gree mobile phones.

"

Isn't there any doubt in Dong Mingzhu's heart?

"Why should I doubt myself? I have never made a mistake in judgment. The same goes for mobile phones. "Dong Mingzhu said, "It doesn't mean that if I produce mobile phones today, it means that tens of millions of units will be produced immediately. It will take time to settle. ”

At the end of 2015, Gree established a Communication Technology Research Institute. Currently, two mobile phone production lines have been built at Gree Electric’s Zhuhai headquarters, but they are in an “absolute confidentiality” state. Dong Mingzhu’s 2017 One of the “goals” is the large-scale sales of mobile phones. “What I’m most worried about now is that supply exceeds demand. ”

Equally determined is the acquisition of Yinlong.

A Gree employee once commented that Dong Mingzhu is a person who does not follow common sense. After all, when Gree Electric Appliances After the acquisition of Yinlong was stranded, many people judged that Dong Mingzhu would stop there and abandon the seemingly unrealistic idea of ??"making cars". Who would have thought that she would use all her wealth in the name of a personal investor? What about doing something that no one is optimistic about? And this is what Dong Mingzhu considers to be "the most proud thing in 2016."

The latest announcement issued by Gree Electric on February 21 shows that Dong Mingzhu is personally in charge of the company. Yinlong’s shareholding ratio already accounts for 10%. According to the announcement by Yinlong shareholder Zhongyeda Electric Co., Ltd. at the end of December 2016, Dong Mingzhu was only the fifth largest shareholder at the time, accounting for 7.4627%. This means that Dong Mingzhu has made a lot of additional investments in the past two months.

"If you miss Zhuhai Yinlong, Gree will miss an era. "Dong Mingzhu failed to prevent Gree and Yinlong from "missing out", but she used her own strength to bring the two back to the negotiating table.

Just now, the two signed a contract for the next year. The total amount of the mutual purchase agreement does not exceed 20 billion yuan. Among them, Gree purchases new energy vehicles and energy storage equipment from Yinlong, which is expected to be 1 billion yuan. The most important thing is that Yinlong, as the buyer, is expected to purchase 8 billion yuan of smart phones from Gree. equipment, and industrial products worth 11 billion yuan, including motors, capacitors, molds, automotive air conditioners, etc. Gree Electric’s announcement mentioned that Zhuhai Yinlong aims to sell about 30,000 new energy vehicles in 2017. < /p>

“The automotive field has high requirements for the efficiency and effectiveness of air conditioners, especially new energy vehicles. This is also Gree’s advantage. There is a lot to do here. "Wang Jingdong said that Gree's previous acquisition plan also made a comprehensive understanding and analysis of this, so the business growth of the two companies should be more positive in the future.

From Dong Mingzhu's perspective, What we value about Yinlong’s merger and acquisition is not just short-term business synergy, but more importantly, a broader market in the future.

“New energy vehicles can already put us on the same starting line as other countries. Yes, it is a creative change, not an imitative change. "Dong Mingzhu said, "The product itself should be environmentally friendly, otherwise it will destroy the environment, and then engage in environmental protection, isn't it nonsense?"

In 2014, Dong Mingzhu was hired as the United Nations Urban Sustainability Councilor. Development and publicity ambassador, which is also one of her many public roles. On February 16, 2017, she, together with Zong Qinghou, Chairman of Wahaha Group, Xu Liuping, Chairman of TCL Group and Chairman of China Changan Automobile Group, became the official representative of China's real economy. spokesperson; and at the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in 2017, Dong Mingzhu, as a representative of the National People's Congress, will also submit industry-related bills

“I think the biggest thing the government has done since the supply-side reform was put forward is to use a force mechanism to require companies to strictly control quality. Products that do not meet the requirements cannot be circulated into the market. "Dong Mingzhu often mentioned some cases of "mutual convenience" between testing institutions and enterprises. The former does not "check" the quality of products, but depends on the depth of the relationship.

"Some companies will die if they die. It doesn't matter. I think it's normal. It’s normal for inferior things to be eliminated, so why should we protect them?” In her opinion, there is no problem with Chinese manufacturing as a whole, but many entrepreneurs need to change their concepts, “Concentrate on cultivation, don’t be impetuous, and don’t be eager for quick success. . ”

Principle

After tasting two bites of the snack in front of her, Dong Mingzhu said it was too sweet. She wrapped it in paper along with the orange peel she had just peeled off the table, got up and threw it away. Trash can.

Anyone who has a little contact with Dong Mingzhu will find that she is a very careful person. A Gree employee told reporters that Sister Dong can call out almost everyone who interviews her. She even remembered the question she asked at the beginning. As long as she was at Gree headquarters, she would patrol the workshop almost every day. She was very familiar with Gree’s product performance, factory technology and equipment. She was the one who provided the steam car washing machine that Gree had just launched. The name - Cup of Water Car New, well summarizes the function of the product "one liter of water can clean a car"

"If the leader takes care of the small things, the company will have no big problems. . "Dong Mingzhu said that her way of managing small things is to "find mistakes." The appearance of all Gree products must be reviewed by Dong Mingzhu. If she feels it is not beautiful, it must be redone; even in such a large workshop, air conditioners If the temperature changes by one or two degrees, she will know it as soon as she enters.

It is no exaggeration to say that if Dong Mingzhu takes charge of the company, the nervousness of the entire factory will suddenly increase.

“High requirements and high standards really put a lot of pressure on everyone.” Wang Jingdong has been with Gree since 2002 and is an old employee who has worked with Dong Mingzhu for more than ten years. "If you ask for something, you have to do it right away. The assignment will be done in the morning and the results will be released in the afternoon. There is no room for negotiation."

"Does she often lose her temper?"

"She loses her temper a lot. Her tolerance level is relatively low, so the threshold for losing her temper is also relatively low." Wang Jingdong said.

Dong Mingzhu also made no secret of her fiery temper. In the program "A Date with Luyu", because the employees did not arrange the car on time, Dong Mingzhu immediately became angry and said, "I won't remove you." That’s weird!” Even after getting off work, she would mutter “It’s not good for the eyes” when she saw employees walking and using their mobile phones in the car.

"She cannot tolerate repeated mistakes and low-level mistakes; if it is a principled mistake, she will lose her temper." Wang Jingdong said.

Dong Mingzhu once summed up her management as "ruthless", being ruthless to employees and even more ruthless to herself. When it came to her own requirements, she said, "Management does not allow mistakes; strategy, No mistakes are allowed."

Today, Gree has more than 70,000 employees. In an interview, Dong Mingzhu once mentioned a small matter. There used to be trash cans in Gree Park, but garbage could still be seen everywhere. Later, they simply removed the trash cans and issued a rule that whoever threw garbage would be fired. As a result, more than 1 million On the contrary, the company with an area of ????square meters was thoroughly cleaned. Therefore, she felt that the system must be emphasized. "If 100 people walk around randomly, they will definitely not be a team. They must move in unison like soldiers."

"What is the most important thing in system construction? "

Dong Mingzhu: "Leaders must also integrate into it"

"How to understand?"

Dong Mingzhu: "You must first abide by this system. , if you, as a leader, have destroyed this system, it will be useless for you to reprimand him. He can only act first and then reprimand him.”

Some people call Dong Mingzhu the Queen of Home Appliances. , this is not only because of Gree’s position in the market, but also partly because of Dong Mingzhu’s “power”. Nowadays, after retiring as the chairman of the group, she still holds the dual positions of chairman and general manager of Gree Electric Appliances. Even she herself does not shy away from talking about "centralization". "In terms of decision-making, it must be centralized, but in terms of execution, it is decentralized." ”

How does this mechanism work? Wang Jingdong told a story in the interview. During the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon gave 1/3 of his troops to Marshal Gerrich. , sent him to intercept Prussia. Later, even though the sound of Waterloo's artillery was heard, Gerrich's generals kept trying to persuade him to turn around and go back for reinforcements, but he insisted on carrying out Napoleon's orders. And if he can adapt to circumstances, winning or losing will be a different situation.

“When facing a complex situation, the person in charge must also adjust the strategy at any time according to changes in the battlefield. If you ask for instructions and report everything, it is actually irresponsible and irresponsible.” Wang Jing Dong said, "Mr. Dong is also in the process of understanding, learning, and improving some things. At this time, we have to continue to explain and explain. If the explanation is sufficient, she can accept it."

However, on issues of principle, there is no room for negotiation.

"Young people are very passionate and eager to succeed, so they often make decisions that are a bit eager for quick success. I don't quite agree with this. I would rather lose than do that." In When talking about the disagreement with Sogou CEO Wang Xiaochuan in a reality show she participated in recently, Dong Mingzhu said: "Relying on breaking the rules to make huge profits is a wrong business concept, and the program should avoid such a value orientation. "

"It doesn't matter if the result is not good when you stick to the principle?"

Dong Mingzhu: "You can say that"

Game

p>

Every day at 5:30, the radio in the Gree factory rang, and employees walked out of the company sparsely. They were the first group of people to leave, and more people would stay here until late at night. Gree's buses leave every half an hour, and the last batch will not be sent away until twelve o'clock in the evening.

From the perspective of the life cycle of an enterprise, Gree, which is in its twenties, has entered a mature stage. It can run smoothly like a machine with sophisticated systems and rigorous processes. Dong Mingzhu said that even if she is on a business trip, Gree's supervision mechanism and implementation system can ensure the normal operation of the company. But what Gree needs now is a breakthrough.

“It’s definitely possible to operate according to the rules, but what we need to do now is to find problems. My role now is not to tell you how to do it, but to find problems as much as possible.”

Moreover, this company may not be mature enough to protect itself. The insurance fund raising in 2016 caused Gree Electric to experience a false alarm.

"There is nothing to be surprised about. Gree is not Vanke." Dong Mingzhu said in an interview with a reporter from "Chinese Entrepreneur" that she was not worried at all at that time.

But other Gree employees were not so calm. When Wang Jingdong talked about the situation at that time, he said that many people in the company were still worried. What was the other party’s purpose? What would happen after the capital entered? Impact? The lessons learned from Vanke and CSG are right in front of us. Will Gree make the same mistake again?

“I think this matter must be stressful for anyone. If the chairman and the helmsman also If we talk about anxiety, then this emotion will be even more amplified down there." Wang Jingdong said that at that time, Dong Mingzhu told them that if the sky fell, she would be the first to bear it.

On January 18, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange website disclosed that Dong Mingzhu increased his holdings of 130,000 shares of Gree Electric on January 16. This was the second time he increased his holdings within a month; the other three Gree Executives also increased their holdings by varying amounts at the end of 2016, with the four adding up to nearly 40 million. Will this be a collective move to consciously enhance management control?

Wang Jingdong denied this explanation, "It is still out of optimism about the company's prospects. The number is not very large and is still rising. It’s not as high as strengthening control.”

On many occasions, Dong Mingzhu has talked about her “life and death” relationship with Gree. To her, Dong Mingzhu is Gree, and Gree is her. Dong Mingzhu. A resigned employee said in an interview with the media that when something goes wrong, everyone will scold Dong Mingzhu, but when it comes to choosing who will take charge of Gree's overall situation, she will still be chosen. "Who else is there besides her?"

This is also a question that shareholders must consider when Gree Electric's board of directors changes in 2018.

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