Zheng Xiukang: Determination Of A Fire To Revive Wenzhou Shoes

Open the big red cover.

The group's handbook can read a Manifesto: we are committed to becoming masters of shoes with craftsmen quality.

Since 1980, he has resigned from the factory director to become a shoemaker and become famous.

In his 36 years' journey to create Kangnai, Zheng Xiukang, chairman of the board of directors, has forged Kang Ni Zhi to make high-end manufacturing of footwear industry and develop the high-end brand for Wenzhou shoes.

Kangnai has opened more than 100 brand stores in more than 10 countries including the United States, Italy, France and Vietnam, competing with Italy and French shoes.

The determination of a fire to revive Wenzhou shoes

In the 80s of last century, Wenzhou shoes once became synonymous with Wenzhou people and Wenzhou economy.

During the heyday, there were more than 6000 shoes in Wenzhou.

However, a large number of counterfeit and inferior Wenzhou shoes have also poured into the market.

In 1987, the Hangzhou quality inspection department found out that the bottom of the 18 kinds of shoes was made of paper shells, of which 16 were made in Wenzhou.

As a result, "Wenzhou shoes" have occurred in many places throughout the country.

After a fire, Kangnai is determined to renown the shoes of Wenzhou again with the quality and manufacture of craftsmen.

At that time, as one of the earliest shoe companies in Wenzhou, Zheng Xiukang and the Kangnai he founded.

It has been in its seventh year.

In order to be able to continue selling, many shoe makers in Wenzhou turned to "Beijing made" and "Shanghai made" signs, and Zheng Xiukang chose to stick to them.

He also asked someone to design a head portraits of shoemaking craftsmen, as a trademark of Kangnai shoes, which is a metaphor for Kangnai's determination and determination to keep up with Wenzhou shoes.

The director of 33 years old starts school shoes.

Zheng Xiukang worked as a deputy factory director in a state-operated machinery factory before his start up.

In the 70s of last century, in order to change the embarrassed life at that time, Zheng Xiukang, who was 33 years old, worshipped a teacher who was 6 years younger than himself. He secretly studied shoemaking in his spare time after work.

The little master told him, "don't learn, I only recruit fifteen six year old apprentice."

"I have to raise a family and teach me!" Zheng Xiukang moved the master with sincerity and learned shoe-making from scratch.

With the experience of more than ten years of mechanic, only 40 days later, Zheng Xiukang made the first pair of leather shoes.

After showing it to the shoemaker, he was told that someone else's shoes were 14 yuan, and he could give them 16 yuan.

In this way, Zheng Xiukang's first pair of shoes sold for 2 yuan more than his master's.

In workers' monthly income of 40 yuan up and down, 2 yuan means what can be imagined.

Why can he make shoes that cost 2 yuan? "For the thickness of leather, the distance between the nails and stitches of each part, the other shoemaker is visual, but I measure them with calipers.

Although hand-made, shoes like this will still look comfortable and comfortable. "

Zheng Xiukang said.

To make benchmarks for high-end shoe making.

36 years ago, the standardization of manufacturing technology and technological innovation, so that Kangnai today become the benchmark of high-end leather shoes manufacturing in China: it has three core brands: Kangnai, Kangnai family and KINGSTEP Jun step. It has two production bases in Wenzhou and Suzhou, and over 10 million pairs of high-grade leather shoes are produced in the year.

It has won over 500 honors from China's well-known trademarks, Chinese famous brand products, China's export brands and national quality awards.

There are more than 3000 brand stores throughout the country, and more than 100 brand stores in more than 10 countries such as the United States, Italy, France and Vietnam. Kangnai is also the first enterprise in the industry to open brand stores abroad.

In 2015, Kangnai realized operating income of 2 billion 10 million yuan, an increase of 6% over the same period, of which, exports amounted to $35 million.

Standing in front of Kangnai's headquarters building, vice president Zhou Jinmiao pointed to the new hotel near the road, telling reporters that it used to be a shoe exporter specializing in exporting, and now it has changed to a hotel.

In this street called "shoes capital", more than 6000 shoe companies have been brought together.

Innovation leads high-end manufacturing

In the past 36 years, Kangnai has not been easy to come all the way.

"We have experienced the challenges of" burning Wenzhou shoes ", the impact of the Asian financial crisis and the subprime mortgage crisis in the United States, and the test of the economic downturn at home and abroad, and Kangnai's response is to take the initiative to change.

Zheng Xiukang said.

After "burning Wenzhou shoes", Zheng Xiukang decided to revive the reputation of Wenzhou shoes. After visiting Italy, he visited Italy to take the lead in introducing the mechanized production line in the private shoe enterprises. He decided to develop the production technology of Italy's top European shoes in 1992.

"In 1992, only low and Medium leather shoes were available in the domestic market, and all high-end leather shoes were imported.

At that time, the famous brand leather shoes produced in Shanghai cost about 100 yuan per pair, while the international brand shoes could be sold for more than 1000 yuan.

Zheng Xiukang set a strategy for Kangnai to pursue high-end market with high-end manufacturing.

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In 1993, Kangnai's "big Lai" European version of high-grade leather shoes fired, the retail price in Shanghai reached more than 400 yuan, the major cities in the country is in short supply.

Tasted the sweetness, Kangnai has further strengthened the confidence of taking the high-end shoe making road.

"To do well every pair of leather shoes is my lifelong pursuit."

Zheng Xiukang said.

For Kangnai, technological innovation is the effective starting point for the implementation of "high-end manufacturing".

Capturing Goodyear technology is one of them.

Goodyear technology is a highly difficult technology, which adopts advanced stitching and gluing technology, and is specially used for making high-end leather shoes.

In Italy, this process is basically manual, so it is also accompanied by low productivity and high cost.

In 2005, Kangnai launched the "mass production Goodyear technology high-grade leather shoes" project, which has solved the key technical problems such as machine sewing welt, sewing outsole, clamping bag and cork grain filling core, so that the mechanization degree of the process is more than 80%, and the batch production is successfully realized.

"Mechanized mass production has greatly reduced production costs and greatly enhanced the international competitiveness of our products.

The export price of leather shoes is 30 to 50 euros, which is behind Kangnai's decades of manufacturing expertise, 280 fine processes, 13 core technologies and 50 technology patents.

Zhou Jinmiao said.

See the truth chapter.

There are many other kinds of leather in Kangnai, for example, the distance between each nail on the leather shoes and heels of the Kangnai is not bad; the independently invented scar pulling function finds out the hidden defects on the leather surface in time, reduces the reject rate from the source, reduces the reject rate of the leather products by 30%, collects the basic data and foot data of the shoe last, establishes the database of foot and shoe last, develops the fifth generation shoe last with big data, and further standardizing the basic control line of the shoe last, thus contributing to the development of the whole industry.

According to the introduction, Kangnai R & D center has carried out research on the use of new materials, shoes shock absorption, breathability and advanced manufacturing technology.

In recent three years, 6-8 new products have been developed each year, and the added value of products has also been increased.

Go out and stop and grow.

In 2001, Kangnai opened its first overseas brand store in Paris, thus becoming the first enterprise to open an overseas brand store in the industry.

By 2009, Kangnai had more than 20 brand stores in France, and over 40 stores in the mall.

In the same year, WESTON, a French local shoemaking company, who felt Kangnai's threat, took Kangnai into court with "patent Kangnai shoe sole pattern infringement".

The 5 years of controversy finally ended in late at the end of 2013.

In the court dispute involving the overseas reputation of national brands, the price of Kangnai's brand reputation is also enormous: France's Kangnai shutting down and its economic losses exceed one million euros.

"Winning the lawsuit undoubtedly boosted our confidence and promoted Kangnai's popularity.

The next step is to expand the business of France, and we need to replan and reclaim it.

WESTON is an old brand of the French footwear industry. It has been expanding the Chinese market in recent years, but it has not gone smoothly.

As the saying goes, if you don't fight or not, the two sides may be able to become friends and win the road of win-win cooperation.

Zheng Xiukang said.

The pace of going out will not stop.

With the support of the Ministry of Commerce, Kangnai founded the usurusk economic and trade cooperation zone in Russia in 2006.

At present, the cooperation zone has entered 24 Chinese enterprises, with a total investment of RMB 900 million yuan, focusing on light industry, electromechanical industry, wood industry and other industries, facing Russia and CIS countries.

In 2015, the great devaluation of the ruble brought severe tests to the usurusk economic and trade cooperation zone. The park took the opportunity of "one belt and one road", "free port of Russia and Vladivostok" and "Longjiang Silk Road belt" to further increase investment attraction.

Speaking of the assumption of Kangnai's next overseas layout, Zheng Xiukang said that, on the one hand, we should manage the original overseas stores and the economic and trade cooperation zone, overcome difficulties and problems encountered in the "going out", and constantly sum up experience; on the other hand, we will continue to maintain exports of OEM and ODM, expand the share of the international market, especially in the high-end market, and integrate cross-border electricity providers into Kangnai's "going out" plan, so that online channels can help export simultaneously.

"Kangnai will further improve its internal strength, cultivate its brand, and shorten the gap with the international benchmarking enterprises, while improving Kangnai's voice in the international market."

Zheng Xiukang said.

It is learnt that Kangnai has passed the cooperation with the British footwear trade Research Association (SATRA), which has the authority to master the international standards of footwear technology certification. It has not only successfully evade many technical barriers to trade, but also entered the line of "game rules makers" to find another way to solve the technical barriers to international trade.