When it comes to sockets, many people's first reaction is "bull". Bull sockets, without a doubt, can be said to be the market leader in this type of product in recent years.
Both consumer reputation and market share show the absolute status of Bull Socket, and Ruan Liping, the founder of Bull Group, is also considered to be the "first brother of socket".
However, in recent years, with the development of the e-commerce economy and the Internet, more and more socket products have entered the market, and in 2015, Xiaomi launched its own socket brand.
In 2021, Bull Group was investigated by anti-monopoly and finally fined 295 million yuan.
In the increasingly fierce market competition, as the "hegemon" of the socket industry, can Bull Group continue to sit firmly in the Diaoyutai in this competition, or will it be subverted by emerging forces?
Ruan Liping, an entrepreneur worth 90 billion, can he hold on to this country and continue to write the legend of the bull? Everything, we don't know yet.
The starting point of entrepreneurship
Nguyen Liping was born in 1964 in Cixi, which is an important site for the production of sockets on the mainland. Ruan Liping has not been willing to be left behind since he was a child, and his head is very flexible.
After graduating from university in 1984, he entered a machinery factory in Hangzhou, which was a relatively stable job, but he saw some development and changes in Hangzhou under the reform and opening up.
He was not willing to take the "dead wages" in the factory, as the so-called standing on the tuyere, pigs could fly, and at that time, in the south, there were tuyeres everywhere.
After much deliberation, he decided to start trying, but always failed, and it was at this time that he saw friends and relatives in his hometown reselling sockets.
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After his observation, he found that these resold sockets all have one thing in common, that is, the quality is uneven. He stared at the socket in his hand for a long time, and when he patted his head, he found the tuyere!
"Brother, are you really going to make sockets?" Younger brother Ruan Xueping asked suspiciously.
Ruan Liping patted his younger brother on the shoulder and said firmly: "The socket market is very large, as long as we can make good quality products, we will definitely succeed." ”
He has researched and found that there are already many small socket factories in their hometown, but the sockets produced by these factories are more than he guessed, and most of them are of uneven quality, but even so, the market demand is still very huge.
So, why can't he make a socket with guaranteed quality? In this way, once his socket reputation is out, the future is limitless.
The difficulty of start-ups
In 1995, brothers Ruan Liping and Ruan Xueping borrowed 20,000 yuan to rent a dilapidated factory and officially started their entrepreneurial journey.
"The quality of this batch of socket connectors is not good enough, and we need to improve." Ruan Liping held a socket and carefully checked it.
Ruan Xueping nodded, "I'll contact the supplier to see if I can find better materials." ”
The brothers are strict and they know that only by ensuring quality can they gain a firm foothold in the highly competitive market.
That year, the Bulls led by Michael Jordan created a new era in the NBA, and Ruan Liping named the socket he designed "Bull" in the name of it, hoping that it could also open a new era in the future.
In 1995, the Bull Group was formally established. At the same time, they introduced an outlet that claims to "not work bad".
At the beginning, because the reputation had not yet been spread, the sales of this batch of sockets did not achieve the expected results. But when the first consumers began to realize the high quality of the "Bull" socket, gradually its reputation spread more and more, and the brand began to leave a deep impression in the minds of consumers.
Precision marketing, the rise of brands
In 2001, Bull Socket has occupied a place in the domestic market. In order to further enhance the brand awareness, Nguyen Liping decided to invest in advertising.
"We need to make more people aware of the quality of the bull sockets." Ruan Liping said at a company meeting.
"However, advertising costs were high and we had a limited budget." The marketing manager said worriedly.
Ruan Liping thought for a moment and said, "Then let's choose some cost-effective publicity methods, such as marking our brand logo on the signboard of the hardware store." ”
Before the emergence of e-commerce economy and online shopping, most families had to go to the store to buy goods, and there were few general stores for goods like sockets, except for large supermarkets, there were the most hardware stores and the most complete.
That is to say, the advertising of the "bull" socket can be placed in the hardware store, which can achieve the effect of accurate publicity. The return on this kind of marketing can be said to be extremely high.
Sure enough, this strategy has achieved remarkable results, and signs of "bull sockets" have appeared in front of hardware stores across the country, and brand awareness has increased rapidly.
Later, there was even a grand occasion when there was a bull as long as there was a hardware store.
In order to quickly seize the national hardware store market, the Bull Group also promised to help hardware stores make billboards for free, as long as the "bull" socket is reflected on the billboard.
At the same time, the "bull" socket is still constantly promoting the concept of "bull" socket to consumers only for the sake of consumer safety, so that the concept of "bull" socket and safety is equated in the minds of consumers.
Safety is an important factor for consumers to consider when buying such products, so this approach of Bull Group once again hit the "pain point" of consumers.
I have to say that the marketing strategy of the Bull Group is very successful, after these years of marketing, the "Bull" socket has become a representative of safety and quality, and many people mention the socket The first thing that comes to mind is the bull.
Of course, Bull Group is indeed constantly following up its own research and development technology to improve the quality and safety of products, and it is no wonder that it can become the leader in the socket product market.
And Ruan Liping, who single-handedly founded the "Bull" socket and the Bull Group, has become a well-deserved "socket brother".
Challenges from the market
However, as long as there are always challenges in the market, the challenges from competitors are the most obvious. The socket market is so huge, of course, it cannot be monopolized by only the "bull".
In 2015, Xiaomi suddenly announced its foray into the socket market and launched a socket with a simple design and rich features at a very competitive price.
Lei Jun, the founder of Xiaomi, said that the socket should be made as a work of art. In his opinion, China's socket market is very huge, but the sockets sold on the market are generally ugly, chaotic and rough.
The socket introduced by Xiaomi is to make up for this shortcoming.
Not only that, the design of the three sockets of the Xiaomi socket with three USB is also unique, and on the premise of ensuring safety, it also meets the needs of consumers for more diverse use, so it immediately won the favor of consumers as soon as it was launched.
Indeed, with the gradual improvement of people's living and consumption levels, there is more demand for similar goods. On the premise of ensuring quality, more simple and beautiful products are obviously more able to capture the love of consumers.
The launch of the Xiaomi socket is a wake-up call for Ruan Liping.
Not only that, with the development and rise of the Internet and e-commerce economy, more and more brand sockets have entered the eyes of consumers.
It's like sailing against the current, if the bull group doesn't deal with it, it will one day fall behind without realizing it.
According to the revenue disclosed by Bull Group, Bull Group's revenue from 2017 to 2020 is still rising, but the year-on-year growth is declining.
At the same time, in 2021, Bull was finally fined nearly 300 million yuan due to an anti-monopoly investigation. This may not be a fatal blow to the Bull Group, but it also shows from the side that change is urgent.
Entered the field of new energy
Of course, Ruan Liping's ability to achieve the position of "first brother of the socket" is not just talking. As early as when Xiaomi launched the USB socket, he immediately asked the company's R&D institutions to launch similar products.
In addition, he also realized that relying on one type of product alone is not insured.
In 2021, Bull Group began to enter the field of new energy, launching a series of charging piles and energy storage equipment. This decision is a deliberate choice made by Nguyen Liping, who hopes to find new growth points through technological innovation.
"New energy is the way of the future," said Ruan Liping, "We have developed several charging pile products, and we will increase investment to ensure that we have a place in this new field." ”
The exploration in the field of new energy has not been smooth. The fierce competition in the market, the high upfront investment and long return cycle of the charging pile industry have brought great challenges to the bull.
Nguyen Liping and his team work day and night to make breakthroughs in technology and the market.
In 2021, the portable charger for new energy vehicles launched by Bull Group also won the Industrial Design Gold Award in Germany.
According to the company plan of Bull Group, it is expected to achieve breakthroughs in the new energy industry related businesses in the future.
Ruan Liping will also lead the team to continue to move forward, constantly explore new markets and technologies, and strive to build Bull into a diversified and international enterprise.
epilogue
From borrowing money to start a "bull" socket to becoming a "socket brother", Ruan Liping led the team through crises again and again, from the challenge of Xiaomi to the baptism of the new energy market, every step is full of hardships.
In the face of emerging competitors and changing market demand, how to maintain a stronger competitiveness in the market is a key issue for Ruan Liping to consider.
We must continue to innovate in order to remain invincible in this fierce market competition. In the future, whether he can continue to support the bulls will need time to prove. There will always be challenges, but as long as you don't give up, there is hope for new glories.
Resources:
"What did the "first brother of the socket" do wrong after being fined nearly 300 million yuan" - China Youth Daily