Baokang is a very famous mid and high-class toy trading company in Xinjiang and acts as the agent of over 600 kinds of well-known toy brands which have been sold well in Xingjiang areas and far sold to the five countries in mid-Asia. The general manager, whose name is Wei Shili, summarizes his experience of success: everyone can do business but the key is to precisely decide the direction and eyeless follow the fashion will sure don’t work.

Wei Shili, general manager of Urumchi Baokang Industry Co. Ltd., has entered this industry for more than 10 years. When he was 19, he retired from the army and was assigned to the Toy Shoppe of Urumchi Friendship Store. In 1988, he himself established Baokang. All around these years he was always dealing with toys. After his 10 years efforts, he leads his Baokang to develop to a very famous mid- and high grade toy trading company in Xinjiang. It is the agent of more than 600 kinds of products of famous toy brands like LEGO, Hasbro, Barbie, Blocko, Good Baby, Kurhn, Bailibao,Qile, Songyang, Yade and so on. In the emporium and supermarket of Xinjiang’s capital city Urumchi, he sets up specialty stores to serve to the brand image and has sold his toys to all over Xinjiang and far to the five countries of mid- Asia.

No cheap goods

Focusing On mid-and high- grade products

Wei Shili, who is just over 30 years old, he was born and lives in Xinjiang all his life. When he was 16, he joined the army. In 1994, when he was 18, he retired from the army and was assigned to Urumchi’s biggest Friendship Store at that time and worked as a “safe guarder”. But Wei Shili, who was from a family of doing business for generations, felt rather unpleasant. Under his strong request, the Friendship Store re-arranged and assigned Wei Shili who has the genius of doing business to manage the Toy Shoppe of the store. Thereafter, reformation of state enterprises was popular and the Friendship Store took the lead in reforming and became stock company limited which came into market in 1996. In 1998, the Friendship Store no longer managed toys. Because of his several years’ experience of managing Toy Shoppe in the store, Wei Shili felt that he has been very familiar with the toy industry for he was always visiting the factories and compared the prices before. So naturally, he decided to establish Urumchi Baokang Industry Co. Ltd and began to do toy business himself.

The retail industry in Urumchi started in 1998. Before 1998, there were few big stores and till after that year, some big stores began to appear. Wei Shili also started with retailing. He regarded that he had caught the good chance of rapid development of Urumchi’s economy by chance.

At the very beginning, Baokang has focused on the mid-and high grade products. Wei Shili saw that low-grade toys were very easy to get. “At that time, the Guangdong produced low-grade toys were everywhere and it was nearly that anyone could get the goods if you could pay” and “The price was rather low. Sometimes it was only about 10 yuan for a box of goods.” Therefore, this kind of products was not competitive in the market and the profit rate was too low. Besides, the distance between Urumchi and Guangdong was too long and the quality of this kind of low-price toys was not good which leaded to a big loss in the way of transportation. All these were undoubtedly increasing the costs. Just because of the small market potent of the these low-grade toys and his judgment on the consumption standard of Urumchi and its surrounding market, Wei Shili decided that he only did mid-and –high grade products.

Set a sample

Copy the mode of success

In order to cooperate with high-grade products, Baokang set toy shoppe only in the best local Stores. Wei Shili chose the Friendship Store which was his base area to set his first Shoppe. The first brand he represented was Nanjing Baogao. Then he set Shoppe in the famous Tian Shan Store in Urumchi and so on other high-grade stores.

After some time’s elaboration, Baokang has gained some reputation in toy industry. There were more and more dealers from all over Xinjiang to come to Urumchi to visit and evaluate. Seeing that Wei Shili’s “Flagship Stores” were done so well in Friendship and Tianshan Store, they all demanded to cooperate with him. After only a few years, south and north of Xinjiang, Urumchi city and other cities all had one or two dealers of Baokang. For the select of dealers, Wei Shili also had “doorsill”. He demanded that his dealers’ shops must be at the local biggest and most famous stores to maintain Baokang’ brand image and its statue of mid-and high-grade.

Turn to wholesale

Exclusive agency of large amount of toy brands

Pure retail will brings in difficulties in to controlling the stock of products. The overstock of the store’s unsold goods will influence the flow of current. “But wholesale is different. Any kind of goods will be sold.” What is more, after the year of 2000, the supermarket gradually became an important channel of selling toys besides department stores. In 2002, Wei Shili began to turn to wholesale market. In Urumchi International Merchandise Trading Emporium, he opened a “Toys Wholesale Store”. It was a store and it was really worthy of the name. He was different from other wholesalers whose management mode was named “little cost business” and just put several simple shelves in shops. Wei Shili, before entering, in order to cooperate with his mid-and high-grade products, spent 20,000 yuan to decorate his shops according to the store’s request. Because of this, Baokang’s shop looked prominent and remarkable among the so many shops. As long as the customers entered Baokang, they would at once feel that the goods here are different. And the manufacturers also felt that their products’ image was upgraded.

Besides, Baokang, who had controlled large quantity of terminal selling channels, had the qualification to talk with the manufacturers. The manufacturers of course had no sop much energy to face so many dealers of so many cities. So they need to control the whole selling areas. And when they found Baokang, they could enter the Xinjiang market over one night. After entering the wholesale market, Wei Shili began to talk with the manufacturers about the exclusive right in Xinjiang area. Nanjing Blocko Educational Toys Co. Ltd had three dealers in Xinjiang area before and the annual sale was only about 300,000 yuan altogether. But after Baokang getting the exclusive right, the annual sale of Blocko in Xinjiang area was up to more than 800,000 yuan. At present, Baokang has gained the exclusive right of products of over 20 manufactures in Xinjiang areas and became an agency of more than 600 kinds of toy brands.

No change in management direction

Continue the business of specialty store

Reviewing his more than 10 years’ working experience in toy industry, Wei Shili concludes his secret of success: “Any person can do business. But eyeless following the fashion will sure do not work. One must make sure the management direction and then gradually foster the market.” Actually, because of the precisely direction at the very beginning and nearly 10 years’ efforts, Wei Shili’s Baokang has become a very famous mid-and high- grade brand toy trading company in Xinjiang. What is worth to be mentioned is that the acreage of Xinjiang stands one sixth of that of the country. The distance between cities is very far. But in the south and north of Xinjiang, Urumchi city and its other cities, many craft brothers of toy industry all said: “mid-and high-grade toys will be found in Baokang.”

Mentioning the future development of Baokang, Wei Shili is full of confidence: “At present, Baokang’ brand was relatively high recognized in Xinjiang area. The following work is to open Baokang’s own specialty store.” “I have a friend who does children’s clothes. I prepare to cooperate with him and specially do children’s clothes, baby and infant things and toys in the way of big specialty store. Of course, the management direction is still mid-and high-grade products.”

In fact, with the gradually increase of the store expense, specialty stores that can get cash everyday has actually become a developing trend of selling industry. Wei Shili says that nest year, he will open several brand specialty stores as samples in Urumchi. Then he will adopts the mode of league and copy this behavior in every place of south and north Xinjiang. We have the reason to believe that Wei Shili will get another success after making precisely direction at the very beginning, setting up sample stores and then coping.

Comment:

It is extremely important to precisely make a management direction.

(Zheng Hui, Assistant manager of Junneng Industry Development Co. Ltd.)

I have known Wei Shili, the general manager of Urumchi Baokang Industry Co. Ltd. for many years. What he impresses me most is his professionalism in toy industry and precise management position.

From 10 years ago when Wei began to enter the toy industry, he has already decided his management direction that focused on the mid-and high-grade products. His retailing business concentrated in Urumchi’s biggest Tianshan Department Store and Friendship Store and so on high-grade stores. He regarded Le Go, Blocko and so on high-grade brands as the main products and the second and third class brands as the supplement. In fact, 10 years ago, it was a time when Chenghai products shared the most Urumchi market. Even if it was Urumchi International Merchandising and Trading Store where Baokang was located in, it was still full of Chenghai products. But Wei Shili saw that most of Chenghai toys had not adopted regional agent system and the quality is not stable. So the market was very disordered. Wei Shili foresaw that Urumchi’s market had great consumption potent and put his energy on the mid-and high-grade brands first. As I knew, he was doing very difficult at the very beginning. However, after 4 or 5 years, the market had given him a good return.