Dai Dai Xin Industrial & Trading Co., Ltd is one of the large toy companies in Nanning, Guangxi. It distributes LEGO, Hasbro and so on brands. Now the company has successfully created a toy marketing network and become supplier of many local department stores and supermarkets. The General Manage Liu Xiangzhi contributed his success in marketing to diligence in learning, honesty in working with people and making best endeavors to do everything.

In mid January, 20 days before Spring Festival, it is right the busiest time in toy industry because of preparing and delivering goods. But Liu Xiangzhi still invites the general manages of department stores to have a tea as usual and chats with them. What he wants is to listen to the ideas of these friends on market who are extremely familiar with the trends of department stores. “I am really emphasizing the intercourse with friends from whom I learn a lot and it is helpful to my business.” Liu Xiangzhi introduced himself to reporter like this.

Dai Dai Xin Industrial & Trading Co., Ltd is one of the largest toy marketing companies in Nanning, Guangxi and owns more than 70 employees. Its main marketing brands are LEGO, Hasbro, Silverlit, Lindo, Kurhn, Muma, Huangqi, Dove, Little White Dragon, Ultraman and so on. It also purchases some fashionable toy products and sells them in Nanning. Liu Xiangzhi was born in Chongqing. Sixteen years ago, he began to sell toys in Nanning and now his company has successfully created a toy marketing network and become supplier of many local department stores and supermarkets.

Good at learning from others

The marketing situation of toys in Nanning is just the same as other large cities in China.  Its main commercial forms now have transferred to developing in department stores, supermarkets and chain stores. The opinion “the people who can obtain the commercial network in department stores and supermarkets can occupy the market” is now commonly recognized by the sellers. In the 90s of last century, when these commercial forms just appeared and had not developed, many people did not realize them. Liu Xiangzhi said he was very lucky to get help and instruction from business friends and began at that time to set selling shoppe in department stores and supermarkets through which he followed the developing fashion of the time and established a good foundation for the company’s development.

Sixteen years’ ago, Liu Xiangzhi was a shop assistant in a toy factory and responsible for the toy selling in department stores. Later, because of the restructuring of the factory, Liu Xiangzhi became the contractor of the shoppe and from then on walks on the way of starting his career. Liu Xiangzhi is a surefooted and kindhearted person. In every case others seek help from him, he will try his best to help them and therefore, he establishes good relationships with many people within his circle and gets positive returns. For example, at the beginning of his career, because of lack of experience, the products that Liu Xiangzhi sells do not sell well and thanks to the department store’s managers help who tells him what toys sell well in market and introduce business for him.

“It is very important to emphasize listening skill and adopting the opinions of friends. Sometimes you are confused while the bystanders are clear.” Liu Xiangzhi concludes. He himself rightly benefits from friend’s instruction and plus his own observation he orients his company at: “pursuing mid and high-end sales” and is recognized by the market. All along the time, many people think that the consumption standard in Nanning is not high and it fits for low price products. But in fact, the consumers who purchase in department stores all have consuming ability and on what they more attention is the quality and originality of the toys but not price, especially to the toys that can enlighten the children to study. Dai Dai Xin focuses its products on mid and high level is just meeting the demand of the market.

After so years of efforts, the marketing scale of Dai Dai Xin is within the first 3 in Nanning. It is the supplier of many important department stores and supermarkets like Nanning Department Store, Parkson Nanning, Nanning Dream Island, Nanning Wangfujing Department Store, Shenzhen Renrenle Supermarket, Nan Cheng Department Store, Guangzhou Friendship Store, Beijing Hualian Supermarket and so on. Dai Dai Xin sets shoppe in these stores and successfully established a large scale toy marketing company which integrates wholesale, retail, storage and delivery.

Help brands to strengthen image

Since the US successively recalled back our country produced toy products, a hot topic appeared in toy industry and that is how to establish brand awareness. As a regional agent, what Liu Xiangzhi’ opinion on this problem is?

“In my opinion, no matter manufacturers or franchisers, the quality of products is the basis for honesty marketing and brand establishment.” Liu Xiangzhi says. He has his own standard when purchasing toys: the first is quality and then is the product’s design and originality and the last is the price. Among these three factors, he put quality at the most important place. “The aim of buying toys for the consumers is for fun. If the products have quality problems, the interest of the consumers is gone. It will not only influence the consuming will, but also the reputation of the company.” So he regards the quality standard of toy products as the most important thing.

A situation that cannot be ignored is: the present toy products are basically not like the household appliances and clothes industry which has lasting and large scale of publicity and promotion events in society. So at most of the time, the consumers do not know which are famous brands and have guaranteed quality. The most direct and effective way for the consumers to know the toys is the professional illustration of the salesman in stores. Because of this condition, Dai Dai Xin extremely emphasizes the instruction and demonstration and train of the salesman and holds proper propaganda activities on holidays and festivals. Liu Xiangzhi thinks that to rapid establish brand image of products, the enterprises should enhance promotion according to the reality of the market and hold correspondent promotion activities.

Liu Xiangzhi advises that,  the toy manufacturers should publicize and introduce their enterprises and products on professional medias as much as possible which is not only the demand for establishing brand and also beneficial to the dealers to select and promote the products. He put more emphasis on learning the market and products from TOY INDUSTRY. He thinks, “factories should manage to present their products in department stores as much as possible and let the consumers could see your products in any stores of any place. In this way they will regard that this brand is more popular and quality is better. ” Besides, on how to choose regional agent for manufactures, Liu Xiangzhi suggests that, one should enhance the mutual communication and understanding and establish long-term cooperative relationship which will make the dealers strengthen confidence. In this way, it will benefit the products to set up brand image in local places.

Toys have huge market room in the future

For the future toy selling in domestic market, Liu Xiangzhi is full of confidence. “The present month sale in hot season of selling in Nanning Department Stores is only around 180,000 RMB. The sales of supermarket are more or less the same. The quantity is small but the expense is very high. I believe it will be absolutely different in other provinces and cities. Potential comes out of distance. And what is more, the economy in Nanning in recent years is developing rapidly and the living standard of citizens is improved fast. So as long as the factory could design creative products plus proper promotion activities, the selling space of future toy market in Nanning is very huge.” Liu Xiangzhi said.

Although it is a very huge market room, Liu Xiangzhi notes that he is not so hurry to develop the market out-of-town when the reporter asks him about the future development plan. Although the company has already had distributors in Gulin and other places, he still wants to put the emphasis on establishment of channels in Nanning market. Then he will focus on the wholesale business. He firstly make the base of the company stronger and then bigger. He hopes that Dai Dai Xin becomes a famous brand.

Comment:

Grow up in perseverance, become stronger in diversification

(Zheng Dasen, general manager of Zhike Trading Col)

That was 2004 that Liu and I knew each other. At that time, I was on a business trip to Guangxi to review the market. Within the industry, when talking about Nanning’s toy especially department store marketing, people always mentioned Dai Dai Xin and so I knew Mr. Liu. The first impression of Liu to me is practical, forthright, low-profile and a little bit domineering.

Toy business has experienced the process of constantly perfect and improvement from elementary to high-grade, from stalls to department stores and supermarkets and from a less known and inferior brand to famous and well-known brand. Who can grasp this trend at the very beginning and who will be the final winner. Dai Dai Xin company is just in this kind of perseverance from a small counter to develop to present. It now basically covers all the department stores and supermarkets in Nanning and becomes the leader of Guangxi toy operators.

More than ten years ago, there was a very small amount of department stores in Nanning, which are in low end and the business was also not good. Many operators looked down upon the department stores and paid more attention on wholesales which was a quicker way of making money. But Liu Xiangzhi was insusceptible and insisted on focusing on the marketing in department stores. As a result of more than 10 years efforts, those wholesalers now have almost disappeared and Liu’s company is becoming bigger and bigger which almost occupied the whole toy retail industry in Nanning. So grasping trend, selecting right and doing well is the key point of Dai Dai Xin’s success.

With the standardization of the toy market in our country, the increasing demand in this one or two years plus Guangxi’s rapid economy development, increase of consuming standard and the upgrade of the grades of department stores and supermarkets, mid and high grade toys have gradually become the main current and trend. Facing the new situation, Liu realizes that only establishing brand and high quality are the most important things for development. Therefore, he actively changes and innovates. He adjusts products that he sells and gives up many products with big profit margin but no quality guarantee and at the same time improves the service image of shoppe to make the marketing of the company enter a higher step. █