Every editor, Lu Xiangyong
After Zong Qinghou, the founder of Wahaha Group, died of illness on February 25, Nongfu Spring, who was in Hangzhou with Wahaha, said it had recently suffered a cyber attack.
On March 3, the official Weibo of "Nongfu Spring" released "Zhong Shanshan: I and Zong Lao Er and Three Things". Zhong Shanshan, founder, chairperson and general manager of Nongfu Spring, said that after Zong Lao passed away, a lot of slander against me and Nongfu Spring appeared on the Internet. As a party who was accidentally involved in the whirlpool of the incident, it is necessary for him to borrow several memorable past events of Zong Lao Sheng to make a clarification.
Zhong Yixue denied that the first pot of gold came from Wahaha
Before Zong Qinghou died, Mr. Zhong said, he wanted to visit Mr. Wu. After Zong Qinghou died, he went to the mourning hall to pay his respects, lay a wreath and express his condolences to Zong Lao’s family. "Zong Lao hated online violence during his lifetime. I never thought that when Zong Lao passed away, there was a lot of slander against me and Nongfu Spring on the Internet, which was not what Zong Lao was happy to see. As a party who was accidentally involved in the whirlpool of the incident, it is necessary for me to borrow a few memorable past events of Zong Lao’s life to make a clarification."
Zhong Sui, picture source: Nongfu Spring official website
In the article, Zhong recollected his entrepreneurial experience, his experience working in Wahaha, and the differences in his ideas and related lawsuits after founding Nongfu Spring.
Zhong said he went to the headquarters of Wahaha on Qingtai Street in Hangzhou in 1991 to visit Zong Lao, and then went with Zong Lao to see the cannery he had just acquired, which was a large state-owned factory with more than 2,200 people. "I saw that the professional canning production equipment was idle, so I remembered the canned eight-treasure porridge that was popular in some parts of South East Asia at that time, and I told Zong Lao this idea. Zong Lao was very happy and felt that my suggestion had a market. Later, he put into research and development and developed and produced the well-known Wahaha nutritional eight-treasure porridge, and proposed that I set up Wahaha offices in Guangxi and Hainan to sell Wahaha children’s nutritional oral liquid. I happily agreed. Unfortunately, the consumer demand in Hainan and Guangxi at that time did not meet expectations, and I ran all over the market but found it difficult to sell the product. After that, several trading companies came to Hainan and asked me to buy goods, so I was able to clear the goods. Later, I learned that there is a market for children’s nutritional oral liquid in Guangdong. "
Many years later, at a sales meeting at Nongfu Spring, Mr. Zhong said, he joked: The Wahaha we didn’t sell in Hainan back then was probably sold to Guangdong, and if it were now, it would be considered a flush. "I didn’t expect that a casual joke at that time has now become a crime of my’ingratitude ‘. I have never received a salary in Wahaha, let alone been fired for flushing."
"My respect for Zong Lao’s entrepreneurial spirit has never wavered," Mr. Zhong said, despite some controversy. "I have always said on various occasions that Zong Lao is the entrepreneur representative I respect."
He also clarified the rumors that the first pot of gold in his business came from Wahaha, saying that the cloth business was the first pot of gold he earned from his business, rather than the online rumor that "the first entrepreneurial income came from Wahaha".
Zhong Xuanyi said that he also hopes that while the majority of netizens express their thoughts on Zong Lao, they will not be influenced by individual self-media or big Vs.
The two are companies in the same city, both are beverage giants
It is worth noting that, according to the China News Service, on March 3, Nongfu Spring Vice President Zhou Li Moments issued an article in response to the "storm of holding’Wahaha ‘and stepping on’Nongfu Spring’". Zhou Li said that Mr. Zong Qinghou was in his seventh day today, and maybe the old man didn’t expect that his death would be used by some so-called "melon eaters" to attack another company in the same city, and became a hot topic of public opinion. The two companies were located in the same city. Although they competed in the early years, they even competed openly against Bo Gongyuan under the legal framework.
According to the data, Zhou Li has served as the deputy general manager of Nongfu Spring joint stock company since July 21, 2019, responsible for the company’s Product Research & Development, Quality Management, Technical Regulations and Legal Affairs.
On the evening of March 3, the topic "Vice President of Nongfu Spring Responds to Pushing Wahaha to Step on Nongfu Spring" was the first hot search, and "Zhong Shanyuan denies that the first barrel of gold came from Wahaha" was also on the hot search.
Both Wahaha and Nongfu Spring are headquartered in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. Hangzhou Wahaha Group Co., Ltd. was founded in 1987. Under the leadership of its founder Zong Qinghou, it has accumulated sales of 860.10 billion yuan, profits and taxes of 174 billion yuan, and taxes of 74.20 billion yuan in 35 years. Wahaha has 81 production bases and 187 subsidiaries in 29 provinces and autonomous regions across the country, and has nearly 30,000 employees. The scale and efficiency of the enterprise have been in a leading position in the industry for 20 consecutive years, ranking among the top 500 Chinese enterprises, the top 500 Chinese manufacturing industries, and the top 500 Chinese private enterprises. Among Wahaha’s product lines, pure water, AD calcium milk, nutritional fast line, and eight-treasure porridge are household names.
Nongfu Spring joint stock company was established in 1996. In terms of retail sales in 2019, Nongfu Spring ranked among the top three in the Chinese market in terms of tea beverages, functional beverages and fruit juice beverages. Nongfu Spring listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on September 8, 2020, and the latest market value 482.50 billion Hong Kong dollars.
According to the 2023 Hurun Rich List, Nongfu Spring’s 69-year-old Zhong Shanshan’s wealth is basically the same as the previous year, and he has become China’s richest man for the third time with 450 billion yuan.
After Zong Qinghou’s death, in the past few days, many netizens have remembered the entrepreneur on social media, and the topic "Wahaha Laboratory Royal Water" has rushed to the top of the search.
Offline, there are also many consumers who spontaneously buy Wahaha products, including purified water, AD calcium milk, nutrition express, etc. Some netizens said that some supermarkets have even run out of Wahaha purified water.
On March 1, the official flagship store of Wahaha social platform released an announcement saying that it has received countless care and support from everyone recently, and the order volume of the store has increased significantly. The company has arranged more colleagues to pack and deliver goods. Please be patient. Family members who can’t wait can apply for a refund and return. Wahaha apologizes for not being able to give you a better service experience. It also recommends that you consume rationally and buy on demand.
edit|Lu Xiangyong, Yi Qijiang
Proofreading |******qi
Daily economic news is comprehensive from Nongfu Spring Weibo, Wahaha official website, and Guosi through train