On February 19, when the reporter of "China Entrepreneur" came to Gree headquarters, Dong Mingzhu was attending the recording of "Everyday Up" in Changsha. She didn't know this procedure before. "It turned out to be a talk show, and I was shocked when I stood on the stage."
After becoming an online celebrity, Dong Mingzhu's social roles are more diverse-entrepreneur+online celebrity+China real economy spokesperson+city ambassador, which also makes her more eye-catching and controversial, which is exactly what she is fighting for the future.
"Only five minutes." Dong Mingzhu told the reporter of China Entrepreneur who asked for an interview at the gate of the hotel. For nearly 20 minutes, Zhou Tianyu, the general manager of Gree, who has been following, interrupted the interview. Dong Mingzhu got up and said half jokingly, "I don't think you can finish the interview in 50 minutes."
"When will Gree mobile phones be mass-produced?"
Dong Mingzhu: "You don't believe me when I say 20 17?"
"When will Yinlong launch a new energy passenger car?"
Dong Mingzhu: "I'll tell you the time now. What if I can't get out then? "
Compared with 20 12 shouting "Re-create a Gree in five years" and Lei Jun "Gambling10 billion", Dong Mingzhu's words are still sharp, but there are some differences, that is, he rarely announces any "big goals".
Perhaps, after showing Gree's ambition in a high-profile way, what Dong Mingzhu needs most now is the confidence and patience of the outside world.
Against The Wall
"These places have to be expanded, and there is a lot of pressure this year."
In the direction of technician Chen Pang's finger, the land for the new factory building has been fenced off, but no ground has been broken. There are about hundreds of large containers occupying both sides of the road, and the most accurate CNC machine tools are used to process the core components needed by Gree robots.
Recently, Gree split the original smart equipment business into three parts. Nanshui's factory mainly produces robots, while Beiling's machinery institute mainly focuses on automated production lines. At present, this old factory located in Jinan University mainly carries out upstream technology research and development.
Dong Mingzhu said it was not a "big move". Compared with the air-conditioning business of hundreds of billions, smart equipment is only a small unit of Gree's "insignificant". 20 13 years, just the production department of automation equipment. In 20 15, 2000 manipulators were produced, and intelligent equipment co., ltd. was established to operate independently. "It was all internal digestion before, and it began to be sold externally this year."
According to Dong Mingzhu's consistent thinking, Gree's products must be independently developed from the inside out. For example, if it plans to launch a washing machine, it needs to produce internal drum molds instead of relying on external procurement like other enterprises, which also reduces costs to some extent. "Foreign imports cost $300 each."
Gree's mold factory officially opened on 20 16, and many orders are in areas that have not been involved before. One of the most difficult tasks comes from a top European car brand. Xing Xing, a technician in the mold factory, pointed to the mold at the air inlet and said, There are many holes on it, which is the most difficult. Many domestic mold factories are afraid to take it. It is said that the agreement at that time was very strict. If the goods could not be delivered on time, the production line might pay thousands of dollars for every minute of delay.
Panorama of Zhuhai Gree Headquarters
This job was also brought back by Dong Mingzhu. Like other departments, the mold factory will receive many "whimsical" requests from the boss. A few years ago, when the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China and the China People's Political Consultative Conference were held in Beijing, it was foggy. When Dong Mingzhu comes back, she wants to make an air conditioner that doesn't consume electricity. At first, the engineer said it was impossible, but at her request, Gree introduced photovoltaic air conditioning two years later.
"How many times did the research and development of a new technology fail in the research and development process, and lost 1 billion and 200 million. As long as the research direction is correct, I will allow it, "Dong Mingzhu said. "There is no reason to say that a study will be successful, but it will be successful in the end."
This kind of pressure often keeps Xing Xing awake at night.
"Is there anyone who can't get out?"
"What Teacher Dong said is really endless."
In Dong Mingzhu's view, "when a person says there is no pressure, it is almost impossible to make progress. Enterprise development itself is unbreakable. "
The intelligent equipment business is also in the long process of three years, and finally there is a robot that can be "fixed". At the beginning, the first generation was basically assembled products. By the second generation, some parts were independently developed, but the core products were still imported from Germany and Japan. It was not until the third generation that there was a big breakthrough. The three core components of the robot, such as reducer, controller and motor, can be generated internally, thus reducing the cost of 1/3. "Otherwise, if it is put on the market, it will not be competitive in price," said Chen Pang.
The same thing, placed on another domestic appliance giant Midea, may be a different version of the story.
In 20 16, Midea invested10 billion euros to acquire 95% equity of Kuka, an industrial robot company with a history of 100 years. In 20 17 years, Midea may strike again in the field of robotics. Recently, it was reported that its target was an Israeli robot company with a history of 30 years. Some people think that the way of acquisition can make enterprises cut into this market faster.
"Besides M&A, will China enterprises have anything else?" For this problem, Dong Mingzhu made no secret of his disgust. "Now many companies often say that we have innovated, cooperated with others and bought which technology, but I think what we bought is only the past of others. If it has a future, it won't be sold to you, right? "
In Dong Mingzhu's view, technology is like a living body, which is dynamically evolving. If you buy technology, but you don't have a team to grow up with, it's difficult to upgrade it. "The more you buy, the more profound it is, and the more you don't understand it."
For many enterprises, M&A is a shortcut to occupy emerging opportunities, and the most direct effect is to expand the scale of enterprises.
As the undisputed "boss" of the air-conditioning industry, Gree's market share in the domestic air-conditioning field has exceeded 40%. Has it reached the "ceiling" of growth? Wang Jingdong, the secretary-general of Gree Electric, told the reporter of China Entrepreneur that the inventory cleaning in 20 16 years was very effective, and Gree basically got rid of the historical burden. At the same time, Gree also ushered in the best profit margin in history. Central air conditioning and overseas markets have become new growth points.
Compared with the domestic market, Gree's overseas market has been progressing smoothly. Now Gree's products have been sold in more than 60 countries and regions around the world. Brazil and Pakistan have also established production bases, but the income from export business has been less than 20%.
"The proportion is not large now, but on the other hand, there will be more room for growth in the future." Wang Jingdong called Gree's overseas layout the strategy of "encircling the city from the countryside", that is, first in the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, and then in-depth development of European and American markets.
Brand and channel are the two biggest obstacles. This is the logic of Haier's bid for GE home appliances at a high price of $5.58 billion, and it is also the logic of Midea's acquisition of Toshiba home appliances, which can gain ready-made brand influence and distribution channels at the same time. But Gree still sticks to its own logic.
"These brands and departments now have relatively low profitability. Can China Enterprises Transform Profits? It cannot be said that it is not the goal of Gree's internationalization to just take a brand and use a cost advantage of China to expand. " Wang Jingdong said. Gree would rather start slowly and hard, but be more solid.
In the eyes of an insider, the different choices of Gree and Midea, on the surface, are the differences of business strategies, but actually represent the differences of two routes faced by China manufacturing in the growth process. "Is it fast or slow?"
"What is the significance of speed growth?" Dong Mingzhu asked.
Adventure?
Does Gree need speed?
What is certain is that if Gree continues to grow at a rate of 20 billion per year, the criticism suffered by Dong Mingzhu may not appear.
The turning point is 20 15. In 20 12, Gree Electric's revenue exceeded 100 billion for the first time, and Dong Mingzhu put forward the goal of "200 billion in 20 18". In the following two years, Gree successfully achieved an annual growth of 20 billion. Until 20 15, the whole industry was in a state of rectification and depression, and Gree was not spared.
Lyna (pseudonym), who has been a Gree distributor for 20 years, witnessed the most difficult year. "The inventory pressure for many years gathered at 20 15 and suddenly broke out."
This year, Gree's revenue and net profit both declined, so those doubts about Gree and Dong Mingzhu began to enlarge. Some people say that Dong Mingzhu's goal of 200 billion yuan is "Great Leap Forward", while others blame the decline of Gree's performance on Dong Mingzhu's stubbornness and mistakes in diversification strategy. Gree mobile phone has also become the target of criticism for her "aggressive".
"I have no confidence in my products. How can others have confidence? " Dong Mingzhu insists that Gree's mobile phone is the best, and he will promote it as soon as possible, whether at home or abroad, or even in meetings with superior leaders.
For a long time, Dong Mingzhu has always been a very firm person in his own judgment.
Objectively speaking, Gree has no inherent advantages in making mobile phones. From a technical point of view, there are as many as 15862 patents authorized by Gree, but few of them involve mobile phone business, and there are also shortcomings from a production point of view. According to Dong Mingzhu, the reason why Gree mobile phones are not mass-produced is that the production capacity cannot keep up; Let's talk about the channel level first. At present, Gree II has been sold in JD.COM Mall, but there is no offline layout. The traditional channel advantages of air conditioners and small household appliances may be difficult to leverage. "We can't sell mobile phones in this channel." Lyna, an out-and-out Gree fan, thinks.
"Frankly speaking, mobile phones are not our strengths, and the challenges are still quite big." Wang Jingdong said, "But I think that applying the concept of pursuing the ultimate and pursuing the user experience to the research and development of mobile phones is the competitiveness of Gree mobile phones."
Dong Mingzhu's heart, no doubt?
"Why do you doubt yourself? I have never misjudged. The same is true for mobile phones. " Dong Mingzhu said, "It's not that I produce mobile phones today, but that tens of millions of them will be realized soon. When there is precipitation. "
At the end of 2065438+2005, Gree established the Communication Technology Research Institute. At present, two mobile phone production lines have been built in Gree Electric's Zhuhai headquarters, but they are in a state of "absolute secrecy". One of the "goals" of Dong Mingzhu 20 17 is to sell mobile phones on a large scale. "What I am most worried about now is that the supply is in short supply."
Also determined is the acquisition of Yinlong.
A Gree employee once commented that Dong Mingzhu was a person who didn't play cards according to common sense. After all, when Gree Electric's acquisition of Yinlong ran aground, many people judged that Dong Mingzhu would stop there and give up the seemingly unrealistic idea of "building a car". Who would have thought that she would do something with all her wealth in the name of an individual investor? And this is exactly what Dong Mingzhu thinks "20 16 is the most proud thing".
The latest announcement issued by Gree Electric on February 2 1 shows that Dong Mingzhu's personal shareholding in Yinlong has already accounted for 10%. According to the announcement issued by Zhongyeda Electric, the shareholder of Yinlong, at the end of February 20 16, Dong Mingzhu is only the fifth largest shareholder, accounting for 7.4627%. This also means that in the past two months, Dong Mingzhu has made a lot of additional investment.
"After missing Zhuhai Yinlong, Gree missed an era." Dong Mingzhu failed to stop Gree and Yinlong from disappearing, but she brought them back to the negotiating table with her own strength.
Just now, they signed a mutual purchase agreement for the coming year, with a total amount of no more than 20 billion RMB. Among them, Gree purchased new energy vehicles and energy storage equipment from Yinlong, with an estimated amount of 654.38 billion yuan. Most importantly, Yinlong, as the buyer, is expected to purchase 8 billion yuan of intelligent equipment and 654.38+065.438+0 billion yuan of industrial products from Gree, including motors, capacitors, molds, automobile air conditioners and so on. Gree Electric announced that Zhuhai Yinlong aims to sell about 30,000 new energy vehicles in 2065,438+07.
"The automotive field requires high efficiency and effectiveness of air conditioners, especially new energy vehicles. This is also the advantage of Gree, and there is much to be done here. " Wang Jingdong said that Gree's previous acquisition plan also made a comprehensive understanding and analysis of this, so the business of the two companies should be more in the future.
In Dong Mingzhu's view, the value of Yinlong merger is not only short-term business synergy, but also a broader market in the future.
"New energy vehicles have put us on a starting line with other countries. It is a creative change, not an imitative change. " Dong Mingzhu said, "The product itself should be environmentally friendly, otherwise it will do something that damages the environment, and then it will be environmentally friendly. Isn't that nonsense? "
20 14 Dong Mingzhu was hired as the United Nations ambassador for sustainable urban development, which is one of her many roles. On February 17, she became the spokesperson of China's real economy together with Zong, Chairman of Wahaha Group, Chairman of China Changan Automobile Group and Chairman of TCL Group. At the National People's Congress and China People's Political Consultative Conference on 20 17, Dong Mingzhu, as a representative of the National People's Congress, will also submit an industry-related bill.
"I think that after the supply-side reform is put forward, the biggest thing the government has done is to use the reverse mechanism to require enterprises to strictly control the quality, and products that do not meet the requirements cannot be circulated to the market." Dong Mingzhu often mentioned some cases of "mutual convenience" between testing institutions and enterprises. The former does not "check" the quality of the product, but looks at the depth of the relationship.
"I think it is normal for some companies to die when they die. It is normal for inferior things to be eliminated. Why should we protect them? " In her view, there is no problem with manufacturing in China as a whole, but many entrepreneurs need to change their ideas. "Concentrate on cultivation, don't be impetuous, don't be eager for quick success."
principle
Dong Mingzhu tasted the snacks in front of two people and said it was too sweet. Together with the orange peel just peeled off the table, it was wrapped in paper and thrown into the trash can.
A little contact with Dong Mingzhu will reveal that she is a cautious person. A Gree employee told reporters that Sister Dong could name almost all the people who had interviewed her and even remember the questions she had asked. As long as she is at Gree headquarters, she will inspect the workshop almost every day, and she is familiar with Gree's product performance, technology and equipment in the factory. Gree just launched a steam car wash machine, which is the name she gave-a glass of water is new, which well summarizes the function of the product "1 water can wash the car".
"If the leaders manage small things well, there will be no major events in the enterprise." Dong Mingzhu said, and her way of managing small things is to "find fault". The appearance of all Gree products must be audited by Dong Mingzhu, and if they are not beautiful, they must be redone; Even in a large workshop, the temperature of the air conditioner changes once or twice, and she will know as soon as she enters.
It is no exaggeration to say that if Dong Mingzhu enters the enterprise, the tension of the whole factory will suddenly increase.
"High requirements and high standards really put a lot of pressure on everyone." Wang Jingdong has been in Gree since 2002. He is an old employee who has worked with Dong Mingzhu for more than ten years. "If you ask for something, you should do it at once. Things arranged in the morning will produce results in the afternoon, and there is no room for discussion. "
"Does she often lose her temper?"
"When you often lose your temper. Her tolerance is relatively low, so the threshold for losing her temper is relatively low. " Wang Jingdong said.
Dong Mingzhu also made no secret of his hot temper. In the program "An Appointment between Lu and Yu", Dong Mingzhu immediately became angry because his employees didn't arrange a good car on time. "It's strange not to withdraw you!" Even after work, she would mutter "it's not good for her eyes" when she saw employees using their mobile phones while walking in the car.
"Repeated mistakes and low-level mistakes are hard for her to tolerate; If it is a mistake of principle, she will lose her temper. " Wang Jingdong said.
Dong Mingzhu once summed up her management as a "malicious" word, which was cruel to employees and even more cruel to herself. Referring to her own requirements, she said, "Management is not allowed to make mistakes; Strategy, no mistakes are allowed. "
Today, Gree has more than 70,000 employees. In an interview, Dong Mingzhu once mentioned a little thing. There used to be trash cans in Gree Park, but garbage was still everywhere. Later, the trash can was simply removed, and a rule was promulgated that whoever threw garbage would be fired. As a result, more than 6,543,800 square meters of companies were thoroughly cleaned. Therefore, she felt it necessary to emphasize the system. "100 people will definitely not make the team, so keep the same pace as the soldiers."
"What is the most important thing in system construction?"
Dong Mingzhu: "Leaders should also participate."
"How to understand?"
Dong Mingzhu: "You must abide by this system first. If you are a leader who has broken this system, it is useless for you to reprimand again. He feels that he should only stand first and then reprimand him. "
Some people call Dong Mingzhu the queen of home appliances, not only because of Gree's position in the market, but also because of Dong Mingzhu's "power in hand". Today, she is still the chairman and general manager in Gree Electric, and even she herself is not shy about talking about "centralization". "Decision-making must be centralized, but implementation must be decentralized."
How does this mechanism work? Wang Jingdong told a story in the interview. At the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon assigned 65,438+0/3 troops to Marshal Gehrig and sent him to intercept Prussia. Later, even though guns came from Waterloo, Gehrig's generals kept persuading him to turn his horse's head to reinforce, but he insisted on carrying out Napoleon's orders. And if he can improvise, the outcome is another story.
"In the face of complicated situations, the person in charge should also adjust the strategy at any time according to the changes in the battlefield. If everything is reported, it is actually irresponsible and irresponsible. " Wang Jingdong said, "There are some things that Mr. Dong is also in the process of understanding, learning and upgrading. At this time, it is necessary to constantly explain and explain. If the explanation is sufficient, she is acceptable. "
However, on the issue of principle, there is no room for discussion.
"Young people are very passionate and eager to succeed, so the decisions they often make are a bit quick and quick. I don't quite agree with this. I would rather lose than do that. " When talking about her differences with Sogou CEO Wang Xiaochuan in a recent reality show, Dong Mingzhu said: "It is a wrong business view to make huge profits by breaking the rules, and the program should avoid such a value orientation."
"Does it matter if the result is not good while adhering to the principle?"
Dong Mingzhu: "You can say that."
match
At 5: 30 every day, the broadcast of Gree factory area rings as scheduled, and employees leave the company sparsely. This is the first group to leave, and more people will stay here until late at night. Gree's buses run every half hour, and the last batch can't be sent away until midnight.
Judging from the life cycle of an enterprise, Gree, who is in his twenties, has entered a mature period. Just like a machine with precise system and strict process, it can run freely. Dong Mingzhu said that even if she is on a business trip, Gree's supervision mechanism and implementation system can ensure the normal operation of this enterprise. But now Gree needs a breakthrough.
"According to the rules, of course, but what I have to do now is to find the problem. My current role is not to say how to do it, but to find problems as much as possible. "
Moreover, this enterprise may not be mature enough to protect itself. On 20 16, Gree Electric suffered a false alarm.
"Nothing surprising, Gree is not Vanke." Dong Mingzhu told China Entrepreneur that she was not worried at that time.
However, other employees of Gree are not so calm. Wang Jingdong talked about the situation at that time, indicating that many people in the company were still very worried. What is the purpose of the other party? What will be the impact of capital entry? The lessons of Vanke and CSG are in sight. Will Gree repeat the same mistakes?
"I think this thing is definitely stressful for anyone. If the chairman and the helm also talk about anxiety, then this emotion will be amplified below. " Wang Jingdong said that Dong Mingzhu told them that the sky was falling and she was the first to bear it.
65438+1October 18, according to the website of Shenzhen Stock Exchange, Dong Mingzhu increased its holdings of Gree Electric130,000 shares on June 65438+1October/6, which is the second time in a month; At the end of 20 16, the other three Gree executives also increased their holdings to varying degrees, totaling nearly 40 million. Will this be a collective action to consciously strengthen management control?
Wang Jingdong denied this explanation. "Still optimistic about the prospects of enterprises, the number is not very large, and it cannot rise to the height of strengthening control."
Dong Mingzhu talked about her "life-and-death relationship" with Gree on many occasions. For her, Dong Mingzhu is Gree, and Gree is Dong Mingzhu. A former employee said in an interview with the media that if something goes wrong, everyone will scold Dong Mingzhu, but who will take charge of Gree's overall situation still needs to be chosen. "Who else but her?"
This is also a problem that shareholders should consider when the board of directors of Gree Electric 20 18 changes. ;