For me, patagonia is not only a business, it is more like a religion, and I, it is one of its devout believers!
- Zeng Weigang, President of Patagonia China
Today, perhaps not many Chinese people know that the brand patagonia, or even outdoor enthusiasts know very little, but this can not destabilize the position of patagonia in the global outdoor circle. What kind of brand is patagonia?
At the edge of the passionate Ventura Beach in California, there is a company more innovative than Microsoft, more free and livelier than Google. It is Patagonia, a company that combines natural environmental protection, relaxed environments, creative work and sustainable management. Outdoor supplies company. There are the most unusual bosses here. Almost six months out of the year are out of the office, but rock climbing, surfing or fishing are all over the world. Under his leadership, each employee can lay down his work and surf the ocean under a wave of six feet and sunshine. Under his leadership, even if the employee has only one year of work, he can apply for two months. Annual leave, to implement the "environmental internship plan." There are the most alternative companies here. They are hailed by Fortune Magazine as "the coolest company in the world". They don't advertise, they don't seek profits, they don't want to expand their scale, they reject Wall Street's temptation to go public again and again, even if they face the US election. Vice-Presidential candidate Palin's praise did not come down. In the eyes of ordinary people, the founder Ivan Joynad and the patagonia he leads are just like a wayward child in the business world, naturally casual and unwilling to advance, and when you walk into the world they built together, you will find : "patagonia is an absolute perfectionist - it produces high-quality outdoor products known as outdoor Gucci; patagonia is an out-and-out environmentalist, it does not cost, take the lead in organic cotton, with practical The operation affected many trendy companies such as Nike, Levi's, and Wal-Mart. It was used for recycling and was the first to use recycled soda bottles to make artificial wool. It quietly ordered the earth and first self-imposed earth tax..."
Speaking so much, I don't know if everyone has had a snack. In fact, like everyone else, I didn't know of such a brand at the earliest time. I have lived abroad since I was a child. At first, due to cultural differences, I was somewhat introverted. I liked to stay away from the public and I didn’t care much about other people’s views. I lacked the inner motivation to make money, but I didn’t have the courage to live a life of extreme poverty... It seemed to coincide with that area. IT's spleen standards, so no accident I became a typical Silicon Valley IT people. We all know that California has very good outdoor sports resources. Skiing and rafting have very good conditions to do these things. So we started to get more exposure to outdoor sports, and we naturally recognize patagonia! At that time, it was thought that patagonia was an environmentally friendly, socially desirable brand, and its products were of high quality, low profile, and attention to detail.
In 2004, I chose to return to China to start my own business and officially join the outdoor industry. At that time, she was still very awkward, did not understand the domestic market, and did not know much about patagonia. He first contacted Colombia, followed by TNF and Archaeopteryx, and later he was recommended by his friends. Only then did he really begin to understand the patagonia. At first, the brand culture of patagonia was not good enough to digest. From a commercial point of view, he always did not understand why he should emphasize environmental protection. Why give up the maximization of profits? Once in the self-conflict. Over time, my contacts with the U.S. headquarters and Yvon Joynad have increased. My thinking has gradually changed. I have increasingly become a patagonia believer. The way of work is life style. The industry's industry experience taught me how to do business, so many years of patagonia management taught me why to do business - the purpose of the business is not just to make money, as Patagonia's corporate mission "to create the best product, to avoid unnecessary Environmental damage, through business operations to find solutions to environmental crises."
Doing the best product is a difficult goal. It does not mean "being first in the same category", but it does not mean "the first in a certain price range" but simply "doing the best". ", nothing more. In Patagonia's philosophy, finance is not the cornerstone of business. We never target profit. We are convinced that doing things well beyond profit will naturally be profitable. In 2005, we initially brought Patagonia's products to China. The US headquarters did not tell me what Patagonia's goals are in China. We do not pursue explosive growth, we do not want to be the biggest and we do not plan to go public. We just keep on The introduction of high-quality, innovative products, has always been committed to the cause of environmental protection and support grassroots environmental organizations. It is precisely because of this that we enjoy the fun of entrepreneurship, we continue to try, fall to get up, fall again and then get up, so a spiral cycle, the team's internal operations and market size are constantly maturing, the company's development strategy and plans It became clear that my team and I enjoyed it.
Through eight years of development, Patagonia has established itself in the Chinese market. Since 2009, we have joined the ranks of the “1% Earth Tax†co-sponsored by the founder of Patagonia, and donated 1% of the sales of patagonia mainland China to the grassroots environmental protection organization for China’s environmental protection projects. In 2014, we Inviting more companies to take action, we set up a special person responsible for the promotion of 1% of the Earth tax in the Chinese mainland. We passed the Patagonia concept in action and followed Patagonia's footsteps. In 2014, we hope to further develop and transfer the Patagonia business philosophy to China. Therefore, we will build a Patagonia flagship store, Eco Village, in Sanlitun SOHO in Beijing to solve the consumer needs of food, clothing, accommodation, entertainment, and entertainment. With the cooperation, win-win, and sustainable outdoor industrial ecological chain, Eco Village will become a gathering place for outdoor and environmentalists in Beijing and even the whole country.
Since the establishment of Patagonia, the world has changed a lot, but our values ​​have never changed. It includes our commitment to product quality and to consumers. It also includes our commitment to environmental protection. We will continue to do so and protect us. We will not let the world change us in our hearts.