Chapter 31 defend the ghost

So are Wenzhou shoes really so hopeless?Shoemaker Wang Yuejin categorically denied it. "If you think about it, Wenzhou produces more than 20 million pairs of leather shoes every year, and there are at least 2,000 leather shoe factories producing them. As long as there are 1% of 'one-day shoes', there are 200,000 pairs. One, there are 2,000 pairs. Who can guarantee that none of the 10,000 pairs of leather shoes is broken?" This is an "inevitability theory", but it is obviously not the main reason. In Wenzhou, many people think that outsiders have ruined the reputation of Wenzhou shoes.

This is "taking the blame for it". In May 1991, Li Ruihuan, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, visited Wenzhou. Wenzhou people had a "classic discussion" with him on the issue of fake and inferior leather shoes. That day, Li Ruihuan appeared in the Wenzhou shoe and leather market with great interest. He stopped at the stall of a leather shoe factory, took a pair of leather shoes to look at and twisted, and said: "When I came to Wenzhou this time, I brought a question about Wenzhou leather shoes. Now there are two opinions outside. Some people say that Wenzhou leather shoes will break after half a year, which is a scam. Others say that Wenzhou leather shoes are updated quickly and the price is low. Cheap, buy a new one if it breaks. I want to hear your opinion."

The booth he broke into belonged to the Wenzhou Conch Leather Shoe Factory. The factory director, Shao Qixing, was just over 30 years old. After talking with Li Ruihuan this time, he was regarded by Wenzhou people as a "hero defending Wenzhou". At that time, Shao Qixing replied: "As a product, of course the quality must be guaranteed. But there is also a question of value orientation. Wenzhou leather shoes are only 20 yuan a pair. If Shanghai leather shoes are also at this price, will they also make Wenzhou-like shoes? Leather shoes? The price of Wenzhou leather shoes is the same, as for the middlemen selling them in Beijing for 60 or 70 yuan a pair, that’s another matter.”

What Shao Qixing said was not his invention. In Wenzhou, this logic is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people and has become the "theoretical pillar" for their production of low-priced products. In 1990, when we were interviewing in Wenzhou, we saw "Goldlion genuine leather belts" for sale at two yuan each on the street.The vendor was honest, and said loudly: "Don't look, it's made of horse dung paper. Buy one and take it back. When there is a big scene, you can buy it for two yuan to save face. Isn’t it cheap? " It dawned on us, "But what if someone took the two yuan belt and sold it elsewhere for twenty yuan?"

The vendor stared at us and smiled: "That's what he does." At that time, after listening to Shao Qixing's speech, Li Ruihuan smiled and said, "Yes, I understand." Shao Qixing went on to say: "If I wear out a pair of these 20-yuan shoes in half a year and wear two pairs a year, it's only 50 yuan, which is about the same as the 60-yuan shoes out there that last a year. I can wear two styles in one year like this. The problem is that people in the north sell them for more than 70 yuan, so consumers will think that they should be worn for a year." Li Ruihuan smiled and said repeatedly: "Yes, Wenzhou should promote it. Last night when I went to the night market, I met a girl selling pearls. She said the same thing, very happy."

The day before was Li Ruihuan's first day in Wenzhou.That night, he wandered into the Wenzhou Night Market to observe the sentiments of the people.In front of a small commodity stall, he looked down with great interest. Suddenly, he pointed to a string of pearl necklaces shining brightly under the light, and asked the stall owner: Is it true or not? " The stall owner was a young girl. Of course she knew who the person in front of her was, but she said without hesitation: "Fake." At that moment, the local leaders accompanying Li Ruihuan were shocked, and some even changed their expressions.Selling fake products in front of the Standing Committee of the Politburo is fine.Just listen to the girl continue to say:

"These are imitations, not real, so cheap." A frank statement made everyone laugh.Li Ruihuan gave the stall owner a thumbs up and left with a smile. A fake is a fake, so cheap. Selling fakes as real is selling fakes.It is true that the fake ones are only sold as fake ones. The logic of Wenzhou people seems to be correct. But why do consumers all over China just "do not understand" them? Although "Shao Yingxiong"'s "blaming the blame theory" is quite self-justified and tells certain facts, it is certainly not the whole truth. Because, the problem of Wenzhou goods must not be entirely attributed to the poor circulation or the "northern people" who have ruined their reputation, otherwise, with the shrewdness of Wenzhou people, the problem would have been solved long ago.

Why are ghosts born? When we look back at the long history of the development of the professional market in Zhejiang, we have a deeper discovery. We found that products in professional markets in Zhejiang were frequently exposed as counterfeit or shoddy goods after 1986, and that was when the rural professional market entered its heyday and market products first entered cities on a large scale for urban consumers. when. This is a new round of "encircling the cities from the countryside".In this march, the market goods encountered strong resistance beyond the expectations of the farmers.

Most of the market goods before this were sold to the rural market, which mainly consisted of two categories: One is to "activate and renew" the backlog of products or waste raw materials in the city. This feature was very prominent in the top ten markets in Wenzhou that year. For example, the raw materials for recycled goods in Yishan were acrylic fabric scraps that factories in the city were unwilling to recycle, and the production of woven bags in Xiaojiang was a coolie that urban workers did not want to do. The low-voltage electrical appliances in Liushi are scrap electrical appliances stipulated by the state, and so on.

The bridgehead button market is more obvious in this regard.Most of the earliest buttons traded in Qiaotou were low-grade buttons backlogged in shopping malls. Qiaotou farmers once turned the 5 million buttons that had been stored in the Fuxin Department Store in Liaoning for 10 years and the 24 tons of buttons in the Wholesale Department of Guangzhou Department Store that had been accumulated in 20 years into best-sellers.Obviously, these buttons that have been accumulated for 10 or 20 years can no longer sell well in the cities, and they can only go to the rural market. The other category is low-grade and cheap commodities produced by township enterprises.

At that time, there were two popular sayings in the market, that is: "I want what others don't want, and I produce what others don't produce." The others here refer to the state-owned and collective enterprises in the city, that is to say, Zhejiang The initial township industry in the province started with the production of small daily-use commodities that state-owned enterprises disdain to produce. Even in Yiwu, Shaoxing and other markets, the products sold in the early stage were all characterized by low-grade and cheap products. When such products are sold in rural areas, there is no obstacle for farmers to accept them.After the vast rural areas have been covered, they flocked to the cities boldly and recklessly, especially to large and medium shopping malls. This time, they were hit head-on. From the perspective of urbanites, it seems not an exaggeration to say that these market products are "fake and shoddy". First of all, most of them do not have or pay little attention to brand when they are sold in rural areas.According to data, in the late 1980s, there were only five or six brands of Wenzhou leather shoes sold in the Laifumen market, such as "Hongshun", "Dongfanghong", and "Dongfeng".After entering the market, farmers’ salesmen quickly discovered this shortcoming, and their way to make up for it is very simple: either spend some money to buy some trademark stickers from enterprises in the city, which is called “registered operation” or “joint operation” , or simply find some world famous brands from foreign magazines and take them off.Isn't this a veritable "counterfeit"? Secondly, the low price of these products is often associated with low quality. After entering the city, the consumption concept of "two yuan to buy face" cannot be accepted by mature urban consumers. It seems that it is not too wrong to call it "fake and inferior". Such fake and shoddy, to paraphrase a very popular lyrics in the city: Our peasant brothers "really didn't mean it." Among the thousands of professional markets in Zhejiang, although there are some counterfeiters, more than 95% of the operators are honest. They just hope that the people in the city will like their products and come to buy them.However, the market is so harsh, when inappropriate commodities appear in inappropriate occasions, producers and sellers must pay the price.