More than 400 years ago, the Western bell chimed at the Moon Harbor in Zhangzhou. "Haicheng people can work efficiently". The earliest history of Zhangzhou clock making can be traced back to here. If we study the clock making schools in Chinese history, the cultural background of "Zhangzhong" is no less than that of "Guangzhong".

In 2012, Zhangzhou was named the "City of Chinese Watches and Clocks". Zhangzhou clock is not only famous nationwide, but also has a significant influence in the global market. It is no exaggeration to say that Zhangzhou is a global clock and watch factory. More than 90% of its products are exported to 165 countries and regions, with an annual output value of more than 7 billion yuan.

In this industry with traditional advantages, Zhangzhou Hengli Electronics Co., Ltd. is the best in the industry. Shao Yueming, the chairman of the board of directors, is currently the chairman of the Zhangzhou Watch Industry Association, and has been deeply involved in the watch industry for more than 20 years. He has fused feelings and technology into one furnace, leading the Zhangzhou watch industry to the international stage, and becoming an indispensable witness and leader.

40000 yuan to sea
In the past few years, Shao Yueming has traveled all over the world. Wherever he is, he can recognize Zhangzhong at a glance, from the obscure gas station in Egypt to the luxury hotel in Europe. He can almost accurately tell the manufacturer and price of each Zhangzhong, even if it is unknown.

Today, Hengli Electronics is out of class in the industry, but few people may know his entrepreneurial process. In the 1990s, Shao Yueming was assigned to Zhangzhou State-run Watch Factory after graduation from the university. As one of the five watch bases designated for production nationwide, Zhangzhou had a period of glory.

"At the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s, how prosperous were the clocks and watches in Zhangzhou? Every four quartz clocks sold in the country were produced in Zhangzhou, accounting for 25% of the market share in the country." Shao Yueming recalled that in the streets of Zhangzhou at that time, wholesale commercial tricycles were often seen pulling the finished products, and only the words of quartz clocks were printed on the cartons. At that time, there was no brand concept.

At that time, Zhangzhou was known as the "City of Quartz Bell", which planted the seeds of the entire industrial chain. Shao Yueming's first job after graduation from university also sowed seeds for his entrepreneurial process. In the early 1990s, with the rise of marketization, the benefits of state-owned enterprises began to decline. With an iron rice bowl, he resigned and went to the sea to start a business in the face of his family's opposition and inner suffering.

In 1993, he borrowed 40000 yuan from his sister, plus 40000 yuan from a friend. A total of 80000 yuan was used to start a joint venture. A dozen people's factories began to operate. In less than a year, he earned the first barrel of gold in his life. At that time, the success of entrepreneurship had a great relationship with the overall situation of the environment. He said that in retrospect, the first thing to thank is the opportunity of the times.

"It is a pity that the first wave of prosperity at that time did not produce large brands and entrepreneurs. If such figures were produced at that time, the quartz clock industry in Zhangzhou would be different."

Ten years of golden age
In the mid-1990s, the clock industry in Zhangzhou ushered in a turning point. In Shao Yueming's memory, the first wave of people who bought motorcycles in that era were businessmen who made money from quartz clocks. After the production of quartz clocks came up, the whole market tended to be saturated. Due to excessive dependence on the original distribution model, serious vicious price competition was caused, and the Zhangzhou watch industry ushered in the first wave of major reshuffle.

Around 1996, clock and watch enterprises were in the tide of closure. From 165 enterprises registered with the industry and commerce in the boom period, only 26 enterprises remained at the lowest. A traditional industry with a long history is facing the big test of life and death.

In Shao Yueming's view, two genes are very important for the survival of Zhangzhou clocks and watches. The first is the seeds left by the first wave of prosperity. The industrial chain of various parts is very complete; Another is the arrival of the era of export trade.

Since the first quartz clock was exported to Britain in 1992, the export of foreign trade has opened a new window for Zhangzhou quartz clocks. The reform of the national exchange rate and the support of macro policies such as vigorously supporting export to earn foreign exchange have ushered in another golden decade of rapid development of the clock industry in Zhangzhou from 1995 to 2005. So far, the clock industry in Zhangzhou has opened the world's market from the inside out.

Since 2005, the independent brand of Zhangzhou has also been rising, mainly through OEM. According to incomplete statistics, there are nearly 100 enterprises and 20000 employees in the clock industry in Zhangzhou, which has become the wind vane of the national and even global industry.

As the world clock factory, Zhangzhou quartz clock production accounts for 80% of the same products in China; The output of quartz clock movements accounts for 50% of the global market, and the output of watches accounts for 10% of the global market. Zhangzhou clocks and watches have developed an industrial road focusing on the production of economic clocks and watches, affecting and participating in the formulation of global industry standards.

transformation
Over the past 20 years, Shao Yueming has witnessed the ups and downs of the industry, and has also conducted in-depth thinking on the development of the industry. In recent years, the annual output value of the clock industry in Zhangzhou has reached 7 billion yuan, and the industry is approaching 10 billion. Now it is at the crossroads of major transformation.

So, how does Zhangzhou watch enterprises transform and upgrade? Shao Yueming put forward four key elements of enterprise transformation and upgrading: sales must be e-commerce, production and manufacturing must be lean and automated, operation must be branding, and finally, we must embrace smart wear.

If the above four points can be achieved, it should be easy for the clock industry to reach the 10 billion mark. But transformation and innovation is really a process that requires entrepreneurs to adhere to and the whole industry to pursue progress together.

Shao Yueming summarized the characteristics of the watch industry with "three small and three big". He believes that clocks and watches are a big influence of small industries. Compared with real estate, oil and other large industries, clocks and watches are a small industry. However, its global market share is very high. There is no industrial product in Zhangzhou, which can be sold in more than 200 countries and regions around the world.

Although the output value of the watch industry is small, it has a great social impact. It absorbs 10000 to 20000 employees every year, which has a great impact on the society. For this small product, there is still a great market prospect in the future, and now is the crossroads of industrial upgrading.

For the clock industry in Zhangzhou, there are two best opportunities to break through the ten billion mark: one is the wearable smart watch, which is becoming the intelligent carrier of the Internet, and innovation in this field should be strengthened. Secondly, e-commerce has crossed the limits of time and space. The key is whether enterprises can embrace new business models.

"The annual output value of Zhangzhou clocks and watches has reached more than 7 billion yuan, and I believe it is not difficult to achieve tens of billions of industries." Shao Yueming believes that the business model of OEM is becoming less and less value-added, and Zhangzhou clocks and watches must move closer to the high-end direction in order to achieve transformation and upgrading. In addition to focusing on building its own brand, we must seize the opportunity of transformation and upgrading, and embrace the smart wear in the consumer market.

Related news
The 3rd China Watch Design Competition was held in Longwen on April 20
China (Hengli · Blue Light Cup) Watch Design Competition is the most authoritative watch design award in the domestic watch industry at present.

It is understood that the 2013 competition was held for the first time, once every two years and this year for the third time. The judges of the competition are the industry experts with the highest specifications in China. At present, the competition is actively inviting the world-class Swiss Watch Industry Association, as well as the top watch college students to participate, and plans to build an international watch competition.

Shao Yueming said that the 21st century must be the century of China and the century of China's intelligent manufacturing. The original intention of the competition is to create the world's top events, improve the influence of China's watch industry, and improve the popularity of Zhangzhou city. In addition, it is of great significance to the development of the entire industry to improve the design level of watches and watches and increase the added value of watches and watches products through the exchange of international top designers.

In 2004, Zhangzhou set up the Furniture and Watch Industry Promotion Office, which benefited from more than 10 years of industrial support from the Zhangzhou Municipal Government. The Zhangzhou watch industry has won many national honorary titles. In recent years, Zhangzhou has successively won the honorary titles of "National Professional Demonstration Base for Foreign Trade Transformation and Upgrading", "China Light Industry Watch Vocational Skills Training Base", "China Watch City" and so on.