“Get rid of all the lines on the body and on the desktop within three years”
Editor’s note: This article is from the WeChat official account “True Fund “(ID: zhenfund) , author: Friends it real.
At the end of August, Numiao announced at its press conference that it would build a Chinese luxury brand in the technology sector.
Technology? Luxury? Chinese brand? The combination of these three words makes people imaginative. The “Angry Miao” founded by Li Nan wanted to do such a thing. Since its establishment in 19, new products have been launched one after another. Among them, the wireless keyboard product “CYBERBOARD” was sold out the day it was launched. Numiao has brought unlimited surprises to the technology circle. Some Weibo netizens said that “Numiao is a unique company with user-centered, community-based organization, culture as the identification symbol, and subcultural products as the core. .”
Li Nan is a well-known figure in the technology circle. He used to serve as the senior vice president of Meizu Technology. He founded the Meizu brand from scratch. Within three years, he built the Meizu brand into one of the most popular 3C digital brands in China. Now he is about to embark on a “new journey” to occupy the minds of consumers around the world, using his ten years to complete the mission of the next generation of entrepreneurs.
Not long ago, Numiao announced that it had obtained the Angel+ round of financing from Zhen Fund and Meituan Dragon Ball Capital. As an early investor in Numiao, Dai Yusen, a partner of Zhen Fund, exchanged the following questions with Li Nan:
●What are the similarities and differences between the two brand experiences of Meilan and Numiao?
● After financial freedom, what is the purpose of starting a business?
● There has never been a luxury brand in China’s technology sector? where is the problem?
● For subculture enthusiasts, what opportunities will appear in the Chinese market?
Building a luxury brand in the technology sector
Numiao wants to make a good product that has a sense of the future and responds to the cultural trend of the times, and is betting on two opportunities for Chinese brands: one is wireless, and the other is subculture. To build a luxury brand in the technology sector is equivalent to creating a new track in the Chinese consumer market.
How did Li Nan and his team think and act on the road to building a brand?
So Numeow’s keyboard is essentially not made by us, but we have worked with more than 1,000 consumers around the world (from the United States to South Korea, from Australia to China) for five months.
Numiao Technology “CYBERBOARD”
Dai Yusen: Domestic technology brands have not produced luxury brands so far. Why? where is the problem?
Li Nan: I think it comes from pressure. One is the inertia established by Xiaomi. It is so successful that no one dared to say the word anti-price ratio.
Another two groups of people played a very bad role. The first is capital. They will chase you all day long and ask, “How much is the deal size this year?” But the most important thing to build a brand is time. Fortunately, I see more and more patient capital today.
The other is the supply chain. They are unwilling to adjust production lines and accept small orders. But in fact, after 2018, their minimum order quantity has been declining, like earphones dropped from 100,000 to 10,000, and some people even received 5,000. This is also a good signal that the supply chain has begun to become digital, flexible, and personalized.
So if you want to make luxury goods, first you must have enough patience, and second, you must solve the problem at the end of the capital and supply chain.
Numiao Technology “CYBERBLADE” wireless headset
Dai Yusen: Very much emphasis on design. The design of Chinese products in the past was often criticized for plagiarism and lack of originality. How do you solve this problem?
Li Nan: The problem with many domestic designers isYu only has technology without culture. So the first request we put forward is not to talk to me about shape and CMF (industrial design terms. color, baimaterial and finishing), but first to tell me how to understand subculture, which we call SCMF .
I actually played the role of the person who made the question and the man who killed the manuscript in the whole design process. I have no way to determine what is good, but the community can help me judge. We call it community driven creation (community driven creation) .
How did I ask this question? Rely on consumer insights.
We judged that this wave of cyberpunk is promising and acceptable to young people. Secondly, judge the control of the supply chain, that is, our capital scale and cycle are feasible. Finally, the marketing team pulled the group, and the industrial design team began to draft the aircraft. We have also been working towards SCMF.
How to find these subculture “enthusiasts”?
Customer acquisition is an important part of a new brand. How to let consumers see themselves, understand themselves, and like themselves, and eventually become brand “enthusiasts” is the homework that every brand is constantly improving.
Numiao not only hopes to find these subculture enthusiasts, but also hope that they can participate in the design and get a deeper product experience.
Dai Yusen: Subculture is a big circle. Can you describe your target consumers precisely?
Li Nan: Actually, Japan has formed such a circle culture, which we call “a little bit of luxuryism”. Today, there are also such consumers in China. These consumers are not very rich people, but they pay for luxury goods. They will not consume luxury goods everywhere, but only “fever” in their areas of interest.
Shoes are a good example. For many young people with low monthly salaries, the shoes they buy are already at luxury prices. Another scene is the table. We spend a lot of time at home and office tables. Therefore, we believe that if you have a fever in the field of interest, you must have a greater degree of integration with these two places.
“NOWIRE” is the new wireless desktop brand of Numiao Technology. Its vision is “three yearsGet rid of all the lines on the body and on the table within.
Dai Yusen: What kind of timing or market opportunity does this group of “enthusiasts” you are talking about will enable them to appear in the Chinese market at this point in time?
Li Nan: First is the environment. With the overall improvement of China’s education standards, everyone has the ability to obtain information on the Internet. Secondly, the entire market is oversupplied, unlike the previous lack of brand supply or insufficient supply of functions.
Everyone is numb to technology now, and the effectiveness of technological progress is beginning to diminish. When all the needs of everyone are fully met and the functions are no longer possible, the cultural level will inevitably be paid attention to.
Dai Yusen: Actually, there is one more thing. Everyone is now collecting information and conducting in-depth research on something. As their understanding deepens, they will hope that they will feel more involved and have a deeper product experience. Speaking of understanding consumers, now you are also “uncle”, how do you contact and understand the subculture of young people?
Li Nan: It’s actually very fun. I have been in Japan for ten years. After returning to China, I found that many things have been played in Japan. China has just gone through the stage of overseas brands entering China, and there may still be room for fivefold growth in the future, allowing many niche brands to continue to enter.
As more overseas brands enter China, consumers will also start to consider brands that contain art and culture. It can be said that China’s road to surpassing cost-effectiveness has just begun.
Numiao Technology “CYBERCOIN” scene map
Dai Yusen: Speaking of surpassing the price-performance ratio, the price of the new products of “Rage Meow” is very expensive. You once said that you would not be able to afford the fans of Charm Blue. Regarding the issue of pricing, will some people say that they are collecting IQ taxes and the products are not worth so much money? How will this controversy affect you?
Li Nan: It will definitely exist because of me90f23_img_000″ data-img-size-val=”1080,675″>
Numiao Technology Theme Blind Box
Dai Yusen: Most of your teams are young people. You are already very experienced in leading the team. What do you value when recruiting?
Li Nan: What makes us special is that we will first ask him if he is not interested in luxury goods. Our co-founder got the offer of Senior Director of Boya (a well-known public relations company in China) that year, and his salary was higher than that of mine.
I asked him a word at the time, do you want to serve Adi and Nike’s European uncle in the second half of your life, or do you want to be a Chinese brand? I think that the team built in this way has the ability to fight. If someone can’t stand the test, I don’t dare to be outstanding.
Dai Yusen: After you are financially free, what is the purpose of starting a business?
Li Nan: When I decided to come out of Meilan, I actually gave up several big company vice president-level offers. I wanted to do something interesting on my own, instead of going to a big company as an executive.
The first reason for this venture is that I believe that Chinese brands will inevitably establish a representative of luxury goods in the hearts of global consumers. Who can do this? I believe I am one of the most suitable people in China. The second is that there are people in the team that Meilan and I work with without financial freedom, so I have to let them have this opportunity.
Actually, it is not a sense of mission, nor is it to leave me alone, but I believe that certain things will happen in the times, which is the so-called mission of the times. And suitable entrepreneurs should be able to step forward and claim this mission.
Of course, whether it can be fulfilled in the end is still a question of probability. I just believe that my experience and ability can have a higher probability.