Suspicion of renaming of Holiland stores in many locations: may involve separation of founders and overall strategic adjustment

Jilin Holiland changed its name to "Haofuli", and Jiangxi Holiland changed its name to "Dandelion"... Recently, Holiland stores in Jilin, Suzhou, Lanzhou, Nanchang and other places have successively changed their names, arousing curious onlookers from netizens. Holiland's official explanation for this is "implementing a multi-brand development strategy", but its different regions operate independently. The sub-brand products, pricing, and services are the same as those of the main brand Holiland. In some cities, the main and sub-brands have even emerged, making the industry question its The strategy "lacked business logic".

A reporter from the Beijing News found that the above-mentioned renamed store and the company behind it have no equity relationship with the Beijing Holiland headquarters and Holiland founder Luo Hong. Holiland employees and insiders confirmed that the renamed stores are not Holiland directly-operated stores. According to the group's plan, Holiland will be more inclined to open stores in first- and second-tier cities in the future. Currently, the entire Holiland is in the process of adjustment.

Stores in some areas have been renamed to be consistent with “Holyland”

On July 27, the WeChat public account “Holyland” posted a message about “Hollyland & Holyland” The job advertisement stated that in order to better serve local consumers, Holly will implement a multi-brand development strategy from 2019. In addition to first-tier cities, more than 60 stores of the original "Holiland" in Jilin (Editor's Note: Jilin City), Tieling, Datong, Yantai, Jiamusi, Fuxin, Jining and Chifeng under the Zhongyuan Company have been renamed "Haolilai".

According to the announcement of "Haofuli" on July 13, the remaining areas of Holilai except first-tier cities will be renamed as "Haofuli", "Sweet Star", "Xin'an" and "Dandelion" respectively. Metzfang”. After the renaming, "Hofuli" implements unified standards with Holiland in terms of production raw materials, production processes, quality management and service systems.

On June 1, "Jiangxi Dandelion" posted on the WeChat public account, "In order to cater to market development, Holiland Group has decided to launch a new baking brand 'Dandelion Pokoni' in Jiangxi after comprehensive consideration to better Serving Jiangxi consumers with a youthful attitude." Regarding the difference between the transformed "Dandelion" and Holiland, the article said, "Dandelion is inherited from Holiland, with unified products and unified prices, and stored-value cards can be used interchangeably."

A reporter from the Beijing News noticed that the regions involved in the renaming of Holiland stores include Jilin, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Northwest, etc., but not all stores in these regions need to be renamed, and some cities even have main brands. Holiland and its sub-brands are in a “baby-sex” situation.

On July 30, a reporter from the Beijing News learned as a consumer from a clerk at the Xining Garden Store of "Xin'an Baking" that "some Holiland stores in the northwest will be changed to Xin'an stores, and some areas will only have Holiland stores." , and some areas only have Xin'an, and a few areas have both Holiland and Xin'an, such as Lanzhou."

The above statement was confirmed by the clerk of Holiland's Lanzhou Customs store, "Lanzhou Holiland and Xin'an are the same store. Yes, the card can be used universally. I can’t say whether the Holiland stores in Lanzhou will be renamed Xin’an in the future, but there are already two Holiland stores that have changed their name to Xin’an. ”

If the price, product and even service system are changed. What is the significance of developing these sub-brands of Holiland in line with the parent brand? How will main and sub-brands that coexist in the same region be differentiated? As of press time of the Beijing News reporter, Holiland headquarters has not yet responded.

Food industry analyst Zhu Danpeng believes that Holiland’s approach is “unbelievable” and does not conform to business logic. "Brand development generally follows the optimal principle, that is, strengthening the main brand to form synergy, but Holiland's approach will undoubtedly disperse the value of the main brand. How can so many sub-brands be grafted with Holiland's price system without being well-known? The original Holiland's price system The high pricing is based on the premium ability of the brand, and the premium ability of the sub-brand is obviously not as high as that of the parent brand.” It is worth noting that some netizens have questioned the relevant sub-brands as “copycat Holiland”.

Employees said that all the renamed stores are non-directly operated

In response to the rebranding phenomenon, a store clerk in Shenyang Holiland explained, “The Jilin store is not a regular Holiland store, so they are now required to The name has been changed, and I know it will also be changed in Henan.” The clerk said that the so-called “irregular” refers to non-Hollyland directly-operated stores. “It probably means that the boss doesn’t have the same name as ours, and it is not a direct-operated store. Similar to joining."

Tianyancha shows that "Xin'an Baking" is affiliated to Beijing Xin'an Enterprise Management Co., Ltd., and like Lanzhou Holilai Food Co., Ltd., the actual controller is Luo Li. On the official website of Xin'an Baking, Luo Li's identity is "the founder of Xin'an Baking and one of the founders of the Holiland brand". But at present, the two companies under Luo Li's name have no equity relationship with the Beijing Holiland headquarters and Holiland founder Luo Hong. According to public reports, Luo Li is the second brother of Holiland founder Luo Hong.

Similarly, the name change of Holiland involves Liaoning Haolilai Food Technology Co., Ltd., Jilin Haolilai Industrial Co., Ltd., Datong Pingcheng District Haolilai Food Co., Ltd., Jining Haolilai Food Co., Ltd., etc. The actual controllers of all companies are Han Guang, and these companies have no equity relationship with Beijing Holilai Headquarters and Luo Hong; Nanchang Holilai Food Co., Ltd., Nanjing Sweet Star Food Development Co., Ltd., and Suzhou Holilai Food Co., Ltd. also have other actual controllers.

A Beijing News reporter noticed that on July 26, 2018, "Jilin Haolilai", which had not yet been renamed "Haofuli", issued a recruitment advertisement. It revealed that in 1993, Holiland opened its first store in Jilin. “Under the leadership of Han Guang, one of the founders of Holiland and general manager of Zhongyuan, Jilin Holiland has grown day by day and now has 21 directly-operated chain stores and a Holiland central store. Factory", "Mr. Han Guang, as a member of the core entrepreneurial team of Holiland and the founder of the 'Haufuli' brand, will write the legend of the 'Haufuli' brand with the spirit of craftsmanship."

On May 28, 2019, the WeChat public account of "Sweet Star Suzhou" (formerly known as "Hollyland Suzhou") posted a recruitment advertisement for "Hollyland & Sweet Star" in a similar tone, saying, "June 1996 On the 1st, Holiland opened its first store in Suzhou. Under the leadership of Wu Bing, one of the founders of Holiland and general manager of East China, Suzhou Holiland has grown day by day and now has more than 50 directly operated chain stores and a Holiland central factory.

Tianyancha shows that in addition to being the actual controllers of the above-mentioned companies involved in the name change, Han Guang and Wu Bing are also directors and shareholders of Shenyang Holilai Food Co., Ltd., holding 4.63% and 6% of the shares respectively. It has been confirmed that Beijing Holiland and Shenyang Holiland controlled by Luo Hong are not included in this name change.

Shen Meng, executive director of Chanson Capital, believes that the divestiture of non-direct-operated stores by Holiland is a way to reconstruct the distribution system to strengthen the Holiland brand. “Spinning off non-direct-operated stores to some veterans can not only solve the problem of veteran The issue of division of interests between them can consolidate Luo Hong’s control over Holiland and reduce the uncontrollable risks of non-direct stores. Holiland should gradually weaken its relationship with local brands in the future until it is completely separated. ”

The "Hollyland" brand will be more focused on first- and second-tier cities

Official information shows that in September 1992, Luo Hong founded "Hollyland Cake World" after failing to buy a satisfactory birthday cake for her mother. ”, becoming one of the earliest baking companies to implement the bakery chain model in China, and now has nearly a thousand directly-operated chain stores in more than 80 large and medium-sized cities across the country.

However, in recent years, with the emergence of new online and offline baking brands, the frequency of media exposure of "Hollyland" has gradually decreased, and the aging of the brand has become a fact. Nowadays, when searching for "Luo Hong, founder of Holiland" on Baidu, the keywords are still stuck on "cake king", "photographer" and the former scandal target "Jiang Yiyan". The latest brand information about Holiland is very little.

At the same time, Holiland also encountered many troublesome problems in its operation and management. Tianyancha showed that on September 10, 2018, Beijing Holilai Enterprise Investment Management Co., Ltd. was listed as a breach of trust person by the Shunyi District People's Court of Beijing because of its refusal to vacate the army's land and buildings. In addition, Heilongjiang Holiland Food Co., Ltd., Beijing Holiland Catering Management Co., Ltd., Chengdu Black Swan Catering Management Co., Ltd., Zhonghai Holiland Food Store in High-tech Zone, Panjin Bay Holiland Baking and Cake Shop, etc., for which Luo Hong serves as the legal representative or shareholder, have Be included in the list of operating abnormalities. Shijiazhuang Holiland, Shenyang Holiland, Tianjin Holiland, Beijing Holiland, Changchun Holiland, Dalian Holiland, etc. are all involved in legal disputes with others or companies, and some subsidiaries have also been punished by taxation, industry and commerce, environmental protection and other departments.

In addition, Holiland’s high-end attempts have not been smooth sailing.

In 2009, Luo Hong founded the high-end baking brand "Black Swan", and his sons Luo Hao and Luo Cheng also joined the team in 2014. However, Tianyan Check showed that Beijing Black Swan Xizhi Store, Tianjin Black Swan Xiaobailou Branch and Meijiang Store have all been cancelled.

Editor Li Yan Proofreader He Yan