How much inspiration will Bertelsmann give when he withdraws from the market?

Bertelsmann's most direct influence comes from the policy level. The China Municipal Government explicitly prohibits wholly foreign-owned enterprises from carrying out book publishing business in China. After China's entry into WTO, although the policy has been loosened, we can only adopt various forms of cooperation that meet the legal requirements. Bertelsmann doesn't know when it will become a publishing company like Germany or the United States, not just a "Shanghai Bertelsmann Cultural Industry Co., Ltd." registered in the Industrial and Commercial Bureau and cooperating with domestic publishing companies. Without publishing rights, it will always be subject to people, and it is even more difficult for the global headquarters to make practical plans for this overseas company. Although Bertelsmann intervened in all aspects of the book industry chain in various ways in the following years, he was always constrained by partners and policies and could not make efforts.

The strategic mistakes of the German headquarters in the application of new technologies also made Bertelsmann's online business lose its leading edge. In 2002, Middelhoff, who advocated group listing and a new round of M&A, couldn't bear it any longer. He hastily closed his global online business and temporarily forgot his plan to develop his business in China, a virgin land of e-commerce. Apotheker also resigned this year, and BOL, the company's first e-commerce website in China, has been in a state of stagnation since then, contributing only 20% to the annual revenue.

Next, it is the most common mistake of multinational companies to copy the successful experience of the past and abroad indiscriminately. This time Bertelsmann did not fight back on e-commerce, but moved to the experience of a direct store in France.

In Europe, going to bookstores to buy books and read books has become people's living habits. High book prices and low rents have also become favorable conditions for bookstores to blossom everywhere. In Germany, reading clubs are not only welcomed by empty nesters who love German folk music and hold traditional ideas, but also attractive to family members of any age. Many members of Bertelsmann don't even want to go to the physical bookstore to buy books, and the book club is almost the only channel for them to buy books. Knowing this, Bertelsmann launched a large number of direct stores in Europe, but mainly engaged in book clubs and online business in the fast-paced United States.

But in China, none of this works. The consequences of directly copying the French direct store model to China soon came out. Rising rents and personnel costs, as well as people's general indifference to physical bookstores, make Bertelsmann overwhelmed.

Although Bertelsmann did his homework before coming to China, he still underestimated the cultural gap between China and the West. The clause in the membership agreement of the book club about "recommending" purchases every quarter has become the most criticized thing for readers. After the number of members of the book club climbed to the peak, Bertelsmann still promoted youth inspirational books without changing his original intention and never considered more meaningful books.

Germans are dedicated, patient and more willing to invest. In order to maintain the book club, Bertelsmann invested 40 million dollars before and after, and established a call center with 150 people, with a CRM system storing 8 million users' information and a self-developed logistics distribution system.

The number of members has not increased, but the cost remains high. Only one stamp album costs 3 million yuan a month; Its advertisements published in popular publications every month cost 6.5438+0.8 million yuan for only one reader. When rival Dangdang let readers know about this month's new book without spending a penny, Bertelsmann's stamp album was just for readers to find books on Dangdang, and even Li Guoqing, president of Dangdang, expressed disdain for it.

When all these problems happened, 38 2 1 century chain bookstores became the last straw to crush this behemoth. Slow checkout, poor cash flow, arrears, and no new good books from the publishing house. Bertelsmann's national book chain seems to have entered such a vicious circle, which directly led to the final closure.

Sometimes, patience and determination are one thing, but success is another.

"Bertelsmann's acquisition of 2 1 century is a successful case of the latter's money, not a wise investment case of the former. Simply doing book retailing, except Xinhua Bookstore has the advantages of property, taxation and teaching materials, it is difficult for others to do it. " Humboldt, a researcher at China Publishing Science Research Institute, said.

The shortcomings of the experience of moving to a direct store in France soon appeared. At that time, the price of French books was four times that of China, and the cost of land lease was only twice as high as that of Shanghai. French readers are used to reading and buying books in stores, but China readers can't resist the temptation of online bookstores with big discounts. Every local bookstore in China is facing a crisis, but Bertelsmann can't escape.

"Although 99% of Bertelsmann's employees are from China, the CEO has always been a foreigner, which conflicts with the local cultural integration. Even when recruiting managers in China, Bertelsmann pays more attention to employees' overseas return experience and MBA management, ignoring the cultural characteristics of the book itself. " Huang Yuhai said.

Bertelsmann, who set foot in the publishing industry, applied his overseas publishing operation model-buying out copyright for writers, which is completely different from the practice of talking about tax rates and print runs with writers in China. "For example, Anne Baby's book, Bertelsmann first took 2 million yuan and robbed the copyright of the book, but often it could not be sold after making a promise." Huang Yuhai said. "What is the concept of selling a book for 20 yuan and 2 million yuan? Bertelsmann may only sell 20,000 copies through direct mail and website recommendation. If sales are not done well, liquidity will be seriously occupied. "