Source: e company just now! Nongfu Spring Zhong Suisui responded to Internet rumors: Respect for Zong Qinghou’s entrepreneurial spirit has never wavered. On March 3, Nongfu Spring’s official WeChat account published the article “Zhong Suisui: My two and three affairs with Zong La

source: e company

just now! Nongfu Spring Zhong Suisui responded to Internet rumors: Respect for Zong Qinghou’s entrepreneurial spirit has never wavered.

He said that the cloth business was his first pot of gold from starting a business, rather than the online rumor that "the first entrepreneurial income came from Wahaha"; he had never received a salary at Wahaha, let alone been fired for rushing goods; about In the dispute between natural water and pure water, Nongfu Spring and Wahaha filed lawsuits against each other, but they finally made peace. Zhong Suisui said: "Mr. Zong has always been an entrepreneur I respect. He and I are both teachers and friends, and of course, we are also competitors."

Looking back on the incident, on February 25, Zong Qinghou, the founder of Wahaha, was arrested for The disease treatment was ineffective and he passed away unfortunately. At Zong Qinghou's memorial service, many citizens spontaneously came to bid farewell and express their memory and respect for this business giant.

However, Zong Qinghou’s death also triggered a series of public doubts, and some so-called “melon-eating people” who did not want to be named even used Zong Qinghou’s death to attack rival Nongfu Spring. In response, Zhou Li, vice president of Nongfu Spring, said that the competition in the early years was an aboveboard competition within the legal framework and he was unwilling to debate the matter.

Original text of Nongfu Spring’s official microblog:

Zhong Suisui: Two or three things between Zong Lao and I

Today is the first day after Zong Lao’s “first seven”. Mr. Zong has always been an entrepreneur I respect. He and I are both teachers and friends, and of course, we are also competitors. A few days ago, I learned that Mr. Zong was seriously ill, and I immediately asked someone to request a visit. However, at that time, it was inconvenient for Mr. Zong to see visitors, so unfortunately the trip could not be made. After Mr. Zong passed away, I went to the mourning hall to pay my respects, lay a wreath, and express my condolences to Mr. Zong’s family.

Zong Lao hated online violence during his lifetime. I never thought that after Mr. Zong passed away, there would be a lot of slander against me and Nongfu Spring on the Internet. This was definitely not what Mr. Zong wanted to see. As a person who was accidentally involved in the whirlpool of the incident, it is necessary for me to make a clarification by referring to a few memorable events in Mr. Zong’s lifetime.

I officially resigned from my job as a reporter for Zhejiang Daily in February 1988 and went into business. I have tried to run a newspaper and grow mushrooms but without success. But when I started my business in Hainan, I discovered that around 1990, Hainan’s real estate was just emerging, and Hainan did not have the ability to process curtain fabrics. So, I established Dacheng Curtain Company in Hainan to transport curtain fabrics produced in Hangzhou to Hainan for sale, and gradually expanded the curtain business to Wangfujing and Lufthansa Department Stores in Beijing. Therefore, the cloth business was the first pot of gold I earned from starting a business, not the rumor on the Internet that "the first entrepreneurial income came from Wahaha."

In 1991, after being introduced by a former colleague, I had the honor to visit Mr. Zong at the Wahaha headquarters in Qingtai Street, Hangzhou. To show my respect, I specially selected two books as a meeting gift for Mr. Zong. I remember one was "The Limits of Growth" and the other was One is "Z Theory". Later, Mr. Zong invited me to visit the cannery he had just acquired. It was a large state-owned factory with more than 2,200 people. I saw that the professional canning production equipment was idle, and then I remembered the canned eight-treasure porridge that was popular in some parts of Southeast Asia at that time. I told Mr. Zong this idea. Later, I asked my cousin to bring back six cans of local eight-treasure porridge products from Singapore and deliver them to Zong’s hometown.

Mr. Zong was very happy and felt that there was a market for my suggestion. He later invested in research and development and developed and produced the well-known Wahaha Nutritional Eight Treasure Porridge. He also suggested that I set up Wahaha offices in Guangxi and Hainan to sell Wahaha Children's Nutritional Oral Liquid. I happily agreed. Unfortunately, the consumer demand in the markets of Hainan and Guangxi did not meet expectations at that time. I went all over the market but found it difficult to sell the product. After that, several trading companies came to Hainan to ask me to buy goods, and I was able to clear the goods. Later, I learned that there is a market for children’s nutritional oral liquid in Guangdong.

Many years later, at a Nongfu Spring sales meeting, I joked: The Wahaha products we did not sell in Hainan back then were probably sold to Guangdong. If they were sold now, they would be deemed as flush goods. Unexpectedly, a casual joke at that time would now become my accusation of "ungratefulness". I have never received a salary at Wahaha, let alone been fired for overstocking.

In the early days of the development of the market economy, all types of management were very extensive, and modern sales concepts such as channel management and stock flushing were out of the question at that time. Looking at the problems of those years from today's perspective is really ridiculous.

After 2000, the dispute between natural water and pure water has been heated up. As the two "protagonists" of the dispute, Wahaha and Nongfu Spring have clarified their respective positions and product propositions in the dispute, and have achieved certain results in the follow-up. After that, we both had lawsuits against each other, but in the end Mr. Zong and I shook hands and made peace in the presence of the main leaders of Hangzhou City at that time. To this day, I still insist that the mineral elements in water are crucial to human health, which is why I insist on producing natural water. However, my respect for Zong Lao’s entrepreneurial spirit has never wavered. I have always said on various occasions that Mr. Zong is an entrepreneur representative that I respect.

The two or three incidents between the above and Zong Lao, thinking about it today, are not only short stories worth remembering, but also a considerable spiritual wealth. I also hope that the majority of netizens will express their remembrance of Zong Lao and not be led by individual self-media or big Vs. Whether Wahaha or Nongfu Spring, they always insist on the same thing: producing good products for the people.

expresses his longing for Mr. Zong again!

                                        March 3, 2024