Brand Story: Polishing the Golden Signboard. A Time-Honored Chinese Brand

Author: Column Group of "Brand Story"
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-05-01
Features: Successful brands are a concrete embodiment of a scientific development philosophy, advanced productive forces, and advanced culture. The scientific development philosophy emphasizes rationality, initiative, innovation, and sustainable development, rather than short-sighted behavior that seeks quick gains at the expense of one's integrity to achieve small benefits. This is the fundamental principle of building a brand. A successful brand operator must prioritize humanistic care and should establish people and affairs with a mindset of responsibility and accountability to society and consumers. With a sense of responsibility and morality, they should care for the public and fulfill the duties of a brave and wise individual in promoting the harmonious development of the entire society.
Lowering arrogance, embracing innovation, and cutting through conventional thinking—Quanjude revitalizes its vitality. On April 1, 2005, Quanjude's roast duck was freshly prepared and "flew" into the sky with China Airlines' international routes. Allowing foreigners to savor authentic Quanjude roast duck in first class was a bold and brilliant move in a series of innovations by the Quanjude Group. However, for an old establishment with a century of history, the path of innovation was bound to be filled with challenges.
In October 1993, when 43-year-old Jiang Junxian took the reins as the general manager of the Quanjude Group, he was full of ambition, ready to make significant changes. But just then, an article about consumer complaints regarding overcharging at Beijing roast duck restaurants poured cold water on his plans. Jiang Junxian (Chairman of the Quanjude Group): The criticism from customers and media reports were entirely in line with the actual situation of Quanjude at the time. From the management to the service staff to the chefs, we seemed to fear no one would come to eat here—it was always the customers who were begging us. In terms of food quality, service, environment, and work attitude, we somewhat exhibited the arrogance of a large establishment that exploits its customers. At that time, the competitive landscape of Beijing's catering industry had already begun to take shape. Various northern and southern cuisines were vying for attention, foreign restaurants were rushing to capture market share, all trying to attract customers' attention with various methods, while Quanjude remained stubbornly unchanged. At this point, Jiang Junxian could no longer sit still.
Jiang Junxian: Later, we realized that if we didn’t change our service attitude, one day, we would be left behind by customers. And when that happened, we would have no business. Eventually, we would have no way to survive. We should recognize that this was a matter of life and death for the company. Jiang Junxian’s years of experience in the food and beverage service industry told him that consumer complaints were not accidental but rather an inevitable outcome of the flaws in the planned economy system. It had long been ingrained in people’s minds, forming habits. The fate of the Quanjude signboard lay in the hands of the Quanjude people themselves.
Soon after, Jiang Junxian did something unexpected.
Jiang Junxian: One thing that left a deep impression on me was visiting our largest store—Hepingmen. I saw the high marble counter in the first-floor lobby where waiters received takeout orders. The counter gave the impression of not being a restaurant at all. Jiang Junxian strongly advocated tearing down the counter, but the reactions he received exceeded his expectations.
Jiang Junxian: At the time, some employees and leaders didn’t understand. They said, "Our counter is beautiful, and we’ve used it for so many years." I said we weren’t looking at the counter’s intrinsic value but rather that we could no longer create a barrier between ourselves and the customers in terms of form and behavior. Tearing down a small counter actually drew such a strong reaction, and Jiang Junxian realized how difficult it would be to change attitudes in such an old state-owned enterprise with decades of planned economy thinking.
Jiang Junxian: "Quanjude’s greatest advantage or resource is its prestigious brand name. But because it has over a hundred years of history, it is traditional."