“In 2008, we had to occupy 20% of the market share in the retail and OEM supporting markets and become the first tire company in China.†Liu Chengzhe, managing director and sales director of Nanjing Jinhu Tire Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Kumho Tireâ€) is accepting In an interview with the newspaper, the reporter claimed that in response to the goal of South Korea's Kumho Group entering the world's top five tire companies in 2010, Kumho Tire also established clear goals in the Chinese market. Although affected by the overall downturn in the domestic auto market this year and the OEM matching market closely related to automobile manufacturers has been hit hard, it is very difficult for Kumho Tire to achieve its sales target in the domestic market, but Liu Shengzhe said that the company’s production has not been affected. Impact, due to the inclusion of the global export network of Korea’s Kumho Group, domestic production capacity will be absorbed by exports, and the company’s capacity to expand production capacity will not be affected. By February next year, it will reach a scale of 12 million units/year. , And has begun to design a new plant is expected to put into production in 2006, the goal in 2008 will not change. In 1999, due to the impact of the Korean financial crisis, in order to exchange cash for debt repayment, Kumho Group had sold Tianjin Jinhu Company in China to Japan’s Bridgestone Tire Company. It is said that at that time, Tianjin Jinhu was almost transferred without bargaining, and many people left Tsingjin City, Tianjin, with tears. The Jinhu Group painstakingly operating in Tianjin, Nanjing and North and South, and China's production and marketing system also collapsed. Carefully laid North Market sales channels were handed to Bridgestone, and Kumho Group retreated to the South Market. The blow-out growth in the Chinese auto market since 2002 has driven the rapid development of the tire industry. Jinhu Tire, after reluctance, has seized market opportunities and began to regain lost ground. Kumho Tire's Beijing office was formally established on November 18, 2002. On January 10, 2003, Kumho Tires convened a dealers' conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, officially announcing that from January 1, 2003, Kumho Tires Sales in the northern market started the Chinese market in an all-round way. How to catch up with the "Big Three" "Our goal is to catch up with the 'Big Three'", Liu Shengzhe introduced, according to the market share, Kumho Tire is very high, in 2003 sales reached nearly 5.4 million units, However, due to low prices, the total sales and profits are still lower than the three major companies Michelin, Bridgestone and Goodyear. With the rapid development of China's auto market, the tire market has also developed rapidly. In the past two years, many tire companies have enjoyed the feeling of “sold out of stockâ€. Professionals expect that China’s tire production in 2005 will reach 1.6. Billion. Facing the temptation of another emerging and open market in the world, almost all well-known tire manufacturers in the world have come to China. Michelin, Bridgestone, Goodyear, Kumho, Hankook, Yokohama, Sumitomo, Giti, and Golden Lion ... and Michelin, Bridgestone and Goodyear, the world's third-largest tire rivalry, dominated the mainstream market, and it also happened in the Chinese market. In the “Big Threeâ€, Michelin firmly occupies the domestic high-end tire market, but the total amount is relatively small. Therefore, Michelin also uses the pull back brand to compete for the mid-range car accessory market, and Goodyear is extending upwards on the basis of sticking to the mid-range car. Listone is a high school, low-end, all-you-can-eat meal. Of course, Kumho tires in the second camp are not to be outdone. "There is no problem in catching up with the 'big three' in terms of output," Liu Shengzhe said. After the Nanjing plant of Kumho Tire was completed in 1996, after additional investment, it has reached an annual output of 5.5 million units, but in the recent two There was still a phenomenon that supply was in short supply. "In this case, we have to reduce the number of exports." Kumho Group's export demand can "digest" 20% of Kumho's production capacity, but due to strong domestic demand, it can only be Meet 10%. Due to the large export demand elasticity, Kumho Tire can also produce 4 sets of 3 shifts daily at full capacity in this year's downturn in the domestic auto market. In addition, the second phase of Jinhu Tire’s capital increase of more than 80 million US dollars has already been launched, and will increase the production capacity of 5 million sets of semi-steel radial tires and 700,000 sets of all-steel radial tires annually, and will introduce higher technical content. Low-profile, high-speed tire manufacturing technology will advance the product to a higher level. “The key now is the issue of brand awareness.†Although the production and sales volume is huge, due to the lack of brand awareness, Kumho tire prices have been kept at a low level. Due to the low profit of single products, there has been sales leading, but the profit is far less than that of mainstream manufacturers. awkward. Kumho Tire deeply felt the impact of the brand bottleneck. In order to change its low-price, low-grade image, in 2003, Kumho Tire introduced PRIMA tires. Fulima tires are specially designed for China's complex road conditions, ESCOT design theory that integrates equation tires and aviation tire manufacturing processes, and it focuses on the domestic private car market. Due to the high cost performance and good market response, so far this year, Fulima's sales have increased by 70%. With reliable performance, Kumho Tire was also selected by more than 30 well-known automobile manufacturers such as Beijing Jeep, Beijing Hyundai, FAW Car, Chery, and Shenlong. Our familiar red flags, Kia Kaneka, Sonata, Elantra and many other brands are Kumho tires were used. In 2004, it was a key year for the full launch of Kumho's China brand strategy. Kumho Tire introduced a full range of branded products including high-end brands, UHP tires ECSTA with world-class ultra-high performance, mid-to-high-end brands Fulima, and KUMHO, a brand for China's growing mid-range tire market. The power of the channel "After the stability in the number of vehicles in the automotive market, the main battleground for tire companies will shift to the replacement market based on retail sales." Although Kumho tires are confident, the high-speed growth of Kumho tires has also caused the industry Worries about it. By February next year, Kumho Tire will have a production capacity of 12 million units/year, and even if it is calculated according to the annual production of 5 million vehicles, the matching market will be 20 million units. In addition to the export, the surplus production capacity can only be exported. Find a way out of the highly competitive retail market. As a result, sales channels have become a crucial factor, but due to the low prices in the past and the limited profit margin offered to dealers, Kumho Tire's ability to attract dealers has been challenged. “We have also found through investigation that 50% of consumers’ purchases take place under the impetus of sales staff. How to increase the enthusiasm for sales channels has become the key.†To that end, Kumho Tire vigorously works with distributors and distributors nationwide. Together with the Prima Store, “We will provide distributors with considerable profit margins based on reasonable profit margins,†said Liu Shengzhe. Kumho Tires attaches great importance to the management and support of sales terminals, and at the same time spare no effort to maintain this relationship, "Fulima stores as the company's most valuable marketing network resources, the company will spare no effort to maintain relations between them." Kumho Tire provides standardized store support for Fulima stores. At the same time, in order to improve the sales skills of Fulima store owners, Kumho Tires also selects outstanding retail stores nationwide and concentrates on training according to regions. The training content involves the guidance of international advanced marketing concepts and the infusion of basic tire knowledge. And the company's marketing policy discussion. From a small example, it can be seen that Kumho Tire’s tactics of indignation: Every time the owner and his family get a birthday, Kumho Tires will make a telephone greeting and send a greeting card and a birthday gift. “We want everyone to feel the warmth of home.†Currently, Kumho Tire has built 1,000 Prima Stores with distributors and distributors nationwide. Looking to sports marketing “sports marketing is a very good and very good means to increase brand awareness.†Liu Shengzhe used two “very good†emphasis. In order to increase the visibility of the company and Fulima tires and other products, Kumho Tire has vigorously promoted, including the advertisements of CCTV, the influential magazines and magazines in the country, as well as soft and hard advertisements. Radio and outdoor advertisements are based on the actual situation in various places. The delivery and so on. However, it is clear that Kumho Tire believes that the use of sports channels to promote the brand, especially tire-related motor sports is more effective. Undoubtedly, the sport of motorsports is spurred by F1 racing. The giant rubber Michelin received a huge return from the huge investment in the F1 market. In addition to the biggest increase in popularity, the limit data collected for the development of ordinary tires in various environments has played an important role in improving the performance of production tires. effect. The cost is the annual investment in millions. Kumho’s achievements in sports marketing in recent years are still commendable. "F1 viewers and our target customers have great coincidences." Although this is the case, Kumho has avoided the money-burning F1 and devoted himself to the Paris-Dakar Rally, F3 World Championships, etc. In the past more than 10 years, the auto racing event has achieved a great brand reputation. At the same time, it has also confirmed the outstanding performance of its tires. "We also have no plans to participate in the F1 race in Shanghai. If F3 develops in China, we will certainly participate." Liu Shengzhe said that Kumho Tires is currently investigating the possibility of participating in Chinese football and basketball matches. "These two kinds of sports are There are a lot of Chinese enthusiasts and the duration of the game is also very long.†Without accurate coverage, Kumho Tires will use their largest coverage to promote their brands.