The brand dream of a post-90s e-commerce entrepreneur

Qian Sicong, a post-90s girl who graduated from the Alibaba Business School of Hangzhou Normal University, now owns 2 crown-level Taobao stores, with annual sales exceeding 10 million yuan.

5 years ago, Qian Sicong decisively closed the family's brick-and-mortar clothing store, shifted to an online store, and steered the online store toward a high-end brand transformation. Now, she focuses on the research and development of quality women's clothing, striving to build an internet-based multi-dimensional brand system.

“Going online” fulfills the e-commerce dream

Qian Sicong's company is located in a high-rise building on Zhijiang Road by the Qiantang River in Hangzhou. In the exquisitely decorated reception room, a large leather sofa is placed; sitting on it, one can see the Qiantang River. This is the place for negotiating business; in the open-plan office, young online store sales staff are busy at their computers; in the warehouse work area, five or six workers are busy folding clothes, preparing to ship orders.

Qian Sicong says she founded the company because of a “going online” experience in junior high school.

Qian Sicong is from Shaoxing, Zhejiang. Her family has a strong business atmosphere, and being immersed in it from childhood honed her boldness with meticulousness, and her courage with resourcefulness.

In the first year of junior high school, the family's garment factory encountered a sales crisis, with a lot of finished clothing piling up. To help share the family's pressure, she and her grandmother decided to haul the inventory to a night stall beside the market.

This attempt was not successful, but it got her started with e-commerce. “At that time, Taobao online stores were beginning to rise, and I decided to try this new business format. I opened an online store called ‘Sijiqing Da Maichang’ online, with supply from my parents' clothing wholesale store.”

“At that time, many people questioned it, saying who would buy things online? But I felt that in the future, perhaps everything could be bought online.” She began to develop an interest in e-commerce. When she graduated from high school in 2010, she chose without hesitation the e-commerce major at the Alibaba Business School of Hangzhou Normal University, starting her path of entrepreneurial practice.

The college's strong entrepreneurial atmosphere, the “trinity” progressive talent training model, and the careful guidance of teachers and corporate mentors further strengthened Qian Sicong's confidence and courage for entrepreneurship.

In her first year of university, the college encouraged students to start businesses on Taobao. Qian Sicong then formed an entrepreneurial team and reopened an online store, with her parents responsible for supply, while she was responsible for customer service, model recruitment, marketing and other work. Because the online store met all the requirements of the Alibaba Business School in various indicators, her products were featured once on Juhuasuan, orders grew rapidly, and customers increased. In less than half a year, the online store's reputation reached 1 crown, becoming the first crown store of the Alibaba Business School, with annual sales exceeding 1 million yuan. In 2012, Qian Sicong owned a second crown store and established an independent mall, Haichang Mall, with annual profit exceeding 1 million yuan.

Switching to high-end brands

“For business to last, both quality and price must withstand the test.” This is what her father Qian Linhai often told his daughter.

Once, a customer bought a mink coat worth 90,000 yuan in Qian Sicong's store, which sparked her idea of doing high-end clothing.

In July 2011, at her strong insistence, the clothes sold in the online store changed from ordinary women's clothing to branded women's clothing. Qian Sicong studied the brand structure of Taobao women's clothing, and then, accompanied by her father, went to Guangzhou, the capital of women's clothing. After investigation, she made the decision: “We must sell branded clothing, and moreover, sell the dedicated-counter brands that have entered Hangzhou Tower.”

After introducing mid-to-high-end women's clothing brands, Qian Sicong found that running the business was much harder than before. “A piece of clothing often costs over a thousand yuan, and getting customers to buy it quickly is not easy.” Qian Sicong admitted frankly that in the first month no one came to buy, and she was very anxious, feeling that her “Furong Shang” online store was about to close down.

For branded women's clothing, the online price advantage is not obvious. “Then we can only compete on service. My target customers are mostly middle-aged people. These people are too lazy to go shopping in malls, but they want to buy good-quality products on Taobao. I seized this characteristic and, through quality service, gradually built up a customer base.” Qian Sicong said with a smile, “Furong Shang” went from having no business to gradually stabilizing at more than 10 orders per day. Calculating the gross profit, it can earn more than 1 million yuan a year.

Qian Sicong has always had a dream: to create a Chinese women's clothing brand with worldwide recognition, to make Chinese women more beautiful! In 2015, she launched a new brand, Nicole Show · Duo, positioning it as a light mature women's clothing brand.

With exclusive agency for high-end brands and the continuous maturing of her own brand, Qian Sicong's business potential has been constantly stimulated. In 2014, she founded Hangzhou Sicong E-commerce Co., Ltd.; in 2015, the company cooperated with multiple brands and obtained online exclusive agency, with sales reaching 21.6 million yuan.

Attention to every detail

“I once went alone to a rather remote factory in Shenzhen. Along the way, the car drove farther and farther off the beaten path, and I became more and more afraid. Communicating alone with the factory owner about a rectification plan was also very arduous.” “Sometimes when business declined, I was anxious and fearful, and dealing with suppliers was also very taxing.” ...There are many experiences like this, but when she saw business getting more and more prosperous, Qian Sicong still felt sweet in her heart. “Seeing a loyal customer cumulatively purchase goods worth more than 400,000 yuan from the company, I felt especially gratified.”

“To run an online store well, you must ensure every detail is as perfect as possible.” Speaking of her insights on running a store, Qian Sicong explained clearly: images must be made attractive, descriptions must be carefully worded, and you must introduce which craftsmanship the clothes use, what fabric is used... In short, pay attention to details, give customers a good experience, and stimulate their desire to buy.

In the early days of starting the business, Qian Sicong also picked up a camera to learn photography. “Because the conditions in the early days of entrepreneurship were tough, I often had to serve as both model and photographer by myself.” Later, she gradually figured out some photography tips: it is best to take photos before 9 a.m., when the light is softer and the colors are more true. “When selling clothing, color deviation is a big taboo. You must let buyers see the true colors clearly.” Qian Sicong said.

To further improve customer experience, since 2013, Qian Sicong has explored transforming from a simple online retail model to an O2O model, trying a new model of online payment and offline experience services to change the traditional B2C online marketing model, build online and offline interactive channels, and optimize customer relationship management.