Zheng Xiukang, a generation of shoe king and founder of Kangnai Group, died of invalid treatment at the age of 76 in the early morning of April 20, Zhejiang Daily reported.
According to Zheng Xiukang’s will, his funeral was simplified. At present, the websites of Kangnai Group are all black and white, and the company operates normally.
Many people are familiar with Kangnai, especially the high head picture symbolizing “raising your head and being honest” on Kangnai’s trademark.
“China’s shoe king”
Zheng Xiukang is one of the leaders in Wenzhou and even China’s shoe industry. Kangnai won the title of “king of China’s shoe industry” in 1993. The trademark of Kangnai Group is a human head with a straight head, behind which is the process of Wenzhou leather shoes brand from trough to revitalization.
Zheng Xiukang is a typical first generation Zhejiang merchant. Public information shows that he was born in Wenzhou. Because of his family difficulties, Zheng Xiukang dropped out of school at the age of 16 and entered the machinery factory. In order to solve the problem of food and clothing, he began to learn to make leather shoes at the age of 33, and then stayed on without pay to start his own businessP align= “center” in 1980, zhengxiukang founded the red elephant leather shoes workshop
changing the history of “handmade shoes” in Wenzhou
However, the reputation of Wenzhou shoes at that time was not good. “Wenzhou shoes” with low price and new style are popular, and the output once accounted for 1 / 10 of the country, but the criticism of poor quality is endless, which is called “morning and dusk shoes” and “week shoes”.
On August 8, 1987, a fire in Hangzhou Wulin Square burned the false prosperity of Wenzhou shoe industry to ashesP align = “center” in 1989, Zheng Xiukang worked in Wenzhou Great Wall Shoes Co., Ltd. p align = “center” figure: “Wenzhou shoe leather industry association” wechat official account
In order to rebuild the reputation and brand image of Wenzhou footwear industry, in 1989, zhengxiukang went to Italy, the “world footwear capital”, to learn industrialized shoe-making technology.
In 1999, Feng Weimin and Wang Gang, reporters of Zhejiang Daily, wrote in the front page article “phoenix of nirvana – yesterday, today and tomorrow of Wenzhou shoe industry”——
Zheng Xiukang, the boss of Wenzhou Hongsheng leather shoes factory, a private enterprise, resolutely went to Italy to study art in the face of enterprises that were in the state of semi shutdown. He doesn’t believe that Wenzhou people can’t make really good shoes he stayed in Italy for 18 months. When he came back, a suitcase was filled with drawings of new leather shoes and new leather materials
When he got home, he did three things:
First, change the name of the factory to “Great Wall shoes”, which means “never fall”;
Second, the registered legal trademark “Kangnai” means “healthy development, who will do what I do”;
Third, spend a lot of money to introduce advanced equipment.
since then, the output of “Kangnai” leather shoes has increased sharply, reaching 3 million pairs in 1998, with sales of 350 million yuan
Learning, introduction and renaming, the launch and success of these three major measures have virtually made Zheng Xiukang a leader in the resurgence of Wenzhou shoe industry. The fact of success not only indicates that Wenzhou leather shoes break out of the “imprisonment”, but also points out the way out for Wenzhou shoe industry to get out of the trough.
After a breakthrough in mechanized shoemaking technology and technology, in 1992, he asked someone to design a head portrait with a straight head as a trademark logo to raise the head of the brand “made in Wenzhou” and named the trademark “Kangnai”.
While others are introducing mechanized operation, Kangnai, with first-class equipment, has begun to operate the brand strategy. In 1993, Kangnai has advertised on TV, that is, “wear Kangnai, good style” .
In 1993, he won the title of the first “Chinese shoe king” for Zhejiang shoe industry; In 1996, he won the title of the first “real leather shoes king” for Wenzhou shoe industry; In 1999, he returned to the first gold medal of “China famous trademark” in Zhejiang shoe industry; In 2002, he won the honorary title of the first “leather leading shoe king” in Wenzhou shoe industry. He became the first famous brand in China’s shoe industry and the first one in China’s shoe industry with the introduction of “Naikang leather” trademark.
let Chinese shoe brands go abroad
Hu Hongwei, executive president of Zhejiang merchants Research Association and financial writer, told surging news that the shoemaking industry was once an important industry in Wenzhou. Together with lighters and glasses, it was known as the “three little flower days” of Wenzhou’s private economy.
“In my vision, Zheng Xiukang is the first person of Wenzhou leather shoes and the first person of Wenzhou leather shoes to go to the world.”
In 2001, Kangnai’s first overseas exclusive store opened in Paris, is the first exclusive store of Chinese footwear brand abroad ; In 2006, Kangnai spent 2 billion yuan to build a 2.28 square kilometer economic and trade cooperation zone in Russia. “Going out” has won the reputation of Wenzhou as “China’s shoe capital”.
With the efforts of Kangnai, Aokang, Zhejiang Red Dragonfly Footwear Co.Ltd(603116) and other shoe enterprises, from 2001 to 2012, the output of Wenzhou leather shoes increased from 600 million pairs to 1.3 billion pairs, the output value increased from 30 billion to 85.2 billion, and the export increased from 794 million US dollars to 14.719 billion US dollars.
in recent years, Zheng Xiukang has gradually retreated behind the scenes surging news learned that he had previously handed over the business operation to his children, and his son Zheng Laiyi served as the general manager of the group.
In an interview, Zheng Laiyi commented on his father:
“The most precious wealth left to me by my parents is this craftsman spirit of excellence. My father is more like a craftsman. He pursues quality unremittingly and teaches me that no matter what industry I engage in, I can do well if I do it deeply, thoroughly and excellently, which benefits me a lot.”
According to Zhejiang Daily, according to the Wenzhou Federation of industry and Commerce and Lucheng District Federation of industry and commerce, some Wenzhou entrepreneurs came to offer condolences after learning the news.
Yang Yiqing, executive president of Zhejiang merchants Research Association and curator of Zhejiang merchants Museum, has had many face-to-face exchanges with Zheng Xiukang. He said that Zheng Xiukang was most impressed by two points: one is focus and the other is innovation
\u3000\u3000 “For more than 40 years since Zheng Xiukang started his business at the age of 34, he has always refused temptation and adhered to his main business, industry and footwear industry. His ingenuity is very prominent. At the same time, Zheng Xiukang has a strong spirit of innovation. Leather shoes have been a traditional industry in Wenzhou for hundreds of years. Zheng Xiukang is not only a inheritor and innovator of the leather shoes industry, but also plays an important role in the brand, quality, style, culture and other aspects of Wenzhou leather shoes It plays a leading role in innovation. ” Yang Yiqing said that Zheng Xiukang is a leader in the branding and internationalization of Wenzhou shoe industry.
In his opinion, another success of Zheng Xiukang is that he attaches great importance to enterprise inheritance. His children held important positions in the company earlier, Kangnai can be regarded as a model for the successful succession of the second generation of Wenzhou enterprises
Last year, Kangnai, who seized the opportunity of national tide, released a new shoe – Kangnai national tide flying feather shoes. This new shoe is inspired by Phoenix.
Just as the end of “phoenix of Nirvana” wrote that “phoenix of Nirvana will soar in the wider sky with singing”, human life cannot escape the constant law of human history, but Kangnai’s high head condenses the spirit of ingenuity and unremitting struggle and will always be remembered by the people.
