In the vibrant spring of “Pengcheng (The alias of Shenzhen)”, the southern region is filled with vitality. On the morning of April 27th, MU Group held a ceremony to mark the establishment of Shenzhen Operation Center. Attending the ceremony were Tom Tang, President of the Group; Eric Zhuang, President Assistant of MU Group and General Manager of MARKET UNION; Rex Xu, General Manager of HOUSEWARE DIVISION OF MARKET UNION; Allen Luo, Senior Director of Department N of ROYAL UNION; Marco Guo, Direct Manager of Department G of FREE MARKET; James Zhou, Direct Manager of Department P of ROYAL UNION; Claire Lee, Direct Manager of Document Department, and colleagues working in Shenzhen.
Located in the Cloud Park, the Shenzhen Operation Center boasts comprehensive facilities and a strong atmosphere of innovation and entrepreneurship. With ceremonial cannon fire, ribbon cutting, and cake cutting, speeches were delivered by the attending leaders, marking this auspicious and unforgettable moment.
Eric Zhuang recalled the modest cake cutting ceremony held on January 4th, 2023, in the office in Futian District, marking the beginning of MU’s presence in Shenzhen. With the establishment of the Shenzhen Operation Center, he expressed hope that its development would bring new perspectives and directions to the company. He also encouraged colleagues to contemplate how to keep the team perpetually youthful, maintain a long-term vision, and cultivate enduring friendships with time. Rex Xu expressed confidence in Shenzhen as a city brimming with youthful energy and determination. He believed that Shenzhen’s future performance would be as intense as the storms of recent days, surpassing Yiwu and even Ningbo.
In his address, Tom Tang emphasized the symbiotic relationship of cooperation and contention between cross-border e-commerce platforms and companies. Viewing the platform as a gaming arena, it expressed the perpetual desire to control the profit levels of leading merchants to maintain overall balance. It also stressed the importance of preventing excessive profits by individual merchants from disrupting the competitive order and hindering the influx of more competitors. Additionally, he emphasized the perpetual need for fresh forces on the platform. Therefore, the platform disregarded the turnover and disappearance of sellers, seeing them as opportunities for new companies and faces. He believed that while opportunities might be scarce in major categories, they were boundless in countless niche categories. Facing a global population of 6.6 billion, there are no small categories in the world; thus, we aim to provide global customers with Chinese products and services of extreme cost performance!
Believing is seeing. Reflecting on MU’s development over the past 20 years, Tom Tang attributed its success to the balance maintained among the company, colleagues, suppliers, and customers, ensuring opportunities for everyone to achieve long-term mutual success and create value on the MU platform. With the establishment of the Shenzhen Operation Center, he expressed the company’s willingness to provide more freedom, encouraging various approaches and experiments. However, he stressed the importance of profitability in the gaming field and the ability to survive in competition. Only then could stories of success be told, igniting the flames of determination within every individual to contribute to the grand development of MU’s cross-border e-commerce. From exporting Chinese goods to expanding them overseas, and further to enterprises venturing abroad, we must bravely step forward and embrace the wave of internationalization. On this land of Shenzhen, and on the canvas of global cross-border e-commerce, let us paint a vibrant and significant stroke that belongs to MU!
Subsequently, in-depth discussions and experiences were shared by relevant colleagues on the theme of “Survival and Development of Cross-Border E-commerce in Shenzhen.” Allen Luo believed that in the face of fierce international competition, both traffic dividends and methodological dividends were temporary. Thus, a long-term approach and perseverance were essential for survival and success. James Zhou discussed the evolution of business from a single platform to diversification and ultimately a matrix structure, with profit shifting from product sales to brand premiums. Taking the small home appliance market as an example, Marco Guo emphasized that branding would be the best way to counter low prices and internal competition. He suggested that the integration of online and offline channels would become the inevitable choice for enterprises going global. James Zhou talked about the development of the business from a single platform to diversification, and then to do the matrix, the direction of profit from making product money to earn brand premium money.
At a traditional international trade exchange meeting, Eko Yang, Senior Manager of Department S of SC-STARMAX, outlined the team’s execution plan, focusing on widening customer base, deepening customer relations, optimizing product lines, cultivating the supply chain, and enhancing team capabilities to lay the foundation for long-term sustainable growth. Tracy Cheng, Vice Manager of Department GA of RETAIL CHAIN DIVISION OF MU, used the metaphor of conquering and defending territories to highlight the contradictory and unified nature of business development, emphasizing the need to anchor both self-operated and agency businesses for dual growth. Andy Wen, Vice Manager of Department G of HOUSEWARE DIVISION OF MU, emphasized the need for continuous innovation and self-improvement to establish a foothold in the market and achieve success. He believed that for prepared, strategic, and execution-capable companies, Shenzhen remained a land of opportunity.
Finally, Tom Tang delivered concluding remarks, emphasizing Shenzhen’s unlimited development potential. In the face of intense market competition, he encouraged flexible and adaptive strategies. Unlike Guangzhou and Shantou, the company’s presence in Shenzhen started relatively late, and it remained uncertain whether customer agency, traditional trade, or cross-border B2B would fare better in the future. Ultimately, the hero is judged by the results. MU Group is rapidly evolving, allowing internal competition and encouraging internal entrepreneurship. As long as competition promotes business development, profit growth, and income enhancement, it is healthy competition; otherwise, it is unhealthy. Within MU, colleagues could own their own companies. In the new 20 years, the company would continue to maintain flexibility and openness, encouraging internal competition across different markets, categories, and business lines, in anticipation of the emergence of world-class brands and companies internally. The Shenzhen Operation Center is expected to achieve rapid expansion on a large scale.
As one of the four major central cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Shenzhen possesses unique geographical advantages and an inclusive and open market environment, making it a vital hub for supply chains and international trade talent in southern China. The Shenzhen Operation Center is the Group’s first operations center in southern China. In the new 20 years, we sincerely invite outstanding partners to join us in mutual growth. Let’s realize our dreams together in the vast expanse of “Pengcheng”.