Sold the only property in Shenzhen!In 2010, Xu Hefeng made a decision that seemed almost crazy to outsiders. He stepped headlong into the digital board circuit and decided to use that money to bet on a brand of his own. This brave decision was the beginning of Hui-Oh!

Today, we invited Xu Hefeng, Chairman of Huiwang, and Li Huiru, Director of Overseas Business, to listen to them talk about Huiwang's entrepreneurship and development path!

Seller profile
Xu Hefeng: Chairman of Huiwang
Brand: Huiwang
Main products: digital tablet
Entry sites: All Amazon sites
Outstanding performance: Amazon's sales in the past year are about 50 million US dollars

1. Finding the Blue Ocean by the Red Sea: Shifting from Huaqiang North to Brand Dreams

At the time, while in Huaqiangbei, he saw with his own eyes the launch, development and growth of a number of groups. This myth of entrepreneurship, which was within easy reach, made his heart flutter. An idea began to take root in President Xu's mind: we must transform, we must make a product that truly belongs to us. The strategy he has set for himself is very clear: products should be of relatively high quality, the market should be ignored by large companies, small companies have a threshold, and the ultimate goal is to establish their own brand and get brand premiums.

By chance, the digital tablet product caught Mr. Xu's eye. He analyzed that although the computer industry is good, he doesn't have enough capital to compete with the giants; in contrast, tablet computers are extremely niche and little known. This fits perfectly with his strategic considerations: first, there is a technical threshold; second, few people are doing it. So in 2010, the direction of the tablet was finalized.

Starting a business, starting capital is the first hurdle. To this end, Mr. Xu made an amazing decision: he sold his only house in Shenzhen in exchange for about 1 million yuan. The act of breaking the pot and sinking a boat is just to give one's heart a sense of purpose.

He believes in the saying, “Money is human courage”. And this pursuit of a sense of practicality will also determine President Xu's business style in the future.

Xu Hefeng, Chairman of Huiwang
“I didn't like the popular financing model of fighting high and chasing Series A Series B financing model that was popular at the time. My style is to run in small steps, and I believe in how many things can be done. Because only in this way can you feel more at ease, and when you get things done, your movements won't be distorted. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.

With the money to sell the house, Mr. Xu formed the initial team and set up a small production line, and everything started from scratch. Although the team only had some basic technology at the time, Mr. Xu's brand awareness was far ahead of schedule. As soon as the company was founded, he registered Huiwang's trademark.

3. Start crossing borders and move towards a larger world

In 2013, Mr. Xu started a cross-border business. At the time, the cross-border trend had just begun, and Mr. Xu himself did not have a clear estimate of what the industry could develop in the future.

More seriously, outsiders are generally skeptical about the tablet, an unheard of category. In overseas markets, the Huiwang brand was not well known, far from the big international brands at the time.

In this context, Mr. Xu chose Amazon and three other cross-border channels to try it out. After carefully studying Amazon's terms, Mr. Xu decided to use FBA from the beginning.

This proved to be an extremely correct strategy. Among the three cross-border channels that started at the same time, Amazon's business started up the fastest, verifying the correctness of this path.

Xu Hefeng, Chairman of Huiwang
“Whoever is closest to the market has an opportunity. As a C-end company, Huiwang directly contacts end users through Amazon and can receive all kinds of feedback from users as soon as possible. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.

In the tablet industry, iteration is critical. Huiwang's product iteration path is reflected in three key levels.

1. Product and technology iteration: run more steadily and further

The evolution of Picture King perfectly embodies the pragmatic concept of “run first”. This is illustrated by two clear iterative paths:

● The first is the iteration of the product form: The company initially only made digital tablets, because it did not have the ability to develop digital screens with more complex technology at the time. After “running” in the tablet market for two years and gaining a foothold, Huiwang Cai officially launched an iteration to more complex digital screens and gradually enriched the product matrix.
● The second is the iteration of core technology: While expanding the product line, Huiwang's core technology continues to improve. Thanks to the addition of subsequent technical experts, the team achieved two key leaps:
○ Pen from active to passive: The pen solution was upgraded from an active pen that requires a battery replacement to a passive pen that uses reverse power supply and no power supply, solving users' pain points and safety hazards.
○ Technical solutions from analog to digital: Solved the fatal flaw that analog pens would fail in cold northern countries, making the product truly professional and stable.

If technology is internal driving force, user demand is the strongest external driving force. Picture King's user base gradually expanded from an initial beginner to a professional group including “Disney painting engineers.”

The influx of professional users has brought about extremely high requirements for product refinement. It is this kind of demand that comes from the top of the market that makes Huiwang have to continuously improve quality. To this end, the company has established a product iteration mechanism based on user feedback:

● Data collection: The team continuously records negative customer reviews and return reasons on a daily basis;
● Internal discussions: Weekly meetings are held to discuss negative reviews and provided to the factory and R&D team to analyze the viability of iteration;
● Drive iteration: The results of the discussions will be used to prepare and improve the next generation of products.

3. Using Scenario Iteration: Bringing Creation to Life

Picture King isn't content to just “fight to the death” in his field of expertise. They began to think about a new question: how to broaden usage scenarios and create new value for core technology in everyday life?

A new product that quickly became popular in overseas social media, gave the perfect answer.

Equipped with self-developed software, it enables a convenient experience of writing on a device and syncing with a mobile phone, and accurately addresses new needs such as taking notes in class and sketching outdoors. This product immediately triggered an explosion of UGC (User Generated Content), creating a screen-swiping effect on social media. This also clearly proves that Huewang's users have long been more than just those big painters; its technology is successfully breaking through the circle and entering more people's daily lives.

Li Huiru, Huiwang, Director of Overseas Business
“Through Amazon's VOC (Voice of User) insight, we've found that many consumers think of a tablet as a novelty, perfect as a gift for family and friends. This shows that the consumer groups and usage scenarios of digital tablets have broken through the field of professional painting. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.

Amazon played a critical role as a booster in the story of Hui-Oh's rapid growth. They chose to deeply embrace Amazon from the beginning, and have gained real growth momentum from it.

1. Seize FBA dividends and accelerate growth

Since entering Amazon in 2013, Huewang has not hesitated to choose FBA, and has always maintained that 99% of businesses use FBA. It was an extremely farsighted choice at the time.

Mr. Xu stressed that what he is interested in is not only that FBA solved the logistics problems at the end, but also that it brought about some traffic slant. As it turns out, the rewards of this strategic choice were immediate and substantial: Amazon started the business the fastest compared to other channels.

Huewang has been using the Amazon Seller Growth Service for five or six years, and sees it as an important starting point for refined operations. Mr. Li said that this service provided indispensable help on several key points:

● Monthly performance review: The official exclusive consultant will provide key operating data, such as the specific share and growth trend of the brand within the industry. This enabled the Huiwang team to clearly grasp the brand's position in the industry and make timely strategy adjustments on a monthly basis.
● ASIN dimensional analysis and performance comparison: The official exclusive consultant will thoroughly analyze the opportunities and problems of key models, help compare the gaps between the site's key performance indicators and industry benchmarks, and help Huiwang accurately identify operational shortcomings, so as to carry out targeted optimization.
● Timely policy updates: Although policies will be publicly released, timely interpretation and key reminders from official advisors can ensure that the team understands policy changes more quickly and thoroughly and avoids potential risks.
● High-quality peak season support: During the peak promotion season, if an event report or operation error occurs, the official exclusive consultant can always respond quickly and resolve it efficiently, providing a key guarantee for the smooth operation of the promotion.

Li Huiru, Huiwang, Director of Overseas Business
“The response speed and service quality of the official dedicated consultant was far better than that of an average account manager, and the team loved it. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.

Conclusions:
From the initial bet in 2010 to the current globalization of the brand, Huiwang's story clearly shows the great value of long-term philosophy and pragmatic iteration. The Huiwang team proved with the sobriety and persistence of practical players that adhering to the right strategic direction and continuing to invest will eventually bring solid rewards.