Seller profile
Name: Ke Yongyuan
Main categories: sportswear, sneakers, football equipment
Joined: 2017
Entry sites: United States, Japan
Outstanding performance:
● Annual sales of tens of millions
● The annual growth rate is basically maintained above 50%

“When you do OEM work, they give you an opportunity, and only then do you have a chance. But what we want to do is create our own opportunities. ” The person who said this was Ke Yongyuan, chairman of Yuanxiang Investment Co., Ltd. In Mandarin, he had a slight Fujian accent, but his eyes showed the calm and fortitude after going through the wind and waves. This loud statement is a reflection of his heart when he transitioned from being a foundry owner to being at the helm of the global brand Kalme.

“If it works well, it's like it is now; if it doesn't work well, it sits down. ” Remembering that decision many years later, Ko is still a bit happy in his tone. At the time, he had no idea that this choice made during the trough of Chinese soccer would revitalize this old European brand and make him the new head of the brand.

On the other hand, the story of Ke Yongnang starts when he was 16 years old...

At that time, in the golden age of “wholesale,” Jinjiang, a city in southern Fujian, was creating miracles in the manufacturing industry at an astonishing speed. As a newcomer to society, Ke always started as a handyman with a monthly salary of 240 yuan, and his part-time career in handling and handywork brought him to the doorstep of this industry — making clothing. The key is supply timeliness and cost control.

Three years later, at the age of 19, he partnered with a relative to start a processing plant. Four people gathered money, hired eight workers, and rented out the factory building, and had several jobs such as tailoring, car repair, and delivery. In order to catch up with the goods, Ke always insisted on the intense work of “delivering to the market at 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.” These days have not only accumulated solid experience in the industry, but also shaped his personality undertone of “perseverance and daring to fight”.

In 2010, Ke Yongyong and his younger brother Ke Yongxiang decided to enter the foreign trade market, established Jinjiang Yuanxiang Garment Weaving Co., Ltd., and began OEM business. Their younger brother's English level 8 language advantage allowed them to start their foreign trade business faster than their peers, and they also took the lead.

Over the past few years, Yuanxiang Clothing met Spanish soccer equipment brand Carme and began OEM production for it. It took two or three years. However, the profit of OEM is meager, and you still have to “look at people's faces.” Ke Yongyuan admits, “As an OEM, people give you a chance, then you have a chance. But what we want to do is create our own opportunities. ” In 2012, always careful and cautious, he decided to take a critical step in transformation by taking a loan of more than 30 million and investing 780 million to expand the plant.

At the end of 2013, the Spanish brand Carme, which had been cooperating for three years, faced economic problems and offered to sell Calme's Greater China region to Ke Yongyuan. At the time, the brothers had limited capital and were in debt. Coupled with the fact that the Chinese soccer industry was at a low point, buying this brand was tantamount to “taking over” in the eyes of others.

The brothers had a disagreement over this. Ke Yongyuan “is more pragmatic and hopes the risk is manageable,” but his younger brother Ke Yongxiang “persists in fighting.” In the end, the brother's persistence allowed the brothers to reach an agreement. Ke Yongyong said that this is an expression of our Jinjiang people's mentality of “only if you dare to fight” will win.

After purchasing the brand, in order to guarantee the quality of Kalmei products, Yuanxiang Clothing chose to stop all OEM business and focus on R&D. Facts have proven that this “focus” has brought more opportunities to Yuanxiang Clothing.

In February 2015, the government announced the construction of 50,000 soccer schools. The Cox Brothers quickly adjusted their strategy and moved from student groups to the soccer market: Relying on the popularity and professional reputation of Calme sponsoring Real Madrid in the 90s, combined with the cost-effective advantages of Yuanxiang's complete supply chain, to establish a professional sports brand image through sponsoring tournaments. This strategy worked quickly. From 2015 to 2016, Kalme gradually gained prominence in the Chinese soccer market.

However, the Kosi Brothers did not take it lightly. They knew very well that to grow a big brand, they must follow the international route. On December 18, 2018, Ke Yongyong and his younger brother Ke Yongxiang completed a “reverse acquisition” in the true sense of the word — buying out 75% of Kalmi's global shares.

After signing the contract, they had no time to celebrate and immediately set out to let global consumers rediscover Kalme: they continued to invest more in event marketing offline. From the Soviet Super League and Guizhou's “Village Super League”, to the Women's Soccer Asia Cup and Qatar Asian Cup, they have built a strong professional image with saturated exposure.

Cox Brothers understood that brand exposure alone is not enough; there must be a channel that can directly reach global consumers and complete sales conversion.

So Kalme found Amazon.

“Since we want to go global, I think Amazon is the most critical step. ” Ke's logic is straightforward. When international users want to know about a brand, their first reaction is to search Amazon. Being able to find “Calme” on Amazon means that the brand has truly entered an international perspective.

However, from settling in to actually getting it right, the process in between is far more difficult than you might think.

When Kalmei first set up its cross-border e-commerce department, it lacked integrated and systematic tools. The team was only two or three people. The whole process from product listing to delivery was done by hand. The operators had to not only select and put products on the shelves, but also work part-time to handle and deliver. This operating model, which relies on manpower “piles up”, soon hit the ceiling — once there are too many orders, it becomes a mess.

“It was then that we really realized that we can't rely on hard work; we have to rely on systems. “Ke Yongyong admits that since then, the team began to operate in a systematic manner — first completing the Amazon Brand Registry and then gradually integrating a series of Amazon operating tools.

Among the tools provided by Amazon, the most valuable one is the “Amazon Brand Analytics Tool” (BA for short). It can portray consumers in a very detailed manner — including age, occupation, and even interests — and the value of this data quickly becomes apparent.

For example, the size problem that has plagued the team for a long time — “Some people are too big, others are too small” — can't be judged by customer reviews alone. As a result, the Calme e-commerce team began to readjust the size system and add more accurate size instructions on the details page through email visits and BA data aggregation.

In the product selection process, BA plays a more prominent role. It can also provide market analysis, consumer insight, and population portraits, which is very helpful in formulating marketing strategies. ” Xu Junfeng, head of e-commerce business at Calme, said that using this data, the team continued to gain insight into consumer needs and launch products closer to the market.

“This is how TF soccer shoes, a hit in the US market, were born. ” Xu Junfeng explained that the team first determined the target category, then analyzed the structure of TOP100 products to find gaps in price band and functionality. Through BA's data analysis, it was discovered that in the field of broken nail soccer shoes, there are not many products that are both professional and cost-effective. As a result, they decided to launch a broken shoe with a differentiated design and a more affordable price, so that consumers' awareness of the brand grew rapidly.

If data tools solve the problem of “what to sell,” then logistics tools solve “how to deliver.”

Amazon Warehouse Delivery Service (AWD) was a great help. From delivery and transportation to warehousing, AWD can achieve integrated link management, and the team doesn't need to spend too much effort on complicated logistics links. At the same time, more resources can be concentrated on product and brand operations.

The popularity of TF soccer shoes also made Kalmi's e-commerce team realize that what really determines word of mouth and repurchase is the delivery experience.

“The US market is very demanding on logistics timeliness. Consumers pay attention to comfort and cost performance. For soccer equipment with high instantaneity, whether it can be delivered in a timely manner after placing an order often determines whether he will place an order. Xu Junfeng admits that in order to meet this demand, Kalmei chose Amazon FBA to achieve “next day delivery” or “next day delivery” for core products. This rapid delivery capability has significantly improved the buyer's shopping experience, which is almost impossible in traditional cross-border logistics.

After TF soccer shoes became popular, the Kalme team began to receive various customized inquiries. What impressed Xu Junfeng was the list of several international students. They formed an amateur team and wanted to customize team uniforms with logos and sponsors. However, under the traditional FBA model, customization is almost impossible. However, through Amazon's updated customization function, buyers can enter customized information when placing an order, and sellers can respond in a timely manner after receiving the order.

“Although the order was less than a thousand dollars, the team became an old customer — since then they have been buying back every year before the game. ” Xu Junfeng admits that this incident made Kalmi's team realise that the cross-border e-commerce competition is not only about products, but also about depth of service. With 72-hour supply chain responsiveness, Calme has turned FBM (seller-self-delivery) for customized orders into a new growth point.

With Amazon's support, Calme began thinking about how to build an advantage in different markets.

Over the past few years, Calme's overseas business has continued to explode, with an annual growth rate of over 50%, and the global sales structure has been significantly optimized — in 2018, Calme Greater China accounted for about 95%, and has now dropped to around 30%. The remaining 70% comes from overseas markets.

The logic of the US market is straightforward. Consumers value cost performance and comfort, so the team made the size instructions on the detail page extremely detailed, and the product description emphasized functionality and experience. TF soccer shoes can be a hit, and what they hit is the “professional+affordable” point.

The Japanese market, on the other hand, is a different style of play. Japanese consumers focus on simplicity, quality, and environmentally friendly materials. To this end, Calme specially launched K-AIR technology fabrics, which focus on absorbing moisture and drying quickly, and have had a good response in Japan.

Behind this judgment on the market is a “three-step” system product strategy:

1. Entry-level products: open up the market with high cost performance+fast delivery and accumulate original users;

2. High-end products: increase marketing investment and enhance brand tone and profit margins;

3. Tournament-level products: First verified by top competitions/teams, then put on the market to achieve value upgrades from cost performance to professional+quality.

Standing in 2025, Calme has set three goals — the brand will sprint to third place in the world; sales volume will exceed 10 billion dollars within 5 years; and overseas sales will jump from 1.5 billion yuan last year to more than 2 billion yuan.

“We want Calme to be the top sports brand in the world. Founder Ke Yongyuan said, “I want the world to see that Chinese brands also have design power, influence, and first-class operational strength, and I would like Carl Mei to become a Chinese sports business card for the world. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.