Zhang Xiaoquan has gone through nearly 400 years of ups and downs. In these 400 years, the market has actually changed, and so have our rivals, but we have always been very clear about what kind of brand we want to become, what kind of market rules we want to follow, and what kind of path we want to follow.

The value of an old brand is “old”
Why did Zhang Xiaoquan stand still after 100 years?This is because we have always upheld the ancestral motto of “good steel craftsmanship” and have always preserved the heritage of 72 traditional techniques. Now, although mechanized production has replaced manual production, our strict craftsmanship and demand for quality have not changed. This is also the fundamental reason why Zhang Xiaoquan was able to stand up and speak loudly.

The way out for time-honored brands lies in “new”
If Zhang Xiaoquan only stepped forward, then our brand would not be able to survive in the fierce market competition for so long. Cross-border e-commerce is the general trend, and pushing old brands to go abroad is what Zhang Xiaoquan has been adhering to for a long time. We want to use time-honored brands as a medium and use Amazon to make the world better understand China.

We believe that great things can be achieved when people share the same interests. We have reached a high level of agreement with Amazon on values such as quality first and long-term principle, which makes us think that it is very promising for long-established brands to go overseas.
In fact, before entering Amazon, we tested the waters of other cross-border e-commerce channels and stepped on some pits. At that time, these overseas channels fought a big price war, and consumers seemed to benefit in the short term, but in reality, simply catering to the low price strategy and ignoring product quality and consumer experience was not the brand strategy we were pursuing. Admittedly, our quality control was very strict. The sharpness and hardness of some products far exceeded overseas standards, causing us to reduce product quality and touch the bottom line of the brand, so there was no discussion about this at all.

At the same time, we discovered that Amazon's North American site is mainly based on middle and high-end consumer groups. Consumers are willing to pay higher prices for better quality products, which is very in line with our mid-range and high-end brand positioning. Therefore, we decided to officially enter Amazon North America in 2023, fully invest our resources, and actively and continuously promote this new business.

When we first set out to sea, we weren't familiar enough with the Amazon business format, and indeed stepped into the “behind closed doors” pit.
Since we didn't do a good job of market research, we took it for granted that popular domestic products could also sell well abroad. Nearly 2,000 items were shipped directly during the first shipment. However, domestic and foreign demand is different, and the goods cannot be sold at all after they arrive overseas, directly leading to inventory backlogs and sales losses. Up to now, there are still more than 500 items in the sales stage. Over the past 400 years, Zhang Xiaoquan has all started from user needs, but when it comes to going overseas, he didn't really start from market demand in the beginning.

If time-honored brands want to enter overseas markets, they must adapt to local conditions and thoroughly understand the consumer needs, consumption habits, and cultural background of the target market. After some exploration, we have also summed up our own set of research experiences.

Competitive product benchmarking method
We will rule out competitive products at low prices. Although these products sell well, they are not our competitive target. At the same time, we will not blindly pursue the highest price in the market. Now, when selecting products, we use the TOP10-15 competition data as a reference base to track the sales movements and performance of competitive products throughout the year to help brands understand overseas market trends, user preferences, and pricing strategies, so as to launch more attractive products.

Damn bad reviews
We pay attention to user reviews within the store, especially the negative reviews section. For example, we have a manual food shredder. One of the negative reviews mentioned the “plastic bowl of the shredder will deform when placed in the dishwasher”. In response to this situation, we quickly organized the R&D department to thoroughly study the root cause of the problem and realized that this was related to the fact that the plastic material was not heat-resistant enough, so we tested and screened more heat-resistant plastic materials to meet the needs of negative users.

Regrettably, we also “fell head over heels” when it came to the product selection layout after the research. In the beginning, we adopted a retail strategy. The store had everything from kitchen supplies to gardening products. The account was like a grocery store, and in the end, there were only a few products that were barely ordered. Having learned our lessons, we abandoned some less successful product lines and invested more resources in kitchen supplies that have more potential and meet market needs, provide more targeted product choices, and specialize in meeting customer needs.

Deep cultivation of specific categories
Now we will use special stores to operate specific categories, and by displaying and promoting products in a more targeted manner, our brand can establish a higher level of professionalism and trust.

Support localization to create a new product combining Chinese and Western products
We will develop products that meet the needs of the local market based on user needs in the survey. For example, most Western-style kitchen knives are sharp and lightweight. They are mainly used for cutting, scratching, and sawing; however, Chinese kitchen knives are not as diverse as Western-style kitchen knives, but they are used for multiple purposes. The back, surface, tip, and handle of the knife all have different uses, which can meet multiple functions such as shredding, bone chopping, and cutting vegetables. We have launched a new product for small kitchen knives, which pioneered the sharp design of Western kitchen knives and the blade structure of Chinese kitchen knives, so that overseas consumers can experience the Chinese charm and simple philosophy of “one kitchen knife goes all over the world” while being more careful with their hands.

Of course, we have recognized the importance of brand promotion from the beginning. While the product is new, we also focus on coordinating off-site marketing actions to ensure that the brand can receive wide exposure.

Time-honored brands have natural advantages when they go overseas: in our user profile, overseas Chinese consumers account for 65%. They know and have feelings for Zhang Xiaoquan's brand; they are all natural brand reputation evangelists. We also discovered that Zhang Xiaoquan is not at risk among overseas non-Chinese groups. As early as 2016, Zhang Xiaoquan's kitchen knife appeared in a hit American drama, and the crew had a hard time borrowing it from a local Chinese family. It is said that his ancestors have been using it for 60 years.

At the end of the day, Amazon is always a brand new business. We still need to incorporate local culture and consumption habits in packaging design, listing, advertising and marketing, etc., and first be widely seen, attract consumers' attention to experience Zhang Xiaoquan's products, and eventually form consumers' recognition and loyalty to our brand.

Both inside and outside the site focus on simultaneous marketing on both channels
In terms of off-site marketing, we will expand our brand influence through social media, third-party media campaigns, and KOL campaigns, and simultaneously produce brand videos, focusing on Zhang Xiaoquan's century-old cultural accumulation and ingenuity.
At the same time, we also regularly participate in various international exhibitions to provide real and first-hand feedback to Zhang Xiaoquan through live product experience and face-to-face communication with users. For example, at our previous exhibition, after users experienced our products on site, they reported that the handle was too big and did not meet the habits of local consumers, so we made corresponding product improvements in a timely manner.

In terms of website marketing, we would like to especially thank the Amazon Key Account Manager team for their help and support, providing us with many practical suggestions.
On the visual side, it is possible to enhance the professionalism and recognition of the brand through the construction of A+ pages, the visual unification of detail pages, and the creation of brand stories, and increase the user's time to click and stay on the page, thereby bringing about a higher conversion rate.
When starting early, you can use the VINE plan more — the VINE plan has high weight and traffic, and can generate high traffic as long as there is real consumer feedback. Currently, Zhang Xiaoquan will send 200-300 samples to consumers for new SKUs, and then make restocking adjustments based on user feedback.
As a brand seller, it is recommended to join the Amazon Brand Drainage Rewards Program. Sales brought by off-site referral will provide an additional 10% sales incentive, which is a great benefit for the brand.

The future market is bound to be global. Our Chinese brands should still have cultural confidence, go global, and use cross-border e-commerce to make the world more aware of our Chinese brand and Chinese temperament.

Use the ingenuity to make a good knife and polish the North American station to perfection first.
We have just started the North American website, and there is bound to be some gap with competitors, but we say that losers will not lose, then we will lean our resources, catch up with Amazon's new job, improve the North American site first, wait to gain a foothold in North America, and then compete with other kitchen brands in Europe, Japan, and then compete with other kitchen brands.
Time-honored brands already have a strong first-mover advantage in product exports, so if they want to stand out overseas, their brand positioning must be clear. After clarifying the competitive situation, trends, and cultural background in the target market, they must give full play to their supply chain advantages to quickly develop products and scenarios that meet the consumption habits of consumers of different ages and regions.

Amazon companies must seize the business opportunity; they must not lose sight of the development vision that has been flowing for a long time.
A while ago, the account manager for Amazon Business Purchasing gave us a face-to-face account analysis and suggested that some of our kitchen products actually have huge procurement demand and potential to be popular in corporate purchases, such as cooking utensils, combination knives, garlic pincers, etc., and also gave detailed guidance on how to start a corporate shopping business on Amazon. Under their professional guidance, we have full confidence in the brand's positive development, and Amazon Business Shopping will also be one of our key businesses in the future.
At the same time, I would like to mention that brand sellers must have their own perseverance; they must not sacrifice product quality and consumer experience just for short-term sales performance; they must pass on the brand with a long-term development perspective.

As an old brand, we have always faced the challenges of the era of going overseas with the mentality of innovating and being willing to excel. We hope you can also innovate and “blossom all the way” in the global market, and break out of the sky belonging to a Chinese brand!