Pathfinder strongly supports the hidden trouble behind the franchisees

"Any brand has no pathfinder to support franchisees." A Pathfinder franchisee told reporters. He said that in the area of ​​franchise stores, decoration, shelves, etc., are strongly supported by Pathfinder, and even some places are full discounts.

Under blind expansion, the Pathfinder’s brand management is also more confusing. Take the Yunnan market as an example. The former Pathfinder used the only agent model in the province, but now it can be represented by many channels, leading to the “old” franchisee franchisees not having obvious advantages.

On the 16th of August, the Pathfinder opened down and eventually fell by 2.75% to close at 19.45 yuan per share.

Preferential policies to speed up expansion

The semi-annual report shows that during the first half of this year, Pathfinders achieved operating income of 379.9 million yuan, an increase of 52.38% over the same period of last year. The operating profit was 84.22 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 63.67%. The net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies was 59.23 million yuan, an increase of 36.06% year-on-year.

Huachuang Securities clothing researcher pointed out that Pathfinder’s growth benefited more from the rapid growth of the outdoor product industry. However, in fact, Pathfinder’s revenue growth in the second quarter was only 34%, and net profit even fell by 22%.

In the first half of the year, Pathfinder further intensified its expansion. The new net opened 185 stores, the proportion of stores increased from 18.83% at the beginning of the year to 21.62%. In order to speed up product sales, the number of discount stores has now reached 125. It is estimated that there will be more than 400 new stores throughout the year.

However, the large-scale expansion is more likely to come from the attractive conditions of the Pathfinder to the franchisees.

“The store site selection, decoration, design to shopping guide, channel development, small shelves, regular maintenance, etc. All pathfinders provide support. At least 50% of the entire management system is provided free of charge. Some are even free. Some other brands are free. There is no such great support,” said a distributor who had just joined Pathfinder this year. According to its disclosure, it only belongs to C-level dealers with annual sales of 800,000 to 3 million.

However, Pathfinder Secretaries Zhang Cheng said in an interview with reporters that the company’s support for franchisees has not changed. However, this argument has not been approved.

"When I joined the product in 2010, I didn't have these offers at all, and I only had a replacement rate of 30%, and I still have deadlines." A person who has worked in the outdoor brand industry for many years told reporters that he joined Pathfinder in 2010. However, due to the unsatisfactory sales situation, the franchise ended at the end of the year.

He told reporters that most of the time did not make money for half a year, outdoor products are fiercely competitive, and Pathfinder does not have an advantage in terms of equipment, and other franchise stores are not satisfactory.
According to the reporter’s understanding, the Pathfinder’s giving franchisees pressure to increase by 65% ​​year-on-year. Some franchisees have expressed excessive pressure.

"They have freedom, no one will impose on them. Of course, our company's rapid growth hopes that this will happen," Zhang Cheng said.

With the rapid expansion accompanied by the increase in staff costs and advertising costs, sales expenses increased by 1.9 percentage points. Accounts receivable also increased from 15.16 million yuan in the same period of last year to 25.29 million yuan, and other receivables increased from 8.92 million yuan to 12.4 million yuan.

Management is chaotic

"Prudent, prudent, and then cautious." The aforementioned outdoor brand industry figures who have withdrawn from the alliance told the reporter that if someone in the industry wants to join Pathfinder, this is a suggestion given by many people.

In his view, Pathfinder's business did not have the ideal of imagining, and its brand management began to appear confusing since the end of last year. "Pathfinders are now more chaotic in brand development and have not been stricter before," he said.

From the end of last year to the beginning of this year, Pathfinder’s brand maintenance has not been stricter than before. Take Yunnan as an example. In the past, it was only possible to conduct agency from the general product agency. However, it can now be represented through multiple channels, and it can also be obtained from most places where outdoor brands are represented.

“Some outdoor stores are the names of Pathfinders, but they are filled with various other brands. Because Pathfinders are not equipped with clothes and shoes, they have very little equipment.” The above mentioned. The chaos of brand management led to no advantage for franchise stores.

In addition, a number of franchisees stated that the Pathfinder will develop to the mass casual brand in the next step. However, Zhang Cheng emphasized that the Pathfinder’s brand positioning has not changed, namely, mid-range brands in the professional outdoor market.

However, Zhang Cheng acknowledged that at the spring 2012 sales meeting, the price of products did indeed drop by 20%. He said that this is based on the reduction of supply chain integration costs and the company's initiative to meet the challenges.

“Over the past three years, there have been more than 300 outdoor companies from 2009 to more than 500 in 2010 and more than 700 in 2011, all with a 30% increase. The next phase will be the stage of differentiation and reshuffle in the industry.” Zhang Cheng thinks. .

However, with the continuous expansion of products and the vigorous expansion of second- and third-tier cities, especially in prefecture-level cities, some franchisees believe that blind expansion without considering the local outdoor market environment may not necessarily make the Pathfinder better. The problems caused by the rapid expansion of Pathfinder must be resolved in order to achieve sustained growth.