Li Ning Group May Be Encountering Unprecedented Public Opinion Crisis

Just at the end of last month, Li Ning group held a new product show in autumn and winter, with the theme of "chasing dreams", and moved the show to the airport. Li Ning, together with seven new designers, integrates the elements of flight into the design. The three themes of "flying against the wind", "supernatural Craftsmanship" and "flying in the sky" are used to interpret the cognition of "dream pursuing".

However, in the second theme plate of the show, "Shengong tianwu", the design and modeling of several new products have caused great controversy: the military green clothing and hat are said to be very similar to the Japanese army uniform. Netizens also linked the design with Li Ning's Japanese executives, pointing out that Li Ning was infiltrated by Japanese culture. The new product not only openly challenges the Chinese aesthetic, but also touches the bottom line of national righteousness. Of course, there are also some people who complain for Li Ning that this matter is the self imagination of some people and over sensitive.

After the public opinion ferments, Li Ning stock price falls sharply, on October 17, once fell 14%.

However, so far, Li Ning officials have not made any official response.

In this regard, Lao Dao, a member of the senior advisory group of Lianshang, believes that in recent years, ugly aesthetics has quietly sprung up in China. However, some people who are eloquent call such "appreciation of ugliness" art, or personality. Perhaps Li Ning's design also hopes to pursue the so-called "personality". In the final analysis, it is "three outlooks are not correct", and ugliness is the beauty. The potential motive and starting point are to seek to be out of position and to be different.

Anonymous, a special columnist of Lianshang, said that Li Ning had made a fundamental mistake and had a far-reaching impact because it was a minefield completely opposite to his own set-up. This also exposed the huge problems and loopholes in management, audit, public opinion response and control mechanism.

The following are the views of the two authors:

Chinese Li Ning, please don't regard ugliness as beauty

Written by Lao Dao, member of the senior consultant group of Lianshang

Personalization is not weird. But in recent years, many clothing brands regard weirdness as personality, so that the public really consume a "ugliness for beauty".

　　 01 Li Ning shares plummeted, with green coat related

On October 17, Hong Kong shares of Li Ning fell nearly 13% in the session and fell 7.24% to HK $53.85 by midday. At the end of September, Li Ning released a new set of clothes. From the hat to the coat, the trousers were all in military green. The pattern was so loose that it was ugly to the sky. What's more, the two long green cloth ears drooped on both sides of the hat, which looked like the military cap once worn by ghosts.

Netizens claimed that "this army green clothing and hat are very similar to the Japanese army uniform invading China.".

Fenghuang fashion channel reported that the controversial pictures were from Li Ning 2022 zhumengxing airport show, which has three theme plates, namely Yufeng flying, Shengong tianwu and Yuxing Feitian. Among them, Shengong tianwu draws inspiration from the mortise and tenon, Dou Gong and other elements of ancient Chinese aircraft, and integrates modern flight graffiti culture painting, with pink wax color and deep olive green as the main colors. This controversial new product comes from this plate.

So far, China's Li Ning officials have not responded to the matter.

A person named Feng Ye, general manager of Li Ning e-commerce, wrote in the circle of friends: "our consumers have little knowledge of Chinese culture. At the same time, we should reflect on how to correctly guide consumers and avoid more misreading."

According to netizens, this "Li Ning e-commerce general manager Feng Ye" joined Li Ning from Ali in 2008. According to media reports, Feng Ye is in charge of Li Ning group's e-commerce and new retail business. It was after Feng Ye joined that Li Ning group began to set foot in e-commerce business. In 2016, Feng Ye was promoted to the general manager of the e-commerce division and has continued to this day. Now, he has another important identity: Vice President of Li Ning group. A news report on September 22nd showed that his title was "vice president of brands.".

Naturally, netizens don't buy Feng Ye's view. They think that their attitude is arrogant and that if something goes wrong, they first think of criticizing or even disdaining the public, rather than apologizing. So high in the education of consumers, demanding the public to master the unpopular historical knowledge, the masses do not know that the masses lack of cultural precipitation and the inheritance of educational knowledge, which not only denies the cultural level of the masses, but also denies the education system of our country.

As a result, netizens' personal attack on Feng Ye rose to Li Ning brand. In addition, in the eyes of Chinese people, this group of clothing is really easy to be associated with the Japanese army's clothing. It is expected that the national sentiment will be ignited.

　 　02 Japanese executive director

Li Ning official micro under the netizen message let people cry and laugh: Li Dazuo, your hometown cherry blossom; I use Li Ning as a domestic product, Li Ning takes me as my assistant.

Some netizens linked the incident to a Japanese executive on Li Ning's board of directors.

It is reported that Qian Wei, the current co president and executive director of Li Ning, is a Japanese Chinese. His Japanese name is Takeshi takasaka. He was born in China in 1971, went to Japan to study in 1990, and graduated from Kansai University in Japan. In 1996, Qian Wei joined UNIQLO's parent company, fast sale Co., Ltd., where he worked for 23 years. He was once the COO of UNIQLO. In addition, he also served as CEO of UNIQLO Korea. In September 2019, Qian Wei joined Li Ning group and was responsible for the operation of the group. He has been working in Li Ning for 3 years.

Some media think that the green coat is like Japanese military uniform, which may be a mistake. Qian Wei's senior executive may have nothing to do with it. It may be that netizens are too sensitive. However, as a domestic head clothing brand, the aesthetic loopholes in this fashion design, of course, are mainly due to the violation of consumer sentiment, which should not be. We should know that Li Ning's achievements today are inseparable from the upsurge of domestic products in recent years and the support and support of domestic consumers. Now, as a representative of Chinese goods, Li Ning has touched the red line and fallen into a trap on the principle of national justice. It is really incredible that the brand must bear the consequences.

　 　03

Ugly Aesthetics

In recent years, the ugly aesthetic is quietly rising in China. However, some people who are eloquent call such "appreciation of ugliness" art, or personality. Perhaps Li Ning's design also hopes to pursue the so-called "personality".

On November 23, last year, Dior published a poster of "Dior and art" on display in Shanghai. The model in the picture was dressed in dark clothes with dark yellow skin, a pair of eyes turned up like a dead fish and white eyes. His hair was greasy pasted on his forehead as if he had never been washed. In addition, he used curly hair on his forehead, which was common in the Qing Dynasty, He also has the armor of Qing Dynasty. The whole picture looks dirty and dark, especially the model's eyes are full of evil, which makes people feel unspeakable and horrible, and it is extremely uncomfortable to watch.

Dior this extremely disgusting poster caused criticism from the whole network, that Dior was vilifying Asian women, and the Internet public opinion was turbulent for a time. That night, Dior responded that the work was not a commercial advertisement, and then deleted the relevant contents of the work online and offline.

Coincidentally, last year, there were three squirrel "squint" models. At the end of last year, a netizen posted a product poster of three squirrels in October 2019. Because of the "squinting eyes" and thick lips of the models in the poster, it was considered that the three squirrels were suspected of deliberately vilifying the Chinese people, which caused controversy on the microblog. The poster was really ugly. I don't know how the three squirrels chose such an image poster at that time. Then three squirrels uttered an apology for the discomfort caused by the model's makeup.

On May 31 this year, major media published articles criticizing the "weird children's clothing" of Jiangnan cloth clothes. According to guangming.com, children's clothing in Jiangnan, which was once criticized as "evil code style", has appeared again.

In a dress designed with the theme "my best friend", a child falls in front of her and twists her limbs, while the two children in the back watch. There is also a paragraph in English on the clothes, which reads: "I'm afraid. I hope they stop. I don't want to fall like this!"

Netizens also found that there are many strange patterns similar to grimaces and imps in Jiangnan cloth clothes. In addition, in the e-commerce shop of Jiangnan cloth clothing, some buyers commented that the pattern on a skirt was suspected of poppy fruit. In September 2021, a netizen posted an article on the social networking website that one of the children's clothes "JNBY JNBY" at home was full of English words such as "welcome to hell", "let me touch you", "I just need a foot", as well as inappropriate patterns such as Satan and skull head. Some netizens said that the previous children's clothing also appeared amputated limbs, suspected execution, cutting legs, children holding guns and other patterns that are not suitable for children.

Jiangnan cloth clothing apologized for the incident, saying that "the company has taken all relevant products off the shelves and strictly checked to prevent such incidents from happening again.". It is worth mentioning that the apology copy was only released in response to netizens' comments, but not in the official account of Jiangnan cloth clothing. In May this year, Jiangnan cloth Clothing Co., Ltd. was fined 800000 by Hangzhou Xihu District market supervision and Administration Bureau for publishing advertisements that damage national dignity.

　 　04 Big brands should actively carry forward the correct Aesthetics

What is beauty and what is ugliness? Human beings all over the world, from ancient times to the present, have a set of most basic criteria. Strange to say, this set of standards has been almost common to all human beings throughout history. For example, for a man, we think that his masculine, robust, broad, and even angular face, bright and divine eyes, broad shoulders, thick hair, or gentle and gentle, these are beautiful; For women, we think that her graceful figure, symmetrical face, big eyes and delicate facial features are beautiful.

For clothing, we want to have the right color, meaningful design, proper copy, suitable version, and so on. These are beautiful.

In the final analysis, the designers who regard ugliness as beauty are not that they don't know what beauty is and what is ugliness. In the final analysis, they are "three outlooks are not right", and the underlying motivation and starting point of taking ugliness as beauty are to show their individuality in order to seek out of position and to be different. Playing this kind of edge ball, one carelessly let oneself become "ugly" disseminator, suffer one-sided dislike and revile.

Why did Li Ning break a good hand?

Author / Associate Business columnist unknown

Recently, the industry has reappeared "national public opinion", and this time the protagonist is "Li Ning". To be exact, it should be "China Li Ning". The problem is serious, fundamental and far-reaching to itself, but it is still on the way of "digging and burying" because it does not see the essence and core of the problem clearly. Therefore, it can be said that "Li Ning" is using its own extremely heavy price to teach a lesson to the national brands. In this sense, it has also done something "beneficial" to the industry.

　 　01 It's a good hand that I'm not easy to make

To be honest, in recent years, Li Ning has really found its own way to success. Before that, it relied more on the potential energy of market development and the opportunity of "eating crabs first". Therefore, it is not easy for "Li Ning" to have today's achievements. It is in the process of groping forward that he has broken out his own sky. However, the road it has found today is actually a combination of its own conditions

1. It is a member of a group of early domestic sports brands, born and bred, with the root of Miao Hong;

2. Its founder, the brand name itself, is a symbol and representative of sports, winning honor for the country and high-level athletes;

3. It quickly responds to and conforms to the top-level design and future trend of "cultural self-confidence" of the country, and the above-mentioned two inherent advantages just become its good endorsement and assistance, so it goes up with the current and soars into the sky.

Therefore, in fact, there is no accident. Everything is the result of the gathering of "timing, location, and people". The "three talents" gathering together are not successful. Since ancient times, there is no such thing. Therefore, the comprehensive rise of "Li Ning" has not only congenital conditions, but also postnatal fortune, as well as its own understanding. In other words, without their own correct judgment and understanding of the situation and their own conditions, today's sports brands will be as indifferent to the public as other early domestic sports brands.

Therefore, "Li Ning" today's good hand was made by himself, but what he didn't expect was that it broke the good card by himself.

　 　02 Why is this mistake "fundamental"?

To sum up, the current success of "Li Ning" stems from "China's Li Ning", that is, conforming to the top-level design of "cultural self-confidence" and the future trend of "national tide rising", plus the key endorsement of its inherent advantages. In other words, it deeply binds its own brand recognition with the country and the nation, which is in fact deeply bound with "national pride and patriotism". Therefore, the potential it borrows is the collective emotion of "patriotism, national pride and national rejuvenation", and "those who go along will prosper and those who go against will die.".

"Li Ning" made this card is very good, can be said to be "unparalleled", because "family feelings" is the bottom of the Chinese people, engraved in the bone marrow, handed down from generation to generation, and can only become stronger, it is difficult to go back. Therefore, as far as "Li Ning" is concerned, if he does not make "mistakes in principle and fundamental problems", he will only go up the river and the boat will rise. But what he did not expect is that he still made, and still such a low-level mistake

1. Who brought the most painful disaster to the nation in modern times? There is no doubt that it is Japan, and further, Japanese militarism. Therefore, this is a "feud". Even if it is eliminated, it will take a very long time. Therefore, this is a "forbidden zone". If the brand touches, it will be either death or injury. What's more, Li Ning, who holds up the national flag of the family, really responds to the saying: "if you don't die, you won't die.";

2. Due to the continuous and rapid growth of the consciousness of "patriotism and national self-confidence", the opposite consciousness has been enlarged. As a result, the "textbook illustration" incident was in full swing for a while. Finally, many voices were directed to "Japan". Why did they lead to it? What does guiding it remind the public? I think it goes without saying. But it also proves that "things written in the bone marrow, such as hatred" still exist and have not been weakened, so it further shows that the minefield of the brand, just like "food and sex", is purely a stress reaction;

3. Due to the "natural sensitivity" caused by historical reasons, the public take "colored glasses" to examine certain cultures. In other words, everything will be a bit "problem oriented". Therefore, as long as there is a little controversy and ambiguity of different cultural elements, brands should be cautious, because it represents the fermentation of public opinion and the opposition between the two schools, and because it involves some very sensitive historical issues, it is difficult to draw a "right or wrong" conclusion. But for the brand, it becomes a "target", which is totally different from the public opinion events such as "coconut tree";

4. Since "as long as there are a little controversial and ambiguous cultural elements", brands should be cautious, not to mention those elements with profound historical hatred and the most distinctive characteristics, they should definitely be the forbidden area and minefield of the brand, which should not be touched completely and absolutely.

To sum up, Li Ning's collision with the forbidden zone, minefield, and is completely opposite to his own set of minefields. This is a bit like those figures in history who have been betraying their country to the enemy later. The people's anger and disgust are more profound, and their memory is more lasting.

Therefore, this time "Li Ning" has indeed made a fundamental mistake, with far-reaching influence.

　 　03 Why is it still "wrong again and again"?

To sum up, the mistake of "Li Ning" is very serious and fundamental, but what we didn't expect is that such a mature brand would "make mistakes again and again".

1. What it should do most is to immediately apologize and admit its mistakes, while clarifying the problems mainly from lax examination and other aspects; Or keep silent and wait until the public mood calms down a little, and ask all parties concerned not to speak during this period. But it did not control itself: now the network stream of its high-level and founder's son's voice screenshots, and the voice direction is to defend itself and a bit ridicule the public ignorance, which can be described as adding to the error and adding to the frost;

2. It is true that consumers are unprofessional to designers, but common sense is: no matter how professional you are, as long as you ridicule other people for being "unprofessional" and the problem itself is controversial, there is only one result - group polarization, that is, each party will be more convinced of their own views in their defense. However, we should know: the opposite of "Li Ning" is huge. The result of group polarization is continuous intensification and fermentation, which makes it fall into the abyss of "irreparable" constantly... Think about the process of "Haitian additive event"?

3. No matter from what level, "Li Ning" is responsible for his own fault this time. Even when I first saw the series of pictures (without carefully looking at the title), my first reaction was "completely consistent with the public", which was a completely subconscious response. In other words, when "Li Ning" management team first saw this series of products, did "not feel like this at all"? I don't think it's possible unless the team is all "Japanese or Japanese Chinese."

4. Therefore, this incident of "Li Ning" can be said to have taken its own responsibility, and this has also exposed the huge problems and loopholes in its management, audit, public opinion response and control mechanism, and these problems are constantly amplifying and fermenting the influence of this fundamental error. Therefore, this time, it can be said that it is a disaster and a watershed between life and death for Li Ning. It needs not only "wisdom" but also "art" to solve this problem. Let's wait and see.