The supplier, the brand and the whole company

Mandate

Connect range development and retail growth with a funded, explicit after-purchase offer.

Outcomes

• Funded a twelve-pattern replacement programme; 4,800 requests in its first review year.
• Approved a ninety-six-line presentation pilot with RMB640,000 implementation cost.
• Established separately recorded shop-assistance rewards on 610 online orders.

Decisions in context

The CEO appointment made me responsible for the choices between functions as well as their individual performance. A service idea could deserve support while still losing money on each request. A shop could contribute to an order without receiving its revenue. I needed to make those arrangements understandable to a board representing both the founding family and a minority investor. I began with bounded proposals rather than a broad pledge to transform customer experience. Twelve replacement patterns, ninety-six product pages and ten shops gave us decisions with identifiable costs and limits. The six functional executives own their evidence and delivery; I resolve competing uses of capital and carry the company result. I also became an executive director when appointed. That board role is distinct from the invited operational presentations I had made before becoming CEO.

Reason for the move

Internal appointment following eleven years in merchandising and operations; continues as CEO.

Mandate

Make shop, fulfilment and service responsibilities explicit as direct online sales expanded.

Outcomes

• Coordinated operating support as the shop network reached twenty-eight locations.
• Put four operating functions into a monthly review of shared customer issues.
• Introduced common enquiry categories across three service teams.

Decisions in context

Operations exposed the cost of treating each customer channel as a self-contained business. The four heads reporting to me could each explain their own workload, but a difficult enquiry often moved between them. I brought their reviews together so that a shop visit followed by an online order could be understood as a sequence. The change did not remove disagreement over budgets. It made the disagreement specific enough to take to the chief executive. I managed the operating-expense remit and the service organisation, while product-range decisions and company capital remained outside my sole authority. By the end of the appointment the network had twenty-eight shops, supported by a larger direct fulfilment operation. I was invited to explain those arrangements to the board but did not serve as a director during this period.

Reason for the move

Promoted by the board to the chief executive role in February 2021.

Mandate

Build ranges that joined supplier capability with a clear customer offer.

Outcomes

• Established a shared specification review across two principal product categories.
• Brought quarterly service evidence into range reviews for eighteen shops.
• Led a twenty-two-person merchandising function within approved buying limits.

Decisions in context

Moving into the brand changed the questions I asked of a sample. I still needed an accurate specification, but I also needed to understand the decision a customer would make from the product page or shelf. The twenty-two-person team connected buying with product development and presentation. I began inviting service colleagues into quarterly range discussions because their questions could expose a problem that a sales total did not explain. We could not retain every pattern or solve every request through additional stock, so the commercial implications had to stay visible. I worked within the approved purchasing envelope and took unusual commitments to the chief executive. The role prepared me for operations by showing how range choices created work elsewhere, particularly in fulfilment and customer support after the launch had moved out of the buying team’s immediate attention.

Reason for the move

Expanded into the COO role after taking responsibility for cross-functional range delivery.

Mandate

Translate customer requirements into documented product and delivery agreements.

Outcomes

• Managed an RMB18m annual sales portfolio by 2009.
• Introduced a fortnightly exception discussion for three account coordinators.
• Maintained approval histories for twelve recurring customer programmes.

Decisions in context

Account management put me in the conversation where a requested change became a commercial commitment. I had to understand why the customer wanted it, establish what the factory could provide and recognise when the decision exceeded my authority. The three coordinators helped preserve the history of approvals, which became particularly useful when a recurring programme changed packaging or specification. I owned the customer relationship within a defined portfolio; I did not run the factory or approve its capital spending. That boundary is important when describing the appointment now. My interest gradually moved towards the decisions made before the supplier received a brief: which products belonged together, how they were presented and what the brand expected to support after sale. The move to Lanshuyu let me take responsibility for those choices rather than infer them from a purchase order.

Reason for the move

Joined Lanshuyu to work on brand and range decisions rather than only the supplier response.

Mandate

Keep product versions, customer samples and approval status traceable.

Outcomes

• Maintained version records across eight recurring tableware families.
• Supported a six-person team’s monthly sample reconciliation.
• Prepared approval packs for two seasonal range cycles each year.

Decisions in context

I joined soon after completing my commerce degree and learnt the business through samples and their labels. A small difference in a cup handle or finish could matter to a customer even when two objects looked similar at first glance. My work was to preserve that distinction in the records used by colleagues. I did not set the range or negotiate the order. I prepared approval packs, checked which version was current and raised discrepancies with the supervisor. The work taught me that administrative precision can prevent a much larger commercial disagreement. It also made me curious about the customer’s reason for a change, which was not always visible in the specification. As I became more involved in explaining approval histories to account colleagues, the move into customer management became a practical next step.

Reason for the move

Moved into account management after developing direct familiarity with customer approval processes.