"Check out the year on this one, it's a washing machine from '97. I bet the manufacturer has gone out of business by now."

A Henan native's comment sparked a wave of sympathy in the comment section for the long-forgotten brand, Wei Li, which responded with a humble statement:

"Sorry to everyone, Wei Li is still hanging in there, thanks for the support from our cloud shareholders."

This scene had countless netizens in stitches, with some joking that Wei Li's response was akin to saying, "I heard you've been spreading rumors that I'm dead?"

Once a leading enterprise in the washing machine market, it's astonishing to see how far it has fallen, evoking a sense of nostalgia and admiration for the resilience of old domestic brands.

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The history of Wei Li dates back to the late 1970s when ordinary people couldn't even afford a washing machine. Back then, having the "three rotations and one sound" (referring to a sewing machine, a bicycle, a watch, and a radio) for a wedding was a sign of wealth.

As Chinese people became wealthier, they started to chase after "foreign-made" products.

Wei Li found itself in a dead end of the times, forgotten by the public like most domestic products.

That's why the revelation that the Wei Li factory is still operational came as such a shock. After being sidelined for so many years, how did it manage to persevere?In cramped factories, with dirt strewn across the floors, a few elderly workers are operating machinery, moving old-fashioned washing machines from the end of the assembly line onto trucks, destined for the countryside.

In the minds of many, this is the scene that comes to mind when thinking of the once-dominant power, now fallen from grace.

But the imagined misery of the once-powerful brand is not as dire as one might think.

As the only country with a complete industrial chain, China's manufacturing industry is incredibly competitive, with the home appliance sector becoming increasingly fierce year after year since the turn of the millennium.

Among thousands of home appliance brands, Wei Li, despite having a market share of 30 million, still struggles to maintain its footing without undergoing restructuring and transformation.

Thus, as early as 30 years ago, this nationally renowned washing machine brand began to blaze a new trail to save itself from a dire situation.

The approach was simple and straightforward, yet effective—restructuring, OEM production, exporting overseas, and capturing the rural market.

Gradually, Wei Li stopped focusing all its efforts on domestic business.

Becoming an OEM manufacturer and private label producer for top domestic home appliance brands, as well as exporting overseas, has become a key direction for its development in recent years, and it has done quite well.

Of course, this does not mean that it has abandoned its core business.Wei Li Company was officially established in 1980 and has weathered the torrents of market liberalization, corporate restructuring, foreign product impact, and bankruptcy crises;

Although it no longer enjoys the glory of its past, it still possesses a factory and buildings that cover a thousand acres.

The factory equipment is updated year after year, and now it is almost entirely automated.

With the help of technology, the intelligently upgraded Wei Li production workshop can produce a washing machine in as little as 11 seconds, and the process is completely transparent, with data made clear and understandable with the assistance of AI.

In 2022, the number of its employees was 1,600, and now it has soared to 3,000.

Last year, its output value reached 1 billion yuan, which is not eye-catching compared to other major domestic home appliance industries, but do not overlook that this is only the output value.

As early as the 1980s, Wei Li tried to develop other production lines in addition to washing machines.

Over the years, it has attempted to manufacture refrigerators, air conditioners, cookware, and other products, but the results were not significant, and the washing machine industry remains the most well-known.

Currently, the annual production of washing machines at Wei Li's factory is about 2 million units.

According to the disclosure of relevant data, Haier, which ranked first in the washing machine sales list in 2023, had an annual sales volume of about 3.3 million units, while Little Swan and Midea, ranking second and third, had sales volumes of approximately 3.1 million and 1.9 million units, respectively.That is to say, the "small brand" with little fame in China, whose annual production is a quarter of the top three in the Chinese market.

Although it cannot return to its former glory, the measures taken by Wei Li to save itself through a different path have taken effect.

A company cannot continue to survive by relying on its past glory, but looking back at the past, one will still be shocked by the achievements of Wei Li during its brilliant period.

In 1979, a metal frame taken from an abandoned old ship was sent to Zhongshan Shiqi Agricultural Machinery Repair Factory. This was Xu Jihai's first time seeing a washing machine, this "foreign gadget".

The employees of the repair factory knocked and hit, and spent several months to understand the structure inside;

A few months later, the first single-cylinder washing machine in China was born in this simple agricultural machinery factory.

In 1980, 2000 washing machines were distributed from here to the whole country, and "Zhongshan Shiqi Agricultural Machinery Repair Factory" was officially renamed as "Zhongshan Washing Machine Factory", and the washing machine brand was named "Jie Bai".

In 1981, the double-cylinder washing machine was successfully developed, and the factory officially started to operate, and the brand was renamed as "Wei Li".

Xu Jihai, in the high call of the people's election, became the first leader of Wei Li.

In the next 15 years, the Chinese washing machine market was the world of Wei Li."Power, power, enough might and strength."

"New and old alternate, still power remains."

"Power washing machine, a gift of love for mothers."

It has to be said that each era has its own way of promotion. What may seem somewhat rustic in today's advertisements undoubtedly successfully captured the market's pain points back then.

Buying a washing machine for a mother who has been washing clothes for a lifetime, using machinery to free her hands, became the most fashionable consumer goal at that time.

In the era when the standard of living for the people soared, washing machines, as household appliances, were quite expensive and beyond the reach of most families.

Nevertheless, in 1990, Power broke the sales milestone of 1 million units for the first time.

By 1995, Power washing machine users had exceeded 10 million; at the beginning of the millennium, a market share of 30 million earned it the title of "King of Washing Machines" from the state.

At that time, whether it was market share, sales volume, or brand recognition, Power was undoubtedly the number one.

Today's well-known home appliance brands, such as Little Swan, Midea, Gree, and others, although they had already gained some fame, were still at the second-tier level in the market, with the leading position firmly held by other brands.For instance, the "Ronshen" refrigerators from Guangdong Kelon, the "Aucma" freezers from Qingdao, and the "Chunlan" air conditioners, among others.

The Power brand was once a source of pride for countless people from Zhongshan, and at its peak, even the top national figure had designated it as a place to visit.

It can be said that even the cleaning staff at Power, when talking about where they work, would unconsciously straighten their backs with pride.

However, the tide of time rolls on, and even the gods cannot escape the vicissitudes of life.

If the success of Power was inseparable from the favorable winds of the era, it was far from the only one to ride this wave.

In fact, on the 10th anniversary of the establishment of "Power Group," the company's leadership had already recognized the changes in the market.

The refrigerator market was nearing saturation, the impact of a large amount of capital-rich foreign investments, and the pursuit of high-quality goods due to the improvement of people's living standards were all crises that Power, and indeed all domestic brands, would have to face in the future.

Thirty years ago, newspapers had expressed such concerns with trepidation:

"Japanese air conditioners are making a large-scale 'invasion' of the Chinese market... A considerable number of Chinese people are generous with their wallets when they see foreign brands, and in the face of this situation, some knowledgeable individuals have expressed serious concerns."

"Some Japanese companies are keen on joint ventures to build factories, not to introduce advanced technology and products, but to seize the Chinese market, take the initiative, and defeat domestic goods, aiming to achieve a monopoly position for Japanese air conditioners in the country."Today, 30 years later, we cannot help but marvel at the foresight and long-term vision of the "enlightened individuals," which commands admiration.

The domestic industry's internal competition and the accumulation of foreign capital have made life quite miserable for many old national brands during that period.

Wei Li's family fortune was still substantial, so it could not be considered "miserable," but it also went through several ups and downs.

First, the company aggressively entered the air conditioning industry, taking such large strides that it almost yielded no returns.

Then, under the mutual pressure of domestic and international home appliance brands, its competitiveness was greatly weakened, and in just a few years, it accumulated debts of over 1.6 billion, making layoffs and staff reductions a prevailing trend.

As the outside world was buzzing with discussions, rumors of "discord between the top brass" emerged within Wei Li, causing the brand's already precarious reputation to collapse rapidly.

Finally, in 2005, the once-famous Wei Li washing machine, due to poor management, had no choice but to sell the brand and its factory, sparking a huge public debate.

With a mature processing industry chain and experienced assembly line workers, Wei Li was not short of buyers; small companies were not even in the running.

The first company to send a negotiation team was Kelon, the undisputed leader in the home appliance industry, which had a strong interest in "expanding its territory."

At that time, the media hype was intense, with many outlets describing the acquisition as a "marriage to a lower status."Soon, however, Kelon's director Gu Chujun became entangled in a financial lawsuit and ultimately ended up in prison.

But, at that time, Kelon was severely impacted by this ordeal, caught in the midst of public opinion, and many plans were forced to be shelved, including the acquisition plan of Wei Li.

In the end, Zhongshan Wei Li Group and Dongling Kaiqin "tied the knot," successfully "remarrying" at a value of 150 million yuan.

At that time, this merger and acquisition case attracted the attention of many big shots in the industry, and Dongling Kaiqin even declared their intention to "revitalize the might" of Wei Li.

But when the times change, they change, and if you miss the period of dividends, you can only drift like the sands of the Yellow River, going with the flow.

After weathering that period, Wei Li also had to face the reality that it had finally stepped down from its pedestal.

In the business world, the right timing, favorable location, and harmonious people are all indispensable.

Why was Wei Li able to lead the trend in the 1980s and 1990s? "Harmonious people" played a very important role.

When the company was just established, the leadership set a strict rule: "Whatever the employees need to do, do it first yourself; whatever the employees need to follow, follow it first yourself."

A deputy factory director in the factory, with more than 30 years of smoking history, set an example to implement the no-smoking rule in the factory and quit smoking cold turkey.This incident had a profound impact on the employees, prompting many to follow suit. As numerous people quit smoking, Wei Li also became a well-known "smoke-free factory" in the surrounding areas.

It is worth mentioning that from top to bottom, Wei Li has never engaged in any self-serving behavior. With an annual turnover of nearly ten million, every penny in the factory's accounts is clear and transparent.

In addition, Wei Li deeply understands that "the customer is king" and has ingrained this concept into the minds of every Wei Li employee.

For instance, once, a batch of washing machines produced in the factory experienced short circuits and wire burning failures across the country. After investigation, it was found to be caused by varying voltages in different regions.

Technically, this had nothing to do with the washing machines themselves, but the factory decided to recall all related models, regardless of whether they had been sold or not, and regardless of whether there were any issues, offering full refunds and compensation.

It is Wei Li's solid work ethic, honest business practices, emphasis on quality, and the philosophy of treating consumers as the bread and butter of the company that has allowed it to rapidly expand and capture a large market share in just a few years.

"Harmony among people" indeed brought Wei Li a rare brilliance, but the scarcity of favorable timing and location still left it a bit short of luck.

Even after exhausting all means, Wei Li ultimately failed to "make a comeback."

Fortunately, it welcomed its next spring.

The story of Wei Li inevitably reminds one of the recent trend of national product team-building.Counting their past, everyone found that over the years, although domestic products have had their own miseries, their inherent resilience and strength are quite consistent.

After going through countless days and nights of being crushed by foreign capital, the domestic products that have persisted have finally seen the dawn.

Looking forward to the "power" of the 45 years of ups and downs, we anticipate its re-release of its own "power"!