Recently, reporters from Jiangsu Merchants Omnimedia gave an exclusive interview to Xin Kexia, the President of Hiteker/Hisap, and Chairman of Brookstone China. In the conversation, Xin was filled with a sense of calm that handled complicated matters with ease at his own free will from the beginning to the end – From “buy whatever you need” to “play whatever you want”, the retail imaginary space will be hit through by “Easy Surprise”， which may open a window for the traditional enterprise transformation when too many traditional enterprisesare suffering a lot in the forced transformation or seeking hard in the "active" transformation. 

Written by Zhang Jichen, a Reporter from Jiangsu Merchants Omnimedia

It was in the afternoon that we visited Xin Kexia, the President of Hiteker/Hisap, and Chairman of Brookstone China in his office. If there were no those unexpected Brookstone products, nolife attitude to chase “novelty”in the support of Brookstone products, or no Xin’s “gamification thoughts” about the happy transformation of traditional enterprises, this day which would be the same as many ordinary days doomed to be submerged quietly in the time streamer.

While all mortal beings are repeating their monotonous lives with the printed “calendar” instead of lively-colored active “days”, the sudden encounter with Brookstone has given us a surprising feeling: it has been turned out that too much easily captured surprise and happiness existing in the ordinary time have been passed unconcernedly.

In the conversation, Xin was filled with a sense of calm that handled complicated matters with ease at his own free will from the beginning to the end – From “buy whatever you need” to “play whatever you want”, the retail imaginary space will be hit through by “Easy Surprise”， which may open a window for the traditional enterprise transformation when too many traditional enterprisesare suffering a lot in the forced transformation or seeking hard in the "active" transformation.

Innovation, Starts from the "Easy Surprise".

Instead of a formal exclusive interview, it was really an enjoyment: first stepping into the office, the reporter was told by Xin Kexia, who pointed to the sofa, to sit down and experience this massage chair cushion. Then, it flowed music changing with the scene from the desk lamp with elegant shape like a beauty stands by; in Xin’s hand, a flashlight switched into three lamp caps from different directions and even disintegrated into three separated flashlights, which were just like the magic; through disassembly and assembly, a seemed-normal plug at the first glance would present aspecialty of “no difficulties throughout the world”—just because the plug can be applied in most countries; pollution-free space sand with bright colors and feature of shedding water has reached the edible level… The most "unbearable"point is that the prices of these products which bring “Easy Surprise” to people are only dozens of yuan—yes, it’s yuan, not dollars.

Brookstone has a history of more than 50 years in the United States. In 1965, Pierre, an American mechanical engineers, began to design and manufacture some novelty tools, which was intended to provide a kind of “hard-to-find tools”, and were named after his farm Brookstone. "These products focused on users’ pain points, that is, the inconvenience or needs in life. So they were very popular with consumers. When seeing them, everyone would have a common feeling and couldn’t help sighing: “wow, this is exactly the goods I want to find.” Speaking of Brookstone, Xin became excited: “Having gone through more than half a century, the brand influence of Brookstone has deeply rooted among the people. It has more than 300 stores currently in major shopping centers and airports in each stateof the United States, which has become a synonym for the globally innovative products. "

With a powerful innovation team and R & D capability, the establishment of plenty of entrepreneurial organizations, collaborative teams and projects for cooperation, and the advanced mode of operation management, Brookstone has now become a banner enterprise in the industrycombined with the R & D, production and operation ability of the supply chain that has deposited for more than 50 years. In 2014, after aconsortium offer by Sanpower Group and Sailing Capital, Brookstone has started the globalized integration and operation.

As the first attempt, on January 1^st, 2016, Brookstone started its first Chinese business with great fun in Nanjing Aqua City, which created a miracle of Chinese business on that day –in the store with 600 square meters, the passenger flow had reached 25,000 and the sales amount was more than 9 million RMB.

Interaction, Experience and Scene are All Needed.

“Tangerine in Huainan and trifoliate orange in Huaibei are the same in varieties but with different flavors.” Targeting at Chinese market with great differences existing in consumer groups, consumption habits and consumption ideas, the reason why Brookstone’s new commercial pattern can succeed in Shanghai still remains a question.

“Due to the following reasons, commodities of Brookstone has become popular after entering into Chinese market: first, the overall production quality and positioning are at high level with certification of EU; secondly, its products have seized users’ demands in the research and development stage, which complies with and meets the demands of the users.” Xin analyzed. However, this is not the end. “Hisap Brookstone Switching from US Brookstone, including Leyu Brookstone in the future are all theachievements promoted by the 3C retailing enterprises subordinated to Hisap and the transformation after strategic integration of Brookstone. Except for the novelty products, we focus more on the development towards scene, experience and interaction based on traditional store operation.

The storefront of Brookstone also brings surprise to consumers besidesproducts. Stores are no longer the places only for sales in traditional pattern but present scenes for users’ experience, entertainment and interaction. In stores, the marketing personnel can play with users excitedly and devotedly. “We will interact with users and subdivide them according to hobbies to make users to beanti-popularization and socialized. Instead of the promotion information about particular commodity, what we provide is the experience of playing with ourstaff.” Compared with seductive marketing hot words “buy whatever you want”, Xin Kexia described marketing pattern of Hisap Brookstone as “play whatever you want” with great happiness.  “Users come here to play and got the surprise in life through experience and interaction of the novelty.”

In the meantime, based on accumulated professional genes and advantages for more than 20 years, Hisap has a deep understanding about 3C market and has cultivated a professional team of technology, retailing and service. On this basis, Hisap has promoted “the novelty service”, according to which it has established a professional maintenance platform named “Repaired” based on Internet technology and great socialization, targeting at 3C robot, UAV, smart home, smart terminal, and smart Internet equipment. During the overall process from contacting with commodities to subsequent use, demands of users can be satisfied by “Repaired” from each perspective. Users can make requests through network and telephone, then maintenance personnel can provide door-to-door service and field maintenance within two hours. We will get paid only if our customers are satisfied, which is greatly beyond users’ expectation.

As a result, Hisap Brookstore has no longer been a 3C retailer in traditional meaning, but an online and offline integrated pattern with the features of novelty, fast fashion, servitization, experience and full ecologicalization. Xin called it as “novelty and new fighting”: in the future, all retailing stores of Hisap are entrances and scenes which attract consumers by novelty, touch consumers bysite interaction, retain consumers by experiential scenes, become closer to consumers by door-to-door service and influence consumers by interactive club with socialization and subdivision. Thus,with creating viscosity and ecology, it will form an excellently operating O2O closed loop, which makes consumers “go shopping happily”,  sellers “make happy sales”, and finally promote a “happy transformation” of 3C retailing enterprises subordinate to Hisap.

Transformation Drive Force of Retailing Aircraft Carrier o:p>

Entrepreneurs are considering about innovation and transformation every day at present. However, how many enterprises are successful in transformation? There is no doubt that transformation has become a thorn in the heart for many enterprises. Thus, in the theory of “considering managing a great power as small cooking”, why did Hisap succeed and achieve transformation while “playing games”? “The key lies in the unity of knowledge and action.” Xin Kexia had made a careful and detailed analysis:

First of all, acquire the acknowledgement from consumers and great attention inside the industry. Only with the acknowledgement of consumers, can enterprises develop rapidly in market. The high level of attention inside industry can be regarded as one kind of new transformation pattern of in Chinese retailing industry for exploration and explanation. Sometimes, we also think about that why you can succeed while others fail. In the words of Yuan Yafei, president of Hisap are: “we should first consider it clearly before action whether it is an exclusive idea to you or not. If others have the similar idea, then why did they fail to do it? After solving the two questions, you can start it boldly.”

Secondly, Hisap adds the concept of “Entity Plus” into the new pattern, that is, “Hisap 4.0”. “Entity Plus” is not a tangible business entity in traditional sense. First, the content we “plus” is Internet. On one hand it is the integration between online and offline. At present, each employee in the company has his WeChat store and is the boss. They operate nearly 5000 WeChat stores, in which they manage their commodities and users when they are on duty and can do business easily whenoff duty. In this way, employees feel happy because all background operations will run in this way. On the other hand, there is a stream guidance between online and offline. Secondly, in the future, there will be changes arising in marketing pattern of Hisap and Brookstone. The way of promotion in traditional meaning will be replaced by socialization, subdivision, interaction, and users’ participation and sharing. Beside professional service, there are also player clubs such as UAV club, wine club, sand club and robot club in the great service system.

Thirdly, after innovation for several years and having accumulated rich experience in 3C retailing and service, the service team and ability of Hisap has ranked first across the country at present, in which there are 500 engineers and nearly 300 professional service stores to provide all kinds of information and service for users. It also has unique genes coincided with “novelty”, strong competitiveness, as well as thesynergy of other resources and platform of the Group.

Fourthly, the support of operation mechanism and professional team are indispensable behind such new pattern. All of the factors, including the depositing experience in 3C retailing and innovation of Hisap integrated with operation experience and pattern for more than 50 years of American Brookston, combining with the promotion of talent internationalization which attracted the participation of many professional structural talents, has formed a series of operation mechanism and team support from products to stores and then to door-to-door service, which has guaranteed the successful strategic transformation of Hisap Brookstone.

Fifthly, Chinese consumers have no longer been satisfied with purchase of goods at low price. The generation of 1980s has become the one who always pursues life quality and also enjoys entertainment and scene experience. This generation is the future of China, and enterprises possessing Chinese future are certain to have prospects.

A Slight Movement in One Part May Affect the Whole Situation.

As the first attempt to enter into China, Hisap Brookstone in Nanjing Aqua City has achieved great performance during the four months since the business has been started. In the next two to three years, Xin Kexia says: first, it will realize the strategic transformation of Hisap, which means to transfer from traditional chain to the business pattern with experience-oriented, scene-oriented and service-oriented of the novelty; secondly, on one hand, taking use of the existing network of Hisap to make transformation. On the other hand, making rapid and national expansion and development copy in the main airports, high-speed rails and core shopping malls. “In domestic market, it is our prospect to make Brookstore become a synonym of novelty in China, in the meantime, to make novelty become a life style of Chinese consumers.”

Of course, this is still far from the terminal.

In the future, Brookstone China will also depend on oversea resources of Hisap and hit through the global supply chain to form a global supply chain platform, which will be rooted in a brand new ecology of novelty experience services. There is no doubt that innovation starts from “Easy Surprise” and then hits through the retail imaginary space.