Established in 1958, Changhong was once a military machinery manufacturer. It grew into China¡¯s leading TV maker within 10 years, with its brand value reaching 26 billion yuan (US$3 billion).

    The firm posted a net profit of US$22.1 million for 2003. But the Apex Digital debacle and a loss of US$12.1 million incurred as a result of unsuccessful bond trading are expected to push Changhong to report its first loss since its 1994 listing. Some analysts expect Changhong to take 10 years to recover from the loss, if at all.

    ¡°Changhong¡¯s mistake is too obvious,¡± Zhao said. As the company is facing various problems in operation and management, Zhao is really facing great difficulty in overhauling the giant.

    Having worked in Changhong for seven years, Zhao was clear about what he should do to help the company out of trouble.

    He had made some suggestion about the reforms of the company in his work summary when he first acted as the president of the company. He also sent the original copies to second-tier managers to promote the ¡°rebuilding of Changhong.¡± Zhao was doing what he should have done four years ago.

    He reformed Changhong¡¯s operation and management system by establishing a new administration structure and market operating system.

    In Ni¡¯s time, the company was organized in the framework of ¡°locomotive engine mode,¡± a method whereby the president had the outmost power in deciding affairs in the company.

    Zhao abolished the mode and set the new ¡°joint fleet mode¡± to give more independence to each coordinate department, which greatly improved the efficiency of the company.

    Zhao realized the best way for Changhong to outstand from numerous competitors was to develop technology and widen its product portfolios.

    Zhao set the slogan of ¡°technology decides everything¡± to promote the research and development of technology in Changhong and set 5 million yuan aside to reward technicians who make great achievements in technical innovation.

    Changhong used to focus on color TV sets, and paid little attention to other products. But Zhao would like to lead his company into more fields.

    Beyond most people¡¯s expectation, the low-key Zhao made a formal announcement that Changhong joined the Intelligent Grouping & Resource Sharing (IGRS) at the 6th China Shenzhen Hi-tech Fair on July 12 last year.

    After joining the IGRS, Changhong can promote the industrial process of the criteria and enhance its information home appliance products with the accumulated powerful R&D capacity and market promotion capacity in the information home appliance industry.

    Last October, Zhao launched the market promotion campaign of ¡°Changhong shines in October, cultivating a new generation of digital class¡± and achieved great success.

    ¡°We launched the campaign of ¡®Changhong October¡¯ to show the world that Changhong is still alive and to give confidence to our staff, consumers and all who care about Changhong,¡± said Zhao. ¡°By the end of the year, we will shout out that Changhong is not only still alive, but very healthy!¡±

    Now, most people are pinning their hopes on Zhao to turn around Changhong. They expect Zhao to guide the company to overcome all the difficulties and rebuild the shining kingdom of Changhong again.

(Source: Shenzhen Daily)