The Hua Chang Jewelry Company was established in 1998, but its business is rooted deep in the Chinese history which is the actual foundation of its success. The company managed to preserve and revive the ancient jewelry traditions of the Heavenly Empire which being combined with modern technologies and competent market strategy have made the company recognized in China and internationally – in the end of June the World Brand Laboratory included Hua Chang Jewelry in the list of China’s 500 most valuable brands. Mrs. Chen Shaojin, CEO of Hua Chang Jewelry’s Shanghai branch, answered the questions filed by Rough&Polished at the height of the World Expo in Shanghai.
Mrs. Chen Shaojin’s responsibilities include quite a number of tasks key to success of her company operating in the largest jewelry city of China. Making up sales schedules, defining sales policies, developing sales patterns, selecting and training sales staff, personnel decisions, estimation of sales efficiency, management of sales channels and work with clients, financial management, measures to prevent bad debts and turning in receivables, real-time sales monitoring, analysis and administrative decisions – this is just an incomplete list of her duties.
As it is known, in the end of June Hua Chang joined the rating of China’s 500 most valuable brands. How did you manage to achieve this success?
It should be noted that the members of the select committee were touched by the charm of Jin Xiang Yu1. Actually, in the course of its evaluation Hua Chang Jewelry attracted considerable attention on the part of the experts of the World Brand Laboratory and scientists who were particularly impressed by the company’s high rates of development, its sales growth, amount of taxes paid, its brand image, social responsibility, position inside the industry, competitive power and potential for further development. These and other components of the whole picture helped us to win this honor and join China’s 500 most valuable brands.
What was the start-up of Hua Chang?
I would say that the technique of combining gold and nephrite in jewelry pieces called Jin Xiang Yu turned into a gold vein for Hua Chang. In the early rule of Qing, the last Chinese dynasty (1644—1912) founded by a Manchurian clan, the design of Jin Xiang Yu was very popular – the Qianlong Emperor even devoted many of his poems singing the beauty of Jin Xiang Yu. However, this technique is very delicate and difficult to performed, it requires a lot of time and work, and so after the decline of the Qing dynasty it could be seen extremely seldom and was on the verge of total disappearance. Nevertheless, in 1908 in a small seaside village located in the Putian District of the Fujian Province Chinese master Zhang Ahan brought back the former fame to the art of combining gold and nephrite and Jin Xiang Yu became popular among local crafts. In 1938 his nephew Zhang Ruxin and son Zhang Ayue arrived to Shanghai to open their business dealing with jewelry incrustation. The historical materials of the Shanghai archive testify that “Zhang Ayue (from Putian) was able to distinguish well jade and nephrite and possessed special techniques, Jin Qian Yu (incrusting gold into nephrite) and Yu Xiang Jin (furnishing nephrite with gold).” This art was possible to preserve to these days. His grandson Zhang Guowang has developed his workshop into the Putian-based jeweler company with limited liability, Hua Chang, and preserved the essence of Jin Qian Yu. Moreover, the State Standards Committee for Jewelry awarded this skill an “industry standard” class.
What are the basic kinds of activity currently pursued by your company? What kind of jewelry makes the bulk of your company’s business?
The basic field of our activity is developing, manufacturing and selling jewelry from the collections of Jin Qian Yu and Yu Xiang Jin in pure gold (999.9) inlaid with natural and synthetic gems and carved nephrite. Our products belonging to the Jin Qian Yu and Jin Shi He Ming series (the latter featuring harmonious combinations of metal and stone) based on exclusive technologies and fashionable style which reflect the centuries-old heritage of the Chinese culture were recognized in professional circles and possess high collection value. They enjoy great support from jewelry dealers across the country and buyers’ demand and this is also one of the main components of our company’s success.
What is the production capacity of Hua Chang? Where do you prefer to buy jewelry and raw materials, in China or abroad?
Right now the production capacity of our company is approximately 8 million jewelry pieces a year. We are in the process of building our new industrial park. After its commissioning our output may reach 18 million pieces a year. We buy jewelry raw materials in Thailand, Malaysia, Brazil, Myanma and other countries. In China our raw-material bases are Xinjiang, Tsinghai and other well-known purchasing places.
What can you tell about the results of your company’s performance in the first half of 2010?
According to our reports, our 1H results increased by 23.5% in comparison with the previous period, in particular in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and other first-level cities where we posted a considerable growth.
Do you take part in the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai? Does it help to develop your business?
On March 12 this year, due to its exclusive advantage as the “only jewelry enterprise from the Fujian Province” Hua Chang became the official manufacturer and distributor of licensed production within the frames of EXPO 2010 in Shanghai. The World Universal Exhibition is known as the “Olympic Games in economic, scientific, technical and cultural fields,” it is a treasury of economic and social benefits. It offers a great chance to the development of our business which is difficult to overestimate. Judging by the current situation, the EXPO boom has definitely increased our company’s sales2 and at the same time increased the popularity and influence of the Hua Chang brand.
As far as it is known, Hua Chang is registered at the Alibaba trading platform. What is the place of online sales in your business?
Currently the situation is such that demand for our goods exceeds supply, so we have not yet started online trading operations.
Please, say a few words about your plans for Hua Chang in 2010 and future prospects?
In 2010 we shall put major emphasis on shaping our brand image focusing on lining up trade channels, maintaining sustainable development and strengthening management standardization. The turning point which on the one hand will give a powerful impulse to "brand strategies" and on the other hand will stimulate expansion of our trade channels is our application to include our brand into the national system of “Famous Brand of China” and also our aim to pass the selection for the status of China Time-honored Brand. We also plan to boost measures taken to expand our presence in the market and our management system in the second- and third-level cities. In the future our company will concentrate its efforts on accelerating capital turnover, advance the concept of harmonious metal-and-stone combination within the frames of the Jin Shi He Ming technique, introduce new marketing patterns, receive the status of Famous Brand in China, Heritage Object of Non-Material Culture of China, China Time-honored Brand and will do the utmost to become the national leader in the field of gold-jade incrustation.
1The traditional Chinese design combining gold and nephrite used to make medals for the Olympic Games in Beijing.
2The daily foot traffic to the exhibition is 400,000-500,000 persons.
Olga Patseva, the editor of Asian bureau Rough&Polished in Shanghai
