2024.0328

Number of words in this article:1761, reading time is about 3 minutes

introduction：疑似高管“公开信事件”背后更深刻的原因，在于定制家居行业陷入寒冬。

** Author| ** First Finance Wang Fangran

As the industry and company performance both decline, Shangpin Home Delivery (300616.SZ) is once again disturbed by rumors of "internal strife" among executives.

On March 26, an online letter was posted by Ouyang Xi, vice president of Shangpin Home Delivery Group, in a circle of friends. The content was a fierce open letter addressed to Zhou Shuyi, the group's director and general manager, and spread online. Online content shows that Ouyang Xi accused Shangpin Home Delivery brand Weiyi Customization of halving its operating income in the past two years and the dismissal of key employees.

On the afternoon of March 27, the reporter called the Shangpin Home Delivery Public Relations Department and the Securities Affairs Department for confirmation. As of press time, no one responded.

Some insiders believe that the more profound reason behind the suspected executive "open letter incident" is that the customized home furnishing industry is in a cold winter. Downward performance and frequent personnel adjustments have put forward higher requirements for corporate management's business governance. Judging from the side data, although Shangpin Home Delivery did not disclose the specific revenue of Weiyi customized brands in its annual report, Shangpin Home Delivery itself has experienced both a decline in revenue and net profit in recent years, which has continuously attracted industry attention. In addition, the number of employees and salary status of Shangpin Homestead in recent years have also changed to some extent.

▲网传欧阳熙朋 友圈截图

Infighting among executives?

In an open letter spread online, Ouyang Xi accused "General Manager Zhang" of having multiple problems such as "not doing proper work","maliciously deducting employee salaries", and "maliciously dismissing key old employees" without naming names.

According to public information, Ouyang Xi is currently the vice president of Shangpin Home Delivery Group. Graduated from Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, he served as general manager of Guangzhou Shangpin Home Furnishings Co., Ltd., general manager of Foshan Weishang Furniture Manufacturing Co., Ltd., and Yuanfang Software Sales Manager. According to the official website of Weiyi Customization, before 2022, Ouyang Xi also served as the general manager of Weiyi Customization Brand.

At the beginning of 2022, there was a personnel adjustment at the top of Weiyi Customization. Ouyang Xi stepped down as general manager and promoted the group's coordination of brand strategy, products, culture, etc. His position was taken over by Zhang Zhifang, who was fully responsible for the operation of Weiyi Customization brand.

Industry insiders speculate that the "General Manager Zhang" in the open letter is Zhang Zhifang. Zhang Zhifang previously served as the design director of Guangzhou Zhishengguanmei Furniture Co., Ltd., the Yuanfang Software Project Engineer, and the chairman of the Shangpin Home Delivery Supervisory Board.

In addition, in an open letter posted online, Ouyang Xi also named the group's HR director, saying that in management, he did not distinguish between good and bad, and only based on closeness, deducted employee salaries, dismissed a large number of key employees, and failed to provide employees with corresponding compensation in accordance with regulations.

Are the problems reflected by Ouyang Xi true? On March 27, First Finance and Economics asked Shangpin Home Delivery Public Relations Department and Securities Affairs Department for confirmation of this matter, but as of press time, no reply could be received.

Public information shows that in the past two years, the number of employees and salary of Shangpin Home Delivery has indeed changed significantly. At the end of 2022, the company's total number of employees was 11138, a decrease of 4429 compared with 15567 at the end of last year, a year-on-year decrease of 28.45%.

Compared with the same industry, Shangpin's "downsizing" of home delivery is relatively large. According to public information, in the customized home furnishing industry where Shangpin Home Delivery is located, competitors include Oupai Home Furnishings, Sophia, Zhibang Home Furnishings and other companies. Data shows that the number of employees of Oppai Home Furnishings, Sophia and Zhibang Home Furnishings in 2022 will change from-133, 420 and-151 respectively compared with 2021.

In addition to the reduction in personnel, overall salary also shows signs of decline. According to the 2022 annual report, the company's employee salary payable at the end of 2022 was 90.3264 million yuan, a decrease of more than 30 million yuan from 128 million yuan at the beginning of 2020. Shangpin Homestead explained in its financial report that it was mainly due to cost reduction and efficiency improvement and the decline in the number of employees, which led to a decrease in wages payable at the end of the period.

An industry insider analyzed to reporters that Shangpin's management is suspected of "internal strife". The main reason may be the decline in performance and improper personnel transfers, which is not new in the industry. In recent years, the real estate industry has declined, and the home furnishing industry has also experienced cold weather. Under performance pressure, many companies of the same type frequently "deploy troops". If arrangements are not properly arranged, similar conflicts can easily arise.

Performance disputes

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Ouyang Xi said in an open letter that the performance of Weiyi customized brand has increased from "annual revenue of 2 billion yuan" before 2022 to "annual revenue of less than 1 billion yuan" at present. If what is said is true, the brand's revenue has been almost halved.

Since Shangpin Homestead did not disclose the income of Weiyi Customized Brand, whether the statement in Ouyang Xi's open letter was spread online remains to be confirmed. However, Shangpin's revenue level has been shrinking in recent years.

According to the financial report, in the first three quarters of 2023, Shangpin's operating income from home delivery was 3.512 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 6.59%. Previously, from 2020 to 2022, the company's operating income was 6.513 billion yuan, 7.31 billion yuan, and 5.314 billion yuan respectively, with changes of-10.29%, 12.22%, and-27.3% respectively.

From 2019 to 2022, the company's net profit also continued to decline, dropping all the way from 528 million yuan to 46 million yuan.

Compared with the industry's top competitive products, Shangpin's home delivery revenue has changed significantly. In the first three quarters of 2023, the company's operating income fell by 6.59%. In the same period, the operating income of Opai Home Furnishings and Sophia increased by 1.82% and 3.36% respectively.

Huatai Securities believes that one of the reasons for the decline in performance is that the company will fully transform and equip itself from 2021, investing heavily in new models, which will drag down earnings performance. In addition, the company's direct sales account for a relatively high proportion, and it is more affected (by fluctuations in industry conditions) than other customized companies.

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