"Over 40 Million Yuan Debt Forces Decision to Return Home and Take Over Family Luggage Factory"

In the second episode of the "Inheriting the Family Business Vlog," Shen Ruoyi recorded a scene of herself crying for the first time using her phone.

That day, as the second generation who was to inherit the family business, she eagerly went to give her mother suggestions in the live streaming room, only to be doused with cold water: "If you don't grow food, don't come here to guide me."

This sentence sounded particularly harsh to Shen Ruoyi, implying that the traffic she had fought for had not brought in any revenue, and if she couldn't produce results, she shouldn't speak. Shen Ruoyi argued a few more times, but the responses she received were still her mother's rebuttals.

After leaving the office, she felt worse the more she thought about it and couldn't help but shed tears. After silently crying for a while by herself, she suddenly remembered that a colleague had once reminded her that sadness shouldn't be dealt with alone; recording it down might serve as material for a video later. So, Shen Ruoyi could only cry while setting up her phone.

One must learn not to cry in vain, even when hurt, especially for a successor to a factory boss in the era of (flowing with the trend of internet celebrities and online traffic).

Shen Ruoyi is the "heir" of Zhejiang Clarion Group. Clarion was founded in 1996 in Haining, Zhejiang Province, by her mother Zhang Xinhua and father Shen Zihong. It is a group-type luggage company that integrates design, production, and sales, with luggage brands such as Clarion and Monologue under its umbrella. Before 2020, the revenue from Clarion's offline business accounted for 78%, and at its peak, it had more than 3,000 stores.

After 2020, facing the shrinking offline sales, promptly adjusted its business strategy, shifting its core product category to student backpacks and focusing on online channels. In 2023, the group's annual output value reached 630 million yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 35% in annual output value in 2024.

In 2019, driven by reality, Shen Ruoyi gradually entered the Karayang brand founded by her parents, starting from scratch, and has learned in several departments. She now serves as the brand communication manager for Karayang.

She candidly admitted that during her more than three years at the company, the challenges of adapting to senior employees and the conflicts with her parents made her want to give up on taking over countless times.

However, during these three years, she once created a "Cheese Box," which generated over 35 million yuan in GMV (Gross Merchandise Volume). The "Factory Second Generation" IP account she planned single-handedly also broke out of its niche, achieving over 100 million views across the web. Recently, the first live broadcast of the sub-brand "Monologue" managed by Shen Ruoyi sold more than 5,500 units.

These positive feedbacks are necessary and important for Shen Ruoyi, who is on the journey from 0 to 1, and they serve as the greatest motivation to encourage her to keep going.As the eldest daughter in the family, taking over has become a foregone conclusion. Now, Shen Ruoyi is even more convinced that she can shoulder the family business built by her parents in the future.

The following is Shen Ruoyi's self-narrative (with omissions):

The Driving Force of the Eldest Daughter

Ever since I can remember, my parents have been starting their own business, often leaving early and returning late, spending little time with me. Most of the time, it was my grandparents who took care of me.

Even under the same roof, it is difficult for me to meet them, and even when I do, my parents are often in a state of arguing.

Now, I can understand that their arguments in the early days of starting their business were essentially aimed at making the company better and better. But as a child, I felt very insecure because of it. I still remember that when my parents argued at that time, I often pretended to be asleep while worrying whether our family would fall apart because my parents were making suitcases and bags.

All these events planted seeds in my heart, making me feel that taking over the luggage business was too exhausting, and that family members were not suitable to work together. As a result, for a long time, I was psychologically very resistant to the idea of succession.

Until 2014, when I was 18 years old, my mother gave birth to twin sisters. I went from being the only daughter in the family to the eldest daughter. For some reason, I gradually felt a transition from being a child to becoming an adult, and I felt a sense of responsibility on my shoulders.

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On the foundation of changing mindsets, our company faced a significant blow in 2016. At that time, due to issues with guarantees, the company suddenly had more than 40 million yuan in debt, with only over 3 million yuan left in the account. This event devastated my entire family, including myself. Later, I learned that my parents had also been supporting me to complete my education, even though they were going through these tough times.

If there was a progress bar for succession,After this thing happened, I have already accepted 70% of the reality that I will need to return home and take over the family business.I must take on the business that my parents built from scratch. I majored in fashion design in university, and Kalayan's main business in luggage and bags is also related to fashion design. Therefore, right after graduation, my first thought was to gain experience outside and then bring the fashion design skills from a large company back to the family business.

But I was really too naive. After graduation, I couldn't find a suitable job. When my mom heard about it, she asked me to come home and work. She said, "I'll pay you 5,500 yuan a month." Just like that, the next day I "entered the factory."

Initially, I tried various departments such as the marketing department, photography group, Tmall operations, and merchandise department in a rotation format. During my more than a year in the merchandise department, I also participated in a project collaborating with Huawei to develop smart backpacks and suitcases, during which I completed my master's degree through a "work-study" arrangement. At the end of 2023, I obtained my master's degree and officially joined Karajan.

"101 Times" Want to Give Up Succession

But the reality of being a successor is really too different from what I imagined.

Under my account, many netizens think that the boss is the one who gives orders, and subordinates just need to carry them out. At first, I thought so too, but I was soon proven wrong.

At the beginning of last year, I was assigned to work as a co-host in the live stream room while also serving as my mother’s, who is the general manager, personal assistant. She said that since a position as General Manager’s Assistant has been set up for me, my thinking and behavior should align with hers, and I should consider the things she cares about.

After a live stream, she asked me to lead a review for the team. I didn’t think much about it and went ahead directly. I am naturally introverted, so I politely asked everyone to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the live stream individually, but everyone just smiled without commenting, and then dispersed, with no one paying attention to me.

I awkwardly told my mom, "I tried to help you with the review, but they all left." She said, "See, being a boss isn't that easy. Even though I gave you the title of general manager assistant, you still couldn't handle this small task of reviewing."

That day, she explained to me for the first time why many people think she has become nagging.She told me that if you want to lead a team to do something well, you must repeatedly emphasize the purpose, benefits, and consequences of the task; otherwise, everyone won't understand and won't take action with just a simple instruction.

This incident also enlightened me. When I made suggestions, people superficially agreed but actually didn't approve, even mocking "What does she know". Essentially, they didn't approve of me, as a "second-generation", giving orders with the identity or title bestowed by the boss.To truly gain the obedience of team members, the only path is to achieve results.

Not only do team members not recognize it, but even for the second generation without achievements, their parents' patience is also limited. At one point, I felt that the current live streaming visual effects were not diverse enough, so I proposed the idea of creating a new live streaming room. Coincidentally, my mom was planning to renovate three high-end live streaming rooms on the fifth floor, so I seized the opportunity to give her some suggestions.

Actually, my mom already had some ideas for the design of the new live broadcast room, but she still called me over. So, I suggested transforming one of the live broadcast rooms into a French home style, because the real-life usage scenarios for suitcases and women's bags are more in the home rather than in factories or counters, which makes it more relatable.

After I finished speaking, she angrily rejected it and said that if I don't generate any income from my traffic, then I shouldn't come to guide her. The implication was that if I haven't achieved any results, I shouldn't instruct her on how to do things.

These words from my mother made me very sad. At that moment, I felt that what I was doing was not understood or recognized, and the position of brand communication manager had no meaning at all.

I tried to explain my thoughts to my mom, but she still rejected me without giving me any chance. After leaving her office, I couldn't hold back my tears.

Later, I included this segment in the video, and after it was released, many people questioned whether my tears were real or fake. The tears were definitely real, but it was difficult for me to explain to netizens the grievances behind not being understood.

Self-reflection has become a mandatory lesson for me every day, but I still have to endure a series of blows and denials from the outside world, especially conflicts with my parents, which really hurts our relationship. This also includes my work in social media; even though I put in my utmost effort to revise every day, the data may still be poor, and negative feedback is quite common. All of this suddenly makes me feel that the succession work is meaningless.

After that argument, for the 101st time, I thought about giving up on taking over, but then I cried and comforted myself, just like before, and continued with my work. By the next day, life, work, and the succession all went on as usual.

In fact, over the past three years since taking over, I have thought about giving up countless times, but I have also comforted myself countless times to keep going. Sometimes I ask myself, what else can I do?

Understanding parents better after taking over their responsibilities

Entrepreneurs of my parents' generation often have unique imprints of their time as they started businesses from scratch.

For example, my parents firmly believe in the spirit of hard work and endurance, which has gradually become a distinct personal charm of my mother. She herself has become a representative of the company's core spirit, continuously influencing the team with her actions.

A few years ago, my mother suggested that her company should start short-video and live-streaming e-commerce businesses, but this proposal faced strong opposition. Many employees felt that they were neither hosts nor talented, so why should they engage in such activities. To allay the team's concerns, she had no choice but to personally take on the live streaming, making the business a success and proving its feasibility through actions. Only then were the employees willing to follow her lead and jointly push the company forward.

The "second-generation successors" in businesses actually need to play the role of rallying morale and setting an example for the team. Because only when you have done something well yourself will others understand and follow you in moving forward together.

This idea has also been gradually validated in the actual succession process.

Recently, we launched a sub-brand called "Monologue" and introduced a women's bag, which sold 5,500 units in its debut live stream. This was a tremendous encouragement for me. It made me realize that the traffic I've accumulated over a long period finally has the potential for conversion, no longer just an abstract number.

These positive feedbacks have also brought me more recognition. The most noticeable change is that everyone has started to value my suggestions. For example, when discussing how to improve products, they will ask for my opinions, and I've been involved in the selection of products for live broadcasts, which has increased my influence within the team.

The deeper I delve into the company's business, the more I understand my parents during their entrepreneurial period, and I even resemble them more. From the mindset of a "worker" with a nine-to-five routine when I first took over, gradually I have transformed into a managerial mindset. I can feel that the company and the team have higher expectations of me.

I have also become more diligent, and work has become muscle memory. I often wake up and get straight to it, calculating every penny to ensure it's spent wisely. On the rare occasions I rest on weekends, I feel a subtle sense of guilt, especially when I think about my parents still working hard. I ask myself, why should I rest?

If the full score is 100 points, I would give myself 60 points for my 3.5 years of succession work. On one hand, I have overcome many difficulties and gained a preliminary understanding of the company's business model, but there are still many gaps waiting for me to tackle in the future.

The women's bag brand "Monologue" that I am currently in charge of will definitely be a key focus for the company in the future. In my view, the Chinese market lacks a women's bag brand that combines high-quality products, a meaningful brand ethos, and reasonable pricing. This area holds great potential, and for me, it is an opportunity worth seizing.

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