Background
Born in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, Xie’s childhood ambition was to become a world table tennis champion, and he hoped one day to win glory for China.
铁澜 谢
Born in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, Xie’s childhood ambition was to become a world table tennis champion, and he hoped one day to win glory for China.
He practiced table tennis diligently and was recruited into the junior provincial team. However, his dream was shattered when he was 13 as a result of a ‘political issue’ relating to his father. When he was 20, Xie went to Northeast China to join the wave of urban youth being ‘re-educated’ in the countryside and mountain areas.
After several years, he returned to Wenzhou to work in an electrical machinery factory as its sole supply and marketing clerk. Through his efforts, the factory began to prosper. Based on his understanding of market demands, he recommended some new product lines, but his suggestions were not taken up by the factory leaders. So Xie submitted his resignation and decided to start his own business from scratch in 1981. Xie began assembling fans in his kitchen, and later rented an old farmhouse, renaming it the Gulou Fan factory. Finally, he successfully built a factory for large-scale production. Only a few years later, Gulou fans penetrated markets in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and other large cities in China, and Xie became a famous entrepreneur in Wenzhou.
However, he was not yet content with his achievements. Although Gulou fans were selling quite well, it was still not a widely known name and could not compete with existing famous brands. After some research, he discovered that there were not many well-known brands in the new and growing air-conditioner market, so he decided to shift production from fans to air-conditioners. To achieve this new strategic goal, Xie had to overcome many obstacles. At one point he destroyed part-manufactured fans worth RMB1 million to make room for the new air-conditioner production. Xie also recruited many talented people and made a large investment in importing advanced technologies from developed countries.
Furthermore, the company established a strict quality management system in its manufacturing facilities. Eventually, Yuetu air-conditioners were named among the ‘Best Products’ by the National Light Industry Association in China from 1993 to 1995, and the Yuetu air-conditioner series also obtained CCC safety certification in 2003, CB certificates and European CE, EMC, and GS authorization in 2004. Thus Yuetu has become one of the most famous Chinese national brands, and Yuetu products are perceived by both domestic and international customers as demonstrating reliable quality, competitive prices, and excellent service. Under Xie’s leadership, the company has established 106 000 square meters of manufacturing space with assets of RMB340 million, and a sales network in 28 provinces and 37 countries and regions around the world.