Jieliya's successor abandons billion-yuan goal: what's the point of scale?
Three years ago he declared Jieliya would break 100 billion yuan in revenue within three years. Now he's walked that back entirely—what he wants is a brand that lasts a century with sustained healthy growth.
The argument · tap a timestamp to hear it
Unpaid invoices humiliated his father into building a brand
Shi Jing (石晶) recounts his father's early struggles running a factory: constantly chasing customers for payment. One year collecting at year-end in Guangzhou, a client not only refused to pay but was rude about it. That moment his father smashed a passing taxi in rage. Right then he decided to build a brand—Jieliya would never extend credit, regardless of a dealer's size. Cash on delivery, always. That rule has held from the 1980s to today.
— Shi JingHe rejected civil service to return and exceeded expectations
Shi Jing graduated from Peking University; his family hoped he'd join the civil service. But he judged himself temperamentally unsuited—he prizes freedom and would be miserable as a bureaucrat—and decided to return to help the company through its difficulties and risks. Looking back, he says he ‘exceeded their expectations.’ He wonders aloud what would have happened if he hadn't returned: the company would likely have been ‘gradually eliminated.’
— Shi JingCelebrity IP collaboration cost millions but bought crucial education
After returning to the company, Shi Jing's first independent project was moving the sub-brand Jieliya Blue to Vipshop, riding the e-commerce wave and his unique ability to access group resources. The next project—celebrity IP collaboration—crashed. He invested heavily in product development, sat on inventory, and burned marketing budget. The products themselves were fine, but completely mismatched to Jieliya's dealer base, channel structure, and consumer makeup. The tens of millions in tuition taught him that the more power you wield, the more catastrophic your errors become.
— Shi JingHigh repeat-purchase wipes beat durable towels in the attention economy
Between 2015 and 2017, disposable face wipes surged and threatened the towel business. The group initially wanted to suppress competitors through low-cost towels, but Shi Jing saw that was futile—fixed assets and brand investment were sunk; they couldn't outcompete lean newcomers. He and his brother agreed to embrace wipes instead. The reason was repeat-purchase math: ‘A towel might go three years unwashed—guys even longer if you're sloppy—but a pack of wipes? Use them up in a month, they're gone. You can't wash them and reuse. You just have to buy more.’ As ad costs peaked, high-repeat categories drove organic traffic.
— Shi JingNon-confrontation with dealers, not direct competition, scaled to 4 billion
Jieliya's online channels grew from 200 million yuan to 4 billion yuan between 2016–17 and now. Offline share dropped from 95% to approximately 55% (online–offline parity). Store count on major platforms expanded from a peak of 5–10 to 200–300. Shi Jing's key insight: ‘Don't pit dealers against yourself. What makes you think if you can do something online, dealers can't? You think online matters—but why don't you think it matters to them?’ Brands don't win by going around dealers; they win by proving online works, then inviting dealers to replicate the model.
— Shi JingDouyin content matrix saved roughly 100 million in equivalent ad spend
The account ‘Towel Young Master’ generated tens of billions of Douyin views. Shi Jing says this is hard to reduce directly to sales—the real value is opening a new channel and cutting marketing cost. He ran the numbers: reaching the same brand awareness via paid ads would have cost approximately 100 million yuan. Better content begets virality; virality builds followers; followers reduce ad costs relative to competitors. The cycle compounds in the brand's favor.
— Shi JingHe repudiated his billion-yuan target; now he chases century-long growth
In 2023, Shi Jing said Jieliya would break 100 billion yuan in annual sales within three years. This time he walked it back completely: ‘I have no need to chase 100 billion—what's the point of hitting 100 billion anyway?’ and ‘Once you hit 100 billion, you'll just want a trillion.’ What he wants now is not a number but a brand that lasts a century with steady healthy growth. Slow beats short-term.
— Shi JingTwo-hour nightly walks keep him sane; he engineered his own discipline
To the public he's a dictatorial CEO who scaled online to 4 billion. His actual daily life: swimming, running, then two hours of evening walks—without them he cannot sleep. In university his weight neared 200 pounds. Over two years he skipped dinner and night snacks entirely, dropping to 130-some pounds. Then he used exercise to tighten loose skin. On those walks his mind mostly cycles through company problems—and his own.
— Shi JingIn their own words · checked verbatim
A towel might go three years unwashed—guys even longer if you're sloppy—but a pack of wipes? Use them up in a month, they're gone. You can't wash them and reuse them. You just have to buy more.
你一条毛巾可能三年不换 男生更加会久一些 操一点的话 但是你一包洗脸镜你用完了一个月 你没了就是没了 你想洗也洗不了 你还是得买
Shi Jing11:03
Don't pit dealers against yourself. What makes you think if you can do something online, dealers can't? You think online matters—but why don't you think it matters to them?
你不要把经销商跟你当成对立面 你凭什么你觉得你能做的事情 经销商就做不了 你觉得线上重要 为什么你觉得人家就不重要
Shi Jing15:03
I think a brand is content and lifestyle. It can't be reduced to a cold product, a mere commodity.
我觉得品牌等于内容 和生活方式 它不能等同于一个产品 一个冷冰冰的商品
Shi Jing21:03
I have no need to chase 100 billion—what's the point of hitting 100 billion anyway?
我就没必要追求这100亿 100亿做到你又能怎么样 是不是
Shi Jing28:05
Figures
| IP collaboration tuition | Tens of millions of yuan | 8:01 |
| Disposables share of group sales | Approximately 30% | 13:03 |
| Offline channel share | From 95% to approximately 55% (online–offline parity) | 17:03 |
| Online storefronts | From 5–10 to 200–300 | 17:03 |
Glossary
- Trout's Positioning Theory
- Classical marketing theory holding that a brand must occupy a clear category position in consumers' minds.
How to listen
Second-generation heirs in family enterprises and traditional manufacturers; brand operators seeking to understand how dealer networks transition online.
14:00–15:00 and 29:00–30:00 feature ambient noise from a dining environment with repetitive content; these sections can be skipped.