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Author | Zheng Qiao
Editor | Wang Xiaojun
Metersbonwe is starting its &#34;second entrepreneurship.&#34;
On March 22, Metersbonwe founder Zhou Chengjian held a groundbreaking live broadcast at the Shanghai headquarters—publicly showcasing the selection process for autumn and winter new products for the first time, revealing what is considered the &#34;absolutely confidential&#34; core of the supply chain. This live broadcast set a record on the Douyin platform with over 100,000 viewers and 3.9 million exposures, being referred to as the &#34;first public review meeting in the clothing industry.&#34;
Zhou Chengjian candidly stated: &#34;The core of 5.0 new retail is to build a closed loop of product power. Even if competitors copy styles, if they cannot replicate the entire ecosystem, it is difficult to form competitiveness.&#34;
However, behind this high-profile appearance is Metersbonwe's darkest moment, having gone from annual sales of 10 billion to a cumulative loss of 5 billion, with its market value shrinking to 5 billion. In early 2024, Zhou Chengjian took back the management rights from his daughter, adopting a &#34;barefoot is not afraid of wearing shoes&#34; attitude, embarking on this life-and-death gamble.
<h2>Breaking the Deadlock with Live Streaming</h2>
Looking back at Metersbonwe's development history, during its rise, it quickly entered the young market by signing Jay Chou as a spokesperson, then sponsored the TV drama &#34;Meteor Shower&#34; and named the phenomenon-level variety show &#34;Qi Pa Shuo,&#34; successfully expanding its market share. At its peak, Metersbonwe's market value was nearly 40 billion, and Zhou Chengjian once topped the list of Zhejiang's richest. Now, the company's market value has shrunk by over 80% from its peak.
In the face of difficulties, Metersbonwe found a new breakthrough in the live streaming field: founder Zhou Chengjian personally took to live streaming.
In Zhou Chengjian's view, traffic influencers rely on exaggerated performances, while consumers truly need &#34;professional explanations and quality products.&#34; He once spent millions collaborating with Jia Nailiang's team, but the results were &#34;very average,&#34; with sales far below expectations.
Before the live broadcast, Zhou Chengjian bluntly stated: &#34;Spending millions to hire influencers is not as good as doing it myself.&#34;
On October 29, Zhou Chengjian announced on Metersbonwe's official WeChat that he would start his Taobao live streaming debut on November 1. At that time, he set a record of 15 million yuan in transaction volume and over 2,400 units sold in 10 hours.
Zhou Chengjian also plans to &#34;live stream once a week,&#34; sharing dressing knowledge to awaken the nostalgia of the 80s and 90s while attracting the attention of Generation Z.
Under his leadership, Metersbonwe is also undergoing continuous transformation. Last year, Metersbonwe launched the &#34;5.0 new retail&#34; strategy, updated its brand logo, and changed its classic slogan &#34;Not following the usual path,&#34; which had been used for 30 years, to &#34;Unusual outdoors, youth at ease,&#34; connecting more with young consumer trends.
The core of this strategy is to connect all channels and establish an all-domain O2O business model, integrating various retail methods such as traditional retail, search shelf e-commerce, social e-commerce, and content e-commerce, allowing online and offline shopping scenarios to merge seamlessly.
Specifically, consumers can purchase through multiple online platforms such as Douyin, Meituan, and WeChat Mini Programs, while also bringing delivery scenarios offline, using physical stores as logistics hubs to facilitate consumer pickup and returns
In response to the high return rate of 60%-90% in the e-commerce industry, Metersbonwe has launched strategies such as &#34;199 yuan group 400 yuan coupon,&#34; converting physical returns into &#34;return coupons,&#34; resulting in an actual return rate of nearly zero. This model not only reduces losses but also avoids resource waste.
Additionally, Metersbonwe has eliminated traditional central warehouses, opting instead to ship directly from factory warehouses to stores, and has set up regional satellite warehouses for quick replenishment. This model not only improves the efficiency of product circulation but also reduces inventory costs.
Under Metersbonwe's &#34;5.0 New Retail&#34; model, stores are transformed into &#34;product stations,&#34; taking on delivery and service functions. Zhou Chengjian cited a franchise store in Dongming County, Shandong, as an example. The store covers an area of 129 square meters, with an investment of 320,000 yuan, achieving sales of 20,000 yuan on the first day, and is expected to break even in five months, whereas in first-tier cities, such a break-even speed typically takes three years.
He also proposed the goal of &#34;adding 1,000 lifestyle stores by 2025, expanding to 10,000 stores in the next three years,&#34; covering first-tier to lower-tier cities. The store structure is planned as follows: 50% with annual sales of 3 million yuan, 20% reaching 5 million yuan, 20% aiming for 8 million yuan, and the remainder being large stores with sales of over 10 million yuan. As of March 2025, over 100 stores have been signed nationwide, with 50 under renovation.
Despite the grand blueprint, Zhou Chengjian remains clear-headed about the pace of expansion: &#34;It is impossible to open 10,000 stores overnight. Opening 5,000 stores is the most reasonable; then we will not continue to expand. It is also possible that 10,000 stores are not enough, and we need to open 12,000 stores. The strategy is to advance gradually and await further verification.&#34;
<h2>How far can &#34;barefoot&#34; run?</h2>
In an interview with the media, Zhou Chengjian candidly stated: &#34;Those who are barefoot are not afraid of those who wear shoes; Metersbonwe's brand ecosystem reconstruction has no historical burdens.&#34; Behind this statement is Metersbonwe's struggle and quest for change amid the turbulent fashion industry.
Around 2000, Metersbonwe quickly became popular among students due to its designs close to Korean and Japanese trends and endorsements from Jay Chou. However, with the entry of overseas brands like ZARA and Uniqlo and the rise of online shopping, consumer choices became more diversified, leading to a decline in Metersbonwe's sales year by year.
Not only Metersbonwe, but the entire clothing industry faced performance declines after the golden period ended, with many traditional brands like HLA GROUP and Peacebird also experiencing downturns.
Initially, Metersbonwe adopted a light asset model, only responsible for design and brand operation, while products were produced by OEMs. However, as the number of franchisees increased, Metersbonwe's voice in product decisions weakened, entering a &#34;sales-driven production&#34; model, resulting in severe inventory backlog.
Metersbonwe's third-quarter report for 2024 shows that in the first three quarters, the company achieved revenue of 525 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 37.28%; the net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was 51.8206 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 24.46%.
In the third quarter, the company achieved revenue of 111 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 60.29%; the net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was a loss of 24.9601 million yuan, compared to a loss of 31.374 million yuan in the same period last year.
Facing financial difficulties, Zhou Chengjian stated at a media conference that Metersbonwe's breakthroughs on the sales side lag behind those on the product and supply side in responding to channel transformations and inventory challenges. In the future, the company will enhance the efficiency of the product and supply side to better convert consumer demand and ensure service
As the outdoor apparel sector is becoming more popular and mainstream, Metersbonwe has also begun its trendy outdoor transformation.
In August 2024, Metersbonwe launched the &#34;Bird Catching Plan&#34; in Wenzhou, introducing a windproof and breathable fabric jacket dubbed the &#34;affordable alternative to Arc'teryx,&#34; priced at only one-fifth of Arc'teryx's. Although current sales are at a disadvantage, Zhou Chengjian believes that &#34;functionality + cost-effectiveness&#34; is the key to breaking into the sinking market.
He further explained that the choice of &#34;affordable alternative to Arc'teryx&#34; is to approach the ceiling in a cost-effective manner, learning but not blindly following, and is committed to providing good products and services to young consumers with a higher quality-price ratio.
Zhou Chengjian emphasized that Metersbonwe focuses on the combination of everyday outdoor and trendy styles, not hardcore professional outdoor gear, but rather everyday wear for the mass market.
The offline Metersbonwe stores feature a strong outdoor style in their decor and product displays. Zhou Chengjian admitted, &#34;Benchmarking against Arc'teryx is not about replication, but about learning its functionality and narrative style.&#34;
However, reshaping the brand image is not an easy task. Research shows that over 60% of young consumers consider Metersbonwe &#34;outdated.&#34; Although the jacket series has attracted some new customers, how to continuously create social hits and reshape the brand image remains a significant challenge for Metersbonwe.
From a hundred billion giant to struggling for survival, Metersbonwe's transformation is a complete self-revolution. Zhou Chengjian's &#34;barefoot&#34; stance is both a severance from history and a gamble on the future. As he said, &#34;I am now barefoot and must persevere.&#34;

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