LAMI CEO Briefly Shares His Views on the Future of the Vaping Industry
This article contains several key viewpoints shared by Mr. He Chang, CEO of LAMI, at the electronic cigarette summit regarding the future of the vaping industry:
Viewpoint 1: I used to work in the catering industry, which has the most franchises, but I found that the vaping industry is the opposite of franchising. While others charge for franchises, we are giving money away, and some stores are offering tens of thousands of dollars. I want to ask the brands when they will earn that back. Can you teach me how you make money? We can't afford to give away that much. We believe this will lead to very negative phenomena. Why? It will allow many people without risk tolerance to enter your system because they are attracted by subsidies and lack the ability to run a store. I ask you all, do you want your teammates to be strong or weak? I believe this is worth our consideration because if everyone does this, the industry will inevitably become overly competitive. What does it mean to be overly competitive? Are we in the vaping business or the store business? Is your product the e-cigarette itself or the store itself? I find that everyone seems to be selling stores, not e-cigarettes. Should we consider whether there will be new changes in 2022 and 2023?
Viewpoint 2: In the tide of competition, brand concentration will definitely increase. Everyone present today is fortunate. When brands concentrate, you need to be careful about which boat you get on. The brand you invest in for a year may not necessarily be the one that survives, but it may not be LAMI. Therefore, we hope you consider this and not just focus on a single point, but invest your time, energy, and finances into a brand that will survive.
Viewpoint 3: There is still room for growth, and proactive differentiation is necessary. How can you survive without differentiation? This is inevitable; differentiation is a positive force for the industry. People no longer say they are the second of a certain leading brand; that is a boring topic. We hope the vaping industry can flourish with a hundred flowers blooming and a hundred schools of thought contending. You have your characteristics, and I have mine; you have your loyal fans, and I have mine. Just like how many brands exist in cigarettes, beer, and milk tea, I sincerely hope that peers can fully embrace differentiation. Because if you do well in differentiation, I will be passively differentiated, and I will also benefit from your differentiation. If we all differentiate together, I believe the future of vaping will be even brighter.
Viewpoint 4: I hope that in such an occasion, we can also be a small call to action. Vaping will inevitably have controversies, but we should face them correctly with pragmatic actions. The extreme execution of long-term strategies is a significant issue to consider, and we hope LAMI can achieve this. It requires long-term capital, long-term research, long-term investment, and a long-term culture within your company. Therefore, we cooperate with Wuye Shen, embodying the spirit of hard work from Wuye Shen, which is also our honor. Doing well in oneself and maintaining a calm mindset should be the basic spirit and culture that every vaping person should have. Believe in the power of quality over time.
