| 《China Daily》对Amoon眼镜的专访 |
| 作者：阿目 |
| 2007-05-17 16:50 |
 Clear vision By Lu Haoting(China Daily) Updated: 2006-12-25 07:22 Stay close to your customers. It's a rule Wang Jiasong believes is the key to a successful business. His two-year-old eyeglass shop is just a 15 minute-walk from Tsinghua University's east gate. The 80-square-metre Amoon Glasses is well known among university students in Beijing's Haidian District. Unlike most optical stores dotted around busy streets, Amoon is hidden on the sixth floor of an office building. The store is owned by two postgraduates from Tsinghua. "My background helps me a lot to stay close to my customers," says Wang, who graduated from Tsinghua two years ago with a master's degree in chemistry. Wang is one of thousands of Chinese university graduates who started their own businesses after graduation to realize their dreams of entrepreneurship. Part of the reason for this is the poor job prospects for new graduates, as a rising number of them cannot find jobs after graduation. The Ministry of Labour and Social Security predicts that 4.95 million students will graduate from universities and colleges next year, 770,000 more than this year. About 30 per cent of them are unlikely to find jobs.
But unlike most of his peers, who open high tech companies, Wang started a business that seems to have no direct relationship with his academic background and "is very traditional": Selling eyeglasses. "Even if it looks traditional, you can still try to be innovative and different from others," Wang says. One of the unique aspects of Wang's business is the focus on student clients. With prices ranging between 100 yuan (US$13) and 300 yuan (US$38), Amoon sells 20 to 30 pairs of glasses on average every day. More than 80 per cent of the customers are students from Tsinghua, Peking University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The store is also frequented by students from universities located even farther away, such as Renmin University of China and Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Wang says he is not worried about his customer base. There are 68 universities and colleges in northwestern Beijing's Haidian District. China is one of the world's largest markets for eyeglasses, with strong demand coming from university campuses. Nearly 80 per cent of college students in China wear glasses. Wang is not the only one who is finding this market lucrative. Last year three similar eyeglass shops targeting university students were opened near Amoon. "I felt some pressure when I saw them giving students advertising leaflets promoting extremely low prices," Wang says. A pair of glasses cost only 50 yuan (US$6) at some of the shops. But Wang did not jump into the price war. Luckily, his sales in the year's first 10 months increased more than 20 per cent over the same period last year. "Maybe my title as 'a Tsinghua graduate' brings me good luck," Wang jokes, adjusting his eyeglasses. Perhaps more importantly, however, is Wang's two years experience of being an eyeglasses sales agent on campus when he was still studying. It helped him accumulate a solid customer base. The name Amoon became popular among students by word of mouth. Chance encounter Wang came to sell eyeglasses by chance. At first he was helping his classmates buy eyeglasses with good quality at affordable prices because his girlfriend's relative worked in the wholesale business of eyeglasses. Wang also had a friend who processed spectacle lenses in a hospital in Beijing. Before purchasing, Wang's classmates would have eye examinations in larger optical stores. As more students came to buy eyeglasses from him, Wang decided to start working as a part-time "middleman" and put a small ad on Tsinghua's bulletin board system, or BBS, which is a popular place for students to post information. Gradually, Amoon became a well-known brand on the BBS and Wang earned 50 yuan (US$6) on average for one pair of glasses. Wang faced a crossroads when he was about to graduate in 2004. He could choose the usual way of finding a job in a company or a research institute, or keep up his eyeglass business. The idea to start his own business was encouraged by complaints he heard from many students. "A lot of them came to me and said: how could we find another place to buy eyeglasses after you graduate? That was a great encouragement," Wang recalls. "I told myself: at least I have a stable source of customers and I am also familiar with the students' market," he says. After borrowing 400,000 yuan (US$51,282) from parents and friends, Wang and his girlfriend opened a store in the summer of 2004. Since he could not afford the rent for a store facing busy streets, he rented a room in an office building near Tsinghua, and success followed. To promote its brand among students, Amoon often sponsors and co-organizes activities with university student societies, such as the Red Cross society of Peking University. "We want to send out a message: 'Amoon is always your classmate'," Wang says. Wang plans to open more optical stores in the Haidian District targeting students. "I will never give up the students' market because that is where Amoon grew up," Wang says. Smart move "We don't encourage students to open high-tech companies right after graduation because that often requires huge amounts of investment and lots of experience," says Luo Zhuo, vice director of Tsinghua Pioneer Park, one of China's first incubators of student entrepreneurs. "Today's students are becoming more rational as they no longer regard running high-tech companies as the only way to success," Luo says. These days, Wang is trying to extend his fortune. He is busy preparing to open a new store nearby. The 300-square-metre store, facing the street, is located at the first floor of an office building of the Tsinghua Science Park. Wang plans to sell high-end eyeglasses in this store. "Many of my customers have 'grown up' now. They earn good salaries and ask for better products and better services," Wang says. To differentiate itself from rivals, Wang plans to offer a Chinese massage to help alleviate eye fatigue, which is a common problem among office workers. "I hope people working in this office building will drop by and relax themselves," Wang says.
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| 最后更新于： 2011-11-15 14:55 |