Wu Pao Chun’s Business Transformation: Experience, Customer Flow, and Changing Roles

All I can say is that my classmates are exceptionally accomplished. ---- Professor Wu This time, I joined Business Weekly’s Li Yazhu in interviewing Wu Pao Chun himself. We originally planned to discuss his attempt to guide customers through DIY bread making. As soon as the interview began, we realized the real subject was strategic and organizational transformation! Yazhu’s report is already very thorough. I will add a few smaller details. 1. First, what brand value does a customer-oriented experience create, and how do we estimate it? A good experience does not mean consumers will immediately buy; the short-term conversion rate may be low. IKEA excels at physical-store experiences that leave deep impressions. When customers eventually want to replace major furniture, they consider IKEA—but the transaction may occur a year or two after that impression is formed. This makes IKEA’s coverage of the full range of home-furnishing categories exceptionally important. Fast-turning products such as small items and daily necessities attract shoppers to the store. In other words, an experience-based business must match product assortments and service models to both short- and long-term needs, so it does not deliver a great experience without good sales. 2. Second, putting experience first changes the store’s business model. A store is no longer just a place to display and sell products; it becomes a setting for experiences. The two functions do not naturally fit together and may conflict. For bread-making experiences, part of the existing store is set aside for activities, shrinking the display area. The paths taken by bread shoppers and experience participants require careful planning; otherwise the store experience becomes chaotic. Consider the increasingly popular in-store restaurant, combining on-site food purchases and dining. Early versions lacked clear customer flow and enough staff to guide people, leaving customers confused. Those seeking the experience became angry, and those who simply wanted to shop complained repeatedly. 3. Third, online and community activities before and after the experience may be the areas least familiar to Wu Pao Chun. After good service, modern consumers first take photos, check in, and upload them, hoping for CLS—comments, likes, and shares. Beyond surface-level word-of-mouth marketing, the more important opportunity is home baking after the experience. Wu hopes mothers can use the online courses and convenient ingredient kits to make delicious food for their families at home. But amateur bakers face many difficulties. Mutual support among online community members can give mothers the strength to persist. How should online activities be handled? How should communities be run? This is an entirely new subject to learn. 4. Fourth, major strategic and operational changes make internal communication and division of responsibilities genuinely difficult. General Manager Qiu’s overall thinking spans the company’s vision, mission, strategy, and goals, using customer experience as the starting point for organizational change. Explaining and communicating that internally will be a major challenge. Store managers, bakers, and Wu himself all face pressure to change roles. Wu’s ability to change his mindset and direction does not mean his bakers can do the same. Local culture, the taste of home, and mothers—ideas he mentions—are quite abstract. How will they become concrete practices? Will Wu handle that himself, or will professional managers lead it? That makes an enormous difference!