Cute girls fall in love with Zulijian. We summarize 3 consumption trends of young people

This article explores how Zulijian senior shoes stand out from the senior shoes market and become a fashionable item in the eyes of young people. By analyzing the changes in young people's mentality and Zulijian's marketing strategy, we can better understand this phenomenon.

“Wearing Zulijian at the age of 20 can save you 30 years of detours!

In 2023, young people will collectively enter the "retirement era", believing that "gain is my luck and loss is my fate, fame, wealth and honor are not a surprise", going to old university at 24, retiring at 25, starting health experiments at 26, moving into nursing homes at 27, retiring and living in seclusion in the mountains and rivers at 28...

Young people who are not interested in careers but are obsessed with making a living and pursuing "exquisite poverty" have turned into handicraft masters, transforming Zulijian old people's shoes into fashionable items. On Xiaohongshu, young people transformed Zulijian old people's shoes into "Kulomi purple limited edition" and wore lolita skirts with mom shoes.

"You used to ignore me, but now you can't afford me." Now, on Xiaohongshu, Zulijian, with an average price of just over 100 yuan, has become a hot fashion item, and is known as "cheap Skechers" and "cheap Salomon." Some netizens pointed out that Zulijian has even started to increase its prices.

@土豆片（Screenshot of the Xiaohongshu note on weight loss

This year, after feeling the enthusiasm of users, Zulijian also joined the "second creation" activity. Zulijian's official account often interacts with transformation bloggers and has also launched a "Zulijian Transformation" solicitation activity, trying to catch the "overwhelming wealth".

How did Zulijian go from being a ghost video material to a fashionable item for young people? From "Dongmen" to "Zumen", how should we understand the change in the mentality of this generation of young consumers?

1. From old men's shoes to combat boots, young people have changed their footwear

Zulijian, which is now popular among young people, did not consider young people at all when it was first established. Every middle-aged person over 40 must have at least one pair of Zulijian shoes "designed specifically for the feet of the elderly" - regardless of gender, everyone is equal in front of "zumen".

According to Kas's observation, the craze for the explosive transformation of Zulijian began in the second half of 2022, spreading from vertical interest circles ( including Hanfu, JK and Lo skirts, etc.) , and relying on users' creative ideas, it was accepted and imitated by more people.

@阿盆的放烂日记 is a Hanfu and handicraft enthusiast. After seeing a modification tutorial on a social platform, he tried to use bows, ribbons, and hot-melt glue to transform a pair of exquisite and elegant Mary Jane shoes.

@阿盆的烂日记Xiaohongshu notes screenshot

According to reports, the accessories used to decorate the Apen were bought on Pinduoduo for a total of more than ten yuan. The modification method is to sew two bows on the toe of the shoe, and the rest of the sewing work only takes a few dozen minutes. Due to the successful transformation effect, many users asked for tutorials in the comment area.

"Comfortable to wear" is the core reason why Apen gave up her small leather shoes and chose Zulijian. During the National Day holiday this year, she wore the Zulijian shoes she modified and went out for a day, and her feet did not feel tired.

Similarly, @宫怼怼, who loves to wear Lolita skirts, also chose Zulijian because of its comfort. Compared with 8cm high heels, Zulijian is a more body-friendly choice.

@宫怼怼 Little Red Book Notes Screenshot

In addition to Hanfu, Zulijian has also been paired with Sanrio, the originator of trendy toys. Just buy some embroidered cloth patches and match them with socks of the same color to get a pair of trendy sports shoes at a low cost. Search "Sanrio Zulijian" on Xiaohongshu to see the spontaneous creations of netizens. Whether it is hot summer or cold winter, Sanrio can be paired with Zulijian.

Image source: Xiaohongshu Notes

2. Can Zulijian handle the overwhelming wealth?

Before young people discovered its many "wonderful uses", Zulijian was at the forefront of the domestic senior citizen shoe market, but it has also fallen into a debt crisis and a wave of store closures in the past two years.

Zhang Jingkang, the founder of Zulijian, was born in a poor family. After dropping out of school at the age of 15, he worked everywhere to make a living. He sold clothes, furniture, shoes, health products...basic jobs were all related to sales.

In 2013, when Zhang Jingkang returned to his hometown in Shanxi for the Spring Festival, he found that the elderly in his family rarely had suitable shoes to wear. He found that most elderly people had collapsed arches and large toe bones due to their age, and ordinary shoes were difficult to fit. Based on the pain points of the elderly, he listed anti-slip, breathable, lightweight, protective, shock-absorbing, and ankle protection as the six major selling points of elderly shoes, and named them "Six Super Elderly Shoes". At the beginning, Zhang Jingkang and Qingdao Doublestar cooperated to produce "Six Super Elderly Shoes", and sold 400,000 pairs in just one year.

In 2015, Zhang Jingkang registered the "Zulijian" trademark and established Beijing Xiaoxiyang Technology Development Co., Ltd. In 2019, the annual sales of Zulijian elderly shoes exceeded 4 billion yuan, making it the leader in the elderly shoes market.

Looking back at Zulijian’s past glory, it stems from doing three things right.

1. Strictly control costs on the production side and increase revenue and reduce expenditure on the sales side

By reducing the number of intermediate links as much as possible, the Zulijian elderly shoes are sold at a price as low as 49 yuan, making them affordable for most elderly people.

2. Broadcast TV ads and invite celebrities to endorse the product

"Professional shoes for the elderly, look for Zulijian" is the slogan that directly expresses the product's selling point. Zulijian also changed its brand logo to an old man holding a cane standing in an equilateral triangle, implying that wearing shoes for the elderly can help you travel safely around the world.

Zulijian also specially invited Zhang Kaili as its image ambassador. The TV series "Desire" starring Zhang Kaili was once a beautiful memory of a generation, and she herself has become the brightest star in the hearts of many elderly people.

3. Advocating the culture of "filial piety" and refined services to win the hearts of middle-aged and elderly users

Zhang Jingkang has a very clear positioning for Zulijian, which is to leverage the "sunset" with the word "filial piety", develop products with "technology", and sell shoes precisely to the elderly. Therefore, Zulijian introduced the VIP kneeling service in Japanese catering into daily operations. When the elderly come to the store, the service staff asks about their health and touches their feet and tries on shoes for them in a half-kneeling position. Free home delivery, door-to-door delivery, member discounts, etc. are routine operations.

Zhang Jingkang often reminds his staff that "users are your parents and friends", and he himself is willing to set an example and practice this principle. In 2019, he was invited to participate in CCTV's "Dialogue" column. Facing the guest, he knelt on one knee without hesitation to put on his shoes for him, which shocked the audience inside and outside the screen.

In the first few years after the brand was founded, Zulijian made great strides in the elderly market. However, from the perspective of young people, Zulijian was the target of ridicule, whether it was its advertisements, logos, or products.

The persuasive spokesperson, the happy elderly users, the plastic-like technology animation, the sonorous voice-over, and the bright and eye-catching ordering hotline. When the post-00s saw such an old advertising video, they regarded it as a classic treasure and made spoofs and remixes, turning the elderly shoe advertisement into a ghost video in seconds.

Screenshot of the video by @SZTF_XL, a UP host on B station

While sales were soaring, Zulijian’s shoes for the elderly were also exposed to quality issues.

Due to unqualified wear resistance, unqualified upper and sole peeling strength, and product non-compliance with specifications, Zulijian elderly shoes have been reported, punished, and investigated by market supervision and management departments in Jiangsu, Hubei, Anhui, etc. There are also elderly consumers who fell and broke bones after wearing Zulijian elderly shoes, and then took Zulijian and its spokesperson Zhang Kaili to court.

As if things weren't bad enough, the sudden outbreak of the epidemic made things even worse for Zulijian, and the number of its stores dropped sharply from nearly 10,000 to 2,000.

In addition, Qichacha shows that since 2019, Zulijian-related companies have been involved in 79 judicial disputes and 27 pieces of information on persons subject to execution, with a total amount of 897 million yuan in execution, of which the largest single execution amount is nearly 500 million yuan. At the same time, the legal person Zhang Jingkang has also fallen from the altar and has received several consumption restriction orders. Although the spokesperson has been changed from "goddess" Zhang Kaili to "iron hammer" Lang Ping, the appeal is not as strong as before.

In 2021, Zulijian faced losses for the first time, and its founder Zhang Jingkang was restricted from high consumption and became a "deadbeat". Since then, there have been news reports that dealers have given up cooperating with it, and pirated products have become more rampant.

Things change. When Zulijian was facing internal and external troubles, many young people who loved transformation spontaneously recommended the brand, which seemed to have helped it regain some of its former glory.

"Auntie has better physical strength than me," "I'm addicted to watching it, who can kick me out?" "Will I automatically dance square dance if I wear Zulijian?" "Can I get a square dance tutorial if I buy a pair of shoes?" In Zulijian's live broadcast room, many young people actively interacted.

However, judging from the brand's official Douyin account, Zulijian's content direction and positioning have not changed. It still tends to be "filial piety", and its selling points are only targeted at the elderly. The brand's efforts to integrate into the young population seem to exist only on Xiaohongshu.

@足力健Official flagship store Douyin video screenshot

Data shows that in the past 30 days, @足力健 official flagship store has broadcast 31 live shows and put 4 products on the shelves, with an average sales of 50,000 to 75,000 yuan per show.

3. Three consumption trends of young people in 2024

From the original non-existence of old people's shoes to the reversal of old people's shoes becoming the new favorite of young people. Behind the seemingly magical phenomenon, it is actually the evolution of market factors and consumption logic. From the hot event of the explosive reform of Zulijian, we have summarized three consumption trends of young people.

1. Practical and functional consumption becomes mainstream

Starting with the Ice Cream Assassin, consumers began to denounce high-priced goods.

When "conspicuous consumption" is no longer worth showing off, showing off has lost its ground. Looking back at the hot events of the past year, the 79-yuan eyebrow pencil was ridiculed, the sales of high-end luxury brands were weak, and the growth of international high-end cosmetics was weak. In fact, all of these have confirmed that consumers are increasingly paying attention to "cost-effectiveness".

2. Social media has an increasing influence on young people’s consumption choices, making “old-age clothing” popular among different groups of people

At the beginning of this year, after the phrase "question Wanyu, understand Wanyu, and become Wanyu" spread on social media platforms, "question ××, understand ××, and become ××" gradually became a widely popular sentence format.

At a specific stage of life, facing a specific cognitive object, "questioning, understanding, and becoming" is an objective and dynamic psychological process, and many young people are also experiencing this process. "Questioning the aunt, understanding the aunt, and becoming the aunt" can be used to describe the process of Zulijian from being unnoticed to being favored by young people.

Old-fashioned clothes and shoes that might have been considered "rustic" in the past are gradually being accepted by young people and becoming a trend. For example, "old man-style vests", "supermarket grandma pajamas", "Northeast flowered jackets" and so on have also set off a craze among young people. Some people even changed their social media profile pictures to middle-aged strong men, fully demonstrating the style of the Internet generation who do not follow the ordinary path.

As they have almost no fashion baggage and brand worship, middle-aged and elderly people may be the least likely consumers to pay the IQ tax. Nowadays, more and more people are joining the trend of wearing elderly clothing. After all, "elderly clothing = comfortable and cheap".

3. The trend of self-pleasure consumption is becoming increasingly prominent

Young people need to gain spiritual rest time and emotional value from interest practices that combine hands and brains.

Not only do young people like to revamp Zulijian, they also like to revamp old, dilapidated and small rental houses, electric vehicles and old clothes to gain a sense of control over their lives and recognition of their own aesthetic abilities, and to gain a small but solid sense of happiness that can be held tightly, which is called "little happiness".

Image source: Xiaohongshu Notes

Taking Xiaohongshu as an example, users are very interested in topics such as new house decoration, house renovation, and bedroom decoration. The home furnishing track has also become one of the tracks with the greatest monetization potential.

Among them, @海边有座房 records the process of the blogger decorating the seaside loft. It has accumulated 900,000 fans, and the trend of increasing fans is still continuing. From December 4th to 10th this year, the number of fans increased by more than 110,000. A video of "secretly buying a house with girlfriends" received 260,000 likes.

In short, consumers prefer to choose real, practical and affordable goods and services. Listening to the voice of the market, understanding user needs, improving product design and enhancing service quality are the only way for brands to win consumers.

Author: Lou Xingchui, WeChat public account: Kas Data