Pathfinder Profits Keep Lose Three Years

The continuous decline in performance has led to the re-focus of the main business of the pathfinder who started with professional outdoor sports products after three years. On July 25th, Pathfinder announced that it would return to its main business and divest and withdraw from businesses that are less relevant to the outdoor industry. Three years ago, after the first profit fell sharply after the listing, Pathfinder began to try diversified development, and through the acquisition of Shein Coupons mergers and acquisitions, the world travel O2O. In 2015, Pathfinder initially formed three major business groups. However, Pathfinder's diversification strategy has not led to an increase in performance. The industry believes that due to the increasingly fierce competition of outdoor brands at home and abroad, Pathfinders are still facing great challenges when they return to the main business again.

Stripping the "sideline" package

On July 25th, Pathfinder answered questions about investors on the interactive platform, and said that in 2018, resources will be focused on promoting the long-term healthy development of the outdoor products industry, and will gradually be stripped and withdrawn from travel, sports and other fields. Business and investment projects that are less relevant to the main outdoor business.

In fact, since 2015, Pathfinders have begun to pursue diversified transformation and development. Pathfinder not only changed the company name from "Beijing Pathfinder Outdoor Products Co., Ltd." to "Pathfinder Holdings Group Co., Ltd.", but also planned three major business groups: outdoor products, tourism services, and sports. Among them, the outdoor business group is the cornerstone business of pathfinders, focusing on the R&D, operation and sales of multi-brand outdoor products business, covering the main areas of domestic outdoor life; the travel business group mainly provides experiential travel, including easy travel. The operation of many subsidiaries such as Green Field and Pathfinder Outdoor Safety; the sports business group is mainly engaged in ski resort operations and investment business, and is an emerging business segment cultivated by pathfinders.

In 2015, Pathfinder first acquired the O2O integrated service provider, which is located in the travel, with an interest of 130.7 million yuan. After that, it increased its capital and traveled 100 million yuan, and acquired a total of 74.56% of Yiyou. In July 2015, Yiyou Tianxia began to be included in the Pathfinder performance report, and the contribution to the Pathfinder's operating income during the period was 1.958 billion yuan.

In addition to the layout of the tourism business group, Pathfinder also entered the big sports business. On January 27, 2015, Pathfinder announced that it will jointly establish a Pathfinder Sports Industry M&A Fund with Jiangxi Hetong Investment Management Co., and begin to deploy in the sports industry. On January 23, 2016, the trial operation of the joint venture company in Gongyi, Zhengzhou, Henan Province began. The first ski resort to be built on the northern slope of Lushan Mountain; on January 27, 2016, the Pathfinder signed the "Yantan City Pathfinder and the Sports Industry Investment Center (Limited Partnership) Limited Partnership Agreement" to realize the first phase of fundraising 110 million yuan, and completed investment in key projects such as Music World, Fittime, Ogilvy Health and Ice World.

The industry believes that due to the impact of foreign outdoor brand market, the short-term growth of the outdoor industry in the short-term, brand competition, e-commerce business development and other factors, prompted the pathfinder to turn to the tourism and sports sector development related to the main business.

Diversification

Pathfinders frequently multiply and diversify, and the sideline even once surpassed the main business. Data show that before 2015, the outdoor products of Pathfinder accounted for more than 99% of the Group's total revenue; in 2016, the proportion of outdoor products of Pathfinders decreased to 59.25%, and the proportion of tourism services was 40.75%; Travel services accounted for more than the outdoor products sector, accounting for 53.12%.

However, the huge tourism and sports sectors did not bring the expected returns to the pathfinders, but dragged down the performance. Pathfinder's annual report disclosed in 2015 showed that Pathfinder's operating income surged 121.99% year-on-year to 3.808 billion yuan, but the surge in revenue brought not a rise in net profit. In the same year, the net profit attributable to pathfinders fell for the first time after listing, down 10.50% year-on-year to 263.4 million yuan; deducted non-net profit fell 13.47% year-on-year to 248.9 million yuan. In this regard, Pathfinder said in the announcement that the operating Yoins Coupon Code conditions of its travel business subsidiary, Yiyou Tianxia, ​​continued to deteriorate, resulting in a total net profit loss of $23 million for the Pathfinder, which had a negative impact on the net profit of the company's consolidated calibre.

With the deepening of the diversification strategy, Pathfinders still have not been able to achieve improved performance. In 2016, both the revenue of the Pathfinder and the net profit showed double-digit decline. Among them, the income of Pathfinder decreased by 24.42% year-on-year to 2.878 billion yuan; the net profit attributable to the company fell by 37.13% year-on-year to 165.6 million yuan. In 2017, the net profit attributable to pathfinders plummeted again by 151.24%, with a loss of 84.85 million yuan for the first time.

Cheng Weixiong, a textile and apparel brand management expert and general manager of Shanghai Liangqi Brand Management Co., Ltd., believes that Pathfinder's transformation is excessively diversified, distracting the manpower, material resources and financial resources of the company. The main business has just occupied market share but has not been deeply cultivated, resulting in its brand image in the market is not stable enough. The development ambition of the company has no brand influence and strength support, making the road to transformation difficult.

In this regard, Pathfinder pointed out in the major risk warning of the first quarter of 2018 that in 2013-2016, Pathfinder built three business community ecosystems, although it effectively promoted the strategic landing, but at the same time, Pathfinder and the There are certain differences in the management style, corporate culture and management style of investment companies. It is not excluded that the subsequent mismanagement will continue to reduce the risk of adversely affecting the overall profit of the company.

Return to the main business to be tested

Faced with the embarrassing situation of net profit losing three years, Pathfinder began to adjust its development strategy and return to the main business of outdoor products. Pathfinders are looking at the development space of the outdoor products industry.

The survey shows that after the rapid growth period of the domestic outdoor products industry in 2008-2012, the industry growth rate has slowed down year by year since 2013, and it has entered a period of consolidation and the market competition has become increasingly fierce. However, the domestic outdoor products industry still has a relatively broad market development space, and it is expected that after 2018, a new round of healthier sustainable growth will be ushered in.

Although the prospects are promising, the Beijing Business Daily reporter found that the development of outdoor products for pathfinders is not ideal. The performance forecast for the first half of 2018 shows that the net profit attributable to pathfinders decreased by 65%-70% year-on-year, and the expected profit was between 24 million and 27 million yuan. Among them, in the first half of the year, Pathfinder's outdoor products realized operating income of 497 million yuan, compared with 543 million yuan in the same period last year. In the first half of this year, the income of outdoor products of pathfinders shrank by nearly 10%, although the pathfinder was in the announcement. It said that "the basic goal of the business plan set at the beginning of the year was basically achieved", but it is still difficult to hide the weak state of the main business.

Pathfinder founder Sheng Faqiang said that in the past, the main business of Pathfinder has declined. In the future, Pathfinder will adjust the pace of strategic development, focus on the main business of Tomtop Coupons outdoor products, and seek market differentiation with brand differentiation and new retail repositioning. Breakthrough in the competition. In fact, in order to speed up the reversal of performance difficulties, Pathfinder completed the reelection of the board of directors at the end of November 2017. After the nomination of Sheng Faqiang, Pathfinder co-founder Wang Jing returned to serve as the company's chairman and president.

For Pathfinder's clear future focus on the main business of outdoor products, Cheng Weixiong said in an interview with the Beijing Business Daily that it is not too late to return to the main business, but it is also helpless. In the few years when pathfinders weakened their main business, foreign outdoor brands flocked to the Chinese market, and domestic local brands continued to occupy market share, squeezing the original market of pathfinders. Returning to the main business, Pathfinders will face greater challenges, including the need for Pathfinders to invest more in capital, products, and supply chains.