Lei Jun no longer wears jeans at press conferences

Author | Zhou Zhiyu

Editor | Zhang Xiaoling

For many years, Lei Jun, the chairman of XIAOMI-W, who is known as the "Steve Jobs of China," has always paid tribute to Jobs' dressing style at every press conference, wearing a pair of jeans mixed with a T-shirt or shirt, and speaking for the entire event.

But at the XIAOMI-W car launch event at the end of last year, he surprisingly wore a neat suit, which was quite different from his usual style.

In fact, even earlier, in early 2023, when Lei Jun posted a photo of the management team, he and the management team changed their style, no longer the Silicon Valley tech style, but a serious full suit.

XIAOMI-W and Lei Jun's style change is comprehensive, especially after the announcement of entering the car manufacturing industry. It is hard to imagine that XIAOMI-W, which was once labeled as "cost-effective," would also be associated with luxury goods. But the fact is that it has happened.

On January 8th, XIAOMI-W announced that Tang Weizhang resigned as an independent non-executive director of XIAOMI-W and appointed Cai Jinqing as the new independent director. Cai Jinqing's other identity is the CEO of Kering Group Greater China, making her the first female member of the XIAOMI-W board of directors.

Perhaps Kering Group is still unfamiliar to some, but if we mention its brands such as Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, and Balenciaga, they are very familiar. Cai Jinqing is a "fashion female tycoon" with rich management experience in the fashion industry.

As an independent director, Cai Jinqing will provide advice on XIAOMI-W's brand development and company management, and have a continuous impact on XIAOMI-W during her tenure. Her joining will also enhance the capital market's recognition of XIAOMI-W.

XIAOMI-W stated that the appointment of Cai Jinqing as an independent director is a reflection of XIAOMI-W's continuous improvement of its ESG management system, as well as an important step in enhancing the gender diversity and inclusiveness of the board of directors and promoting the professionalization of corporate governance.

In other words, Cai Jinqing becoming an independent director of XIAOMI-W is a manifestation of XIAOMI-W's increasing maturity in its corporate governance framework, hoping to gain more favor in the capital market that increasingly values ESG governance. To some extent, it will promote XIAOMI-W's future financing and institutional holdings.

A lawyer specializing in commercial litigation believes that investors will incorporate ESG evaluation indicators into their investment decisions, and XIAOMI-W also hopes to improve its own ESG score with the addition of the new independent director. This is very important for XIAOMI-W at present.

Cai Jinqing's joining, like Lei Jun's "disappearing jeans," is another manifestation of XIAOMI-W's desire for more changes after transforming from a startup to a Fortune 500 company.

In his book "Onward: How XIAOMI-W Built Its Empire," Lei Jun also mentioned several times the challenges brought by such sudden changes in identity to corporate management. This can also be seen from Lei Jun's change in clothing in recent years.

Among entrepreneurs, Lei Jun is one of the most frequently featured on the cover of domestic fashion magazines, second only to Wang Shi, the founder of Vanke; the day after the IPO broke on the market in 2018, Lei Jun deliberately wore a pair of ripped jeans and posted a Weibo to remind himself to work harder in the future; in the past few years, Lei Jun would often share photos with the core team of XIAOMI-W, with the "shirt + jeans" look dominating.

As a result, from the change in the style of the group photo last year to the launch of XIAOMI-W SU 7 at the end of the year, Lei Jun deliberately changed into two sharp suits for his speeches, and his attire became a window for the outside world to observe the changes in XIAOMI-W.

He has transformed from an "entrepreneur" to a mature and steady individual. His clothing has also evolved from a casual style (such as striped shirts with black jeans) to a tech-inspired style similar to Steve Jobs (black T-shirt with jeans), and then to the "Silicon Valley tycoon style" of formal shirts with blue jeans. Now, he has switched to sharp suits.

Behind each of Lei Jun's "fashion experiments" in dressing is his desire to showcase the brand spirit of XIAOMI-W. Especially, he has become the number one "spokesperson" for XIAOMI-W.

Since the beginning of last year, when Lei Jun posted a photo of the core executives on Weibo to announce personnel changes, investors and Mi fans were surprised to find that Lei Jun and the XIAOMI-W management team, who used to love wearing formal shirts with jeans, were no longer seen. Instead, Lei Jun, Lu Weibing, and other core executives appeared in sharp suits, presenting themselves as professional managers.

The core executives and organizational structure of XIAOMI-W have undergone drastic changes in the past 5 years. XIAOMI-W has also transformed from a flat structure during its entrepreneurial phase to a structure with leaders in the smartphone, IoT, and automotive sectors, expanding its territory.

In the early days of founding XIAOMI-W, Lei Jun's previous work experience was mostly in the internet industry. He also attempted to replicate the advantages of the internet track in the hardware ecosystem and proposed that XIAOMI-W should become a company like "Apple x Tencent", building XIAOMI-W into a company that monetizes through hardware ecosystem-based "software + services".

XIAOMI-W once relied on the ecosystem chain and supply chain to expand its ecosystem with the light asset model of the internet. Its hunger marketing and fan marketing methods were also widely discussed. However, the quality control issues with XIAOMI-W's early smartphones and IoT products forced Lei Jun to pay more attention to the quality of hardware products.

The idea of using low-profit hardware to attract customers and making money through high-margin internet services has been shattered. Today, the concept of "ultimate cost-effectiveness" has made XIAOMI-W successful but also limits its potential for further growth.

Tightening the authorization of the Mi brand, building self-owned factories for smartphones and cars, and now emphasizing technology self-research in car manufacturing all indicate that Lei Jun has placed product quality and safety at an unprecedented level. By proclaiming to sell XIAOMI-W cars to "elite of the times" and wearing sharp suits, Lei Jun also hopes to further shape XIAOMI-W's high-end brand image and make a significant impact in the consumer electronics field. In the "XIAOMI-W Answers 100 Questions from Netizens" article, XIAOMI-W emphasized that the goal of XIAOMI-W SU7 is to become an absolute hit among products of the same level. XIAOMI-W is confident in achieving this goal. XIAOMI-W SU7 will not have a "low-end" version, and the price will not be below 199,000 yuan.

They need to create a truly competitive car and make a breakthrough in the fiercely competitive Chinese new energy vehicle market. They cannot follow the path of XIAOMI-W smartphones and immediately establish a presence in the high-end market.

This is similar to the change in Lei Jun's fashion sense, shifting from early focus on functionality and performance to design-driven and innovation-driven. Now, with the addition of the "Fashion Queen" to the board of directors, it is a reflection of XIAOMI-W's transformation.

Next, it remains to be seen whether these changes will be reflected in the financial report. It is also highly anticipated how Lei Jun will present himself in public.