The law of ‘survival of the fittest’ applies to almost all fields in the world. But, it evolves even more dramatically in the commerce field. Take the lighting industry for an example; in recent years with large investment flocking in and technology revolution, the industry has been undergoing a fast reshuffle. During the upheaval, many large-scale enterprises which boast their major advantage in capital to extend industrial chains end up selling out their business, while some small or medium-sized ones survived and became industry leaders.

Shanghai Wellmax Lighting (WELLMAX) can be a typical success case. Founded in 1987, WELLMAX is a company starting up with incandescent lighting and CFL business. In 2013, the company successfully transformed its business to LED, and now becomes a world-renowned LED Bulb Expert. We have the honor to interview its Chief Advisor, Thomas Lin, to have a talk about the company’s story.

Thomas. Lin, Chief Advisor of WELLMAX

Thomas is responsible for developing the company’s strategic layout and brand positioning. Dedicated in lighting industry for 27 years, he has witnessed leapfrog development of the lighting industry and participated in all significant industry changes. Prior to WELLMAX, he worked at several top international companies, accumulating preeminent leadership and extraordinary wisdom.

Q： As a developing enterprise, how does WELLMAX sail through the turbulent changes of the industry?

A: The market situation remains highly fragmented when the industry undergoes dramatic changes. Capital is only to assist company to form a certain scale in the industry, but technology plays a more crucial role for development. WELLMAX has been committed to researches and applications of LED technology. After years of accumulation, we have mastered the know-hows of manufacturing LED light source, allowing us to seize the opportunity to further explore overseas markets and stand firm in the industry.

Q: WELLMAX has partners in over 95 countries, how does it win the long-term trust from clients?

A: WELLMAX has always upheld the management philosophy of "client-oriented". We follow up on client needs in a timely manner and refocus our services on the entire product value chain, giving priority to offer a three-pronged combination of product function, quality and price. This scheme not only stabilizes our old clients, but also continuously builds up new customer groups.

Q：In the highly competitive LED lighting industry, many companies choose to focus on the expansion of brands and channels, and many focus on a market segment to do the best. What is the positioning of WELLMAX?

A: With the craftsmanship spirit of "specialization" and "refinement", WELLMAX has worked intensively on research and development of LED lamps and downlights, which are used in diverse applications ranging from residential to commercial field. For sales channel, we focus on wholesale and large-scale retail. Local high-end brands and regional distributors are our targeted clients. We will continue to keep our feet on the ground and push our products and services to the acme, reaching the top in the international lighting market.

Q: In recent years, WELLMAX began to promote its own brand, and launched the GDP (Global Distributor Program). What is the reason behind this plan?

A: This is in line with the "client-oriented" mentioned above. Many clients have turned to us because their own brand are unprofitable and lack of support, thus falling into low-price competition with inferior products. In order to help to solve the dilemma, we have planned out our brand with medium and high-end strength, which can be comparable with large international lighting enterprises in terms of product mix, product packaging and brand image.

At present, over 30 partners around the world have joined this plan, and most regional brands have gradually achieved results and some regions have begun to grow rapidly.

Q: Do you have any plans for WELLMAX's future brand development？

A: Based on the restructuring of the above value chain and the promotion of our brand, WELLMAX has maintained a good growth in the current general depression of the market, proving WELLMAX is on the right path and giving everyone confidence in the future. We will unswervingly continue to go forward.