The sign at the entrance of Yinzhou Changfeng store has been replaced with the words "Lvzi Western Cake".
Zhejiang New Maxim’s Food Industry Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “New Maxim’s”), a star local cake company in Ningbo that has always displayed a simple and even old-fashioned image, is making a major move for a For a brand that has accumulated popularity in Ningbo for nearly 20 years, this move seems a bit inconsistent with business rules.
Starting from April 30, 2011, nearly 200 New Maxim's stores will all stop using the "New Maxim's" product logo and use the "Lvzi" brand instead. For New Maxim, this transformation may not be as gorgeous as ordinary people imagine. Founded in 1992, New Maxim's is a wholly foreign-owned enterprise headquartered in Beilun. The company has a registered capital of US$10.5 million. After nearly 20 years of accumulation, "New Maxim's Western Cake" has become a household name in Ningbo, with stores all over the country. The whole city of Ningbo and Zhoushan, Shaoxing and other regions. As of March 2011, it has 182 directly operated chain stores and more than 1,700 employees. In addition to Ningbo, Shaoxing has three stores, and the number of stores in Zhoushan City alone has expanded to 24. And we are constantly opening new stores.
Ordinary store decoration, the signboard only has a few regular hollow characters of "New Maxim's Western Cake", no beautiful LOGO and English fonts, and the signboard color is slightly outdated... Nearly 20 years have passed. Although New Maxim's has won the taste of more and more people, compared with "Bread Talk", "85 Degree C", "Nara Bami" and other Western cake brands whose names are full of fashionable atmosphere, New Maxim's is indeed a bit OUT (outdated).
In the past month or so, New Maxim's has launched a large-scale "transformation" project. In addition to retaining the words New Maxim's in the company's officially registered trade name, the store's signboards and price tags The "Green Position" brand will be fully used in the information content of brand, product packaging, promotion and external publicity.
The brand "Lvzi" seems very unfamiliar to most Ningbo people. In fact, this brand has been registered as a trademark and used by Xinmeixin in July 2000. In 2008, Xinmeixin Xin Meixin has also officially launched two bakeries with the name "Green Life" and a decoration style that is different from other new Maxim's stores. These two stores are positioned as high-end boutiques.
On the official website of New Maxim’s, the definition of “green posture” is: adhering to the life philosophy of “nature, ease, and freedom” and a purely contented life attitude, with a leisurely and warm style, The clean and comfortable environment, sweet and delicious food, and warm and thoughtful service allow customers to experience the quality life of modern cities. Why did a brand that has been painstakingly developed for nearly 20 years suddenly completely change its appearance when the company's development was not obviously hindered by the brand? Mr. Luo Ziguang, chairman of the company, said that the purpose of the facelift was to upgrade the brand.
Luo Ziguang said: "The company's development has gone through three stages: building a team from 1992 to 2000, building a market from 2000 to 2010, and starting to build a brand in 2011. .'Green' is the brand to be built next, and healthier and higher quality is the core of the brand. The company has been brewing for a long time."
"Healthier and higher quality is 'Green'. "Zixi Cake's improvement will highlight products, services and more added value, and will become a benchmark service brand," Luo Ziguang said.
In May 2011, New Maxim’s new factory with a total investment of 200 million yuan and an area of ??more than 25,000 square meters will be officially put into operation. The new factory will introduce a complete set of advanced foreign production lines, combine it with rigorous Japanese technology, and strictly Control the time, temperature and humidity in the processing process to ensure standardized production of products.
Luo Ziguang said: "Such a huge investment is to build the company into a safe food company that reassures customers and ensure the quality of the products." Although brand upgrade is what New Maxim emphasized in this facelift. The biggest reason, but the recent trademark and trade name dispute with Hong Kong Maxim’s Food Co., Ltd. seems to have contributed to this.
An intellectual property lawsuit officially heard by the Ningbo Intermediate People’s Court has attracted great attention from many Ningbo people.
In this case, Hong Kong Maxim’s Food Co., Ltd. filed the lawsuit. The company said that many years ago, it had registered the "MAXIM'S MEIXIN" trademark in Class 30 in China, covering candies, catering and other products. After 1992, Hong Kong Maxim's established more than 100 companies in Guangdong, Shanghai and other places to operate the "Max's" series of foods. In 2009, Hong Kong Maxim's discovered that the new Maxim's prominently used words similar to the "Max's" trademark in its advertising in the "China Hotel" magazine. Based on this, Hong Kong Maxim’s believes that the new Maxim’s has infringed upon their registered trademark rights. In the indictment, Hong Kong Maxim's requested the court to order New Maxim's to stop using the word "New Maxim's" and to compensate for economic losses of NT$5 million.
It is understood that as early as June 4, 1992, Ningbo New Maxim Food Co., Ltd. (at the end of November 2010, after the name approval of the Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Industry and Commerce, the company name was officially upgraded to Zhejiang New Maxim Food Industrial Co., Ltd.) has been approved and registered for use by the Ningbo Industrial and Commercial Department. What makes people feel coincidental is that on November 20 of the same year, Hong Kong Maxim's Food Co., Ltd. successfully registered the "Maxim's MEIXIN" trademark in China for the first time. Although New Maxim's Company uniformly uses the trade name "New Maxim's" in its business operations and publicity, it has not registered "New Maxim's" or "Max's" as trademarks. The company's trademarks applied for and registered by the National Trademark Office include "Lvzi", "Hongluo", etc., among which "Lvzi" is relatively commonly used.
New Maxim’s attorney stated that Ningbo New Maxim’s trade name (trade name) was registered earlier than Hong Kong Maxim’s trademark registration date, and according to regulations, the names of commercial and catering service companies can be appropriately simplified. As used, “New Maxim’s” in the Ningbo New Maxim’s trade name is the core part and a significant symbol that distinguishes different market entities, so there is nothing inappropriate in its use.
Hu Yuejun, a Ningbo trademark and brand expert and vice president of the Ningbo Enterprise Brand Protection Association, once said: "This case is similar to the 'Yonghe' dispute in the 'Yonghe Soybean Milk Case' five years ago. It is a dispute between trademark and trade name. Enterprise trademark rights and enterprise name rights are both identifying sign rights under intellectual property rights. Due to different jurisdictions, conflicts may occur from time to time. Generally speaking, when determining whether the relevant enterprise constitutes infringement, it should be considered. The following are three principles: the principle of good faith, the principle of protecting prior rights and the principle of prohibiting confusion.”
From the initial few Western pastry brands such as “New Maxim’s” and “Danby” to “Hamiha”. There are nearly ten well-known brands such as "Dun", "BreadTalk", "85 Degree C", and "Christine". In recent years, the number of Western pastry brands in Ningbo has increased dramatically, and the market competition has become extremely fierce. Faced with such a fierce market competition environment, it is not difficult to understand that New Maxim's, which is caught in a dispute over trademarks and trade names, has completely transformed and upgraded its brand.