"The fake foreign devil Da Vinci has been exposed, and it is said that three people cried very sadly: Mr. Da Vinci probably did not expect that 600 years later he would change from Florence to Dongguan; Guo Jingming, at the end of last year he was still debating which computer could 'coexist daily without arrogance' with Da Vinci furniture; Pan Zhuangxiuhua, she treated the press conference as a business discussion meeting, but she forgot that entrepreneurship relies not on tears, but on conscience." In this widely spread joke, Da Vinci's tears metaphorically splashed onto the likes of Guo Jingming.
Yes, the "aristocrat" of the home furnishings industry, Da Vinci, was exposed as a fraud within a week, but those who should have been the victimized consumers failed to gain sympathy.
The most famous "Da Vinci fan," Guo Jingming, received widespread ridicule. A personal blog post he made on November 29th of last year was brought up again. In this blog, Guo Jingming introduced the new office setup of his company in Shanghai, discussing the arrangement of the desks when he mentioned considering changing his computer, saying that he had been thinking about which model to choose so that it could 'coexist daily without arrogance' among the ARMANI and Da Vinci furniture. This slightly boastful statement ignited netizens' mocking sentiments, with some suggesting, "After much thought, only the Xiao霸王 learning machine wouldn't feel arrogant among a pile of Da Vinci furniture."
Aside from the mysterious sunglasses-wearing man who lost his temper at the press conference, most Da Vinci consumers chose silence. However, netizens were not idle. Those who bought Da Vinci products were labeled as "not buying the best, only buying the most expensive," as well as being associated with showing off wealth and kowtowing to foreign goods. These words sparked a large discussion about "hatred towards the rich." However, in the eyes of Mu Feng, senior consultant at Net Nest Brand Consulting Institution and branding expert, consumers choosing foreign brands more often seek a sense of trust. The Italian origin signifies designer standards, material quality, workers' craftsmanship, and quality control systems. Consumers are willing to pay more for these reasons, not just simply because they admire foreign goods.
Brands with dubious origins were also dragged down by Da Vinci. People racked their brains to list out the "fake foreign devils" they remembered. It seems that except in the furniture industry, the Da Vinci model of registering trademarks abroad and producing or outsourcing domestically exists widely across various industries. Facing Da Vinci's tears, do these brands feel honored or completely at a loss?
As for Da Vinci itself, no crisis PR will work now, Mu Feng said, "This brand cannot be saved."