Behind the extravagant 0.6 billion investment in chips.

"Investor Network" Wang Jianfan.

In an era when the Chinese outdoor sports market was not yet dominated by international brands, toread holdings group was the first battle jacket for countless Chinese people.

During a time when brands like "The North Face," "Toread Holdings Group," and "Mammoth" had not yet sparked a national outdoor craze, this homegrown Chinese brand became the undisputed leader in the outdoor circle at the time with its affordable prices.

However, times change, and fortunes rise and fall. Once hailed as the "number one stock in China's outdoor sports industry," this brand reached its peak in 2015 with a market cap of 26 billion and a stock price soaring to nearly 29 yuan per share. Now, the presence of Toread Holdings Group is gradually fading from people's view, with the stock price hovering around 9 yuan per share.

From the spirited debut on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2009 to the low point of losses in 2017. Founded in 1999, this outdoor brand witnessed the flourishing of the Chinese outdoor sports market but also experienced a dramatic transformation story in the volatility of the capital markets.

The entrepreneurial journey of a husband and wife.

Toread Holdings Group's entrepreneurial history began with a chance encounter.

In the late 1990s, Wang Jing, a Sichuan girl working at a restaurant in Beihai, Guangxi, met the engineer Sheng Faqiang who had left the system to start a business.

The young man, a graduate in surveying and mapping, had already started his own small printing enterprise in the south. The two became partners through their joint efforts and laid the groundwork for the birth of Toread Holdings Group in the future.

At an exhibition, the young couple was attracted to a tent. Relying on their intuition for the outdoor market, they invested in purchasing the patent technology for this foldable tent. This decision changed the trajectory of their careers, leading to the beginning of Toread Holdings Group's entrepreneurial journey.

In 1998, they chose Beijing as a new starting point for entrepreneurship and founded the Toread Holdings Group brand in a bungalow at the foot of Fragrant Hills in Beijing.

In the early days of entrepreneurship, although the business scale was not large, the development momentum was good. After entering the new century, the company quickly surpassed the tens of millions level, laying the foundation for rapid expansion. In 2009, Toread Holdings Group successfully entered the capital markets, with annual revenue reaching hundreds of millions. The momentum of development continued, and by 2014, the company's net income was nearly 0.29 billion yuan, and the market cap broke through the 8 billion mark.

Today, the outdoor sports market is thriving, with outdoor lifestyles such as camping, mountaineering, cycling, and hiking becoming increasingly accepted by urbanites. International renowned outdoor brands are intensifying their efforts in the Chinese market, while new consumer brands continue to emerge.

However, Toread Holdings Group gradually lost its first-mover advantage in this wave of industry expansion. The company initiated a diversified transformation during its peak performance period, but after a round of capital operations, the growth momentum abruptly halted, leading the enterprise into operational difficulties.

This female entrepreneur, who has successfully climbed Mount Everest four times, faced challenges in the business world more daunting than mountain climbing.

The cost of following the 'ecosystem' trend.

In the Chinese business community of 2015, 'ecological anti' was still a quite attractive business concept. Under the influence of Jia Yueting, many entrepreneurs began to chase the development concept of the 'ecosystem'.

This trend also affected Shen Faqiang, the helmsman of Toread Holdings Group, and a seemingly grand transformation plan was thus launched.

In the early spring of that year, Toread Holdings Group proposed an ambitious strategic idea: to build an ecosystem around 'operating users', focusing on the outdoor, travel, and sports sectors.

The company began a series of mergers and acquisitions, successively investing in many travel service companies such as Asiatravel, Green Wild Network, Extreme Beauty, and Yiyou Tianxia. Behind this transformation is Shen Faqiang's vision for the future of the 'ecosystem'.

However, while the ideal was lofty, the reality was harsh. The new business not only failed to bring the expected returns but also became a heavy burden on the company's performance.

In 2017, the performance of several mergers and acquisitions projects fell short, and Toread Holdings Group had to recognize an impairment loss of nearly 0.2 billion yuan. The book value of goodwill plunged from nearly 0.3 billion the previous year to less than 0.1 billion.

In the middle of that year, the company brought in former CMO of LeSports, Qiang Wei, as the president. This executive from the LeEco group continued the previous operational strategy, spending heavily on advertising, with this item alone exceeding 0.1 billion yuan, a 57% year-on-year increase.

However, the high marketing expenses did not bring corresponding returns, coupled with the continuous decline in travel business, Toread Holdings Group suffered its first loss since going public. Qiang Wei resigned after only half a year. In the midst of the crisis, Wang Jing took over the company again at the end of 2017.

Her response strategy was very clear: decisively abandon the 'ecosystem' strategy and return to the core outdoor equipment business. A series of 'survival by cutting off limbs' measures followed: focusing on the Toread Holdings Group and Discovery Expedition, divesting new brands; subsequently exiting projects such as TUTU, Eyou Tianxia, and Green Oasis Tourism, restructuring businesses like Green Oasis Net and Six Feet Apart.

This adjustment temporarily stabilized the company's decline, but Toread Holdings Group has found it difficult to regain its past glory. At this point, choosing to exit may be an inevitable decision.

A comeback on the chip track?

At the end of 2019, Sheng Faqiang and Wang Jing began a phased withdrawal plan, first transferring 7.73% of shares to Tongyu Fund at a price of 4.5 yuan per share.

In 2020, Toread Holdings Group suffered a significant performance decline, with revenue dropping by nearly 40%, hitting a new high of 0.312 billion yuan in non-net income losses. This defeat accelerated the departure of the founders. In early 2021, Wang Jing and her husband once again transferred 51.69 million shares to Tongyu Zhonghe, with a total transaction price of 0.336 billion yuan.

After two rounds of equity changes, this former outdoor kingdom changed hands to Tongzhou State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. Within a month, the original management team, led by Wang Jing and her husband, bid farewell together.

An era thus came to an end, but Toread Holdings Group's transformation story is far from over. The new owner has chosen an unexpected path for them - entering the chip field.

从2021年收购芯片设计公司北京芯能开始，探路者陆续投入超0.6 billion元布局芯片产业链，逐步形成了户外用品与芯片设计双轮驱动的业务格局。

这个看似冒险的选择，却在数据中显现出转机。

2024年前三季度，公司预计实现近亿元净利润，同比增长超过百分之百。其中，芯片业务占比从2022年的不足1%迅速攀升至2024年上半年的15%。这个曾经的细分赛道龙头，正在一条截然不同的跑道上寻找新的可能。

二十余年过去，探路者早已不是当年那个只做帐篷的小作坊，也不再是户外圈的"扛把子。在不同掌门人的带领下，它一次次转型求变，却始终在探索中寻找着前进的方向。或许，这才是"探路者"这个名字最贴切的注解。（思维财经出品）■