The promotion of "silk stockings" failed, why did Green Source (02451) resort to undervaluing and creating hype?

In 2025, Green Source Electric Vehicles handed in a beautiful report card: Revenue of 5.907 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 16.5%; net profit attributable to shareholders of 175 million yuan, a significant increase of 50% year-on-year. (Earnings report source: Green Source Group 2025) The electric bicycle category contributed 3.606 billion yuan, an increase of 19.5% year-on-year, firmly holding the position as the largest revenue business. The products sold well, and the profits increased significantly. But at the end of June 2026, a video titled "Electric Bike Rest Tutorial" put this long-established electric vehicle company in the spotlight. In the video, a girl wearing a short skirt and stockings placed her feet on the handlebars, and the camera shot from the soles of her feet up her legs. The account also had multiple posts with similar styles: girls stepping on the seat with their feet up, posing on tree branches, with captions like, "Next time you must ride with someone who rides an electric bike well." (Response from Green Source (02451) came quickly. On July 1, the official customer service stated: The video has been taken down for rectification, and future advertising in all channels will be strengthened, and an apology will be issued for "bringing a bad experience to consumers". The attitude was sincere, the wording was standard. But Niu Dao noticed a detail: the account's description was "an unofficial official who likes to play jokes", with the operator being Zhejiang Luyuan Information Technology Co., Ltd. The use of the word "unofficial" exposed the root of the problem. It was not done by temporary workers or an outsourced team, but by the company's internal official account. A listed company with an annual revenue of 5.9 billion publishing content on official channels that had to rely on being "unofficial" to define itself. It is worth noting that in the ESG chapter of the 2024 annual report, Green Source explicitly stated: "Green Source Group has always adhered to the responsible marketing concept, strictly adhering to moral and legal norms in all marketing activities." At the same time, on July 2, Green Source Electric Vehicle issued a new statement expressing deep guilt and self-blame, taking full responsibility and vowing to prevent similar situations from happening again. Why did Green Source choose this path? The answer lies in a sentence in the financial report: "In 2025, the group actively expanded the market for young female consumers." "Their economy" is indeed booming in the electric two-wheeler industry. The proportion of female users buying cars continues to rise, becoming the core group driving sales growth. Several mainstream brands are promoting lightweight, high-value female-specific models. The goal is right, and the direction is correct. But the execution went wrong. Wanting to attract female consumers by filming in stockings, skirts, suggestive shots, and deliberately guided captions. Are female consumers attracted by vulgar content? Or does Green Source think that women buy cars based on who takes the best photos? This marketing approach fundamentally disrespects the target group and consumes its own brand. Looking at the entire consumer market, Green Source is not the first brand to have a marketing backfire, and it will not be the last. Dettol once sparked anger due to its objectification of women in promotional materials, and Levi's faced resistance for deliberate provocative buttocks posters. The list of backfiring brands is getting longer, but there are still brands following suit, treating "edgy" as a low-cost traffic code. Because of the algorithm logic of short video platforms, content that triggers emotions is naturally rewarded. The greater the controversy, the higher the views, and the better the conversion data. Under the pressure of KPIs, being "unofficial" becomes the easiest shortcut. But short-term sensational traffic is never equivalent to real conversion, nor can it build brand assets. Green Source's net profit increased significantly by 50% in 2025, driven by product structure optimization, channel efficiency improvement, and refined operations - main business drive, substantial improvement in operating quality. Gross profit margin increased from 13.1% to 13.8%, with R&D expenses remaining at 235 million yuan. An enterprise with technological accumulation, product strength, and growth momentum is fully qualified to take a dignified path of brand building, but it chose the cheapest way to attract attention. Nijie, the founder and chairman of Green Source. In 1997, he and his wife Hu Jihong founded the Green Source brand in Jinhua, Zhejiang. In over twenty years, from zero to 5.9 billion in revenue, over 14,000 stores, covering over 80 countries and regions worldwide. This road was not easy. But building a brand is a lifelong commitment, and destroying it only takes a few short videos. Green Source customer service says they have "taken down for rectification", and Niu Dao hopes this "rectification" is not just about deleting a few videos or changing a few operators. Rather, it should be about rethinking one thing: How should a listed company with an annual revenue of 5.9 billion communicate with consumers? Should they rely on edgy content to attract attention, or should they rely on product strength, technological prowess, and brand power to earn respect? The answer is self-evident. This article is reprinted from the WeChat public account "Niu Dao Finance", author: Zhou Ye; GMTEight editor: Xu Wenqiang.