Chapter 774 Bestseller List
I went on a business trip to Hong Kong for a week, and when I came back it was already late July. As soon as I got off the plane, the air was filled with the smell of burning, as if I had walked into a steamer.
After returning home to rest for a night, Lin Weimin appeared in the Chinese Literature Society again.
I spent the whole morning dealing with a bunch of chores and was just about to take a look at the manuscripts that had been delivered in the past few days when someone knocked on the door and Zhao Xin walked in with a happy look on her face.
Looking at Zhao Xin's expression, Lin Weimin asked with a smile: "What's the matter? What are you so happy about?"
Zhao Xin suppressed the joy in her heart and said, "Leader, is your promise to me still valid?"
"What's up?"
Zhao Xin said anxiously: "Assistant to the president!"
"Okay, if you do it well, you'll get a promotion next year. You'll keep your word."
After receiving his affirmative reply, Zhao Xin said happily, "Then prepare to give me a promotion. I have taken care of the bestseller list."
"What's the solution?" Lin Weimin asked.
"Xinhua Bookstore, Sanlian Bookstore, Baowentang, Xinzhi Bookstore, Friendship Bookstore, Zhongshuge... These days, I have contacted more than a dozen chain bookstores across the country. Everyone is very interested in 'establishing China's own bestseller list' and is very supportive of our idea.
I have already found a media to publish the bestseller list, which will be the Literary Story Newspaper of the publishing house, so that the benefits will not flow to outsiders. "
After Zhao Xin finished speaking, he looked at Lin Weimin with an expression that seemed to be asking for credit and reward.
"China's own bestseller list? What's the word you came up with?"
Zhao Xin nodded.
"Okay, that's a good idea. You mean that all these bookstores have expressed their willingness to cooperate in making the bestseller list, so who will be the main body of implementation?"
"Of course it's us!"
"Who exactly is this 'we'?"
"This..." Zhao Xin hesitated, "We must send some people from the company."
"If the company wants to transfer people, it will need a few more positions. Where are so many positions?"
Zhao Xin was speechless, thinking to herself, what does the editor-in-chief mean? Is he going to default on his debt and not promote me?
Lin Weimin could guess what she was thinking by looking at her expression. He waved his hand and said, "Okay, I'll push this matter forward at the community committee meeting. I'll hand it over to you for implementation after it's passed."
Zhao Xin was a little nervous. The editor-in-chief seemed dissatisfied with my performance. Would the promotion be in vain?
She didn't dare to ask and could only leave the office obediently.
Two days later, in the meeting room of the National Literature Society.
At the regular weekly meeting, Lin Weimin brought up the idea of establishing a bestseller list.
Although Zhao Xin's considerations were not thorough and his work was not done well, he did a good job in the preliminary work. With the support of many bookstores, there was a foundation for establishing a bestseller list.
The group of people attending the conference were a little surprised when they heard this topic. There had been no news about it before, so why were they suddenly going to create a bestseller list?
Cheng Zaochun asked, "Weimin, are you sure about this?"
"It's not a big problem. As for bookstores, Zhao Xin has already discussed everything. Everyone supports this idea. According to Zhao Xin's statistics, there are more than a dozen large chain bookstores across the country, including Xinhua Bookstore, Sanlian Bookstore, Xinzhi Bookstore, etc. These bookstores have more than 12,600 book sales points across the country, including nearly 3,000 stores, which is enough to provide us with a very authoritative statistical data.
My idea is to set up a new company and transfer the Literary Story Newspaper to the new company. As the tangible asset of the new company, our Guowen Press will hold 51% of the shares of the new company, and the remaining shares will be distributed free of charge to the bookstores that are willing to participate in the construction of the bestseller list in proportion. "
As soon as these words were spoken, there was an immediate uproar in the conference room.
The Literary Story Newspaper was founded in 1985. Over the years, its sales have been lukewarm. At its peak, sales were over 500,000 copies per issue. In the past two years, sales have dropped slightly and have been around 400,000 copies.
Such sales volume is poor among the several publications of Guowen Publishing House, and is only slightly better than "New Literature Materials".
But no matter what, this is also an industry that can generate nearly 6 million in benefits and 500,000 in net profits every year!
It is a publication with a certain influence in China. Guowen Publishing House has worked hard to run it for ten years, but in the end, it is going to be sold to outsiders for nothing?
When they first heard the news, many people were a little confused.
But now that Lin Weimin's prestige in the Guowen Society is growing, everyone has been discussing it for a long time, but no one dares to question it in person. Only He Qizhi, relying on his close relationship with Lin Weimin, asked, "Editor-in-chief, if we give him shares for nothing, won't the society suffer a loss?"
Lin Weimin did not avoid this question. "I want to discuss this issue with you. The Literary Story Newspaper is the company's property. Even if it is transferred to the new company, it is still the company's property. If a part of the new company's shares is handed over to others for no reason, everyone will definitely have various concerns. Let me tell you my thoughts and see if you can understand."
When he said this, everyone's eyes focused on him, waiting for his next words.
“First of all, I want to say that what we are giving away are only the shares of the new company whose main business is the Literary Story Newspaper and the bestseller list. We are giving away 49%, and our Guowen Press still holds 51%. What does 51% mean?
Absolute controlling stake.
That is to say, our Guowen Press still has absolute decision-making power over this new company, including the Literary Story Newspaper. The shares obtained by those bookstores cannot affect our decision-making, but they can only participate in the dividends occasionally. But even the dividends are still under the control of our Guowen Press. "
Lin Weimin's words were concise and to the point. They were all in the publishing industry, and if it weren't for Lin Weimin's explanation, they would not have understood the twists and turns involved. Suddenly, they understood, and the heartache they had just felt didn't seem so severe.
Then, Lin Weimin continued, "So, the profits we share are not as much as it seems, so don't worry. Secondly, I want to talk about the necessity and value of spending this money."
“The term bestseller list should be familiar to everyone. Many countries around the world, including The New York Times, have this form of book sales statistics, but it is still a blank in our country, from a broad perspective.
From the perspective of our Guowen Publishing House, due to the impact of pirated books in recent years, the growth rate of domestic book sales has been limited. Although the sales of our Guowen Publishing House have risen against the trend, please do not think that such a substantial increase in sales is normal.
Therefore, we need to plan ahead. Full copyright operation is one step, and the bestseller list is also one step.
If we can establish the authority of this list, it will be like having one more weapon to guide the direction of the book market in the future. This influence may not be very large, but as long as it has some subtle influence, and it is magnified on our publishing house, the benefits generated will be considerable.
The bestseller list represents more than just sales volume. Its greatest value lies in the brand effect. Once this brand effect is established, it will benefit our Guowen Publishing House for decades. No matter how the market changes in the future, as long as our Guowen Publishing House brand is there and as long as the influence of the list is there, our development will definitely not be bad! "
When Lin Weimin said this, everyone present had gradually been convinced by him. He took a sip of tea and continued.
“Another benefit is that through this bestseller list, our Guowen Publishing House’s distribution channels can be further broadened.
In recent years, the number of Xinhua Bookstore's book sales outlets has been expanding, but the sales performance has been disappointing. Our distribution channels mainly rely on Xinhua Bookstore, and its development has stagnated, which has also affected our development.
This time we are working together with local chain bookstores to establish bestseller lists, and our books will naturally enter these bookstores.
In the future, as the influence of the bestseller list continues to grow, we may attract more bookstores to join this ranks. Under this snowball effect, our Guowen Publishing House's distribution channels will truly be unblocked across the country!"
Look!
Hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up and their spirits lifted.
The brand effect that Lin Weimin just mentioned is, after all, an illusory thing, but the distribution channels are real.
Xinhua Bookstore is certainly the largest chain bookstore in the country and the country's largest and most influential distribution channel, but Xinhua Bookstore cannot represent the national book market.
Before the 1980s, the Xinhua Bookstore system almost monopolized more than 90% of the national book market sales, and the remaining less than 10% was also divided up by local state-owned bookstores. In that era, Xinhua Bookstore was definitely able to represent the national book market.
However, after the reform and opening up, the sales share of Xinhua Bookstore system in the domestic book market has continued to decline. As of last year, the annual sales of Xinhua Bookstore system had fallen below 50% of the national total.
This situation will probably continue in the foreseeable future until it reaches a bottom where it can no longer fall.
The fact that Guowen Publishing House's distribution channels are overly dependent on Xinhua Bookstore has always been criticized by some people in the publishing house. The big store bullies the customers, and the big customers also bully the store. Xinhua Bookstore's state-owned style is conservative and inefficient, and its various shortcomings have become increasingly obvious over the years.
In recent years, Guowen Publishing House has been expanding its distribution channels, which has been effective, but has not yet kept up with the pace of market development.
Especially after Lin Weimin imprisoned Wei Fengjun, the vice president in charge of issuance, the year before last, the issuance department has been extremely cautious in the past two years, fearing that it would take even a single wrong step. Although corruption has decreased, the pace of external expansion has also slowed down.
This time, Lin Weimin came up with the idea of a best-selling book ranking list. It was a piece of cake and could help Guowen Publishing House expand its distribution channels on a large scale. How could everyone not be happy?
"Great! Weimin's idea is great! It kills three birds with one stone and finds a new direction for the future development of the community."
After understanding the trick behind the bestseller list, Cheng Zaochun was extremely happy and couldn't help but praise it.
Everyone present nodded, agreeing with Cheng Zaochun's words.
The antelope's horns are exquisitely crafted.
The bestseller list is really a great idea!
However, Old Cheng is becoming more and more adept at his role as the emperor emeritus, and his only responsibility is to applaud and cheer all day long.
You may say he is wise, but this president really has little presence.
You say he is stupid, but the Chinese Literature Society is thriving now.
If you don't want to be an Qianlong, at least be a Li Yuan. But now you are almost becoming Yuwen Yun.
“That’s a really good idea!”
"Not bad, really good!"
Cheng Zaochun praised Lin Weimin and the others were not to be outdone.
Who doesn't know how to flatter someone?
The next chapter is under review, wait a minute
(End of this chapter)
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