Chapter 746 Acquiring Didi Bikes! Don't even mention a thousand acres, I can handle ten thousand acres!
On Singles' Day, a total of 410 million logistics orders were generated nationwide, and the express delivery industry immediately entered a "wartime state".
From terminal outlets to sorting centers, staff at every stage of the process are operating at full capacity.
For employees of Yunsu Express, it's really tiring, but the bonuses for the fourth quarter are also very attractive.
At a delivery station in Jinling, Wang Bin was scanning a bunch of packages by street and assigning them to different delivery personnel. He worked for two hours straight before finally pulling up a chair, sitting down, and taking a big gulp of tea.
"Brother Bin! Do you think the Orange Peace Medical Insurance recommended by the company is reliable? It costs 2,000 yuan a year, and you have to buy it for 15 years. To be honest, that's not a small expense."
A deliveryman in his early thirties came over and asked.
"Is 2,000 yuan a lot? Anyway, I bought it! People eat grains and vegetables, how can they not get sick? I don't want to be unable to afford medicine when I get sick."
Wang Bin put down his teacup and answered casually.
He compared the coverage of Orange Peace Insurance with other major medical insurance policies on the market. Other insurance companies dared to charge five or six thousand yuan a year, while Semir Online only charged 2,000 yuan, and it was paid out immediately upon diagnosis.
He thought to himself that if he were to get cancer, an incurable disease, at least he could leave some security for his parents, wife, and children.
Moreover, he heard that the price of Orange Enjoy starts at 5,000 yuan, and the older the age, the higher the cost.
The company is obviously giving out benefits, so why not take advantage of it!
At this point, another deliveryman chimed in, "But the company has already bought us commercial medical insurance, so buying Orange Health Insurance seems a bit redundant."
Wang Bin curled his lip and retorted, "The maximum coverage of commercial supplementary medical insurance is only 100,000 yuan. Take Xiao Zhou for example, he spent more than 10,000 yuan on hemorrhoid removal last year. If he really encounters a serious illness, this amount of money is not even enough to fill a tooth gap."
He paused, then added with emphasis, "But Orange Peace is different; its critical illness medical coverage limit is 1 million."
Upon hearing this, his colleagues who were sorting packages nearby couldn't help but think about it and felt an urge to buy it.
Ordinary people don't like to buy insurance, mainly because they're afraid of getting scammed.
However, "Cheng An Xiang" is a product under its own group and is endorsed by Brother Sen, so there is no need to worry about the refusal of claims, making it naturally more acceptable to people.
After all, nobody's stupid!
It only costs 2,000 yuan a year; you can save that by smoking two fewer packs of cigarettes each month.
Moreover, there are at least eight months of quarterly bonuses every year, which is more than enough to buy insurance for yourself or even the whole family.
Therefore, on the first day of its launch, Orange Enjoy saw a purchase volume exceeding 300,000 units.
Seventy percent of the sales were consumed by internal employees, while the remaining thirty percent were sold through two major channels: Senlian Bank and Orange Payment.
...
...
The top floor of Building No. 1 in Senlian Science and Technology Park.
Chen Yansen sat on the sofa in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, basking in the autumn sun with his eyes slightly closed.
The cold wind was kept out, and only the warm sunshine fell on my body, making me feel cozy and exceptionally comfortable.
"Brother Sen, I just received news that Ali is interested in acquiring Didi Bike."
Wang Zihao, who was sitting to the side, spoke softly.
He went back to Luzhou these past two days, firstly to report on his work, and secondly to visit Wang Ziyan along the way.
"It seems that Lao Ma is still unwilling to give up his grand strategy of local life, which is good! Otherwise, he would be too lonely without any competitors."
Chen Yansen chuckled lightly.
"Aren't we going to stop them?" Wang Zihao asked tentatively.
"You've been with OFO for almost two years, and you still don't understand? Shared bikes and shared e-bikes are essentially supplements to public transportation. Not only is it troublesome and unprofitable, but the money spent on acquiring Didi Bikes might not be recouped for decades. What's the point of buying it?"
Chen Yansen said irritably.
"Hehe, I'm afraid that after Lao Ma takes over Didi Bike, he will spend money like crazy, putting OFO in a very passive position."
Wang Zihao grinned.
"The market is mature now. He can't just throw money at it and stir it up. He can throw money at it if he wants to lose money, but he has to see if the investors in North America agree."
Chen Yansen said casually.
It's worth noting that after Alibaba went public, it burned through 5 billion yuan in just a few sectors, including food delivery, group buying, and electronic shopping guide maps, which had already displeased investors.
Before going public, no one cared how the company spent its profits; but after going public, reckless spending led to a decline in gross profit, which easily attracted shareholder scrutiny.
People buy your stock so you can focus on developing your core e-commerce business, not so you can recklessly invest your money.
If it succeeds, all is well; but if it fails, the minority shareholders might sue them.
Just like Jumei, which was previously exposed for selling counterfeit goods, it is currently busy dealing with lawsuits from North American investors.
The reason is actually quite simple: in order to control the problem of counterfeit goods, Cheng Ou simply cut off the third-party business.
This move caused Jumei's revenue to plummet by 20-30%, its growth expectations to be halved, and its stock price to crash. It's no wonder that investors sued them.
Wang Zihao nodded, then asked, "I've made plans to have dinner with Ziyan tonight, Brother Sen, would you like to come along?"
"I have a business dinner tonight, maybe next time."
Chen Yansen politely declined, then paused and said, "Have you considered doing a different project?"
"Brother Sen, don't you know me? I've always been the one who tells me where to go and I do where to go."
Wang Zihao shook his head in reply.
"Don't give me that crap." Chen Yansen rolled his eyes at the other person.
If Wang Zihao had said this four years ago, he might have believed it.
At this time, Wang Zihao had worked as the advertising director at FoxTao and Pinbei for two years, and then spent two years at OFO Bike. He was adept at handling both liaising with the central company and dealing with suppliers.
Lacking in innovation, but always steady and reliable in his work, he assisted Hu Weiyi in making OFO the number one shared bicycle brand.
To say you don't have any skills is pure deception.
Take Tencent for example. Its subsidiaries, QQ Group Buying, Yi Xun, Paipai, and Weishi, clearly have no shortage of funds and traffic, yet they have managed to make a complete mess of things.
With this comparison, it becomes clear just how capable Wang Zihao really is.
"Brother Sen, do you have any new plans? Whether it's going to a new business line or a local branch, I'm fine with it."
Prince Hao readily agreed.
"Orange Supermarket plans to enter the convenience store business. You will work with Hou Yi for three months first, and then I will hand over this business line to you."
Chen Yansen said slowly and deliberately.
Orange Convenience Store?
Wang Zihao was slightly taken aback. Although he thought that shifting from the bike-sharing industry to offline retail business was a big leap, he never thought of objecting to Chen Yansen's decision. He immediately replied, "Okay, Brother Sen, give me half a month, and I will hand over the work at OFO as soon as possible."
at the same time.
Accompanied by his assistant and Ji Gang, Cheng Wei entered the Xixi Park.
"Mr. Cheng, welcome home!"
Ji Gang asked with a smile.
Three years ago, Cheng Wei was also an Ali employee, serving as the deputy general manager of B2C business at Zhifubao. At that time, Ali had not yet moved into the Xixi Park.
If Ali successfully acquires Didi Bike, given Ma Liyun's style of doing things, he will most likely hand over this business to Cheng Wei.
Unless Cheng Wei's abilities fail to meet his expectations, he will not easily replace him.
Cheng Wei smiled slightly, pushed up his glasses, and said with a hint of composure, "President Ji, whether or not you can 'go home' depends on Teacher Ma's sincerity."
The shared bicycle market is now divided into three major players.
OFO bikes account for 60% of the market share, Didi bikes account for 25% and yellow bikes account for 15%.
His implication was clear: Ma Liyun would have to offer a sufficiently reasonable price if he wanted to acquire Didi Bike.
Compared to three years ago, Cheng Wei's mindset is completely different, and his business thinking is far more mature than before.
Ji Gang's smile remained unchanged: "Ali has never lacked sincerity! However, President Cheng should also understand that the profit model for the shared bicycle industry has not yet been proven, and only a reasonable offer can facilitate the completion of the transaction."
Cheng Wei understood the unspoken meaning in Ji Gang's words; he simply wanted to lower the acquisition price. However, he knew that as long as Alibaba hadn't abandoned its O2O strategy, Didi Bike would always be an indispensable part of its ecosystem.
Currently, Ali's local life services cover multiple areas such as food delivery, hotel booking, and tourism, while Didi Bike, as a "last mile" transportation tool, can effectively connect scenarios such as in-store, home delivery, and travel.
Users can conveniently reach restaurants, shopping malls and other consumption venues through Didi Bikes, forming a more complete consumption chain, thereby improving user experience and platform stickiness.
In addition, Didi Bike has a monthly active user base of 160 million. If the acquisition is successful, Ali will be able to expand its user base.
Meanwhile, shared bikes are used more frequently, with daily usage far exceeding that of services such as food delivery. This provides Ali with a new high-frequency traffic entry point, which helps drive user conversion and turn Didi users into consumers of other Ali businesses, thereby maximizing value.
Finally, Didi Bike has accumulated a large amount of travel data during its operation, including users' riding routes, travel times, and frequently used locations.
Combining this data with consumer data from Taodian, Dianping, and Yaomao can help Ali better understand users' behavioral habits and needs, optimize business layout and recommendation algorithms, and provide users with more accurate services.
For example, recommending nearby restaurants and attractions based on users' cycling data can improve operational efficiency and business value.
Most importantly, Didi Bike is Ali's best choice.
OFO bikes are backed by Senlian Capital, and since it's a subsidiary of them, they definitely won't sell it to Ali.
As for Ofo, its founder is Chang Wei, but his background is too strong. If he were to acquire Ofo, it would easily bring unnecessary trouble to Ali.
The two walked and talked, and soon arrived at the Peach Blossom Island office.
Ji Gang raised his hand and knocked on the door.
"Please come in!" Ma Liyun responded.
After obtaining Ma Liyun's permission, Ji Gang turned the doorknob and led Cheng Wei into the office.
"Mr. Cheng! Please have a seat!"
Upon seeing Cheng Wei, Ma Liyun got up, walked to the door, and pulled Cheng Wei to sit down in the reception area.
Ji Gang noticed this and secretly gave Ma Liyun's secretary a look.
The secretary immediately understood what he meant and turned to make tea.
Seeing this, Cheng Wei was secretly delighted.
Three years ago, I wouldn't have received this kind of treatment!
Ma Liyun personally handed Cheng Wei a cup of freshly brewed West Lake Longjing tea and said bluntly, "Ali wants to use Didi Bike to complete the O2O ecosystem. Name your price."
Cheng Wei was taken aback by Ma Liyun's directness.
He pretended to think for a moment, then quoted a price: "1.5 billion US dollars."
"Didi Bikes has only deployed 3 million bikes in the market, with daily revenue of less than 10 million yuan, which adds up to only 3 billion yuan a year. If I calculate the profit margin at 10%, that's only 300 million yuan. Do you think the asking price of 1.5 billion US dollars is reasonable?"
Ma Liyun smiled and asked in return.
Cheng Wei didn't reply, but turned to look at his assistant.
The assistant immediately pulled a document out of his bag, which contained Didi Bike's core financial data.
Cheng Wei then handed it to Ma Liyun.
Ma Liyun took the document and flipped to the page on user data. He couldn't help but scoff and said, "Out of 160 million monthly active users, there are 80 million dormant users who haven't opened the app for three consecutive months. How dare you include them in our core assets?"
“Mr. Ma, dormant users are still users. As long as Ali connects the account systems of Didi, Taodian, and Yaomao, and issues a few cycling coupons, these users can be easily activated.”
Cheng Wei remained completely calm and answered with utmost composure.
Cheng Wei had a good grasp of Ali's urgent need for Didi Bikes, so he naturally wouldn't give in easily.
However, in the past year, he has also come to realize a problem: Didi Bike's business model is too simplistic, and its profitability has been consistently poor.
To put it bluntly, it's because we can't make money.
The key issue is that Didi Bike lacks ecosystem synergy. Even with tens of millions of daily active users, it can only earn a small amount of money from ride fees and advertising revenue, without any other additional income.
But Ahri is different!
By acquiring Didi Bike, Ali will not only gain a continuous stream of offline traffic, but also be able to integrate its own ecosystem.
“1.5 billion US dollars is absolutely impossible; Ali will contribute at most 1 billion US dollars,” Ma Liyun replied.
When it comes to business, it's all about "asking for the moon and settling for the right price," which is perfectly normal.
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...
Two days later, on November 15, The Paper broke the news that Didi Bike had officially signed an acquisition contract with Ali, and Cheng Wei successfully cashed out 7 billion yuan, becoming the person who made the most money in the shared bike industry.
Although OFO is the market leader, its main business profit is not high.
On the contrary, its bicycle sales business was more profitable.
The news caused an uproar throughout the bike-sharing industry.
To the surprise of outsiders, Cheng Wei did not take the opportunity to return to Ali and work for his old employer. Instead, he quietly established an investment company, clearly believing that he had a stronger ability to seize opportunities and wanted to leverage his own strengths.
Of course, this is also the mainstream path that most people choose after achieving financial freedom.
After all, people work to earn money, and they earn money to enjoy life.
Now that we have all these things, who would want to be subservient to someone at the company?
Chen Yansen didn't pay much attention to this.
His interest in bike-sharing has waned sharply due to the rapidly expanding number of employees and humanitarian workers in the express delivery and food delivery industries.
The following day, Orange Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Technology announced that it would build a 1,020-mu vegetable planting base in Jimo, Qingdao, and begin recruiting a large number of ordinary vegetable farmers.
The recruitment requirements are very simple. Education is not a factor; all you need to do is be willing to work hard and learn advanced planting techniques.
The compensation package is also clearly defined: a base salary of 3,300 yuan, five social insurances and one housing fund, plus housing allowance, transportation allowance, meal allowance, and quarterly bonuses will be paid as usual.
Upon hearing the news, some people couldn't help but wonder: "This is outrageous! Vegetables only sell for a few yuan per kilogram, can Orange Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Technology really make money doing this?"
Someone immediately chimed in: "Don't forget! Senlian Capital owns Pinbei, Kuaipao, Orange Supermarket, and Yunsu Express. They can deliver directly from the production area, giving the profits earned by middlemen to the farmers. They rely on supply chain integration, so they probably won't lose money."
Upon learning of this, Tang Lixin, who was far away in Shanghai, immediately called Chen Yansen.
“Mr. Chen, Chunshen is a major agricultural county! Let alone 1,000 mu, I can handle 10,000 mu for you.”
Tang Lixin said eagerly.
"Ten thousand mu? Is that really possible?"
Chen Yansen asked in a calm tone.
"Is Mr. Chen serious?"
Tang Lixin pressed for an answer.
"Orange Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Technology has built pig farms in the virtual city, chicken farms in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and fruit and vegetable planting bases in Qingdao, but I actually prefer to set up a private farm."
Chen Yansen said slowly.
(End of this chapter)
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