Chapter 149 Opening a Chain Store (Bug Fix): Being a Traitor Isn't Easy
Manager Juanwang wants to open a branch store, expand the business, and make more money.
In order to persuade her boss to invest, she decided to present the facts and reason with him.
Presenting the facts simply means letting the boss see for himself.
What are we looking at? We're looking at the turnover of the self-service supermarket and how many customers are in the store.
The latter is obvious at a glance; to describe it in idioms, it's a sea of people, comparable to the Tang Dynasty Never Sleeping City during the Spring Festival, with its main feature being people squeezing into each other's arms.
The connecting corridor between the men's and women's clothing departments, which serves as the outside of the shoe sales area, is covered with a rain shelter and filled with people trying on shoes.
But Wang Xiao didn't really feel anything.
Since the Laba Festival is just around the corner, every household that can afford it will definitely buy new clothes.
It can be said that the annual KPI of the clothing and footwear retail industry needs to be boosted by at least one-third before the Spring Festival.
It wasn't until the store manager showed the store's revenue figures so the owners could see for themselves that Wang Xiao subconsciously gasped.
The point isn't that today's turnover reached 600,000.
In 1992, this self-service clothing and footwear supermarket, with a total area of about 1,000 square meters, achieved a turnover of over 35 million.
Note that this does not include January 1993, which is the current sales boom.
Wang Xiao felt dizzy and blinked several times before she dared to be sure she wasn't seeing things.
Honestly, when she opened this store, she estimated that if business was good, she could make ten million a year.
In a typical scenario, that would be breaking one million.
Don't underestimate this number.
In the early 1990s, the clothing and footwear retail industry was essentially a seller's market. As long as the styles were novel and appealed to customers, profits of 100% or even 200% were considered normal.
In other words, with a turnover of 30 to 50 million, after deducting various expenses, the net profit can reach 10 to 20 million.
Even though Ms. Wang's net worth has long exceeded hundreds of millions of US dollars, she still couldn't help but get excited when she saw this number.
This is just one store!
The store manager explained from the side, "Business has been getting better and better since the Chinese New Year last year."
Why? It's all thanks to Jiangzhimen International Trade City.
Oh dear, is this a hard sticker?
The clothing self-service supermarket focuses on domestic sales.
Because of the size issue with clothes and shoes, basically no Russians come to buy them.
The siphon effect of the clothing trade city is astonishing.
Industry insiders discovered through it that foreign trade could be done in such a way, and that the scale of the business reached as many as 200 million people.
More importantly, these middlemen are used to cash payments, unlike regular department stores where unsold goods are returned.
Besides, when doing business with the Russians, you don't have to worry about treating them to meals or giving them kickbacks.
Overall, this type of foreign trade has a simple process and a large output volume.
Therefore, merchants in Jinning, and even manufacturers throughout the Jiangdong region, are now focusing their attention on foreign trade and trying every means to seize market share.
Even individual vendors who used to wholesale clothes from Guangzhou to resell have quickly switched gears and started sourcing goods from local manufacturers to sell specifically to Russians.
As a result, local residents are experiencing problems buying clothes and shoes.
It's not that there's no stock, but rather that there aren't many trendy or new items, and not many clothes and shoes specifically prepared for them.
This has led to an extremely absurd phenomenon—in Jinning City, which is known for its developed light industry and products sold overseas, local residents are finding it difficult to buy their desired clothes and shoes even with money.
Against this backdrop, the company, which has always served the people of Jinning and even the Jiangdong region, and even colluded with the TV station to create the popular clothing self-service supermarket, stands out from its peers.
Customers who were used to buying clothes and shoes at counters in large shopping malls in the city center, such as People's Department Store, have had to switch to self-service supermarkets.
The most extreme customers can take three buses and spend more than two hours just to pick out two pieces of clothing they like.
At first, when such customers appeared, the store manager didn't pay much attention, only proud of his store's good reputation.
When people want to try something new, their first thought is always their self-service supermarket.
As more and more customers like this came in, the store manager suddenly realized that a ready-made market had already been formed.
It is known that in the two provinces east and north of the Yangtze River, represented by Jinning and Xiaozhou, which have airports, the local factories' light industries are generally operating at full capacity to meet the demand of foreign trade, while the heavy industries are operating at full capacity amid the nationwide construction boom.
When a factory is thriving, workers' incomes naturally increase.
The scope of workers in these two places, due to the development of township enterprises, also includes almost all young and middle-aged farmers.
As people's lives have improved, in addition to the increased meat on the dining table and the continuous purchase of new appliances, new clothes and shoes are also frequently seen on their bodies.
Simply put, the local people have a high level of consumption and strong consumer demand, but the existing market cannot meet their needs.
Therefore, self-service clothing supermarkets should spring up everywhere, at least in Jiangdong and Jiangbei.
It can definitely make a lot of money.
Wait a minute, with such a great money-making plan, didn't the store manager ever consider going solo? Is it really true that female executives are more loyal to their companies?
How could that be!
Under equal conditions, human ambition is not limited to either gender.
In fact, after realizing this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make money, the store manager's first thought was to resign and open his own store.
She even carefully wrote down her strengths on a piece of paper.
Firstly, she has been managing a self-service clothing supermarket for over a year, accumulating considerable management experience.
Secondly, she had ample start-up capital. As a store manager, her annual turnover could exceed 35 million, and her commissions had long since exceeded one million, so renting a shop to open a store was not a problem.
Furthermore, having been a store manager for so long, she has become familiar with both clothing factories in Guangzhou and OEM factories in Jiangbei, making it convenient for her to source goods and have clothes made.
Unfortunately, the store manager's enthusiasm only lasted one night before he forced himself to calm down.
Being a double agent isn't so easy.
Although her boss was young and seemed gentle and harmless, her social experience told her that a shopping mall is not a crescent-shaped lake where a unique, pure white jasmine flower can grow.
Just by looking at how Wang Xiao managed to single-handedly push her parents, who had been hardworking and honest their whole lives, into the leadership team of a large factory with tens of thousands of employees, you can tell that she is by no means a simple character.
Moreover, Wang Xiao has so many businesses under his control.
She has the skills, the connections, and the capital; if someone wanted to blacklist her, it would be a piece of cake.
The boss didn't even need to use his connections; he could just wage a price war against her and make her lose so much money that she had to beg for mercy.
This tactic is entirely within the bounds of normal business competition, and she has no one to complain to.
So after much deliberation, she steeled herself, gave up the idea of going solo, and continued to cling to her boss.
After all, the self-service supermarket business model was not her original idea, but rather planned by the boss. In fact, when she took over management, President Xiang had already prepared a template.
Sigh, the store manager consoled himself, saying that being a senior executive isn't bad either, since he manages hundreds of people.
Moreover, there aren't many people who are their own bosses and run businesses and can earn a million a year.
Wang Xiao couldn't read minds, so naturally she didn't know about the store manager's difficult mental journey.
Besides, even if she knew, she wouldn't care much.
The store manager is gone, so let's get a new one.
Anyone who has led a team knows that unless someone has mastered the core technology and sales channels, a company can continue to operate regardless of who is missing.
Of course, the store manager was right about one thing: if she became a competitor to the self-service clothing supermarket, then the business world is like a battlefield, and Wang Xiao certainly wouldn't be merciful.
However, since none of this has happened yet, we are still all in the same boat.
As the boss, Wang Xiao directly agreed to the store manager's idea; she didn't even consult with Ivanov separately.
Ovechkin watched the entire scene with a subtle expression.
He glanced at Ivanov for a moment, then at Wang Xiao, feeling that the latter was also a Catherine the Great, someone who would slay the entire scene.
However, Catherine the Great had a lot of lovers, so I wonder where Ivanov would rank among them.
If Ivanov knew what he was thinking, he would definitely kick him out of the house, and better yet, let him freeze to death on the streets of Kininin in the winter.
Wang Xiao certainly didn't need to inform him, and aside from their respective areas of expertise, they all respected each other.
Besides, they already had a clothing self-service supermarket before they seriously sat down together to put money into a business partnership.
But this time, Wang Xiao really wants to forge a deeper bond with Ivanov.
She instructed the store manager, "Don't rent the shop, just buy it."
The store manager was taken aback. Of course, they could afford to buy the store.
Although the Hainan real estate market is currently experiencing a boom, the national real estate economy is still far from taking off, so overall housing prices across the country remain relatively stable.
But there's no need to buy them. For example, their current self-service clothing supermarket is located in a building rented from a steel mill.
"Buy it if you can," Wang Xiao emphasized meaningfully. "Otherwise, what if they see our business is doing well and forcibly take back the shop?"
This is certainly something that could happen.
Currently, shops available for rent are mostly owned by government entities, including factories and government agencies.
But regardless of which one of them it is, don't overestimate their integrity. There are plenty of officials who disregard contracts and behave in an unseemly manner.
However, Wang Xiao's emphasis on buying a house is simply following Yageer's old approach.
The garment industry will become increasingly competitive in the future, and profits will decrease.
Correspondingly, real estate has become a new economic growth point, with housing prices soaring and far surpassing others.
If clothing stores don't rely on real estate to survive, it won't be easy for them to stay afloat in the future, especially with rents becoming increasingly expensive.
Wang Xiao counted on his fingers and emphasized, "Renovating a shop is no small matter. If they turn on us and kick us out, we'll suffer a huge loss."
The store manager thought about it and realized that was indeed the case.
Within their small territory of Jinning, they could still find connections and smooth things over.
But when you're on someone else's turf, even a dragon has to coil up.
Wang Xiao then raised a second requirement: "Do not engage in joint ventures with any public institutions."
She said this because although the market has begun to be discussed, there are still many limitations in its actual operation.
Let's take a simple example, like the famous KFC. To date, almost all of its stores in China are joint ventures with local state-owned enterprises.
This can save a lot of trouble.
But Wang Xiao didn't want to plant any landmines.
There were actually quite a few major problems with joint public-private ownership.
Before she knew it, she had become a convicted embezzler despite having paid the full amount herself.
It's better to clarify property rights now than to suffer serious consequences later.
She was thinking of still having a joint venture, but it would be a joint venture between her and Ivanov.
By doing so, one can enjoy numerous tax incentives and receive local policy support.
Most importantly, she wouldn't have to be responsible for the resettlement of employees of state-owned enterprises after the joint venture.
Seriously, that would be quite a hassle to argue about.
If you encounter a reasonable person, it's fine, but if you encounter someone who thinks they deserve special privileges and that someone should support them, they'll skin you alive.
She's not the kind of person who would swindle state assets at a low price or even outright, so why is she adding this burden to herself?
Especially since arguing back and forth would waste time, it would be better for them to bypass the roadblocks and find another way.
Ovechkin listened intently, and as he listened, he couldn't help but feel jealous.
Wow, Ivanov is having a really good time being a gigolo.
Catherine the Great never forgot him, no matter how good things were.
For a moment, Ovechkin subconsciously glanced at the full-length mirror behind the office door and reached out to fix his hair.
Is it too late for him to offer himself as a concubine?
It's true, in all his life, apart from his grandmother, no woman has ever been so devoted to him.
Unfortunately, the Soviet Union collapsed, and even that president couldn't live on his retirement pension, let alone his grandmother, who was just a former high-ranking government official.
It's long past its prime.
Now, it's his turn to support his grandmother.
Overwhelmed by the pressure of supporting his family, Ovechkin no longer wanted to strive; he just wanted to live comfortably as a kept man.
Besides, this gigolo is young and beautiful, so he doesn't find it hard to swallow at all.
On the contrary, he was drooling.
Ivanov sensed something was off about the kid's gaze and stepped in front of him.
Wang Xiao didn't notice Ovechkin's lewd thoughts; she was still arranging the follow-up work: "Designers, we need to have our own dedicated clothing and shoe designers."
Previously, the store either sourced its goods directly from Guangzhou or copied Hong Kong dramas in order to make money.
Now that she's made money, she's started emphasizing original content, not because she's rich and therefore her moral standards have improved.
Are you kidding me?
The saying goes, "High society, low life." As a fellow tycoon, she never dared to overestimate the integrity of the wealthy.
She is now starting to focus on original design because as the clothing and footwear industry becomes more and more prosperous, more and more practitioners will follow the same old path.
To be frank, this path doesn't actually involve much technical skill.
If someone copies your work exactly, even if it's not perfect, it'll at least achieve a 60-70% success rate.
The further you go, the more tightly this path winds you, until you can't go any further at all.
But their clothing self-service supermarket doesn't need to compete. They're already making money, and with their deep pockets, they can easily attract a large number of design talents to create their own original designs.
Then, leveraging the advantage of early entry, they can build their own brand and achieve results.
The store manager was a bit confused; she really didn't know where to find a designer.
So far, their supermarket only partners with pattern makers and contract manufacturers.
"Fashion design schools." Wang Xiao already had an idea. "Universities are on winter break now, so there might not be anyone on campus. Let's start recruiting after the New Year."
After saying that, she changed her mind, "Recruiting now is fine, but the recruitment period can be extended. As long as the candidates are qualified, we don't need to be strict about the number of positions."
The store manager instinctively felt a chill run down his spine.
So far, she has only recruited shop assistants, but has never hired a designer.
What makes a good designer? She didn't know.
Wang Xiao said helplessly, "You should post the job ad first, and we'll come together for the interviews."
The store manager finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness she didn't actually go out and start her own business. Otherwise, there might have been far more trouble than she imagined, and she would have been completely clueless about how to deal with it.
Actually, she was just overthinking it.
Because the world is essentially a giant makeshift operation, most people are forced into it, their skills are ridiculously lacking, and they're just learning as they go.
If you don't believe it, take a look at Tesla's early history.
Other companies are holding new car launch events, but engineers still can't guarantee a constant battery temperature for electric vehicles.
They had to stuff ice packs into the battery pack to help cool it down, so that the smell from the overheated batteries would be reduced slightly.
As it turned out, that boss later became the world's richest man.
But nowadays, when it comes to doing business, it really is true that the bolder you are, the more you can achieve.
The key is to bravely take the first step.
Wang Xiao doesn't encourage her subordinates to go solo; she only assigns tasks in a 1-5 manner.
After she finished making her request, the shop manager's notebook was already two full pages, covered with densely packed small characters.
Boss Wang also made grand promises: "Work hard, and once this clothing company is established, you will be in charge of its management."
She wouldn't say what came next: if the store manager can't manage things well, the boss will definitely have to replace him.
She would only instruct the store manager: "Find someone to look after this shop for you. Focus all your efforts on setting up the franchise store. Also—"
She further emphasized, "In addition to hiring designers, we also need to find store staff. For any new store opening, at least 50% of the staff should be experienced employees mentoring new employees. Remember, clothing and footwear sales are essentially a service industry, and this fundamental point must be grasped firmly."
More than half of the thriving companies fail not because of problems with their business philosophy, but because they die from rapid expansion.
Without sufficient talent reserves, even without experiencing culture shock, it will be difficult to replicate success in a new environment.
“Let’s set up the first shop in Xiaozhou,” Wang Xiao suggested. “We know the locals there fairly well, and the situation is probably similar to Jinning. Let’s scout it out first, and if it doesn’t work out, we can move on to another location.”
Of course, she could just call Xiaozhou directly and find a ready-made shop.
But if she really wants to train the store manager to become the general manager of the clothing company, then she can't take on everything and do everything for others.
If the store manager can't handle it, then it's not too late for her, the boss, to step in.
However, she will definitely need to find someone more capable to fill the position of general manager of the clothing company.
After this discussion, it was getting late.
The self-service supermarket was closing for cleaning up, and Wang Xiao also had to take the two guests to the guesthouse.
As they reached the supermarket entrance, Ovechkin suddenly remarked, "You guys are really getting better and better."
Look at the enthusiasm of Chinese people for buying clothes! Even though they already have beautiful cotton-padded coats, they still tirelessly choose new ones one after another.
These are just ordinary people, ordinary factory workers.
In Russia, besides the wealthy like him, who else would dare to buy clothes so recklessly?
Although the store manager didn't speak much Russian, she could understand it without much trouble. She immediately replied with simple words: "You will get better and better in the future."
Her sincere tone left the Russians present somewhat speechless.
It's strange, it seems like the whole world has a deep misunderstanding of them.
When the Soviet Union collapsed, the world was shocked, but only they themselves thought it was a matter of course.
Now that the Russian Federation is in charge, everyone is equally optimistic about them, believing that even a weakened giant is still formidable. Only they themselves see no future or hope.
Ovechkin couldn't help but smile wryly, shake his head, shrug, and spread his hands: "Only God knows the answer."
But he also suspected that they had abandoned God for so long that God was too lazy to bother with them anymore.
So what should they do? Should they worship gods and Buddhas like the Chinese, focusing on whoever is most useful and whom they can trust?
They walked all the way to the guesthouse.
Before parting, Ivanov pressed Wang Xiao for details: "What are our plans for tomorrow?"
"Let's get the clothing company registration sorted out first," Wang Xiao thought to himself. "Let's get it done before the New Year."
Otherwise, it would be at least past the Lantern Festival before the procedures could be completed.
There's nothing we can do; this is the current situation. And compared to the rest of the country, Jinning's situation is actually quite good.
Ivanov had no objection, but Ovechkin had something to say: "I'll go with you."
His compatriots despised him: "What are you doing there? It's none of your business."
Ovechkin retorted confidently, "How can you say it has nothing to do with me? I...I...I—"
After much persuasion, he finally managed to come up with a reason: "If I'm not familiar with the company registration process in China, how can I set up a company and do business here?"
Ivanov showed him no mercy: "You're starting a company? What kind of business are you planning to do here? Be a middleman, specializing in shipping goods to Moscow?"
"It's not impossible."
Ivanov then stabbed him in the back: "Are you sure? Is there a reliable person to receive the goods you sent? Can you be sure you'll get payment?"
Why do Moscow's traders, who clearly know that division of labor and cooperation, with one person responsible for loading and another for selling, often choose to go it alone?
I'm just afraid I won't get my money back.
Finding a partner you can trust is not as easy as you might imagine.
Ovechkin was speechless, and could only widen his eyes and emphasize: "China is so big, I don't believe I can't find a suitable business to do."
He even winked at Wang Xiao, already playing the gigolo: "Right, Miss Wang, what do you think I should invest in?"
If he hadn't added that last sentence, Wang Xiao might have paid more attention to his flirtatious glances.
But she never recommends investments to others, so she immediately ignored the other person's flirtatious gestures and shook her head: "I don't know, you can see for yourself."
Ovechkin was not discouraged at all; on the contrary, he took advantage of the situation and continued his efforts. After visiting the Industry and Commerce Bureau the next day, he followed them to the Trade City.
Besides inspecting the headquarters and conducting market research, Wang Xiao and Ivanov had another purpose for coming here: to discover clothing and shoe designers.
Well, the key consideration in all clothing and footwear design is aesthetics, or to put it more directly, aesthetic sense.
To be fair, the Soviet Union's artistic influence was quite effective.
Look at the streets, so many people playing musical instruments, painting, trying every means to earn more money; you can tell how much cultural depth they have in this area.
These people are also among the main forces forced to go abroad to become middlemen.
If they can find suitable talent and train them to become clothing and shoe designers, that would be one of the secret weapons of this clothing company that hasn't even had time to obtain a business license yet.
They first walked around the commercial city, and then headed towards the street stalls.
Just as I was about to see the stall, a large group of people suddenly appeared in front of me, shouting, "Make way, make way—"
Then came the rumbling sound of the wheels.
Along with the sound came a stretcher, on which lay the middle-aged man.
It was Old Zhao, an acquaintance of Wang Xiao and his group.
That's the guy who hired a prostitute in the wholesale market and ended up making Yanzi a vegetable.
Wang Xiao and Ivanov exchanged a glance, both seeing shock in each other's eyes.
So fast!
They had just met Lao Zhao's wife and brother at the airport yesterday, and today they brought them back.
Considering that a round trip takes sixteen or seventeen hours, it's like their family members went straight to the hospital as soon as they got off the plane, without doing anything else, and brought the person back home.
That would be far too hasty.
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