Chapter 199
Given the performance and popularity of Shuguang brand electric fans, it would be pure wishful thinking to expect to get a purchase order from the Friendship Palace.
Instead of racking your brains to find ways to use connections, it is better to be generous and give a few electric fans to people for trial.
"You can't catch a wolf without sacrificing a child," Lei Wanyuan said nonchalantly. "If you want to borrow someone's fame, of course you have to give something. But we're a state-owned enterprise, and our products belong to the country. We can't just give them away. We have to come up with a reasonable reason."
Otherwise it will be difficult for the finance department to do the accounting.
Even if we only calculate the cost price, five electric fans will cost five hundred yuan!
Before the order fair started, five people from Shuguang Factory walked to the entrance of the venue to discuss how to give away electric fans for free.
Tian Chunshan asked: "Can I borrow the leader's name?"
"Which leader?"
"I don't know. This Friendship Palace has hosted many leaders, hasn't it? Let's pick a few rooms where important leaders have stayed and say this electric fan was donated to the Friendship Palace in commemoration of that leader's stay."
Lei Wanyuan rubbed his chin. "Now that you put it that way, those guest rooms look like the former residences of famous people."
"Hmm, that's kind of the point. Does this method work?"
Ye Manzhi said, "I think it could work, but the Friendship Palace is a foreign affairs hotel. In the past, it only received foreign guests. Only in recent years has it started to accommodate participants in national conferences and large provincial and municipal conferences. If central government leaders come to Binjiang for inspection, they usually stay at the Provincial People's Committee's reception hotel, not here."
"Forget it," Lei Wanyuan muttered. "We don't even know those foreign guests. What's there to remember them by? It sounds so hypocritical."
During a break in their conversation, Cheng Liangcai went out for a walk alone. A quarter of an hour later, he returned and revealed, "I just asked the people in the catering department of the auditorium. The Friendship Palace is hosting two meetings soon. One is the 'City's Conference of Educated Youth Who Went to the Countryside and Returned to Their Hometowns,' and the other is the 'Third City Conference of Workers and Peasants Studying □□'s Works.' Can we come up with a plan during these two meetings?"
"The second meeting went well," Lei Wanyuan said with a smile. "To wish the workers and peasants a successful study of the works, our Shuguang Factory can donate five electric fans to the Friendship Palace."
This kind of meeting can be completed in one day, and the participants will definitely not stay overnight at the Friendship Palace.
But this does not prevent them from giving electric fans to people.
Ye Manzhi said stingily, "Let's just give three."
"It doesn't matter. Since we're giving it away, let's be generous and just give away five!"
"No," Ye Manzhi raised his chin in the direction of Tian Chunshan. "I think Director Tian's idea is good. We can indeed borrow the leader's name. The Garden Hotel is the reception hotel of the Provincial People's Committee. Most leaders stay there when they come to Binjiang. Can we also donate three machines to the Garden Hotel?"
By then, no matter whether it is the leader of the foreign affairs hotel or the boss of the government reception hotel, they will all be able to use their Shuguang brand electric fans!
Giving away six electric fans for free is acceptable.
However, if he gave away ten units, the cost would be as high as thousands of yuan, and Ye Manzhi felt reluctant to do so.
Lei Wanyuan said the same thing: "Since we're giving it away, let's be generous. You can't catch a wolf without sacrificing a child. Give it to both hotels, five units each! Let them advertise our Shuguang brand!"
Although they didn't make any money this time, they couldn't help but feel excited just thinking about their products being displayed in the two most upscale hotels in the province.
After the ordering meeting ended, Shuguang Factory immediately began to arrange the relevant matters of giving away electric fans.
Both the Friendship Palace and the Garden Hotel have been operating for nearly ten years.
Since opening, they have purchased a lot of products and also had some supplies allocated by their superiors.
However, this was the first time that the two hotels had received free products from local state-owned units.
Things that are given for free don’t require any money, and they are the kindness of the working class. There is no reason for them to refuse them!
Therefore, Lei Wanyuan's communication went very smoothly.
The attitudes of the two hotels are very clear - give it to us, we will take as much as you give us, and we will not refuse anyone!
Ye Manzhi is a little petty about this matter.
She was always worried that the electric fans sent by the factory would be secretly taken away by the relevant staff of the hotel.
After all, these electric fans are not a bulk purchase, and the finance department doesn't even have an account. After receiving the gift, whether to put it in the guest room depends entirely on the leader's words.
The reason for not putting them out is also clear - to ensure the same service level in all guest rooms, if electric fans are only placed in five guest rooms, what will happen to the other guest rooms?
Therefore, in order to prevent his own product from being wasted, Ye Manzhi decided to organize a grand donation ceremony!
The first unit they gave the gift to was the Friendship Palace, with which they had just had an intersection.
Five electric fans were held in the arms of five workshop workers.
There is a big red flower tied on the big head of each electric fan.
Two other workers walked behind, holding a red banner that read: "Wishing the Third Representative Conference of the Workers and Peasants of Binjiang City to Study the Works of □□ a complete success!"
Several key members of the factory's art and propaganda team entered the gate of the Friendship Palace, playing music and making a lively scene.
Not only did it attract onlookers and staff, it also successfully recruited the hotel manager who was sitting in the office.
Manager Chen didn't expect that the Shuguang Factory would cause such a big fuss when sending a few electric fans.
After seeing Lei Wanyuan, he shook his hand warmly and said, "Welcome, welcome! Thank you Shuguang Factory for supporting our work on the service front!"
Lei Wanyuan smiled heartily and said, "This is a small token of our working class's appreciation. We are donating the Shuguang brand electric fan to the Friendship Palace. We also wish the conference a complete success and that the mass movement to study the works will be pushed to a new high point!"
He waved his arm, signaling the workers to hand over the electric fans to the comrades at the Friendship Palace.
After the head of the publicity department took a picture of the donation, Ye Manzhi beamed and asked, "Manager Chen, could we, the publicity department, go to the guest room and take some photos? When we get back to the factory, we'll post them on the bulletin board to show the workers the results of this donation!"
Can Manager Chen, who is holding a free electric fan, say no?
According to the retail price in the shopping mall, the five electric fans are worth more than one thousand yuan.
One thousand yuan is not a small amount of money. The other party only asked to take a photo. How could he refuse?
So he said readily, "Okay, let's just put the electric fan in the guest room and let the comrades from the publicity department go to the guest room to take pictures!"
Ye Manzhi had already told the head of the publicity department not to be stingy with the film and to take as many photos as possible after entering the guest room.
Therefore, as soon as the propaganda chief entered the room, he captured the panoramic view, the details, and the notepad with the words "Friendship Palace" printed on it next to the electric fan into the camera.
She was satisfied only after she had finished shooting a whole roll of film.
*
After sending ten electric fans to the two hotels, the factory leaders were paying close attention to the follow-up progress of the matter.
They didn't intend to have this matter reported in the newspapers, so they didn't invite any reporters when they delivered the gifts.
So, even though the scene was quite lively, outsiders didn't really understand what was going on.
All the staff of the Supply and Marketing Department went out, carrying freshly-made guest room photos, to various government agencies and corporate guesthouses to promote electric fans again.
The sales pitch also became: "The guest rooms of the Friendship Palace and the Garden Hotel use our Shuguang brand electric fans."
These two hotels are industry leaders in the province. They both use Shuguang brand electric fans, which seems to indicate that the Shuguang brand has some outstanding features.
The turbine factory guesthouse, which had been hesitant before, was persuaded by Fu Xuan, deputy section chief of supply and marketing, to purchase 24 electric fans from Shuguang Factory.
The order quantity is not large, but the factory leadership team can rest assured. The ten electric fans given away for free have worked, which shows that their decision was correct.
The two electric fans have passed the joint review of the Municipal Administration for Industry and Commerce, the Industrial Bureau and the Foreign Trade Bureau, and have been purchased by commercial departments and entered the electrical appliance counters of eight department stores in Binjiang City.
The first thing Ye Manzhi does when she goes to work every day is to ask if there are any department stores calling for restocking.
Zhou Ruyi smiled and said, "It's only been in the store for a week, and it's not summer yet, so how can the sales of electric fans be that high?"
"That's true."
Ye Manzhi was convinced by her on the surface, but he was still worried.
Each store only purchased 7 electric fans. It has been a week and the store has such a large flow of customers. It is impossible that they cannot even sell 7 electric fans, right?
She was skeptical and wanted to go to the store for a real-life inspection on the weekend.
"Baby, I'm going out shopping soon, do you want to come with me?"
Wu Yuzhuo held a shovel in one hand and a can in the other, hesitatingly saying, "I made an appointment with Yi Yi to go to the fields to catch insects to feed the chickens."
In order to give full play to Xiao Wu's talent as a breeder, Wu Zhengrong built a new chicken coop in his yard, and Ye Manzhi bought three laying hens and put them in.
Including the useless Dahua, there are a total of four chickens in the family, all of which are fed by the breeder Xiao Wu.
I heard that hens lay bigger eggs after eating insects, so Wu Yuzhuo recently often catches insects for his three little hens to eat.
Someone also borrowed my great-grandfather's library card and borrowed a book called "Poultry Husbandry" from the provincial library, preparing for scientific feeding.
Ye Manzhi touched her little face and said lovingly, "Okay, baby, you should go catch insects with Yiyi. Don't delay your work. Go to your Aunt Fangfang's house for lunch at noon!"
Wu Zhengrong went to attend a reunion with his comrades, and she also had to go out, so she had to let Xiaozai go to Zhou Suo's house next door for dinner.
After entrusting the breeder Xiao Wu to Sister Zhenfang, Ye Manzhi went out with peace of mind.
The eight stores were located in various districts of the city. She first went to the Fifth Department Store, which was closest to her home.
There were quite a few customers in front of the electrical appliance counter, some were just browsing, and some were listening to the salesperson's explanations.
Ye Manzhi walked past the customers who were choosing radios and went straight to the electric fan counter.
The table fans were all on the shelves, and she saw the products of Shuguang Factory at a glance.
The location is not very good. The direct-blowing and oscillating types are both placed on the bottom row of the shelf, almost at the height of the counter.
This height can easily be blocked by the salesperson's body.
"Comrade," Ye Manzhi called the salesperson, "I want to buy an electric fan. Which one is the best-selling one?"
The saleswoman introduced her to a floor fan. "This Shanghai Watson brand one costs 336 yuan. It has an oscillating fan, adjustable wind speed, and a timer. It's the best-seller."
"More than three hundred yuan?" Ye Manzhi pretended to be short of money. "Is there anything cheaper?"
"Desk fans are cheaper than floor fans," the salesperson said, pointing to two desk fans on the second row of the shelf. "The Guangdong Diamond and Shanghai Huasheng ones are both good. One is 232 yuan, and the other is 235 yuan. They're about the same price, and both have adjustable wind speeds. The only difference is the color. It depends on your preference."
Ye Manzhi pointed at the two neglected Shuguang brand electric fans and asked with a smile, "How much are these two?"
"A direct-blowing fan costs 161 yuan, and an oscillating fan costs 201 yuan. However, the functions of these two electric fans are relatively basic, without speed adjustment or timing functions."
Ye Manzhi hesitated and said, "Since they can all be blown dry, why not just buy a cheaper one?"
"Haha, you've already spent two hundred yuan, why not add another thirty and buy the most advanced one?" the salesperson said with a smile. "Many people have bought the cheap ones before, and then regretted not buying the more comprehensive ones after returning home. Then, if they want to exchange them, it's too late..."
Blah blah blah, he was promoting two foreign brands in every word.
Ye Manzhi couldn't help but complain inwardly. The Shuguang brand had only been on the market for a week, and one store hadn't even sold seven electric fans. Where did so many regretful customers come from?
This salesperson is lying with his eyes open!
She didn't stay here for too long and took the opportunity to go to the Sixth and Seventh Department Stores.
The salespeople in these two stores didn't mince words in disparaging the Shuguang brand, but Shuguang's shelf position was still not ideal.
She was full of doubts about this situation.
Logically speaking, Shuguang is a local brand in Binjiang and is very affordable, so it should be the store’s main product!
Although it lacks some functions, it is still cheap!
Especially the direct-blowing fan, which is only 70 yuan more expensive than the most expensive table fan!
For young people who want to save money, a direct-blowing fan is a good choice.
On Monday at work, she went to the supply and marketing department and told the two section chiefs about her discovery.
"Do you know what's going on over there at the store?"
Fu Xuan said, "I spent the day at the No. 1 Department Store yesterday. While it's true that fewer customers are buying electric fans this season, there are some. It was the weekend, and I counted seven people who bought fans. Six of them bought Watson and Diamond brands based on the salesperson's recommendations, and only one bought our direct-blowing table fan for the sake of a bargain."
"Why do salespeople always recommend foreign products to customers?" Ye Manzhi asked.
Cheng Liangcai speculated: "Did these two brands give kickbacks to the salesperson?"
"That's impossible," Fu Xuan said disapprovingly. "These two are foreign brands. The manufacturer is so far away from Binjiang. How could they possibly come all the way to Binjiang and give kickbacks to the salespeople in every store?"
Besides, the risk of doing so is too high.
You might be accused of taking the capitalist road.
"Then why are the salespeople working so hard to promote foreign brands?" Cheng Liangcai asked.
Fu Xuan: “…”
She couldn't explain it either.
Near the office door, a small clerk raised his hand and said, "Chief, I heard some news at the store these days. I wonder if it's true."
"You speak first."
"It seems the profit margins on these foreign brands are too low, and the stores aren't making any money, so the Municipal Price Commission approved increasing regional price differences. The current prices for Diamond and Watson brands are the result of an 8% markup on top of their original retail prices."
Upon hearing this, Ye Manzhi borrowed the phone number of the Supply and Marketing Department and called an acquaintance at the Municipal Commerce Bureau.
The other party confirmed on the phone that it was true.
The selling price of goods must take into account various factors, including the cost of long-distance transportation.
If the prices are based on the local retail prices of these two brands in Shanghai and Guangdong, the profits of the stores in Binjiang will be too low.
Therefore, at the beginning of the year, the Price Commission approved the increase in regional price differences.
Ye Manzhi frowned and put down the receiver.
I don’t know what the other party’s factory price is, but after adding the regional price difference, the profit of foreign brands is 80% higher than that of Shuguang brand.
This is the only way for several stores to jointly promote electric fans from the other two manufacturers.
Ye Manzhi leaned on the table with his arms folded and organized a discussion meeting directly in the Supply and Marketing Department.
"Let's brainstorm and see if there is any way to solve this problem."
Fu Xuan said, "In fact, local Binjiang companies have an advantage over those from other places. If a product breaks down, we can always bring it to our factory for repair. Foreign manufacturers certainly can't offer this. Recently, when I visited several guesthouses to discuss business, I not only brought photos of the guest rooms at the Friendship Palace and the Garden Hotel, but also told them that if there were any quality issues with the products, we would provide free on-site repairs. In the past few days, I've received orders from three factory guesthouses for a total of 120 units!"
Cheng Liangcai couldn't help but laugh and said, "The electric fan workshop has made a harsh statement. The quality of our products is such that they won't break down for 20 or 30 years. There's no chance of repair at all."
"But if we don't tell them, how will customers know?" Ye Manzhi supported him. "I think Chief Fu's idea is great. We need to find a way to let customers know about the advantages of the Shuguang brand. Although its functions may not be as complete, our quality is excellent, and we offer a lifetime warranty!"
“Is it really a lifetime warranty?”
"Of course," Ye Manzhi said nonchalantly, "Didn't the workshop say there would be no problems for 20 to 30 years? So let's be confident. As long as it's not man-made damage, we can fix it!"
Cheng Liangcai worriedly said, "Stores want to sell high-profit products, but they're afraid the salesperson won't help us promote them!"
"How about we put a big poster on every electric fan we sell," suggested salesperson Sun Jie. "Write 'Military quality, 30-year warranty, lifetime free maintenance'?"
Ye Manzhi didn't know if this would work, so she hesitated and asked, "How about we try it first?"
"Let's give it a try," Fu Xuan thought for a moment and said, "Let's write a few big-character posters and send them to those eight stores. We'll stick them on the electric fans in stock and see if they sell well."
With a try-it-out attitude, the Supply and Marketing Department gathered comrades with good handwriting from various departments, worked hard for an entire afternoon, and wrote 50 big-character posters.
The next morning, it was delivered to eight department stores.
Following the section chief's instructions, the young clerks spoke sweetly to the store's leaders, then went into their warehouse and posted the big-character posters with their own hands.
Sun Jie was cautious and did not leave immediately after posting the big-character poster.
She walked around the Second Department Store upstairs and downstairs several times.
An hour later, she ran back to the electrical counter to check the situation.
As a result, they discovered that the big-character posters that had just been posted on the shelves had disappeared.
She held back her anger and ran to the salesperson to ask in a gentle voice, "Sister Zhao, why is the big-character poster I put up gone?"
"Oh," Sister Zhao said, looking away. "Such a large piece of paper is stuck on it, blocking the shelves and products. It's so inconvenient for customers to buy!"
Sun Jie had no way to deal with the salesperson and could only return to the factory to report the situation.
After hearing the report, Ye Manzhi was so anxious that he was running around in the office.
The purchasing quantities of government agencies and guesthouses are limited, so if they want to increase production and sales, they have to rely on the vast retail market.
But the salesperson wanted to promote products from other places, which they could not control.
Just like the big-character posters this time, they put them up and others tore them down the next moment.
She couldn't possibly give kickbacks to others like Cheng Liangcai said, right?
What happened then!
Ye Manzhi walked around the office a few times and then went out to Lei Wanyuan's office.
After introducing the situation, she told me the solution she had come up with.
"When I worked at a coal stove factory, I encountered a similar situation. The products were not well placed, customers didn't know about the new honeycomb coal stoves, and the salesperson didn't have time to explain them to customers. As a result, the products sat at the supply and marketing cooperative for several days without selling a single one."
Lei Wanyuan asked curiously: "What solution did you use at that time?"
"At the time, I found a well-spoken older woman from the factory and asked her to work at the supply and marketing cooperative, helping it sell coal stoves. She worked part-time after get off work, so for every coal stove sold, both the factory and the supply and marketing cooperative would give her a one-cent bonus."
Lei Wanyuan asked, "Do you want to send someone from our factory to work at the store?"
"Yes," Ye Manzhi said, "I want to select eight comrades from the factory who are good at speaking to help us sell Shuguang brand electric fans in stores."
"There's definitely no problem at our factory. The workers in the workshop are underemployed anyway, so it's no big deal to pick eight people to work the counter. We'll still get their wages from the factory. But," Lei Wanyuan said doubtfully, "Isn't the store going to agree?"
People want to sell products with high profits.
However, the number of customers who can afford to buy electric fans is limited. Once customers buy the Shuguang brand, they will not buy other brands.
Asking Shuguang Factory's salespeople to go to stores to help with sales is actually detrimental to the store's economic interests.
Once the store manager realizes this, he probably won't be willing to send people there.
Eight stores, eight sales clerks, they have to negotiate with eight store managers.
These days, if you ask someone to do something for you, you can’t avoid dinner and drinking parties, and that’s a big project.
"I think we should try to get in touch with the Commerce Bureau." Lei Wanyuan pondered for a moment and said, "I'll contact someone I know there."
Ye Manzhi crossed out each person on his contact list several times.
I haven't found any words that are particularly effective.
Before leaving get off work, she called the girls' dormitory of Binjiang College and asked Lin Qingmei to come out.
The two agreed to meet at a state-owned hotel opposite the Municipal Bureau of Commerce.
As soon as they met, Lin Qingmei grabbed her ear and said, "What a huge risk I'm taking to help you!"
"Hahaha, don't worry. Let my Wu Zhengrong have a drink with your Comrade Xiao Sun tomorrow and help you explain it!"
"I'm married and have kids, and I still have to help you date your ex!" Lin Qingmei said, hands on her hips, "I'm going to order ten dishes today and eat you out of money!"
"You two were just ballroom dancing together back then. What's so ambiguous about that? You're just acquaintances at best, right?" Ye Manzhi poured her a cup of tea. "Go ahead and order as much as you want today. You can keep the food if you can't finish it."
They have an appointment today with the head of the Planning Section of the Municipal Bureau of Commerce.
He was also one of Lin Qingmei's ballroom dance partners back then, but when they were dancing, he was not yet the section chief of the Commerce Bureau.
This Section Chief Liu was promoted only this year.
The two waited for a while before Chief Liu arrived on time for the appointment.
As soon as the other party sat down on the chair, he said bluntly: "Director Ye, I'm going to skip dinner. There's a study session at the bureau tonight, and everyone must attend. I just took some time off to come here. Just tell me what you want to say!"
Seeing that he wasn't being polite, Ye Manzhi shook his hand and got straight to the point. "Section Chief Liu, our Shuguang Factory is thinking of opening an electrical appliance retail store. We're planning to send a group of salespeople to the city's major department stores to learn as trainee salespeople. Could the Commerce Bureau help arrange a few for us?"
"How many people?"
"About seven or eight. The Shuguang Factory will cover the salaries of the trainee salespeople. If necessary, we can also pay some training fees to a few stores..."
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