Chapter 504 Ali's Olive
Branch The trend of group buying in Kyoto spread quickly, and the community group buying thing is really overbearing, and the almost complete ecological chain is simply impeccable.
As a result, the capital giants behind the group buying market are becoming increasingly restless.
The competition has entered the second half, and thousands of group buying websites have died or sold out, leaving less than ten.
When they went down to choose horses, they thought it was a sure win, but who knew that no matter which horse they chose, it would fail. Instead, a horse without a rider rushed to the front and barked at the market. Everyone looked at it and said nothing.
Alibaba, in particular, is extremely anxious as it sees that the group buying market is about to change hands.
Why did they choose to hold hands at that time?
Because judging from the performance of Lashou.com in the first half of the year, he really has the qualities of an emperor!
He has two first-tier cities and the highest market share in second- and third-tier cities in the entire north. If he doesn’t win, who else can win? The in-depth cooperation agreement they discussed at the time required Lashou.com to be incorporated into Alibaba’s ecological chain, and all decisions had to be approved by Alibaba and cooperate with Alibaba’s subsequent development strategy.
If Lashou wins, the entire group buying channel will become theirs. In this way, with an e-commerce giant plus a group buying giant, they will almost control the entire domestic market.
In fact, LaShou has performed really well after signing the contract with them.
It acquired five group buying websites in one go, and is far ahead in the entire industry. Even Dianping, which is supported by Tencent, could only look up to it when it first entered the market.
What is the result now?
Shanghai was lost, Shenzhen was lost, and even my hometown was invaded.
Apart from the market share in second- and third-tier cities, Lashou has almost no advantages. This is a life-threatening situation.
The company that achieved this result was a group buying website that originated from a school.
If you say that the senior management of Lashou.com is incompetent, that's not true, because Nuomi was also trapped in a corner by group buying and was beaten up without saying a word.
There is also Dianping, which came later and is a long-established lifestyle service website. However, it was kicked out when it returned to its hometown. Can you say that they are incompetent? So in the final analysis, it is because the group-buying ability is too advanced.
After making such a judgment, Alibaba certainly does not want to bet on Lashou.com anymore, but would rather hope to tie the knot with Pintuan.
On the morning of June 22, Lu Zhichuan, general manager of Alibaba's investment department, called Jiang Qin five times in a row before he finally got through until he was almost out of patience.
"Mr. Jiang, it's so hard to call you, hahaha."
"Who are you?"
"Let me introduce myself. I am Lv Zhichuan, general manager of the investment department of Alibaba Group. Mr. Jiang, are you interested in chatting with me? Internet business is a vast blue ocean, but after all, a single tree cannot make a forest..."
Lu Zhichuan held the manuscript he had written earlier and muttered a lot. Then he heard the voice on the other end suddenly become lower, and it sounded like someone stealing something.
"Boss Lu, I have my final exam. Let's not talk about it for now. The invigilator is coming over... Damn, he's holding a bamboo pole. I'm a star student!"
"?"
Lu Zhichuan was stunned for a long time, and then he realized that the phone was hung up, but the other party sent a text message saying that he was taking an exam and was very sorry.
To be honest, he was confused.
Especially the three words "final exam", which made him feel like his head was buzzing.
A college student? Yes, the boss of Pintuan.com is a college student. It is written in the information. Damn, can a college student make the entire group buying market like this? Lashou.com is such a rubbish! At this moment, Lu Zhichuan's secretary pushed open his door: "Mr. Lu, Mr. Wu from Lashou.com has been waiting for you in the conference room for half an hour."
"Got it. I'll come right over after I finish this cup of tea."
"OK."
Lu Zhichuan picked up the teacup and drank it expressionlessly. Ten minutes later, he stood up and went to the conference room to meet Wu Bo, the boss of Lashou.com, and his team.
The people in the conference room exchanged a few pleasantries and talked about recent business. Finally, Wu Bo explained his purpose, which was to seek funding.
They decided to vigorously develop markets below third-tier cities and enter second- and third-tier cities in the south.
It’s true that they cannot beat group buying, but Nuomi is their old rival. When facing this website, they win more than they lose, and they are determined to win the southern market.
As for group buying in first-tier cities, that will be left to Dianping.com. Didn’t they say when they first started that they would either not do it or only do it in first-tier cities?
After hearing about the LaShou team’s adjustments to the future direction, Lu Zhichuan thought for a long time.
Pintuan didn’t seem to have any intention of cooperating, otherwise, how could he give up a cooperation just because of a final exam? And he personally signed the Lashou deal and had invested hundreds of millions of yuan. Giving up now would be a waste of money…
Forget it, a lame horse is at least still a horse. What's more, Lashou is still the website with the highest market share in the second- and third-tier cities in the north. It has not yet reached the point where it is regarded as junk.
Moreover, Lashou.com's later planning is indeed feasible and can be seen as a way out. What's more, Lu Zhichuan knows that Alibaba has a bigger killer weapon that can help Lashou.com come back to life.
"Mr. Wu, we will hold a meeting to discuss the next round of capital injection."
Hearing this, Wu Bo raised the corner of his mouth, and the gloom in his eyes eased a little.
To be honest, Lashou.com has performed terribly in the past six months, and it is a bit difficult for him to ask for money.
When the group buying market was just established, he was firmly in the top position. He was extremely tough when negotiating with Alibaba. Even though he was eventually merged into Alibaba, every word he said during the negotiations was powerful.
In less than half a year, the situation turned out like this, and the guy who beat him up and made him bleed was the college student group buying website that he had never taken seriously.
Thinking of this, Wu Bo sighed subconsciously, and this action was accurately captured by Lu Zhichuan.
"Mr. Wu, don't worry too much. There is no such thing as a permanent winner in the business world, and you don't need to take a short-term loss too seriously."
Wu Bo was stunned for a moment: "What does Mr. Lu mean by this?"
Lu Zhichuan waved to his secretary and whispered a few words in her ear. Then he saw the wasp-waisted secretary walking out of the meeting room with long black stockings and legs, and then brought back a stack of promotional brochures about Alipay.
Wu Bo took it and looked through it for a long time, his eyes gradually widening.
"Alipay obtained a payment license last month and is currently undergoing internal testing. It is expected to be launched soon. The future group purchase market will definitely be dominated by mobile payments."
Lu Zhichuan raised his lips and said, "The state has very strict control over payment licenses. This is not only a technical barrier, but also a policy barrier. Do you think group buying still has a way out? Do we have to rely on U-Shield to continue doing business?"
Wu Bo frowned instantly, and a strange light flashed in his eyes.
The mobile Internet has developed very rapidly in the past year, and their company is also working hard to develop apps. If Alipay can connect with Lashou, then group buying will really be nothing to worry about.
By then, all the advantages accumulated by group buying will disappear due to the change of the carrier. By then, the huge business accumulated by group buying may directly become someone else's wedding dress!
"Mr. Lu, when will Alipay be launched?"
"They are not in the same business group as our investment department. I am not clear about their business progress yet. How about this, I will invite Mr. Pang to come over at noon, and we can chat while we eat."
“Okay, okay…”
"But Mr. Wu, don't take it lightly. As far as I know, Tencent and Baidu have also obtained payment licenses, so your biggest competitors are still Dianping and Nuomi.com. You must be cautious with every step you take next."
After the meeting, Wu Bo and his team still felt like they were dreaming. They hadn’t recovered until they walked out of the door of the investment department.
To be honest, from the battle in Shanghai, to the battle in Shenzhen, and finally the battle in Kyoto, people on Lashou.com would feel despair whenever they heard the name of group buying.
But they didn't expect that they would encounter a fortune after coming to Hangzhou! The mobile Internet market is just around the corner. With the protection of the third-party payment platform, even if Lashou loses the Kyoto market, it will definitely catch up in the future.
The most important thing is that there is no Internet giant behind group buying, and his company does not have the qualifications to obtain a payment license. In other words, as soon as Alipay goes online, group buying will almost collapse across the board!
Damn it, isn't this a way to avenge the previous humiliation? At 11 o'clock in the morning, Wu Bo received a call from Lu Zhichuan, and rushed to the hotel without stopping, entered the private room, and met Alipay CEO Pang Rui.
Pang Rui thought it was just a simple meal, but she didn't expect there would be a third person, so she looked a little surprised.
"Who is this?"
"Let me introduce you. This is Mr. Wu from Lashou."
Lu Zhichuan pulled Wu Bo over and let the two of them get to know each other: "As you know, the group buying market is a very important part of our group's development plan, but the recent group buying market is really not peaceful."
Pang Rui nodded calmly: "Because of the group purchase?"
"Yes, now the entire group buying market has been messed up by the group buying. Old Wu is also very troubled and has been changing his development strategy recently. I told him not to worry, after all, our Alipay has obtained the payment license."
Wu Bo also took the opportunity to say, "Mr. Pang, Lashou.com is willing to work hand in hand with Alipay."
During the subsequent meal, Lu Zhichuan and Wu Bo kept talking about the implementation plan after the cooperation between Lashou.com and Alipay, as well as the support and mutual benefit of both parties.
The general meaning is that Alipay can directly carry out targeted promotion through Lashou's offline channels and flourish everywhere. Pang Rui nodded repeatedly, showing great interest, and even clinked glasses with Wu Bo.
After the meal, Wu Bo seemed to have put his heart at ease. After saying goodbye, he returned to the hotel, feeling like the wedding dress he had bought in the group purchase was now on his body.
Lu Zhichuan and Pang Rui returned to the headquarters together, but when they arrived at the door of the headquarters, Pang Rui suddenly stopped Lu Zhichuan.
"Does Mr. Lu know the boss of the group buying business?"
"I know, a college student named Jiang Qin, but I just can't believe it. Mr. Pang, do you think there are really college students who can do business to this extent?"
Pang Rui nodded calmly: "Yes, Jiang Qin."
Lu Zhichuan stopped and was slightly stunned: "Mr. Pang knows him?"
"We met, on National Day two years ago, and I initially thought he was a very capable businessman, but now I think he's scary."
"?"
(End of this chapter)
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