Chapter 531: Merge with Dianping
The group buying industry summit forum hosted by Dianping was held in Kyoto, and the most luxurious venue was booked, mobilizing almost half of the manpower and material resources.
However, in the eyes of the guests, this behavior did not highlight their magnanimity, but instead made them seem a little guilty.
To put it simply, the public also understands that even though group buying is surrounded by negative news, its status is still not number one. It can only use the splendor to prop up the "virtual" part and sit in the top spot.
But when the forum ended, overwhelming news spread...
Those large chain brands will surely flock to it, and then Dianping will have a firm foothold.
"I heard that the boss of the group buying business is coming too."
"Of course I heard about it. If President Jiang didn't come, we wouldn't be able to come either."
"I don't quite understand what this person is thinking. It's fine to send a city manager to the scene, but isn't it the same as standing up for the opponent if he personally goes there?"
“Maybe it’s because of the financing.”
"What's the meaning?"
"According to the grapevine, Alibaba and Tencent sent delegations to attend the meeting."
"Are we going to join forces to attack the group?"
“I don’t know the specifics, but Dianping has made a lot of money this time.”
The first night of the symposium was a welcome reception, which was a setting for informal conversation.
Luo Ping and Robin from Lashou.com, Kang Jingtao who had failed in Shenzhen, Chang Jiangsong from Nuomituan, and Bao Renwei, the general manager and CEO of WoWotuan, all five of them were present at the event, and the discussion never stopped.
They were not really friends, and were even fighting for territory before they came.
But when it comes to business, both substance and appearance are important, so people won’t fight with each other offline.
Especially Changjiangsong, when he arrived at the cocktail party, he made a humble gesture to let others go first.
"No smoking in the hotel, smoke one outside, do you guys smoke?"
"Okay, let's have one."
"Hey, Huazi, I'll have one too."
The five people each had a cigarette, wandered around the hall for a while, and finally entered the empty banquet hall next door.
On the one hand, it is convenient for smoking, and on the other hand, it is also convenient for talking.
But when they all walked into the banquet hall, they were stunned before they lit their cigarettes.
For no other reason, because they found that the layout of this banquet hall was similar to the one next door, especially the sign in front, which also had the Dianping sign.
But the words on that sign were different from the one next to it. It said “Signing Ceremony between Dianping and National Chain Brands”.
The date was interesting too, being the evening after the seminar.
Seeing this scene, the five people's scalps felt numb at the same time, and they thought Dianping was really terrible.
They want to publicly sign the former chain brand of the group buying in front of the media and peers, make the scene lively, connect the entire public opinion line together, and maximize the effect.
Imagine what would happen to the merchants who were already nervous when the seminar was broadcast and the signing conference was broadcast immediately afterwards? Everyone knew that the group buying had worked hard to appease the merchants during the week, but now it was all in vain, just like a shattered building with a hammer breaking the load-bearing wall.
“How cruel.”
Kang Jingtao lit up a cigarette and took two deep puffs: "Dianping must have hired a master in playing with public opinion. This time, group buying is like yellow mud falling into your pants. It's shit if not shit."
After hearing this, Robin and the others did not speak, but instead looked at the background board while smoking, and fell into deep thought.
When group buying entered Shanghai, it was besieged by Lashou and Nuomi. Everyone thought they would definitely collapse, but it managed to survive by signing contracts first.
Later, when the third-party payment platform came online, everyone was ready to take over the group buying business, but it ended up signing the contract first, allowing it to directly drive the other companies out of the four first-tier cities.
I thought this market was going to be like this, but I didn’t expect that group buying would really collapse this time.
The five of them finished smoking in silence, and suddenly they wanted to bring Jiang Qin over to see what it was like. They wanted to know how he would feel when he saw this scene.
"Has Mr. Jiang from the group buying team arrived?"
“I haven’t seen anyone yet.”
The five people entered the venue and looked around, and finally found the sign-in area, only to find out that Jiang Qin had not arrived yet.
In fact, there were more than just five of them. Many people were waiting for Jiang Qin at the cocktail party, including the bosses of major group buying websites, delegations from capital parties, media reporters, and major cooperative organizations in the group buying industry.
As we all know, group buying has been a big deal this month.
It would be fine if the problem was with myself, but I can only blame myself for taking the wrong path or for lack of ability.
But the current crisis is obviously caused by being targeted by others. I wonder if Jiang Qin can withstand this feeling of powerlessness.
As Kang Jingtao and others "accidentally revealed" the news, everyone knew what happened in the banquet hall next door, so they all opened their eyes wide, and some couldn't help but secretly run over to take a look.
When the signing ceremony was confirmed to be true, everyone thought of Jiang Qin and wondered how embarrassed and awkward he would be tomorrow.
"Jiang Qin seems to be here."
"where?"
"At the door, look at the door!"
Amidst the whispers, more than a hundred people in the venue all looked towards the door of the banquet hall, staring intently, and saw a young man slowly walk into the magnificent banquet hall.
He walked in with his head held high, dressed in a suit and tie. He was tall with a raised brow. He looked neither angry nor depressed. Instead, his expression was indifferent and no emotion could be seen.
There was a man following behind him, Yao Shengdong from the Kyoto branch. The two of them came one after the other and signed in at the sign-in area.
Many people at the scene saw Jiang Qin for the first time, and their first thought was that this guy looked really young.
For such a young person to stand at the top of the industry step by step under the siege of numerous competitors and almost become a unicorn is really enough to make everyone sigh.
But, that was in the past, only in the past.
"Sir, what kind of drinks do you need?"
"Apple juice, the kind in a champagne flute."
"Huh? Uh...oh, okay."
The waiter on the scene quickly brought a glass of apple juice in a champagne glass and handed it to Jiang Qin.
Jiang Qin took the cup in his hand and stepped into the crowd. He found that many people were looking at him, then whispering in low voices with a half-smile on their faces.
This expression is easy to interpret. To put it simply, everyone is waiting to see the joke of group buying.
At this moment, Chen Jiaxin, the iron lady of Dianping, and their boss Zhang Tao walked over and shook hands with Jiang Qin.
"Boss Jiang, seeing is believing."
Jiang Qin smiled slightly: "You got a bargain. You got to see a face worth more than six million for free."
"?"
Before Zhang Tao and Chen Jiaxin could react, many people gathered around, such as Chang Shisong from Nuomituan, the boss Shen Yang, and Wang Binliang, the boss of Wowotuan.
Everyone came over with wine glasses in hand and shook hands with him, with friendly expressions and polite words.
Because no matter what the group is like now, Jiang Qin's strength has conquered them. In this respect, Jiang Qin deserves respect.
Especially Zhang Tao, the boss of Dianping.com, even though he is actually a bit older than Jiang Qin, he still lowered the brim of his glass slightly.
"Mr. Jiang, do you have time? We have prepared a meeting room and someone wants to talk to you privately."
"In private? Okay."
Zhang Tao made a gesture of invitation, and Jiang Qin was invited into a small private reception room on the east side of the banquet hall.
Yang Xueyu was sitting in the reception room, and next to him was a person who was an old acquaintance of Jiang Qin, Peng Sheng, the investment manager of Tencent.
"Mr. Jiang, long time no see."
"Long time no see, Mr. Yang, and Mr. Peng."
Jiang Qin sat on the sofa opposite and looked at the two people.
Yang Xueyu was silent for a while and then spoke: "The recent public opinion is very unfavorable to group buying. I believe that Mr. Jiang is also very troubled. Mr. Peng and I came here this time to provide Mr. Jiang with a solution."
"Tell me about it."
"As you can see, we have invited a lot of media and celebrities to promote the event. Once the seminar is over tomorrow, Dianping will definitely become the most popular group buying website."
Yang Xueyu pursed his lips and said, "As for the group purchase, Mr. Jiang naturally knows what the outcome will be."
Jiang Qin looked at him calmly and motioned for him to continue.
"In an emerging industry, everything is unstable. The slightest disturbance can destroy a company, especially after public opinion arises. The company's image is fixed and difficult to change."
"What do consumers and merchants think of group buying now? It is fragile, unstable, and difficult to trust."
"I know you are very powerful. To be honest, I have been to Shanghai twice and every time I see you, I break out in a cold sweat. You are the most powerful businessman I have ever seen, bar none."
"But then again, how can you do business in this domestic environment without allies? Think about it, if you hadn't been fighting alone, how could you have been dragged down by public opinion to this point today?"
Jiang Qin was amused after listening to this: "Theorists really talk too much nonsense, let's get to the point."
Yang Xueyu pursed his lips and said, "Merge with Dianping and accept Tencent's investment. But don't worry about one thing. We will still operate independently and the group buying will still be yours. We will just support each other in business and achieve a win-win situation."
"When you talk about win-win, my scalp goes numb."
"Why?"
Jiang Qin looked out the window: "You may know too little about me. For me, a win-win situation is never about both people winning, but only about me winning twice."
Peng Sheng couldn't help but say, "Boss Jiang, public opinion has developed to this point, how come you win twice?"
"I'm afraid you'll win twice, but I want to know, if I agree to your request, what benefits can I get?"
"We will make public the news of your merger with Dianping at this seminar, and we will also make public the news of Tencent's investment. This way, the rumors of a funding shortage will naturally disappear!"
Jiang Qin picked up the teacup and took a sip: "What's the price?"
Yang Xueyu sat up straight and said, "In the future, Dianping will handle the group buying business. You can just focus on community group buying."
“…”
"Think about it."
Jiang Qin leaned on the sofa and was silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke: "To be honest, I haven't considered you as my opponent since 2009, but today you finally seem like my opponent."
Yang Xueyu looked at him: "What does Mr. Jiang mean?"
"Do you know how to eliminate the influence of public opinion?"
"ah?"
"In fact, this matter is simple. It is to use a more explosive event to attract attention, and then take advantage of this momentum to re-establish a personality. It is like copying and pasting a document, and the old one is gone."
Yang Xueyu was stunned for a moment and looked at Peng Sheng.
Jiang Qin put down the teacup in his hand: "Boss Yang is right. No one can do business alone. Even if I am as handsome as Daniel Wu, I can't control everything."
"Since President Jiang can understand, then this matter will be easy to discuss."
"No, what I mean is that you seem to have misunderstood. Who said that group fights are always done alone?"
"?"
Jiang Qin put down the teacup in his hand, stood up, straightened his suit, ignored their confused looks, turned around and left the meeting room.
The cocktail party at the summit forum did not last too long, as many people had to rush to some private events, such as foot massage and singing, after all, that is the end of business.
However, when leaving, many people saw Jiang Qin standing outside the banquet hall, puffing on his cigarette, and then suddenly he seemed to collapse and slammed the wall hard.
Seeing this scene, everyone couldn't help but look at each other in surprise.
As everyone has just seen, Dianping invited him into a special meeting room, which was probably a move to force him out, making this former unicorn feel difficult to accept.
Seeing this scene, everyone couldn't help but sigh.
Internet business is indeed like a bubble. You may build a huge building overnight, but it may also collapse overnight.
"Boss, is the person gone?"
"Yeah?"
Yao Shengdong nodded and put away the camera in his hand: "Except for the people from the public who are still inside, almost everyone else has left."
Jiang Qin threw away the cigarette butt: "Damn it, if you leave a little later, I will get lung cancer."
"What about us? Mr. Kang from Lashou.com came over just now and wants to invite you to wash his feet."
"Just wash up and go back to the hotel. Your lady boss is a super jealous person."
After Jiang Qin finished speaking, he turned around, walked down the stairs and headed towards the parking lot.
Yang Xueyu and Peng Sheng left the meeting room and met with Chen Jiaxin and the boss Zhang Tao.
"how's it going?"
Yang Xueyu shook his head: "We didn't reach an agreement."
Chen Jiaxin frowned, "It's come to this, and we still haven't reached an agreement?"
"No, but what he said was very strange."
"What's the meaning?"
"He told me that if you want to eliminate public opinion, you have to create new public opinion and then establish a persona in public opinion. He also said... group buying is never a one-man show."
(4,000 words, monthly ticket requested)
(End of this chapter)
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