Chapter 536: Total Collapse
Internet business platforms such as group buying actually have some natural opposition with merchants. After all, you have to take a cut from their sales, which is inevitable.
Moreover, group buying has not yet settled payments with merchants, so it stands to reason that it should not receive support from any brand.
The most outrageous thing is that 80% of these brands have never cooperated with group buying.
Especially I like sweet milk tea.
I remember when the group buying market entered its wild growth period, everyone was desperately trying to snatch merchants and relying on the unparalleled strength of the group buying push. They once threatened Lashou.com to get out and almost had a fight at Xitian's Xijing branch.
At that time, Xitian’s legal representative Fang Xiaoxuan publicly stated that group buying was too overbearing and rude.
It is said that in November, they suspended their cooperation for a long time because of this incident.
But what is the situation now? Dianping has been stood up by more than half of the well-known brands, and Jiang Qin seems to have known it first.
"Don't be anxious or panic. Notify the Ministry of Commerce and call to verify."
Zhang Tao acted promptly and began to arrange the tasks.
"clear."
"Also, give some red envelopes to the media and tell them to postpone the signing ceremony. Don't let them come here to take pictures."
"Okay boss, I'll arrange it right away."
Yang Xueyu nodded and walked out of the banquet hall. However, shortly after he left, the door was pushed open again.
A slightly fat man in a dark blue suit walked in, looked around the venue, greeted a few people in the fourth row, and then walked straight to the right side of the first row.
After sitting down, the man looked around and found that there was no one around. He was a little confused, as if he had not expected this situation.
Seeing this scene, Zhang Tao and Chen Jiaxinyu instantly became alert, then chased after him and stood in front of him.
"Hello, I'm Zhang Tao, the boss of Dianping.com, and this is our general manager Chen Jiaxin. May I ask who you are?"
"Ah, Mr. Zhang, Mr. Chen, hello, I am Guan Deshan, the North China regional manager of Burger King."
"Hello, Manager Guan. I've heard a lot about you. Are you here for the signing ceremony?"
"Yes, our boss said that Burger King will always be a close partner of Dianping. But I seem to have come too early. Why haven't they come yet?"
"Maybe we're still on the way. Please sit down first. I'll ask someone to make you some tea."
After Zhang Tao finished speaking, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief, and his tense nerves gradually relaxed.
That’s right. There is still some time before the signing conference. Those who come here are small businesses. They come early to expand their network. Big brands basically put on airs, so it’s not surprising that they come a little late.
Jiang Qin must have taken a look here when he came, and found that there was no one in the first three rows, so he deliberately set off a smoke bomb. Damn, what a fool!
But at this moment, Guan Deshan's cell phone suddenly rang. He said sorry to Zhang Tao and Chen Jiaxin, then turned around and answered the phone.
The person who called was a manager from the headquarters. After just a few words, Guan Deshan's smile gradually faded, until it finally froze on his face and disappeared without a trace.
"Um, sorry, Mr. Zhang, I have to go first."
Zhang Tao was a little surprised: "What's wrong? What happened?"
"Um...my wife is giving birth."
Guan Deshan pocketed his cell phone and walked outside in a panic, muttering to himself, with confusion written all over his face.
Didn’t we agree to be as close as one family with Dianping? Why are you suddenly saying that you are really one family with Pintuan?
This is like a foster child who starts to call you mom and dad, but then someone comes out and says you are the biological child of the neighbor next door. What the hell is going on! Guan Deshan quickly opened his Weibo and deleted all the previous Weibo posts that followed Dianping to criticize the broken funding chain of group buying. He should be a clean person and do things with integrity! "Boss Guan, Boss Guan!"
"?"
Zhang Tao chased after him for a few steps and saw that Guan Deshan was running faster and faster, his face began to become extremely embarrassed.
If only the brands in the first three rows had not arrived yet, he would still be hoping for a lucky break, but Guan Deshan's quick escape was like the final blow, hitting him directly in the heart.
It's not a smokescreen, something really happened.
Although he didn't know how the other party did it, those partners who were invited in advance probably wouldn't come. When this thought came up, Zhang Tao couldn't help but sweat profusely.
At the same time, Zhang Li hurried over from behind, came to Chen Jiaxin breathlessly, and handed over the mobile phone he had been holding in his hand.
The screen was unlocked, and on it was a photo of the storefront of a Xitian milk tea shop branch. In the photo, a joint poster of Xitian and Pintuan was pasted on the glass window of Xitian, which said that new products were on the shelves and could be purchased through Pintuan.
"A collaboration between Xitian and Pintuan?"
"It's not just sweet, there's more to come..."
Hearing Zhang Li's panting, Chen Jiaxin immediately looked back for photos.
Heli Lao, Green Pepper Grilled Fish, Burger King, Meiye KTV, Dadi Cinema, Xianhui Xiansheng, Roadside Chuanchuan, Qianben Foot Bath, Yangji, Kame-Chrysanthemum Sushi, BC Self-service Steak, Vienna Hotel, Hon-flavor Ramen...
All the major chain brands have posted joint posters with group buying in their stores and even launched exclusive packages for them.
Among them, there are two photos about Dadi Cinema. The second one states that if you buy tickets through group buying, you will get an extra small portion of popcorn and cola.
After looking at these photos, Chen Jiaxin’s eyes went dark and she took three steps back before she could steady herself.
Jiang Qin used a refund and an advertisement to win the hearts of consumers across the Internet, but it would be useless if he didn't have cooperative merchants. If all these brands joined the group buying...
With such a large number of consumers and the best merchants, group buying will see a huge surge in orders tonight.
Starting from a week ago, step by step, they hyped up public opinion, established their personal image, and finally signed a joint letter with merchants. Chen Jiaxin felt as if something had collapsed and weighed directly on them.
But before she could catch her breath, their boss suddenly started calling for security not far away.
Chen Jiaxin turned her head and saw a large group of reporters and photographers pushing the door and rushing in. They were taking pictures of the scene frantically, shooting forwards, backwards, and diagonally, shooting from all angles.
Although the hotel security responded promptly, some reporters still rushed to the front desk and frantically took photos of the first three rows where there was no one.
"Why are reporters here? Where is Yang Xueyu? Where are the others?"
"Boss, I... I'm here!"
Zhang Tao's eyes turned red. "Didn't I tell you to give some red envelopes to the media and not let them come here? What on earth is going on?"
Yang Xueyu panted and shook his head: "The red envelopes have been sent out, and the media people have agreed, but these reporters are not invited by us."
At this moment, a female reporter in a windbreaker suddenly rushed over with a microphone in hand: "Mr. Zhang, it's said online that Dianping's funding is about to be cut off. Is this true?"
Before Zhang Tao could open his mouth, another reporter rushed over: "Mr. Zhang, half of the merchants at the signing ceremony didn't come. Is there really a problem with Volkswagen's funds?"
"Mr. Zhang, there are rumors online that Xitian can't get the payment from Dianping and will terminate the contract with Dianping. Is this true?"
"Mr. Zhang..."
"Mr. Zhang, please answer the question."
"Mr. Zhang, Dianping refused to respond to the refund issue and even booked two luxurious halls for debauchery. Do they really care about consumers?"
Zhang Tao felt like he had tinnitus, with a buzzing sound constantly surrounding his ears. He could only hear the media reporters constantly calling out "Mr. Zhang."
Chen Jiaxin next to her was also surrounded by reporters. Facing the same question, she opened her mouth but didn't know how to respond.
Why did rumors spread online that Dianping’s funding was cut off? It was because of group buying.
Because Yang Xueyu had just said it, Jiang Qin admitted that he had also prepared a group of experts to spread rumors that their funding chain was broken.
But Dianping is not afraid, because simple rumors alone are unlikely to cause too much of a sensation.
Why did the rumor-mongering group buying succeed? It was because Tuanbao.com was very popular in the early days.
But once the photos of the venue were leaked, some things were not so simple, because their venue was really half empty, including the first three rows.
Volkswagen originally wanted to gather all the big brands, pretend to sign a contract or something, and guide the remaining small and medium-sized businesses to side with Volkswagen, but if these photos were to leak, then the problem with Dianping would be confirmed.
When merchants find out that all the big brands have left, how can they trust you even if you can prove that you have sufficient funds?
Who knows what major hidden dangers your company has? Otherwise, why would all the big brands run away?
They had never thought of this situation before...
At the same time, in the banquet hall next door, the seminar was about to begin. Jiang Qin had already taken his seat, occasionally fiddling with his mobile phone, and occasionally looking up in a daze, with no other emotions visible on his face.
"Mr. Jiang is so awesome. Dianping is trying to show off by sticking his face to him, but he can still remain so calm."
"Yes, the consumer problem has been solved, but how do they solve the trust problem of merchants? Once the signing ceremony next door is held, it is estimated that more merchants will leave group buying and join Dianping."
"Time is too short. It is very rare for President Jiang to be able to force public opinion to this extent. As long as he can win the favor of consumers, his next business venture will definitely attract much attention."
Everyone was talking at once and had already started to arrange Jiang Qin's next entrepreneurial venture, and the time in the venue was moving forward little by little.
Soon, it was five o'clock in the evening, which was the starting time of the seminar.
But what is strange is that there are two seats in the front that have always been empty, one belongs to Zhang Tao and the other belongs to Chen Jiaxin.
"Two minutes left. Where are the people from Dianping?"
"I was here just now, but I went out after receiving a phone call."
"The time has come. I'm not going to be late."
(End of this chapter)
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