2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 197 Flagship Store Opening

January 1, 2006, Sunday, the second day of the twelfth lunar month.

New Year's Day marks the start of a new year and a new cycle. The flowers bloom similarly year after year, but the people change from year to year.

Although the apartment in Liren Garden is not large, Tan Jincheng spent a lot of money on its renovation. The outside air is nothing special, but once you enter the room, it's a completely different world, complete with advanced equipment such as a fresh air system and underfloor heating.

Especially in winter, the indoor environment is exceptionally comfortable.

I remember seeing a post online in my past life where the questioner asked why rich people and celebrities don't wear thick down jackets like ordinary people in winter. The root cause is this.

Those with good living conditions live in warm, spring-like indoor environments and travel in luxury cars, so they don't need down jackets or similar clothing. In his previous life, at this time, Tan Jincheng was bundled up in thick clothes when he went out to sell his goods in the dead of winter, but he was still freezing like a dog.

However, in this life, he won't have to suffer like that again. Except for visiting the factory, Tan Jincheng rarely has the opportunity to wear a down jacket.

At nine o'clock in the morning, in the warm and spring-like room, Tan Jincheng woke up from his sleep. Looking at Gu Qingqing sleeping soundly beside him, he couldn't help but start touching her again.

Yes, this time it's the master bedroom.

After breaking through the final step, the young couple's relationship progressed rapidly. They would spend several nights together every week. Before long, Gu Qingqing was woken up by Tan Jincheng.

"Hey, what are you doing? It's so early in the morning. Let me sleep a little longer."

"It's past nine o'clock, and you're still sleeping? Aren't you hungry?"

"I'm not hungry. If you're hungry, you can go eat by yourself. I'm going to sleep a little longer. This place is much more comfortable than my dorm."

"Then come and stay more often when you have time, but you can't sleep now. I'm not hungry, but Xiao Xiao Tan is."

"Stop it, stop it, don't act like a hooligan; oh dear, brother, I was wrong."

Young bodies are easily ignited with passion, and before long, the room was filled with the warmth of spring; around 10 o'clock, the two, exhausted, began to have rumbled stomachs.

"Get up, have something to eat. It's the opening of a new store today, let's go check it out later."

"Okay, but I need to take a shower first, I'm all sweaty."

"Let's go together."

After nearly two months of preparation, the FlashTech Beic Warehouse flagship store officially opened today after a week of trial operation. Coinciding with the New Year's Day holiday, the scene was bustling with activity.

The brand store is located near the Xindalu Night Market, which is currently the most popular street in Beicang. It covers an area of ​​more than 500 square meters and can accommodate up to 1000 electric vehicles.

For electric vehicle dealerships, the more electric vehicles they have, the more impressive they appear.

Tan Jincheng didn't expect the shop to make much money; he just wanted a space to showcase his brand. Therefore, he spared no expense in terms of shop size and decoration. The shop wasn't rented; he bought it outright.

The overall decoration style leans towards postmodernism, somewhat similar to the style of later Apple and Xiaomi mobile phone brand stores. It is very simple and bright, which is very unconventional and eye-catching in an era that likes flashy things.

With the opening of a new store, promotion is naturally indispensable. In addition to television stations, traffic radio, taxi lights, and local forums, male and female part-time workers are scattered around the store entrance and the surrounding street, distributing promotional leaflets to passersby.

Today is New Year's Day, which is also Sunday. Although the weather is cold, it is fortunate that it is not raining.

This neighborhood has all kinds of clothing stores, mobile phone superstores, and even Yiwu small commodity market. It is the first place for Beicang residents to go shopping. In addition, there are many residential communities nearby, so the flow of people is very large on weekdays, and even more so on holidays.

These days, there are almost no "smartphone addicts." People shopping are genuinely shopping, and the streets are bustling with people, creating a vibrant and lively atmosphere.

Tan Jincheng didn't rush to the Flash Brand Store. He and Gu Qingqing held hands and strolled along the pedestrian street. First, they found a place to eat, and after a hearty meal, the two walked and strolled along the street.

As I walked near a large mobile phone store, a promotional brochure was handed to me; it was for their own flagship store.

"Celebrity actress Liu Yifei is the spokesperson for Fengchi Electric Vehicle, which is now available nationwide for the first time, giving you a different travel experience; grand opening promotion: introductory price of 2599 yuan, plus a gift package worth 599 yuan."

Below is a line of smaller print: the gift package includes a luxury five-piece electric vehicle set, warm gloves, a scarf, a moisturizing cup, and other items.

"Are these free gifts really worth that much money?" Gu Qingqing asked curiously, looking at the promotional brochure in her hand.

"Of course not, that's just promotional language. But if you actually go and buy it, it will probably cost two or three hundred yuan. I'm not really sure how much it will cost," Tan Jincheng said with a smile.

Having learned from the previous offline promotional plan for Flash, Tan Jincheng didn't pay much attention to this time's offline promotional plan for Windspeed, letting the marketing department develop the plan themselves. The marketing department today is not the same as it was at the beginning of the business; it would be unreasonable for Tan Jincheng to personally handle the promotional plan for an offline store like this again.

However, Tan Jincheng also suggested that more small gifts be added, especially those geared towards women.

Seeing the moisturizing cups, warm gloves, and scarves, Tan Jincheng knew that these people had taken his advice to heart.

"What if it really was purchased at 599?"

"How could that be? Although I've never bought these things, I'm not so ignorant as to be completely out of touch with reality. I know roughly how much they're worth. Besides, I have to sign off on the money. Of course, I won't be that strict. I don't mind skimming a little bit."

In fact, some of these small gifts were leftovers from the last Flashcar promotion. The actual purchase cost was not much. After deducting these small gifts, each electric vehicle would only have a discount of about two or three hundred yuan on a price of 2599 yuan.

The final price of the Fengchi is 2599 yuan. This is based on the results of market research. Compared with the Shanchi budget model, the Fengchi has the same cost except for the additional cost of paint on the exterior parts and the cost of different colors.

With nearly identical costs, one product sells for 1999 yuan and the other for 2599 yuan; this is the premium pricing strategy based on positioning.

Its beautiful appearance and nimble design justify the premium price, and in some regions it can even be included as part of the dowry for weddings, which is not uncommon.

Wedding supplies have evolved from the three major items of the last century, including bicycles, to motorcycles, electric vehicles, and now cars.

In the era when motorcycles were popular, they were used as part of dowries. After the ban on motorcycles, a considerable number of areas have replaced motorcycles with electric scooters. The ground promotion team has already provided feedback on this.

Retailers in some regions feel that Fengchi is very suitable for wedding products and even suggest adding this point to their advertising.

As for the additional costs incurred by Fengchi, Tan Jincheng has perfectly resolved them by investing in and partnering with Mingcan Moulding to establish a new company to serve the plastic parts business of Shanchi Technology.

The new company is named Mingcheng Industrial Co., Ltd., with a registered capital of 1000 million yuan. Shanchi Technology invested 300 million yuan, accounting for 28% of the total share capital, becoming its second largest shareholder.

The establishment of Mingcheng Industrial was entrusted to Zhang Mingcan, who will also be fully responsible for its future operation. As a reward for Zhang Mingcan's work and in anticipation of Mingcheng Industrial's development of new businesses in the future, Zhang Mingcan's share in Mingcheng Industrial was increased from 70% to 72%.

After both parties signed the cooperation agreement and FlashTech's funds were received, Zhang Mingcan began to prepare for the early stages of Mingcheng Industrial's establishment, including registering the company, selecting a site, contacting suppliers to purchase equipment, and recruiting employees.

Influenced by the Shanchi Industrial Base, the Beicang District Government's electric vehicle industrial park plan has been officially approved and is currently in the investment promotion stage. In addition to attracting foreign capital, there are also certain preferential policies for companies in the district that intend to relocate to the industrial park.

Against this backdrop, Mingcheng Industrial became one of the first companies to move into the electric vehicle industrial park.

Approaching 40, Zhang Mingcan has also experienced a second spring in his career, just like Zhang Haiping last year, entering a busy state before the New Year.

A drink, a peck, all have a certain number.

Without Zhang Mingcan's kindness this year, he might still be stuck with his Mingcan Moulding, worrying about business orders after the motorcycle ban. Or perhaps after a few years, Mingcan Moulding would have failed to transform in time, its factory would have shrunk in size until it finally closed down.

It's impossible to say which lifestyle is better, since even if the factory were to close, Zhang Mingcan's accumulated wealth would still allow him to live a comfortable life.

However, Tan Jincheng believes that Zhang Mingcan, who has been in business for most of his life, has no intention of retiring at around 40 years old. His truest desire is to strengthen and expand his business.

The two walked and stopped along the way, and soon arrived at the entrance of the Flash brand flagship store. As soon as they entered, Gu Qingqing couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow, the store is so beautifully designed, and it looks so bright."

The rows of electric vehicles looked quite impressive. As a brand that originated in Beicang, this was the first time that the two brands, Flash and Wind, had officially appeared in the Beicang market.

For the opening of this new store, FlashTech's marketing department and other relevant departments made full preparations. A total of 488 FlashTech vehicles of various colors were brought in, along with 200 FlashTech luxury models and 200 FlashTech affordable models, for a total of 888 vehicles, symbolizing good fortune.

The shop was purchased directly, and the electric vehicles were supplied directly from the local factory. The transportation costs were negligible. I had calculated before that, after deducting labor, utilities, fees, and other costs, a single FlashChe model priced at 1999 yuan could generate a profit of approximately 600 yuan, which is quite substantial.

The cost of the Fengchi is almost the same as the budget model, and the profit per car is even more outrageous. However, in order to promote the brand, the Fengchi's subsidies are relatively large, and it can earn about 1000 yuan for each car sold.

When business is good, this store's annual turnover and profit can be quite substantial. Since the directly operated store is located locally, costs can be controlled very well.

Of course, the costs of purchasing the store, decorating, and advertising in the early stages are not included in the calculation; these must be deducted when calculating net profit.

"Mr. Tan, congratulations on the grand opening of your new store!"

Just as Tan Jincheng was introducing the shop to Gu Qingqing, a congratulatory voice came from behind him.

(End of this chapter)