2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 331 "Boss Tan, Who Doesn't Like to Boast"

The small conference hall was packed with media from across the province and some from other provinces.

Some of the reporters were worldly-wise and privately complained that the hotel was just so-so, but there was nothing they could do about it; at this point, it was the best hotel in Beicang.

There are no Hiltons or similar establishments these days; even large shopping malls only have RT-Mart.

When Tan Jincheng came in, he also felt that the place was a bit small. It was just that the investment cycle for hotels was too long, so it wasn't very interesting. Otherwise, it would be nice to build a luxury hotel in Beicang.

"Next time we hold a press conference, we should learn from Lü Yuan and hold it in Hangzhou."

The headquarters of Greenland is in Ham City, and they often hold press conferences in Hangzhou. In addition to the convenient transportation, they may also be facing the same problem as Beicang: they don't have a good venue for press conferences.

We can't exactly go to the municipal administrative conference hall, can we? No company has that qualification yet.
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Wuxi.

In the office of the CEO of Xinri, located in the electric vehicle industrial park, Zhang Congxun's mood plummeted to rock bottom.

He abruptly interrupted his trip to return home after being away on business for more than half a month, only to have his home burgled!

Yu Lin submitted his resignation to him.

This is definitely an event that could cause turmoil in the chip industry; it is very serious, and its consequences are no less than Flash's loss of most of Tan Jincheng. It will cause turmoil in the chip industry.

The cost of poaching Yu Lin would definitely be higher than that of Zhou Ao. Zhang Jian was fully aware of the difference in their value and strength, so poaching Zhou Ao first was also to reduce the company's costs.

However, since he hadn't succeeded, Yu Lin couldn't afford to fail.

Xu Qihua talks about money with Zhou Ao, but with someone as established as Yu Lin, she talks about ideals. Yu Lin's position is not just that of marketing director, but the second-in-command of Aima.

The establishment of market channels, marketing planning, advertising and other aspects will be entirely entrusted to Lin. What will become of Ai Ma, and whether it will become the next Shan Chi, will depend entirely on the results Lin achieves.

Simply put, Zhang Jian provides the capital, and Yu Lin provides the effort. The two partners work together to make the company bigger and stronger, and if they do well, they might even get shares.

For Lin, this promise was very tempting. He had already proven himself in marketing, and he was not short of money. Now he had the opportunity to showcase his talents and help a company go from a novice to a nationally renowned enterprise.

After nearly 20 days of repeated persuasion from Xu Qihua, and with Zhang Jian even making a personal trip to Wuxi, Yu Lin was finally moved.

Another reason that cannot be said is that the rise of FlashCycs last year caused some conflict between Yu Lin and Zhang Congxun in their ideas. Based on his professional sensitivity, Yu Lin suggested to Zhang Congxun that they should pay attention to FlashCycs.

At the time, Zhang Congxun was in high spirits and didn't pay much attention. But this year, such an important plan as an Olympic sponsor was lost due to Flash's obstruction, making the relationship between the two even more delicate.

Zhang Congxun may not even know that Flash's successful thwarting of Chip Japan was partly due to Tan Jincheng's knowledge of the historical process, and partly due to his loose tongue.

If it weren't for that visit, when Zhang Congxun boasted to Tan Jincheng that they had signed an international superstar, Tan Jincheng wouldn't have reacted so quickly and swiftly secured Jay Chou as a countermeasure.

Tan Jincheng knew that Chip Day would sign that international superstar, but he didn't know when he signed him.

When a senior executive formally submits their resignation to the CEO, it basically means there's no chance of them being retained.

Unlike the impulsive resignations of ordinary employees, these executives, who are financially secure and have extensive networks, have made their voluntary departures after careful consideration. They either started their own businesses or found more ideal opportunities elsewhere.

Yu Lin's sudden resignation disrupted Zhang Congxun's work rhythm. Although he knew that he could not be retained, the necessary procedures still had to be followed. In addition, there was the question of how to fill the vacancy in the marketing department after Yu Lin's departure.

Fortunately, I wasn't leaving immediately; there was a grace period, so the marketing department's work didn't come to a standstill.

Zhang Congxun has been an entrepreneur for many years. Although he has not experienced many major setbacks, he has seen his share of ups and downs. Yu Lin's departure is a loss for Xinri, but it is not enough to make Zhang Congxun lose his composure.

He followed the normal procedures to retain them, and also personally took over the marketing department, made adjustments to the personnel, and purged Yu Lin's cronies.

"Sigh, if only I could do all the planning myself like Xiao Tan does, then there would be no harm in digging it up."

He comes from a sales background; he's good at running business and building relationships with local governments, but he's lacking when it comes to marketing. Actually, many bosses are similar to him now; they either come from a sales background or are sales professionals who switched careers.

The tricks and gimmicks that Xinri pulled in its early development were mostly Lin's doing, and the reason why Yadi is so low-key is because it lacks a strong marketing talent.

Tan Jincheng's path is different from theirs. FlashChe occasionally releases news about itself. Apart from not actively promoting itself, it is largely similar to Lei Jun's path and is more like an "internet celebrity" entrepreneur.

There's nothing wrong with being an internet celebrity entrepreneur. With the development of the times and increasingly fierce competition, companies need exposure and publicity. Tan Jincheng has simply brought these things forward.

"First of all, I would like to inform our media friends and consumers about the achievements we have made since the establishment of Flash Motors one year ago. As of today, our production capacity in September is completely full, and the orders for the fourth quarter are also very impressive. The sales volume for the whole year of 2006 can be roughly estimated at 42.62 vehicles! Of which, the overseas part accounts for about 12%."

As soon as he finished speaking, gasps of amazement rose from below, and even the Beicang leaders in attendance were overjoyed.

At the 2005 annual meeting, Tan Jincheng announced that the total sales volume for 2006 would reach 20 vehicles. When this news spread, many people thought that this young man was simply too arrogant. In the last few months of 2005, their sales volume was only 3.8 vehicles. Could a growth rate of more than 5 times be achieved in just one year?
然而，谁也没想到2006年闪驰会以超过预期131%，2005年度全年11.2倍的增幅完成2006年的销量预期。

If this figure is accurate, annual sales of 42.62 vehicles would secure a place in the top three, with a strong chance of securing second place. As for first place, it will still be Xinri, whose sales forecast for this year is between 50 and 60 vehicles, a five-fold increase compared to last year.

Given Flash's growth rate, if they had been given the full-year sales volume last year, it's hard to say who would be number one in the industry. Most importantly, Flash's overseas channels have also performed quite well.

With an annual export capacity of over 5 electric vehicles, this company prioritizes overseas markets, making it a pioneer in the industry.

It hasn't been many years since China joined the WTO, and ordinary people are still quite proud of the idea of ​​earning foreign exchange. Shanchi Group not only has clothing and electronic product export businesses, but now it also exports electric vehicles, truly embodying the concept of earning foreign exchange in its very bones.

"All of this is inseparable from the support of consumers and all sectors of society, including the Beilun District Government, as well as the efforts of all employees of FlashChe. The company has decided to give all employees a raise on the occasion of the company's first anniversary, with management receiving a 15% raise and frontline employees receiving a 20% raise."

"In addition, we piloted a program this summer to reunite left-behind children with their parents. A total of 37 left-behind children came to Beicang to reunite with their parents, and the results were very good. In the future, Flash will continue to implement this program and strive to seek more benefits for our employees."

After reporting the results, Tan Jincheng paused for a moment, and then said, "Okay, these are the achievements of our electric vehicle business. Looking back, we should look to the future. Next, I will talk about the future plans for the electric vehicle business."

“Sales of 50 are clearly no longer our goal. Next, Flash Motors’ electric vehicle business will strive to achieve total sales of over one million and annual sales of over one million. I hope that we can achieve these goals within the next three years.”

Within three years, our goal is to become a large-scale industrial company with sales reaching 10 billion RMB!

"Given the explosive growth of the electric vehicle market and the increased sales expectations of our own company, the existing production capacity can no longer meet market demand. In addition to the Beicang Industrial Base, which will be put into production on New Year's Day next year, and the Tianjin Industrial Base, which is under construction, Flash Motors will also build a third industrial base in the future."

"Over the next three years, FlashTech will have at least three industrial bases across the country, creating jobs for more than 2500 grassroots employees. In addition, we will increase our investment in research and development, allocating no less than 10% of our net profit to R&D each year to complete industrial upgrading."

After the review and outlook, a Q&A session began. Some reporters had already started raising their hands, and Tan Jincheng casually called on a reporter who looked somewhat familiar.

"First of all, congratulations to Mr. Tan on the company's achievement on its first anniversary. Secondly, I wish FlashCheer can achieve its sales targets in the next three years. I would like to ask if FlashCheer has any plans to go public?"

"Of course, businesses want to go public, and Flash is no exception. Going public is a part of future development, but it depends on the market environment. In addition, I have limited education and do not know much about finance. In the future, I will study this knowledge seriously and strive not to fall behind in the company's development."

"The theme of the press conference is Flash Group, and we've only talked about the electric vehicle business so far. Could Mr. Tan tell us about Flash Group's other businesses?"

Without a doubt, those who asked the first questions were all "plants." Otherwise, it would be so boring if only Tan Jincheng was speaking on stage, giving a dry introduction without any interaction.

"Of course. The reason it's called a group is that its business is definitely not just a single part. As everyone knows, I originally did the garment export business, and I haven't given up on that yet."

"Jinpeng Trading, formerly known as Jinpeng Industry, has now been merged into Shanchi Group and has its own brand. Currently, there is a factory under construction in my hometown. In addition, Jinpeng Industry is also planning to invest in another large garment factory in Beicang. The two factories are expected to solve the employment problem for nearly 3000 employees."

"In addition, Hangxin New Energy Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of the company, is committed to the research and development and production of lithium batteries. We have already cooperated with Beicang City Investment and acquired a piece of land in Chunxiao Town. In the future, we will build a lithium battery factory, which will also solve the employment problem of more than 1,000 people after completion."

Has Flashpoint Technology finalized its third industrial base? Is there a specific location for it?

"Not yet. There are a few locations that I'm interested in, but we're still looking into them."

Tan Jincheng's presentation and the Q&A session with the reporter were packed with information, revealing not only the remarkable achievements FlashCheer had made over the past year, but also the company's long-term plans.

Total sales exceeding one million units is no problem at all; it might even be achieved next year. And the goal of exceeding one million units in annual sales is actually the target for the next three years. This is just as impressive as the expected sales of 20 units for 2006 that was announced last year.

But at this point, no one would take it as a joke anymore.

In addition to these, it was also mentioned that FlashTech plans to build one or more industrial bases. Furthermore, Jinpeng Trading has moved from a pure trading company into the real economy, and its first move was to build two large garment factories.

There are also lithium battery factories, and both of these require large investments.

The electric vehicle factory will create 2500 new employees, the garment factory 3000, and let's say the lithium battery factory will create 1000. Combined with the existing scale, Flash Group will create at least 8000 jobs in the next three years!

This is already a large company, and local governments would welcome such a company anywhere. No wonder Beicang District treats FlashCar like its own son.

The key point is that, apart from the questionable annual sales exceeding one million, all of what Boss Tan mentioned are projects that are already underway. In other words, Boss Tan is not exaggerating at all, and is even being somewhat conservative.

In addition, although he did not explicitly acknowledge the listing plan, it was essentially a tacit agreement. If annual sales can reach one million vehicles and sales revenue exceeds 10 billion yuan, then listing would be a relatively simple matter.

Having secretly come to join the fun, Tan Lihua sat in a corner watching his son speak eloquently on stage, his heart filled with complex emotions.

A series of data proved that FlashChe had become a large group company capable of solving the employment problem for tens of thousands of employees, which made him understand more deeply why he had been invited to dinner by many people lately.

According to Flash's sales forecast for 2006, the annual sales revenue has exceeded 5 million yuan, which is more than the total GDP of Wangjiang's secondary industry last year and more than one-fifth of the county's total GDP!
That's more than ten times the county's fiscal revenue! If I were the leader, I'd have to maintain a good relationship with Xiao Tan's father too. As long as you're from Yicheng, it doesn't matter if you don't come back now; you'll come back eventually.

The press conference was still ongoing, and the Q&A session was also continuing, but Tan Lihua's thoughts had already wandered, and he was currently lost in thought, not having clearly heard the specific content.

At some point, a reporter asked, "Mr. Tan, what is your relationship with Orange Technology, the company behind the recently viral Kaixin.com?"

(End of this chapter)