2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 445 The Unexpected Event of Tao's Father
There are no secrets in high-end circles; this is Tan Jincheng's biggest takeaway.

The fact that the second-in-command was considering leaving the company was something Lao Ding was able to find out about clearly in Hangzhou's high-end internet circles.

Sun's departure is basically a done deal, but the news was suppressed because Ali will be listed in Hong Kong on November 6 this year. At present, he is basically in a state of leisure.

If nothing unexpected happens, he should leave his job at the end of this year.

Speaking of Ali's listing, it seems to have caused quite a few Hong Kong stock investors to suffer. This thing has been jumping around, initially listed in Hong Kong, then delisted to the US, and then ran away from the US.

Pony Ma's stocks have allowed many retail investors to profit, while Old Ma's stocks only seem to be a trap. Looking at the return on investment since the company went public this year, it's clearly substandard.

The reason Lao Ding told Tan Jincheng this was not only to dig a pit for his neighbor, but also to win him over to some extent. Orange Technology had Tencent's investment, but its business did not conflict with their factory at all.

They are both enterprises from Zhejiang Province, and their headquarters are in Ningbo. They have a certain connection. Although a monopoly has not yet been formed, everyone is intentionally or unintentionally trying to expand their circle. In essence, they still want to develop in the direction of monopoly.

Tan Jincheng is bold and decisive, with no shortage of funds or connections. Whether Orange Products Club can succeed is unknown, but Orange Technology is on a good track record. Even without e-commerce business, it still has internet social games, providing ample cash flow.

Orange Technology's gaming division doesn't overlap much with or compete with our own. Tencent invested in it, but it's not like we can't invest in it ourselves; we can enter the same circle.

The concept of the Wuzhen Internet Conference has not yet been formed, but each company has already consciously begun to divide its own territory, especially old-school internet entrepreneurs like Lao Ding.

In truth, the spirit of brotherhood and loyalty is stronger in the internet industry than in traditional businesses. While business owners in traditional businesses tend to prioritize seniority, they will still mentor younger employees when the opportunity arises—it's a form of inheritance.

The internet is all about survival of the fittest. If Tan Jincheng doesn't have the ability to protect Orange Technology, registering more trademarks to protect himself will be useless. He will still be copied.

For example, if it weren't for seeing Tan Jincheng's strength and the powerful Orange Technology backed by Ningbo University, Brother Ma might have just copied it directly. As for going to court, well, go ahead and go for it.

Once the lawsuit is over, the money that was due has been made, and the users that were due have been acquired. If they really lose, they can just apologize and pay some compensation and that's it. Small companies are often squeezed out by this time, or if they are not, they are half-dead and have no room to survive.

Sun Tongyu was somewhat surprised when he received Boss Ding's call and learned the purpose of the call. It turned out that Boss Ding was contacting him on behalf of the behind-the-scenes boss of Orange Technology.

At the same time, I was also surprised by the other party's shrewdness. The news that I couldn't stay at Taobao was currently only limited to the internet circle in Hangzhou, and the news was still being suppressed.

Currently, we are in the quiet period surrounding the IPO of Ali. Although the news has inevitably spread to a certain range, and even some well-informed media outlets know about it, the official stance, including our own, is consistent: we do not acknowledge the matter.

The news was also suppressed in the media. Moreover, even within the company, apart from myself and a few other high-ranking executives like Mr. Ma who knew the truth of the matter, everyone else treated it as a rumor.

There is a quiet period before a company goes public, during which a lot of information cannot be released to the public. This period is also considered to be the time when the company is least likely to receive public attention during its listing process.

It's common for competitors to release misleading or false information to confuse and attack their rivals. Some companies even release major negative news during this window, leading to their failure to go public.

But this kid is really wild. He doesn't know if the news is true or false, and he doesn't care about the critical period of the listing. He just dares to make a date with me.

If the listing of Ali is disrupted because of him or other companies in Zhejiang Province, is he really not afraid?

Sun Tongyu definitely knew Tan Jincheng. Not only did he know Tan Jincheng, but he also knew that Tan Jincheng had opened several online stores on Taobao since the beginning of his business, using the names of his father and his business partner's father.

Later, these online stores were transferred to Jinpeng Industrial.

The reason he knew so much was because Tan Jincheng's online stores were very innovative. Whether it was the early free shipping to Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai, or the frequent flash sales, even the practice of buying fake positive reviews and using suggestive images to attract traffic to his QQ underwear store, these methods were all very attention-grabbing. He knew both legitimate and illegitimate methods. The clothes sold in his stores weren't particularly outstanding, but the traffic and sales were excellent.

People in the industry look down on Tan Jincheng, an outsider who doesn't understand the internet but is doing very well in the internet circle. Or perhaps they are just a little jealous.

But Sun Tongyu had watched Tan Jincheng's Taobao shops grow step by step, selling ordinary products but managing to raise the shop's rating higher and higher.

Free shipping in the Yangtze River Delta region has captured the hearts of consumers in key online shopping areas. Even if the same product is a few dollars more expensive with free shipping, consumers will prioritize the free shipping option. As for QQ Underwear's traffic generation methods, they have perfectly grasped the mindset of internet users.

You know what, his QQ underwear shop is a really good business, with a return rate of almost zero.

Starting an online store from the very beginning of his business and creating his own unique style, making him a model for many competing businesses, do you think someone like that doesn't understand the internet? Sun Tongyu doesn't believe it.

Opinions vary on whether Tan Jincheng understands the internet, but he believes that Tan Jincheng understands e-commerce, and is quite knowledgeable about it.

Of course, Sun Tongyu also knew why Tan Jincheng had approached him. It was simply because he had heard rumors that he was about to leave his job and wanted to invite him to work at Orange Products Club. He knew about Orange Products Club project of Orange Technology.

As the group's second-in-command and the person in charge of Taobao, Sun Tongyu collected a lot of information about new competitors in the market, such as the development of JD.com and the establishment of Vancl.

He also paid attention to the establishment of all vertical e-commerce websites such as Orange Products Club. With the development period of online shopping approaching, Taobao is facing increasing competitive pressure. From the information he collected about competitors, Sun Tongyu also discovered many shortcomings of Taobao.

Taobao's revenue last year and its revenue forecast for this year have both achieved incredible growth, but at the same time, it has also been accompanied by a lot of criticism for counterfeit goods, making it a mixed bag. The group intends to build a mall that is different from the existing system.

By setting higher entry barriers, we can filter out counterfeit goods and improve the group's revenue.

Sun Tongyu agrees with this point, but he clashed with Mr. Ma over how to treat existing small and medium-sized businesses. Mr. Ma did not quite agree with his opinion, and after several disagreements on their philosophies, Mr. Ma, who had also been at the peak of his popularity and led his company to go public, also began to dislike him.

Sun Tongyu also knew that he had too much prestige in the Taobao system. There were rumors everywhere that he was the father of Taobao, which was undoubtedly a challenge to Jack Ma's authority.

Even without ideological differences, his stepping down to a secondary position was inevitable.

However, I didn't expect it to happen so quickly.

Tan Jincheng's invitation to meet at this time is undoubtedly very sensitive. Perhaps Tan Jincheng is not unaware of the consequences if the outside world finds out about their meeting and makes it public.

But Sun Tongyu also knew that this was indeed an opportunity for Orange Products Club.

Sun Tongyu already knew what Orange Products was selling. Tan Jincheng had poached so many of Ali's people, so it was normal for there to be one or two undercover agents. That's just how business competition is.

The business of selling discounted overstock of big-name shoes and apparel is a good breakthrough. It avoids competition from full-category e-commerce websites and vertical e-commerce platforms like JD.com and Vancl.

It can be said that it has opened up a completely new track. How can you tell me that the person who came up with this idea doesn't understand the Internet or e-commerce?
That's bullshit, they're just jealous.

As for whether or not to meet with Tan Jincheng, Sun Tongyu considered it and decided against it for the time being, given the sensitive timing. However, she did exchange private contact information with Tan Jincheng through Boss Ding.

He won't be able to officially leave until the end of the year. He hasn't had much work for the past six months, so he's been learning about how Orange Products operates and what kind of person Tan Jincheng is. This is also a consideration for his future career.

(End of this chapter)