2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 447 The King Returns?
You are looking at the scenery; you are in the scenery.

After leaving Hangzhou, Tan Jincheng and his group continued their journey. Because they had spent a lot of time in Hangzhou, they needed to make some adjustments to the subsequent itinerary and postpone the trip.

Tan Jincheng fiddled with the first-generation Apple phone in his hand. He had never used the first-generation Apple before, but he had used the iPhone 4 and was quite familiar with the iOS system.

Tan Jincheng didn't have high demands for mobile phones. Although Apple's signal was terrible, it was enough for someone like him who didn't like fiddling with his phone to answer calls and had fewer ads. Therefore, he used Apple phones frequently in his previous life.

Tan Jincheng saw many similarities between the original Apple and the fourth generation in the original Apple. Although this sounds strange, it was indeed Tan Jincheng's feeling.

However, the feel is a bit unfamiliar; it's similar to an iPod, round and smooth.

The feel in hand isn't great either. Also, since it's not sold in China and doesn't have a network access license, the unlocked version can be used with a SIM card, but the experience is quite poor due to network issues.

However, this only applies to Tan Jincheng. He has used so many smartphones that he is used to them, so he is not surprised by them.

But in the eyes of others, the first generation of Apple was still very amazing.

I never knew phone screens could be this big, and that the entire phone could be made with only one physical button, and that the operating system could be so incredibly smooth.

First-generation phones generally have some flaws, and Apple is no exception. However, it was enough to amaze some people in China who were able to get their hands on the phone. Tan Jincheng made a copy for each of the leaders of the companies working on the lithium battery project, so that they could use it and experience it more often.

In addition to the disassembled prototypes, we also provided Orange Technology with a lot of equipment so they could learn about iOS app development. Apple devices, which are not sold domestically but sell well overseas, allow for app development that can be started in advance.

Developing small games on the iOS system not only allows you to accumulate more app development experience, but also lets you earn some US dollars from foreigners to supplement Orange Technology's cash flow.

Right now, Tan Jincheng is chatting with Sun Tongyu on this Apple phone.

Whether Sun Tongyu left Taobao due to power struggles or genuine ideological differences is irrelevant and unimportant. However, Tan Jincheng knew that this guy later invested in Pinduoduo.

If Huang Zheng is the founder of Pinduoduo and Duan is the driving force behind it, then Sun Tongyu's help to Pinduoduo is equally undeniable. Without his e-commerce business philosophy, Huang Zheng could not have enabled Pinduoduo to develop so quickly.

When chatting with people, you should always try to cater to their interests. Since Sun Tongyu has made many important contributions to the development of Pinduoduo, his early low-end, knock-off, and shameless marketing strategies must have played a leading role.

In fact, based on his interactions with Huang Zheng, Tan Jincheng found it hard to believe that someone who had just been trained by a respectable internet company could come up with such shameless marketing tactics; at least, Huang Zheng in his current state would never have thought of such a thing.

Even if you told him that the website uses this method to attract new users, he probably wouldn't be able to accept it for a while. The reason why Pinduoduo has such a bad reputation is 80% due to his shameless "cut-the-price" tactics.

Compared to Huang Zheng, a simple returnee from overseas, Sun Tongyu, who had experience in sales and marketing and had built Taobao from scratch, was more likely to believe such a shameless and despicable scheme.

It's also possible that Huang Zheng's mentor, Boss Duan, might have come up with such a wicked trick, but it's highly unlikely that it was Huang Zheng.

There's no other reason than that I care about my reputation.

In the marketing world, most of the people who come up with dirty tricks are actually from humble backgrounds. People from humble backgrounds don't have as many rules, and they know the hardships of life at the bottom. They will use any trick that works.

For example, Tan Jincheng is like that. In the process of marketing, Flash has actually used quite a few dirty tricks, but Tan Jincheng still has some bottom line and didn't go that far.

The legitimate approach is more about ruthlessness. They use their wealth and connections to crush all smaller competitors and push capital tactics to the extreme. Compared to some underhanded tricks, this approach may not generate much public attention, but it is far more ruthless.

After some probing, Tan Jincheng was able to confirm that Sun Tongyu did indeed have some ideas about Pinduoduo's model. At this point, his ideas were probably not yet fully formed, but rather a general, underlying concept.

In Sun Tongyu's view, the foundation of Taobao should be the various shops, large and small, opened by Tan Jincheng, which are grassroots online shop entrepreneurs. It is not wrong for them to have their own mall strategy, but the premise is how to balance the traffic distribution between the two.

If the mall ultimately harms these merchants, large and small, and drives them all away, then the new competitors that acquire these merchants will be the biggest threat to Taobao.

"Isn't this the prototype concept of Pinduoduo?"

"Indeed impressive." Tan Jincheng didn't understand why Sun Tongyu would tell him all this, but he was certain it wasn't to trick him into revealing information. Perhaps from the beginning, this guy realized the protective role small merchants played for Taobao. Old Ma (Ma Huateng, Taobao's founder) probably knew that too, but faced with scale, capital, and huge profits, he chose the former, leading to a large number of small merchants leaving.

In the end, Pinduoduo got a bargain and quickly acquired customers through shameless "cut-a-price" viral marketing tactics.

At the same time, this lucky guy was truly blessed with good fortune. If he hadn't caught the economic downturn and the decline in consumption, his Pinduoduo wouldn't have been accepted by so many people later on.

Those customers who were forced to register before and who disliked Pinduoduo are now facing a period of consumption downgrade and have no money left.

At that time, many people felt that Pinduoduo was really great.

The best thing about Pinduoduo is its refund policy, which is much better than the slow and arrogant customer service of companies like Huxi and Jingdong.

If Sun Tongyu's underhanded tactics at the outset helped Pinduoduo accumulate a large number of silent customers, then Pinduoduo's later efforts, such as burning through billions in subsidies to build a positive image, supporting farmers, and improving customer service, were important supplements to salvage its image.

On the way to Huzhou, Tan Jincheng chatted a lot with Sun Tongyu in the car, mostly about the vague concept of Pinduoduo.

Of course, neither of them would reveal everything like beans spilling from a bamboo tube, but they were both smart people and often understood things quickly, which made Sun Tongyu even more convinced that Tan Jincheng really knew how to shop online.

“This guy will be a big threat to Taobao in the future. Should we remind Mr. Ma?” Sun Tongyu was a little conflicted.

Outsiders only see Jack Ma as the founder of Taobao, but Sun Tongyu, who built Taobao from scratch, also has a deep affection for it. Putting aside his current status, from a personal perspective, it is difficult for him to accept such a huge potential threat even before he has officially resigned.

For a full-category e-commerce website, a strong competitive advantage is crucial. In Sun Tongyu's view, Taobao's competitive advantage lies in its millions of small and medium-sized sellers, who support Taobao's traffic.

But he also knew that Mr. Ma would never believe him if he said that.

The company has already set a formal listing date, which is the most spirited period for Mr. Ma. Since there was already a conflict due to differences in ideas, talking about these unrelated future things at this time seems a bit far-fetched.

"If Mr. Tan has this idea, why not create a full-category e-commerce platform instead of choosing a vertical e-commerce platform?"

While debating whether to tell Mr. Ma, Sun Tongyu also voiced his thoughts.

“I’m not doing it. I’m in the physical business. But if Mr. Sun is willing, Orange Technology can wait for Mr. Sun to come and we can do it. If we can’t do it, we can invest in others to do it.”

"Besides, the timing isn't right yet."

Orange Technology definitely has no intention of creating a Pinduoduo. This thing burns money way too much. Not to mention its financing, the millions of yuan in subsidies it throws at people are unbearable. With so much money, why not burn it into the automotive industry that they are so keen on?
However, it's okay to make empty promises to Sun Tongyu.

He was still young, and not long after leaving Taobao, he started investing. When Pinduoduo made a triumphant return, Tan Jincheng refused to believe that he had given up on the e-commerce industry.

He might still have some nostalgia or affection for Taobao while he's still employed there, but after officially leaving, as time goes by, creating or investing in a competitor website that poses a huge threat to his former employer would be the best proof of his abilities, wouldn't it?
Isn't that how the story of a king's return goes?

Regardless of their identities, this plot would be exciting for anyone. Tan Jincheng didn't believe that Sun Tongyu would remain unmoved by such a lucrative opportunity as time went on.

He might look down on Orange Products, but what about a concept version of Pinduoduo? That's his old business, and it could still pose a threat to his "former employer."

Damn it, you kicked me out of the house. I can't say anything now because of my stock market interests, but you won't even let me fight back?
Sun Tongyu was speechless at Tan Jincheng's straightforward invitation. Just as rumored, this guy was good at making empty promises to people who were not short of money, and he was very good at describing future blueprints.

Cheng Hao, the technical director of Orange Technology, and Huang Ming, the new CEO of ByteDance, were reportedly tricked by him in this way. These two are quite famous in the Internet industry, both then and now.

Unbeknownst to many, a business owner who claimed to love running a physical business had also established his own sphere of influence in the internet field, getting involved in everything from building his own website to making investments.

The fact that he contacted him through Boss Ding's channels this time also proves that Tan Jincheng has gained recognition in the internet industry, and Orange Technology is now qualified to be on the same level.

(End of this chapter)