2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 460 Flash in Ni Jie's Eyes

The president of Flash Group, known for his penchant for creating drama, made a joint appearance in Luzhou with two other giants in the electric vehicle industry, causing a minor stir in the electric vehicle circle.

When it comes to the ability to stir up trouble, the owner of Flash Rider in the entire electric vehicle industry is second to none. If the three of them get together and say that nothing will happen, no one will believe them.

Ni Jie, who had handed over the company's operations to his wife and liked to appear in public as the father of the industry, giving orders, also began to have doubts.

There are simply too many electric vehicle brands, and consumers haven't fully developed a brand awareness. Established brands like Luyuan, which have been selling for many years, have a significant advantage in regional markets.

In Tianjin, Fujita is the best-selling brand, while in Zhejiang Province, established brands like Lvyuan are the best-selling, as they have a strong customer base.

This foundation is now crumbling, and emerging brands like Flashchip are gradually encroaching on their territory with their high cost-performance ratio and diverse promotional methods.

Before 2006, Luyuan was the absolute leader in the Zhejiang market. Before FlashChe rose to prominence, Philips was the only other player in Zhejiang. Luyuan used various competitive tactics, and even publicly criticized Philips on its official website, which led to a lawsuit.

If it weren't for the profit involved, who would care what name he chose? He even got labeled as engaging in unfair competition and lost the lawsuit.

With the rise of Flash and its continued efforts in the Zhejiang market this year, Luyuan's market has been greatly squeezed. With a stronger competitor than Philips, Luyuan is under great pressure.

Zhejiang Province is Green Field's home base. If its home base is completely captured by Flashpoint, the impact on Green Field will be far greater than that on Chipstar. Losing a core business area is more terrifying than losing the title of number one.

When the three of them met, Ni Jie's heart tightened.

Apart from Yadi, which was established two years earlier, Xinri and Flash are both emerging brands, especially Flash, which is extremely new. These newcomers were not overwhelmed by the established manufacturers' charisma; instead, they have thrived.

Ni Jie is a scholar-entrepreneur who likes to give advice on various matters, not only to his peers but also to the entire industry and even economic trends. In the past, Luyuan had an absolute advantage in Zhejiang Province. He left the business to his wife and could confidently give advice everywhere.

This is also a strategy they use to run their business: the wife is responsible for managing the company, while he is responsible for building a reputation and increasing his and Lü Yuan's social visibility and prestige.

However, this tactic seems to have lost its effectiveness since he was removed from the list of last year's Economic Person of the Year. In addition to being embroiled in lawsuits this year, the number of universities and events inviting him to speak has also decreased significantly.

He also learned from relevant channels that the province is already interested in supporting Flash Group. Flash Group has two major labor-intensive industries and is also an outstanding export enterprise in the province. Incidentally, the internet business controlled by Tan Jincheng is also doing very well.

Recently, there have been frequent rumors that Flash Motors intends to enter the automotive manufacturing industry, which is actually being fueled by the efforts of Ningbo and other parts of the province.

Imagine a large conglomerate with businesses spanning automobile manufacturing, batteries, electric vehicles, apparel, internet gaming, e-commerce, and more. If it actually succeeded, that would be incredible!

With its business scope covering three major sectors—physical manufacturing, high-tech, and internet technology—it's essentially a combination of BYD, Tencent, and Ali (a popular Chinese internet celebrity).

No one knows how large Flash Group will be in the future, but this kind of diversified enterprise that can solve employment problems, has high technology and traffic support, and every business is a future trend. If it succeeds, its contribution to the economy of Zhejiang Province will be immeasurable.

Zhejiang Province has a highly developed private economy, and its views on the private economy differ from those of other places. Generally speaking, it is more tolerant and has more supportive policies.

If Flash can realize the vision envisioned by the leadership and become a super-large enterprise, then the Ningbo municipal government and Zhejiang province will provide strong support, both in terms of policy and funding.

Ni Jie has been in the business world for many years. Although he has offended many people with his big mouth, his network of connections is something that a newbie like Tan Jincheng can't compare to, especially since he also worked in a university.

The information that Shanchi could gather from its network of contacts alone far exceeded that of Tan Jincheng. While Tan Jincheng was taking a cautious approach to manufacturing complete vehicles, the provincial and Ningbo authorities were not concerned about Shanchi giving it a try.

It was even said that they were encouraging them; otherwise, the media wouldn't have given it so much coverage. What if they tried and it worked? Then Zhejiang Province would have its third automobile manufacturing company.

Tan Jincheng himself was unaware, or perhaps due to corporate strategic considerations, even if he were aware, he wouldn't dare to easily take the plunge. Ni Jie was well aware of this. The encouragement and support from the leaders were certainly a good thing, but the investment in four-wheeled vehicles was vastly different from that in two-wheeled vehicles.

However, judging from Tan Jincheng's recent actions, Ni Jie is certain that this kid has plans to build cars, and it is also very likely that he supports the idea of ​​the province or Ningbo city supporting him.

He built a whole industrial chain, invested in several design firms, and even personally went to the production line to tighten screws. Most importantly, he leveraged his status as an Olympic sponsor to partner with Dongfeng Motor. Isn't this just like Chery's collaboration with SAIC back then? There are some differences, but the strategy is essentially the same. If he didn't want to manufacture cars, with his simple four-wheeled electric vehicles only needed for the Olympics, couldn't he have handled it?

Tan Jincheng doesn't acknowledge the idea of ​​building cars, and Ni Jie doesn't know why, but Flashcar is developing in the direction expected by the leaders, which everyone above can see.

A company that is expected to be powerful is developing on the right track. The leader is only in his twenties and his abilities, character, and way of making money are spotless. How can such a competitor not have a headache?
In the past, Ni Jie would definitely have used the same tactics as he did with Philip. Even if he lost the lawsuit, it wouldn't matter. Losing the lawsuit but winning the market would be beneficial to the company's development.

But Ni Jie really wouldn't dare do that to Flash. Although this guy is full of dirty tricks in business and there are often some ridiculous rumors circulating in the business circle, his business methods have always been very legitimate.

As for the poaching incident, apart from the somewhat bizarre method, Ni Jie didn't think there was anything wrong with it. Poaching is common in all industries. The reason it was used as a joke was simply because he was young.

When he's over thirty, no matter how bizarre he does, no one dares to discuss it publicly anymore.

It's enough to make you want to collapse. It's one thing to be unable to beat them or not be able to mess with them, but this kid is so young. In his words, even if he just lays down and maintains Flash's current scale, he can outlast them.

It's really a headache to have such an oddball in the electric vehicle industry.

Go make a name for yourself in the automotive or internet industries; this isn't the place for you.

Ni Jie didn't know why the so-called new three giants of the electric vehicle industry would all appear at a small cultural festival that was completely out of character for them, but it certainly wasn't a good thing for Green Yuan.

With National Day approaching, Luyuan must put in its utmost effort to prevent a further decline in market share, especially in Zhejiang Province. In previous years, thanks to the maintenance of existing customers and the support of the brand, Luyuan did not need to devise any major promotional plans to compete with these new brands.

Tan Jincheng has always liked to launch surprise attacks. The first time he attacked ChipSun, and the second time he attacked the entire industry. FlashChi has significantly increased its marketing efforts in the Zhejiang market this year, and who knows, it might launch a surprise attack on GreenSource this time.

It seems the days of resting on one's laurels and reaping the benefits are over.

"This time we need to launch a bigger promotional campaign, otherwise our market share in Zhejiang Province will decline further," Ni Jie said to his wife with a headache.

We can lose markets elsewhere, but we absolutely cannot lose the Zhejiang market; it is the foundation of Luyuan's survival.

Sigh, consumers these days have really changed. If you talk to them about quality, they only look at the price and discounts. Giving them a free raincoat or a safety helmet can change their minds.

"Yes, all three of them are starting to grab market share. Our old way of doing business is no longer keeping up. We have to change our mindset, or we'll end up like those small workshops that were squeezed out of business by Flash."

Ni Jie's wife also agreed with her husband's idea: they had to increase promotional efforts; raising prices was definitely not an option, they had to lower them instead.

"Then let's get started. Hurry up and revise the National Day promotion plan to try and seize the last peak season of the year. I called this kid, and he said that the three of them got together but didn't do anything. The other two were just there to watch him make a scene at the factory."

"Do you believe this?"

"Do you think I believe you? This kid never tells the truth and just talks nonsense because he's young."

Ni Jie is a scholar whose path to wealth is quite different from that of Zhang Congxun, Dong Jinggui, and even Tan Jincheng, who are all considered "cheapskates." Although these three come from different family backgrounds, they are all, in today's terms, uncultured.

Tan Jincheng, with only a high school diploma, was the highest among the three. It's normal for three uneducated people to be like-minded, and it's also reasonable for them to disregard rules in their actions.

Ni Jie simply couldn't believe that these three would get together for such an absurd reason. Even an academic entrepreneur like him couldn't understand the saying, "A man is a boy until he dies."

Curiosity can sometimes be just that absurd.

(End of this chapter)