2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 90 Competitive Methods
Just like Tan Jincheng going back to this era to buy Moutai liquor stock, even though he knew how high it would eventually rise, he couldn't understand why it would fall for a whole month after he built his position, leaving him with a huge loss.

If Tan Jincheng had been watching the stock market every day during the first month, or if he suddenly needed money, he might have sold at a loss even knowing the trend was uncertain. That's how retail investors are; they think they can make back the money they lost by buying again next time.

The same applies to doing business. These days, everyone knows that exporting can make money, but many people also lose money in this industry. After losing money (cutting their losses), many more start over in an attempt to make a comeback.

In essence, starting a business and speculating in stocks are not much different; there are countless people who make mistakes in the right industry at the right time.

This year's Canton Fair is a small-scale reshuffle in the garment industry. As expected, many small business owners should lose money, sell their equipment, and start over by changing industries this year.

Taking the textile industry as an example, the biggest change in this year's Canton Fair compared to last year is the establishment of a threshold. Companies with annual export value of less than US$100 million are not allowed to participate, just like the thresholds for the ChiNext and STAR Market in the stock market.

This $100 million threshold alone can bankrupt many companies that have been preparing for months or even a year, not to mention the rising cost of raw materials and various restrictions imposed by Europe and the United States this year.

In addition, Tan Jincheng also heard from Cheng Yongjun that the Canton Fair would strictly investigate intellectual property infringement, strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights, and implement an accountability system.

If this news is true, then this is going to be very interesting. Although these things have been investigated before, the accountability system will definitely make a difference.

At the beginning of the millennium, most business owners came from humble backgrounds and had no concept of intellectual property rights. If your product sold well, it was normal for me to copy it, especially for small business owners in Zhejiang Province.

The consequences can be severe if the seriousness of the problem is not recognized.
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As evening fell, the exhibition hall, which resembled a small construction site, echoed with the voices of staff: "Everyone's gone, everyone's out, we're clearing out the hall!"

To prevent anyone from hiding in the exhibition hall overnight, personnel were immediately dispatched to check and clear the area. These days, whether they are entrepreneurs or employees, they can be really ruthless when they want to. Hiding in the exhibition hall overnight is nothing to them.

Chaos erupted inside the exhibition hall.

Zhang Xupeng had been here for several days and was used to this situation. He calmly packed his things while explaining to Tan Jincheng.

"Don't rush, pack slowly, and wait until we are called before you leave."

That's human nature. Whether you can gain anything by staying inside is another matter, but those who leave first will definitely not benefit, and may even face risks. What if someone watching you takes the opportunity to cause trouble? The staff won't care about these things.

Therefore, no one is willing to go out voluntarily; they will only reluctantly comply when called upon.

"Sure, you've learned a lot," Tan Jincheng said with a smile.

Without Zhang Xupeng's explanation, Tan Jincheng could figure out the ins and outs.

"That's right, don't think I know nothing, okay? By the way, what's the name of the new company?"

"Jinyi Industry".

"Ok?"

"Go back and talk."

After dawdling for about half an hour, Tan Jincheng, Zhang Xupeng, and their group of four left the exhibition hall and headed towards the hotel. Zhang Xupeng complained as they walked, "Damn, these hotels are so expensive! They're even worse than the one we stayed at in Beicang the first time, but the price is more than three times higher. I'm really feeling the pinch from all these hotel stays these past few days." Tan Jincheng chuckled. This was nothing compared to the days when a room that cost 200 yuan during Golden Week would be sold for 2000 yuan. Merchants these days were much more benevolent.

However, due to the extremely long time from setup to the end of the exhibition, Zhang Xupeng, for example, will be staying here for 40 days. The daily food and drink expenses for the three of them will start at a thousand yuan, which is no small amount.

This is just a small team of three. If there are more people, the expenses will be even greater. So how exhibitors save money every year is also a major highlight of the Canton Fair.

That night, Tan Jincheng and Zhang Xupeng shared a room and discussed some details about setting up the exhibition. The official opening was in a few days, and these few days were the most stressful for the exhibitors.

If direct competitors with similar products don't take precautions against them and cause trouble in the next few days, they'll be in deep trouble. This is Jinpeng Trading's first real exhibition this year, so its competitors are not familiar with it, which reduces the pressure somewhat.

However, we can't be careless. After all, the entry requirements have been raised this year, and everyone who can officially enter is of similar ability.

"By the way, did you hear about the crackdown on intellectual property rights?" Tan Jincheng remembered this while they were chatting.

"I know, I heard about it from a few exhibitors nearby. What's wrong with it?"

"What did they say?" Tan Jincheng asked, staring at Zhang Xupeng lying on the other bed.

Just like the first time they went to Beicang, the two of them stayed in the same standard room again.

“They said they would give a token gift every year. I also asked the people Uncle Cheng sent to help us before, and they said it wouldn’t be a big problem,” Zhang Xupeng said.

Zhang Xupeng doesn't know much about intellectual property and has little knowledge of it.

"What's wrong? Why are you asking this? Is there a problem?"

Tan Jincheng smiled and said, "Of course there's a problem, but it's a problem with our competitors, not our own. As someone from a later generation, Tan Jincheng knows a lot about infringement, especially in the area of ​​exports."

Why are the quality of exported goods generally much better and more strictly controlled? Intellectual property rights are a very important part of this. Foreigners have taken advantage of this loophole to make a lot of dirty money, and many manufacturers have even been driven into bankruptcy.

So apart from the few orders at the beginning of last year, after Jinpeng Trading made some borderline moves, Tan Jincheng has been very careful with the rest. The design of the samples was personally handled by Tan Jincheng, so there was naturally no infringement.

We applied for all the patents that were available. Although patents for clothing are not very useful, at least they can prove that the product is an independent design and there is no infringement.

If the information provided by Cheng Yongjun is true, then we could certainly use it to our advantage.

Although it's a bit unethical to do this, from another perspective, it's also helping them. What if the foreigners sue them? Wouldn't they lose even more?

He beckoned Zhang Xupeng over and whispered in his ear, "Here's a method I'll teach you. When we go to the exhibition, you can arrange for Lao Sun to do this..."

(End of this chapter)