Rebirth 2010: I taught Mr. Lei how to make a mobile phone

Chapter 763 Fat Donglai? Thin Xiqu!
The potential obstacles to entering the Beijing market were already anticipated by Yu Donglai.

The continuous difficulties they've faced over the past two months are clearly a carefully planned "joint encirclement and suppression" by several rival companies.

Although the situation was more severe than he had anticipated, Yu Donglai remained confident that with Pang Donglai's excellent product quality and sincere service, they would eventually overcome the difficulties.

He always held onto one principle: he didn't want to trouble Chen Mo with his own affairs, and he didn't want to drag his close friend, who shared the same ideals, into the murky waters of the shopping mall industry.

Yu Donglai was well aware of the undercurrents in Beijing's supermarket industry.

Those frequent "security checks" are just testing the waters; the real storm is yet to come.

His original plan was clear: proceed steadily and prove everything with strength, and all evil spirits will have nowhere to hide under the sunlight.

He only considers using the resources of the other side of the strait to clarify things when he encounters an intractable public opinion crisis.

The principle is actually very simple. Just like studying at school and working at a company, you will always encounter setbacks and challenges. But you can't ask others for help every time you encounter a problem. It's okay once or twice, and your classmates or colleagues will help you solve it. But if you do it too often, you will gradually become synonymous with trouble.

Therefore, the first thing to do is to try your best to solve the problem yourself. If you really can't solve it, then take your current thoughts and progress to others for help.

Firstly, this way you incur a sunk cost in this problem, and once the problem is solved, your impression will be deeper, and you won't ask similar questions again. Otherwise, you'll forget what you were taught in a few days, and the cycle will repeat itself.

Secondly, the people who help you can see your attitude and know the way you're trying, which can guide them to accept or refuse. From a personal emotional perspective, they also prefer to help such people.

That's why he specifically asked the store manager to explain to Chen Mo in detail the problems Pang Donglai was facing and the solutions they had tried.

This is not only to demonstrate the efforts they have made, but also to show the most basic respect to those who have offered a helping hand.

In the other side of the alliance, not only Yu Donglai, but also Lei Jun, Liu Qiangdong, Wang Wei, and even Xiao Wang, who doesn't encounter a lot of troublesome and thorny problems every day?

Yes, the other side is currently the largest, and Chen Mo is the richest man there, but when these people have problems, they all go to Chen Mo. Will he help them or not?
If this happens too often, the alliance will naturally fall apart.

Therefore, daily communication in the group is basically about sharing and exchanging information and resources. Only through give and take can the relationship last.

Among them, Chen Mo faces the most difficulties. The other side is currently about a hundred times the size of Pang Donglai, and they will face more problems than he does.

Even so, upon discovering that something had happened to Pang Donglai, Chen Mo rushed over immediately.

Thinking of this, Yu Donglai watched Chen Mo's departing figure and, in a daze, saw the responsibility of an "elder brother" in this young man.

Just like how employees at Pang Donglai view themselves, he is all too familiar with that sense of responsibility and dedication.

"Sigh." Knowing he couldn't persuade Chen Mo, Yu Donglai, who was usually optimistic, sighed for the first time. It wasn't for himself, but for Chen Mo.

"Did you hear what President Mo said?" Yu Donglai snapped out of his thoughts and turned to the store manager beside him.

"Listen clearly!"

"Okay, then let's do our part. Is the price transparency plan ready?"

"Everything is ready!"

"Since they want to wage a price war, then we'll let consumers see exactly where every penny goes. That's our 'price war' from Pang Donglai!"

"Understood!" A fighting spirit ignited in the store manager's eyes.

Yu Donglai knew that this business war was unavoidable.

But what he was more worried about at that moment was the young man who had resolutely stepped into the eye of another storm.

"I just received news that two mysterious men went to Pang Donglai's Zhongguancun store this afternoon and had a private conversation with Yu Donglai for half an hour. Judging from their build, they seem to be Chen Mo."

"understood."

After hanging up the phone, Peng Huasheng rubbed his temples.

What was bound to happen eventually did happen, but much earlier than he expected. It was all because those allies had gone too far and attracted the wolves.

Peng Huasheng, the general manager of Yonghui Supermarket's Beijing region, has been enjoying great success in the past two years.

Under his leadership, Yonghui's number of stores in Beijing surged to 20, and its fresh food supply chain became top-notch in the industry, managing to snatch a significant market share from local giants like Hualian and Wumart.

Logically speaking, these families were once enemies, and while there were no major disputes in the past, there were constant minor frictions.

Until two months ago, a "greenhorn" named Pang Donglai barged into the battlefield.

At first, it didn't attract much attention; no one took this country bumpkin who hadn't left Henan for over a decade seriously.

But just a month later, not only Peng Huasheng, but all the managers of the surrounding supermarkets sensed that something was wrong.

This fat Donglai guy is up to no good.
Since Pang Donglai opened, the average sales of large supermarkets and shopping malls in the surrounding area have plummeted.

The emergence of Pang Donglai has created a siphon effect and a herd mentality among consumers.

The longer the queue, the more consumers flock to it.

As the number of customers at Pang Donglai increases, more service details are being revealed:
No-reason return policy: If a customer is not satisfied with a product, they can return it if they don't like the taste of the fruit after tasting it; they can also return clothes if they don't like them after wearing them once; they can even return snacks that they have only eaten halfway through because they think the taste is wrong.

Free shoe repair and trouser alteration: Customers who find their shoes or trousers unsuitable while shopping at Pang Donglai will have them altered free of charge.
The shopping carts are designed to cater to the diverse needs of different groups. Outrageously, they offer seven different types: baby carts, senior citizen carts, wheelchair-accessible carts, and even regular carts come in small, medium, and large sizes. They also provide free extra-large eco-friendly plastic bags, umbrellas for rainy days, free ice packs, and food-locking packaging.
The sheer number of services offered to consumers, from the very core of their being, is simply too numerous to list.

Even Haidilao, a giant in the restaurant industry, would have to admit defeat when it comes to Pang Donglai.
But these people see something deeper than the surface of this service.

That is to analyze why Pang Donglai employees are so enthusiastic.

That is:
Salaries are more than 30% higher than the industry average (store managers start at 10 RMB, ordinary employees start at 1.5 RMB, and cleaners can earn 8000+ RMB per month).

Excluding statutory holidays, there are an additional 40 days of paid leave per year.

Overtime is not allowed; you must leave after get off work.

This kind of treatment is nuclear-level even in Beijing; it's not comparable to simply displaying a photo with 'MAYBE' written on it.

When employees are happy, they are naturally more willing to provide high-quality service.

The management team sets an example by their own actions; some people have even seen Yu Donglai personally cleaning the supermarket alongside the cleaning staff.

It's ridiculous that they close every Tuesday, which is completely contrary to common sense. Everyone in shopping malls would prefer to be open 24 hours a day.

They now feel trapped in a vicious cycle: the more popular Pang Donglai becomes, the greater its influence grows, and the greater its influence becomes, the more it exposes them, leaving them practically exposed.

Product quality, service attitude, welfare benefits, etc. are all completely outclassed.

Employees work hard, customers are satisfied, and the company makes money—a win-win situation for all parties.

Subsequent investigation and analysis revealed that the cause of all this was Pang Donglai's profit distribution system, which distributed 95% of the profits to employees, while the boss only took 5%.

While other supermarket employees are slacking off and passively following the rules, Pang Donglai's employees are proactively helping you move goods and are very attentive to their tasks.

While everyone else is focused on price, Pang Donglai is focused on winning hearts and minds.

This way of playing is considered heretical by them.

Why should Yu Donglai give up 95% of the profits and only take 5%?

So when a heretic suddenly emerged, the Beijing shopping mall circle began to put aside their past grievances and united with unprecedented efficiency.

The chaotic state of the internet industry serves as a cautionary tale. Although Pang Donglai is just one store, it remains a potential hazard.

If left unchecked, a 'destination' might emerge in the retail industry, dragging all other players into it and utterly destroying them—a situation they cannot accept.

They wouldn't take it so seriously if it were just normal business competition.

However, these people are all the top leaders of their respective companies in a region. They know very well that this is a clash of ideologies or a battle of fundamental principles, because some things are ingrained in their very being.

To put it more broadly, Pang Donglai was their common class enemy!
This is also the root cause of the multi-dimensional and comprehensive attack on Pang Donglai that everyone has launched online and offline over the past month.

In order to eliminate any future troubles, all of Beijing's retail subsidiaries have united in an unprecedented manner, regardless of size, region, or international status.

The operation involved seven companies: Yonghui, which he represented, Hualian, Jingkelong, Wumart, Walmart, Carrefour, and Lotus Supermarket, forming a "Seven Heroes Alliance" with each company playing its part in the attack.

The operation was codenamed "Lean West Goes" and had no supreme commander; instead, it consisted of seven regional leaders from the capital city discussing important matters.

There was only one goal: to crush this nascent heresy underfoot.

Yonghui Supermarket's "Intelligence Hub":
We collected operational data from Pang Donglai (customer traffic, best-selling products, employee salary structure), and the data support for our previous talent poaching campaign was provided by them.

Hualian Group's "Government Relations & Compliance Sniper":
This has led to frequent surprise inspections of fire safety, sanitation, and tax authorities.

They exerted pressure through industry associations, questioning whether "the local model does not meet the standards of the capital."

By leveraging local political and business connections, Pang Donglai has attracted "special attention" from regulators.

The media outlets jointly exposed "fire hazards" (even if there were no problems, they still created public opinion).

Jingkelong, the "offline harassment and extortion expert".
Walmart and Carrefour are employing a "lower-dimensional attack" strategy, primarily focusing on price wars.

They questioned Pang Donglai's quality control based on "international standards" (such as tampering with SGS test reports).

Wumart Group/Lotus Supermarket "Information War"

The essence of business warfare: On the surface, it is a battle of prices and services, but in reality, it is a comprehensive competition involving supply chains, public opinion, political and business resources, and unconventional methods.

The operations over the past month have yielded significant and successful results.

No matter how good Pang Donglai's service is, it won't work if the products generate negative public opinion or the supply chain has problems. The current sharp drop in customer traffic is the best proof of this.

According to Peng Huasheng's understanding, the long queue barriers at the entrance of Pangdonglai Supermarket have become completely useless, witnessing their partial victory.

According to their prediction, by the end of the year, Fat Donglai will really become Thin Xi.
After all, opening a supermarket like this in Beijing without sufficient customer traffic would result in terrifying daily losses.
Unfortunately, Yu Donglai was not alone; Chen Mo was standing behind him.

Now, they may soon face Chen Mo's intervention.

(End of this chapter)