Following the trend is actually quite common in later generations.
You open a successful milk tea shop in a city. Once the business is booming, you will surely have several similar ones in a few days.
Not to mention the big brands.
Take the famous Western fast food brand KFC for example. Various copycat stores have sprung up in different cities across the country, like mushrooms after a rain.
KFC, Kentucky, Dicos, Mckenzie, KFC, Texas Burger...
As for the English version, it is even more outrageous.
According to statistics from enthusiastic netizens, the imitations of KFC’s English name form an alphabet, AFC, BFC, CFC, DFC... all the way to ZFC, with the only one missing being KFC.
Ah, sorry, Yinwei KFC is the authentic one, I forgot to count it.
It also mainly sells fried chicken, French fries and hamburgers, and the store name, decoration style, food taste and even the employee uniforms are copied exactly.
The most successful among them is Wallace, who relied on the Sharingan to open tens of thousands of stores across the country and became a direct competitor of KFC.
By the way, the bosses are from Zhejiang Province, from Wenzhou. They are two brothers and their surname is Hua.
After seeing KFC's ability to make money, the two brothers suddenly had an idea and started their own entrepreneurial journey with 80,000 yuan. The brand was created in 2001.
At the beginning, they also did business with college students, because KFC was still a new thing here, and college students were more receptive to new things. So they opened a high-imitation KFC fast food restaurant in front of a university in Fuzhou, copying all the decorations and facilities, but the prices were much cheaper, which successfully attracted many college students as consumers.
In this era, because information is not as developed, following the trend is relatively less common, but it is still unavoidable.
Su Zelin had been mentally prepared, but he didn't expect it to come so soon.
"Baohong, don't be so excited!"
He smiled and said calmly: "Let them copy. The fact that someone copied us just proves one thing - we did a good job!"
"There won't be followers of failed businesses. Our model is undoubtedly successful, which is why it attracts the attention of others and leads to copying."
“Being followed is not terrible. If you follow others closely, it is very difficult to surpass them!”
Wallace is strong enough, but can it surpass KFC
cannot!
And among thousands of copycat stores, it is the only one that has successfully stood out.
It is not uncommon for imitations to surpass the originals, but in most cases it is because the original is too bad, or the imitator has unique resources. This only happens in very special circumstances.
"The success of a business depends on many factors, including the right time, right location and right people. You can't just copy the name, decoration and strategy and you will be successful!"
"From the core members to the staff team, even some small things can have a big impact. This is what we call details determine success or failure!"
"If that store wants to surpass us, the boss must be better than me and Mr. Yang, build a very good team, and have the courage to take the initiative to innovate and break through. If they keep following behind us, they will only be able to eat soup forever!"
Kang Baohong was cheered up.
After Su Zelin's analysis, he found that the plagiarist had no advantages that could pose a major threat to New Century.
As a founder alone, he felt that they should not be on the same level.
Kang Baohong is now a die-hard fan of Hunzi, and he admires Su Zelin's vision and methods to the core.
That plagiarist can't possibly be more awesome than the boss!
What's more, New Century has a very capable President Yang, which makes it even more powerful.
Our team building was also very successful. We were positive, united and harmonious, and had strong execution. It’s hard to say the same for others.
"Boss, Mr. Yang, I'm really not calm enough!"
Kang Baohong took a deep breath and quickly adjusted his mentality.
I am still not calm enough. I get easily startled when facing challenges. There is a huge gap between me and my boss. I need to learn more from him to remain calm in the face of emergencies, so that I can accurately analyze the problems encountered in the development of the company.
"That's more like it!"
Su Zelin expressed his relief.
"There's no need for us to get angry or even dislike each other over such trivial matters."
"When New Century becomes bigger and stronger and more famous, even if this company doesn't imitate it, others will follow suit."
"Faced with this situation, what New Century needs to do is to do our best. Remember, we are the pioneers and forerunners in the digital industry of universities. We control the initiative, while others are just followers, following behind us and eating soup!"
"The existence of copycat competitors can, to some extent, even serve to highlight New Century and enhance our position in the industry. At the same time, it keeps us on a mission of urgency and ensures that we will never stop moving forward!"
The words of the gangster made Kang Baohong suddenly enlightened.
This is probably what the boss said before, that everything has two sides.
It was originally a headache, but suddenly I realized that it was not a big deal, and I could even find some advantages.
Brother Yang added at the right time: "Mr. Su said it very well. On the road of enterprise development and expansion, competition is everywhere, and we have to face it all the time. By the way, I also got some gossip from the supplier. The boss behind the store in the University of Science and Technology is the son of a big leader in Lin'an. His surname is Zhang. He is quite young and just graduated from college not long ago. He majored in computer science. He is a little smart, but he is still a rookie and a layman in the digital industry. He has little experience and thinks highly of himself. He disdains to win over people in the industry to work together. Now he is fighting alone!"
Kang Baohong felt more relieved when he heard this.
It turns out he's just a rookie.
After all, not every young man can be as evil as his boss. An eighteen-year-old can be more experienced than an old veteran in his forties.
"No wonder he dared to copy so recklessly, it turns out he has a background!"
"If someone can get connections on a university campus and get approval from higher authorities to build a shop on the same scale as New Century, they must have some background. It's normal."
Brother Yang didn't think it was surprising.
Su Zelin added: "It's okay for him to copy our model, but some things are proprietary labels of New Century, and we can't let him copy them casually. For example, the golden slogan printed on the gift fan during the opening marketing event of the Zhejiang University branch is a very important part of our brand culture!"
Kang Baohong said tentatively: "This person is quite shameless. If he even copies our sentences and markets them in the same way, what should we do?"
"This is indeed a problem. It would be difficult to sue for infringement."
Yang Fen frowned.
"There's no need to sue him. Besides, we can take the initiative and make him afraid to copy!"
Su Zelin was confident.
"What do you mean?"
The two asked hurriedly.
"It's very simple. Go to the technical department and find two hired guns. Apply for more small accounts. Before the store opens, post a message on the BBS of the Polytechnic University. The topic is our golden sentences. Build a few forums and post all the golden sentences there. When you have nothing to do, post a few times. In short, let all the students at the Polytechnic University know that these sentences come from New Century!"
"If he really dared to plagiarize, others would have already seen it, and the effect would naturally not be so good. He might even be accused of plagiarism by students from the University of Science and Technology, which would lower his status and ruin his reputation. So I concluded that he would not dare to do that."
After a pause, Su Zelin said, "If he can really come up with so many similar sentences for marketing, then I have nothing to say. This is his ability. I will even give him a thumbs up!"
Those golden sentences he came up with were the culmination of the wisdom of later generations of netizens. No one could be so eloquent, so Su Zelin was not worried at all.
"Impossible! If he can come up with dozens of the same sentences, I lose!"
Kang Baohong said cheerfully: "Boss, this trick of yours is really amazing. This way, he won't be able to copy it exactly! Okay, I'll find someone to do it as soon as possible!"
"No need to rush!" Su Zelin said decisively: "Wait until the store is about to open, then it won't be too late to stir up trouble on the Polytechnic University BBS!"
"Why, isn't it better to be earlier?"
Kang Baohong couldn't figure it out.
"No, we have to do it in time. If you start it too early on the BBS, the popularity will have already reached its peak, and when the store opens, the effect of the program will be greatly reduced. It's better to wait until the time is almost right, when they print the sentence on the gift and are about to start the marketing campaign, and then we will attack, and the effect of the program will definitely be maximized! What do you think, should they give out the gifts at that time or not?"
Su Zelin's casual words made Yang Fen and Kang Baohong, two grown men, tremble and gasp.
Damn, that’s too bad!
First, we create the best program effect, and then the other party's batch of gifts will most likely be discarded, resulting in a loss of several thousand dollars. It can be said to kill two birds with one stone!
As soon as the followers show up, they will be hit hard on the head, and their heads will be buzzing.
"Boss, this move of yours is as high as several floors!"
Kang Baohong gave a thumbs up.
Such a toxic... brilliant idea, why didn't I think of it
Brother Yang wiped his sweat, this guy was too sinister, and was calculating to the extreme. Anyone who wanted to be his opponent would probably die inexplicably. Fortunately, he was his partner, not his opponent!
Su Zelin smiled.
In later generations, business wars are full of deception and intrigue, with all kinds of tricks emerging one after another and using every possible means. In such a fiercely competitive field, you cannot survive even if you are a little bit honest.
He has seen so many tricks, and to him, this is just a small trick.
"There is another good news. Last semester, I found a publishing house in Lin'an to publish those sentences under the name of New Century. The name is "To Youth - Five Hundred Witty Sayings and Truths of Life". I heard from the publishing house that it will be published next month."
Su Zelin said leisurely: "As soon as this book comes out, whoever wants to use our sentences for large-scale commercial purposes will be infringing copyright, and it will be easy to sue!"
"Publishing a book? Wow, this is amazing!"
Kang Baohong was excited.
In his opinion, those who can print what is in their minds into words are all powerful.
"Haha, Baohong, publishing is not as difficult as you think."
Su Zelin explained with a smile: "There is a thing called self-publishing. As long as you have money, you can find any publisher to cooperate with. As long as the content does not violate the rules or is too bad to damage the reputation of the publisher, publishing will not be a problem."
The publishing house considers Su Zelin's golden sentences to be of very good quality. Currently, such soul-stirring books about the youth storm are also very popular and have a considerable audience.
In addition, the guy claimed that he was publishing the book at his own expense, so the publishing house would not have to bear any profit or loss risks. So he just had a casual talk with the editor of the publishing house and made the decision.
Su Zelin did not expect the book to be a big seller. The most important thing was to get the copyright of those sentences and make it a part of New Century's brand culture. If it could sell a little better and promote the digital store, that would be the best.
Anyway, the worst-case scenario is that the book cannot be sold at all. As long as the copyright is in hand, that's fine. Su Zelin doesn't expect to get rich from this book, and even a slight loss doesn't matter.
Brother Yang was amazed. He really admired Su Zelin's imaginative mind and his foresight.
If this competitor appeared today, it would be fine if he only thought of relying on the power of the publishing house and copyright, but I didn't expect that he already had a publishing plan.
In other words, last semester, this person had already considered the problem of following the trend and had come up with a plan to deal with it.
My vision is not as far-sighted as his!
The biggest problem was solved and the atmosphere became relaxed.
At this moment, Su Zelin suddenly remembered something.
"We will soon have three new branches completed, a total of five stores, and the scale of each branch can be called flagship level. In Lin'an, it can at least be considered a formal city-level chain store. Mr. Yang, I suggest that we buy a few small cars after New Year's Day to use as official cars for the store, which will be more convenient for travel and business!"
This thing has been planned for a long time.
Nowadays, the only bus in New Century is Yang Fen’s pickup truck. It was used by Brother Yang to deliver goods in his computer shop. After joining New Century, it served as a bus to transport goods and people, and he didn’t bother Su Zelin about money.
However, as the second largest shareholder of New Century and the boss in public, it is too shabby to drive a pickup truck, so this matter really cannot be delayed.
With five branches, New Century has occupied half of Lin'an's colleges and universities. It is not just a pseudo-chain with only one or two stores, it must have a presence.
Kang Baohong was excited when he heard this. During the summer vacation, Su Zelin asked him to take the C license exam. At that time, he thought that his boss should be planning to buy a business car for New Century, but he did not expect that it would be put on the agenda a few months later.
I never thought that I would have the chance to drive a car!
Kang Baohong was very excited.
In this era, a small car is definitely a luxury. Driving one brings a lot of face. When you return home in glory and drive a government car, the whole village will come out to see it.
However, no matter how excited he was, he had no say in the matter, and the decision had to be discussed and decided by the two bosses.
Brother Yang hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "That's fine!"
He has been running a computer shop for so many years and has accumulated a lot of savings. Now he has joined forces with Su Zelin, who has even stronger financial resources, so they are not short of funds.
Moreover, New Century's model is amazing and can pay back investments very quickly. The New Year's Day peak in the near future and the peak at the beginning of the next semester will both make significant returns, so there is no problem with the capital chain.
In this case, you might as well spare a few hundred thousand dollars to buy a few commercial vehicles.
Brother Yang also wanted to drive a car, but when he was discussing some important business deals before, he had to rent a car. After all, if he drove a pickup truck, others would look down on him.
"Very good, then it is decided!"
Since Brother Xiao Yang has no objection, then this matter is settled.
"Let's wait until after New Year's Day. We'll buy three cars first. It's just temporary. Our goal is to have every branch of New Century have a business car. But we can talk about other stores later!"
"Okay, let's do it!"
"… "
Looking forward to the bright future of the new century, the three young people chatted for two or three hours.
It was almost closing time when Xiao Yangge and Kang Baohong left the store.
The general manager of New Century was particularly excited.
At this time last year, the New Century Finance store had just opened. At that time, the boss had to spend some time on the name, disguising it as a large chain store. Unexpectedly, a year later, New Century would have opened five branches, becoming a veritable chain digital store!
It feels like a dream!
It is so important to meet a noble person.
In Kang Baohong's view, such an achievement is already quite remarkable.
But for Su Zelin, his career has just started.
His target is not just all the colleges and universities in Lin'an.
By next year, I will release the entire Zhejiang Province, and even the Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Luzhou regions!
After watching Brother Xiao Yang drive away in the pickup truck with Kang Baohong, Su Zelin returned to the store.
There is a second thing tonight.
After closing, a staff meeting had to be held to announce that Liu Wanyin would take over as store manager.
Clean up and gather everyone.
Clearing his throat, Su Zelin said, "It's almost time to go to bed, so I'll make it short. This small meeting is about one thing, which is about personnel transfers! As you all know, some time ago, each digital store in New Century added the position of manager in charge. I was fortunate to be appreciated by General Manager Yang and General Manager Kang and became the manager in charge of the Caiyuan store. However, this means that I have more work to do, and I have to serve as the store manager at the same time. I have to be both a father and a mother. It's so tiring!"
All the employees burst into laughter.
It is true that Su Zelin serves as both the executive manager and the store manager, but no one believes that he is both a father and a mother.
Because this kid is leisurely all day long, like a dragon that is hard to find, so how can he be tired
He pushed almost all the tasks on hand to others, especially Liu Wanyin, who almost worked like a slave for the gangster.
Arrange the schedule, count the incoming and outgoing goods, and do the accounting...
Now it has even developed to the point where they have to make tea, and the only thing short of asking them to warm the bed is when the weather is cold.
The extent to which this guy shamelessly abuses his power is simply outrageous.
Su Zelin continued shamelessly: "Although those who are capable should do more work, it is understandable that I am so outstanding that I have to take on two jobs!"
"But the key is that the salary has to match someone as outstanding as me!"
"To be honest, when I was a store manager, my salary was a little higher than others, but now I am doing two jobs and still only get one salary. How can I tolerate this?"
"So when Mr. Yang and Mr. Kang came over tonight, I told them directly that I could have two jobs, but I had to get two salaries!"
"Such a reasonable request was rejected by two stingy people!"
There was another burst of laughter below.
Only this guy is so bold as to complain about the boss and the general manager in public.
At the same time, everyone realized that this short meeting would not be short.
Because the scoundrels like to brag in every meeting, and they feel uncomfortable if they don’t brag for a while.
But it doesn’t matter. Meetings at HSBC are not as boring as those at other companies. They are still quite interesting and sometimes nice to listen to.
Five minutes later, Su Zelin finally returned to the main topic.
"Anyway, I don't want to do two jobs for one salary. Our Caiyuan store needs a new store manager!"
"The original candidate for the new store manager was a junior clerk. However, considering that junior clerks only have a semester left before they become seniors, internships, graduation projects and job hunting will take up a lot of time and energy, so most people will choose to resign by then!"
"Even if I don't quit, I won't have that much free time to run the store!"
"So, after much thought, I think a sophomore staff member would be more suitable!"
"We have quite a few sophomores in our Finance College branch. Each of them is an old employee who has been working in the digital store since the store opened. They are excellent and loyal. For me, this is a difficult choice. After considering for a long time, I finally made a difficult decision and decided on the store manager!"
"She is a very hardworking person. She always rushes to do the work. Even if it is not her turn, she often helps others clean up."
“She wasn’t the best when she first joined the store, but she worked hard every day and continued to grow by gaining experience.”
"She is a very good senior with a gentle personality. She never puts on airs in front of new employees and is always eager to guide new employees who have just joined the store!"
"She is very careful and never makes any mistakes in inventory and accounting. She never gives me any worries!"
"By the way, her tea-making skills are pretty good too."
When Su Zelin finished speaking, everyone laughed and gave warm applause.
Although Hunzi hasn't revealed the name of the new store manager yet, everyone can guess who it is.
"In short, this person is very capable. Yes, she is our Liu Wanyin, classmate Xiao Liu!"
Su Zelin finally revealed the answer.
"From now on, you will take over my banner and become the second-generation store manager of the New Century Finance Institute branch. I hope you can manage the store well and become a competent team leader! Now, let's welcome the second-generation store manager Liu Wanyin with warm applause to come up and say a few words to everyone!"
Accompanied by applause, Liu Wanyin walked out from the staff line.
Facing dozens of colleagues, her pretty face flushed, but not out of shyness or nervousness, but excitement.
If it had been at the beginning of the new century, when Xiao Liu had not yet overcome his social phobia, such a scene would have made him feel helpless and perhaps unable to say a word.
However, she found that she was no longer afraid to face others. She could face strangers calmly and communicate freely, not to mention her colleagues who she had been with day and night and had already known each other for a long time.
After the staff quieted down, Liu Wanyin spoke.
"Thank you, Mr. Yang, Mr. Kang, and every colleague here, especially our boss, Manager Su!"
"In fact, the old employees who entered the digital store with me last year should know that I used to be a very introverted person with extremely low self-esteem. I was not good at communicating with others and was afraid of facing strangers. Although the salary, environment and working hours of New Century were ideal, I didn't even have the courage to apply for the job!"
"At that time, it was my class leader, Manager Su, and two other good friends from my class who encouraged me and accompanied me to the interview. Later, I successfully got the job!"
“I learned a lot here!”
"I don't know when I started to have the courage to smile at customers I don't know. My family's financial situation has improved, and I have become more confident!"
“I am very fortunate to be able to join the harmonious and loving team of New Century. It is this job and you who have changed me and made my life better!”
“Actually, I’m not the best one in the team, but no matter what position I’m in, I hope to grow with everyone and become better every day. Thank you!”
As soon as Liu Wanyin finished her speech, there was thunderous applause.
Xiao Liu's prestige in the digital store is indeed a bit lacking, unlike Su Zelin who can be both tough and gentle.
However, this girl from the mountains is kind, honest, hardworking, gentle and careful. Her good temper and diligence have won her quite good popularity in the digital store. Even if she is elected as the store manager through election, her popularity should be quite high. Now that Su Zelin has appointed her as the store manager, no one will object.
This is what Xiao Liu calls speaking simply, unlike the idler who always speaks simply and lets half a day pass by unnoticed.
After finishing her speech, she returned to the team. Other colleagues offered their congratulations, and Liu Wanyin smiled and thanked them one by one.
Su Zelin spoke again: "Xiao Liu is good in every way, except that her temper is a little too good. In fact, I personally hope that she can be tougher, but I'm afraid it's a little difficult. But I warn you guys, don't bully this little girl! I've made it clear that even if Xiao Liu plays the good cop, I'm the bad cop watching here. If anyone dares to bully her and disobeys my orders, I won't let him off!"
The gangster spoke very domineeringly.
However, this caused unanimous complaints from everyone.
"Come on, we would never bully Manager Liu. You are the one who bullies others the most!"
"That's right. Before Xiao Liu became the store manager, he was pushed into doing a lot of work that wasn't his job. Not only did he have to do the inventory and bookkeeping, he even had to make tea. I strongly protest against the manager abusing his power!"
"The people have no electricity, but you, the governor, are setting fires. You are the one who bullies Xiao Liu the most, and you are still crying thief!"
"… "
The meeting ended with laughter.
After closing the shop door, Su Zelin and Liu Wanyin walked out of the digital store side by side.
The hunzi asked with a smile: "Xiao Liu, how does it feel to be a leader?"
Liu Wanyin thought for a moment and said, "I feel like I have an extra sense of responsibility on my shoulders, but this feeling of being trusted is really good!"
"Haha, yes!" Su Zelin agreed: "Having companions around you and being recognized by them is the important meaning of life!"
After a pause, he continued, "There is still more than a month until New Year's Day. By then, the promotion of the digital store will be entirely handed over to you. Work hard and make the first move to become the second-generation store manager!"
"Yes, Boss!"
…