Wei Yin knew the gossip about Mr. Rong and Ms. Chen, which was equivalent to Chen Xuan knowing it.
It's useless to know other people's gossip. Ms. Chen wants to concentrate on domestic brands. Wei Yin and Chen Xuan go to the market whenever they have time to inquire about other brands. Although Ms. Chen has the goods, everyone's business is still going on, but it is inevitable that they will be affected.
Especially one month before Ms. Chen's shop opened in Dong'an Market, all newspapers in Beijing advertised it in large pages, especially the domestic products offsetting foreign products. Ms. Chen directly promoted patriotism. The slogan was, if you are patriotic, come to Daxingsheng. Then, the row below was a list of all domestic cosmetic brands. What's more, it was a 20% discount for the whole store during the opening ceremony.
Because of this advertisement, Chen Xuan and Wei Yin's hat shop's business dropped drastically. For the sake of business, Chen Xuan and Wei Yin wanted to offer discounts, but before the opening day of Ms. Chen's shop, the brand would not allow them to do so. Besides, even if there was a discount, it would probably be useless. Because Daxingsheng would give discount coupons for purchases of a certain amount on that day. Chen Xuan only found out about discount coupons after asking around that they were another kind of discount.
Chen Xuan sighed, "Ms. Chen is so smart." Chen Xuan admitted that she could not come up with the idea of discount coupons.
Wei Yin said, "Yeah, it's even more annoying."
Fortunately, the store still has clothes and hats business. However, the cosmetics business is not completely gone. For example, Mrs. Cheng still comes to buy cosmetics from Chen Xuan. The main reason is that Mrs. Cheng has high standards. She does not use domestic products, but foreign brands. Chen Xuan also has foreign brands of cosmetics, but the profit is smaller. Chen Xuan has a 20% discount card from Jiqingfang. She gets it at 20% off, which is slightly cheaper. She gives it to customers at 10% off, which is also more cost-effective than Jiqingfang. Since Mrs. Cheng became friends with Chen Xuan, she is willing to take care of her business. She buys everything she uses on her face and wears from Chen Xuan's shop.
Chen Xuan and Wei Yin were also very dedicated. For example, for Mrs. Cheng's clothes, Wei Yin would first come up with the design drawings every season, show Mrs. Cheng the materials to be used, and then make them for her. The same goes for cosmetics. She would only recommend to Mrs. Cheng the ones that suit her skin.
Mrs. Cheng has made rapid progress since she started learning how to dress and put on makeup. She has also started learning to read and write. Mrs. Cheng said that she has learned to look up words in the dictionary and reads the newspaper every day. The most important thing is that she and Cheng Su have a smooth life. Mrs. Cheng's temper is not particularly good, but she is a straightforward person. She mostly socializes with people like wives of officials. Mrs. Cheng has also recommended Chen Xuan's business to several wives and grandmothers with whom she has a good relationship.
Therefore, the business of foreign brands has not been affected recently.
Then there is the business brought by Wei Jin's acquaintances. When Wei Jin first learned to put on makeup, she bought a set of cosmetics because Wei Yin's wouldn't let her use them, and Chen Xuan lived far away, so it was inconvenient to use them. Wei Jin bought a set like cutting meat. Later, Chen Xuan and Wei Yin started to do cosmetics business, and Wei Jin didn't need her own set anymore, so she sold it to Li at a low price. She asked Wei Yin to do her makeup every day, but Wei Yin ignored her, so she came to the shop in the morning and said shamelessly, "You trim eyebrows and apply nail polish for customers for free. I'm your eldest sister, you can't just give me these two things for free, you have to do my eyebrows and eyes for me, and put on some lipstick for me, too."
Wei Yin could ignore her, but Chen Xuan couldn't afford to offend Wei Jin. Later, the two of them discussed and gave Wei Jin a set of cosmetics, just asking her to come less often to be served. Wei Jin didn't get the free cosmetics for nothing. She pulled all her friends, good or bad, over to get their eyebrows and nails trimmed for free. Some people only came once and never came again. Some became customers of the store. Even these ladies and grandmothers brought by Wei Jin had similar personalities to Wei Jin. They were not easy to deal with. They always bargained for a long time and couldn't live without taking advantage of them.
When Chen Xuan and Wei Yin did business, they always gave them some leniency. Even if they refused to bargain, they would at least give them a couple of inexpensive little gifts, so that these ladies would come happily and leave happily.
Wei Jin heard Wei Yin talking about the store's business being affected, and he also asked about Daxingsheng. He heard that they were offering 20% off and discount coupons that day. Wei Jin said, "If it were me, I would definitely wait for Daxingsheng to open."
Wei Yin was very depressed after hearing this. Wei Jin paused for a moment while making the hat and said to Wei Yin, "Actually, you guys should just hold on for a while. I guess the Daxingsheng thing can't always be discounted, right?"
Wei Yin cut the lace for the hat according to the size. "It's not a matter of waiting or not, sister. In business, it's all about getting your money back quickly. You have to have active money. If we wait for half a year, she will definitely not give a discount, but then the products can be kept for half a year, and the customers will have been lured away by Daxingsheng in half a year. When customers are used to buying from Daxingsheng, why would they come to our small shop? So, I would rather not make any money, but I have to find a way to keep the customers."
Wei Jin finally understood this and immediately came up with an idea, "Well, I have a few friends there, don't they often go to your shop to buy things? I'll ask them. But you have to be cheaper." "They are giving 20% off, you have to give at least 30% off to compete with them."
"Then we won't make any profit at all. Some of us may even lose money."
Wei Jin rolled his eyes and said, "25% off, how about that? If you agree, I'll bring you some regular customers."
Wei Yin was not stupid, and whispered to her elder sister, "The brand doesn't allow discounts right now. We can't tell them, otherwise we won't be able to explain to the brand owners."
"Don't worry, whoever takes advantage can shout it out."
In this way, Wei Jin helped sell some of them.
Chen Xuan and Wei Yin were not the type to sit still and worry about the situation. They thought together that secretly lowering the price was not a long-term solution. It would be bad if they were caught. However, the price of cosmetics would not be reduced. If they bought hats, clothes, and jewelry together, the price of hats, clothes, and jewelry could be reduced!
They were discount coupons from Daxingsheng. Anyway, they were all published in the newspapers, so Chen Xuan and Wei Yin used them without hesitation. They also got a batch of discount coupons, for example, if you buy something worth five dollars, you can get a 10% discount.
After the two of them did this, the hat shop's business immediately picked up.
However, the aunt and sister-in-law no longer promoted the fragrant brand, but switched to another brand on the market.
Chen Xuan also said to Brother Anian privately, "The manager of Jiqingfang gave me the 20% discount card. Brother Anian, why didn't I think of the idea of the discount coupon?"
Wei Nian smiled, "We didn't have this idea before, and everyone was doing business just like that. Now we have this idea. In the final analysis, it means giving profits to customers, and the merchants' own profits will be reduced. Of course, this is not without benefits. Just like you thought, setting a threshold and only giving discounts for orders over five yuan will also benefit merchants. Although this idea is good, it is not as good as you think. It is nothing more than a gimmick to sell things. Do you know why Jiqingfang has a 20% discount card?"
"It's only for people who buy a lot of things, right? Ours was given by the manager for Mr. Rong's sake."
"I thought about this matter carefully later. Those foreign brands are very troublesome. I asked around and found out that if you become an agent for a foreign brand, they have requirements for where you open your store. It must be opened in a large shopping mall. Even if it is not a large shopping mall, there are also requirements for the store. The store cannot be less than a certain size. To put it bluntly, they think their products are high-end, so they have to sell them in high-end stores." Wei Nian said, "Your card is different from the coupons issued by Daxingsheng. In fact, it is very much like the lowest-level agent card. In name, you go there to buy, but you are directly given a discount, and you pay more to sell it to customers. This should be the meaning, but it is not said directly."
Chen Xuan was a little confused. "But when I sell to customers, I always sell it a little cheaper than Jiqingfang. Sometimes I think it seems like I am stealing Mr. Rong's customers. I feel so sorry for Mr. Rong."
"How stupid! When Ah Yin bought the Danqi lipstick, the price at Jiqingfang was also five dollars, but she bargained and bought it for four dollars and fifty cents. You get it at 20% off, four dollars, and give it to customers at a lower price. How much cheaper can you get?" Wei Nian smiled, "It's better to know how to sell than to know how to buy. Since this card has been given to you, people have taken precautions. Besides, unless you are a regular customer, you are not rich. Otherwise, the really rich people go to Jiqingfang, why would they go to your small shop? Apart from other things, Jiqingfang looks upscale."
"That's true." Chen Xuan also laughed when she heard it.
Chen Xuan said, "Brother Anian, I'm thinking that when the lease of the shop is up, I'll move to a bigger shop."
"What do you think?"
"It needs two floors. The clothing business is gradually growing. Ah Yin and I have discussed it. The upper floor will make clothes, and the lower floor will sell cosmetics, small accessories, hats, sundries and the like."
"Okay, I'll help you keep an eye out for a shop. It would be best if you could build a small western-style building to look more western."
Qin Shu also went to Mr. Wen's salon this month.
Qin Shu and Mrs. Wen have a good relationship, and Chen Xuan and Wei Yin also benefit from it, sitting and chatting with Mrs. Wen. Ms. Chen's appearance is like a star among stars. Anyone who pays attention to newspapers knows about the career that Ms. Chen is going to do now. Ms. Chen is also in high spirits and looks radiant, better than before.
Fortunately, Chen Xuan has a calm personality and can even greet Ms. Chen with a smile when she sees her.
Ms. Chen later sent someone to send Chen Xuan an invitation to the opening ceremony of Daxingsheng. Chen Xuan, whose temper was as soft as dough, as Wei Jin said, even ordered a flower basket for Daxingsheng. However, Chen Xuan did not go to the opening ceremony.
On the opening day of Daxingsheng, Rong Yang invited Chen Xuan to dinner.
The invitation that Rong Yangling's assistant sent was not just for Chen Xuan, but also for Wei Yin.
Wei Nian thought about it and decided not to go with him.
The place where Rong Yang invited them was on Chaoyangmen South Street. If it weren't for the location on Rong Yang's invitation, even Wei Nian wouldn't have known that there was such a restaurant in Beijing. It was completely different from an ordinary restaurant. After entering the two black Chinese doors, there were lush flowers and trees inside, quiet and elegant. The waiters were all dressed in Chinese clothes and behaved respectfully. In an open pavilion facing the lake, Rong Yang, wearing a moon-white long gown, quietly drank tea by the window. When he saw the two of them coming, he stood up with a smile to greet them.
Chen Xuan smiled, "Knowing that Mr. Rong would come so early, we arrived earlier."
"You are not late." Rong Yang pulled out chairs for the two of them in a gentlemanly manner, with a smile flashing in his eyes, "This is my home."
Chen Xuan's face turned red with embarrassment. Rong Yang smiled and sat down calmly, "I thought Mrs. Wei should have become thicker-skinned during her time doing business."
"Mr. Rong, you are not a guest of my restaurant. Even if I were to do this to a guest, I would be embarrassed." Because she was quite familiar with Rong Yang, and Chen Xuan's personality was indeed quite cheerful, she laughed as she spoke. At that time, the name of Anxiang Garden was written on Rong Yang's invitation, and Chen Xuan thought it was a restaurant.
Wei Yin was a little curious, "Mr. Rong, why is your home called Anxiang Garden?" Who would name their home that garden? How strange.
"There are plum blossoms planted around this pavilion. When the plum blossoms bloom in winter, there is a subtle fragrance that fills your sleeves." Rong Yang understood Wei Yin's confusion and said to her, "People in the north like to call their homes mansions. If the surname is Li, it is called Li's House, and if the surname is Zhang, it is called Zhang's House. People in the south like to build gardens. There are the Humble Administrator's Garden, the Lingering Garden, and the Master of the Nets Garden, all of which are famous gardens in the south of the Yangtze River."
Wei Yin finally understood. The waiter brought drinks. Chen Xuan had milk tea and Wei Yin had coffee. Chen Xuan was always straightforward. "Mr. Rong, you asked us to come here. Is there something you want to ask?"
"I heard from a friend that you are very good at selling cosmetics. Although you failed to compete with Ms. Chen for Ms. Shao's agency rights, I admire Mrs. Wei and Ms. Wei's achievements in cosmetics. As far as I know, because Ms. Chen is about to open Daxingsheng, the sales of all domestic cosmetics in Beijing have been affected to a certain extent. Your business is good. Although the profit is less than selling them separately by bundling cosmetics with hats, clothes, and accessories, you have retained customers." Rong Yang praised, "I admire your talents in cosmetics sales and want to cooperate with you."
Wei Yin was a little surprised.
Perhaps Rong Yang usually gave Chen Xuan too good an impression, Chen Xuan's imagination was open, and she directly thought of Rong Yang as a living Bodhisattva who helps the needy. She waved her hands repeatedly, "Mr. Rong has helped me a lot, I can't take advantage of you again. Let's have a meal together, it's ok, how can I ask Mr. Rong for help for such a small matter? No, no! We can't be friends like this!"
Wei Yin reacted and thought Rong Yang heard that they didn't get Miss Shao's agency rights and wanted to help them because their business was not doing well. In fact, their business was not bad. Rong Yang pressed his hand down and smiled, "Mrs. Wei, you are too polite. I am not here to help you."
"But Mr. Rong, you own Jiqingfang, why do you still need us for cosmetics?"
"It's like this. I have a brand, a domestic brand, my own brand, and the business has been very bad in the past two years. As you know, the competitiveness of domestic brands is getting stronger and stronger." Rong Yang said, "This is the business I'm losing money on. Last year, the sales in Shanghai were only 600 lipsticks. The production line has been stopped, and I would like to ask the two of you to give it a try. I will give you the national agency rights, and your purchase price will be 40% off."
Wei Yin's beautiful eyes widened for a moment, but then she thought, the production line has stopped, and now it is probably just the brand that is left. Thinking of this, Wei Yin calmed down again. She looked at Chen Xuan. The design of clothing and hats in the store, as well as the selection and recommendation of cosmetics, were all decided by Wei Yin. The development of the store was decided by the two of them. Wei Yin looked at Chen Xuan, and Chen Xuan was also looking at Wei Yin. Chen Xuan thought again and again, and spoke cautiously, "I want to ask an outsider a question first."
"Mrs. Wei, please speak."
"According to Mr. Rong's status and your business, this cosmetics brand with a halted production line is only a very small business. Whether it exists or not, it does not have a big impact on Mr. Rong. Why did Mr. Rong come to us so seriously to do this? As long as Mr. Rong lets us know and advertises in the newspaper for a few days, are we still afraid that we can't afford such a brand?"
Rong Yang's eyes were as bright as the moonlight in the water. He first asked Chen Xuan, "What is my identity?"
Chen Xuan said everything in detail, "I used to think that you, Mr. Rong, were the big boss of Jiqingfang. A few days ago, I heard that you were also a major shareholder of Dong'an Market. I was shocked at the time. I don't know anything else."
Rong Yang said gently, "Mrs. Wei, business is business. No matter how much business I have, I am just a businessman. For businessmen, we focus on the profits generated by input and output. I can indeed advertise this kind of cosmetics. In fact, I have done so a few years ago. My ambition back then was to import all the production lines from abroad. I advertised on the front page of newspapers and invited celebrities. As a result, I lost a lot of money. There have been other cosmetics brands that want to buy my production lines. I was originally planning to sell them, but Ms. Chen insisted on making a fuss between domestic and foreign products, which made me very passive. It happened that I heard that Mrs. Wei and Miss Wei had outstanding achievements in this area, so I thought of cooperating with you. Ms. Chen's idea of concentrating domestic products in one store is good, but she insisted on bringing domestic products to patriotism. I don't appreciate this business method. After our products go abroad, they are still foreign products in the mouths of others. Competition should be benign, not full of □□ flavor. Others' products are good, we should learn from them, and then surpass them. This is the principle and proposition of 'learning from the barbarians to defeat the barbarians' proposed by Wei Yuan back then."
"I think this is the most ideal way for domestic products to compete with foreign products. The idea that you should buy domestic products if you love your country is an irrational guide for customers. Customers spend money to buy useful and practical things. This is the ultimate and longest-lasting way of consumption." Rong Yang's lips curled up slightly, "It is also the most rational and moral way of consumption. If you kill the good ones with one blow, the remaining bad ones will not get better. The correct way is to catch up with the good ones first, and then become better."
"I think that in this regard, Mrs. Wei and I share the same philosophy. Give domestic products some time. Even though we still have some gaps with foreign products, we are also trying our best to develop. I believe that one day, even if it takes a long time, five, ten, or fifty years, even if our generation cannot see it, there will be the next generation to inherit our aspirations and ideals. One day, our own brand can stand at the top of the world. I think this is the true spirit of a national industrialist."
The author has something to say: ps: The second update is here, good afternoon everyone~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The third update will be before 4 pm~~~~~~~~Calling for nutrient solution at the end of the month~~~~~