novelonline Chapter 1539 Strict Selection
Chapter 1539 Strict Selection
The festive atmosphere of the Spring Festival has not completely dissipated. Red lanterns are still hanging on the streets of Guangzhou, and the faint smell of cooking fires can still be smelled in the air.
This Spring Festival, Qin Hao completely unloaded the fatigue from work and spent a leisurely and sweet time with Liang Danning.
The two strolled through the bustling flower market together. Liang Danning, like a child, held Qin Hao's hand as they wandered from stall to stall. Sometimes they would snuggle on the sofa, watching movies and TV series together. Qin Hao would occasionally cook for Liang Danning, making her favorite dishes. Their relationship quickly warmed up.
Happy times always pass quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, the day Xingyao Media officially started work.
Although Xingyao Media's Series A financing has been successfully negotiated and the first tranche of 300 million yuan has been received, Qin Hao dares not slack off in the slightest. Capital investment is not meant to be quietly left in the company's account, but rather to expand the company's scale, increase its value, and thus obtain higher returns.
How to spend this raised money requires a long-term, meticulous plan; it cannot be invested blindly, otherwise not only will the expected capital be not achieved, but the company may also fall into difficulties. To this end, Qin Hao formulated a detailed three-year plan.
On the first day back to work, Xingyao Media held its first all-staff senior management meeting of the new year. The atmosphere in the meeting room was serious and solemn. All senior executives arrived on time, notebooks in hand, and waited attentively for Qin Hao to speak.
Qin Hao, dressed in a black suit, sat in the main seat, holding a tablet computer in his hand, with a calm expression on his face.
"Happy New Year, everyone." Qin Hao began by saying, "First of all, I wish you all a happy new year and a prosperous start to the new year. In the past year, everyone worked together and worked hard, which enabled the company to achieve good results. In particular, during the Spring Festival shopping season, we achieved sales of 32 billion yuan, which is commendable."
After a brief exchange of pleasantries and affirmations, Qin Hao changed the subject and his tone became serious: "The main reason for holding this meeting today is to share with you a development plan for the company over the next three years. This is also the most important work plan we have made since our Series A funding was secured."
As he spoke, Qin Hao opened his tablet and projected the three-year plan's PowerPoint presentation onto the conference room's large screen. When the title "Three-Year Plan: Establishing Warehousing and Creating Xingyao Select" appeared on the screen, along with the subsequent detailed plans, the conference room fell silent instantly. All the executives stared wide-eyed at the large screen, their faces filled with shock. Even the usually calm and rational Liu Mengyao was filled with astonishment.
The PPT clearly shows that Xingyao Media will invest in and build four large-scale warehousing centers in the next year, located in Guangzhou, Tianjin, Shanghai and Jingzhou respectively. At the same time, it will focus on building the "Xingyao Yanxuan" brand, optimizing the product supply chain, strictly controlling product quality, and moving away from the simple asset-light live streaming model.
After a moment of silence, an operations executive spoke first, his tone tinged with worry and doubt: "President Qin, we've always adopted a light-asset model, not needing to build our own warehouses, but relying on partner manufacturers and third-party logistics, which saves costs and allows for rapid scaling. Now, suddenly building so many large-scale warehousing centers involves huge investments; isn't the risk a bit too great?"
Another executive quickly chimed in, saying urgently, "Yes, President Qin, building four large warehousing centers at once will cost hundreds of millions in land, construction, and equipment upfront. Add to that the later operating and personnel costs, and it's no small sum. Moreover, we've never done warehousing-related business before and lack experience. If problems arise, the impact on the company will be huge."
Immediately, the executives in the conference room began to discuss among themselves, mostly expressing their concerns and questions, their tone full of uncertainty.
After all, the asset-light model enabled Xingyao Media to develop rapidly and achieve brilliant results. Now, it is suddenly going to transform, invest heavily in building warehouses, and break the existing operating model. Nobody is sure about this.
Faced with everyone's questions and concerns, Qin Hao remained calm. He slowly put down his tablet and explained in a steady tone, "I understand everyone's concerns. After all, this is the largest investment our company has ever made since its inception, and it's also a significant transformation. There are two main reasons for building this warehousing center: firstly, to shorten delivery time and optimize the user experience; and secondly, to control product quality and address our current pain points."
He paused, then continued, "The asset-light model we adopted previously did allow us to rapidly expand our scale, increase sales, and capture the market in a short period of time—that was its advantage. However, over time, this model also brought many drawbacks. If you've paid attention to the customer service department's feedback reports, you should have noticed that our customer complaint rate is 0.5 percentage points higher than that of traditional e-commerce. Have you ever thought about what this 0.5 percentage point means?"
Qin Hao's gaze swept over every executive present, his tone becoming serious: "This means that on average, one in every two thousand customers will leave a negative review; it means that for every two thousand products we sell, we will lose one customer. You've all bought things online before, and you should know that just one bad shopping experience will lead you to immediately blacklist the store and never patronize it again. This is no small matter; it's killing our repeat customers and eroding the reputation we've built up over so many years!"
Qin Hao's words struck like a hammer blow to the hearts of every executive. The conference room fell silent once more; everyone lowered their heads, avoiding Qin Hao's gaze. They had always focused solely on sales figures and performance growth, neglecting the issues behind customer complaint rates and the importance of repeat customers.
After a moment, Qin Hao changed the subject and softened his tone: "Of course, this is not everyone's fault. It is an inevitable consequence of our choice of an asset-light model and rapid expansion."
"Over the past three years, the live-streaming e-commerce industry has flourished, with a surge in users. The influx of new users has made up for the lost repeat customers, allowing us to maintain rapid growth. But have you ever thought about how long this industry boom can last?"
"One year? Or three years? We don't know, and we can't gamble on that probability. Industry competition is getting fiercer, more and more live streaming agencies are emerging, and users have more and more choices. Once the boom fades, if we don't have our own core competitiveness and a stable base of repeat customers, we will be eliminated by the market. Therefore, we must make up for this weakness before the boom ends!"
"Only by establishing our own warehousing centers can we truly control the overall situation."
At this point, Qin Hao paused, his gaze falling on Liu Mengyao. Liu Mengyao pondered for a moment, then raised her head and said firmly, "I agree with President Qin's opinion. The drawbacks of the asset-light model have gradually become apparent. We must transform, build a warehousing center, and create Xingyao Yanxuan. Although the initial investment is huge and the risks are high, this is the only way for the company's long-term development and the key to enhancing our core competitiveness."
Liu Mengyao's statement made it clear to all the executives present that there was no point in opposing it.
Immediately, the two investor representatives present nodded in agreement, their faces showing smiles of approval. One of the investor representatives said, "President Qin's idea is very visionary, and I fully support it."
With the support of Liu Mengyao and the investor representatives, the other executives gradually calmed down, and the doubts on their faces dissipated considerably. Just then, one of the investor representatives suddenly spoke up, raising a question: "President Qin, I have no objection to your choice of Guangzhou, Tianjin, and Shanghai for the four warehouse centers. These three cities are all first-tier cities with developed economies and convenient transportation, large market demand, and convenient logistics. However, why not choose Wuhan for the fourth one, but instead choose Jingzhou, a city with little presence? Wuhan is a transportation hub connecting nine provinces, and it has more advantages than Jingzhou."
This question echoed the sentiments of many executives, who all looked up at Qin Hao, awaiting his explanation.
Qin Hao said calmly, "It's normal for people to have this question. Wuhan is indeed a transportation hub connecting nine provinces, with convenient transportation and large market demand. However, Wuhan has a fatal problem—traffic congestion."
He paused, then continued, "Jingzhou, on the other hand, is less than 200 kilometers from Wuhan. It has a well-developed highway and railway network, allowing for quick access to Wuhan's transportation hub and benefiting from Wuhan's market influence, while avoiding Wuhan's traffic congestion. Moreover, land prices in Jingzhou are much cheaper than in Wuhan, saving a significant amount on construction costs. The local government has also introduced corresponding preferential policies to attract investment, offering substantial support in both taxation and land approval. For us, it offers even better value for money."
"In addition, even for warehousing centers in Guangzhou, Tianjin, and Shanghai, I would suggest choosing locations in the suburbs," Qin Hao added. "Land prices in the suburbs are lower, and they can avoid congested areas in the city center, saving logistics time, improving delivery efficiency, and reducing pressure on noise and environmental protection."
Qin Hao's explanation was clear, logical, and well-founded. Everyone present understood immediately and raised no further objections. Qin Hao glanced at the crowd, and seeing that no one had any questions, he clicked on the next slide of the PPT, his tone becoming even more impassioned: "Next up is the core of our three-year plan—Star Glory Selection!"
"Strict selection, as the name suggests, means rigorous selection." Qin Hao looked at everyone and said slowly, "Here, I want to ask everyone a question first: Many of our products are produced in cooperation with e-commerce platforms, so there is not much price advantage and the products are not much different. Why would customers buy from our live broadcast room instead of going to e-commerce platforms or other live broadcast rooms?"
This question caused the executives present to fall into deep thought. After a moment, they looked at each other and began to discuss it animatedly.
"Because our products are cheap enough?" an executive said.
"I think it's because our product demonstrations were well done, and the hosts explained things in detail, which allowed customers to clearly understand the features and advantages of the products," another executive added.
"Furthermore, our livestreamers are popular and have a large following. Many customers come specifically because of the livestreamers; they buy whatever the livestreamers recommend," another executive said.
Everyone discussed it animatedly, offering various answers and expressing their own opinions. After the discussion subsided, Qin Hao slowly shook his head and said calmly, "What you've said isn't wrong, but it's not the real reason why customers place orders in our live stream."
"The real reason is—they're lazy!"
As soon as the words were spoken, everyone in the conference room looked at each other in disbelief. Some stared wide-eyed, some frowned, and others seemed to doubt whether they had misheard. They never expected Qin Hao to give such an answer.
Liu Mengyao looked at Qin Hao, who was speaking eloquently, and seemed to be deep in thought.
Seeing the surprised expressions on everyone's faces, Qin Hao continued to explain, "That's right, it's laziness. If they were diligent enough and willing to spend time comparing prices across the entire internet and comparing different live streams, they could definitely find stores with lower prices than ours, and there are definitely live streams with better viewership and product displays than ours. The reason they buy from our live stream is simply because they came across it, and the product we showcased happened to be what they needed. They were too lazy to compare, that's all!"
These words were like a bucket of cold water poured over the heads of all the executives present, instantly sobering them up. They had always believed that it was their operations, livestreamers, and products that attracted customers, but they never expected the truth to be like this.
"The reason we've been able to develop so quickly over the past three years isn't because we've done exceptionally well, but simply because we caught the wave of the times and capitalized on the boom in live-streaming e-commerce." Qin Hao's tone became serious. "However, the boom will eventually pass, and the industry will eventually return to rationality. Whether we land smoothly or fly higher and crash harder at that time will depend on our true abilities."
"What is true skill? It all lies in the word 'carefully selected'. What we want to do is not just live-streaming e-commerce, not just selling products, but building a brand – Xingyao Carefully Selected. We want customers to be able to place orders without any worries, no matter what products are being sold, as long as they come across our live stream, without comparing prices, worrying about quality, or concerned about after-sales service."
"Because we've already done all the preliminary work for them before even listing their products. We rigorously select our partner manufacturers and strictly control product quality. Every product undergoes multiple rounds of quality inspections to ensure it meets standards. We have a comprehensive after-sales system so that customers can get quick solutions to any problems they encounter. We want to make 'Xingyao Yanxuan' synonymous with quality, reliability, and trustworthiness. This is our core competitiveness and the foundation for our long-term development!"
After Qin Hao finished speaking, a brief silence fell over the conference room. Everyone was seriously considering Qin Hao's words, and the surprise on their faces gradually turned into approval and admiration. After a moment, a burst of enthusiastic applause rang out in the conference room and lasted for a long time.
The two investor representatives also stood up, extended their hands to Qin Hao, and said with admiration, "President Qin, we were right about you! This investment will be one of the best decisions I've ever made!"
Qin Hao also stood up and shook hands with them one by one, saying humbly, "Thank you for your recognition and support. It's easier said than done. There will be many difficulties and challenges in the next three years. We still have to take it one step at a time. I hope you two will continue to support me and President Liu in the future."
"Haha, no problem, no problem!" the investor representative said with a smile. "Investment is about investing in people. We have great faith in you and President Liu, and we are also optimistic about the future of Xingyao Media. We will definitely give you our full support!"
After the meeting, Xingyao Media officially launched the implementation of its three-year plan. For the next six months, Qin Hao became busy again, with four warehousing centers starting construction one after another. He frequently traveled between Guangzhou, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Jingzhou to check on the progress of the projects and resolve problems encountered during construction, truly experiencing the "comfort" of being a "frequent flyer."
In addition, Qin Hao also needed to personally oversee some major decisions in the company's operations. Fortunately, with that detailed three-year plan in place, the senior executives of each department performed their duties and steadily promoted various tasks according to the plan, which saved Qin Hao a lot of trouble.
Liu Mengyao also took the initiative to take on most of the company's daily operations, allowing Qin Hao to have more time to focus on the construction of the warehousing center and the creation of Xingyao Yanxuan.
Busy times always fly by, and half a year has passed in the blink of an eye. Construction of the four warehousing centers is progressing smoothly, with the main structure completed. They are expected to be officially put into use in a few months. Xingyao Selection has also taken initial shape, selecting a number of high-quality partner manufacturers and launching a variety of carefully selected products. As soon as they were launched, they received positive feedback from consumers, and the customer complaint rate has also decreased significantly.
That day, Qin Hao had just returned from inspecting the construction of a warehousing center in Shanghai and landed at Guangzhou Baiyun Airport. As soon as he stepped out of the arrivals area, his phone rang; the caller ID showed Shen Mo.
Qin Hao answered the phone with a relaxed smile: "President Shen, what made you think of calling me?"
On the other end of the phone, Shen Mo's voice carried a hint of joy and enthusiasm: "President Qin, I have a bar that's opening tonight. If you're free, come over and join the fun. It's been a long time since we've gotten together."
Qin Hao smiled and said, "President Shen is truly powerful. It hasn't been long, and you've already opened another new store. Business is booming!"
"Mr. Qin, you're too kind. It's just that my friends are giving me face," Shen Mo said modestly. "I'm just one of the shareholders at most. The bar business has been pretty good lately, and my friends all wanted to open one together, so I joined in."
"Mr. Shen, you chose a good day for the opening ceremony. It just so happens that I'm going back to Guangzhou today."
"That's great!" Shen Mo's voice instantly became even more enthusiastic: "Then I'll be waiting for President Qin's arrival. I'll send you the bar's address, and I'll be waiting for you at the entrance tonight."
"Okay, no problem."
As soon as Shen Mo hung up the phone, Jin Linsheng clicked his tongue, his tone filled with doubt and worry: "Old Shen, what do you think this President Qin is up to? He stockpiled so many medical protective supplies half a year ago, and they've been sitting in the warehouse untouched. I heard from Lao Wang the other day that at the end of last month, Qin Hao placed another large order with them, and now Lao Wang and Lao Hou's factories are working overtime to fill all their production capacity."
"This is already worth tens of millions of dollars worth of goods, piled up in the warehouse, neither sold nor used. Isn't he afraid of being stuck with them?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Mo shook his head helplessly, his tone tinged with doubt: "If I knew what he was up to, I wouldn't be so conflicted. To be honest, I don't understand his actions either. Medical protective equipment isn't exactly scarce, so hoarding so much is really abnormal."
"Forget it, I've spent all my money on this bar lately, and I don't have any spare cash left, so I'm not going to stockpile any more goods. I'll just leave the previous batch of goods there for now. If there's still no movement by the end of the year, I'll sell them even if I lose some money. It's better than having a warehouse to occupy and wasting resources."
“Hmm, that makes sense.” Jin Linsheng nodded in agreement and said, “Then I’ll do the same as you, put the goods I have on hand, and see how things go at the end of the year. If I really lose money, I’ll just consider it tuition and never blindly follow the crowd again.”
After chatting for a few more minutes, the two began to busy themselves with receiving the guests who came to support them and preparing for the opening ceremony that evening.
……
As night falls, Guangzhou's streets are ablaze with neon lights. A variety of neon billboards illuminate the entire city, and the streets are bustling with traffic and people, brimming with lively energy. Shen Mo's newly opened bar, located in Guangzhou's vibrant commercial district, boasts luxurious and grand decor.
Qin Hao drove to the bar entrance, and as soon as he parked his car, he was stopped by the security guard at the entrance.
Qin Hao didn't mind: "I'm a friend of your CEO Shen, I'll give him a call."
The call was answered quickly. Qin Hao briefly said that he had arrived at the door, and Shen Mo then had the security guard take the call.
The security guard took the phone and listened respectfully to Shen Mo's instructions on the other end, nodding occasionally. After hanging up, he smiled even more respectfully and quickly handed the phone back to Qin Hao: "Mr. Qin, I'm so sorry for my rudeness. Mr. Shen has already instructed that all the parking spaces inside are full. Why don't you give me the keys, and I'll go park the car in the VIP parking lot next door? I'll bring the car back when you come out in a bit, and I promise it won't delay you."
"Okay, thank you for your help." Qin Hao nodded and handed the car keys to the security guard.
"No trouble at all, you are Mr. Shen's distinguished guest." The security guard said hurriedly, took the car keys, and respectfully watched Qin Hao walk towards the bar entrance.
Before Qin Hao even reached the bar entrance, Shen Mo and Jin Linsheng had already come to greet him. Shen Mo, dressed in a casual suit, walked up with a warm smile and said, "Oh my, Mr. Qin, it's only been half a year, but you've lost a lot of weight. No matter how busy you are with work, you must take care of your health and not overwork yourself."
Qin Hao smiled and casually replied, "I've been really busy lately. Four warehouses are operating at the same time, and I also have to take care of company matters. It's hard not to lose weight."
Jin Linsheng stepped forward and said with a smile, "President Qin, it's been a long time. You still look so energetic. You are indeed young and promising with boundless energy."
"Mr. Jin, you flatter me. I was just putting on a brave face," Qin Hao replied with a smile.
The three chatted as they walked into the bar. Inside, the lights were dazzling, the music was blasting, and the place was bustling with activity. On the dance floor, people were dancing to the rhythm of the music; at the bar, many people were drinking and chatting, their laughter filling the air.
Along the way, many scantily clad and beautifully dressed women passed by them.
Qin Hao couldn't help but tease, "Mr. Shen, your bar may not have much else, but it certainly has plenty of beautiful women."
"Haha, that's a must!" Shen Mo said with a smile. "If there aren't beautiful women in the bar, who will come to have fun? I specially hired a lot of good-looking and elegant waitresses and resident beauties to attract customers. However, the live streaming trend has been too strong lately, and many girls have gone to live stream online. Fewer and fewer beautiful women are willing to work in the bar, and the price has gone up a lot. Tonight, I have to sell a lot more drinks to earn back their wages."
Qin Hao smiled and joked, "Why don't you try live streaming, Mr. Shen?"
Shen Mo quickly waved his hand and said with a smile, "Hey, I'm not cut out for this! Before I met you, I knew nothing about technology or live streaming. I didn't even know how to do mobile live streaming, let alone live streaming operations. Forget it, I'll just stick to running my bar and doing my business. I'll leave the live streaming to professionals like you."
"Then you also invested in two smart home companies?" Jin Linsheng teased from the side.
Shen Mo laughed: "Although I know nothing about technology, I trust President Qin's vision! President Qin has a long-term and accurate understanding of internet technology. Any project recommended by President Qin will definitely not lose money. I invested in those two smart home companies because of President Qin. I don't need to worry about it; I can just wait to make money."
Qin Hao smiled helplessly: "President Shen, please don't flatter me like that. I'm not omnipotent, and I can make mistakes too. If it were really as you say, President Shen, wouldn't I be on the Forbes list by now?"
"Hahahaha..." The three of them looked at each other and laughed.
As the three were chatting and laughing, Qin Hao's gaze was suddenly drawn to the bar not far away. He paused slightly and looked in that direction.
Jin Linsheng also noticed Qin Hao's gaze, followed his eyes, and gave him an ambiguous smile, teasingly asking, "President Qin, which beauty have you taken a fancy to?"
"Old Jin, don't talk nonsense." Shen Mo quickly gave Jin Linsheng a look and lowered his voice to say, "That's President Qin's girlfriend's best friend, Zhao Mei, who is also an employee of Guster Company."
"It's nothing." Qin Hao smiled and said to Shen Mo and Jin Linsheng, "Gentlemen, I'll go say hello first and I'll be right back."
"Okay, go ahead, we'll wait for you in the private room." Shen Mo nodded and said with a smile.
Qin Hao nodded and turned to walk towards the bar.
At the bar, Zhao Mei was patiently explaining tonight's promotions to the nightclub's promoters and reminding them of important details when she suddenly sensed someone standing next to her. She instinctively turned around and saw Qin Hao, a surprised smile appearing on her face: "Hey, Qin Hao? What are you doing here?"
Qin Hao pointed upstairs and said with a smile, "It's Shen Mo's new bar. I came to join in the fun and support him."
Zhao Mei raised an eyebrow and said half-jokingly, "Oh? Then you'd better be careful. There are so many beautiful women here, so don't do anything reckless. Otherwise, I'll tell Danning and she'll deal with you."
Qin Hao couldn't help but laugh and teased, "Then you'd better open your eyes wide and stare at me carefully. The lighting here is too dim, or you'll damage your eyes."
Amidst their laughter and conversation, Zhao Mei's smile suddenly vanished. Qin Hao followed her gaze and saw Xu Yuntian walking towards the bar. (End of Chapter)