Since He Zhiyu had said so, Chen Pingjiang had no reason to hold back.
Even if he didn't respect the monk, he had to respect the Buddha; Old He was quite good to Chen Pingjiang on weekdays.
Zhang Fu of Tai Yishou Hotpot shifted the topic to Chen Pingjiang.
"General Manager Chen, I'd like to ask for your advice. My hotpot restaurant feels increasingly difficult to expand now. What do you think I should do next? Should I open up for franchising or?"
As soon as Zhang Fu spoke, everyone's gaze turned to Chen Pingjiang.
Even the women at the next table lowered their voices, distantly staring at Chen Pingjiang's back.
Yan Yan felt a different kind of joy in her heart, all because the more excellent Chen Pingjiang performed, the more she felt a little proud herself.
Everyone was waiting for Chen Pingjiang to speak.
Yuanfang Supermarket's reforms had only been in place for two or three months, yet sales had already increased by a full ten percent.
At first glance, it might not seem like much, but Yuanfang Supermarket's annual turnover is several hundred million, so ten percent means tens of millions.
And this was only the result of two or three months; as time went on and the results and potential of the reforms were fully unleashed, ten percent would be far from Yuanfang Supermarket's ceiling.
In the mature and stable large supermarket industry, Yuanfang Supermarket's increased turnover was equivalent to snatching food directly from the mouths of other supermarket giants, the difficulty of which was imaginable.
Moreover, hearing He Zhiyu say that the shopping mall project was already being launched, many people's minds became active, all wanting to get on board.
And all of this was thanks to Chen Pingjiang's strategic planning.
Facing everyone's expectant gazes, Chen Pingjiang smiled, took a sip of tea, and after building up their anticipation, said:
"Going the franchising and investment attraction route builds brand, scale, and capital markets, but it's very difficult because there are too many competitors."
"Actually, everyone sitting here has a better path."
"Isn't Old He planning to do commercial real estate? General Manager Zhang, you run a hotpot restaurant; the simplest way is for your hotpot restaurant to open wherever Old He's shopping mall opens.
Of course, that's not enough; General Manager Xu's Japanese restaurant, General Manager Li's gym, and General Manager Zhou's seafood buffet should all participate together, everyone helping each other."
"You can use General Manager He's connections to secure the best storefronts in prime locations, gaining more publicity and exposure.
At the same time, those in the catering business can collectively lower procurement costs through joint purchasing and reduce logistics costs through collective transportation.
Of course, once you become well-known brands, you will, in turn, contribute to Old He's Yuanfang Plaza.
Even if Yuanfang Plaza progresses slowly due to the significant funds required for land acquisition and construction, your other businesses can still band together to secure greater benefits."
Zhang Fu said:
"General Manager Chen thinks more deeply than we do. Old He told me before that when his Yuanfang Plaza opens, he would reserve a good storefront for me, and others also planned to move in, but we hadn't considered the aspect of joint purchasing."
At this moment, someone hesitantly said:
"General Manager Chen's idea is not wrong, and I also think that operating as a group is definitely fine, but it always feels like something crucial is missing?"
He Zhiyu also nodded:
"Our Yuanfang Supermarket and Yuanfang Plaza are heavy assets, and their expansion speed indeed cannot be fast, unlike their catering businesses which can open ten stores in a month without issue.
But these brands, to be honest, once they leave the Dongjiang market and operate in other regions, not many people know them. This is the problem: brand awareness is limited, and opening stores elsewhere might not guarantee good sales, or even worse, everyone might fail together."
Indeed, banding together might allow them to survive better, but it wouldn't achieve the goal of getting rich.
Some people were still thinking, if it was just this level, then this Chen Pingjiang was honestly nothing special, yet Old He praised him so highly.
Just then, Chen Pingjiang looked around and said:
"You're right, because a crucial link is missing in this chain; only by adding this link can the ecosystem form a complete closed loop."
"This link is online."
As soon as Chen Pingjiang finished speaking, everyone present started discussing animatedly.
"Does General Manager Chen's 'online' refer to computers?"
"Is it Renren Waimai? I've looked into it."
"..."
In an instant, everyone spoke at once, and the scene became chaotic.
This was because no one knew what "online" referred to, yet from Chen Pingjiang's mouth, it sounded incredibly impressive, making everyone scratch their heads for a moment.
Chen Pingjiang no longer kept them in suspense.
"It's not Renren Waimai, but it's similar to Renren Waimai."
"In the internet age, everyone should pay more attention to online traffic portals."
"What I'm talking about is group buying."
"What is group buying? Group buying refers to a consumption model where a group of consumers unite to purchase goods or services collectively, thereby obtaining lower prices, more discounts, or other special benefits.
In group buying, consumers can enjoy special offers such as discounts, coupons, and free gifts by purchasing the same goods or services with others."
"The benefit of group buying is that online, customers can see your store recommendations, learn about your store, view your store's photos and dishes, thereby attracting traffic.
Otherwise, general catering businesses primarily serve customers within a three to four-kilometer radius; any further, they struggle. Group buying, however, can bring you customers from further away through specific methods."
"My Renren.com and Renren Waimai are existing platforms; with a slight modification, they can handle the upstream part of group buying."
Chen Pingjiang pointed to Zhang Fu and said:
"For example, if a user sees Tai Yishou Hotpot restaurant on the Renren Group Buying Platform and is attracted by the discounted price and coupons, they will place an order to buy a group buying voucher, and then use that voucher to dine at Tai Yishou Hotpot restaurant."
"And although you offer discounts, it doesn't mean reduced profits. Group meals typically feature fixed dishes, and high sales volumes can drive down your procurement costs, also boosting sales of profitable items and beverages.
Costs can be controlled through pre-preparation and single-pot cooking methods. Increased customer traffic will, in turn, create a siphon effect, enhancing brand power."
Everyone's eyes lit up.
Although no one present had heard of the new term "group buying," it sounded very impressive.
He Zhiyu suddenly looked enlightened.
"Are your Xiao Chen Barbecue and Miao Tea also made popular through such methods?"
He used to wonder why Chen Pingjiang, an internet person, was so skilled in catering, almost making every brand he touched popular.
At the time, he had some thoughts but didn't fully grasp it.
Today, with Chen Pingjiang's explanation, the veil of mystery was suddenly lifted.
Chen Pingjiang nodded and smiled:
"That's right. Take Miao Tea, my milk tea shop launched in March, for example. My Renren.com and Renren Waimai are huge traffic portals. Through concentrated promotion and topic guidance, I can easily make a brand popular, creating a 'dimensionality reduction attack' on other milk tea brands."
"The group buying industry is the same. Think about it, if I give General Manager Zhang massive publicity, and there are ten hotpot restaurants on the page, I always place Tai Yishou Hotpot at the top, with the most user reviews. As long as Tai Yishou Hotpot's service, ingredients, and taste are good, can it become popular?"
Zhang Fu slapped the table, his face a little flushed, and excitedly interjected:
"Of course it can, it's bound to become popular!"
This business sounds doable!
Only now did everyone realize that this was a powerful weapon, even holding the lifeline of businesses.
Everyone wasn't foolish; they naturally knew that the internet economy was advancing by leaps and bounds, and Chen Pingjiang himself had achievements in the internet field, and had successfully built Xiao Chen Barbecue and Miao Tea through a combination of online and offline strategies.
So, this person was the true king!
As long as they followed Chen Pingjiang's lead, and as Renren.com, Renren Waimai, and eventually Renren Group Buying grew larger, these catering businesses would get rich even by just 'drinking soup'.
"God of Wealth, I toast you."
"Exactly, this is the true God of Wealth."
No one knew who started it, but everyone cheered together.
After a drink, someone else eagerly asked:
"General Manager Chen, when do you plan to launch Renren Group Buying?"
Chen Pingjiang thought for a moment:
"In the second half of the year. I have a game product launching in the first half."
That person immediately grew anxious:
"Then you must hurry! Brothers are relying on you, General Manager Chen. When the time comes, whether you need people or money, just say the word, and we'll have everything ready for you."
"No problem, no problem."
Group buying itself was something Chen Pingjiang intended to do, and he already had Renren Waimai; with a few page modifications, a group buying + food delivery platform could be easily created.
Even without today's gathering, he had planned to launch the group buying project in the second half of the year.
Because he himself owned two catering brands, and as his catering brands increased, controlling traffic portals and group buying platforms would yield an effect far greater than 1+1.
Today's gathering was merely a coincidence.
Chen Pingjiang also had a sudden inspiration and proposed the group buying project.
If the catering, hotel, and foot massage businesses present could thrive, their integration with Renren Group Buying would, in turn, boost Renren Group Buying.
Offline was Yuanfang Plaza + catering, hotels, foot massage businesses banding together.
Online was Renren Group Buying + catering, hotels, foot massage businesses banding together.
This would inherently build a massive moat for Renren Group Buying.
By then, if one wanted to eat at a certain hotpot restaurant or stay at a certain hotel, they could only buy discounted coupons on Renren Group Buying; other group buying platforms wouldn't offer such deals.
(End of chapter)
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