Reinventing the Millennium

Regardless of the reason, Mr. Dahuang’s Gome is very interested in Tesco.

And with the competitive actions taken by Gome, it successfully aroused Fang Zhuo's interest in Mr. Dahuang and the company Gome.

Gome is the number one home appliance chain, so it is naturally very strong. Otherwise, it would not have forced suppliers to choose one of the two so quickly and powerfully.

But Fang Zhuo still wanted to see how strong it was.

As the saying goes, real gold is not afraid of fire.

This time it will add fire to Gome.

During the day, Fang Zhuo made final arrangements for tomorrow's supplier meeting. At night, he began to try to make some bank promotions.

The first call I made was to my good friend Mr. Zang.

"Mr. Zhang, it's me, am I busy?"

Fang Zhuo sat alone in the study and made a cup of tea.

The call was clearly connected, but there was no response from the other party.

Fang Zhuo waited patiently for about ten seconds and said to himself strangely: "Huh? Is the signal not good? Call again."

Only then did Zhang Hongli say: "Mr. Fang, what's the matter? Don't tell me that you spent all your money!"

Fang Zhuo was shocked that the other party thought of him so much.

Zhang Hongli was shocked when he saw that Mr. Fang didn't answer. He sternly warned me: "Don't mention financing to me, don't mention that all the money has been spent. I tell you, no matter what the reason is, I will never accept it. Fang Zhuo, you don't want to Too much!"

"Mr. Zong, it has nothing to do with Bing Xin. It's a small personal matter of mine." Fang Zhuo sighed.

Zhang Hongli calmed down: "Oh, tell me."

"..." Fang Zhuo also adjusted his sad mood and said, "I heard that Mr. Zhang has a good relationship with ICBC. Please do me a small favor."

"Loans are not possible." Zhang Hongli refused forcefully.

He knows one thing. With Mr. Fang’s size, if he asks for a loan, it will definitely not be a small amount.

"..." Fang Zhuo adjusted his numb emotions and said, "It's not about money."

Zhang Hongli urged: "Then what nonsense are you talking about? Just say it quickly."

Fang Zhuo had completely calmed down: "That's right, doesn't your Deutsche Bank engage in exchanges and learning with domestic banks? Has ICBC in Beijing conducted such activities recently?"

Zhang Hongli replied: "Yes."

Not recently, but because of his background, Deutsche Bank has not hesitated to share its international experience with peers in the mainland. This is something that is easier for him to arrange.

"Recently, I have paid attention to a case. I wonder if Mr. Zhang knows that Pursmart in the retail industry was the one that collapsed last year." Fang Zhuo gave an example, which is the "foreign-owned membership-based supermarket" Pursmart that closed down in 2004. Smart.

It is said to be foreign-funded and an American brand. In fact, it is an authentic domestic private enterprise that just licensed a brand from abroad.

From 1996 to 2004, Pursmart opened 41 branches across the country. By the time the actual controller fled, it had defaulted on more than 2 billion in payments to suppliers and more than 1 billion in loans from banks.

Among them, one of the main reasons for the collapse of Pursmart was that it needed to constantly withdraw funds from suppliers to maintain expansion. In the end, the tight capital chain was unsustainable, and the entire plate collapsed.

Register a new store → Find a bank loan → Sell goods from suppliers on credit → Transfer payment and loans → Register the next new store.

Pursmart is basically this model.

"Of course I know." Zhang Hongli replied, "What happened last year is still fresh."

"So, the retail industry is a mixed bag. In order to seize market share, some people are willing to allocate payment and loans to maintain radical expansion. This lesson is profound, and we must learn from this experience." Fang Zhuo said earnestly.

Zhang Hongli was silent for a while, and without asking further questions, he just said: "You are so bad."

Obviously, he had guessed the intention.

This case of Puma is quite typical. It is not an isolated case in the retail industry and has also caused great repercussions.

But let’s compare this to Gome…

Zhang Hongli felt that Mr. Fang had really sinister intentions.

He said it carefully: "Deutsche Bank has business exchanges with several major domestic banks. Case analysis and risk management are normal behaviors, but we will never imply them."

"Isn't it enough to just have normal communication? Isn't there a similar situation in the market? Is risk control supposed to wait until the risk breaks out before taking care of it?" Fang Zhuo asked.

Zhang Hongli actively checked and filled in the gaps in his mind, and said patiently: "Of course it's OK to be normal, but I'm afraid I won't be able to get what you want just by being normal."

They are number one in the industry, how can you do it just by relying on this?

Fang Zhuo said with a smile: "I just got involved in the retail industry and studied the industry conditions. Suddenly I had an idea. It is everyone's responsibility to regulate market behavior."

Zhang Hongli understood. Mr. Fang was full of bad intentions, and it wasn't just this arrangement.

"Okay, for this little matter, I'll just send you a text message next time." He said, "Your boss suddenly called me in the middle of the night. It's quite scary."

Fang Zhuo thanked him politely: "Okay, Mr. Zhang, thank you for your help. I will text you directly next time I need money."

Zhang Hongli sneered and ended the call.

Fang Zhuo flipped through his address book and called Xu Kaiwei from Goldman Sachs.

Compared with Mr. Zhang's eccentric temperament, Mr. Xu is much more enthusiastic and down-to-earth.

Goldman Sachs also cooperates with domestic banks, and business exchanges and even training are common. It is undoubtedly the most normal behavior to analyze the risk management and control of the banking industry based on last year's typical case of the retail industry, Puma allocated funds for expansion.

It is both reasonable and legal.

If this really affects other companies, it is obvious that this company has problems that are unreasonable, unreasonable, legal and non-compliant.

Xu Kaiwei agreed without any psychological burden.

Both of these people agreed to help. They were more authoritative than domestic banks. Fang Zhuo did not plan to find relationships with the bank's system for the time being. He continued to flip through his address book and arranged for Sina Finance to also analyze the Puma case. A wave of retail chaos.

The industry is right, the time is close, the actual controller is abroad, and the victims are still waiting for the results.

The Puma case is a good one.

Fang Zhuo connected with others and finally gained greater confidence in the prospects of the retail industry.

…

On July 28, Tesco held a supplier meeting in Shanghai.

This is the first supplier meeting held by Tesco since its establishment, involving electrical appliance-related brands.

In terms of brand owners alone, there are nearly fifty companies in total.

But in terms of influence, there are not many senior executives here, and the brand size is relatively small and medium. The "Eight Heroes of TV" who have made appointments separately include Changhong, Konka, and TCL. They will have a meeting with Fang Zhuo on the 2nd of next month. Individual talks.

If we want to talk about the impact of brand suppliers on Gome, these eight companies together may have greater influence than the small and medium-sized brands present today.

Fortunately, Fang Zhuo did not only have the purpose of stopping losses. He not only showed Tesco's cooperative attitude, but also let the deputy director who came from the administration have a look at the real industry situation.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, the meeting was officially held.

Eighty or ninety people gathered in the huge conference hall, and the noisy voice suddenly stopped when Fang Zhuo took the stage.

Many people come here just for the reputation of being the richest man. Regardless of whether they cooperate or not, seeing with your own eyes what the richest man is like is a similar mentality.

"Hoo, hoo."

Fang Zhuo tried the wheat and everything was normal.

He announced enthusiastically: "I am very happy to see all the distinguished guests here. It is now two o'clock, so I will announce that the swearing-in meeting to fight against Gome is official... Oh no, Tesco's first electrical appliance supplier meeting has officially begun!"

After Mr. Fang's words, the conference hall was stunned for a moment, and then burst into laughter.

Because, the title of "Anti-Gome Pledge Conference" was really displayed on the big screen. As Mr. Fang changed his tune, the title on the screen also changed.

Fang Zhuo waited for the guests to finish laughing with a smile on his face, and shrugged: "Looking at you laughing so heartily, I already know the situation. However, if I were sitting below, I might laugh louder than you."

There were sporadic laughter again in the conference hall. Mr. Fang's style was different from what he imagined.

"It's okay to laugh, because competition between channels should be good for suppliers. Especially, as an online channel that has just entered the retail industry, Tesco sincerely looks forward to cooperating with everyone."

"Such sincerity is not just words, it needs to be shown with real money."

“Who wouldn’t be happy after taking money?”

Fang Zhuo was operating his laptop, and the title on the big screen changed, showing Tesco's brand cooperation plan for the next year.

How did Gome conquer the world?

Because it does not let middlemen make a profit on the price difference, it directly passes the profits to consumers, generally lowering the price by 10-20%.

When the market share increases, it further squeezes the profits of suppliers and allows itself to maintain flexibility.

Tesco has faced competition from Gome since its inception. Not only did suppliers cut off supply, but there was also tit-for-tat competition on products. If it had been anyone else, it might not have been able to handle it. However, Fang Zhuo had been determined to burn money early on, not only to We must not only benefit consumers, but also benefit suppliers.

There are no admission fees, sponsorship fees, etc. on e-commerce. You don’t need these fees.

Tesco's own brand promotion will be accompanied by its products on sale. This promotion involves first-line Internet websites, major TV platforms, and offline original Dazhong Electrical Appliances channels.

Tesco will set up sales rebates in the next year. The first level is the profit return ratio of the unit price, and the second level is the total price rebate for brand sales. That is, as long as there is a market for the brand's products, the more consumers buy, the more Tesco will The more they will return their share of money to suppliers.

The brand cooperation plan was announced by President Su Wei. When she mentioned the measure of "channels giving rebates to suppliers", many people were quite surprised. This is really... rare.

However, even so, with Tesco's current market share, this amount of money is not much, so the following guests are surprised rather than surprised.

"We are going to bid for the exclusive sponsorship of the Spring Festival Gala this year. Regarding the one-year development of e-commerce, Mr. Fang told me that he believes that the disclosure of this bidding news will help everyone understand our determination."

Su Wei revealed a major move in Tesco’s promotion.

As expected, this has made many suppliers think, and growth is also an opportunity for brands.

"At the end of the meeting, please don't walk too fast. The staff will distribute Tesco's cooperation plan." Fang Zhuo turned on the microphone. "If there is anything you don't understand, feel free to ask. Don't argue with each other. Tesco is just hugging you now." We build the platform with an attitude of not wanting to make profits.”

"No matter what happens in the future, I think it should be okay to make money first while Tesco is conducting a large-scale promotion."

Fang Zhuo always stands from the supplier's perspective. Don't worry about how my website operates, don't worry about how the richest man loses money, just take advantage of it first.

There was a buzz of discussion in the conference hall.

"Today, our e-commerce company invited many suppliers to a meeting, but many of them actually didn't come." Fang Zhuo saw the discussion subsided, picked up the information in his hand, and said, "Just now, the secretary gave me the statistical table. .”

"But I don't think it makes any sense."

"I absolutely welcome everyone who comes. I stand at the door and welcome everyone here."

"Those who don't come...I won't remember any of them."

As Fang Zhuo said this, he tore off the materials in his hands and said with a smile: "To be honest, Gome has a bigger market than ours, so if you don't come, or if you still make a choice and don't cooperate with Tesco after today, I understand. Human nature."

"If I really want to be angry, it's with Gome, not the supplier."

"But even if there is no cooperation in the near future, if there is an opportunity to cooperate with Tesco in the future, Tesco will not refuse them."

"I think Gome did something wrong, so Tesco will never imitate Gome."

Fang Zhuo was firm.

The applause in the conference hall became enthusiastic along with the leader. Mr. Fang's words sounded very good.

"There are many senior seniors here today. It just so happens that there is also an unresolved discussion within Tesco." Fang Zhuo manipulated the screen to display "Accounts Payable Cycle" and glanced at the deputy director in the back row, "We are very familiar with the industry. I have questions about this payment cycle. Is it two months? Three months? Or half a year? What is the mainstream level in the industry?"

Many people present felt that Mr. Fang cared about something, but they also thought that it was of little significance for Mr. Fang to use this as an excuse.

Sun Xiaopeng, the vice president of TCL who came to the meeting, said: "Mr. Fang, just follow Gome's decision. Everyone can tolerate it anyway."

As expected, everyone was very tolerant and did not move after hearing this. At most, they glanced at Sun Xiaopeng twice.

"Then the half-year period will be fine." Fang Zhuo said upon seeing this.

"Hey, Mr. Fang, you're not letting us live." A brand owner who actually supplies Tesco said, "Mr. Fang, you just said you didn't want to learn from Gome, now it doesn't matter in the blink of an eye? "

"I think you all agree that half a year is a bit much, right?" Fang Zhuo said with a smile.

Sun Xiaopeng continued to speak out and complained directly: "Gome agreed two years ago that it would be within three months, but this year it has been postponed to six months."

"TCL is like this?" Fang Zhuo was surprised and casually clicked on another person in the first row, "What about you?"

The supplier replied stiffly: "Seven months... It's been delayed to seven months over there."

He added: "Mr. Fang, since Tesco wants to develop and cooperate with suppliers for a long time, then three months is enough, no more, no less, everyone can accept it."

Fang Zhuo didn't say anything and just continued to order people.

He also didn't call names or let the guests stand up, but only asked about the situation.

Gome generally delays from three months to six months, and a few cases exceed six months.

"It's only been six months for us. It's difficult. It's hard for suppliers now." Another person said this.

Fang Zhuo was just about to click down and ask the deputy director to take a look at the situation. Suddenly he felt that the brand he was talking about seemed familiar. He stopped and wondered: "Sakura Bathroom Kitchen? Didn't you withdraw the cabinets from Gome last month? Are they going to Are you delaying the final payment?”

The regional president of Sakura Kitchen said "uh" and said, "I'm not just talking about Gome."

Fang Zhuo said in surprise: "Is Suning actually like this? Come on, come on, take a seat and tell us about it. It seems that this is an industry problem."

Sakura Kitchen is naturally unwilling to take the stage. Last month, they were withdrawn from the store by Gome in Xinjiekou, Jinling. Now they are dependent on Suning and Five-Star, so how can they really complain in a large way?

But without him taking office, industry-wide problems have still emerged. Delays in the accounts payable cycle are common in the retail industry, especially Gome.