This man knows how to hype

Chapter 592 A two-pronged approach
Baoding City, Hebei Province.

Yu Yuyu's car was parked outside a store on Xiangyang North Street.

After getting off the bus, I looked up and saw a huge print-style advertising poster of Guo Jinwei.

At the bottom of the poster is a store sign in red font with the three big words "Guo Jinguo" and some other promotional slogans.

Since Yu Yuyu rushed south immediately after receiving the news in the afternoon, it is now 8 o'clock in the evening, which should be the busy time for restaurants.

But the hot pot restaurant in front of me, Guo Jinguo, was far from being as long as advertised on the Internet. Looking through the glass inside, the occupancy rate was very average.

"A franchise fee of 50?" Yu Yuyu, who was only wearing a hat, walked in without much concealment, and there were several people following him.

After hearing her question, one of the middle-aged men quickly answered: "Yes, 50. In addition to the franchise fee, the store decoration also needs to be designed by the headquarters, which requires additional money.

The subsequent hot pot base, pots, pans, tableware, tables and chairs in the front hall, and even the ingredients must also be purchased from the headquarters, in order to ensure product quality.

Just for this store, it cost me 300 million in total to open it, and I have to pay the purchasing costs in advance every month.

At the beginning, their investment manager clearly guaranteed that the investment would be paid back in 6 months at the earliest and 15 months at the latest..."

After saying this, Yu Yuyu paused and asked curiously, "Can I go back?"

"Bullshit! Business was okay in the first month, but it plummeted in the second month. Even the first month's profits were taken away by the headquarters." The middle-aged man said this infuriatingly.

Without waiting for a reply, he pointed to the several human-shaped standees at the entrance for group photos and said, "Take a look at these standees. They are made of ordinary PVC boards with UV printing. Do you know how much each one costs?"

"Three hundred? Five hundred?" Yu Yuyu looked at the signboard and said, this kind of thing can be made by any roadside advertising shop.

"Five hundred? Two thousand three each! These together add up to more than ten thousand."

"How much, two thousand and three?" Yu Yuyu was shocked. This was a steal. How could this thing be sold for two thousand and three?

"They said that in addition to the production and distribution costs, the main cost was the use of Guo Jinwei's image. Two thousand and three was already the franchise price, and others had to pay hundreds of thousands in licensing fees."

"This is ridiculous. You have already joined, but you still have to pay extra for the use of their image?" A man next to Yu Yuyu couldn't help but ask. Logically, this kind of thing should be included in the franchise fee.

"That's not all. Look at this small statue of Guo Jinwei. It costs 10,800 yuan each. You have to buy it and put it up. And there are the posters on the wall..." The middle-aged man said, pointing to the posters on the wall.

These posters can be regarded as introductions to the dishes. The main scenes show Guo Jinwei's famous apprentices each serving one dish, such as Li Xiangrui's fresh-cut fatty beef and Wu Jiming's grassland lamb.

"This poster costs 1,200 yuan per piece, which is actually not a big deal. The problem is that this poster needs to be replaced every two or three months, as well as this stand and these decorations.

All equipment must be changed according to the operation plan issued by the headquarters. Otherwise, it will not work. The store inspectors are like dogs, coming to check every few days, and each activity costs tens of thousands of dollars. "

"Wow, no wonder so many people are opening restaurants." Yu Yuyu couldn't help but sigh. It's so satisfying to reap the benefits of this business. You reap the benefits once from the consumers and again from the franchisees.

As she spoke, she glanced at the poster on the wall, which showed the prices of the dishes. They were much more expensive than those in the old hotpot restaurants.

"Who said it wasn't?" The middle-aged man said as he led Yu Yuyu and his group into a private room where a pot of food had already been cooked, and he was going to let Yu Yuyu taste it.

After the group sat down, the middle-aged man continued, "Actually, it was okay at the beginning. It was the star effect, and there were a lot of people queuing up.

When it first opened, the headquarters even arranged for several actors from the Jixiang Society to come and participate in the opening ceremony..."

"Did you spend money on this?" Yu Yuyu interrupted curiously.

"I spent money. I was paid 18 yuan for the appearance fee. With travel expenses, it was probably over 20 yuan. It was said to be a discounted price. Normally, they would earn one or two million yuan for performing in other places." The middle-aged man said this with a bit of comfort in his tone.

But when Yu Yuyu heard this, she showed a difficult expression.

One or two million?
It's noisy.

Anyone who has worked in this industry knows that performance quotation and actual price are two completely different concepts.

It’s like if someone wanted to invite Guo Jinwei, or some suddenly popular internet celebrity, to perform today, and offered a price of one million, they might not even be able to get that one million.

Maybe he would have to pay more or use connections to get the job, because he is the only one and there is only so much time in the day, so he can't take on all the work, so he can only choose the jobs that pay more.

But the quotations from Guo Jinwei's group of mediocre apprentices are very hollow. They have to take the initiative to find good reasons to get discounts, and even give kickbacks to relevant personnel, so as to ensure that they have continuous performance opportunities.

This is true for any industry, prices are based on supply and demand.

Therefore, the apprentice arranged by Guo Jinwei may not be worth 18 yuan in appearance fees. After all, they are not performing, but just attending an opening ceremony. How can they get such a good price?

Thinking of this, Yu Yuyu asked again: "Uncle Cheng, your nephew Xiaowei and I are good friends. Please don't be angry if you tell me something. When you opened this store..."

"Boss Yu, I know what you want to say. Are you trying to say that I opened this store because of Guo Jinwei's fame?

Yes, I admit it. When opening a store, there are so many stores now, so it is normal to find some famous brands. I asked for it, so even if I lose money, I deserve it.

But the problem is that this is not how it works. When we recruited investors, we clearly said that we would protect the interests of our franchisees.

Therefore, there is a limit to the number of franchisees in a place. Just like in Baoding, we can only open two at most. If there are more, the business will be divided. It’s the star effect and the cost-effectiveness... Hi... I won’t say more.

Guess what happened? This year alone, 5 Guo Jinguo restaurants were opened in Baoding, and even more in Shijiazhuang, with 7; and there are also restaurants in Tianjin, Tangshan... and in the south.

In short, from July last year to now, Guo Jinguo has opened more than 7 new stores across the country in one year, bringing the total number of stores to 700, with 800 in Hangzhou alone. Is this called opening a store? Isn't this just cutting leeks? Franchisees are losing money one by one, while Guo Jinwei is making a lot of money from franchise fees and other fees."

"That's not right. Didn't you sign the regional protection clause at the beginning? You joined without this clause?" A man next to Yu Yuyu who had been silent asked in confusion.

The middle-aged man showed a sullen expression on his face when he heard this: "How could I know at that time? The investment manager repeatedly assured you that you had never participated in their investment promotion activities. The atmosphere of the sales meeting was really..."

"Oh, I understand." The man stopped asking questions after hearing that. In this kind of sales meeting and investment promotion, the investment promotion team has a hundred ways to "force a deal" to confuse your thinking and half coax and half deceive you into signing the contract.

Even big bosses can be fooled by "fake stamps", so small bosses like this can't stand it.

At this time, Yu Yuyu took the opportunity to say to the man: "Editor Yao, there are many celebrities who use their fame to wantonly harm consumers and franchisees.

You are a well-known and responsible journalist in our industry. Shouldn't you do a special report to expose this kind of bad behavior?"

Editor-in-Chief Yao did not show any embarrassment when he heard this. He knew very well why Yu Yuyu had called him here today.

Therefore, he said seriously: "This is natural. As a news media, we must have the courage to expose these things."

After that, he turned to the middle-aged man and said, "Boss Cheng, since so many franchisees have been cheated, don't you plan to defend your rights?"

"Yes, I plan to defend my rights starting today! Not only will I defend my rights, I will also call on all those who have been deceived to defend their rights together!" When Boss Cheng said this, his expression was determined as if he was going to the battlefield.

On the other side, in a club in the capital.

A man was hugging a girl and watching with interest a man singing not far away who was also hugging other girls.

The man's name is A Zheng, a good brother to Yu Yuyu. He has taken good care of Yu Yu since she was a child. His family conditions are better than hers, so Yu Yuyu asked him to help her participate in the auction of Donglianfu.

The man singing was Guo Jinwei's brother-in-law and apprentice Zhang Jixing. The two women he was holding were also not simple people. They were not hostesses but big fans of Jixiangshe.

Sometimes it's like this. It's okay if you don't check, but once you check, you may find unexpected surprises.

Guo Jinwei was a man who made his way to success through his own efforts. After his brother-in-law Zhang Jixing made some money, he was eager to integrate into the wealthy class in Beijing.

Of course, the wealthy class in the capital is also divided into levels. With someone of Zhang Jixing's status and financial resources, the highest class he can access is A Zheng's level.

Usually, Zhang Jixing relied on his brother-in-law Guo Jinwei to get some small stars, idols, and Internet celebrities to play with. Ah Zheng himself was also a playboy, and he was willing to spend money, so the two of them became close friends.

"It's a pity. Even though we are familiar with each other, your brother-in-law is ignorant. A big boss wants to deal with you, so I can only let you down, brother. Anyway, you are not a good guy, you deserve it, don't blame me." A Zheng laughed in his heart.

Then he waved to Zhang Jixing and said, "Jixing, Jixing, come here."

Amid the noise, Zhang Jixing heard Ah Zheng's voice. He turned around and pointed at his nose, then confirmed whether the person was calling him.

After getting the affirmation, he put the microphone into the hand of the woman next to him, ran over quickly, found an empty wine glass to pour himself a glass of wine, and said with a smile: "What's wrong, Brother Zheng."

"I have to go first, you can have fun."

"What time is it now? You're leaving right after arriving?" Zhang Jixing looked at his watch.

"I got a large luxury catamaran yacht and plan to go out to sea from Tianjin tomorrow. I have to go back early to prepare." A Zheng patted Zhang Jixing's shoulder and showed a lewd smile on his face.

Zhang Jixing immediately felt itchy when he heard this. His brother-in-law was rich, but he himself was not wealthy. He normally could not afford to rent a big toy like a yacht, let alone buy one.

So, he grabbed Zheng's arm and said, "Brother, Zheng, please take me with you. I haven't had a good time on a luxury yacht yet."

"This..." Ah Zheng looked embarrassed when he heard this. "Forget it, let's do it next time."

"Don't do it next time. Why next time? Brother Zheng, do you consider me your brother?!"

"It's not a question of brotherhood. I just fell in love with a girl recently and planned to confess my feelings to her on the yacht. What's the point of bringing you along?" Ah Zheng deliberately showed a helpless expression.

When Zhang Jixing heard this, he immediately lost his temper.

But the next second, Ah Zheng seemed to have thought of something and said, "Hey, you know what, it's really okay to bring you along. How about you call a few famous brothers to go play together?"

"What?"

"Think about it, you're all celebrities. If I take you along, I'll be so proud of you in front of the girls. No, it won't work if a bunch of grown men follow me. Forget it."

"Don't forget it, can't I just call some more girls up?" Zhang Jixing's eyes lit up when he heard that. This was also a good time to do favors for his fellow apprentices. Yachts, oceans and swimsuits.

"Calling a group of girls? That's not good. I'm confessing my feelings..." Ah Zheng said deliberately.

"Brother Zheng! You don't understand. Think about it, the atmosphere will be better when there are more people around. The people around you will be affectionate and affectionate, and you and she will be infected by this atmosphere, won't you feel the same way?
Also, confession requires someone to cheer you on, the success rate is higher with cheering, and besides, there are a bunch of beautiful women in swimsuits, but you only have eyes for her, doesn't this prove your love for her?"

"Really?" Ah Zheng showed a thoughtful expression.

"Of course!" Zhang Jixing answered firmly.

"That makes sense, that makes sense, that makes sense..." Ah Zheng nodded, and he could hardly hold back his laughter in his heart.

(End of this chapter)