Rebirth Tokyo 1986

Chapter 395 E-commerce and Navigation

"Oh, it's ready to go online? Okay, I'll be right there."

After several months, the e-commerce company established within Xinghai Group has finally made new progress.

Without further ado, Masato Takeshita quickly took a car to the location of the new company.

"That's right, our website should focus on being simple and clean."

Young people hate websites with overly colorful interfaces; they look unprofessional.

Xinghai E-commerce has a very good design, without any messy or unnecessary content.

This may also be related to the limited product categories on the website; apart from Xinghai Group's own products, only durable items such as books are available for sale.

Upon hearing the praise from his own chairman, Xinghai E-commerce President Zhongshan Jingming responded modestly.

"Yes, please rest assured, Chairman, we will always maintain a clean and simple product interface."

"Okay, just remember that."

The young man nodded, then gave the order again.

"We hope that even after the website expands its product categories, the interface will remain clean and user-friendly. The website interface is the face of an internet company, and we must maintain a good image."

"Yes, please rest assured, Chairman."

Faced with his chairman's repeated serious emphasis, Zhongshan Jingming naturally made a clean and simple interface his top priority.

In the future, the interface will become just as important as the program as the website itself, becoming a crucial component of the company's website.

Xinghai E-commerce requires relatively little preparation, so it can be launched in December.

Another B2B e-commerce company within Xinghai Group needs to guide others to open stores on its own e-commerce website. The process is very complicated, and it is expected that all matters will be completed next year.

However, since Xinghai E-commerce, which mainly operates on a B2C model, has already entered the market, there's no reason not to check out another company.

"Is it still so difficult to attract merchants?"

"Yes, very few merchants are willing to sell things online; no one is optimistic about this industry."

Selling things online is a novel concept that is unlikely to see a future in any country.

Besides, apart from a few large-scale chain stores, the vast majority of stores have never installed computers.

It's even more unrealistic to expect them to spend a large sum of money on a project with an uncertain future.

Seiichi Yamaguchi was very distressed, feeling a sense of inexplicable frustration.

"Indeed, Japan still has too few computers."

The young man didn't know how to persuade the store to buy computers and sell them through his own e-commerce company; it was indeed very difficult.

The reason why Jack Ma was able to build Taobao so quickly was because Alibaba's earliest business was helping small and medium-sized enterprises find customers to trade with.

Thanks to this business, Alibaba was able to quickly gain the support of a large number of merchants, and the website was also able to solve the problems of merchants.

Xinghai Group does not have this kind of business, so it is difficult to get merchants to provide similar support.

Just as he was deep in thought, Seiichi Yamaguchi hesitated and said something.

"Um, Chairman, my subordinates and I feel that the current company name is a bit awkward to pronounce. I was wondering if we could change it?"

"Change your name, tell me about it?"

Takeshita Masato raised an eyebrow, neither refusing nor agreeing, and prepared to listen first.

"Yes, our idea is to rename it Xinghai Marketplace. This way, we can leverage the company's brand recognition to attract merchants and customers."

"Okay, then let's change it."

The name Xinghai Mall is indeed easier to spread in terms of brand awareness, and customers will naturally have more trust in it.

This is the reputation that Xinghai Group has built up little by little, and it applies not only in Japan, but also around the world.

Especially after this year's large donation, Xinghai Group's reputation has surpassed that of established giants like Sharp. It can now rival companies representing Japan, such as Sony and Toshiba.

"Yes, President!"

Seiichi Yamaguchi smiled happily, feeling that after changing his name, he was closer to the group, and Xinghai E-commerce would never have the chance to use the name to make a fuss again.

Although Xinghai E-commerce has not taken any similar actions so far, Xinghai Mall has to consider the future.

After easily resolving the name change issue, the two fell into deep thought again.

Then, after racking his brains for a while without coming up with anything, Seiichi Yamashita noticed that the black tea had gone cold, so he quietly called his assistant over to get a fresh serving.

Soon, a fresh cup of tea was served, and Takeshita Masato habitually said thank you.

After the assistant left, the young man asked while drinking tea.

"Isn't this the same assistant from before?"

"Yes, it turns out that person has already resigned and gone to get married."

It is very common in Japan for women to resign from their jobs at large companies after working for several years to get married.

However, as Japan's economic downturn continues and the number of dual-income families increases, such cases will become less and less common.

It remains to be seen whether the Xinghai Group's continued development will be able to slow down this trend.

As for a complete reversal, that's impossible.

Because dual-income families are an inevitable historical trend, even the global superpower, the United States, can only follow this trend.

However, the words "resignation and marriage" immediately inspired the young man.

"Quit your job to get married, quit your job to get married, quit your job to get married..."

After repeating it several times, Masato Takeshita finally grasped that glimmer of inspiration. Then he suddenly raised his head and looked excitedly at Seiichi Yamashita.

"I remember now, doesn't the company give out a batch of computers to outstanding employees every year?"

“These outstanding employees must have families. We can easily have their wives help open stores in Xinghai Mall.”

"Not only can it solve the problem of insufficient number of merchants at once, but it can also help these families to generate additional income."

Having employees' family members help open the store is a win-win situation.

This can solve the problem of insufficient number of merchants in Xinghai Market and also increase the income of employees' families.

However, there are also many problems that need to be solved in this process.

For example, the issue of business licenses.

In China, as long as the government provides support, it doesn't matter whether an online store has a license or not.

That won't work in Japan. If other conglomerates target us, problems could easily arise.

Masato Takeshita didn't want to be caught red-handed in this matter, so he simply helped the online shop owners solve their business license problems.

There's also the issue of goods.

The company's employees' families are definitely unwilling to purchase in large quantities, because no one knows how many years it will take for the website to develop, or even if it will develop at all.

At this point, Xinghai Group needs to step in and help resolve the cargo issue.

The solution that Masato Takeshita could come up with was for the Xinghai Group to provide $1000 worth of goods to the employees' families free of charge, or to advance $500 worth of goods to the employees' families.

These goods will have a sales period, for example, if they are not sold out within three months, they will be recalled.

As he listened to the merchant development strategy given by his own chairman, Seiichi Yamashita's eyes lit up, and inspiration kept flowing through his mind.

"I think this method is good, but it requires the cooperation of logistics companies."

"Yes, there is a great need for advanced logistics and distribution systems."

E-commerce companies are heavily reliant on the development of logistics companies, and in turn, they drive the development of logistics companies.

Masato Takeshita's idea was to acquire a medium-sized or larger logistics company while developing his own logistics business.

In the future, not only will Xinghai Life and other physical subsidiaries develop the logistics industry, but Xinghai E-commerce and Xinghai Mall will also develop independent logistics industries.

Then, when the market is completely saturated and competition is fierce, the logistics companies will be merged. In this way, Xinghai Group will be more competitive in logistics.

After discussing their logistics plans, Masato Takeshita steered the conversation back to the merchants.

"Logistics is important, but the fundamental factor is still the website merchants."

“We can first train our best employees who are getting married to buy and sell things on the website, and then have them teach their wives.”

"In this way, Xinghai Store will not need to go door-to-door to train each employee."

Selling things online sounds simple, but it's actually quite difficult for many first-time users to understand.

Especially for those who are not quick-witted, it may take them several days to understand.

Instead, teach their husbands first, and then let the husbands gradually teach them using a standardized method.

They don't need to understand it, just know how to use it.

In his previous life, Little Ma used this method when he set up the Huiduo website in his own home.

He wrote down all the possible problems on a piece of paper and then asked his mother, who didn't understand the internet, to help him solve any problems that might arise during his work hours.

"Yes, understand."

"Okay, let's stop here for today. The rest should be fine, right?"

Masato Takeshita has already provided the general ideas and concepts; he doesn't have much time to help refine the remaining details.

Besides, if he does all the work by himself, why hire so many employees?

"It's all set, thank you, Chairman. We will definitely design a clean and beautiful plan."

"okay."

After inspecting the e-commerce company, the young man continued his inspection of the affiliated internet company the following day.

"So, how many competitors are there in the market right now?"

Baidu is a website directory, and it is much easier to set up than an e-commerce company.

It was launched on the Japanese internet a month ago.

However, because it was so simple, competitors quickly emerged online.

"There are quite a few, but most of them are just doing it for fun. And the few who genuinely want to compete with us are no match at all."

Tanaka Aoki was very confident, even slightly arrogant.

However, he also has the right to be arrogant, as he occupies more than 85% of the Japanese market, making him even more dominant than Yahoo in the United States.

Of course, Baidu's strong performance is also inseparable from the support of Xinghai Group.

Xinghai Operating System directly integrates Baidu Navigation into the browser, and Xinghai Internet Cafe's startup interface only allows Baidu Navigation to appear.

With such a strong promotional campaign and the first-mover advantage, it naturally had no competitors in the Japanese market.

"Very good, that's the kind of indomitable spirit we need."

Although it has only been online for a month, Baidu's position in Japan is already very stable.

Masato Takeshita then stopped paying attention and instead inquired about development plans in other areas.

When will the website launch in China, South Korea, and Southeast Asia?

"We are planning this, and the expansion could begin next week."

"Very good, we must hurry up and not give other companies a chance."

While the Xinghai Operating System and the Xinghai Internet Cafe Alliance can support Baidu's development in Asia, it should not be blindly arrogant.

Even with the help of a browser, a competitor may not necessarily win the competition once they gain a dominant advantage.

"Yes, understand!"

Tanaka Aoki also knew where his advantage came from, so he usually presented himself in a high-profile manner but kept his work low-profile.

Once they take action, they will swiftly and decisively devour the target market.

He is not a spoiled rich kid who got ahead by relying on the company platform, but a successful man who rose from humble beginnings to achieve success through fierce competition.

Compared to Baidu, Google, led by Daichi Ikeda, fared somewhat worse.

Because it was established relatively late, the market was already dominated by Baidu before the product was even launched.

Faced with this predicament, Masato Takeshita thought of the earliest types of websites that had developed in his previous life.

"In that case, you can develop a navigation website and compete with Baidu while also exploring other avenues to develop a portal website."

Portal websites, the most brilliant type of website in the 20th century.

In the early days of the Chinese internet, most companies that were able to successfully go public relied on portal website businesses.

Because portal websites can make money by inserting ads, and everyone can see the potential. Unlike some websites that have huge traffic but can't monetize it.

"Portal website?"

"Yes, portal websites are a type of website that brings newspaper news online."

Yes, portal websites are essentially online newspapers.

However, this online newspaper has a stronger instant feedback capability, allowing you to immediately know about major domestic and international news events.

In addition, the content on portal websites will be much richer.

Ordinary newspapers have limited space and can only record a small amount of information.

Portal websites can upload a large amount of news content at the same time without being limited by page layout.

Take a World Cup match as an example. Professional sports newspapers will only write a few reports, and they will have to wait until the next day to publish them.

Portal websites, however, can upload articles during the competition, and the number of uploaded articles can easily exceed 10.

Furthermore, the more people read it, the more articles will be uploaded to the website.

Fans can also learn more about the details and knowledge of the game through articles written from various perspectives on the portal website.

Of course, portal websites are not without their drawbacks. One drawback is that they are a mixed bag, making it difficult to quickly find good articles.

Because of the pursuit of timeliness, most news articles on portal websites are poorly written and may even contain errors.

In this situation, misunderstandings can easily arise.

However, everything is relative.
Once the self-media that rapidly emerged in the mobile internet era became widespread, portal websites actually became the more reliable option.

After listening to Masato Takeshita's explanation, Daichi Ikeda had a vague impression in his mind.

"Does the president mean that we should set up a website online?"

"Then, according to tags such as politics, economics, culture, sports, and history, we'll categorize and put the latest news up there?"

"Yes, that's it."

Takeshita Masato happily nodded and tried it out, then looked up and asked.

Do you have paper and pen? I'll draw a rough sketch for you.

"Wait a moment, I'll look for it right away."

The office was naturally well-stocked with paper and pens, and soon Daichi Ikeda respectfully handed the young man some fine paper and pens.

Takeshita Masato, having taken the pen and paper, quickly sketched out the general outline of the portal website.

"That's fine. You can plan the details yourselves."

"Yes, I understand, thank you, Chairman."

Daichi Ikeda treasured this place and carefully placed it away. This was the company's hope of catching up with 1,000 degrees Celsius.

(End of this chapter)