1982 Started from Hong Kong

Chapter 471 Two things

(Chapter 474 has been blocked; it's posted in the group.)
Where inland is Jinling City located?

Xue Wan'en had some knowledge of the mainland, but clearly not much. Stirring her coffee, she asked, "Southern Jiangsu or Northern Jiangsu?"

In the VIP room located upstairs in the Golden House Club.

Zhai Yuan glanced at Xue Wan'en, who was dressed in sportswear today, across the coffee table, still unable to understand why this woman had chosen this place to meet.

He paused, then chuckled, "Neither, it's in Anhui."

Xue Wan'en looked up at Zhai Yuan, nodded thoughtfully, and said, "This $50 billion deal has shocked the entire Hong Kong business community, yet you calmly invited me out for coffee without having to go to Anhui for an on-site inspection?"

“You said it’s a big business, and it will take at least two or three years to come to fruition. Even the Taiwanese capital isn’t in a hurry, so why should I waste my youth going there?”

Zhai Yuan smiled and said, "Besides, I can't give up my business in Hong Kong."

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a knock on the door.

Zhai Yuan frowned, about to speak, when Nishikyo Michiko pushed open the door and entered, carrying a tray, giving the two people in the room a polite smile.

"Excuse me, I've come to bring some snacks for our distinguished guest."

Michiko knelt on the cushion in front of the coffee table and took out several light snacks from the tray, including matcha yokan, quinoa rice balls, and cheese tofu.

The Japanese girl turned her head away, avoiding looking at Zhai Yuan's furrowed brows the entire time. Instead, she politely introduced the dishes to Xue Wan'en with a smile, her gaze subtly sizing her up.

Finally, he stood up to say goodbye: "I'm so sorry to have disturbed your conversation. Please enjoy your meal."

As the door closed, Zhai Yuan rolled his eyes in frustration.

This woman is really clueless. She's never been this attentive when she brings several male directors and celebrities to meetings.

"It tastes good." Xue Wan'en picked up a piece of almond crisp, her smile revealing a hint of amusement: "Mr. Zhai, please try it too. If you weren't sitting here, I probably wouldn't have received this kind of treatment if I came here alone."

“8888 Hong Kong dollars,” Zhai Yuan said lazily. “You can get a membership card and I guarantee you can eat all you want every day.”

Xue Wan'en raised the corners of her mouth: "Then the waiter will bring it in. It won't bother the female boss to knock on the door herself, will it?"

Zhai Yuan was silent for a moment, then suddenly leaned forward, ignoring Xue Wan'en's raised eyebrows, and reached out to wipe away the almond crumbs from the corner of her mouth. He turned the tables and laughed, "Sister Wan'en, are you jealous? No wonder you specially invited me here today. If you had told me earlier, I would have ordered all the female creatures in this building to retreat ten miles away, and even caught cockroaches to distinguish whether they were male or female."

Xue Wan'en knew she couldn't win an argument with Zhai Yuan, so she gently patted his wrist away and tidied her hair: "Let's get down to business."

Zhai Yuan said in a serious tone, "Aren't we getting down to business now?"

Xue Wan'en fell silent, gazing at Zhai Yuan with her usual calm expression.

"Alright." Zhai Yuan chuckled, sat back down, and stretched. "There are indeed two things I wanted to discuss with you today."

Xue Wan'en lowered her head, took a sip of coffee, and gave a soft "hmm".

“VCD sales at Huaen Department Store must be pretty good? I heard from Kuaibo that you got another order for 10,000 units there this month.”

"With the previous promotions and discounts, VCD sales this year are indeed better than last year."

Xue Wan'en nodded and replied, "In addition, many families who used VCRs are gradually phasing out their home machines because the content medium has changed to optical discs. Our public relations department colleagues have specially contacted a second-hand home appliance company and launched a trade-in program. If you have an old VCR at home, you can pay the difference to buy a new VCD player from Huaen Department Store."

Zhai Yuan smiled and said, "I didn't expect my distributor to be so capable. One more VCD player means dozens or even hundreds more discs sold. That's a clever trick."

Xue Wan'en laughed too: "Guess what happened to those old, obsolete video recorders?"

"Of course, we'll put it on display and turn it around."

"what?"

Xue Wan'en looked at Zhai Yuan with a puzzled expression.

Zhai Yuan waved his hand with a smile: "In East Asia, Hong Kong is our base, and Toshiba and I have finalized distribution agreements in Japan. Taiwan and South Korea are following the trend of Japanese electronic products, leaving only the mainland. But Sister Wan'en, you know that the mainland is currently a blank market. If you can use VCDs, you don't need VCRs. So it's Southeast Asia or South Asia... You wouldn't sell those obsolete VCRs to third-world countries, would you?"

Xue Wan'en looked curious and said, "You guessed that? I hired a group of workers from Apliu Street to refurbish video recorders, and then distributed them to Bangladesh, the Philippines and some countries with the suffix '-stan' at a 60% discount. After deducting the cost of trade-ins, we can still make a small profit."

Apliu Street in Sham Shui Po is currently the largest street in Hong Kong for electronic parts and second-hand electrical appliances, and it is also a street where gangsters often sell stolen goods.

Zhai Yuan pondered for a moment, then asked, "How accepting of VCDs are these third-world countries?"

Xue Wan'en shook her head: "Even if it's an old, obsolete VCR, after the discount, only the local wealthy can afford it. It's hard for brand new VCD players to open up the market. I heard from my colleagues that it's quite common for a village to buy a VCR and then open a movie theater."

Zhai Yuan chuckled. This is just like a video arcade.

“This business is quite interesting,” Zhai Yuan continued. “How about I put in some money and we can pool our resources? I currently have channels in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. By offering trade-ins, we can ensure that obsolete VCRs flow into Hong Kong, where we can refurbish them and continue distributing them to third-world countries.”

Xue Wan'en frowned slightly: "The profit margin isn't as high as you think. Now that most of your businesses are on the right track, you might as well focus on Zhonggang Communications and the Jinling City semiconductor industry, and prioritize your businesses."

It seems that everyone thinks the 881 Project is the highlight that Zhai Yuan will be performing on stage next.

It even overshadowed the recent uproar surrounding China-Hong Kong Communications.

It's rare that Xue Wan'en still remembers that Zhai Yuan has such a business.

"Hong Kong and China are the second thing I want to talk to you about. There's no rush now. As for Nanjing, I'm even clearer about priorities."

After saying this with a smile, Zhai Yuan added, "If you won't do the second-hand appliance business, I'll do it myself."

Xue Wan'en stared at him for a few seconds, then nodded: "Okay, let's start a second-hand appliance company together. You'll be in charge of the VCRs in other regions, and I'll be in charge of having the workers refurbish them..."

"Does this count as a husband-and-wife team?" Zhai Yuan suddenly asked cheekily, then clearly saw Xue Wan'en's coffee cup tremble slightly before she fell silent, staring at him quietly. Zhai Yuan shrugged, not wanting to tease this unromantic woman any longer, and asked, "Then let's be partners. Aren't you going to ask me why I insist on doing this?"

"Eliminate video recorders and seize more VCD market share?" Xue Wan'en shook her head after saying this.

This reason is not very valid. Kuaibo's VCD market is already expanding in an orderly manner. Given the replacement cycle of home appliances, unless a more technologically advanced competitor emerges in the next few years, it will be difficult to shake its position. Zhai Yuan would not be so eager for quick success and instant benefits.

"Actually, it's all about the right to speak."

Zhai Yuan winked at Xue Wan'en and said, "Those third-world countries with 'Stan' in their names, even if their economies are booming, it will still be at least ten years before their citizens can afford a Kuaibo VCD player. 91 Entertainment has plenty of content; are we going to wait ten years to enter this blank market? Of course, we'll use second-hand VCRs with our content to cultivate good viewing habits in them beforehand. And incidentally, incidentally too, we'll instill correct values ​​in these ignorant poor people."

When entertainment channels become limited, it becomes the best opportunity to instill ideas; otherwise, publications like "Reader" and "Yilin" would not have produced a large number of intellectuals from the "Ancient Tomb School."

Xue Wan'en clearly didn't know much about this, but she vaguely sensed something was off: "You mean values?"

"It's not that complicated." Zhai Yuan chuckled and casually said, "Just think of it as me stealing audiences from Hollywood in advance, at least ensuring that people will have a higher level of recognition for Chinese celebrities than for white foreigners in the future!"

Xue Wan'en nodded hesitantly, her brows furrowing slightly, sensing that things weren't so simple.

This slightly naive and adorable pose, revealing the unintentional cuteness of a mature woman, was pleasing to Zhai Yuan's eye.

However, Xue Wan'en didn't give him much time to appreciate it, and looked up to ask, "In that case, you'll still need videotapes as a medium."

"That's simple. We'll just reduce the price we offer for recycling, and use the profits from that to buy back the videotapes from our customers."

Zhai Yuan said dismissively, "Apart from those petty gossipy aunts and uncles, most people who choose to trade in their old tapes for new ones have no use keeping them at home. They can just buy them back along with the VCR and send them to the Kuaibo factory to have the tapes wiped and the content overwritten."

In this way, the entire second-hand home appliance sector has formed a complete internal circulation system.

As for brand distribution licenses, it's certainly not something you can buy with money; if you're so capable, go and acquire them from third-world countries.

Xue Wan'en looked enlightened after hearing this, and after a moment's thought, she said, "Then I'll go back and have my colleagues continue to recruit more people in Apliu Street. The current number of renovation workers is not enough to support the business you mentioned."

Zhai Yuan nodded, then smiled and said, "We were only supposed to talk about two things today, but I didn't expect Sister Wan'en to have such an unexpected gain. Getting back to the topic, I remember that Hua En Department Store now has four stores in Hong Kong. Its customer traffic in the business district should be second only to century-old stores like Sincere and Wing On?"

Zhai Yuan continued speaking, not waiting for Xue Wan'en's reply, "Next, I plan to release a series of dramas on DVD. I hope to promote these dramas in Hua En's territory through on-the-ground promotions for a period of time. If it's a VCD store, the in-store screenings will only show these dramas. All kinds of display cases and shelves will be covered with advertisements for me without affecting your department store's business. In addition, Jiu Yi will arrange a resident promotion team to give away free gifts, hold raffles, or invite actors from the dramas to do autograph sessions from time to time..."

Ground promotion, simply put, is a method of conducting extensive, often unsightly, advertising campaigns centered around commercial areas with high foot traffic.

The earliest familiar ground promotion advertising in mainland China can be traced back to around the turn of the millennium. A health product company called Sanzhu hired 10 college students to promote its products in rural areas, which became active on the economic stage of mainland China's development. The ground promotion industry, which relies on internet cafes, universities and business districts, has already emerged as a second generation, and even the profession of ground promotion specialist has appeared.

In Hong Kong, early advertising was mostly imported from Europe and America, translated into Cantonese, and then released. It wasn't until a Taishan man made a joke while dubbing a Triumph lingerie commercial, saying "Wearing Triumph bras will make you beautifully tormented," that the advertising industry gradually became more formalized, and thus the form of on-the-ground promotion emerged.

However, compared to television and newspapers, on-the-ground promotion is not popular in Hong Kong's advertising industry. Firstly, the cost is too high, unlike in mainland China where one can hire 10 workers at a time. Secondly, advertising professionals in the industry have a high opinion of themselves and look down on this form of promotion.

It's hard to imagine that advertising professionals like James Wong, Chu Ka-ting, Lin Chun-ming, and Tang Chih-hsiang, who budget millions for a single commercial, would personally lead a team to plaster the area with unsightly advertisements. After all, their bosses hired them to create art, not to do manual labor.

The current situation is that Zhai Yuan has money to burn and doesn't care about publicity costs.

91 Entertainment's short dramas are inherently low-brow and have no idol baggage whatsoever.

Compared to later generations, where short dramas often cost tens of millions of yuan in advertising revenue, the amount spent on on-the-ground promotion at this time was negligible.

"Of course, I know that Wan-en, your Hua-en is a respectable business that values ​​style and order. The promotion of the new 91 series will inevitably affect Hua-en's overall style."

Zhai Yuan glanced at Xue Wan'en as he spoke, and seeing her calm expression, he continued with a smile, "So I plan to open a 1024 Theater in each of your four Huaen Department Stores. Whether it's compensation or resource sharing, what do you think, Sister Wan'en?"

Xue Wan'en's eyes flickered as she fell into a brief moment of thought.

Starting in 1024, mini-theaters in Hong Kong revolutionized the style of large theaters with thousands of seats, directly reviving a number of theaters on the verge of bankruptcy.

The trend of mini-theaters has not yet subsided, and Zhai Yuan has already set his sights on 'shopping mall theaters'.

This systematic commercial complex model is something Sincere, Wing On, and Hua En are all trying for the first time.

"No one in Hong Kong has ever tried opening a cinema in a shopping mall before. I need to think about it."

Xue Wan'en let out a soft breath, then asked, "When do you plan to start promoting your drama's advertisements? Remember to let me know in advance if your people need to come in."

“Definitely!” Zhai Yuan smiled with satisfaction and said, “Next, let’s talk about the second matter. This time it has nothing to do with Hua En. I want to cooperate with Guang Sheng Power Company to expand the Zhonggang Communications market together…”

……

As afternoon approached, Xue Wan'en and Zhai Yuan walked out of the Golden House Club together.

Michiko Nishikawa followed closely behind, her gaze sweeping over Xue Wan'en.

Seeing Xue Wan'en say goodbye to Zhai Yuan and prepare to get into her car and leave.

With a smile, Michiko asked, "Ms. Xue, what do you think of this club that Mr. Zhai and I are staying at?"

Xue Wan'en paused, turned back, and gave Michiko a slight smile: "The coffee is good."

The car sped away.

"Tch! Pretending to be profound!"

Michiko stood there, pouting and muttering to herself as she turned her head. She saw Zhai Yuan standing behind her, looking at her with a half-smile.

The Japanese girl's face immediately fell, and she put on a fawning smile to explain, "It wasn't me, it was Sister Ling. She insisted that I find out who this person was..."

(End of this chapter)