Who would still start a business seriously after being reborn?

Chapter 638 The Allure of Lower-Tier Markets

The staff member's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets: "Auntie, you want them all."

The old lady's pitiful expression vanished, replaced by a shrewd and calculating look. She lowered her voice and said, "Young man, don't rush to close the door. I need to use your space for a bit. Just help me move the computers to this spot by the door."

The old lady then pulled out a bulging cloth bag from under her vegetable basket and began taking out ten-yuan and twenty-yuan notes from it.

After counting the money, the old lady handed the hundred-yuan note to the staff and said, "Thank you for your hard work. Take this money and buy some food."

The people queuing behind her were kept several meters apart by two security guards at the entrance. They could barely see the old lady taking out ten or twenty yuan notes. A young man couldn't help but sigh, "Look at this grandma, it's really not easy for her, all for her grandson..."

But soon, they realized something was wrong.

The old lady was standing at the door, directing the staff to move computers one by one towards the door.

"One... two... three... ten... twenty... Holy crap! She's still buying?" The people at the back of the line started to stir.

"Hey! What's wrong with that old lady?"

"Damn! That's a professional scalper, and a seasoned one at that!"

"Damn it, we've been tricked! Who let her cut in line?"

The young man who let the old lady cut in line got up and ran away, afraid that he would be beaten.

At this moment, everyone's faces turned green with anger. Watching the old lady buy up the goods almost like a wholesaler, they felt their hearts were bleeding.

What they took away wasn't just computers, it was all money.

Finally, under the angry, shocked, and frustrated gazes of everyone, the old lady directed the staff to pile 50 Hasee computers at the entrance.

She clapped her hands in satisfaction, but instead of leaving immediately, she cleared her throat and called out in a loud voice, "Hey, bosses, my grandson probably won't need that many. Anyone in a hurry? I can transfer them to you for 2100 yuan a unit, plus a small tip. Anyone interested?"

The team instantly erupted in chaos.

"Fuck your grandpa! 2100? You just bought it for 1999."

"You old hag, you're even darker than us."

"You're not human."

The old lady curled her lip, completely ignoring the crowd's insults, and laughed, "You young people, how can you talk like that? You don't know how to respect the elderly and care for the young at all. Do you want it or not? If you don't want it, I'll take it away. If I take it back, I can resell it for 2500. I'm giving you priority because I saw you were queuing up so hard."

Everyone was furious, but seeing that the old lady had bought all 50 units of stock at the outlet, they finally gave in.

"Damn it, you old bastard, give me two of these." One of the impatient dealers was the first to give in.

"I want one too."

"I want three."

……

A group of computer vendors who were just cursing and swearing had no choice but to hold their noses and surround the shrewd old lady, paying extra to buy the quotas that should have been theirs from her.

The old lady was immediately busy, collecting money, counting money, and handing over goods. She was very efficient and her movements were completely different from her previous trembling appearance.
This little incident quickly spread throughout the county.

An old lady made five thousand yuan in one morning thanks to Hasee computers.

The legend of the old woman circulated throughout the computer industry in the entire county.

The scalper met his match; the computer dealer tearfully bought the computer back from the old woman at a higher price.

Equally popular was the Hasee Dream computer.

Not only in this small county, but also in districts and counties across the country, scalpers have started snapping up goods.

They snapped them up and then resold them at a higher price.

The fact that scalpers are buying it at inflated prices speaks volumes about its value for money and ability to retain its value.

Genuine consumers were drawn in and joined the buying frenzy.

The first thing to do after getting one is to resell it at a higher price.

If you want to sell them, you have to promote them relentlessly.

For a few hundred yuan in profit, they transformed themselves into the most dedicated and responsible salespeople for Hasee Computer.

Across the country, this phenomenon has spread like wildfire and quickly gone viral online.

Many customers know that it's impossible to get stock at local outlets; if they want to buy stock, they have to go through resellers.

Competition among secondhand dealers is fierce, with profits ranging from 100 to 500, leading to cutthroat competition.

This three-pronged approach of combining offline scarcity marketing, online traffic bombardment, and ground-based loyal customer promotion is a disruptive attack that traditional PC giants like Lianxiang and Dell never imagined.

Their distribution channels are still stuck in the high-end stage of tiered agents and large stores, and have not yet reached such deep-rooted markets.

Sales data flooded into the headquarters of Hasee Computer and the strategic center of Momo Group.

The Shenzhou Dreamer series achieved monthly sales exceeding 80 units, accounting for 47% of the domestic desktop computer market and 81% of the mid-to-low-end desktop computer market.

The factory of Hasee Computer was brightly lit 24 hours a day, with all production lines running at full capacity, but it still couldn't keep up with the snowflakes of orders pouring in.

Wu Jun stood in his office, looking at the areas marked in red on the map, and was so excited he could hardly contain himself.

Thinking about how Lianxiang forced him to sell Shenzhou, and how he is now making a comeback.

This kind of satisfying feeling is something you rarely see in movies or TV shows.

It's just one word.

Cool! ! !
Wu Jun's eyes even turned crazed.

When he was at his wit's end, many financial magazines ridiculed him and mocked his business acumen, as if it were only after the fact.

But what about now? Have we been proven wrong?
Wu Jun really wanted to bring over that group of magazine reporters, print out his achievements, and stick them one by one on the faces of those idiots.

Damn, is he incompetent?
His platform is simply inadequate!
At this time, Lianxiang Group was in dire straits.

Yang Yuanqing's hands trembled as she looked at the market share report.

47%!

81%!

These two numbers were like two sharp knives, piercing through his last shred of hope.

Lianxiang's dealers are demanding price reductions and subsidies.

The desktop computer inventory is severely backlogged. Although Microsoft is supporting the cash flow and there haven't been any major problems yet, if this continues, it's only a matter of time before the cash flow runs into trouble.

“The low-to-mid-end market… is completely finished…” Yang Yuanqing slumped in her chair, her face ashen.

The very foundation upon which Lianxiang depended for its survival was uprooted by Shenzhou Computer in the most brutal and direct way.

It's not just Lianxiang; the headquarters of international giants like Dell and HP in China have also been sounded the alarm.

Although their users are mostly mid-to-high-end consumers, the low-end market has been swept up by 1999, so their pricing must also be changed. Otherwise, they are likely to experience a sales gap.

As a result, international giants like Dell and HP lowered their prices, reducing computers that originally cost around 13000 to below 10,000, and computers that cost 8,000 or 9,000 to 6,000 or 7,000.

With no way out, Lianxiang, in order to survive, made a difficult and crazy decision after more than a dozen shareholder discussions.

They will completely abandon the low-to-mid-end market where they have lost competitiveness, concentrate all their efforts on breaking through to the mid-to-high-end market, and compete with brands such as Dell and HP for business people, professionals, and high-budget users.

"This is our only way to survive!" Yang Yuanqing roared at the shareholders' meeting. "We must create better and more competitive products than them! Even if the profit margin is smaller, we must survive first!"

Leveraging its years of technological expertise and supply chain relationships, Lianxiang priced its Rescue series computers at 6999 yuan, directly targeting Dell's XP series and HP's Feiying series.

Dell and HP originally thought that lowering prices would solve the crisis, but they never expected that Lianxiang would rush into the relatively calm high-end market like a hungry catfish.

Dell and HP were caught off guard.

They originally enjoyed high brand premiums and considerable profits in this market, but Lianxiang adopted an extremely aggressive pricing strategy in order to seize market share.

With the same configuration, Lianxiang is at least 1500 yuan cheaper than Dell!
"They've gone mad! Lianxiang has gone mad!" Dell's China president slammed his fist on the table in anger, cursing, "They were fighting peacefully, why are they coming to cause trouble for us?"

But despite the criticism, the market showed no mercy.

Many consumers who originally preferred Dell and HP have switched to Lianxiang because they see that the products from Lianxiang offer better value for money.

Sales of Dell and HP declined accordingly.

Left with no other choice, these international giants were forced to fight back.

Dell was the first to wield the price-cutting sword.

Their classic XP desktop computer, which has always maintained a high price of over 9000 yuan, has now announced an official price reduction of 2000 yuan.

Some configurations have even dropped to the 7000 yuan range.

HP followed suit, reducing the price of its entire Flying Shadow series by 15% and increasing the value of promotional gifts.

Seeing such a strong market reaction, Lenovo gritted its teeth and announced a price reduction of 800 yuan for its Rescue series.

A bloody price war that no one wanted to see but could not avoid has fully erupted in the mid-to-high-end market.

In major computer stores, the sales staff of Dell, HP, and Lianxiang, who were originally dressed smartly and spoke elegantly, have now lowered their status and are haggling like they are in a vegetable market, desperately trying to sell their discounted products to customers.

"Sir, take a look at our Dell XP! It used to sell for 9999, but now it's only 7999! The lowest price ever!"

"Hey beautiful, HP Flying Shadow brand computer, high-end version, price reduced by 2000, plus a free gaming mouse and backpack."

"Lianxiang Rescue Series, the king of cost-effectiveness, is a thousand yuan cheaper than others with the same configuration!"

This battle caused a sharp drop in the overall profits of the PC industry, and all the brands involved felt the pinch.

The once prestigious mid-to-high-end market was transformed into a bloodbath by Lianxiang's desperate attempt to break through and the indirect pressure from Shenzhou Computer.

Their original 100% profit margin was instantly squeezed to around 30%.

Brand premium, high-end and classy—none of that matters anymore.

When faced with absolute value for money and excellent sales service, any brand premium is a joke.

Momo Technology Industrial Park, Jingzhou City.

Cheng Yi looked at the battle report sent by Wu Jun and the news of the fierce price war among major brands in the market, and a calm smile appeared on his face, as he had expected.

"You've done a great job. Shenzhou's mission has been exceeded." He glanced through the documents briefly and said, "Consolidate our core business, delve deeper into the lower-tier market, and serve our core users well. The chaotic battles in the mid-to-high-end market are temporarily irrelevant to us."

"Understood, General Manager Cheng," Wu Jun replied respectfully.

Wu Jun is now completely convinced of Cheng Yi's role as the mastermind behind the scenes.

A recycling battle forced Lianxiang to retreat.

A dreamer of China sweeps across the country.

This indirectly led to the collapse and chaos in the mid-to-high-end market.

Momo Group itself did not directly participate in the war of attrition in the high-end market, but it became the biggest beneficiary.

China has taken the biggest slice of the pie, while its competitors are tearing each other apart and wasting their energy.

Cheng Yi chatted with Wu Jun for a while longer before letting Wu Jun go back.

After Wu Jun left, Cheng Yi turned to Huang Wenrong and Huang Ganping, who had been listening in the background.

“Mr. Huang, Dell and HP will definitely not be willing to have their profits squeezed continuously. They are likely to use their global supply chain advantages to further reduce costs, or seek trade support from their local governments. We need to prepare for this in advance.”

"Ok."

"Dean Huang, we must continue to deepen the optimization of the Moc-OS system. This is the core of whether we can truly gain a foothold in the future. Right now, our Hasee and Honor computers are rapidly expanding their market presence. They are acting as the vanguard for our Moc-OS system. The vanguard is great, but our defense must keep up. Lianxiang and the others are only fighting a price war, while we are fighting an ecosystem war. It seems that Microsoft's next offensive is coming."

"I see."

Cheng Yi was well aware that price wars were only the lowest level of competition.

Shenzhou Computer's victory was a victory of channel and cost control, and a victory of seizing the dividends of the lower-tier market.

However, to truly become a world-class giant, it must build unshakeable barriers in technology, brand, and ecosystem.

The chaos in the mid-to-high-end market only gave him more time and space to develop.

Microsoft's Waters, Dell's president, and HP's CEO must now regard Momo Group as their number one major threat.

The next storm may not be limited to price and distribution channels, but will be a more severe blow from technical standards, intellectual property rights, and even the global supply chain.

Night falls in the top-floor office of Microsoft Asia Group's headquarters in Yanjing.

Outside the huge floor-to-ceiling windows was the bustling CBD view of Yanjing, but Waters found the lights in front of him particularly dazzling at that moment.

He had just returned to Yanjing after concluding a performance review meeting with Redmond headquarters.

Thinking about the performance review process, Waters wanted to find a typewriter and type away all those high and mighty board members.

He came back already seething with anger and resentment, but when he saw the latest market share report his assistant brought, he almost lost his temper.

[Market share of new PCs running Moc-OS in China: 47%.]

Market share in the Chinese campus market: 91%.

[Lianxiang Group's PC business declined by 68% year-on-year, and it has completely withdrawn from the university and low-to-mid-end markets.]

"Fuck!" Waters' voice trembled slightly with extreme anger; this was the first time he had truly lost his temper.

The veins on his forehead began to throb, and his fair face quickly turned red.

This isn't just a setback, it's a complete rout!

(End of this chapter)