I'm in the county town, and you say I'm a big shot?

Chapter 329: "If Meituan really enters the food delivery industry in the future, we'll be in danger!"

Fang Qingye drove to Kintetsu City Plaza. After parking the car, he walked into the office building. A young woman in an office lady suit walked over and said respectfully, "Chairman Fang, hello, please come with me."

Fang Qingye knew this girl; she was Zhang Xuhao's assistant named Yang Qian, a graduate of the Secretarial Studies program at Shanghai University of Political Science and Law.

Fang Qingye followed Yang Qian to the sixteenth floor. The girl pushed open an office door and gestured for Fang Qingye to come in. Fang Qingye went in and saw several people sitting around a round table. The seat at the head of the table was empty, so she sat down.

Yang Qian poured him a glass of water and sat down next to him. She was both Zhang Xuhao's assistant and the board secretary, responsible for taking meeting minutes.

"I've called this meeting today to discuss some matters. Before we begin, I'd like to show you a financing report."

As he spoke, he took out a document from his briefcase and handed it to Zhang Xuhao, who was closest to him.

It was the same document that Meituan gave him!

“Take a look at this financing report. How is it written? Are the plans and strategies mentioned in it feasible?” Fang Qingye added.

There was only one document, so Kang Jia and the others gathered around to carefully read it, but Wang Chenyang didn't move and remained seated in his own place.

He works in finance and is only concerned with the overall financial operation of the company; he has no interest in anything else.

After looking at it for a while, Zhang Xuhao spoke first: "Chairman Fang, where did this financing report come from?"

"It was Wang Xing, the CEO of this company called Meituan, who gave it to me. He wanted me to invest in his company," Fang Qingye said truthfully.

"What I want to know is, if you were an investor, would you be impressed by this financing report? Would you invest?"

After thinking carefully for a while, Zhang Xuhao said, "Based on the content of the materials, my initial judgment is that this person named Wang Xing has a very clear understanding of the current situation of the group buying industry, and his understanding and positioning of his own company are also quite accurate. I think the plans and strategies he put forward are very good."

"So you're an angel investor, you'll invest, right?" Fang Qingye asked.

“Yes! Of course, we need to understand the company's operations more deeply. But at least for now, I'm considering investing,” Zhang Xuhao said.

Fang Qingye nodded and then asked the others, "What are your opinions?"

"From a technical point of view, it also has its unique aspects. He has elevated the application of algorithms to a strategic position. There is also this point: when users share their location, a list of merchants will appear centered on you and arranged by distance. These are all very interesting." Wang Yuan said.

“I think it’s good too, worth investing in.” Kang Jia smiled. “But why invest in him? Why don’t I just start my own group-buying website? I can do it the same way he does, hehe.”

"Kang Jia, are you copying homework?" Deng Yeting was astonished.

“This isn’t plagiarism, it’s borrowing! Chairman Fang showed it to me, does that mean we can borrow it?” Kang Jia argued.

"Get lost, you shameless person!" Deng Ye retorted without any politeness before saying, "As an investor, I also think highly of Wang Xing; he's got some skills."

"Chenyang, what about you?"

Fang Qingye looked at Wang Chenyang, who hadn't said a word.

Wang Chenyang glanced at it a few times and said, "If I were an investor, I wouldn't invest. I've heard that group buying is extremely expensive, and it's not something the average investor can afford. Of course, maybe I'm more conservative since I'm in finance."

After everyone finished their discussion, Fang Qingye spoke up, saying, "Everyone has shared their opinions, and we all think that this financing report is quite well done and will easily pique investors' interest."

"But I refused,"

As soon as Fang Qingye finished speaking, Zhang Xuhao couldn't help but ask, "Why?" "Because I'm not interested in this industry. Right now, all the major websites are desperately trying to attract investment and burning through cash. I dare say that in two years, 99% of the group-buying websites will go bankrupt, and investors will lose everything."

"Isn't there still 1%? If Ele.me does it, then that's us!" Kang Jia said seriously.

shit
I never expected this guy to be so shameless.

That's good, though; people who are too thin-skinned can't do business.

"Kang Jia, Ele.me doesn't get involved in group buying projects. The cost-benefit ratio of this project is too low, it's meaningless." Fang Qingye cut off Kang Jia's hopes in one fell swoop.

"Then Meituan might be the one to win in the future," Kang Jia said with a hint of regret.

“Yes, my not investing doesn’t mean others won’t invest. I think Wang Xing will find investors soon and win this battle,” Fang Qingye said.

His tone was very confident, because history has proven it all.

Shortly after, Meituan received $5000 million in funding from Alibaba and Sequoia Capital. With its strong financial backing and sound strategy, Meituan ultimately prevailed.

"Chairman Fang, why are you telling us all this today?" Deng Ye suddenly realized a problem; after talking for so long, they still hadn't gotten to the point.

I had a lot of things to do in Guangzhou, but I was dragged back to Shanghai.

"Deng Ye, don't rush." ​​Fang Qingye remained calm and unhurried: "I want everyone to think about this question: If Meituan wins and becomes one of the top group-buying websites in China, what if it suddenly wants to switch to a different field and get into food delivery?!"

Those present were taken aback, but Kang Jia laughed and said, "Oh my, he wants to copy our homework?! Let him copy! We're not afraid at all!"

"Why aren't you afraid?" Fang Qingye asked in return.

“Ele.me has been established for a year and a half, and it will take Meituan at least a year to win, right? That means we are two years ahead of them. According to our plan, we will also launch food delivery services in Huacheng and Tianjin this year. That means Ele.me will be available in five major cities by then, with a turnover of over 80 million yuan. Meanwhile, they started from scratch. How can they compare with us?!” Kang Jia’s tone was very confident.

Fang Qingye smiled but didn't answer. Instead, she asked everyone, "What are your opinions?"

Zhang Xuhao frowned, staring intently at Meituan's financing report, and suddenly shouted, "Oh no! If Meituan really enters the food delivery industry in the future, we'll be in danger!"

"Huh? Why?" Wang Yuan, who was sitting next to him, was a little confused.

"Look! According to the plan, Meituan will be in AB-level cities, that is, provincial capitals or sub-provincial capitals, second-tier cities, about 40 cities nationwide."

"In other words, Meituan will establish online business bases in these 40 cities and achieve good cooperation with local merchants. Just as Chairman Fang said, if Meituan suddenly wants to do food delivery, will the restaurants among these merchants join the platform they build? Do you think they will?!"

"what?!"

Everyone suddenly understood.

Establishing good cooperative relationships with merchants is a key focus of Ele.me's promotion. Expanding into each new city requires a lot of manpower and resources, which is quite difficult. But Meituan solves this problem with ease!
40 cities versus 6 cities.
Who will ultimately win?!
After a while, Deng Ye said tentatively, "It's also possible that Meituan won't get involved in the food delivery industry."

"Definitely!" Before Fang Qingye could answer, Zhang Xuhao immediately dismissed Kang Jia's wishful thinking:
"If Meituan wins and goes this far, it will definitely enter the food delivery industry! From Meituan's perspective, entering the food delivery market is a natural progression. Wang Xing was able to produce such a good fundraising report, so how could he not have thought of this step?!"

Everyone's eyes turned to Fang Qingye again.

Fang Qingye simply said, "Xu Hao is right. When Wang Xing and I were chatting at the coffee shop, he mentioned the food delivery industry and said he was also very interested in it. What do you think we should do?"

(End of this chapter)