I can become stronger by paying salaries. I have one billion employees!

Chapter 348 Who doesn't want to be the boss? 1.5 billion in daily revenue, 700 million orders! Taobao Takeout?
"Damn it! Meituan's market share is far less than Dianping's, and Wang Xin still wants to be in charge after the merger? He's like a toad yawning, all talk and no action!"

In Shanghai, in front of a private room at a private club, Zhang Tao ignored Shen Nanpeng's attempts to stop him and walked out while his eyes blazed with anger.

"Mr. Zhang, don't be anxious. Meituan and Dianping are both valued at around 10 billion US dollars. Isn't it normal that we can't reach an agreement at the beginning? Let's sit down and talk it over slowly. We'll eventually find the best solution."

Shen Nanpeng pulled Zhang Tao aside and patiently persuaded him.

Throughout history, the vast sea of ​​historical records contains only four words: striving to become emperor.

The same applies to the business world!

As the founder of Sequoia Capital, Shen Nanpeng vigorously promoted the merger of Dianping and Meituan. However, what troubled him was that Zhang Tao and Wang Xin both wanted to gain absolute control.

From an investor's perspective, he tends to support Zhang Tao.

But Wang Xin is unwilling to relinquish power, which makes things difficult.

However, Zhang Tao believes that Meituan is valued at approximately US$9.7 million, with Wang Xin and the founding team holding 57.7% of the shares; Dianping is valued at US$12.4 billion, with him holding 62.2% of the shares.

With the two companies merging, it seems logical that he should be the CEO, and Wang Xin should be his subordinate.

The three parties talked all morning, and the core issue was: who should be the leader?

"President Shen, I have no objection to the merger, but if Wang Xin cannot see the situation clearly, then this matter will have to be abandoned."

Standing outside the door, Zhang Tao's anger subsided considerably after being blown by the cold wind, and he spoke in a gentler tone.

The implication is that unless Wang Xin yields to him, there's no point in discussing the merger.

Shen Nanpeng stared at Zhang Tao for a few seconds and realized that Meituan and Dianping had not yet been driven to the brink of collapse by Kuaishou and Lashou. At this point, it would probably be futile to waste any more words.

"Alright, I understand." Shen Nanpeng took a deep breath and said with a helpless expression.

Meituan and Dianping's second attempt to merge, although it entered the negotiation stage, still failed to reach an agreement.

The two sides parted ways unhappily!

Wang Xin and Wang Huiwen, who remained in the private room, exchanged a glance and instantly understood each other's thoughts: first, use money to flood the market and increase monthly transaction volume; then, whether it's financing or merging with Dianping, they will gain more advantages.

Zhang Tao's refusal to appoint Wang Xin as CEO is simply because he thinks Meituan's market share is too low.
In Wang Xin's eyes, Dianping's strength is far inferior to Meituan's. If it weren't for KuaiPao and Lashou.com disrupting the market, would Dianping be qualified to sit on the throne of the industry leader?

"Old Wang, Meituan needs to learn from Kuaipao in terms of product strategy. In addition to food, leisure and entertainment, movie tickets and travel, we also need to continuously expand our business boundaries, delve into local life services, and create a 'T-shaped' strategy for Meituan."

Wang Xin casually swirled his wine glass, glancing at his old friend as he spoke.

“Brother Xin, the bigger the operation, the higher the personnel and marketing costs will be. I’m afraid the money Sequoia Capital invested won’t be enough to last us until Q2 next year.”

Wang Huiwen frowned and voiced her concerns.

"There's always a way out. Ali and Sequoia Capital have invested a total of 1.3 million US dollars. I don't believe Ma Liyun and Shen Nanpeng would be willing to throw their money away."

Wang Xin grinned, a half-smile playing on his lips.

The relationship between investors and entrepreneurs is both mutually beneficial and constantly fraught with competition.

After several rounds of financing, he lost some equity, but Ali and Sequoia Capital became increasingly intertwined with Meituan.

The sunk costs in the early stages amounted to hundreds of millions of US dollars. As long as Meituan persists in this battle, Ali and Sequoia Capital will have to bite the bullet and keep throwing money at it.

Capital has hijacked entrepreneurs, but aren't entrepreneurs also being swept along by capital?

For example, during the subsidy war between Kuaidi and Didi Chuxing, Robin Li, unable to find suitable investors, ultimately chose to fund the war himself.

“But Ali didn’t participate in Meituan’s last round of financing. I think Ma Liyun may have given up on us.”

Wang Huiwen adjusted his glasses and analyzed the situation seriously.

"Old Wang, don't worry. Ever since Chen Yansen's $500 billion net worth was revealed, and the three major e-commerce platforms achieved $300 billion in sales during Singles' Day, capital from Europe, America, and Australia is all eyeing the domestic market. With Meituan's market position, why would we be afraid of not getting investment?"

Wang Xin said dismissively.

"Brother Xin, I understand." Wang Huiwen smiled knowingly, raised his glass and clinked it with Wang Xin's, a hint of joy flashing in his eyes.

Wang Xin squinted, thinking to himself: Although Senlian Capital and Qiandu.com are strong, Meituan is not weak either. It is still unknown who will win.

He doesn't believe that KuaiPao and Lashou.com can swallow up the entire national group-buying market.

Subsidy wars are unsustainable; in the end, they will all return to the essence of business, with service and quality determining the winner.

A short while later, Shen Nanpeng, having seen Zhang Tao off, returned.

Looking at Wang Xin, Shen Nanpeng didn't say much. After a few perfunctory words, he left with his assistant.

"I heard that Kuaipao's Shanghai branch is nearby," Wang Xin suddenly asked, knowing that Pei Yi was stationed in Shanghai year-round.

Thinking about this, he really wanted to visit the other company and meet his rival.

at the same time.

Jingdong announced yesterday that it has completed a new round of financing of US$7 million, with investors including OTPP (Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan) and Kingdom Capital of Saudi Arabia, valuing the company at US$105 billion post-investment.

In just two months, Liu Qiangdong raised a total of $11 billion in funding, and the company's valuation soared from $60 billion to $105 billion.

Brokerages in Hong Kong and on Nasdaq are becoming increasingly enthusiastic about Dong.

Liu Qiangdong turned all these people away. Since Liu Qiangdong was not short of money for the time being, the listing plan was naturally shelved.

The Double Eleven shopping festival has ended, and the Double Twelve shopping festival is about to begin.

After a moment of contemplation, Liu Qiangdong took out his phone, found Chen Yansen's private number, and dialed it directly.

the other side.

Chen Yansen received a call from Liangzai Dong. After figuring out the other party's intentions, he readily agreed, "I'll prepare a few bottles of good wine for President Liu to drink when he comes over."

Since Liu Qiangdong wanted to "plead guilty with a bundle of thorns on his back," there was no need for him to turn him away.

Orange Technology's withdrawal from JD.com resulted in a significant loss for Liu Qiangdong, but he also lost an important online sales channel.

Therefore, when Handsome Dong opened his mouth, Chen Yansen gave him a way out.

After all, Pinduoduo and JD.com's biggest competitor right now is Ali. They should first take down the market share of Tmall and Taobao C-store.

"See you Monday." Liu Qiangdong hung up the phone with a smile.

Chen Yansen put down his phone and continued his research and development work on the CPU architecture.

After an unknown amount of time, the cell phone on the table suddenly rang.

Chen Yansen picked up the phone and saw that it was Cheng Weixing calling, so he pressed the answer button.

"Boss, Ali has entered the food delivery market." Cheng Weixing noticed a new "Taobao Food Delivery" channel on the homepage icon area of ​​the Taobao APP and immediately reported it to his boss.

Chen Yansen took out another phone from the drawer, opened the Taobao APP, but did not see the corresponding channel entry. He immediately realized that it was probably not officially launched yet and was currently in gray-scale testing. Cheng Weixing's account had just been added to the test group. "Ali hasn't even been listed yet, and Lao Ma couldn't resist. He gave it a homepage resource right away. He has big ambitions."

Chen Yansen said with a light laugh.

“I reminded Pei Yi,” Cheng Weixing added.

"How is the expansion progress in the South China and Northeast markets?" Chen Yansen responded and then changed the subject.

"The Northeast region has an average of 50.3 orders per day, 7.7 active drivers, an order completion rate of 85.9%, and an average response time of 37 seconds;
The South China region sees an average of 90.5 orders per day, with 13.2 active drivers, an order completion rate of 89.4%, and an average response time of 36 seconds.

Cheng Weixing paused and then said, "Including East China, North China and Central China, Kuaidi Dache has 710 million daily orders, while Didi Dache is estimated to have just over 60 orders."

After thinking for a moment, Chen Yansen concluded that, based on the internet and smartphone penetration rates in 2012, the daily limit for ride-hailing orders nationwide was roughly between 900 million and 1100 million.

In other words, the six-month subsidy campaign activated almost 70-80% of potential passengers, and even if the business were extended to small, third-tier cities, it wouldn't bring much incremental growth.

Today, Kuaidi Dache's daily platform turnover reaches as high as 15 million yuan. The commission rate has been changed from 10% to 1.5%, and the monthly revenue exceeds 6.7 million yuan. However, due to high operating costs, the gross profit margin is less than 5%. In addition, with marketing expenses, the Q4 loss is still around 10 billion yuan.

We're still a long way from making a profit.

Although Didi Chuxing has been keeping a low profile and adopting a non-competitive stance in the past month, it's possible that Robin Li might launch a price war again someday.

Chen Yansen and Cheng Weixing chatted for a few minutes before ending the conversation.

Ahri's foray into the food delivery industry was within his expectations.

In fact, at this moment, Hangzhou not only has KuaiPao and TaoBao delivery services, but also competing websites such as AiDingFan and DianWoBa.

After Kuai Pao Waimai canceled its subsidy program, online food ordering platforms, centered in Hangzhou, sprang up overnight throughout the entire East China region.

Chen Yansen knew very well that becoming number one in the industry was easy, but achieving a 100% monopoly was absolutely impossible.

Like Yunsu Express, KuaiPao only needs to become the strongest.

The day before December, the second round of negotiations between Meituan and Dianping broke down, Ali entered the food delivery industry, and WeChat was working overtime to develop the WeChat Pay function.

It wasn't until 8:30 p.m. that Chen Yansen drove an Aston Martin Rapide along the Void City Avenue back to his new home in the Delta Villa District.

This is a detached villa with one basement level and three floors above ground, featuring a 200-square-meter open-air garden. The ornate iron gate slowly opens.

Chen Yansen drove the car into the garage, then pushed open the wooden door to the living room. A six-meter-high foyer came into view, with a crystal chandelier hanging down and a walnut wood floor covering the floor.

I changed into slippers, plopped down on the sofa, and then brought up the system panel.

The number in the "Humanitarian Legacy" column is 170179 at this time.

Enough to synthesize 1701 strands of divine flame!
With the growth and expansion of companies such as Yunsu Express, Orange Mobile Phone Factory, and Kuaipao, the monthly expenditure on human resources alone reaches as high as 17 billion yuan, exceeding 200 billion yuan per year.

"Synthesis, add some!"

With a thought, golden mist burst through the air and suddenly entered his brow.

After a few breaths, his physique value became 64.48!

At the current rate, it will only take two months to break through 100 in physique, thereby activating the next talent.

After completing the intensive training, Chen Yansen couldn't sleep at all. He felt unusually energetic. After a moment's thought, he sent Ye Qiuping a text message: "Make me a bowl of sweet soup."

Upon seeing the text message, Ye Qiuping immediately understood President Chen's subtle hint. She quickly ran into the room, found a lace maid outfit, and obediently put it on. A black silk bow was tied around her smooth neck and fair thighs.

……

……

Hangzhou, Ali's headquarters.

"Mr. Ma, the test results for Taobao Takeaway are excellent. Daily orders in Hangzhou have surged from 60 to 1000, and the number of merchants joining the platform is approaching 300..."

Tang Yongbo, the project manager of Taobao Takeaway, reported on each point one by one.

In the large office, besides Ma Liyun, there were Lu Zhaoxi, Zhang Yong, and others.

"What about the rider's data?" Ma Liyun asked casually.

"A total of 420 people have registered, with an online rate of 27%," Tang Yongbo responded immediately.

"On average, each rider completes less than 10 orders per day? As far as I know, Kuaipao delivery riders complete more than 50 orders per day, and the top performers even complete as many as 100 orders."

Lu Zhaoxi interjected with a question.

"Taobao's riders' unit price, system and dispatch capabilities are similar to Meituan's riders, and are mainly outsourced, while Kuaipao's transportation department is mainly full-time and permanent, so the underlying logic is different."

Tang Yongbo turned to Lu Zhaoxi and explained.

"Will it have a positive impact on Taobao's business?" Zhang Yong pressed.

As the business manager of Tmall and Taobao C-store, he only cares whether giving Taobao Waimai such a large traffic entrance has promoted the e-commerce business.

High frequency drives low frequency, acquire traffic at low cost!
If the results are outstanding, the small amount of money lost by the food delivery business will be negligible.

"Mr. Zhang, from a data perspective, the number of times users open the app has indeed increased, but there has been no significant increase in online shopping orders. Of course, it's also possible that the user base and order volume are too small, and we need to expand the testing scope to collect more direct and effective feedback."

Tang Yongbo answered with extreme caution.

Although Ali owns a 4% stake in Kuaipao, it still cannot stop Ma Liyun's determination to enter the food delivery market.

Even if it offends Chen Yansen!
Looking at Ali's investment history, it may seem like a series of haphazard moves, but if you treat Ali as an advertising company, you can easily see through Ma Liyun's intentions.

E-commerce itself cannot generate much traffic; Tmall and Taobao cannot do without the support of external traffic from third parties.

Since its inception, Alibaba has been constantly investing in advertising and user acquisition. Ma Liyun is a super key account (KA) client of products such as Baidu, NetEase, Sohu, Sina, and Toutiao, which is why Alibaba is preparing to invest in Weibo.

"Increase the user base to 20%." After pondering for a while, Ma Liyun instructed Tang Yongbo.

Ali urgently needed to improve user retention, and the food delivery industry, with its high-frequency consumption characteristics, came into Ma Liyun's sights.

“Yes, Mr. Ma,” Tang Yongbo nodded in response.

Although everyone present knew that if Ali entered the food delivery industry, it would run head-on into KuaiPao.

But Ma Liyun and others couldn't do anything about it. China only has 6 million internet users, and Taobao, which has been established for more than ten years, has already hit its traffic ceiling.

The difficulty of acquiring new customers increases exponentially.

This problem is actually a dilemma that has been troubling Huang Zheng.

Pinbei has products like Toutiao, Lingxi Browser, and Lingxi Search driving traffic to it, while Ali doesn't have various traffic replenishment packages.

Therefore, while copying Pinbei's business model, Ma Liyun also set his sights on Weibo.

(End of this chapter)