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

Chapter 665 V 2? Ma Liyun: I can treat you like my own son! Zhang Jindong: ...

The following morning, Apple released iOS 8.0, paving the way for the official launch of the iPhone 6.

Following this, Xiaodu's language big model was criticized by netizens and became a trending topic, with some jokingly calling it both an "advertising big model" and a "moron."

Loyal users who previously still held hope for Baidu have now fully realized that Baidu's technological strength in the fields of search engines and artificial intelligence is far inferior to that of Zhicheng Technology.

At the same time, just as Suning launched its pre-sale activities for the '818 E-commerce Festival', JD.com quickly responded by launching its own '818 Good Things Festival' to compete with it.

Liu Qiangdong's intention was very clear: he would never let Zhang Jindong have an easy time.

In recent years, the verbal battle between the two has never stopped, and their competition in the field of digital home appliances has intensified.

Now that Suning is launching a major promotion, JD.com naturally has to follow suit, both to grab a share of Suning's traffic and popularity, and to weaken the effectiveness of Suning's promotion.

However, Zhang Jindong was slightly relieved that Pinbei and Yaomao did not choose to join this promotional battle.

Otherwise, under pressure from multiple sides, Suning's "818 E-commerce Festival" will inevitably become a laughing stock in the industry.

Just as Zhang Jindong was busy fighting this e-commerce promotion battle, a phone call suddenly came in from Hangzhou.

Ma Liyun?
Why would he contact me?
Zhang Jindong picked up his phone, his gaze falling on the caller ID, and muttered to himself.

But as the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

During this period, Dong acted as a pawn for Pinbei, and he gave Ali a hard time.

Despite Taobao's emergency launch of a live streaming channel and the use of Taobao Girls' resources, it has achieved some success.

But those within the platform know their own situation. Taobao Live's traffic and orders all come from within the platform itself. To put it bluntly, it's competing for business with other channels within the platform, and it's not bringing any new growth.

For this reason, Ma Liyun has been keeping a close eye on the marketing and promotion of "Laiwang" recently, and has even gone so far as to cooperate with Huayi Brothers to bring in a group of celebrities to join "Laiwang" and shoot short videos.

Because after its redesign, Laiwang transformed from an instant messaging app into a 'short video + social' software.

Regardless of whether users buy it or not, Ali is promoting it with extra effort, offering a 10 yuan no-threshold red envelope for downloading the app, which can be directly deducted when placing an order in the live stream.

After thinking for a few seconds, Zhang Jindong pressed the answer button.

"Mr. Zhang, judging from the current situation, Suning's home appliance business should be declining, right?"

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Ma Liyun cut to the chase and got straight to the point.

"If Mr. Ma has something to say, please speak frankly," Zhang Jindong replied, his brow furrowed and his tone tinged with displeasure.

Although Ali is far stronger than Suning in the e-commerce industry, Suning is ultimately an established company with many years of experience, and Zhang Jindong also has his own pride.

Moreover, in Nanjing, no one has ever dared to openly say that Suning's development has problems or that its performance is declining.

Ma Liyun, who was far away at Ali's headquarters in Hangzhou, was stunned when he heard this. He could clearly sense the hostility in Zhang Jindong's words.

Normally, given his personality, he would probably have hung up the phone long ago if faced with such a resistant conversation.

But the current situation doesn't allow him to be so willful.

Ali's seemingly secure position in the e-commerce sector is being stirred up by the combined efforts of Pinduoduo and JD.com. If it cannot find a new breakthrough, Taobao's market share will likely be further eroded before long.

Not very capable, but has a big temper!
Ma Liyun scoffed softly, silently commenting.

But he was, after all, a shrewd businessman, and didn't take Zhang Jindong's words to heart at all, and immediately said:

"Mr. Zhang, please don't misunderstand. I'm not making this call to reopen old wounds for Suning. I'm here today to discuss a win-win cooperation with you."

A win-win cooperation?
Zhang Jindong gave a cold laugh, leaned back, and said nonchalantly, "Mr. Ma, you and I both know that Ali and Suning are competitors in the digital home appliance category. Now you say you want to cooperate, but I really can't think of any win-win opportunity between us."

He knew very well that Ma Liyun was always shrewd and never made a losing deal. Half of Ali's $2000 billion market value was obtained by the other party through empty talk.

This sudden "cooperation invitation" might be hiding something fishy.

Ma Liyun seemed to have anticipated Zhang Jindong's reaction, so he calmly explained, "Mr. Zhang, we need to take a longer-term view."

JD.com is going head-to-head with Suning during the '818 Shopping Festival,' while Pinduoduo is expanding into lower-tier markets. If Alibaba and Suning continue to fight their own battles, the only ones who will benefit in the end will be Liu Qiangdong and Chen Yansen.

Think about it, Suning has a unique advantage in physical appliance stores, while Ali has strong online traffic and technical support. If we can join forces and integrate online and offline channels, it will not only help Suning stabilize its declining appliance business, but also give Taobao a competitive edge in the digital appliance category. Isn't that a win-win situation?

Zhang Jindong fell silent.

Ma Liyun's words did indeed hit a nerve.

Although Suning has been promoting the integration of online and offline channels in recent years, online traffic has always been a weakness, especially under the strong impact of JD.com, the decline in online home appliance sales has become more and more obvious.

If Ali can truly provide sufficient online traffic support, it would undoubtedly be a timely help for Suning.

But he had concerns. Ahri's strength far surpassed Suning's. If they cooperated, would Suning gradually lose the initiative and eventually become Ahri's "vassal"?
"Mr. Ma, your proposal sounds good, but what about the specific details of the cooperation? For example, the allocation of online traffic, the profit sharing, and the say of each party in decision-making. These all need to be clarified, right?"

Zhang Jindong suppressed his doubts and tentatively asked.

He knew that every detail of this cooperation negotiation was related to Suning's future development, and no carelessness was allowed.

Moreover, as a bigwig in the home appliance industry who fought his way up from the 1980s, what kind of dirty tricks hasn't he seen?

From the perspective of the cooperation itself, the alliance between Suning and Ali is likely more beneficial than harmful. However, on the other hand, Ma Liyun has always been a man of deep thoughts, and it's possible that behind this seemingly win-win cooperation, there are some unknown malicious intentions hidden.

When Ma Liyun heard Zhang Jindong's question, a hint of joy flashed in his eyes. He knew that Zhang Jindong was already interested.

In the past two years, after launching the Tmall Mall, Ali has also set up a home appliance channel. However, the problem is that users' impression of Ali's platform is already deeply ingrained.

Buy snacks and clothes on Tmall, and digital appliances on Pinduoduo and JD.com.

In the home appliance category, even Ali's reputation is not as good as Pinduoduo's.

Pinduoduo's 10 Billion Yuan Subsidy Program makes every day feel like Singles' Day.

This slogan has resonated deeply with people!
In addition, Senlian Capital itself owns industries such as home appliances and digital products, making it easy to retain users.

Products like Orange electric fans, Orange air conditioners, Orange mobile phones, Moss smart speakers, and Orange electric scooters are all best showcased on Pinbei.

Self-produced and self-sold!

In contrast, Yaomao Mall has spent a lot of money but has made no progress.

"I have a draft preliminary cooperation plan here, I'll send it to you in a bit."

The core idea is that Ali can open up the home appliance category entry point on the Taobao homepage for Suning, and will also use big data analysis to accurately push potential customers to Suning.

Suning, on the other hand, needs to open its physical stores nationwide as offline experience stores and delivery points for Taobao Home Appliance City, and also has to withdraw from the Pinduoduo Mall platform.

As for profit sharing and decision-making power, we can determine that based on the investment ratio of both parties, ensuring that Suning does not suffer losses.

Ma Liyun spoke slowly.

Exit Pinbei Mall?
Zhang Jindong looked hesitant.

It's important to know that by opening a store on Pinduoduo, Suning's products can naturally enter the traffic pools of Douyin and Kuaishou.

However, once Suning withdraws from Pinduoduo, it will be much more difficult to get involved in the live streaming business in the future.

Seeing that Zhang Jindong remained silent, Ma Liyun quickly guessed what the other party was thinking and said, "The traffic resources that Taobao Live can provide, Kuaishou and Douyin can't."

Zhang Jindong tightened his grip on his phone. He could sense the sincerity in Ma Liyun's words. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "What kind of cooperation would Mr. Ma prefer?"

"Ali will put up a sum of cash for a strategic investment in Suning. Mr. Zhang, to tell you the truth, my expectation is 30% equity."

Of course, to show sincerity, Ali could also transfer a portion of its equity to Suning. After Suning joins Tmall, the two parties can then engage in comprehensive cooperation across e-commerce operations, logistics, and offline integration.

Seeing that the negotiations were progressing smoothly, Ma Liyun decided to be direct.

30%?

What are you doing?
You want to acquire Suning?
Zhang Jindong's lips curled into a sneer, his face full of disdain. He finally understood that Ma Liyun wasn't interested in discussing cooperation at all; he clearly wanted to take over Suning.

A 30% stake is just the first bite from the other party.

“30% is too high, I can only accept 10% at most.”

Zhang Jindong shook his head while giving a clear response.

At the same time, he scoffed at Ma Liyun's operational plan.

To put it bluntly, what's the difference between this and the cooperation model between Pinduoduo and JD.com back then? Isn't it just a rehash with a different shell?
"With too little equity, Ali will receive too little benefit, and I have no way to convince investors."

Besides, how much traffic did Suning gain from joining Pinduoduo? JD.com is Pinduoduo's real son; Suning isn't even a godchild.

I can promise you that once Suning joins Tmall Mall, I will treat you like a brother.

Ma Liyun patted his chest and assured him.

He originally wanted to say "his own son," but he was afraid that Zhang Jindong would be too embarrassed to say it, so he changed it to "his own brother."

Let's talk in person.

Ma Liyun's words struck a chord with Zhang Jindong.

Pinduoduo's third-party marketplace includes multiple platforms such as JD.com, Suning, Gome, Dangdang, Paipai, and Yixun.com, but the total traffic of these platforms is limited.

Since Pinbei invested in JD.com, Suning's traffic to Pinbei Mall has decreased significantly.

Ultimately, in Chen Yansen's eyes, there is a difference between his biological son and his godson.

Upon hearing this, Ma Liyun immediately arranged a meeting time.

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Jindong leaned back in his chair and sighed softly. He wondered if cooperating with Ali was a good thing.

But he understood that if he didn't make changes, Suning would be strangled by Pinduoduo and JD.com.

On the other hand, Ma Liyun held the same idea.

Since the home appliance category can't be taken off, then invest or acquire it, and use money to buy market share!
(End of this chapter)