My Realistic Simulation Game

Chapter 205 A Vast Commercial Empire Spanning Central and Eastern Europe
Pan Shiyi quickly threw himself into his work. He knew perfectly well that Qin Yuan wanted him to familiarize himself with Jeanswest's franchise system and cash flow, and gave him a week to do so. This was an "entry test".

His exam results directly determined whether he could step onto the broader and more exciting battlefield of the Soviet Union.

"Brother Feng, tell me about the Jeanswest franchise store. What's the current situation?"

Pan Shiyi got straight to the point as soon as he sat down, his tone urgent.

He currently has limited information, but Jeanswest has already established a hundred franchise stores, and the brand's reputation has been thoroughly established.

Thanks to its advertising on CCTV, coupled with endorsements from Alan Tam, Chen Peisi, and Zhu Shimao, the Jeanswest brand has already established itself.

After the Lunar New Year, the two Jeanswest stores in Guomao and Wangfujing were still packed with people, showing no signs of a decrease in customer traffic.

It has already become a fashion landmark in Yanjing.

These days, among young people in Yanjing, you'd be embarrassed to go out without wearing a pair of Jeanswest jeans.

Pan Shiyi discovered this on his very first day in Yanjing.

The fashion trend sparked by Jeanswest swept through Beijing, especially among young people.

With the start of the new school year, this wave of consumption will only intensify, and most of the first batch of franchise stores are also targeting this golden period, planning to open in late February or early March.

Feng Lun led him and Liu Jun to his office, spread out the documents, and introduced, "This is the situation. The level of interest has far exceeded expectations, which is a good thing, but it has also brought a lot of trouble."

"Although we collected a franchise fee of ten million, the subsequent store site selection review, unified decoration supervision, and staff training all require the headquarters to invest a lot of human and financial resources to support us."

“Now many franchisees in first- and second-tier cities are all rushing to open at the same time, which has led to a fatal problem—” Feng Lun paused, his expression grave.

Pan Shiyi looked up and said, "Disorganized management?"

Feng Lun shook his head: "There's not that much trouble in terms of management. They're all franchise stores, not directly operated stores. They just need to manage their own little plot of land."

"The main issue is the supply of goods."

He explained in detail: "Our main supplier is Fang's Group in Guangdong. Although we are strategic allies, their production capacity is also limited."

"Now they need to prioritize two parts: one part of the goods will be reserved for Mr. Fang to open his own direct-sale stores in the south, and the larger part must be prioritized for shipment to the Soviet Union, which is the foundation and the main source of profit for our Far East trade!"

"In the end, only about one-third of the total production capacity can be allocated to the domestic market. These goods must first enter the central warehouses we have set up in various regions before they can be distributed to franchise stores and directly operated stores in various places for pickup."

"In summary, the market expansion speed has far exceeded the capacity limits of our supply chain."

Feng Lun sighed, "If this isn't handled properly, franchisees won't be able to get the goods, or the quality of the goods they receive will be inconsistent, which will directly ruin the golden reputation that Jeanswest has just built up."

That's how it is in the clothing business; if you pursue quality, efficiency will inevitably slow down.

If you prioritize efficiency, product quality will inevitably become inconsistent.

So many clothing brands in later generations failed because of blind expansion, declining quality control, delayed delivery, and increasingly poor user experience.

For consumers, you are never the only option.

If you don't make good products and provide better services, they will quickly switch to other brands.

Consumers do not have absolute brand loyalty.

Good brands must cultivate brand loyalty.

Therefore, if a company wants to manage a brand well, it must focus on product quality and service experience, and cannot be perfunctory.

Although Pan Shiyi has never been involved in this industry, he can understand this principle just by thinking about it.

Pan Shiyi pondered for a moment and then asked, "Brother Feng, could I see Jeanswest's financial report for the most recent month?"

Solving problems must be based on detailed data; this is his consistent style.

Feng Lun naturally had no problem with it: "Xiao Di is now in charge of the finances of the entire group. I'll take you to Xiao Di; he has detailed data there."

After saying that, the two of them, along with Liu Jun, walked towards Yi Xiaodi.

Today, the top five floors of the Jinxiang Building have been rented by Far East Trading, with different departments on each floor. The finance department is on the 19th floor, near the top floor.

While waiting for the elevator, Feng Lun asked, "Old Pan, how do you think we can untangle this deadlock we're facing now?"

Pan Shiyi adjusted his glasses, his mind racing: "I can't draw conclusions before seeing specific data. But most of a company's problems ultimately boil down to money and efficiency." "With money, we can immediately poach top supply chain management talent from the industry."

"With money, we can hire the best design team to solidify and optimize the decoration and service standards of franchise stores, forming a strong brand consistency."

"With money, we can quickly find and certify more high-quality contract manufacturers and rapidly expand our production capacity."

Feng Lun smiled wryly: "That makes sense, but money isn't unlimited. We have to consider the return on investment and the efficiency."

"So the core lies in optimization." Pan Shiyi's eyes were sharp: "We need to establish a more efficient financial model and capital flow system so that every penny can play its maximum role and be accurately invested in the links that can generate benefits the fastest."

During their conversation, they arrived at Yi Xiaodi's office.

After explaining their purpose, Yi Xiaodi immediately brought over a thick stack of reports.

"Mr. Pan, this is all the financial and operational data for the Jeanswest division for the past month, including sales through the Soviet Union channel, revenue from domestic directly operated stores, franchise fee income and expenditure, logistics costs, OEM costs, and so on. It's all here," Yi Xiaodi introduced.

After expressing his gratitude, Pan Shiyi immediately immersed himself in the sea of ​​data.

However, the more he read, the more surprised he became.

Pan Shiyi had previously thought that the scale of Jeanswest's business would be large, but he did not expect it to be this large.

"President Qin has actually expanded the Jeanswest business to Eastern Europe?"

Pan Shiyi stared wide-eyed at Yi Xiaodi in disbelief.

These reports reveal a vast business empire.

The reports clearly show that Jeanswest's goods were continuously transported to the Soviet Union via the K3 and K20 international train lines, like two major arteries.

It not only covers major cities such as Moscow and Leningrad, but also has a deep presence in many second-tier cities.

Traders and Soviet official department stores formed two distinct lines, densely packed throughout the major regions of the Soviet Union.

Crucially, some markets that were not originally within the coverage area, such as university districts and areas close to Europe like Kyiv, saw Soviets who had trade cooperation with the Far East actively become distributors to expand these markets.

Meanwhile, in Eastern Europe, some daring traders began to make contact.

The market has been improving in the past month, and the data above suggests that the market has been opened up in Eastern Europe.

In just half a month, they ordered a total of 5,000 pairs of jeans and 2,000 leather jackets.

Yi Xiaodi was clearly very knowledgeable about these things: "Yes, there is a black marketeer named Gu Beiwang who is very bold and lucky. He made a connection with a trading company in Budapest and they tested the waters with a batch of our Jeanswest jeans and leather jackets. Because of the price and quality, they sold very well in Europe."

Pan Shiyi was educated and knew about the situation in Eastern Europe. He keenly noticed the problem: "Their national system has only changed in a few years? How can they have such a large capacity to withstand change?"

“Carrying capacity?” Yi Xiaodi shook his head and laughed, “What Eastern European Spring? It was nothing more than a feast for a few to divide up national assets. Ordinary people didn’t get much benefit.”

"The trading company that Gu Beiwang is cooperating with is an oligopoly that has risen amidst change. They are essentially middlemen, selling our goods at a higher price to developed Western European countries like Germany and France to make a profit from the price difference."

Budapest is known as the heart of Europe and is the largest trading hub in Eastern Europe.

Shipping a batch of goods to those established developed countries in Western Europe is an easy task.

Once you think about it that way, it becomes clear.

Jeanswest is not cheap in the country, nor was it cheap in the Soviet Union.

However, even considering the losses during transit and the number of hands involved, the price-performance ratio is still very high when sold to developed countries in Western Europe.

It can be said that only now has he truly glimpsed a corner of the entirety of the behemoth that is the Far East trade.

It is by no means a simple clothing brand operator, but a vast business empire spanning China, the Soviet Union, and Europe, deeply involved in international trade competition.

He originally thought this was a test of "tight times", but now it seems that it is a battle of plenty!

The key is how to mobilize and utilize these resources more efficiently.

“Brother Feng, Xiao Di,” Pan Shiyi took a deep breath, “Give me a few days. I need to study this data carefully. I will definitely come up with a funding and supply chain optimization plan that will satisfy President Qin!”

"Okay! No problem!" Feng Lun smiled and patted his shoulder. "Then you go ahead and get busy. If you need anything, just ask Xiao Di. I'll head back to my office now."

(End of this chapter)