Reborn in 08, a heretical cultivator starting a business

Chapter 204 Community Group Buying Explodes, Devastating Taobao Mall!

"Through YouTuan.com and the future warehousing and logistics system, we will deliver high-quality products and specialties from all over the country to consumers as quickly as possible!"

"We aim to achieve next-day delivery for community group buying in 150 cities this year!"

A round of enthusiastic applause erupted from the audience, reflecting the high level of anticipation everyone was feeling.

Next-day delivery was commonplace in 2019.

But in 2009, it was simply magical.

One-week delivery was the normal logistics timeframe in 2009.

Everyone was excited when they heard that next-day delivery was available in 150 cities.

This is absolutely a huge innovation!

Zhou Mengman spoke again: "Chairman Wang, some people say that community group buying is taking away business from vendors. What do you think about this?"

I see things from two perspectives; for every gain, there is a loss.

This kind of argument was bound to come sooner or later, and Wang Junshan chose to confront it directly:

"On the surface, the launch of community group buying has brought convenience to the public and taken away the livelihoods of a small number of vendors, but it has also created more than ten times the number of job opportunities, such as warehouse sorting workers, couriers, truck drivers, and stay-at-home moms who participate in community group buying."

"This will give ordinary people more job opportunities, increase their income, and significantly improve their quality of life."

“And these groups are more than ten times the number of those vendors.”

"More importantly, those vendors earn several times more than the average person."

"A vendor's monthly income is equivalent to what an ordinary person earns in several months, or even several years."

"Many vendors have already bought cars and houses and have considerable savings. Even if they are affected, they can still make money by doing other businesses."

"But it's much harder for ordinary people, especially sorting workers and deliverymen. They have elderly parents to support, young children to raise, and their parents may not even have social security. They themselves don't earn high salaries, and they also have unemployed wives and young children who can't find work. Their expenses are also high. These are the people who need more care from society and community group buying!"

"Although community group buying affects the interests of a few vendors, it makes greater contributions to society and benefits more people."

Zhou Mengman strongly agreed:
"That's true. People with a monthly salary of one or two thousand don't need to worry about vendors who earn seven or eight thousand or even tens of thousands a month. They have more capital and more options."

Wang Junshan nodded: "Actually, the advantage of community group buying is that it can also balance resources."

"There is now a serious contradiction."

"High-quality fruits from local farmers cannot be sold because they are exploited by merchants and cannot fetch a good price."

"But when it comes to the consumer end, it becomes an exorbitantly priced fruit that consumers can't afford."

"This contradiction is caused by middlemen adding prices at each stage. Every link wants to make a profit, resulting in the public being unable to afford it."

"If the public buys less, a lot of fruit in the production areas will not be sold and will rot in the fields, causing huge losses to fruit farmers."

"This is a lose-lose situation."

"The significance of our community group buying is to source directly from the production area, sign contracts with fruit farmers, so that the fruit farmers can sell their fruit, make money, and make their labor worthwhile."

"By eliminating the layers of middlemen and their markups, we can make high-quality fruits affordable for the general public, thereby improving the quality of life in all aspects."

"This is the significance of community group buying."

"Buy more high-quality products with less money and more convenience."

"Wow!"

Thunderous applause resounded throughout the venue.

Whether it was the students present or other guests, they all agreed with Wang Junshan's point of view.

What truly needs attention is the lives of working-class people, not the vendors.

Even the smallest vendor is still a boss and can make a lot of money.

Even if they say they're not making money, can't keep going, and are going to lose a fortune... it's all bullshit!
In reality, their income is still several times that of the average person.

What they earn in a month is equivalent to what most people earn in three or four months, or even half a year.

If it weren't profitable, why would they do this? They would have gone to work long ago!
As for the hardship of getting up early and going to bed late... who isn't working hard these days?

Programmers working 996 have a tough job, delivery drivers have a tough job, truck drivers have a tough job, nobody is not working hard.

In my past life, many people earning four or five thousand yuan a month felt that the emergence of community group buying had affected many vendors earning tens of thousands of yuan a month...

Really unnecessary.

These vendors have worked their whole lives and have already earned more wealth than the average person could in a lifetime; they've already bought houses and cars.

Even retail vendors in the vegetable market earn tens of thousands of yuan a month.

Larger wholesalers earned even more.

In his previous life, someone from Wang Junshan's hometown started his business as a wholesaler, beginning by selling fruit in the market, and quickly built a fortune of millions and tens of millions.

Several of them were doing quite well; around 2000, they bought Accords worth over 300,000 yuan.

The only one who didn't do well wasn't because he didn't make money, but because he was unreliable.

They either get caught having extramarital affairs and their money is exposed, or they become addicted to gambling and lose several sums of money in one night...

Wholesale business offers large price differences, high profits, and no one pays taxes, making it easy to make a lot of money, especially in recent years.

After the awards ceremony ended, Zhou Mengman was still thinking about finding an opportunity to add Wang Junshan on WeChat.

Unexpectedly, Wang Junshan was immediately surrounded by a large number of media outlets:

"Chairman Wang, you just said that community group buying is very suitable for stay-at-home moms? Could you elaborate?"

“Of course,” Wang Junshan said. “As we all know, many new mothers face difficulties finding employment after giving birth. Especially since no one can help take care of their children, and they can’t afford to hire a nanny, they have to do it themselves.”

"That leaves only the husband to earn money to support the family, which puts even more pressure on him. The stay-at-home mom also wants to earn some money to supplement the family income, but she also needs to take care of the child and simply can't leave."

Everyone nodded in agreement; this was a problem many people would face.

"Registering as a community group buying station manager is a perfect part-time job."

"As a station manager, all you need to do is create a community group buying WeChat group, invite people in the community to join the group, share good products every day, and when users place an order, the group manager can get a commission. You can make money from home."

"Moreover, the work is very easy. It's basically just promoting through WeChat groups and attracting people. The goods arrive the next day, so I go downstairs to pick them up, then repackage them according to the order details, and wait for the customers to pick them up or for the goods to be delivered to their door."

"If something happens, the group leader can close the group purchase in advance, no problem, it's also a way to earn extra income."

"Chairman Wang, will the community group buying platform launch a series of activities to help farmers?"

"Yes, we will. Our procurement team has already reached out to all parts of the country, including many remote areas, and our priority in cooperating with fruit farmers is..."

"We buy their unsold products and sell them all over the country through community group buying and campus group buying. This is a real way to help farmers."

"Chairman Wang, currently community group buying mainly covers urban areas, but what about rural towns? What about cities that haven't been covered yet?"

"We've also launched grocery delivery services in towns and cities that aren't yet covered. Consumers can place orders through the community group-buying section based on their needs, and we'll pack and ship them from the nearest warehouse."

"Although it can't be delivered the next day, it will still be relatively fast."

"Especially fruits and vegetables that can be stored for a long time, are all fine."

"For example, we have created a New Year's gift package, which includes all kinds of fruits and vegetables..."

After answering several questions from reporters, Wang Junshan, under the protection of bodyguards, left the scene.

Soon, the incident was reported by major media outlets.

[YouTuan.com launches community group buying, offering a wide variety of goods nationwide with next-day delivery, high quality and low prices.]

Wang Junshan won the Shandong Provincial College Student Entrepreneurship Competition, stating that community group buying will be a boon that changes everyone's lives.

[Regarding the issue of community group buying taking away vendors' livelihoods, Wang Junshan bluntly stated that vendors have higher incomes, more capital, and more career options; providing more job opportunities for ordinary people is the fundamental solution.]

Community group buying has spread throughout the country, effectively supporting farmers, eliminating middlemen and their markups, and making high-quality, affordable fruits and vegetables accessible to everyone.

[A new career path for stay-at-home moms: community group-buying leaders – earn money from home.]

The launch of community group buying has impacted the interests of some vendors, but it has brought more benefits to the general public.

[Community group buying will cover 150 cities this year. Cities not yet covered will support grocery delivery via express courier, with orders shipped from the nearest location and delivered by logistics.]

……

These news items caused a stir online:
"Community group buying is great! It delivers the next day, has everything, and most importantly, it's cheap."

"That's right, they deliver to your door for orders over 30, it's so convenient, I do group buying every few days now."

"The bags from the community group buying are good too. They give you one with every delivery. They're sturdy and easy to use for packing things."

"We don't have next-day delivery here yet, but we've launched a group-buying service for express delivery, and it arrives in two days, which is pretty good."

"My location is remote, so the shipment was sent from a neighboring city. It arrived in two days, which is quite fast. They even gave me a diamond rebate."

"That's great? I'll give it a try. My lousy company only gives us a holiday on New Year's Eve, and I won't have time to buy New Year's goods when I go back to my hometown."

"Yes, I was having a headache, but now it's all good. I can just buy the New Year's goods package through YouTuan community group buying, and it will be delivered to the town in two days."

“Good idea. Although the town has all the usual New Year’s goods, there are fewer high-end ones. Let’s buy one in bulk. It’s cheaper and more convenient, and it’s a way to show our filial piety.”

……

Based on this idea, many people open YouTuan.com and enter the community group buying module.

Campus group buying and community group buying have now been fully integrated, and different pages are displayed depending on the address selected.

If your community has a pickup point, simply select that pickup point.

If your neighborhood doesn't have one, you can choose the neighboring neighborhood or a nearby small supermarket.

Of course, some mothers, seeing that there are no pickup points, directly register for pickup points themselves and become group leaders to earn extra income.

In areas not covered by community group buying, you can choose to place an order via express delivery. The price is the same, but there will be additional shipping costs.

Orders under 59 yuan require payment of shipping fees. Orders over 59 yuan receive a free two-kilogram basic shipping fee. Additional charges apply for orders over 59 yuan.

Delivery will be handled by Future Logistics or SF Express.

The strategic cooperation agreement signed between Future Technology and SF Express stipulates that the first weight charge within the province will be 5 yuan per order, which is slightly more expensive than the 2 yuan charge of other express delivery companies within the province, but the delivery time is faster.

Shipping from nearby cities usually takes two days, making it perfect for fruits and vegetables.

However, since the products purchased through community group buying are cheap enough, they are worthwhile even when shipping costs are included.

Many netizens have started shopping online in bulk, researching New Year's shopping packages, and sharing their favorite items...

Especially as the Lunar New Year approaches, people need to buy New Year's goods.

But office workers really don't have that time.

Many companies don't give employees a holiday until the 27th or 28th of the twelfth lunar month, and they still have to take a bus back to their hometowns, so they don't have time to buy New Year's goods.

But once you're at work, you can't come home empty-handed.

Buying New Year's gift packages directly through community group buying has become the best option.

In particular, many New Year's gift packages offered through community group buying contain items that are rarely seen in small towns, making them very suitable for purchase.

For example, Jinhua ham, Delis ham, Inner Mongolian beef jerky, big-name chocolates, and high-quality, inexpensive fruits and vegetables, etc.

Apples, for example, are mostly Qixia Red Fuji apples, which are a bit more expensive than the ordinary apples sold in town, but taste much better.

The Hami melons are also sourced directly from Xinjiang, Hainan, and other places.

Even the sunflower seeds are from brands like Laojiekou and Qiaqia, which are of better quality than loose sunflower seeds.

These can all be selected and combined randomly according to taste.

For a time, many people discovered a new world.

During my free time, I placed orders one after another and shared the list with colleagues and friends, discussing what to buy.

Many users who had never experienced community group buying before placed orders to try it out.

This led to a rapid surge in the number of users and daily active users of community group buying.

In the past, community group buying had only 100 million monthly active users and around 30 daily active users.

However, with reports from major media outlets, the daily active users of community group buying quickly exceeded 70, more than doubling!

The number of new users has surged by more than 300,000!

Revenue also continued to surge.

As a result, community group buying for New Year's goods has become a popular trend in office buildings!

Jiang Fan, who was doing on-the-ground promotion, was stunned by what he saw:

"At this rate, won't the daily transaction volume surge from 900 million yesterday to 1800 million? Or even higher?"

"As expected of the chairman, his marketing skills are truly impressive!"

At the last Binzhou University Student Entrepreneurship Competition award ceremony, Wang Junshan made Little Duck washing machines a hit.

At this provincial college student entrepreneurship competition award ceremony, Wang Junshan popularized community group buying!
He's truly a genius.

Jiang Fan was not disappointed; the transaction volume that day exceeded 1900 million, and it continued to surge the next day!
But Jack Ma couldn't laugh anymore.

The collaboration between Taobao Mall and Midea was initially successful and generated some traffic.

Many users started shopping on Taobao Mall because of the 2000 washing machines available, which significantly increased Taobao Mall's daily active users and GMV.

It was thought that if things continued to develop this way, even if it couldn't completely replicate Vipshop's success, it would still be a huge step forward for Taobao Mall.

Unexpectedly, this growth lasted for a whole day.

It fell apart the very next day.

The Shandong Province awards ceremony was widely reported by major media outlets, and now many netizens are flocking to YouTuan.com's online grocery shopping platform!
Almost no one pays attention to Taobao Mall!
Taobao Mall doesn't have many items to begin with, and the logistics are slow. If you place an order now, it won't arrive before the Spring Festival.

However, community group buying is different; it delivers to the city center of 27 cities the next day.

For express delivery to suburbs and other cities, delivery can be completed within two days.

Shipments are made from nearby central or regional warehouses, and within the province, SF Express takes only two days!
If you place your order on the 27th of the twelfth lunar month, it will arrive on New Year's Eve, so it won't interfere with your New Year's Eve dinner at all!
This is much better than Taobao Mall.

If you place an order on Taobao Mall on the 27th, the earliest delivery time will be the 6th or even the 7th of the Lunar New Year when work resumes!

With community group buying offering diamond rebates, who would still shop on Taobao Mall?
(End of this chapter)