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Li Mu said, "As the vice president of the head office, you have to take responsibility. The matter of establishing the group's head office, as well as registering DeepBlue Technology and Shangpin Apparel, is entrusted to you."

Su Man readily agreed, "No problem!"

"However, I've focused all my energy on Mingde Medical Devices, and I can't devote too much energy to DeepBlue Technology and Shangpin Apparel. You'll have to take the lead."

Li Mu said, "No problem. I will recruit a group of professionals to take charge of this. I will also personally get involved in the specific setup, recruitment, and operation. As the vice president of the head office, you also need to take responsibility and do a good job of supervision."

Su Man nodded: "Don't worry, boss!"

After chatting for a while, Li Mu said, "Recently, work is resuming everywhere, so don't focus all your energy on Mingde Medical Devices. Also, pay more attention to the other industries under the group. If you encounter any difficulties, resolve them promptly, and let me know if you can't handle them."

Su Man said, "Understood, boss."

Li Mu said, "Contact a few more headhunting companies. I'll send you the recruitment requirements in a bit. If you have any questions, have them contact me directly."

Su Man said, "Okay!"

……

After saying goodbye to Su Man, Li Mu continued to stay at home, remotely managing company affairs while researching the clothing and technology industries, looking for suitable opportunities.

Su Man's side acted quite quickly; in just a few days, DeepBlue Technology and Shangpin Apparel had been registered, and the newly leased office was being renovated. The headhunting side had also been connected; the city's top headhunting firms were actively recruiting high-end talent in the technology and apparel fields, according to Li Mu's requirements.

Coincidentally, due to the economic impact, there is currently a small wave of unemployment, and a large number of talents are flowing into the market. The recruitment is going quite smoothly, and with Li Mu's promotion, the two companies quickly completed the establishment.

Chapter 460 Business Strategies

Inside the conference room at DeepBlue Technology, Li Mu glanced at everyone and said, "President Liu, why don't you start?"

Liu Tianming, the head of DeepBlue Technology whom Li Mu poached with a high salary through a headhunting company, said: "Chairman, based on your requirements, we have screened out some of the more popular and novel products in the consumer sector. Apart from some large items, there are also quite a few suitable electronic products."

"For example, smart bracelets, smart speakers, projectors, automatic robot vacuums, balance scooters, drones..."

Li Mu said, "The most important thing for the company's first product is to promote the brand and build brand awareness. The product needs to be innovative but not too complex, and the price shouldn't be too high, so that more consumers can access our products..."

Liu Tianming said, "I think smart bracelets are pretty good. They are novel and technological, the products are not complicated, the unit price is not high, and users use them close to their bodies, which makes it easier for consumers to remember our brand and build brand awareness."

Li Mu nodded: "This field is indeed excellent. It doesn't require high technical skills, yet it belongs to the cutting-edge technology sector. The market is also large enough, making it very suitable as our first product..."

With the product decided, everyone began discussing how to develop it.

Liu Tianming asked, "Chairman, how should we position the product? Should we start with the low-end, mid-range, or high-end...?"

Li Mu said, "High-end means that from the very beginning, we must shape Deep Blue into a high-end brand."

"Furthermore, we are different from other high-end brands. In this respect, we need to learn from Xiaomi and maintain a very low profit margin on our products. High quality at a reasonable price makes it easier to build our brand."

Liu Tianming: "Is it about learning from Xiaomi and making products with the ultimate cost-performance ratio?"

Li Mu said, "There's no need to demand the ultimate cost-effectiveness. The ultimate cost-effectiveness is the lowest price achieved on the basis of the same product performance. It does not mean that the product quality is necessarily good. It just means that it is the most cost-effective among products of the same level. It is a ratio between performance and price, not a representation of quality."

"For our first bracelet, we didn't consider the cost-effectiveness at the moment. We used the highest quality materials and were made to the highest standards. We then determined the selling price based on the production cost."

Liu Tianming said, "I understand."

Li Mu said, "What about contract manufacturers? Do you have any suitable ones in mind? Quality must be guaranteed."

Liu Tianming said, "The best quality domestic contract manufacturers are Foxconn, Luxshare Precision, BYD, Flextronics, Pegatron, and other large contract manufacturers. Apple, Dell, HP, and other large foreign technology brands generally purchase from these factories, so the quality is guaranteed."

"However, these large contract manufacturers may charge higher prices compared to some small and medium-sized contract manufacturers. In addition, the contract orders must reach a certain scale. If the order is too small, it is not worth setting up a production line, and they may not accept it."

Li Mu said, "A higher OEM price is fine, as long as the quality is guaranteed. There are no issues with the orders either. The R&D and design departments also need to speed up the process and strive to create a stylish and technologically advanced bracelet."

"Once the product design is complete, the orders will be substantial, with the first batch likely consisting of 200,000 to 300,000 wristbands."

Liu Tianming's eyes lit up and he said, "With this scale, no major domestic contract manufacturer would refuse."

Li Mu instructed, "President Liu, you need to keep a close eye on the R&D and design side. This is our company's first product, so the quality must be top-notch. Also, for the electronic products that young people buy these days, performance is one aspect, but appearance is also very important, just like Apple."

"Therefore, while ensuring quality, the bracelet must also look good. Don't be afraid of high costs, as long as the product is beautiful. Don't treat it as a bracelet, but as a work of art."

Liu Tianming nodded and said, "Chairman, I understand."

Li Mu smiled and said, "Don't feel pressured. We will continue to recruit high-end talents in R&D and design. As long as you have the ability, salary is not a problem."

"Alright, that's all for now. Report any problems to me promptly. You can continue the meeting..."

……

After leaving DeepBlue Technology, Li Mu went to Shangpin Apparel, which had just been established.

When Tao Xingzhi, the person in charge, saw Li Mu arrive, he quickly led his men to greet him: "Chairman."

Li Mu nodded: "Old Tao, call the two vice presidents and a few department directors, let's have a meeting."

Tao Xingzhi smiled and said, "Okay, Chairman, you go to the conference room first, I'll make the arrangements right away."

Upon entering the conference room and sitting down, seven or eight newly hired senior executives from Shangpin Apparel filed in and took their seats.

"Chairman!"

"Hello, Chairman!"

……

Li Mu smiled and nodded at them. After two minutes, he said, "Everyone is here. You are all elite personnel whom I personally vetted and recruited. Now we need to work together to make Shangpin Apparel a success."

Then he looked at Tao Xingzhi and asked, "Old Tao, how's the design department setup going? Have you made any progress with the fashion designers we contacted?"

Tao Xing knew: "We've already made progress. The economic situation isn't good lately, and all industries are laying off employees. We've offered enough sincerity and high enough compensation, so even though those designers are quite capable, they have no reason to refuse."

Li Mu nodded. That was the truth. The economic situation had been poor recently, with a wave of unemployment and a large influx of talent into the market, creating fierce competition. This was why Li Mu had been able to recruit a large number of talented individuals in such a short time.

"That's good. Let me tell you about Shangpin Apparel's future development direction and positioning, and we can have a good discussion."

"Shangpin Apparel's future positioning is as a mid-to-high-end and high-end brand. We will not do low-end or mid-to-low-end. Everyone should remember this. It is not easy to build a brand. I hope everyone will work together."

Everyone nodded silently, some even taking out their notebooks to start taking notes.

Tao Xingzhi said, "Chairman, the domestic high-end brand market is currently dominated by foreign brands. Domestic brands are mostly producing low-end and mid-to-low-end products. The best they can do is reach the mid-range."

"The company is just starting out. Will it be difficult to directly launch mid-to-high-end, or even high-end, brands...?"

Li Mu said, "There will certainly be difficulties. However, positioning is very important for a brand. If the initial positioning is a mid-to-low-end brand, it is highly likely that it will be unable to reach the high-end market in the future and can only operate in the mid-to-low-end market."

"This is something we need to avoid. Directly entering the mid-to-high-end market will naturally be extremely difficult, but it is also the path with the greatest potential. If we can get started and persevere, the future rewards will be beyond imagination."

"Today, in the internet and technology sectors, there are national brands that occupy the high-end market of the entire ecosystem; however, in the apparel industry, despite its size and numerous domestic brands, there is a lack of a national brand that can compete with well-known international brands."

"Our Shangpin Apparel aims to achieve this goal and strive to create a national brand."

Tao Xingzhi nodded: "What the chairman said makes sense. If you want to operate a high-end brand, the initial positioning must be high-end. If you start by positioning it in the mid-to-low-end market, there is no possibility of it rising to the high-end market."

"Brand positioning has always been easier to lower than to raise."

"However, brand building is also a major challenge, especially in China. It is extremely difficult to create a high-end brand."

Li Mu said, "Then we need to take a different approach, not directly attacking the high-end market occupied by foreign brands, but focusing on price and quality?"

Tao Xingzhi was taken aback: "Price and quality?"

Li Mu said, "Yes, price and quality!"

"Compared to other traditional industries, there is a huge difference between the cost and the selling price of clothing, and this is also true for higher-end brands."

"Coincidentally, we are the world's factory. Those well-known foreign brands that sell well in China are actually manufactured in domestic factories. Strictly speaking, domestic clothing brands are fully capable of achieving the quality of top international brands."

"Is this our confidence, and also our opportunity?"

Tao Xingzhi asked thoughtfully, "What does the chairman mean?"

Li Mu said, "Learn from the millet of yesteryear?"

"Before Xiaomi appeared, the domestic mobile phone market was in complete chaos. The high-end market was occupied by foreign brands, leaving only some mid-to-low-end markets, which were divided up by domestic mobile phone brands."

"Moreover, at that time, more than half of the mobile phones on the domestic market were counterfeit. It wasn't that people liked to buy counterfeit phones, but that they were affordable and cheap."

"Especially after the advent of smartphones, the few domestic smartphone brands sold them at very high prices, so most people still continued to buy counterfeit phones."

"Until Xiaomi appeared, shouting the slogan of making the ultimate cost-effective products, maximizing hardware, keeping prices as low as possible, and making very little profit. With this strategy, Xiaomi has been conquering territory all the way, and several domestic brands have been defeated one after another, and have no choice but to learn from Xiaomi and lower their prices."

"Even the counterfeit mobile phones that account for half of the domestic market were helpless and were defeated overnight and disappeared quickly."

"In fact, Xiaomi's products are more affordable than counterfeit phones, leaving no profit margin for these counterfeit phones, so naturally no one makes them anymore."

Tao Xingzhi exclaimed in surprise, "Chairman, are we going to learn from Xiaomi and introduce the spirit of pursuing the ultimate cost-effectiveness into the apparel industry?"

Li Mu said, "You can't say that entirely. What we're learning is his model, this low-profit model, not the ultimate cost-effectiveness model."

"We don't need high cost-performance ratio. Products that emphasize cost-performance ratio are generally not high-end. Because in order to improve the cost-performance ratio and make the items look more affordable, some quality will be sacrificed."

“When it comes to truly high-end products, people don’t consider the cost. In fact, the higher the quality and the more expensive the product, the more popular it becomes in the high-end market.”

Tao Xingzhi said, "Chairman, do you mean that our Shangpin Apparel... takes the high-end and affordable route, making clothes with the quality of high-end brands, and then selling them at extremely favorable prices?"

Li Mu nodded: "That's exactly what I mean."

"Once the clothing design is finalized, we'll select a few factories that manufacture for top international brands. Expensive raw materials aren't a problem, and higher manufacturing fees aren't a problem either. As long as the quality is high enough to match top international brands, that's sufficient."

Tao Xingzhi nodded: "I understand."

Li Mu said, "Regarding the selling price, everyone knows that the clothing industry has high profit margins. Sometimes the difference between cost and sales revenue can be several times."

"Of course, most of this profit is earned by major distributors and retailers, and the ex-factory price is not that high."

"Our next brand will focus on achieving the highest quality, using the finest materials and craftsmanship to create products that are fully comparable to the quality of top international brands. We will also keep prices as low as possible."