Reborn in 08, Public Enemy of Competitors

Chapter 115 The Final Battle on Singles' Day

Early morning, Ali Baba.

Jack Ma said with a grim face, "Old Cai, go tell Masayoshi Son and Yahoo that the reason for transferring the shares of Zhifubao is to comply with the new policy requirements for third-party payment licenses. Without a license, Zhifubao simply cannot survive."

Jack Ma asked, "Why?"

"Yahoo's market value is continuing to decline, and Bartz has just taken office and urgently needs to make a brilliant performance to prove herself."

Tsai Chung-hsin said, "She will not allow such an important asset as Zhifubao to be lost from the Ali system."

"Damn it!" Jack Ma said irritably. "Those Americans are too greedy."

Then, he couldn't help but slam his hand on the table, "Back then, we were in such a rush to launch Zhifubao that we never imagined it would become this important."

"It's too late to say anything now."

Tsai Chung-hsin said, "Yahoo is questioning the legality of the process and may launch a shareholder class-action lawsuit at any time."

"The board of directors was already aware of the situation, and the transfer of shares was legal and compliant."

Jack Ma said, "Moreover, everything we've done is to protect the long-term interests of all Ali's shareholders."

"That's what they say, but Yahoo's lawyers are already preparing the materials."

Cai Chongxin said, "Their current demand is for the return of Zhifubao's shares."

"impossible!"

Jack Ma stated bluntly: "Zhifubao involves national financial security, and foreign capital is absolutely not allowed to participate. We have worked hard to transfer 70% of the shares to a domestic company, and it is absolutely impossible for us to return them."

Cai Chongxin said, "Then there's only one way left: find a way to compensate Yahoo and SoftBank."

Jack Ma sighed: "Yahoo got a good deal."

After discussing for a while, the two spoke again: "What was Shen Mo doing while we were arguing with Yahoo?"

'

"Pinduoduo has completed its Series A funding round, and YiTao's Series C funding round is coming soon, with its valuation reportedly reaching $21 billion."

Cai Chongxin said, "The money we raise will most likely be spent on Singles' Day."

Upon hearing "Double Eleven," a sharp glint flashed in Jack Ma's eyes.

"This time, Taobao Mall and Etao must be well prepared and absolutely cannot afford any mistakes."

"Zhang Yong has already invited brand owners and Taobao merchants to participate, and more than fifty have confirmed so far."

"More than fifty companies are still too few."

Jack Ma stood up and said, "This is our first time participating in Double Eleven. We not only want to do it well, but we want to do it better than Shenmo and achieve higher sales than JD.com's 618."

"We want everyone to know that Pinduoduo and Jingdong are doing e-commerce, and Ali is a platform that can create more Pinduoduo and Jingdong."

The afterglow of the setting sun spilled onto the glass curtain wall of the Sands Century Tower.

The curtains in the conference room were half-drawn, letting in light that made the spread-out documents glow slightly.

"I've already reached an agreement with Cao Guowei regarding the new wolf."

Shen Mo leaned back in his chair and said, "This Double Eleven, both YiTaoG0 and Pinduoduo will be placing GG and group-buying links on Weibo, in sync with the promotions on QQ and QQ Zone."

Lu Wenbin put down his pen: "Brother Mo, how do we calculate the expenses?"

"Pinduoduo and YiTao each contributed 3 million yuan, while Xinlang contributed 4 million yuan."

Shen Mo said, "Currently, Weibo has less than 100 million users, so investing too much would be a waste."

Qin Feng's eyes lit up: "Could those celebrities and public figures who have joined Weibo help us promote ourselves?"

Shen Mo said, "I asked Cao Guowei, and he said he could mention it to the celebrities, but whether they were willing to post it or not was beyond his control."

Huang Zheng said, "Something is better than nothing. What if someone makes a fortune?"

"Mountains crumble, people run away."

Shen Mo said, "In the end, we still have to rely on ourselves."

Then, he clasped his hands together and said, "This Singles' Day, in addition to cash red envelopes, discount coupons, and price cuts, I plan to use them on top of the existing 50% off discounts, which means double discounts."

"The promotion is only valid on November 11th. Merchants set their own rules, and brands determine the level of discounts themselves."

「从10月15日到11月10日付定金，11月11日付尾款。」

"Some products use a tiered group-buying price reduction system; the more people buy, the lower the price —"

Everyone's attention was focused on the PPT, and there was no extra discussion as they listened attentively to Shen Mo's explanation.

Shen Mo looked around and finally fixed his gaze on Lu Wenbin.

"Are all the text messages ready?"

Lu Wenbin nodded: "We'll ship them in batches just before the Double Eleven shopping festival."

"WeChat Pay should also cooperate and launch a recharge lottery event."

Shen Mo then looked at Ai Kun, Du Manqing, and the others: "Give users cash and discount coupons to avoid the congestion of online banking channels on that day."

"It's already being done."

Du Manqing truthfully replied, "The technical team is conducting stress tests to ensure that we can withstand the peak demand that day."

Sun Tongyu smiled and said, "If this event is done well, it will also serve as a way to promote Pinduoduo's Double Eleven."

"That's exactly the effect I wanted."

Shen Mo said, "Last year on Singles' Day, we made YiTao G0 famous. This year, we want to launch a series of combined initiatives with Pinduoduo, WeChat Pay, YiTao G0, and Tiantian Express, and treat Singles' Day as a brand."

"Our initial goal for this Singles' Day sales is a modest 100 million yuan!"

The discussion in the conference room didn't gradually come to an end until dark.

Shen Mo sighed, "Alright, that's enough for today. It's rare for everyone to get together like this, so I'll treat everyone tonight."

"Brother Mo, what are we eating this time?"

Yuan Hua immediately perked up.

Shen Mo said, "Hot pot!"

"Then I'll order 10 plates of tripe!"

Qin Feng stood up faster than anyone else.

The hot pot broth in the restaurant was bubbling and steaming, with red oil churning and the aroma of numbing spiciness mingling with the rising steam in the air.

Shen Mo picked up a piece of tripe, dipped it in the pot a few times, then dipped it in the oil sauce, chewed it a couple of times, and put down his chopsticks with satisfaction.

Du Manqing sipped a glass of plum juice: "For Singles' Day promotions, I think relying solely on online channels might not be enough. Perhaps we could consider playing GG on TV?"

Shen Mo asked with interest, "What are your thoughts?"

Lin Qingyan casually said, "It would be best to release Double Eleven ads before or after prime-time TV dramas."

Zhong Xue said, "For example, Hunan TV's 'Meteor Shower' has been a huge hit recently, and its target audience is young white-collar workers and teenagers, which overlaps significantly with Pinduoduo's target users."

"This direction is correct, but the thinking is a bit outdated."

While scooping up the shrimp paste, Shen Mo said, "Go and contact Zhejiang Radio and Television and tell them that Pinduoduo wants to cooperate with Haoyigou."

"Okay!"

Zhong Xue readily agreed.

Shen Mo took a few bites and then brought the topic back: "By the way, you guys should also do the same as me and get your Weibo accounts verified. Weibo will be a very important promotion and marketing channel in the future. If you do well, you might even become the Weibo Queen."

"Like blog queen Xu Jinglei?" Du Manqing asked.

"Pretty much, but Weibo has a brighter future than blogs."

Shen Mo smacked his lips.

The reason why Evil Flower was able to become the queen of Weibo back then was due to the goodwill and reputation she accumulated from "Lurking" and "My Own Swordsman".

There are also many celebrities who are more famous than her but have not yet realized the value of Weibo and have not carefully managed and operated it.

"But we don't know what to send."

Lin Qingyan hesitated for a moment: "Celebrities can post behind-the-scenes photos and schedule updates, but we can't just post work reports every day, can we?"

"So we need to create a persona."

Shen Mo put down his chopsticks. "For example, inspirational quotes, two or three a day, accompanied by some beautiful and refreshing pictures."

"Chicken soup for the soul?"

Zhong Xue blinked.

Chicken soup is here!

Shen Mo cleared his throat: "For example, the middle of the mountain is always the most crowded. You have to go to the top and work hard to see a better view."

"For example, the true meaning of a 'secure job' is not eating in one place for life, but having food to eat wherever you go for your entire life."

Everyone exchanged glances, and Du Manqing pondered for a moment: "Okay—it seems alright!"

"Besides chicken soup, you can also post photos of your three meals a day, especially photos of the dishes you cook."

Shen Mo smiled and said, "No need to be too deliberate, just be natural."

As long as you don't try to create a "chef" persona like Huang Lei.

These green beans are so old! This is amazing, haha, but I ended up getting food poisoning from eating them!

"I'll listen to you!"

Du Manqing said earnestly, "I'll cook something nice another day and you can try it."

Zhong Xue glanced at Shen Mo, then at Du Manqing, and gave him a smile like that of an aunt.

Du Manqing added, "We got to know each other when we signed Liu Shishi and Yang Mi as spokespeople. Maybe we can follow each other on Weibo and ask them to help us retweet some pre-sale content for Singles' Day to boost our popularity?"