National Tide 1980.

The autumn of 1990 could be aptly described as a "turbulent autumn."

Because from August to October alone, several major events that shocked the world occurred.

First, the Kuwait War broke out in August 1990.

Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was ambitious and intended to turn Kuwait into Iraq's nineteenth province.

This war has disrupted the peace situation in the Middle East, threatening the entire region with conflict and causing a huge fluctuation in international oil prices.

Then, on September 9, 1990, U.S. President George Herbert Walker Bush met with Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev in Helsinki, Finland.

The two sides exchanged views on the situation in the Gulf, expressed their commitment to jointly opposing Iraq's aggression against Kuwait, and pledged to establish a regional security mechanism.

At the same time, the two sides also agreed to establish a "new partnership" and form a "new world order".

In principle, it appears that the two countries are working towards a stable global order, but in reality, they have increased uncertainty, causing global capital markets to be filled with doubt.

Then, on October 3, 1990, East and West Germany unexpectedly set an example for world peace.

Germany and Germany, at the cost of giving up 190,000 square kilometers of territory, officially came together, ended their division, and completed the great cause of unification.

Germany's basic laws have also added some new clauses that clearly express the meaning—Germany's boundaries are now defined, and we will never mention those lost territories again.

It must be said that Germany's move was both decisive and practical, as if it were giving the whole world a guarantee, which reassured people and reduced the panic brought about by the chaos in the Middle East.

Besides these, there were other major events during this period that attracted worldwide attention.

It's probably the Asian Games, which will run from September 22nd to October 3rd in Beijing.

At this Asian Games, the People's Republic of China won 183 gold medals, standing out in Asia and achieving remarkable results.

South Korea came in second with 54 medals.

Japan came in third, taking 38 medals.

North Korea came in fourth, taking 12 pieces.

Next is Iran, at 4, far behind.

The worst performers were Laos, Macau, Nepal, and Saudi Arabia, each winning a bronze medal.

Therefore, it was from this point onward that the Republic gained strong self-confidence, regardless of any major sporting events.

We are not only confident of winning the championship, but also confident of doing a good job.

Perhaps compared to the medals we won in this competition, this kind of achievement and progress is a more meaningful and greater intangible asset.

In addition, commercially sponsored events have sprung up in China as a result.

Li Ning, Guofeng, Jianlibao, Yilade, Gingerbread Man, Goldlion, Pierre Cardin, COFCO Group... As some of the companies that contributed the most money, they stole the show, gained all the benefits, and created enormous economic wealth at this international event.

In short, the 1990 Asian Games served as a clear dividing line, marking the beginning of a new development cycle for the People's Republic of China.

It can be said that the overall understanding of reform and opening up in society is evolving into a situation where both spiritual and material progress go hand in hand.

It is conceivable that Ning Weimin, as someone who was ahead of others in trying new things, especially as a local resident, was a pioneer.

Since he foresaw the impact of the Asian Games and had already established numerous industries in Beijing, how much benefit would he and those who stood with him reap from it?

Putting aside everything else, the vast majority of the sponsoring organizations had some kind of connection with Ning Weimin.

Among them, Ning Weimin has investment and cooperation relationships with as many as four or five companies.

This alone should make it clear that the positive impact of this Asian Games on Ning Weimin's career development is immeasurable.

So even though Ning Weimin flew to Hainan for an inspection before the Asian Games opening ceremony, his subordinates in Beijing have been busy for him these past few months, so he hasn't missed a thing.

Even after the Asian Games ended, the benefits of the era continued to be maintained and developed.

…………

Monday, January 1990, 10.

The basement level of Tianqiao Shopping Mall is now almost half-used by Yunshang Company, which is under the management of Yin Yue.

Even so, since the clothing company's three brands have rapidly expanded to twenty-seven stores in recent years, covering almost all major downtown areas of Beijing, this half-basement with an area of ​​several hundred square meters still cannot meet the actual needs of Yunshang Company.

In reality, most of the space rented by Yunshang Company was used as a central warehouse to store goods for more than 20 specialty stores, and the office area was only about 100 square meters.

As a result, there wasn't even a suitable meeting room to hold the weekly meeting every Monday.

There were over twenty store managers, three brand managers, a display department manager, a logistics manager, and General Manager Yin Yue, totaling over thirty people. They could only gather in the basement hallway and talk things over standing up.

"How were the sales and customer traffic last week?" The same question was asked by Yin Yue at every meeting, the most important one for the three brand managers.

So the three of them answered in turn.

"Reporting to Mr. Yin, our Playboy menswear store has not seen a significant decrease in customer traffic, but we don't have many autumn styles and are waiting for new stock from the factory, so our turnover has slightly decreased. Last week, the seven stores generated approximately 129,000 yuan in sales."

"Mr. Yin, the situation is similar at Champs-Élysées Women's Wear. Customers are complaining that the styles aren't new enough, and we can only maintain our sales through discounts and promotions. So last week, our nine stores only had around 150,000 yuan."

"Manager, our eight Guofeng stores are doing well. Not only has the number of customers not decreased, but it has also increased, and the turnover has also risen. Last week, the total sales amounted to 284,000 yuan."

It must be said that the feedback from Guofeng was quite unexpected.

The revenue of this one brand is almost equal to the combined revenue of the other two brands.

It's understandable that sportswear was popular during the Asian Games, but it's a bit strange that it remained so popular after the Games.

So this news not only caused Yin Yue to look surprised, but the store managers of the other two brands also showed expressions of astonishment.

"What? You mean Guofeng's business has been booming all week?"

"Yes, Mr. Yin."

Yin Yue still couldn't believe it and couldn't help but ask, "Was most of the sales concentrated in the three days from National Day to the closing ceremony?"

"Really, no, manager. Sales of Guofeng products have been quite good this week, especially on Sunday, when they were incredibly popular. The daily turnover is at least three times that of a regular day."

The brand manager reported with a smug look on his face, "I think... it's probably because our store's posters are too attractive. Shooting champion Xu Haifeng, diving champion Gao Min, table tennis champion Deng Yaping... they've all just won championships and are already household names in the sports world. No other company has had the foresight of our Guofeng to invite them to shoot ads. Maybe that's the star effect. Now that they've won championships, they're even more famous than when the Asian Games were first held. Who wouldn't want to come in and browse after seeing their ads? And most of the customers are parents with their children. Once the kids start pestering them, the parents have to pay..."

That hits the nail on the head.

Yin Yue suddenly realized what was happening, and her expression quickly calmed down.

The others also showed some excitement and couldn't help but whisper among themselves.

"Yes, that's right. It's nothing like when we were kids. Everyone was an only child now. Every family had their own little darling. Parents had to cut back on their own expenses to make sure their children were taken care of first..."

"I think advertising is more effective. Even Li-Ning, another Asian Games sponsor, hasn't signed as many sports champions as we have. They only have Li-Ning as their advertising brand, so they can't possibly sell as well as we do..."

"That's because Li-Ning sportswear is too conservative in style. Unlike ours, which are all copied from Japan. Everyone who sees them likes them. My younger brother has begged me to buy him two sets..."

In any case, the "Guofeng" (traditional Chinese style) trend has been successfully adopted. It seems that it has not faded away after the Asian Games, but is still riding the wave of the times due to the lingering popularity of sports stars.

Yin Yue was in a great mood and asked the manager of Guofeng with a smile.

"Do you have any suggestions for the operation of stores selling traditional Chinese style products next week?"

"Manager, I think we should cancel all special offers and discounts..."

"What? The discounts and coupons are being cancelled?"

Yin Yue was taken aback by her supervisor's audacity. "What about the summer clothes? How will we maintain the store's popularity?"

Yin Yue looked at the manager of Guofeng and said, "We in the clothing retail business rely on popularity. Once there are fewer customers, sales will also decline. Then the business will become a vicious cycle and get worse and worse."

Unexpectedly, the brand manager said, "Reporting to President Yin, all the summer sportswear is almost sold out. Now the store mainly sells spring and autumn clothing and hiking gear. Especially the Asian Games-themed items, they're snapped up even without discounts. And I've observed a peculiar phenomenon: the more sought-after and harder to buy clothes are, the more enthusiastically people buy them. Our garment factory has limited production capacity; we've been producing sportswear during the Games. But I think our traditional Chinese style sportswear is priced higher than other brands, so discounts aren't very effective. Those who are willing to buy won't be tempted by the discount, and those who aren't willing to buy will still find it expensive even with a discount. So instead of hoping to sell more by lowering prices, it's better to take advantage of the high demand and have limited-edition sales. Let the factory rush to produce new orders for men's and women's clothing; that would be more cost-effective for us. By the end of the year, our total revenue might even exceed 20 million."

Yin Yue's eyes flickered slightly. She really hadn't expected her subordinate to have such insight, actually understanding the concept of scarcity marketing.

Moreover, the other party is also right about another point: doing clothing retail is indeed like doing fruit business.

Make big profits at the beginning and small profits at the end.

When new products are launched at the start of each season, the prices of clothing retail items tend to be relatively high. If we don't hurry up and launch new styles for men's and women's clothing, the other two brands might start to complain.

Her interest deepened, and she said, "That's a good idea. Let me think about it. Anything else?"

"Also, Mr. Yin, business is booming right now. I feel that the countertop shelves take up too much space, making it very hard on the staff. If we require them to fold the goods into neat 'tofu blocks,' they'll have to fold the goods neatly every time they serve a group of customers, which is too much work. If possible, we should replace the countertop shelves with regular shelves, and then hang the goods directly on coat hangers when displaying them. This way, after customers try on clothes, the workers can simply hang them up, reducing their workload..."

Yin Yue listened to the other person's words, nodding from time to time, becoming more and more satisfied.

However, to everyone's surprise, the other person was unrestrained and became more and more fluent and bolder as they spoke. Before they knew it, their mouth was running wild and went off track.

"Also, right now our store only has sportswear, which looks a bit monotonous. The sports shoes and sporty bags you got last time sold really well. They look so stylish in the store, it makes a big difference. I mentioned it to Factory Director Su last week, asking him to supply some more stock. But he shook his head and said no, that making these things in the factory takes up too much manpower and isn't efficient enough. We have to wait for the factory to open another branch. Manager, Factory Director Su only listens to you, your word is law. So there's no other way, you'd better urge them on this matter, as quickly as possible. If Factory Director Su doesn't want to go back to kneeling on a washboard, he definitely won't dare to delay..."

Upon hearing this, very few of the older people present could hold back their emotions.

Especially for young women of marriageable age, almost instantly, all their reserve vanishes.

Everyone completely broke down and their emotions collapsed; it was absolutely hilarious.

Even Yin Yue, who had only recently married Su Jin, couldn't help but chuckle... (End of Chapter)