National Tide 1980.

Zou Guodong was stunned for a moment, then fell into deep thought.

He pondered Ning Weimin's words carefully, and the more he thought about it, the more sense it made.

Given the current domestic market environment, it is quite difficult to get most local customers to accept Western-style light meals that are somewhat expensive and not to their liking.

Moreover, with its minimalist overall style, Menem does not offer the same sense of French romantic culture as Maxim's, which is primarily luxurious.

Without the aesthetic filter created by visual appeal and grandeur, the customer's dining experience is quite ordinary.

It's easy to imagine that spending more money to eat similar food in an environment similar to a fast food restaurant would not be cost-effective.

So once they've had their fill of the novelty, most customers stop coming, making it difficult for Menem to retain local repeat customers.

But coffee and pastries are different. They have a relatively low cultural threshold and low raw material costs. They not only fit young people's imagination of Western culture, but most people also have a high acceptance of their taste.

Crucially, Menem has a significant advantage in bread and dessert making techniques—their bread and desserts have always been supplied by the pastry kitchen of Maxim's restaurant in Chongwenmen, and are made using authentic French recipes.

If you change your business model and approach, you can simply remove the baguettes and croissants that were originally used to accompany French cuisine and replace them with pastries and tea snacks such as almond cake, Black Forest cake, Napoleon cake, macarons, and butter cookies to fill the counter and sell them with coffee.

Whether foreigners or Chinese, most people can't resist these sweets.

Other changes needed are simply purchasing coffee machines, using real coffee beans, and renovating the shop; there's really nothing difficult about it.

"You mean, as long as we give up our original light meals and turn into a coffee shop, selling only coffee, desserts, and pastries, Menem will gradually improve?" Zou Guodong asked Ning Weimin again to confirm.

“That’s right, that’s what I mean.” Ning Weimin nodded. “Of course, it will cost more money, whether it’s renovating the store or buying equipment, we will need to increase our investment.”

"how much is it?"

"I think one million to one and a half million should be enough for the three stores at present."

To put it bluntly, Ning Weimin's idea was to use Menem to replicate the path Starbucks would take in China and secure this market share in advance.

"Of course, if possible, we could also consider adjusting the store location, ideally moving it to a high-end office building like the Jingguang Center, International Building, or Development Building. That would give us a better chance of success. We just need to strengthen our business and convenience image, truly establish a high-end coffee and pastry brand, make the decor more refined, and set reasonable prices. This will attract white-collar workers and also become a good place for young people to meet. You know, the high-end office buildings in Beijing are full of foreign companies, but they usually have to confine themselves to restaurants or their own offices to conduct business. They desperately need a relatively relaxing environment, which is a demand that no one has noticed. Besides, the gross profit margin of coffee and pastries is not low. I think as long as we work in this direction, we shouldn't lack customers."

"that's it?"

"That's it. If we see improvement in the short term, we can consider increasing investment and opening more branches. If there's no improvement, we'll only invest this much at most, and then we can consider transferring the business to cut our losses."

Looking at Ning Weimin's determined eyes, Zou Guodong recalled Ning Weimin's accurate judgments on matters such as gingerbread men and anti-counterfeiting. In addition, he himself had a deep understanding of the need for business leisure—he had always relied on Maxim's Restaurant to solve the problem of venues for business meetings, but had never considered the predicament of other companies.

When he realized the situation, he suddenly understood and gradually made up his mind.

"Okay, let's do it this way! I trust you!"

Zou Guodong stood up and patted Ning Weimin on the shoulder. "You've explained it so clearly and logically. The transformation of Menems will be entirely according to your ideas. I'll call a meeting tomorrow. But you're so busy, it's unrealistic to entrust you with the entire operation. Do you have any suitable candidates to recommend?"

Ning Weimin smiled, but at this moment his smile carried a hint of selfishness.

"You know what, I actually do. These days, President Song doesn't like handling company affairs and rarely shows her face, almost completely isolated from the world. But her secretary, Yan Li, is a capable girl. It's not good for her to just sit idle all the time, is it? President Zou, you're wasting talent."

Zou Guodong naturally knew that Yan Li was Ning Weimin's old subordinate and one of the first people to follow him in opening the first franchise store at the Jianguo Hotel.

Upon hearing this recommendation, he immediately chuckled, and his tone became somewhat sarcastic.

"You're such a nice person. You never forget to promote your cronies, and you even care about your former subordinates? I'm really impressed by you. You can even make it sound so noble when you appoint your own people."

Ning Weimin, however, didn't care and instead retorted nonchalantly.

"It doesn't matter if a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice, it's a good cat. I'm recommending someone based on merit, not favoring relatives. Mr. Zou, I know Yan Li's abilities, and she certainly won't disappoint you. As long as you provide the money and the power, within a year at the latest, Menimus will bring profits to the company, and in the future, it might even become a very important brand for the company, perhaps no less than Maxim. But if you don't believe in Yan Li's abilities, then just let her go, and let's not be suspicious of her. I happen to need someone like her. To be honest, if I wasn't afraid you'd accuse me of poaching someone from the company, and if I wasn't afraid Mr. Song would misunderstand, I would have already taken action. So, let me take her away, and I'll thank you."

Joking aside, when it comes to serious matters, Zou Guodong is absolutely meticulous.

He also acknowledged Ning Weimin's ability to recognize and utilize talent—back when the Jianguo store was established, the four girls around Ning Weimin were able to help him win the top sales position in the entire company, earning him the reputation of "Beautiful and Elegant Women".

Of the four, three have now been promoted from the grassroots level to the company headquarters to participate in management work and have become the backbone elites of their respective departments.

Yin Yue, the only one who left the company due to a mistake, now manages Ning Weimin's personal clothing business and is in charge of three brands.

Not only did his business flourish, making him a leader among private enterprises, but he also became the one who earned the most money and wielded the most power among the four.

From this perspective, the three girls he left behind at Pierre Cardin China were somewhat underutilized and their talents were not being fully appreciated.

It must be said that Ning Weimin not only has a keen eye for talent but also knows how to cultivate it.

As the old saying goes, "A strong general has no weak soldiers under his command," so how could Zou Guodong be willing to let Yan Li go so easily?

His expression and words immediately changed, and in order to retain talent, he blamed Ning Weimin instead.

"Hey, who said I was going to release him? You're always so petty. Besides, we've already talked this far, what do I have to doubt? Here's what we'll do: at tomorrow's meeting, I'll appoint Yan Li to be in charge of this matter. I'm not trying to criticize you, but you're both a senior executive and a shareholder of the company. Stop harping on things and getting all worked up over every little thing. Your petty and calculating attitude is so narrow-minded."

After saying that, Zou Guodong turned and walked out of the office, but stopped abruptly at the door and turned back to Ning Weimin to add a sentence.

"Oh, right, Yang Liujin and Gan Lu are also indispensable talents for the company. You mustn't try to take advantage of them again!"

Ning Weimin was amused by his "food-protecting" appearance and laughed out loud.

"Okay, Mr. Zou, as long as you treat them well, I promise I won't poach them! But let me make this clear: if you mistreat them and they feel resentful and don't want to work there anymore, don't blame me for taking the opportunity to poach them."

"You think you're so clever! I'll give them a raise and a car, okay? Don't blame me for not trusting you. You've already poached so many people from the company, and you're still not satisfied? If you have any conscience, you should send a few back to the company!" Zou Guodong laughed and scolded, waved his hand, and walked away briskly.

With just a few lighthearted banter, the obstacles and difficulties in our official duties seemed to vanish into thin air.

The tacit understanding between Ning Weimin and Zou Guodong deepened through these daily banter and professional interactions.

Time flew by, and it was springtime in 1991 when a sudden disaster gripped the hearts of people across the country.

From May to July, the Jianghuai region of my country suffered from severe rainstorms and floods, affecting 75 million people and causing direct economic losses of up to 16 billion yuan. The Chinese government immediately appealed to the international community for assistance.

Meanwhile, Pierre Cardin China had made remarkable progress in addressing the rampant counterfeit goods problem after several months of concentrated efforts, and the market order had returned to normal. The company's operating and financial data were steadily increasing.

This is why Pierre Cardin China not only has the confidence to respond to the government's call and donate 10 million RMB to help ensure the livelihood of people in disaster-stricken areas, but also has the capacity to fully fulfill its previous commitments and ensure the smooth running of the "5th Splendid Oriental Model Competition" to be held in Beijing in early June.

As the only model competition in China at the time, the Splendid Oriental Model Competition held a monopoly since its inception. The successful hosting of the previous four editions had accumulated a strong reputation in the industry and high public attention.

This year, with the full support of Pierre Cardin China, the event has surpassed all previous editions in terms of its grandeur, scale, and historical significance, reaching a new level.

First of all, the preparation and execution of the event demonstrated a "top-tier" standard, which was unprecedented in previous events.

With its ample financial resources, Pierre Cardin China not only covered all the operating costs of the event, but also selected the venue as Tower A of its own Maxim Building – the only four-star hotel in the world named "Maxim".

The organizing committee designated the hotel's multi-functional hall as the main competition venue and provided full accommodation and catering services for all participants and judges, demonstrating the high standards of the event.

Judging from the preliminary preparations, the organizing committee is three times larger than in previous years, and the number of staff has doubled.

The costume styling team alone assembled top domestic designers, and all the excellent stylists from the beauty salons that Pierre Cardin and Monita collaborated with were transferred to provide support.

The venue setup is themed around "Splendid Orient," perfectly blending traditional oriental fabrics such as Suzhou embroidery and Nanjing brocade with modern lighting and sound equipment.

At the entrance of the multi-functional banquet hall, a 30-meter-long red carpet is flanked by huge posters of this year's contestants. The backgrounds of the posters all feature Pierre Cardin's latest apparel, which not only highlights the fashion attributes of the event but also deeply integrates the brand image with the event.

Secondly, this competition has successfully "broken out of its circle," completely breaking free from the previous limitations of "internal industry exchanges."

As the only model competition in China, the Splendid Oriental Model Competition had a good reputation in its first four editions, but it never gained widespread public attention.

This year, thanks to the brand influence and financial support of Pierre Cardin China, the pre-match press conference not only attracted in-depth participation from Ning Weimin's "Fog Weekly" but also gathered more than 40 mainstream media outlets across the country. Even the national news agency and national television station listed it as a key event for reporting.

These media outlets not only followed the preliminary and final rounds closely, but also launched special pre-event features a week in advance, detailing the backgrounds of the participants and the highlights of the competition. This level of media attention is extremely rare in past domestic fashion events, making the name "Splendid Orient" resound throughout the country and becoming one of the most eye-catching cultural events for the public during this season.

That's not all. In addition to the role played by the media, the contestants in this competition are also excellent, far surpassing those of previous competitions.

Many outstanding contestants generated buzz even in the preliminary rounds, completely breaking the convention that "the real test is in the finals."

In the previous four competitions, the preliminary rounds were mostly internal selections, open only to industry professionals, and little known to the general public.

For the first time, the organizing committee opened the preliminary rounds to the media and the public for this year's competition.

The 120 contestants selected from across the country garnered significant attention during the preliminary rounds thanks to their distinctive personal styles and solid professional skills.

Li Li, a contestant from Shanghai, wore a modified cheongsam paired with custom Pierre Cardin high heels in the preliminary round, perfectly capturing the gentleness and fashion sense of an Eastern woman. After the runway segment was broadcast on television, it quickly became a hot topic of discussion on the streets, with many viewers saying, "This is the first time I've seen a model walk the runway with such charm."

Liu Li, a contestant from Northeast China, stood out with her tall figure and dynamic catwalk. Her interpretation of the Pierre Cardin casual wear series exuded vitality and coolness, and she was predicted by industry insiders to be a "favorite to win the championship".

But the biggest focus of the entire preliminary round was undoubtedly Qu Ying, a contestant from Hunan. Unlike the other contestants, she had already acted in many film and television works before the competition, making her a rising star with a good audience appeal.

In this competition, she stunned the audience as soon as she appeared on stage with her tall figure of 175 cm, highly recognizable facial features, and a catwalk that is both graceful and poised.

Especially when she appeared in a white swallowtail gown tailored for her by Pierre Cardin, the clean cut accentuated her tall and straight figure, her long black hair was casually tied up, and the natural confidence in her eyes instantly captivated the attention of all the audience and media present.

After the preliminary rounds, Qu Ying's catwalk clips were repeatedly broadcast on television, and the streets and alleys were filled with talk about this "tall girl with expressive eyes." Many fans spontaneously formed support groups, creating a huge buzz.

Even more extreme, some people are willing to spend 50 yuan to pre-book tickets just to catch a glimpse of her in the finals.

It should be noted that fifty yuan was equivalent to ten days' wages for an ordinary worker at the time, which also indirectly proves Qu Ying's popularity.

Besides these reasons, what has sparked even more discussion among people across the country about this year's model competition is the introduction of foreign judges for the first time in the final stage, which has directly raised the level of the competition and its international scope.

In the previous four editions, the judges of the competition were composed of domestic fashion designers, film and television stars and industry association leaders. Although they were professional, they were always limited to the domestic aesthetic system.

For this competition, Pierre Cardin China successfully invited four prestigious figures from the international fashion industry to serve as judges, leveraging its international brand background.

Céline Gaspar, a French model who was once the go-to model for Pierre Carton.

Marco Lucini, Asia Representative of the Italian Fashion Industry Association.

Ellen Ford, founder of Ford Models, is hailed as the "godmother of the American modeling industry."

And Satoru Nino, a veteran of the Japanese fashion industry.

To be honest, this decision was a groundbreaking and practically significant move by Zou Guodong.

Even today, the domestic model economy, commercial operation, and training system are still immature and far behind international standards.

Therefore, if we want to make "Splendid Orient" a truly high-level competition, we need to bring in some foreign judges, which is a necessity for the industry.

The presence of foreign judges not only makes the judging criteria of the competition more formalized, standardized, and international, but also gives the contestants a valuable opportunity to engage in direct dialogue with the international fashion industry.

This will not only help contestants improve their professional skills, but also has the potential to enhance the international recognition of Chinese models and build a bridge for them to reach the world stage.

However, despite Zou Guodong's excellent planning, the final result was not entirely satisfactory.

Little did the management of Pierre Cardin China know that these international judges, whom they treated as honored guests, especially Ellen Ford, who was hailed as the "godmother of American modeling," would become the biggest source of chaos at the conference, leading to an unprecedented selection incident.

The reality was a nightmare; the irresponsible and willful actions of some were tantamount to a resounding slap in the face to the organizers in public. (End of Chapter)