Winner Takes It All, Resurrection 2009

If we were to evaluate which Internet company performed best in the fourth quarter of 2010, there would certainly be many different opinions.

But if we talk about the most unlucky family, it must be Dangdang without a doubt.

One second the management was excitedly preparing to go to the United States to ring the bell for the IPO, and the next second they were knocked to the ground and beaten so badly that they were almost unable to take care of themselves.

In just over two months, JD.com successfully obtained a loan of more than 20 billion RMB from local banks in Yanjing and ICBC with the help of Qingyun Guarantee. With the money, JD.com no longer held back.

Dangdang was unlucky as it ran into Dong Ge, who was in full swing. All the products in its store were sold at a price one yuan lower with free shipping.

Yu Yu is famous for her financial and capital operations, but faced with the wealthy strategy of Qingyun JD Group, she dared not face it head-on even though she had the support of Goldman Sachs.

Which good person would invest hundreds of millions of real money in a month to offer discounts?

Dangdang didn't take it seriously at first and followed the policy. But as time went by, he realized something was wrong. JD.com was going to kill him!
No matter how Dangdang offers discounts, JD.com is always slightly lower than it, crushing it in terms of price, product variety, delivery speed, consumer experience and other aspects.

Under normal circumstances, even if Dangdang was in trouble, it would not be on the verge of bankruptcy. However, Dangdang is about to go public, and it needs to show outstanding performance to please investors.

The financial industry also wanted to take the opportunity to see Dangdang's level and assess its competitiveness in the industry, so they put pressure on Dangdang together, forcing it to take a full attitude to deal with the challenge.

Once you hit it, problems arise.

Don’t be fooled by Dong Ge’s honest appearance, he is a very playful person.

On the one hand, he mobilized resources to start a war with Dangdang, and on the other hand, he sent people to privately register a large number of Dangdang accounts. While both sides were refusing to give in and the price war reached its most intense, he secretly placed a large number of orders on Dangdang.

At that time, Yu Yu and Li Zhongqiu didn't pay attention to it. Instead, they were immersed in the joy of the rapid expansion of the website's user base. The Internet pursues expected returns, and losses don't matter, as long as the number of users increases.

But soon, they found that something was wrong, because the funds in the company's account were consumed very quickly. Even with the funds accumulated from several financings and daily operating operations of Dangdang.com, it could not last more than a month.

After checking again, I was confused.

JD.com is too careless in its work. At the business level, it has implemented a policy of always charging one yuan lower than Dangdang. If Dangdang sells for ten yuan, it will charge nine yuan, even if the purchase price of the product is 20 yuan.

Even if there are channel suppliers who grit their teeth and bear most of the losses for the sake of future market sales, and Dangdang takes advantage of the time difference in purchasing, sales, settlement, and collection of payments.

The merchants' deposited funds and accounts payable are held in hand and overdrawn in advance to support the consumption of price wars.

The problem is that JD.com is so big and powerful that it refuses to let go and continues to bleed Dangdang in private, secretly purchasing large quantities of goods from it for sale in its own stores.

The cause of the incident can be traced back to the fact that Dangdang had obvious first-mover advantage and had a more complete range of books than JD.com. At the beginning, consumers placed orders for books on JD.com, but found that they were out of stock.

Because of factors such as patent number and distribution channels, the sales rights are in the hands of Dangdang. As soon as JD customer service reported it, Dong Ge directly asked him to buy from Dangdang. As soon as he bought it, he found that something was wrong.

For example, Dangdang and JD.com both have the sales rights for a product, with the purchase price being 10 yuan. Now they are engaging in a price war. Dangdang grits its teeth and sells it for 11 yuan, while JD.com sells it for 10 yuan. They are not making any money, but are even losing money.

Dangdang took a look and was like, damn, the listing is about to begin, and you want to kill me?
What if all the consumers are snatched away by JD.com, where will the transaction volume come from in the future?
So I gritted my teeth and decided that I would not make any money, so let's just work hard.

When Jingdong saw it, he was like, wow, you are so brave!
Then just give up, so you take 8 and I take 7, you take 7 and I take 6, and finally you just go for it and continue to do it even if you lose 50% on a single sale. As a result, there is a strange thing that users buy 10 books for only a dozen dollars.

If the two companies continue to fight like this, there will be only one result, that is, one of them will surrender. However, Dangdang wants to go public, and JD has people supporting it behind the scenes. They will not waste money, so no one is willing to give in easily.

But JD.com was the first to discover the loophole. It lost 50% on each order. But if it transferred the order to Dangdang and then sold it to consumers at a price of one dollar, wouldn't the loss be much less?

No matter how much it costs, in theory, the cost paid by JD.com is just minus one yuan plus logistics costs, and this order is placed by the consumer on JD.com, and JD.com then places the order on Dangdang.

The real transaction information data is still in JD.com's hands, so there is no need to worry about it being taken away by Dangdang.

"Others do overseas purchasing, and we do resale purchasing, it's the same thing, brothers, don't be afraid, all go to Dangdang to get the wool, don't worry about whether the consumer has placed an order.

In short, I will buy out all the products sold by Dangdang that are far below their actual cost, and I will complain if they don’t deliver them.”

With Dong Ge's order, Dangdang's good days are over. How many employees does JD.com have?

Including their families, there are now tens of thousands of people, not to mention that there is Lao Liu behind them adding fuel to the fire. Qingyun has more than three million full-time and part-time employees, and any one of them can place a few orders.

You can buy Dangdang into bankruptcy.

Fortunately, Yu Yu reacted quickly. After discovering something was wrong, he immediately modified the discount rules and stopped following JD.com’s targeted policies. Otherwise, Dangdang would not have been able to go public, and he and his wife would have most likely gone to jail.

Because a lot of the funds used for activity subsidies come from customer funds, suspected misappropriation is not just a moral issue, but a legal responsibility!

Faced with the dilemma, Yu Yu and Li Zhongqiu did not sit idle. Instead, they followed the prescription and prepared to deliver a reverse order explosion to JD.com.

It turned out to be useless because JD.com is a large company with a complete range of products, and it also has micropayment to provide discount support throughout the event.

To put it bluntly, JD.com is doing something similar to Dangdang's one yuan discount campaign, but it is not paying out real money, but a workaround, in that it is paying out micropayment-bound funds or JD.com beans.

The original price of a product is 40 yuan, and it will only cost 20 yuan after the promotion, right? But consumers may spend more than 20 yuan. The price is determined after scientific calculations. For example, consumers need to purchase membership cards.

Only with the free shipping card can you enjoy the overall discount. For example, if the cost of the product is 35 yuan, then theoretically the consumer's expenditure is also more than 35 yuan, ensuring that there is no loss on the books.

(If a large amount is sold below cost, the higher authorities will intervene in the investigation and it is easy to be identified as dumping and be punished)
The gifts are also very affordable, such as various unlimited coupons, all products and services of Qingyun Jingdong Tongda, and products of affiliated companies.

When the fight gets intense, micropayment will simply take action and directly send out bound deposits. As long as the payment is completed within the Qingyun system, all of it can be deducted from cash.

The price difference is paid by JD.com. Of course, it does not suffer any loss and can also obtain promotion channel fees from affiliated companies. For example, the average expenditure for an order is more than ten yuan.

But once a new customer is brought to the relevant enterprise, the enterprise will in turn pay JD.com dozens of yuan in fees. Everyone benefits mutually, and when you do the final accounting, not only will you not lose money, you will make a profit.

So when Dangdang played this trick in reverse, it also increased the traffic to Qingyun's business in disguise. A lot of money was spent, but the effect was almost zero.

By today, Li Zhongqiu and Yu Yu were completely convinced. After discussing with the investors, they decided to stop the preferential policies and in fact surrendered.

But it was too late, because the money had already been spent, and a large amount of funds that should have been paid to the merchants were misappropriated. The investors were also frightened, and they suddenly discovered this through event competition.

Dangdang’s business operation logic actually has an obvious shortcoming, that is, its product categories are incomplete, and the business ecosystem behind it is extremely fragile and can be easily completely destroyed.

The current priority is to go public and use the funds raised to fill the hole, so Yu Yu flew to the United States to negotiate with Goldman Sachs in an effort to pass the review as soon as possible.

Li Zhongqiu, who was entrusted by investors to negotiate with JD.com, must persuade the latter to give up targeting it, otherwise consumers attracted by the preferential policies will soon be lost.

Without money and performance, it is doubtful whether Dangdang can even survive, let alone go public.

After paying a certain price and successfully borrowing a life-saving fund from investors and stabilizing the internal affairs of the company, Li Zhongqiu came to seek peace, but he did not look for Liu Qiangdong.

Instead, he found Li Zehua as soon as possible.

Because Li Zhongqiu found that Dangdang's situation seemed very bad. Even if JD.com gave face and stopped fighting, Dangdang's business model was over, and it would be extremely difficult to go public.

Even if they managed to push it forward, they wouldn't be able to get any valuation, let alone how much cash the couple could get out of it.

After working hard all your life, who can accept returning to square one?

"So you just came to me directly? But it's no use. Mr. Liu Qiangdong won't give in. How can I dare to make the decision for him?"

Li Zehua had a subtle expression. After listening to Li Zhongqiu's long speech, he couldn't help but ask, "Are you interested in integrating Dangdang into the JD system?" Li Zhongqiu was stunned, "JD wants to acquire Dangdang?"

"It can't be considered a complete acquisition. It's just a proposal. Similar to Taotao and Taotao Mall, JD.com can adopt the general agent sales model for all categories, and Dangdang can also go the route of boutique segmentation."

For Li Zehua, there is no end to making money, and it is impossible for him to take over all industries. It is enough for him to support JD.com to adopt the general agent model, bind the manufacturing industry, and then establish influence.

But this road is destined to be difficult, because ambitious companies will not easily give up the initiative.

Therefore, more people are needed to get involved. It seems to give companies more freedom to choose opportunities, but in fact, it is always their company that is changing hands, just to cover up their tracks.

Li Zhongqiu pondered for a moment and said, "If we let JD acquire the company, I'm afraid the investors won't approve it. Even Yu Yu won't agree."

"Investors are looking for money. You and I are well aware of Dangdang's current situation. If there is no external intervention, it will go bankrupt and liquidate in a few months.

Whether to die holding shares that are destined to be worthless, or to survive and be acquired and revitalize assets, I believe everyone will make the right choice. "

Li Zehua did not give him a chance to consider it. "What I can promise is that after JD.com acquires Dangdang, we will not merge the two companies, but turn Dangdang into a subsidiary in a niche field and operate independently.

It is even possible to continue to strive for listing.

Whether you and Mr. Yu choose to cash out or continue to participate in management, Mr. Liu and I will not interfere too much. How do you think? "

Naturally, he was attracted by the couple's connections, saying that they were one of the earliest founders of e-commerce platforms and had strong connections in the industry, especially in the educational publishing industry.

Integration into the group will provide strong support for the group's future development in the educational electronics industry. Besides, he never treats anyone unfairly when employing people. He can give Yu Yu and Li Zhongqiu whatever they want.

For example, with Yu Yu’s capital operation capabilities, he could join Qingyun Investment in the future and be responsible for operating and attracting investments in the United States.

As for Li Zhongqiu, it is not excessive to set up a Qingyun Education Group specifically for him. Relying on his abilities and connections in the field of education and training publishing, it is enough to block cultural invasion at the source.

The chessboard he is playing on is very large, and he needs outstanding chess pieces to complete his plans. Moreover, the educational publishing and educational electronics industries themselves are enough to support a large company with a market value of hundreds of billions.

It’s worth cooperating with him!
“You can discuss this news with the people behind you, but I personally advise you not to try to find Tengda Ali.

Don't try to delay!
Because you can’t afford the consequences.”

Li Zhongqiu's face suddenly changed when he heard these overbearing words. He suppressed his anger and said, "Director Li, are you threatening me?"

"That's not the case. It's just stating a cruel reality."

Li Zehua said with a smile: "We are all adults, let's be realistic. Dangdang is now vulnerable. I believe that as long as Mr. Liu Qiangdong works harder, Dangdang will go bankrupt within a month.

No matter who wants to take over the market at this time, he has to consider how to deal with competitive disadvantages. To put it bluntly, even if large funds come in, can you guarantee that he will reserve a suitable share for you?

After working so hard to start your own business, are you willing to take just a little money and go home to retire?

It’s different if you work with me. At least you can get more and have a certain degree of autonomy. You can decide for yourself how to think about it.”

After saying that, he stopped talking and played with his mobile phone, and told Liu Qiangdong what had just happened.

The latter replied quickly, "Wait for me, I'll be there soon. I won't trust Liu unless I squeeze every last bit out of him today."

In the past, Dangdang cooperated with Lian Xiang, and Ahri played a two-choice game with Jingdong, which made him extremely uncomfortable. Now that he can seize the opportunity to take revenge, how can he not be happy?

I just complained a little, "What's so good about Dangdang? When JD's graphic channel is established, what connections will I need?"

“How long does it take to open up the joints from scratch?
Time waits for no one. With Li Zhongqiu’s coming in, he can immediately integrate resources and extend them to prefecture-level cities. Within three to four years at most, he can enter most of the primary and secondary school markets across the country.

Even if you try it, you may not succeed even after ten years, because your roots are in JD.com.

Besides, it's not a loss. With Dangdang, you don't have to worry about the niche areas. You can then set up a few more websites such as beauty, brand-name clothing, tail warehouse clearance, and maternal and child channels.

Wouldn't it be good if JD.com served as the aircraft carrier of the entire battle group, Dangdang served as the destroyer, and the frigate provided escort? "

Li Zehua asked himself that Pinduoduo mainly operates in the rural market, and will go abroad to operate businesses in more countries in the future, so it is impossible for it to divide its attention to fight on multiple fronts.

That would be a complete failure and nothing would be accomplished, so it is imperative to support JD.com.

Liu Qiangdong did not refuse this time because he had thought about many development paths for JD.com, and the most suitable one at the time was to learn from Qingyun and build a high-end business ecosystem for the entire industrial chain.

Although the market is huge, there is a great competitor in front of him. He has neither funds nor the right time, place and people to help him. He lost the best opportunity. When he wants to compete with JD.com after it rises, it will be almost impossible for him to succeed.

If horizontal development is not possible, completing omni-channel construction in the upstream and downstream of the e-commerce field is also a way out.

Liu Qiangdong came very quickly. Li Zhongqiu was still discussing with the investors, but he couldn't help but open his mouth to talk. Li Zhongqiu couldn't stand it and kept winking at Li Zehua for help.

The latter ignored him completely, and instead advised him to broaden his horizons, pointed out some of Qingyun's strategies to him, and finally promised to guarantee the interests of both he and his wife.

Li Zhongqiu had no choice but to bring up Yu Yu and Goldman Sachs behind him.

"Then wait until President Yu has thought it through and comes back to discuss this in person. I believe you are all smart people and will not do anything stupid."

Li Zehua always only sets the general direction when doing things and doesn't pay much attention to details. In addition, Liu Qiangdong is so powerful at this time that even he has to retreat away from him when he is firing on all cylinders.

It would be better to give up the stage and let him perform freely.

Liu Qiangdong lived up to everyone's expectations and soon defeated Li Zhongqiu's army. No matter what difficulties and obstacles the other party raised, he could quickly find a way to deal with them.

However, when communicating on the phone, Liu Qiangdong was not sure how to respond to the issue of profit distribution raised by Yu Yu. After all, JD.com had only reached its third round of financing.

And Dangdang is about to be launched on the market.

Li Zhongqiu and Yu Yu do not only represent themselves, they also have a group of investors behind them. Now JD Qingyun wants to suddenly acquire shares at a low price, who will guarantee the rights and interests of investors?
At this time, Li Zehua had to come forward and ask in person, "When will Mr. Yu be able to come back!"

Yu Yu is very smart. She knows that it is impossible to resist Qingyun’s pressure now, so she chooses to use the tiger’s skin as a banner: “The people from Goldman Sachs are right next to me, and they want to ask Mr. Li a question.

If they exchange the interests of Qingyun Education or even Qingyun Overseas Investment Company for the interests of Dangdang, what kind of protection can they get? "

In fact, Yu Yu is very happy to have a bigger stage to showcase her talents. According to the potential shown by Qingyun Investment, even America Investment is a leading star fund, but she shoulders the expectations and responsibilities.

She wasn't allowed to give in easily.

"Goldman Sachs will get a Dangdang.com that is ten times bigger than it is now, with a scale ten times bigger, ten times more profitable, and a valuation that is more than ten times greater."

Li Zehua carefully analyzed the future of the educational electronics industry for a while, "They don't understand, but you, Mr. Yu, can definitely see that Chinese people's expectations for education are much higher than those abroad.

They are willing to sacrifice everything for their children’s education. With the resources of Qingyun, Dangdang.com has a bright future. ”

After a brief silence, Yu Yu, perhaps after discussing the preliminary results with the investors, said: "We need practical guarantees, perhaps a phased reward and punishment contract that stipulates all the details.

If Qingyun Investment shows the necessary sincerity, all obstacles will disappear. What do you think? "

"As you wish, let's discuss it in detail after returning home." (End of this chapter)