1988: Back to the human world for a few years

Chapter 373 Hot Products and Drivers (2)

If we were to ask what the most important event in the country was in 1990, there might be different answers in different fields.

But in the economic field, the most important event this year is undoubtedly the Asian Games to be held in September!

From the perspective of future generations, this Asian Games, which the country had high hopes for, did achieve the desired effect and even exceeded it.

With the Asian Games as the dividing line, the domestic economic situation can be said to be clearly divided.

In the first half of the year, we made every effort to rectify the situation, which enabled the economy to quickly stabilize from its previous overheating. After the Asian Games, we took advantage of the excitement brought about by this national event, began to restart the theme of opening up and development, and quickly entered a period of rapid development.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that this Asian Games, the largest and most powerful since the founding of the People's Republic of China, was intentionally organized by the country.

Regardless of the overwhelming media coverage since the beginning of the year, and the various efforts made by local authorities to welcome the Asian Games, the fact that the capital invested 25 billion yuan in this event, built more than 20 large-scale sports facilities, and even resumed investment and construction in some infrastructure projects that had been suspended, you can see how much importance the country attaches to this Asian Games... Get it straight, this is 1990 billion yuan in 25, a number that is enough to scare a lot of people!

Of course, the sports facilities construction project and supporting infrastructure projects in the imperial capital have nothing to do with Yang Mo, let alone the Isolated Island No. 2 project that he is currently working hard to promote. It has absolutely nothing to do with a medium-sized toy factory in a county town.

But there is one thing that has a great relationship with the purpose of Tugou's trip.

That is the mascot of the Asian Games...Panda Panpan!
To be precise, it’s the puppet of the panda Panpan!
Those who have experienced the difficulty in getting Bing Dwen Dwen, or even having to pay a higher price, should all know how popular this thing is. They also know how huge the market demand can be for such an insignificant little item in a given period of time.

However, I can tell you responsibly that for people who have been suppressed for two years, the degree of love and popularity for the 1990 Asian Games mascot Panpan far exceeded that of Bing Dwen Dwen in later generations. This craze even lasted throughout the 90s and gradually subsided until the beginning of the millennium.

What’s interesting is that, before the Asian Games, the image of this mascot was widely known, and even families without televisions knew about this cute-looking panda through the pictures and stickers that their children secretly bought; but in fact, Panpan became really popular after the Asian Games was a great success.

To be precise...it was the day when our weightlifter Xing Fang won the first gold medal, and then hundreds of athletes unwillingly took the medals into their arms.

I have to say, this is very Chinese!
Therefore, a very ridiculous phenomenon occurred. Before the Asian Games, even though peripheral products of the mascot Panpan were already available on the market, they were always lukewarm in sales. However, when the Asian Games was halfway through, these peripheral products suddenly became hard to come by... Even the children found that they had to fight with their friends to get a Yang painting with the Asian Games logo and the panda Panpan.

Therefore, Yang Mo was certain that, considering the current lukewarm sales of the Panpan doll, it would not be difficult for him to obtain official authorization to use the mascot image... In fact, China at that time had no awareness of image copyright. By sending a letter of application in the name of Dahua Company and then sending someone to coordinate, he would probably get the result he wanted soon.

When the products are produced, only a small part will be put into the C-end market for circulation, a part will be distributed to those fast-moving consumer goods distributors, a part will flow into the foreign trade market, and the rest... will be stored in several large warehouses, waiting for the opportunity to come, and then thrown out all at once.

It must be admitted that the aesthetic taste of toys in China is quite weak these days. Even the officially circulated panda Panpan are mostly plastic dolls. From the perspective of future generations, it is really hard to describe the appearance. Therefore, even if there is no explosion in September, Yang Mo is confident that after optimizing the materials and craftsmanship, he can make a place in the market with the plush version of Panpan.

what! ?

It's fine if you say you want to sell it domestically, but you also plan to sell this thing abroad through foreign trade channels. Isn't that nonsense!

Ok……

Let me put it this way, if you know something about the foreign trade market and its past foreign trade history, you probably wouldn’t say this.

In fact, just as Tugou said to Director Chen, foreign trade is the largest and most lucrative market for the plush version of Panpan dolls!
The reason is simple. Chinese people underestimate the popularity of the "panda" element abroad; they also underestimate the influence of this Asian Games around the world.

China has started panda diplomacy since a long time ago. After the founding of New China, this diplomatic method has always been retained. However, due to some well-known reasons, its influence is not large and the targets of panda diplomacy are only a few countries.

But everything changed after Nixon's visit to China in 1972.

In short, during that honeymoon period, with the vigorous promotion of America, the panda, a rare animal unique to China, quickly became a mysterious treasure that was highly sought after in Europe, America, Japan and South Korea. Places like the Los Angeles Zoo and the Chicago Zoo were even hard to get tickets during the panda tour period... In fact, since the 80s, the cost of renting a panda has been an extremely exaggerated price, and having money alone is not enough, you also have to agree to a series of additional conditions.

In the highly developed economic society of the West, how could those businessmen fail to smell the business opportunities?

As a result, over the past decade or so, if you go to toy stores in Europe and the United States, especially those in Chinatown, you will definitely see all kinds of panda toys in various shapes, which are sold at extremely high prices.

Although students who are familiar with the situation abroad know that Europe and the United States are not the paradise that Chinese people think they are, in this piece of cake, it may be possible for your Chinese companies to be cheap OEMs of panda dolls, but if you want to directly enter the market in the form of your own brand and make huge profits, it is a dream!
But Panpan’s surroundings are an exception.

Firstly, Panpan is not an ordinary panda, but the mascot of the Asian Games. The patent and copyright of its image are officially owned by China. If foreign companies produce its peripheral products without authorization, they will get into trouble. Moreover, it is difficult for foreign companies to obtain authorization for such a mascot. Therefore, even if there is relevant cooperation, the status of both parties is reversed.

Secondly, as mentioned earlier, this Asian Games is not only of great significance to the country, but also of extraordinary significance to the world. Therefore, its global attention is much higher than the Chinese people think, and is even not inferior to the 2008 Olympic Games.

The reasons are somewhat complicated, but generally speaking they are based on two points:
1. In February, American futurist John Naisbitt published an article titled "Megatrends 2", attempting to predict the direction of the next decade from 2000 to the millennium. This article, which was prophetic in nature but rich in data and self-consistent in logic, received great attention in Europe and the United States as soon as it was published.
In this article, John Naisbitt mentioned China, and believed that whether China, the world's largest production and consumption market with the largest scale and potential, can get out of the current economic difficulties is directly related to the world's economic direction and economic health in the next decade.

In fact, this view has been widely recognized. Therefore, in the first half of this year, while European and American companies have been increasing their contacts and efforts with China, the media has also paid more and more attention to the upcoming Asian Games... In their view, this Asian Games, which requires huge investment, has hundreds of thousands of participants, and has effectively boosted domestic demand through infrastructure, will be an important turning point for whether China can get out of its current economic difficulties. The interests are there, and they cannot help but care.

2. It is because of the very delicate international relations at the moment. After all, everyone can see the situation in the bear country to the north. At this critical moment, almost all European and American countries do not want to create some unknown variables.

It has always been something that European and American countries are extremely reluctant to see a certain country walk together with the Russian bear, but everyone is well aware of China's economic situation in the past two years, so this Asian Games in September carries too many other meanings.

Therefore, under such a background, Europe and the United States will definitely not refuse the peripheral products of the mascot Panpan to enter their country in the form of China's own brand.

Not only will they not refuse, but they will intentionally or unintentionally provide some convenience in public opinion, channels, and even customs clearance, and even add fuel to the flames...especially in the two months before the Asian Games and after its successful hosting.

The reason behind this is probably not difficult to understand.

Of course, opportunities are opportunities, but whether you can seize them ultimately depends on the product.

After all, before the mid-millennium, the quality of many domestic light industrial products was really hard to describe, and before the late 1990s, many managers of domestic companies were completely in the dark about the actual situation abroad.

Therefore, whether your products can meet the minimum entry standards and whether these products can be accepted by local consumers are actually the most important things during this period... China has not yet joined the WTO, and other countries are actually more in an attitude of actively wooing China. Only a fool would compete on price during this period.

Therefore, when Tugou briefly described the idea of ​​this super product to Director Chen, what followed were all kinds of detail requirements that seemed extremely harsh at the moment.

..............................

"First of all, as a plush toy that meets export standards, the outer layer of this batch of Panpan puppets must be made of short-pile fabric, and it must be made of polyester DTY75D/144F as the basic raw material. At the same time, the high F increases the softness of the fabric. This will ensure that the puppets have a light and clean appearance and a strong sense of neatness... Director Chen, is there any problem?"

Tugou opened his notebook, compared the data on it, and made the first request in a somewhat unfamiliar manner. Upon hearing this, Director Chen, who was originally immersed in a huge fantasy, immediately looked bitter: "You use polyester DTY75D/144F high F short plush fabric? Manager Lu, this, this fabric is not only expensive... The key is that it is not easy to get. We are just a small toy factory. Where can I get this fabric for you?"

Director Chen was not making excuses when he said this. Short-pile fabric is known for its fine and soft feel, strong color fastness and bright color. Basically more than half of the plush toys in later generations are made of this, which shows how popular it is. However, this thing is a completely new thing at the moment. This kind of fabric, which is produced with polyester DTY75D/144F and FDY54D/24F as raw materials, not only has a pitifully low output at the moment, but is also specially provided to those companies that produce "high-end shoes and hats".

In this day and age, companies like this that can get customized raw materials have a lot of entanglements of causes and effects behind them. Shishang Toy Factory is a character that is not even worth mentioning. Where do you expect Director Chen to get such a large amount of short plush fabric?

Hearing this, Lu Yingying just smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'm just giving you production requirements to see if your factory can adapt. If we really reach a cooperation, Mr. Yang will naturally help you get the raw materials for the short plush."

Director Chen was shocked when he heard this: "Manager Lu, didn't you say that the first batch of Panpan dolls would be produced in quantities of 2? The smallest size of these toys is 40cmX35cm. Can Mr. Yang get so much short plush fabric?"

Lu Yingying gave him a meaningful look and said, "Don't worry. Tianjin Petrochemical Fiber Factory is not far from Dezhou. They have plenty of polyester production capacity, and their external partners can also produce short-pile fabrics... Anyway, we won't be short of raw materials when the time comes."

Tianjin Petrochemical Fiber Factory?
Director Chen's eyelids twitched.

Tianjin Petrochemical Fiber Factory is one of the 26 key chemical fiber units derived from the country in the late 1.35s and early s after the "Four Major Chemical Fiber Projects". The initial total investment was as high as million yuan. Its scale is not small and the technology introduced is not advanced. Therefore, it is not surprising that its surrounding units can produce short-pile fabrics.

But the problem is...

They are the tertiary industry unit of the Dongying Command. Although Tianjin is next to Qilu, it does not belong to the same petrochemical system. You do not coordinate production capacity within the Qilu oil system, but directly place orders with the Tianjin Petrochemical Fiber Factory...

This, this, this...

Keenly aware that there were some things that were not to be told to outsiders, Director Chen quickly shut his mouth, then nodded hesitantly - never mind, when it came to Yang Mo's level, things were no longer something a small director like him could interfere with, he only needed to obediently follow the arrangements, and let the factory make a fortune in silence!
Seeing Director Chen nod, Tugou smiled and said, "Although the short-pile fabric is good, it needs heat setting and wet treatment, and then superimposed foaming, embossing, printing and other processes in the later processing... Does your factory have relevant experience or technical reserves in this area?"

Director Chen thought about it and nodded again. "Although I have never made toys with short plush fabrics before, I have done similar processes before... Don't worry, Manager Lu, as soon as I have the raw materials, I will have people familiar with and study the processes. Then I will bring the samples to you for your approval and suggestions for improvement. We will start formal production after they are approved."

This is the usual operation and process of Yang Mo's team. Although it seems a bit too much trouble for a unit like Shishang Toy Factory, he would accept the trouble considering the super order may be as high as five or six batches, with each batch containing tens of thousands of items.

Lv Yingying nodded: "I won't go into details about the cartoon eyes, matte nose, and PE bag for outer packaging. After all, your factory's technical foundation is there, and with the qualified materials we will provide later, there shouldn't be any quality problems."

"But as I said before, environmentalism is on the rise in Europe, and the wave is getting higher and higher. The Panpan doll we plan to produce is not only a mascot for the Asian Games, but also represents the image of our country overseas, so every detail must be taken into consideration!"

"So, according to Mr. Yang's plan, the stuffing of Panpan dolls cannot be filled with artificial sponges or cloth strips like some domestic toys; nor will they use PP cotton (recycled polyester staple fiber), which is the most common stuffing overseas... This may allow some foreign environmentalists to take advantage of the issue, and it will not be easy to sell at a high price."

After a pause, Lu Yingying picked up the notebook and took a look: "Therefore, after careful consideration by Mr. Yang, all batches of Panpan dolls produced by us will be made of local materials, with short-staple cotton produced in Dezhou as 100% filling material, and the specifications cannot be too inferior;"

"So, here we need your factory to take the initiative to contact local enterprises and competent authorities... Make sure to apply for enough 32MM6D/B cotton as filling... You are absolutely not allowed to lower the standards privately!"

Nani~!!!!!!!!!!!???

32MM 6D/B! ?
Director Chen was completely dumbfounded and almost thought that the girl in front of him was crazy.

As an important and widely used commodity, cotton is graded.

The D mentioned by Lu Yingying is the abbreviation of decitex (dtex), a unit used to express the fineness of fiber, which is also an indicator of the so-called fiber thickness. To put it simply, the D is the weight of fiber in grams per 9000 meters. The larger the D, the thicker the fiber... So 6D means that the weight of cotton fiber in grams per 9000 meters is 6 grams.

Cotton is divided into three grades: A, B, and C according to its fiber quality.

The 32MM represents the fiber length. The fiber length of cotton is generally divided into two specifications: 32MM and 64MM. The former is used for machine filling and the latter is used for manual filling.

So to sum up, the other party requires the use of cotton with a fiber length of 32MM, a fiber fineness of up to 9000 grams per 6 meters, and a fiber quality of Grade A as toy filling!
This is definitely a very high standard.

You should know that the most common filling materials for bedding are generally in the specifications of 6D, 7D, 8D, and 15D. Even for so-called high-end bedding, the filling materials generally do not exceed 8D/A.

A quick comparison will show you how high the standard of fillings Lu Yingying requires; as for the cost and the possible waste of raw cotton... haha, it's even higher!

You should know that these standards are not only related to the quality of the raw cotton itself, but also to the technical level of cotton processing companies.

Cotton processing companies purchase raw cotton and then loosen the cotton themselves. They must ensure that the loosening workers operate correctly and loosen the cotton enough times to completely loosen the cotton so that it can achieve good elasticity.

If the number of loosening times is not reached or the loosening effect is not good, then not only will you produce cotton that meets the quality standards, but you will also greatly waste the amount of cotton used.

So in the past, there was a saying in the cotton industry, "Behind every pound of 6D cotton, there are 3 pounds of waste." Although this statement is a bit exaggerated and is limited by the machinery and technology level at the time, it is undeniable that high-quality cotton is accompanied by a waste of raw cotton.

Damn it, isn't this just a face-saving project?
Director Chen felt heartbroken when he thought about how so much high-quality cotton would be used as stuffing for a toy.

Indeed, with 6D/B high-quality cotton used as filling, the feel and elasticity of these dolls must be very good;

But... is it worth it to increase the cost so much just for such a small increase in flexibility?

He just didn't believe it. If he used 8D/B cotton as filling, the foreigners would really be able to detect it.

Therefore, the only explanation is that Yang Mo intends to take advantage of the precious opportunity of the Asian Games to make a splash and then gild himself.

What can be exported and what can’t be exported?
Not important at all!
Director Chen thought he had seen through the truth and couldn't help but curl his lips.

But this is not important. What is important is that with so many orders, Shishang Toy Factory can live a very comfortable life. As for what to do with the toys produced... it's none of his business!
Thinking of this, he took a deep breath and nodded heavily. Although Xiajin is one of the three major cotton producing areas in Dezhou, it is not an easy task to buy so much high-quality cotton raw materials. He will have to work hard for some time in the future!

Tugou noticed Director Chen's expression, raised his eyebrows, but said nothing.

Yes, using cotton as the filling material is indeed a precautionary measure. After all, those environmentalists in Europe in the early 1990s were indeed a bit crazy. And if all the cotton is natural, it will indeed help to increase the price of Panpan dolls.
However, the requirement to use 6D/B grade cotton as filling material will increase the consumption of raw cotton in Texas and affect the usage scenarios and structure of these raw cotton.

Of course, these things are just part of the driving plan, and the considerations involved cannot be told to Director Chen...

(End of this chapter)