In 1978, I was admitted to Harbin Institute of Technology

Chapter 340 Raising a Chemical Giant Through Gu? Harbin Aircraft Industry Group's Hafei Hongguang in the Explosive Fire City Surrounds Xie Wei.

"Brother Xie Wei, you've finally come to Huadu! This time, you absolutely must stay a couple more days so I can show you the utmost hospitality and treat you well!"

At the airport, Hou Guoyong warmly accepted the travel bag from Xie Wei.

Looking at the Y-11 aircraft bearing the name "Harbin Institute of Technology" not far away, and then at the Harbin Aircraft Industry Group Hongguang aircraft parked nearby, Xie Wei felt a little worried: People usually travel by private jet, but they actually arranged for a van to pick them up. It didn't seem to fit Xie Wei's status.

We should bring the Toyota Crown that the factory bought at a high price!
"Director Hou, I'm sorry to have bothered you these past few days."

"No need to bother us, no need to bother us... If it weren't for the school's technical support and new products, the factory wouldn't be where it is today."

Zhao Liangyu, who was standing next to him, said with a smile, "Director Xie, let's get in the car first and talk in detail when we get to the guesthouse. We'll accompany you to visit the factory tomorrow."

Upon hearing Zhao Liangyu's address, Xie Wei was momentarily stunned before realizing that he was out of town.

At school, at most classmates would call him Class Monitor Xie, the big shots would call him Little Xie, and very few people would even call him Comrade.

Now, when I'm out in the public eye, my real identities are actually those of the deputy director of the school-enterprise cooperation office and the deputy director of the industry-university-research cooperation office.

"Looks like I still have to get used to my role as the director."

Xie Wei secretly reminded himself that when he was out and about, he represented the school and needed to be careful.

"Hafei Hongguang?"

When Xie Wei saw that the car that was waiting for him was a Hafei Hongguang, he was stunned for a moment.

Hou Guoyong regretted not driving the Toyota Crown from the factory over. He used the Crown to pick up clients or superiors when they came to visit.

Zhao Liangyu's arrangement...

"The minivan that your school developed in cooperation with Factory 122 is incredibly popular in the local market, even more so than the rice cooker back then... We were only able to buy it because we had connections and the help of the interns from the Chemical Engineering Department here."

Seeing Xie Wei's surprise, Zhao Liangyu hurriedly explained.

Is it that popular here?

In fact, Xie Wei had no idea that Hafei Hongguang had been sold to Huadu, and he didn't even know who was in charge of the school-enterprise office there.

"No!"

Seeing that Xie Wei wasn't complaining about the poor quality of the car that greeted him, Hou Guoyong breathed a sigh of relief. "Ever since Yunxuan Auto Service Company opened its 4S store here before the Spring Festival, every batch of cars has been snatched up by the customers waiting there... Now the entire 4S store is packed with people queuing up to pick up their cars..."

"Oh? Let's go take a look over there first."

Xie Wei was genuinely somewhat surprised.

Yunxuan Auto Service Company was established when Wang Zheng was in charge of the school-enterprise office. Xie Wei only knew that the person in charge was named Qin Hanshan, and he had only met him once.

Xie Wei didn't know who was in charge of Huadu. The initial development strategy was to first set up a 4S car dealership in one of the major cities in Harbin, the Pearl River Delta, the Yangtze River Delta, Southwest China, and Central China, and then conduct subsequent sales based on market conditions.

This is also Xie Wei's consistent habit: to deploy comprehensively from the very beginning without regard to cost!
This provided the school with a business opportunity that could generate rapid profit growth, ensuring the safety of funds while also allowing them to complete market channel development before foreign automakers made a major foray into the market.

"Director Xie, you've been on a plane for such a long time, why don't you go to the guesthouse to settle in first before you go?"

Zhao Liangyu, having received a hint from Hou Guoyong, asked, "There are too many people over there. Some companies are hiring people to wait outside specifically to buy cars..."

"Let's go take a look first."

Currently, China's automobile production capacity is not high, and most of the products are relatively outdated. The number of imported cars is very small, especially for luxury vehicles, which currently lack authorized dealerships. Given the already tight foreign exchange reserves, the government certainly wouldn't allow its limited and precious foreign exchange to be used for imported cars.

Foreign companies investing in China

Coastal areas experience rapid economic development, frequent population movement, and higher demands for logistics, which is why Xie Wei chose a minivan from the very beginning.

At Xie Wei's insistence, Zhao Liangyu, who was driving himself, had no choice but to go directly to the 4S store of Wenxuan Automobile Company.

"I don't know who came up with the idea of ​​building a dedicated store that covers car sales, parts supply, and car repair and maintenance... so that businesses or individuals who buy cars don't have to worry about problems with their vehicles..."

On the bus, Hou Guoyong remarked with deep emotion, "This model is definitely worth learning from."

"There's also feedback. By collecting customer usage information, we can provide data support for future improvements. Similarly, we can use it to conduct market research for developing features in future new models..."

Xie Wei explained in detail the true role of 4S stores.

Some say that China's first 4S car dealership was Changan Suzuki, which opened its first directly operated store in Chongqing in 96; others say it was Dongfeng Citroën, which opened its first exclusive dealership in Wuhan in 96; still others say it was GAC Honda in 99...

In any case, 4S stores are currently unique not only in China, but also in the whole world.

"Oh? Director Xie, this is the proposal you put forward? From the beginning of our cooperation, I felt that you understood the market better. It would be such a waste if you didn't work in the market..."

When Hou Guoyong learned that Xie Wei had proposed the plan, he stopped calling him "brother," even though he was of a much higher rank than Xie Wei.

"..."

Xie Wei didn't know how to answer for a moment. If he were in marketing, he could turn the company he was in charge of into the largest company in the country in less than ten years; and into the number one company in the world in twenty years at most.

But his goal wasn't to make money.

Silence fell over the car for a moment.

"Director Xie, does the school still have no plans to lift the restrictions on market areas? We don't have much of an advantage competing with international brands. They have strong financial resources, and their market channel development and distribution speed are far superior to ours..."

Hou Guoyong suddenly spoke.

Xie Wei glanced at him. "Have last year's sales statistics been released? What was the market share?"

"Uh……"

Hou Guoyong remained silent for a moment before finally answering truthfully.

"Last year, domestic sales reached 123.73 million yuan, with a market share of approximately 43% in the Pearl River Delta region..."

"What about the exit?"

Xie Wei continued to ask.

The largest market for daily chemical products such as soap, shampoo, and shower gel is not in China, but internationally.

Even in the face of a large influx of foreign brands into the domestic market, Xie Wei has not loosened his stance on market territorial division.

“HK$8300 million and US$1243 million…”

Langqi's main products are shampoo, shower gel and soap, and its main export market is Southeast Asia. Now it also has distributors in Europe and the United States.

The price is much lower than internationally.

Sales are growing very rapidly.

Xie Wei smiled at Hou Guoyong, "Let's not talk about the sales situation of the oleochemical plant before cooperating with Harbin Institute of Technology. Just the current sales are considered very good nationwide."

"I initially thought you were after more agency fees, but now I realize that's not the case. Could you explain why?"

Looking at the huge domestic market, no one would believe Hou Guoyong if he said he wasn't tempted.

Xie Wei has refused to allow companies that obtained technology from the school-enterprise cooperation office to enter areas outside their designated market zones, and he has not made any concessions to this day.

This is something that none of the relevant companies can understand.

"Now that overseas brands are flooding in, market competition will become even more intense. You know about the patent infringement lawsuit that DSG filed against Unicharm, right?"

Hou Guoyong nodded.

As of now, the lawsuit between the two parties is still ongoing. It is unclear whether this is due to the lack of relevant laws in China, as there has been no media coverage of the infringement lawsuit between Shuerme and Unicharm. Xie Wei does not seem to care.

Anyway, what he wanted was to use this lawsuit to give free advertising to the products that Desheng represented. "Shampoo and shower gel are also easy to get involved in. Compared with international giants, domestic daily chemical companies are still too weak. If they start fighting internally now, it will not only be difficult to block foreign brands from entering the market, but they will also lack market competitiveness due to internal fighting."

Xie Wei said calmly.

"Isn't that the opposite?"

Zhao Liangyu turned to remind Xie Wei.

"No. Most domestic daily chemical factories are just starting out. They don't have much ability to develop new products, adapt to the market, or even understand the market very well... Once they enter other regions, the only way is to engage in price wars... The factories we provide technology to are among the best in the region... To gain more market share, they either need to further develop the market in their current region or export and compete with foreign brands..."

Xie Wei said calmly.

From the very beginning, the goal was to cultivate the market competitiveness of domestic daily chemical brands. Now, in addition to "Langqi" Industry, which was renamed from Huadu Oil and Chemical Plant, there are also companies like Longrich listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, which have already received overseas orders.

However, the largest scale is Langqi's products, as they were the first to be produced there.

"So, once the time is right, there won't be any problem for our products to enter other regional markets?"

"The contract was for three years at the time. Five years later, we will only sign contracts with two or three companies for our new products... By then, companies that can't even hold onto their market share will no longer be worth continuing to cooperate with us..."

Xie Wei emphasized this.

The two immediately understood Xie Wei's meaning.

Raising Gu!

Currently, there are a total of 6 factories nationwide that have obtained the technology from the Department of Chemistry of Harbin Institute of Technology.

Everyone is selling daily chemical products with the same formula but different brands and packaging in their respective regions. Once any region enters another market, with no essential difference in technology and products and similar costs, the final result can only be a price war.

"Would it be less of a loss to start now?"

"Losses? How could there be losses? Whoever loses gets swallowed up by the winner... How many people in the country truly understand market economics when it comes to market-oriented reforms?"

Xie Wei stared blankly out the window at the construction site rushing past.

Many organizations experienced rapid development in the 80s and 90s after the reform and opening up, not because these organizations were particularly strong, but because their products happened to have no competitors and there was huge domestic demand.

As a result, just when these companies had cultivated the market to a considerable extent, foreign giants entered the fray with more advanced technology, stronger financial resources, and a "rounder moon" (i.e., a more attractive and competitive market)...

As a result, blood flowed like a river.

Huadu is also at the forefront of reform, and it has been the most important and largest port city in the south since before the rise of the Maritime Silk Road.

Now, construction sites are bustling everywhere.

"Are those the Friendship Store and the Baiyun Hotel?"

When Xie Wei saw two iconic buildings from his memories on one side of the street, he asked a question.

This was the most prosperous commercial center in Huadu in the 80s.

After the Friendship Hotel moved to Huanshi East Road in 78, this area became the first central business district in the entire Huadu district.

"Yes, Wenxuan Auto 4S store is just a short distance ahead..."

Hou Guoyong nodded firmly, his tone full of envy.

Wenxuan Auto Service Company in Huadu covers an area of ​​420 acres, but no high-rise buildings have been built, and most of the area is idle.

It's impossible for Langqi to move its office space here now.

It requires not only a huge amount of capital, but also a strong background and resources.

Not far ahead, Xie Wei saw a five-story building on the side of the road with a floor area of ​​over a thousand square meters, topped with a red sign that read "Wenxuan Auto Service Company".

On one side of the building is a light steel structure factory building that also occupies a considerable area, which is used for vehicle inspection, repair, and maintenance.

At the entrance, two young security guards in their early thirties stood ramrod straight in front of the guard post.

The brand-new electric sliding gate was opened by the security guard in the booth just as the car turned in.

Not bad!

It seems the person in charge here took my words to heart.

It should be noted that the cadres and employees of the enterprises under the school-enterprise office are also considered to be formally employed support staff!

They have a secure job!

Service awareness?

Forget it, not hitting customers, not yelling at customers, and not ignoring customers are already considered to have a good service mentality.

The security guard in front of Xie Wei was not only observant and didn't stop the car to check his ID, but he also saluted when the car entered the gate, which made a very good first impression on Xie Wei.

4S stores are service-oriented businesses, so everyone there must have a service-oriented mindset.

These days, the vast majority of people across the country who can drive to run errands are government employees.

Offending someone may not necessarily have any serious consequences, but it will definitely not go unpunished.

"Hello, comrade. May I ask if your manager, Mr. Han, is in?"

Zhao Liangyu stuck his head out of the car window and asked the saluting security guard.

"I'm very sorry, I don't know. There are information windows in the reception hall at the front; you can go there to ask."

The security guard was not impatient and answered Zhao Liangyu's questions very seriously.

"Thank you."

Zhao Liangyu had driven less than twenty meters forward, and before he could even shift into second gear, a group of people rushed towards him in a swarm.

"The car is here, now it's our turn!"

"I've been waiting here for over ten days, they should give me my..."

"Fuck your mother! I've spent every New Year's here, and I'm never as fast as you guys. Damn it, whoever tries to take it from me, I'll fight them to the death today..."

A group of people surrounded the car, and the people closest to it were already pulling on the driver's side door, trying to pull Zhao Liangyu, who was driving, out of the car.

"What are you doing? This is a car we bought, not a new one!"

Zhao Liangyu became anxious.

Xie Wei reacted quickly, reaching from behind to the door next to the driver's seat and pressing down the door lock lever.

"Dip~dip~"

Just then, a sharp whistle sounded from not far away.

The security guard who had just answered Zhao Liangyu's question was running this way, blowing a whistle as he did so.

"What are you doing? If you don't want the car, get out! Are you blind? This isn't a brand new car; it's a customer who came to the store!"

The security guard, with a dark expression, caused the people surrounding the Hongguang car carrying Xie Wei and his two companions to quickly retreat, even though he didn't have a baton in his hand.

"Hey, this guy's not bad."

Xie Wei developed a strong interest in this middle-aged man with an average appearance.

(End of this chapter)