My Lord, you need to stand up!

Chapter 838 The market isn't something you can just kneel down to because you want it to be expensive.

At this time, Pingjing also didn't have a mobile phone to send messages.

Yu Qili's earnest "quotation of classics" was so convincing that even if one of the people standing next to him had a minor disagreement, Wei Dong would have reminded them to keep an eye on this uncle.

There was no way to immediately call Wei Dong to inquire and verify.

I even thought that's what the boss said.

This groundbreaking "new model" was then attributed to Rang Weidong by You Qili.

He wants to wear this hat but can't.

Currently, no state-owned assets are under his control.

That's too much for Wei Dong!
Xishan Factory is now an electronics industry cluster formed by the relocation of more than ten third-line factories. Wei Dong has no shares at all; he is only in charge of management with the title of deputy director of sales.

He didn't own any shares in Shangzhou Beijiaochang New City, the earliest real estate development zone in the country. He was just a member of the management committee... or, in later terms, the actual controller, but he didn't hold any official position.
Jiangzhou Zoo is a contracted-out zoo;

The chairman of Jiangzhou Urban Construction Group has an annual salary of one yuan.
The Bund Building No. 5 in Shanghai and the three hotels that have already opened are all leased from state-owned real estate.

The Chrysler-Dodge automotive supply chain was essentially introduced by patriotic businessmen who donated it to the state and then managed it on their behalf.
Pingqi Real Estate, Liuzhi, and real estate consultants who are just scapegoats...

Even all the real estate projects managed by Wei Dong were actually operated on state-owned land. He never sought any land ownership whatsoever.

So You Qili began to speak eloquently: "There is an economist in the West who is revered as a god named Keynes. His famous work, The General Theory of Money, advocates that the state should directly intervene in economic life. This abandons the classical free trade school. Marx also thought so on this issue..."

He was most adept at this kind of rhetoric: "During the Great Depression, Roosevelt implemented the New Deal based on Keynesian theory, leading Citizens out of the economic crisis and back to prosperity, laying the material foundation for the Allied victory in World War II. At that time, some people attacked the New Deal as 'stupidity,' but decades later, no one says Keynes was a 'stupidity school,' or that Roosevelt was a CCP spy, and no one says Citizens was 'stupidity.'"

"Alright, since the capitalist state can adjust its policies as needed, why can't we appropriately borrow some ideas from others? Since planned economy is somewhat rigid and needs the vitality of a market economy, let's introduce private sector models to revitalize state-owned assets. Of course, such operations must be responsible for both profits and losses; there should be rewards for profits and the ability to repay losses..."

Wei Dong was instructed to never get involved in such theoretical topics.

Therefore, his people never liked this kind of food.

Now, I'm dumbfounded, listening to the reporter. Is there really any theoretical basis for this?
Boss is awesome!
We shouldn't let Wei Dong know.

He is facing challenges related to state-owned assets here.

During the 1984 Olympics, the Triumph Roll, with a wholesale price of 8.5 yuan and a retail price of 12 yuan, was subject to a ten-year cooperation agreement between the two parties, stipulating that the price could not be increased and sales could not be discontinued. Wei Dong promised to sell more than 10 million rolls annually.

In the first few months, people compensated by counting the years into 1985, and everyone felt that there was a period of upward growth.

As a result, more than 24 million rolls of film were sold in 1985, and the number soared to 50 million in 1986. And in just nine months this year, the number has already exceeded 60 million!

With an annual output value of 500 to 600 million yuan, the Triumph Factory was living a very comfortable life!
The office building has been renovated, and the canteen now has a high-end restaurant. The welcome banquet was quite lavish, and the liquor was Maotai.

The manager of the film sales department under the Pingjing branch accompanied him.

This is also what makes the work of the Pyeongkyo branch different from other branches, although it doesn't require all the goods to be transported to Pyeongkyo and then distributed to various places.

However, a dedicated person is stationed here; it belongs to the film sales department directly under the head office, but receives assistance from the Pingjing branch.

According to Fengchu's calculations, film can help distribute hundreds of millions of yuan in commissions to sales representatives nationwide every year, and cover tens of millions of yuan in transportation and branch office costs.

Even if only a tiny drop of rain falls through your fingers and reaches your home, it will still amount to seven or eight figures.

It's a typical business model of the Jean-Jacques school, relying on low profit margins and high sales volume to succeed.

Moreover, state-owned factories are quite good in this regard. Even when the previous factory director was promoted and someone else took the helm, they didn't suddenly have the idea that the sales company should make money and then set up their own sales department, because they knew they didn't have that kind of strong sales ability.

There are 60 million copies, averaging 2 million copies per province. Supply and marketing cooperatives serving rural areas account for a very small proportion of this.

The main focus is on having Weidong's sales companies cultivate markets across the country.

Perhaps it's also because the Sunshine Daily has always regarded this as a model project that it facilitated, constantly monitoring the progress to ensure a successful collaboration.

But this factory director, who has a research background, seems to have great technological ambitions.

He poured wine for Wei Dong and said, "In the past two years, besides paying taxes and profits, we have invested our funds in research and development, hoping to catch up with Kodak and Fuji in terms of film imaging quality. We have made significant progress now, but the cost has definitely increased as well. Could we provide better products to the people and raise the unit price by one or two yuan?"

Wei Dong wasn't some clueless newbie.

Looking at the photos they sent me, I just wanted to say, "Are you testing my intelligence?"

Photos that appear to have better color saturation and fidelity can vary greatly depending on several factors. First, is the film from a different brand used? Second, what camera was used and what lighting was employed? Third, is the quality of the developing chemicals used? Even lab-produced products can show drastically different results compared to mass-produced ones.

This reason is invalid.

Wei Dong even took a moment to glance at the people from the Sunshine Daily, his gaze slightly evasive before he enthusiastically raised his glass.

Meanwhile, his film sales manager looked completely convinced.

I began to understand.

But he didn't point it out directly: "No problem, you can open a separate line to make high-end models, just call it Golden Triumph, all yellow film with red lettering. You can raise the price however much you want, and we'll see if consumers judge whether this kind of expensive, good film is worth the price."

The factory manager, caught off guard by his feint, finally admitted, "The cost of various raw materials has been soaring in the past two years, and employee wages have also increased significantly. Our profits have been squeezed very, very low. I'm wondering if we could..."

Wei Dong drank the glass of wine: "Let me tell you a story. A Hong Kong businessman invested in a port in Southeast Asia. To facilitate transportation at the port, he built a tunnel in the nearby mountain. Naturally, every vehicle had to pay to pass through the tunnel. The agreement was for a 20-year fee. However, after a few years, the local government felt that the high fee was affecting the development of the area near the port and wanted him to lower the price or buy the tunnel. The businessman disagreed. The local government gritted its teeth and built its own tunnel, opening it to the public for free. In the end, the businessman had no choice but to sell it off at a low price and leave. In your opinion, who was right and who was wrong in this case?"

The people at the newspaper office immediately focused their attention, and some even took notes.

But the factory manager, who had no sales experience, frowned: "Businessmen are only after profit, aren't they? Shouldn't he make sacrifices for the sake of regional development?"

Of course, Wei Dong wouldn't say that this was about Li Bancheng's East District Wharf, but it spread quite a bit online later.

He simply nodded: "So the signed contract can be disregarded?"

Wang Zhiwen, who was eating with his head down while his two prominent ears were listening intently, almost burst out laughing.

It felt like Wei Dong was saying those words indirectly.

The factory manager's face immediately turned red: "This...this..."

Wei Dong reached out to pour him a drink: "Let me tell you another story. I've been in Hong Kong a lot these past few months and have met all sorts of people, including businessmen involved in smuggling. They mentioned that Kodak and Fuji rolls have been removed from smuggled goods in the last two years because the wholesale price of color rolls abroad is around one dollar, so there isn't much profit to be made by smuggling them in. Naturally, no one is willing to take the risk."

Just as the factory manager and his colleagues breathed a sigh of relief, even feeling a bit smug, Wei Dong's "but" came: "This has caused these two film giants to prepare to increase their domestic investment in building factories or transferring technology. They must win this battle!"

Everyone present froze.

Even Yu Xiaoqiu was nervous.

Rang Weidong was not lying. Chen Wenliang and his group had mentioned that Kodak and Triumph film used to be one of the main products of smugglers. After all, a roll of film, which was light and cheap, had a wholesale price of seven or eight yuan overseas. They could bring it in and sell it for more than thirty yuan, making a huge profit.

After all, once something is placed on the counter, no one can tell which is noble and which is filthy.

The factory director gritted his teeth and said, "Anyone who dares to kneel before imperialism is a traitor!"

Wei Dong laughed: "Think about it yourselves, would anyone from all over the country want to cooperate with them? Or if Kodak and Fuji approached you and offered to provide all their technology and equipment for free, would you refuse to cooperate?"

Everyone stopped talking.

Back then, Wei Dong was brought in because he had a keen eye for talent among the seven major photosensitive material factories, and he chose this inconspicuous factory in northern Hebei.

Coastal factories have plenty of connections, and being able to form a joint venture with a world-renowned brand is fantastic news; the local government couldn't be happier.

Current policies do not explicitly prohibit cooperation with foreign brands; the focus should be on learning and introducing advanced technologies.

Wei Dong hadn't visited the workshop, but it was obvious that the automation level of the Triumph plant could never be higher than that of Kodak or Fuji.

It's mostly about the difference between Weidong's previous sanitary napkin factory and Feiyan's fully automated production line.

The reason they can keep prices down is because labor costs are extremely low right now.

If Kodak and Fuji could build factories in China, without tariff protection, their costs would definitely plummet!

The selling price in Hong Kong is HK$15 each, but there are often promotions where you can buy two and get one free, making it about HK$10 each.

Triumph film can't even compete with Hong Kong!

Capitalists can certainly maintain high profits when there are no competitors, but when it comes to undercutting prices and seizing market share, they also have a wealth of experience.

Later, how many joint venture and overseas brands first suppressed domestic products and then dominated the market with high prices?
Wei Dong, with his rich experience, said: "It was me and the Sunshine Daily who joined hands with the Triumph Factory to promote domestic products to occupy the market. I do not agree to raise prices and pass the burden on to consumers, but I can personally raise the purchase price by 50 cents. The conditions are: first, we will not be restricted from selling other films in the future; second, the cooperation will end after the ten-year period. You can start preparing to cultivate your own sales channels in advance."

He raised his glass, gesturing for the drink to be taken.

(End of this chapter)