Reborn in 08, a heretical cultivator starting a business

Chapter 208 Vipshop's Huge Explosion, Midea's Desperate Situation!

"I'd even be willing to pay 30% off, let alone 50% off."

"That's right, I want to buy a Gree air conditioner. The original price of a 1.5P unit with first-class energy efficiency is 4000 yuan. Even with a 10% discount on Vipshop, it's still 3600 yuan. If I could get a 30% discount coupon, it would only cost 2800 yuan. Wouldn't that be amazing!"

"As an annual VIP, I participated in the draw three times in a row. The first time, I got a bag of ordinary fertilizer and a rare seed. The second time, I got a day's worth of dog food and 500 gold coins. The third time, I got a 30% off coupon for a Haier refrigerator, hahaha! I bought a new refrigerator that originally cost 3000 yuan for only 2100 yuan, saving a whopping 900 yuan, which is 600 yuan cheaper than the 10% off promotional price!"

"Holy crap, it's already shipped? I'm so envious!"

"You saved 600 yuan at once, I'm so envious. Your annual VIP subscription is a great deal."

"That's right! This one wave has already recouped the cost of six years' worth of annual fees. I can't take it anymore, I'll open one too. One time a day for regular users is too little."

"Yes, just for the chance to win three prizes a day, I'd definitely buy a yearly membership."

"It's already open! I won a 50% off coupon for small appliances and bought a SUPOR microwave oven. The original price was 490, but I only paid 245. Thank you, Chairman Wang! Thank you, Vipshop!"

"I only got two Hisense TV fragments. If I collect 40 fragments, I can redeem a Hisense LCD TV worth 4000 yuan for free!"

"40 coins? That'll take forever to collect them. Is this game just a gimmick?"

"Not necessarily. I've participated in the annual membership draw three times and already have 5 Haier refrigerator fragments. Once I collect 30 fragments, I can exchange them for a Haier refrigerator worth 3000 yuan."

"I got a universal shard, so I can use it to collect anything."

"Damn, with the universal fragment, things are much easier. Let's work hard! New year memberships and tens of thousands of free home appliances—I have to be one of them."

"I don't ask for free appliances, just a few 50% off coupons or 30% off coupons would be great."

"Shocking! There are even 20% off coupons and 15% off coupons for new products. Although the discounts aren't huge, they're still pretty good."

"Yes, Vipshop usually offers a maximum discount of 10% on new products, so your 15% off coupon is quite a good deal. Other products are generally 15% off, so getting a 20% off coupon is already a good deal."

"Yes, even if you can't get a 50% or 70% discount, 85% or 80% is still pretty good. Be content with what you have."

"It's so interesting. I just got the 15% off coupon and ordered a Little Duck Prince range hood. Then I got another chance to win a 20% off coupon. Hahaha, I'll buy another new range hood from Boss."

"6, what are you doing with this nesting doll?"

"Look at Vipshop's Chinese New Year Shopping Festival page, someone has won a 50% off coupon for Hisense TVs, with a maximum limit of 5000 yuan."

"Damn, I bought a Hisense TV for 5000 yuan and got a 2500 yuan discount. I'm so lucky."

"No way, I have to get a yearly membership too, upgrade like crazy, shop like crazy! The more I order, the more chances I have to win a prize, and the higher my chances of winning the grand prize!"

In no time, WeChat farming groups, Tieba, and forums were all buzzing with excitement.

They were all similar sharing and discussion sessions.

Seeing others win so many 20% off coupons, 30% off coupons, and even 50% off coupons, I was quite envious.

In addition, even if no goods are shipped, there are fertilizers, dog food, and rare seeds to guarantee a minimum, so there is no loss at all.

To have more chances to win prizes, non-member players have started to purchase annual memberships.

Start your Vipshop shopping spree!

Start leveling up like crazy!
After all, an annual membership costs only 96 yuan, with three chances to win prizes every day and a gift package worth over a thousand yuan, which is totally worth it.

Vipshop already offers a 10% discount on new products and a 15% discount on other products, making it cheaper than other platforms.

Nowadays, Vipshop offers not only diamonds as a reward for purchases but also a chance to win prizes. Coupled with fast logistics and no closing time during the Spring Festival, consumers are going on a shopping spree.

As a result, Vipshop's transaction volume has continued to surge.

Within just a few hours of its launch, Vipshop's home appliance shopping festival saw its sales volume on the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month surge from 150 million yuan to 180 million yuan, and it continues to rise rapidly!
There's hope of reaching 200 million.

Daily active users, revenue, and profit all surged!
This excited all Vipshop employees, and those who were working overtime were even more motivated!
Midea couldn't sit still in response!
Tomorrow is Lunar New Year's Eve, but the senior executives still have no interest in taking a holiday and are all gathered at headquarters for a meeting.

Chairman Fang Bo's face turned ashen:
"Wang Junshan is really shrewd. He just said that large home appliances don't sell well online, and at most they can only get a 15% market share. It's impossible for them to grow big."

"Unexpectedly, Wang Junshan launched the Vipshop Home Appliance Carnival."

"We also partnered with a number of brands for promotions and collaborated with WeChat Farm for marketing. Not only were tens of thousands of home appliances given away for free, but there were also tens of thousands of 50% off coupons, hundreds of thousands of 70% off coupons, 80% off coupons, and 85% off coupons."

"It's obvious they're planning a big promotion to attract users to buy large appliances online and shop on Vipshop!"

"You really have some skills; I, Fang, am truly impressed!"

Vice President Cui Xing said with a solemn expression: "Wang Junshan's Vipshop Home Appliance Carnival this time is a huge undertaking."

"It's no longer just about playing with the ducklings, but about joining forces with three major home appliance giants: Gree, Haier, and Hisense, as well as two major small home appliance giants: SUPOR and Joyoung. Even the cabinet giant Robam has participated."

"This lineup is arguably the most top-of-the-line among domestic appliance brands right now. It would be strange if consumers weren't tempted."

"What's worse is that all these big brands are included, but they're excluding Midea."

"If Vipshop's home appliance carnival really succeeds, Haier and Gree's sales will surge, and our Midea's large appliances will be in danger."

"With the surge in sales of Supor and Joyoung, Midea's small appliances are also in danger."

"Furthermore, the number of kitchen appliances sold by business owners has surged, and Midea's range hoods and gas stoves are not selling well!"

The others nodded in agreement:
"Yes, that's the biggest problem, and it's very tricky."

“If Vipshop’s home appliance carnival grows bigger, more consumers will start buying home appliances online, and if we are blocked by Vipshop, that will be a real problem.”

"It's all that damn Alibaba's fault! If we hadn't helped Alibaba fight against Vipshop, Midea, Gree, and Haier would have been the ones leading the charge at this Vipshop home appliance shopping festival! Why were they excluded by Wang Junshan?"

However, some people feel that the matter is not serious:
"You're overthinking it. Consumers' habits aren't that easy to change. Maybe this Vipshop home appliance carnival will be all bark and no bite."

"Yes, I estimate that this home appliance festival will only see a surge in sales of small appliances. Large appliances will have a hard time and will have to be sold offline."

"Support us! We don't need to worry too much. Just enjoy the New Year. As long as we maintain our offline presence, Midea will be invincible and will always be the number one e-commerce giant!"

But Cui Xing shook his head: "You guys are too optimistic. What if Vipshop's home appliance carnival really becomes a big success, and Wang Junshan really boosts online sales of large appliances?"

"This..." Even the previously optimistic people turned serious:

"If online sales surge and Gree and Haier rapidly grow through Vipshop, while Midea remains isolated, then Gree and Haier could very well achieve a comeback and surpass Midea by leveraging online channels!"

"That's right, it's very likely. Look at Vipshop's Home Appliance Carnival event page!"

Cui Xing showed everyone: "The top section is for check-in, the lucky draw, and my prizes. It only takes up 20% of the entire page!"

"The following 80% consists of the number of prizes claimed and the remaining amount, which is also a form of advertising space!"

“Each row features the display of three or four brands.”

"Each brand will showcase three products in turn, each with a different positioning."

"For example, the first row only has three advertising slots, which were given to Gree, Haier, and Hisense!"

"Gree's advertising space features three products displayed in rotation."

"These are Gree's high-end cabinet air conditioners: the 'King of Kings' series (KFR-72LW/(72556)FNAc-3), priced at 9499."

“格力高端挂机：“睡美人”系列（KFR-35GW/K(35556)D1-N1），售价3499！”

"And a best-selling product from the rural appliance subsidy program: KFR-23GW, priced at 2599!" "Haier's advertisement features Haier's side-by-side inverter high-end refrigerator BCD-628WAB, priced at 9499."

"Haier BCD-539WT (inverter air-cooled) side-by-side inverter refrigerator, priced at 6499."

"Hot-selling refrigerator under the Rural Appliance Subsidy Program: BCD-196TD (Direct Cooling Three-Door), priced at 2299!"

"Hisense's advertising space is not for three products."

"The second column has four brands: Robam, Joyoung, Suppor, and Little Duck."

"Each brand also has three products on display in rotation."

"Clicking on the ad not only allows you to view the corresponding introduction, but also takes you directly to the Vipshop purchase page to place an order!"

"This is a very good advertisement in itself; it's hard for consumers not to pay attention to it."

"The fragments you obtain are also of three types: high, medium, and low, with the low-end being the most numerous."

“像是1000台海尔空调，9499的有100台，6499的有300台，2299的爆款有600台。”

"The same applies to other brands."

"Every time a player collects a fragment, they want to know its attributes, and the fragment will promptly pop up an introduction and advertisement for the corresponding product. It's hard for players not to be tempted."

"If I can't collect all the items, but I really like them, I'll just place an order and buy them."

"Or I might just happen to get a 20% off coupon or a 30% off coupon, which is a very high probability, and I would place an order."

"Based on this, Gree and Haier's sales will surge, while Midea will fall behind completely."

"You still think this is insignificant?"

"This..." Everyone fell silent.

Cui Xing continued, "Let me tell you, Gree, Haier, and Hisense, these three major brands, spend 1000 million yuan a year to secure the top advertising spot, and they also have to give Vipshop an additional 3% commission on the incremental revenue!"

"The boss of Joyoung Suppor Little Duck, in order to secure the second row of advertising space, spent 800 million yuan a year and also had to give an additional 3% share of the incremental revenue."

"Do you still think Vipshop can't succeed?"

"If they really can't make it work, do you think Gree and Haier are all idiots?"

"!!!" Everyone opened their mouths, but they had no way to refute it.

Yes, Gree, Haier, and Hisense are not fools.

The boss, Joyoung, and Supor have all given this matter considerable thought!
To put it bluntly, everyone is optimistic about Vipshop's development and the home appliance carnival!

One person couldn't help but exclaim, "The entire page has three ads in the first row and four more in the second row with the little duck. Doesn't that mean Vipshop earned 6200 million yuan in advertising fees from just this one page?"

"This is fucking incredibly profitable!"

"It's just a game, how did it become so popular!"

For a moment, all the top executives at Midea were envious.

Fang Bo sighed, "There's nothing we can do. This isn't an ordinary game. Don't forget, it has hundreds of millions of monthly active users, and even tens of millions of daily active users."

Cui Xing nodded: "That's right. The daily active users of WeChat Farm are too high now, and the economic value it brings is immeasurable."

"WeChat + WeChat Farm + Vipshop + WeChat Pay, a powerful combination! Unbeatable."

"Wang Junshan is a business godfather, you have to admire him!"

"I suggest that we should try to repair our relationship with Vipshop, otherwise, if things continue like this, Gree and Haier will surpass us."

Upon hearing this, the entire conference room fell silent.

It's easier said than done.

If we really want to fix things, we'll have to send someone to Vipshop again to try and reconcile.

Cui Xing went yesterday, but this time, we can't bully honest people anymore.

Who should we send?

Seeing the evasive looks from everyone, Fang Bo felt helpless and could only say:
"Let's find an opportunity to assess the actual effect of this Vipshop home appliance carnival first, and then we'll talk about it."

"Yes, that's the safest way."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and began to speak:
"Chairman, let's observe for a few days. If Vipshop's home appliance carnival is just a gimmick, then it doesn't matter, we don't need to pay attention to it."

"If it's really that powerful, causing Haier and Gree's sales to surge, then we shouldn't hesitate. We should go directly to Jeju Island to find Wang Junshan, even if it means a huge financial loss, to repair our relationship."

"Okay, let's do it this way. Hopefully, things won't get to that point."

Fang Bo sighed, feeling uncertain about himself.

Wang Junshan's outrageous moves were truly outrageous, numerous, and incredibly effective.

One set of tactics after another made Fang Bo feel that the employees in Midea's marketing department were a bunch of pigs!

Cui Xing disagreed: "Chairman, it's never too late to mend the fence after the sheep are lost. I suggest we go directly to Vipshop now to repair the relationship. The breakthrough point is the Carnival event."

"The seats in the first row for Haier, Gree, and Hisense were given 10 million yuan, with a 3% share of the incremental revenue."

"We also want the front row seats, in exchange for 30 million in advertising fees and 5% of the incremental revenue."

"What? Thirty million in advertising fees, and only 5% of the incremental revenue? Are you crazy?"

Everyone spoke up:
"President Cui, this is outrageous. This event doesn't even have that much influence. We're spending so much money and going to such great lengths. What are we trying to achieve?"

"I hope Wang Junshan will show leniency and that the relationship between Midea and Vipshop can be fully repaired!" Cui Xing said.

"This..." Everyone fell silent.

Then someone nodded: "If the 30 million yuan advertising fee plus 5% revenue share can repair the relationship with Wang Junshan and restore Midea's full benefits on Vipshop, that would be pretty good."

"Yes, helping Alibaba deal with Vipshop was a self-destructive act. Now it's time to show some sincerity."

Fang Bo nodded: "Okay, the marketing department should contact Vipshop."

"it is good!"

Marketing President Ma Hong quickly responded and contacted Vipshop immediately.

at the same time.

TCL also held a video conference.

"Vipshop's electronics carnival is a great opportunity. Hisense has joined, so TCL should too."

"Yes, we can't afford to fall behind. This afternoon I arranged for people to keep watch at the entrance of Hisense's factory, and there have been quite a few more trucks coming in and out!"

(End of this chapter)