I met my whole family through Baidu Tieba.

When Shen Kang said he wanted to talk to her about something, Guo Pinyan didn't think much of it. "What is it?"

"My set of things."

As Shen Kang spoke, he pointed to the house, laundry room, study room 302, and Yanyu Chaji next door, gesturing as he went.

"If you want to replicate this model and open it at another school, are you interested in following suit with your coffee shop? Or perhaps opening one right next to me, in the same style as Yang-Tsing University?"

Hearing that it was indeed serious business, Guo Pinyan became serious, sat up straight, and looked at Shen Kang, "Are you really going to expand?"

"Mm." Shen Kang nodded.

Seeing this, Guo Pinyan was somewhat excited: he had long seen that Shen Kang, who was so capable of making things happen and creating such a closed-loop online and offline system, was not going to just stay in Yang University of Science and Technology; he was bound to go out and explore.

It would be great if my own coffee shop could be replicated and expanded along with it.

However, Guo Pinyan still had some reservations.

Having become quite familiar with Shen Kang, he didn't hold back for the sake of saving face and spoke directly: "I'd like to, but I might not have enough funds..."

Guo Pinyan was still quite short of funds; otherwise, he wouldn't have hesitated for so long over a coffee shop until Shen Kang's project had already started construction before he finally made up his mind.

This coffee shop has already tied up all of Guo Pinyan's funds, and it has only been open for a month.

Although business was good and profitable due to the traffic from the neighboring business, he was far from breaking even, and he didn't have much capital left.

"Money is not a big deal."

Shen Kang readily agreed, saying, "I can take care of the funding." Then, he added, "But I'm not giving away my money for nothing."

"Didn't you always want me to invest in your coffee shop? K, I'm going to invest now and become a shareholder."

When he first met Guo Pinyan, she kept urging him to invest in her coffee shop.

However, Shen Kang didn't know much about Guo Pinyan at the time, so naturally he wasn't interested.

However, over this period of time, especially after Guo Pinyan's coffee shop opened, Shen Kang has become more and more familiar with it.

First of all, Guo Pinyan understands coffee very well, and this understanding is based on Guo Pinyan's love for it, which is why he opened a coffee shop, not some other kind of shop.

Shen Kang thought the coffee at Guo Pinyan's shop was pretty good, and Song Zhengping had also praised it several times today. This was from a professional standpoint.

Secondly, there's Guo Pinyan herself.

When Shen Kang first met Guo Pinyan, he felt that the man was a bit frivolous.

After meeting him several times, he discovered that Guo Pinyan was truly frivolous.

This guy even has two girlfriends, pshaw!

However, aside from that, Guo Pinyan is quite good in other aspects: he is cautious in his actions, but once he makes a decision, he has strong execution skills. He can distinguish between important and unimportant matters, saving where necessary and generously sharing profits where appropriate; he also has management abilities…

Overall, Shen Kangjue and Guo Pinyan are good partners.

"Equity participation?"

Hearing Shen Kang's words, Guo Pinyan was not as happy as she had imagined.

If it were before Jiahe Laundry opened, Guo Pinyan would have been very happy to hear that Shen Kang was willing to invest in his coffee shop. But now that his coffee shop is up and running and the risks have been eliminated, he doesn't want another shareholder involved.

However, Guo Pinyan did not immediately refuse.

He realized that if his coffee shop was to follow Shen Kang's model and expand, it would ultimately have to rely on Shen Kang to do business.

After some thought, Guo Pinyan made her decision, "Sure, we can take a stake."

After saying that, he looked a little hungry, his eyes fixed on Shen Kang with a smile: "Old Shen, how many tens of thousands are you planning to invest?"

Shen Kang wasn't too concerned: "We'll see how things go, we'll discuss it in detail later. Don't worry, I don't want many shares, 20% is about right, you'll still be the major shareholder."

"After I take a stake, I won't interfere with your store's decision-making or management. However, there's one thing I need to discuss with you first."

"What is it?"

"It's about brand positioning."

"Brand positioning?" Guo Pinyan was taken aback. "Is there anything wrong with my current brand positioning?"

As she spoke, Guo Pinyan gestured to the student customers sitting in the shop, "Isn't this style quite successful? I saw some students posting on the Beiming Community forum saying that my shop's style is great. Some students who don't usually like coffee will come to my shop just to sit for a while and have a coffee."

Shen Kang nodded, not denying it.

Having the experience of the future, he knew that this era, and the next few years, would be an era of rapid economic growth and a time when everyone was very willing to consume.

In this era, many high-end consumer goods emerged. For example, Starbucks experienced rapid growth in mainland China during this period. Similarly, upscale coffee chains like Sculpting Time also enjoyed a period of development.

"I'm not saying your model is bad, but you should know that there are actually many coffee shops like yours on the market, right?"

Shen Kang said, "Putting everything else aside, take the Sculpting Time franchise you wanted to join before. It has the same style as yours, and even has a stronger brand appeal."

"Right now, you're the only coffee shop like this on our campus, and it's right next to my two other shops, so you get a lot of foot traffic. But if you go to a new school where there's a coffee shop with a similar style, like Sculpting Time, how will you compete with it?"

Guo Pinyan hadn't really thought about this issue before, since his shop was newly opened and he had no intention of expanding at the moment.

Hearing Shen Kang's question, he began to ponder the issue. The conclusion was that there was no way to compete – if there really was a Sculpting Time shop at the school Shen Kang was planning to open, his own coffee shop wouldn't stand a chance.

Both companies have the same style and tactics, and the other company's brand appeal is much stronger than their own.

If we really met, I would basically lose... Even with Shen Kang's methods helping me out, I'd probably only be slightly better off, barely surviving.

"I can't think of a solution right now." Guo Pinyan shook her head, speaking the truth, then stared at Shen Kang, "Do you have a solution?"

"Yes." Shen Kang nodded. "Actually, the solution is very simple: differentiate yourself from competitors."

"Differentiated competition?" Guo Pinyan pondered.

Shen Kang then went straight to the point and said, "Currently, the mainstream approach for coffee shops in China is only one: high prices. This trend was started by Shangdao Coffee."

The earliest well-known chain coffee brand in the domestic market was Shangdao, which followed the path of coffee + light meals. The price was very expensive, but the market was very popular. It was a status symbol for white-collar workers and the middle class, and they loved to go there. It opened stores in major cities at an unprecedented speed and was unparalleled in popularity.

However, due to a power struggle within the company a few years ago, the brand died out.

Ueshima Coffee is gone, but its legacy has carried on, and now the domestic coffee market is all about high prices. This trend has been further fueled by Starbucks' growing strength.

"Although Shangdao Coffee is on the verge of collapse, Starbucks has taken up the mantle of high-end coffee. With these two leaders, everyone is rushing to follow suit and raise prices. In this situation, going the low-price route is a form of differentiated competition."

Shen Kang then pointed around, "Perfect timing. We initially targeted the university student market as well. You know how much university students spend—their spending power is low, and they're price-sensitive. If we make low-priced coffee, it will perfectly match the consumption characteristics of this market."

Guo Pinyan listened thoughtfully, then asked after a moment's thought, "How low is considered low?"

Shen Kang countered, "How low can you go?"

Guo Pinyan thought for a moment and said, "Well, actually, the coffee prices in my shop are already very low. A latte is only 15... If we really want to keep cutting the price, I estimate that the latte can only be reduced to a little over 12 yuan at most. It will be really difficult to cut it any lower."

Is it because milk is expensive?

"Hmm."...

After discussing costs for a while, Shen Kang learned about some of the raw material costs at Guo Pinyan's coffee shop and said directly, "Then we can reduce it by another two yuan."

Upon hearing this, Guo Pinyan groaned in despair, "Two more dollars lower? That would mean we wouldn't make any profit at all, and might even lose money!"

In fact, from the perspective of raw materials, it is indeed possible to reduce the price by two or even more pieces.

However, the cost of opening a store is not just about raw materials; it also includes fixed costs such as rent, equipment, and staff salaries. If you factor in these costs and then cut back even further, you'll really be operating at a loss.

Shen Kang, however, offered a different perspective: "The loss you mentioned is based on your current store operation model. But if you change the method and lower the price by two yuan, you won't lose money, and you might even make a profit."

Without Guo Pinyan needing to ask any further questions, Shen Kang continued on his own: "First, cut the shop rent."

He pointed to the shop behind the two of them, then to his own stall next door, the one called "Yanyu Chaji," and asked, "If you replaced your shop with a stall as big as Yanyu Chaji's, how much would your costs decrease?"

Guo Pinyan looked in the direction he was pointing and thought to herself, "Indeed, if we changed the store, the rent and renovation costs could be significantly reduced, but..."

"But what kind of place is that? A coffee stall where customers don't even have a place to sit?"

Guo Pinyan looked pained. "That's so inelegant!"

He not only likes coffee, but also coffee culture.

In Guo Pinyan's view, when people drink coffee, they should find an elegant place, sit down, and slowly enjoy it. Ideally, they should also bring a book and some pastries, eating, reading, and drinking at their own pace, with soft music playing in the background—that's what drinking coffee is all about!

He's holding a cup of coffee, there's nowhere to sit, he's just standing there drinking it... What kind of coffee is that?

He refused, he resolutely refused!

Shen Kang replied, "I already said, this is the strategy of differentiated competition."

Seeing that Guo Pinyan was about to give her opinion, Shen Kang raised his hand and gestured twice, "Let me finish speaking first. This is only one aspect."

"Besides drastically cutting store costs, we can also start with raw materials and cut their costs."

"You're currently buying all your own beans. Since you only have one store and the number of customers each day is limited, the prices you can get aren't very favorable. If you could get a better price, your costs could be reduced even further."

Upon hearing this, Guo Pinyan couldn't help but say, "Of course I know that."

This is also one reason why he lacks confidence in competing with Carving Time – Carving Time is a large company with high demand, allowing it to obtain preferential prices from upstream suppliers. In terms of cost alone, Carving Time has a significant advantage over him.

Guo Pinyan continued, "Could it be that, Lao Shen, you can make me open dozens or even hundreds of coffee shops right away, and immediately get a preferential price from the upstream supplier?"

Shen Kang shook his head, "I can't do that, but I can still get you a discounted price."

Guo Pinyan paused for a moment upon hearing this, then asked, "What do you mean?"

Shen Kang adjusted his collar and straightened his clothes. "I forgot to introduce myself. I am Shen Kang, a second-generation rich kid."

Guo Pinyan glanced at him and spat, "I knew your family was rich, otherwise you wouldn't have the money to open so many stores."

Because Liu Jing was right next to them, Guo Pinyan wasn't about to back down and added, "Besides, don't act like everyone else is a rich kid. I am too!"

Seeing that he didn't understand, Shen Kang shook his head. "There are differences even among the rich kids. My family is quite different from yours. My family has many businesses, including a food company that also does coffee business. We use a lot of coffee beans."

"If I were to step forward in my capacity and use a little of my power to act a bit willfully, I think it would be quite easy for us to get a discounted price with a very small quantity."

He was actually referring to Jule Foods, a subsidiary of Shengyuan Group.

Shen Kang didn't actually intend to get the goods from Jule Foods at a low price. Instead, he planned to subsidize the cost with his own money initially. At first, the usage was small, so the cost was minimal, and he could manage it. Once the sales volume increased according to his plan, the purchase price would naturally decrease, and he wouldn't need to subsidize the cost himself anymore.

However, Shen Kang wouldn't tell Guo Pinyan any of this, otherwise, based on his understanding of Guo Pinyan, Guo Pinyan would most likely say that they should all burn money together. But if Guo Pinyan were to actually join in burning money, she would have some reservations.

Therefore, Shen Kang chose to keep it a secret and spend the money on himself first.

Essentially, it's like he became an investor, investing some money to fuel the business, and Guo Pinyan is the startup team he chose to invest in.

Sigh, I've been racking my brains for Lao Guo's future. Lao Guo is truly blessed to have such a good friend...

Guo Pinyan, unaware of Shen Kang's thoughts, simply stared at him blankly for a long while before asking, "Does your family own a wholesale shop?"

"..."

Shen Kang was speechless. "A food company!..."

He began to give Guo Pinyan a detailed introduction to the food company, even reciting its name to convince her.

Guo Pinyan had indeed heard of Jule Foods before, and upon hearing the name, she was surprised, "Jule Foods is actually owned by your family?"