Chapter 145: Planning for High-end Newspaper Business
Chapter 145: Planning for High-end Newspaper Business
August 8, Tsim Sha Tsui, inside the Changxing Industrial factory:
Yang Wendong was sitting in his office, holding a copy of Ming Pao in his hand, concentrating on reading the novel inside: The Return of the Condor Heroes.
This section contains the climax of The Return of the Condor Heroes: Yang Guo pretends to be cool and challenges Huodu, the disciple of King Jinlun.
When there is no TV series to watch, it is also nice to read the plot described in words. In fact, many times, words can bring a variety of fantasies to the brain, which is even more exciting than TV series.
"Knock, knock, knock." Just then, there was a knock on the door. Yang Wendong looked up and saw the person coming. He smiled and said, "Old Wei, come in."
"Mr. Yang." Old Wei greeted him after walking in.
"Sit down." Yang Wendong also put away the newspaper and asked, "The sales volume of the sticky hook has been released?"
Just a few days ago, after the initial test of the sticky hook, it began to be promoted in the Hong Kong market through Zhao Chengguang’s channels.
This will also allow us to obtain data from the first market, thereby making early preparations for the future entry of sticky hooks into other markets, especially in Asia, where everyone’s living habits are very similar and are of great reference value.
Wei Zetao nodded and said, "Yes, in 7 days, Zhao Sheng's 370 terminal sales points sold a total of 8 sticky hooks."
"8?" Yang Wendong did some mental calculations and said, "One store sold more than 200?"
Wei Zetao said with a smile: "On average, this is the case, but there is a big difference between individual stores. Some stores are in bad locations and only sell dozens of them, while some stores have a large flow of people and sell 500 to 600.
Some people even bought them in large quantities and took them to other places where Zhao Sheng’s sales outlets could not reach and sold them.”
"Wholesale? That shows you have a good business sense." Yang Wendong smiled. There are so many people in the Chinese community who know how to do business, and there will always be people who can discover various small business opportunities.
Wei Zetao smiled and said: "The feedback from the terminal sites is that basically after the goods are taken out, everyone who sees them wants to buy them;
Unless you are poor or your house is old, it is not suitable for sticky hooks.
Now all the stores have continued to place orders with Mr. Zhao, and he has taken another 20 hooks from us, so he was very happy to pay us.”
"As expected." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Sticky hooks are more valuable than sticky notes. One is that they can be used on the spot to solve the problem; the other is that they take into account future problems."
If the production cost of sticky hooks was not higher, and the initial investment, technical requirements and requirements for skilled workers were not higher, he would most likely have made sticky hooks first instead of post-it notes.
Because in terms of the speed of becoming popular, the sticky hook is obviously faster; however, I was still a small figure at that time, and it was hard to say whether I could keep this benefit.
Unlike sticky notes, which can remain hidden until they become "industrial tycoons" and are then discovered by the Hong Kong media.
Wei Zetao added: "We have Mr. Zhao in the Hong Kong market, so we don't have to worry about it. We just need to focus on production.
I plan to send the sticky hooks directly to Taiwan and Japan to test the market;
In the early stage, I plan to implement the policy of selling to whoever needs it, and after some time, when the sticky hooks become popular in Asian countries, I will look for an exclusive supplier. "
"Well, okay, this time we'll start with the Asian policy. Once Asia is done, we'll consider Europe and the United States." Yang Wendong nodded: "This is the normal market expansion route, but the sticky note is the opposite."
It stands to reason that the expansion of a product must start in its place of origin and then expand outward, from neighboring countries to distant places. In the case of Hong Kong, it must be Asia first and then Europe and the United States.
But in the initial market of Post-it Notes, Yang Wendong could only do well in the Hong Kong market, and he could only leave things to chance in other places.
The American company 3M was the first to discover this opportunity. Therefore, to this day, the production of Post-it Notes is all for the American market, and other European, Japanese and Asian markets are just beginning to prepare for testing the waters.
Wei Zetao went on to say: "The sticky hook is very practical and will definitely be very popular in these areas."
"Are you ready to contact other suppliers as I mentioned before?" Yang Wendong asked.
Wei Zetao said: "We are ready. Our supplier management team and procurement department have visited 23 well-known plastic factories in the past month, and about 13 of them meet our requirements.
For molds, we also ordered 30 sets of molds separately and handed them over to these 13 companies. If all are put into production, the daily production capacity can reach about 50 to 60. We can produce 30 a day on our side.”
"Close to one million a day? That's enough for a while." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "The explosion in the channel is exponential. It will definitely be slower in the early stage, but we still have to be prepared to expand production."
Having money makes things easier. With a lot of capital invested, production capacity can be quickly increased.
Wei Zetao added: "When the order volume increases in the future, we will ask suppliers to expand the scale. It shouldn't be a big problem. They are experienced and can quickly start production and expand as long as there are orders.
We can’t do it that fast, it’s much slower.”
Yang Wendong nodded and said: "Our core people here are responsible for managing the market, developing new products, gluing the hooks and quilts, and batch management of production and warehouses. It's a headache to do these well.
Injection molding is not our strong point, so there is no need to invest too much energy in it. The profit itself is not high. Our own injection molding equipment should be more inclined to the initial debugging and production of new products in the future."
Plastic has so many uses. Once I have enough funds, I can make a lot of things, many of which may be best-sellers. Even if I build a factory in a month, it will not be able to meet the demand for plastic parts.
Therefore, it is my established plan to leverage the current scale of Hong Kong's injection molding industry to carry out mass production for myself.
"Okay." After Wei Zetao agreed, he said, "By the way, Mr. Yang, Magic Cube has already started to receive orders in Europe and the United States, and they are our previous customers in New York.
Lin Youqi has also started looking for direct sales distributors at American universities. Last week, they placed a total of 3.5 Rubik's Cube orders.
"Okay, just keep following it and let the Rubik's Cube develop on its own for a while." Yang Wendong didn't care too much and said, "When we have sufficient funds in the future and the Rubik's Cube has gained a certain market share due to its playability, we will promote it vigorously." Compared with sticky hooks, sticky notes, and even the future rotating mop and the suitcase trolley that has not yet been approved, the Rubik's Cube is a long-term plan.
It won't become popular immediately. After you spend your energy to promote it in the early stage, you just have to wait for it to bloom and bear fruit through human-to-human transmission, and apply fertilizer occasionally during the process.
"I understand." Wei Zetao then said, "There is one more thing. Mr. Yang, you asked me to find a headhunter to look for a management talent in the newspaper industry. I have found one. His name is Qin Zhiye.
In his early years, he worked for Nanyang Siang Pau in Malaysia, and later came to Hong Kong and worked for Ta Kung Pao for almost ten years. It can be said that he has been in the newspaper industry for half his life, and he meets your requirements in all aspects. "
"Oh?" Yang Wendong suddenly became alert and asked, "Then why did he leave Ta Kung Pao?"
Wei Zetao said: "It is said that because of the conflict among the three factions within the Ta Kung Pao, Qin Zhiye was unwilling to get involved. He just wanted to do his own thing with peace of mind;
Because it involves this aspect, I didn’t ask any more questions. ”
"Yes, you did the right thing." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "I will try my best to avoid the affairs of the three sects in the future to avoid causing trouble for myself."
The so-called three factions are naturally the left, the center and the right. When working in the media in Hong Kong, you cannot avoid this topic, but you can try to be vague as not to offend anyone. Many newspapers do the same. Occasionally, if the affairs of one faction become a big deal, it's okay to follow suit and report on it.
Not to mention the media, even Hong Kong's tycoons and celebrities will be involved in the three-faction issue.
Wei Zetao said: "Then when should I ask him to come to our company?"
Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Just for a few days. I'll be here all the time anyway, so just follow his schedule."
On August 8, at the gate of Changxing Industrial, a middle-aged man about 15 years old got out of a car, accompanied by a woman.
"Mr. Qin, this is the gate of Changxing Industrial." The woman introduced.
Qin Zhiye looked at the crowd at the door and asked curiously, "Why are there so many people here?"
The woman replied, "These are all people who want to apply for the job. The salary at Changxing Industrial is considered high in the area, the working environment is also very good, the work meals are even better than those at the dock, and there are gifts every three months.
With all the benefits added up, I wonder how many people nearby who are looking for jobs have been attracted.”
"So that's how it is." Qin Zhiye nodded and said, "I've heard for a long time that the sticky note king was born in a humble family. After starting his business in a squatter hut, he has been very nice to everyone who works with him."
The woman smiled and said, "These are all true. I have worked as a headhunter for so many different companies, but the one who treats ordinary employees the best belongs to Yang Sheng."
"Then I think it's really good to follow a boss like Mr. Yang." Qin Zhiye said with a smile.
The headhunter smiled and said, "Then I'd like to wish Qin Sheng good luck. Let's go in."
"Okay." Qin Zhiye agreed. At the same time, he looked at the hundreds of people around him. The eyes of these people were full of hope and tension.
With his half-life experience working in the media industry, he has basically never seen this kind of expression in Hong Kong factories. In other factories, there is only fatigue and numbness.
The two took the elevator to the 6th floor and met Wei Zetao, and then went to Yang Wendong's office together.
"Mr. Yang, this is Mr. Qin Zhiye." Wei Zetao introduced with a smile.
Yang Wendong looked at the person who came in, stood up and said, "Hello, Mr. Qin, come and sit here."
"Thank you, Mr. Yang." Several people followed Yang Wendong's instructions and sat on the sofa nearby.
A secretary made tea, and after the four of them chatted casually for a while, Wei Zetao and the headhunter said goodbye and left.
The interview officially began, and Yang Wendong asked his first question: "Mr. Qin, the Hong Kong newspaper market has been competitive for decades. What do you think we need to do to successfully break into the market if we are a new newspaper?"
Qin Zhiye asked, "Mr. Yang, do you want to publish a high-end or ordinary newspaper?"
"What's the difference?" Yang Wendong asked back.
Qin Zhiye said: “If we do high-end, then the main customers are people in Central or some wealthy places, and ordinary people are the rest of the people, so we take the cheap route;
The business strategies of these two types of newspapers are different, as are their newspaper channels. Generally speaking, Hong Kong newspapers tend to lean towards one end, and it is difficult to have both.
Or, Mr. Yang can make two different newspapers.”
Yang Wendong thought for a while and said, "Then do the high-end ones first, and we'll deal with the ordinary ones later."
Qin Zhiye added: "If it's high-end, I have a method here, which is that the investment will be larger."
Seeking monthly ticket
(End of this chapter)