Chapter 177 Finalized
"Others?" Baichuan Feng was surprised that someone else wanted to discuss business with him.
"Yes, I have to thank you for giving me this Flashman.
It’s really cool that someone is interested in it.”
Yuris, who was waiting outside the door so long that he was almost suffocating, couldn't help but walk into the office to remind his boss again that they were going to be late!
Baichuan Feng raised his finger to his mouth and pointed at the phone.
"Really? That's great to hear.
So James, who is interested in it? I am also interested in it. ”
"Bai, I wonder if you've ever heard of marshalls?"
"Marshalls?" Baichuan Feng repeated.
Yuris, who was standing next to him, immediately widened his eyes and raised his hand to gesture something.
“Yes, it’s a department store, and it’s even where I work.
Anyway, it's a bit complicated, if you're interested.
Come over when it's convenient for you. Someone here wants to talk to you about this little cutie's business."
"Oh~ What a coincidence, I am very convenient now.
So where should I go to find you, James? I can’t wait~”
Baichuan Feng raised his wrist and gestured to Yuris, who immediately nodded and hurried to the next office.
“Haha, I have to say, Bai, you’re quite humorous.
You're nothing like those cautious Asians. Uh, don't get me wrong, I don't mean to be racist. I mean..."
"It's okay James, relax. I know what you mean and I love your enthusiasm too.
Well, I'm ready to call the taxi company now, so tell me the address and I'll be there in just half an hour."
“Man, I like your straightforwardness.
You tell those damn assholes at the cab company I'm waiting for them at the mall in the San Fernando Valley.
Also, please tell their taxis to stay away from my trucks in the future, otherwise I will make sure they have a good fight.
Bai, I'm sorry, I'm not targeting you. Those annoying guys overtake my car on the road every day..."
"I understand, I understand." Baichuan Feng nodded repeatedly. He was afraid that if he didn't interrupt James, this guy would continue to complain for an hour.
"See you in thirty minutes, then, James."
"No problem. I can't wait to show you the wildness of Los Angeles and the passionate girls here."
After hanging up the phone, the buzzing sound in my ears finally quieted down.
Baichuan Feng breathed a sigh of relief. Why didn't he realize when he was on the plane that this guy was so good at talking nonsense ?
At this time, Yuris, who had just gone out, had reappeared.
"Did Target call?"
"Done. Coincidentally, they were just about to inform us that the meeting was temporarily cancelled today because of an additional meeting."
Yuris shrugged self-deprecatingly. It was obvious that his explanation was not yet ready, as the other party had already notified him in advance that the meeting was cancelled.
What a coincidence, Baichuan Feng raised his eyebrows . As expected, one cannot pin one's hopes on an uncertain thing.
In that case, let's put it aside at Target for now.
"Go to the shopping center in San Fernando Valley immediately. I have an appointment with the other party to meet in half an hour."
"Oh~" Yuris showed a very connotative expression, "That's really an exciting place."
"Exciting?" Baichuan Feng was a little confused.
"Yes, it's wild." Yuris raised his eyebrows wildly, "Boss, do you want to experience it?"
"We'll talk about the experience later. We need to get there within half an hour."
"Please believe me, Boss. My driving skills will definitely surprise you."
In the United States, you would rather take a taxi than drive yourself.
Along the way, Yuris activated the passive skill of a veteran driver and began to introduce the background of Marshall Department Store to Shirakawa Feng.
This department store was founded in 1924, before the emergence of newcomers such as Walmart and Target.
Although it has been surpassed by latecomers and is not as big as them today, as an old department store, it still ranks among the top four in the US retail industry.
As a retail giant with hundreds of stores, its coverage and influence are unquestionable.
Although it is not as good as the leading company Walmart, it is more than enough for Shirakawa Electric.
In just twenty minutes, the car arrived at the San Fernando Valley area, which sounds like a valley from the name.
This is indeed the case, except that this valley is incredibly large, almost indistinguishable from a plain.
According to the address James gave, I saw the "Marshalls" sign with white letters on a blue background from a distance on the side of the street.
A typical chain supermarket structure, with a long row of stores that are both grand and neat.
There are people and cars coming and going in front of the supermarket, and it seems that the customer flow here is good.
And the bearded James, whom they had met once before on the plane, was standing at the lobby door of the supermarket and waving at them enthusiastically.
"James, I haven't seen you for a few days. Your beard is getting more and more energetic."
"Haha, Bai, you really are a very humorous person."
James gave Baichuan Feng a warm hug, and then shook hands with Yuris behind him.
"James, is this where you work? It looks great."
Baichuan Feng looked up at the department store, which was quite large.
“Although this is not the place where I am employed, I deal with it every day, so it is not wrong to say that I work here.”
After listening to James' explanation, Baichuan Feng finally understood what he meant.
As a truck driver for a freight company, James' job is to deliver goods to Marshall's Department Store every day.
Every time the supermarket makes large purchases or transports goods to the dock, it is drivers like him who perform the job.
It’s just similar to outsourcing companies, except that drivers and trucks are provided by specialized freight companies.
So although James is not directly affiliated with Marshall's, he does deal with it every day.
As for why Marshall's Department Store was interested in Shirakawa Electric's Walkman, that was why James was waiting for him here in advance.
“You mean, the marketing manager here saw your flashman.
So out of curiosity, you tried it once, which led to our meeting today?"
"That's right," James nodded excitedly, "I told you, white, no one can resist its charm."
As he spoke, James raised the Walkman in his hand and shook it, looking extremely proud.
Baichuan Feng and Yuris looked at each other and saw the surprise in each other's eyes.
"James, I have to say, giving you a Flashman is a very wise decision."
Baichuan Feng couldn't help but sigh at the wonder of fate. Is this what it means to be in a state of flux, only to find a way out?
"Bai, I should be the one thanking you. With it, I no longer have to endure the boring radio noise every time I'm on the road.
It’s a great experience to be able to listen to your favorite songs anytime and anywhere .”
As they were talking, the three of them had already arrived at the employee office of Marshall's Department Store.
"So here we are, man. David may be a little greedy, but at least he's honest."
When they arrived at the door of an office, James gestured for them to follow his assistant in.
"See you later, James." Baichuan Feng made a phone gesture to him, and the latter nodded with a smile.
I followed the assistant into the office, where a middle-aged man with a big belly was sitting with his back to the window.
The Mediterranean Sea has occupied the entire top of my head, sparkling towards the window.
"David Bob, welcome to Marshall."
Before Baichuan Feng and the others could even open their mouths, the other party had already greeted them warmly in advance.
"Bai Chuan Feng, just call me Bai." Bai Chuan Feng stretched out his hand and shook hands with the other party, then handed over his business card.
"Well, Mr. Bai, let's get straight to the point. Did you bring those lovely machines?"
As soon as he sat down, David rubbed his hands impatiently and looked at them with anticipation.
"Of course." Baichuan Feng winked at Yuris, who immediately took out three Walkmans from his bag and placed them in front of David.
“Oh, look, they’re just works of art.
It's incredible that such beautiful music can be produced from such a small body.
It's a great invention, isn't it?" David fiddled with the three Walkmans lovingly.
He touched this and looked at that, and he liked each one of them very much.
Shirakawa Kaede and Yuris couldn't figure out each other's tricks.
But they all nodded cautiously, agreeing with his opinion.
"Well, gentlemen, let's talk about their value."
David tried three models of Walkman carefully and had a rough idea of what they were like.
“Here are the details of our products, here are the pricing for them, and here are our offers.”
Yuris was very tactful and handed the other party the information about Shirakawa Electric and detailed information about its products.
“US$109, US$149, US$249, oh ~ the prices are reasonable, even unexpectedly cheap.
At least it’s cheaper than your old rival, Sony.”
Obviously David had done enough homework on Shirakawa Electric before this, and even had a clear understanding of their relationship with Sony.
Baichuan Feng and Yuris looked at each other again, and this time their eyes were much more serious.
"We at Shirakawa Electric are sincere in developing the U.S. market, and we are confident in our products."
“I like your confidence, Shiro.
But the prices of $98, $130, and $220 are too expensive. I would rather you raise the prices to increase profits.
Rather than making such a high offer, you know, we at Marshalls buy in bulk.
There has to be enough profit for me to choose your product.”
Once the topic of business came up, David suddenly became difficult to deal with.
Baichuan Feng slightly increased the price based on the original quotation, otherwise there would be no room for price reduction, and how could he negotiate the business later.
“I understand you, Mr. David, but it’s better to keep the price at the current level.
Moreover, our profit from such an offer is very limited, after all, we still need to spend money to load them onto ocean-going cargo ships and transport them here.”
Shirakawa Feng does not want to change the pricing strategy for the time being, as it concerns consumer choice.
"That's your business, and you can just build a factory in the United States, and all the problems will be solved."
"Of course, we are considering this, provided that you can let them into Marshall, Mr. Bob."
"I still can't accept such a high offer..."
In the end, the two sides exchanged sharp words for several rounds.
Shirakawa Feng lowered the offer to US$94, US$126, and US$212 respectively before the other party reluctantly accepted the offer.
Don't underestimate the difference of a few dollars. A large purchase can mean the difference between hundreds of millions of dollars.
"Bai, although Marshall can allow your products to be put on the shelves, there is an additional condition."
The price had just been decided when David suddenly changed the subject and raised another request.
"Hmm?" Bai Chuanfeng's expression tensed up, and he immediately perked up. "Please tell me if you have any suggestions."
