Chapter 304: Favors are also valuable
Baiyun Airport.
As an international flight landed, a European beauty with reddish-brown hair slowly walked down from the jet bridge. She was tall and fashionably dressed. Her long eyelashes swayed in the wind under her large sunglasses, but her eyes were sharp and calm, with the neatness and decisiveness unique to working women.
Her name is Nancy Ferrero, and she is one of the heirs to the Ferrero family.
She got off the plane and looked around at the strange country in front of her.
Nancy came across the ocean from Italy, but she saw the vigorous vitality in this ancient country.
The pedestrians passing by are in a hurry, and the business travelers are coming and going. The truth lies in the details, which is an important indicator of whether the business in a region is prosperous or not.
As the "little princess" of the Ferrero family, Nancy graduated from Manchester Business School. She is a first-class European and American elite in terms of vision, knowledge and ability. Therefore, she can naturally see the economic development potential of Xia Country.
This country has a unified regime, a vast territory, rich resources, a large population, and a complete industrial system. The market prospects are so attractive that any smart person with a discerning eye would not miss it.
Ferrero has always been paying attention to Xiaguo, so after confirming that Hong Kong had overcome the financial crisis, it immediately established an office in Baiyun City.
Nancy, who had just graduated, chose this place as her first stop to familiarize herself with the family business.
Her appearance and dress were so out of tune with the people around her that everyone who saw her couldn't help but stare at her.
Although there are more and more foreigners in Guangdong Province and even Baiyun City after the reform and opening up, foreign beauties with such graceful figures are rare.
The way she walked seemed different from others, with her feet crossed and her white leather high heels always in a straight line, which made her walk with a curvy figure, full of charm, like a fashion model, with an extremely attractive temperament.
She looked relaxed and graceful, and seemed a little out of place compared to the people who were walking hurriedly around her.
Chu Tianyu, who got the news, was already waiting outside the airport. Seeing Nancy coming out of the international exit, Chu Tianyu just glanced at Nancy's whole body, then lowered his head slightly and went to greet her.
Wearing high heels, she was over 1.75 meters tall, and when she stood in front of Chu Tianyu, they were almost the same height.
Chu Tianyu said respectfully in English: "Dear Miss Nancy, I am Chu Tianyu from the Ferrero Baiyun Representative Office, you can call me Yu. It is an honor to come and meet Miss Nancy today."
Nancy nodded slightly, but she was extremely arrogant in her bones, and she was condescending to everyone: "Then let's go."
Chu Tianyu looked at her attractive curves from the corner of his eyes, and immediately showed a greed. However, this greed was fleeting and he hid it well.
When facing the beautiful Xia country girl Su Yunjin, he had the courage to take advantage of her in front of so many people, but when facing Nancy who came from afar, he did not dare to have too many improper thoughts.
Chu Tianyu took Nancy into the car and drove himself to the city center 30 kilometers away.
"Miss Nancy, I am flattered to hear that you are coming. You can come to me if you need anything in the next period of time. I hope you can enjoy your stay here. Do you want me to take you around?"
Nancy coquettishly lifted the ends of her hair that were blown by the wind outside the window and said casually, "Don't worry about that. I heard that you just acquired a candy manufacturer in Xiaguo a few days ago."
Chu Tianyu asked curiously, "Is Miss Nancy here for this? The amount of the acquisition is not high, so it's not necessary for Miss Nancy to come all the way here, right?"
Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Nancy looked at him seriously and said, "Grandpa said that Xiaguo's economy is developing rapidly and there are many people here. The market here is very important to us and we can't miss it."
Ferrero was naturally jealous of Xiaguo, a huge market with a population of more than one billion. So as early as 1994, Ferrero confirmed the official distributor in Xiaguo, and in 1998, it established a representative office in Baiyun City.
As an internationally renowned brand, Ferrero is naturally generous in its efforts to enter the important market of Xiaguo. Although the office has just been established, it still has an entire floor of office space in Haizhu Building in the city center.
Nancy got out of the car, looked up at the towering modern buildings, and said in surprise: "I didn't expect that Xiaguo could build skyscrapers. It's unbelievable. Doesn't the book say that they still don't have enough food to eat, and men still have pigtails on their heads?"
Although Chu Tianyu is a senior executive of Ferrero, he is also a Xia countryman after all. He couldn't help but say, "That was more than a hundred years ago. People don't have braids on their heads anymore. Now this ancient country is breaking free from the shackles of the past and developing its economy with all its strength. It is absolutely a very wise choice for Ferrero to choose Xia country as its main battlefield."
Nancy nodded noncommittally, then said, "Where is the office? I need some coffee. It's too hot here."
Chu Tianyu quickly said: "Okay, I'll take you there right away."
He took Nancy to the office floor of Ferrero, personally helped Nancy select coffee beans, grind coffee powder, and personally brewed a cup of fragrant and strong coffee for Nancy using a siphon bottle. Adding two ice cubes, the boiling coffee instantly cooled down and became very delicious.
Nancy asked as she drank her coffee, “What are you going to do after you acquire this candy company?”
Chu Tianyu quickly stepped forward to report to her: "Ms. Nancy, we have signed a candy business acquisition agreement with Shi Jinji Candy Company. I have already contacted Hong Kong actress Jessica Hsuan, and she will come in person to help with the endorsement and promotion. With her fame, our Ferrero products will definitely become popular in the mainland. I have already obtained the commercial sample filmed for Ferrero over there, and we will go and take a look later."
Speaking of Ferrero and Jessica Hsuan, this is not the first time the two parties have collaborated.
Jessica Hsuan, who graduated from Imperial College London, was discovered by a talent scout in 1991 when she was just 21 years old. She was then chosen by Ferrero to star in an advertisement.
Relying on her extremely high looks and temperament, Jessica Hsuan became famous overnight with this advertisement and was able to sign a contract with TVB to become a contract artist of Wireless Television, thus entering the entertainment industry and her career was booming. In 1995, she became famous for starring in the fashion legal drama "The Magistrate IV". After that, she produced many excellent works and became more and more popular in Hong Kong.
Whether in terms of image, temperament, or even her own personality, Ferrero is very satisfied with Jessica Hsuan as a product spokesperson, so they plan to continue working with her.
After drinking coffee, Chu Tianyu took Nancy to the multimedia conference room to watch the advertising sample.
When the classic slogan "Full of satisfaction, irresistible to mortals" was played, Nancy, who had been expressionless all the time, finally smiled a little and said with satisfaction: "This promotional video is good. It can be seen that you are still very attentive."
Chu Tianyu was very happy to receive Nancy's praise, but he said modestly: "This is what we should do."
Afterwards, the two talked about Shijinji's candy business. Chu Tianyu said, "Our business acquisition with Shijinji has been completely completed from a legal perspective. Once the factory and machines are in place, we can start production. By then, with our Ferrero name and strong advertising effect, the products will definitely sell well."
However, Nancy rejected the proposal: "The company will not open a factory in Xiaguo for the time being. The production line will be closed directly and the machines will be idle."
Chu Tianyu was stunned by Nancy's words. He couldn't help but ask, "Spend so much money and just throw it away? And if we don't open a factory, why would we spend so much money to buy Shijinji's candy business?"
Nancy said calmly, "The headquarters has its own considerations. Currently, the company's factory in Brazil has surplus production and there is no need to increase production capacity. As for the acquisition of Shi Jin Ji's candy business, it is mainly because we don't want Xu Fuji to take advantage of the opportunity to grow bigger. Those workers can switch to packaging work."
Originally, Ferrero's finished products were all produced in Brazil and then shipped to Hong Kong for packaging. Now that they are to be sold to mainland China, packaging must naturally be completed in the mainland, which also requires workers, but reduces the cost of building production lines.
Chu Tianyu could only attribute Ferrero's decision to the fact that Ferrero was rich.
Chu Tianyu felt a little disappointed about the fact that Shijinji's candy business was shifted from a production line to a packaging line, because it was obvious that the profit from packaging could not be compared with production at all, and there was naturally a huge gap in importance. This invisibly weakened the status of the Xiaguo Ferrero branch, putting him, a "provincial governor", in a very embarrassing situation.
Of course, the most important point is that without such a large project as production and construction, Chu Tianyu would not be able to make money. Even if it is a foreign-funded enterprise, the salary of a worker like him is capped. How can he earn more by taking bribes?
With a sigh in his heart, Chu Tianyu changed the subject and said, "Ms. Nancy, speaking of Xu Fuji, I can share with you something interesting that happened recently. The mainland company that sold the candy business to our Ferrero at a high price ran into trouble."
While speaking, he also found several reports related to Shijinji from the piles of documents on the table and handed them to Nancy.
Nancy couldn't understand the Xia language, so Chu Tianyu roughly translated the content for her into English.
What he said was nothing more than that after Shi Jin Ji sold its candy business to Ferrero, it was slandered by Xu Fuji as an unpatriotic company.
Chu Tianyu originally shared this news with Nancy with the mentality of watching the show or even gloating, but unexpectedly, after Nancy understood the whole story, her face suddenly changed, and she said to Chu Tianyu in a serious face: "Such an important matter, why didn't you report it in detail before?"
Chu Tianyu was very puzzled by Nancy's sudden change of expression and couldn't help but say, "It's Shijinji that was scolded. It shouldn't have anything to do with us, Ferrero, right?"
Nancy immediately reprimanded Chu Tianyu in a stern tone: "Are you a fool? We just bought the candy business of Shijinji, and Shijinji has such negative news. Do you know that this will directly affect our noble brand image of Ferrero? What if the situation becomes more serious and our products are boycotted by Xiaguo consumers? Can you bear this responsibility?"
Chu Tianyu heard it and thought about it carefully. Suddenly, cold sweat broke out on his forehead: "It shouldn't be as serious as you said, right?"
Nancy snorted and said unhappily, "Even if there is only a one percent chance, we can't take such a risk!"
Ferrero finally gained a foothold in Hong Kong, and its annual advertising expenses are calculated in millions. What is the purpose? Isn't it to make a name for itself among Eastern consumers?
Seeing the economy of Xia country rising like the sun, it is natural for them to want to come in and share a piece of the pie. If they become victims of the patriotic sentiment of Xia country consumers, they will have no place to cry out for injustice.
I clearly spent a huge amount of money, but in the end I am still being condemned by everyone in Xia Country. How can I seek justice?
Seeing that Nancy took this matter so seriously, Chu Tianyu also carefully sorted out the interests involved in his mind. Only then did he realize that Nancy's concerns were not unreasonable. He immediately assured: "I will call Shijinji now! We have already signed the contract. Even if we sell it now , things will not get better. We can only help Shijinji suppress this matter completely!"
Su Yunjin was in the office paying attention to the progress of the counterattack against Xu Fuji and discussing the next countermeasures with Lu Yiming. Suddenly, she received a call from Chu Tianyu, and her brows furrowed.
She thought that Chu Tianyu was still not giving up on her and wanted to call her to make an appointment.
However, Chu Tianyu didn't have the energy to think about the lower body now. He made a few polite remarks and said hurriedly: "I have been paying attention to your affairs with Xu Fuji recently. Xu Fuji is just making up rumors and slandering Shi Jin Ji. I am standing up for you. Now we are also partners. If there is anything we need help from Ferrero, just ask."
Chu Tianyu’s words made Su Yunjin feel unbelievable.
As the saying goes, if someone shows kindness for no reason, he is either a traitor or a thief. What does it mean that Ferrero suddenly called me like this ?
Su Yunjin put away the phone, relayed Chu Tianyu's words to Lu Yiming, and then said, "Why do I feel a little strange? Do you think this person is thinking of something bad? Otherwise, how could he be so kind?"
Lu Yiming thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "Ferrero has now acquired Shijinji's candy business. To a certain extent, it is a relationship of mutual benefit and mutual loss with Shijinji. The more badly Shijinji is criticized, the more serious the impact will be on Ferrero. When something goes wrong, they will be like paying to be criticized. Do you think they can be calm? In the current situation, I guess they want to calm down the public opinion more than we do. After all, they are also foreign monks. They are afraid that because of this incident, their products will be boycotted by the people in China."
National sentiment may seem useless, but sometimes it can be very destructive.
Especially since Ferrero's main product is chocolate, which is simply a snack, not a daily necessity. Once it encounters a boycott, it will be a huge blow to its vitality, and no amount of money spent on advertising can justify it.
After listening to Lu Yiming's explanation, Su Yunjin finally felt relieved, and then asked humbly: "So what should we do now?"
Lu Yiming pinched his chin and thought for a moment, then laughed out loud: "Since Ferrero wants to help us take responsibility, then let them pay for our advertising - No, we have taken the initiative to clarify, and even asked for help through connections. It's not too much to quote them three times the price, right? After all, favors have to be paid for."
Su Yunjin: "... "
