Volume 3: Taking Roots 2016 Chapter 653: Early Intersection
Time passed quietly, and another piece of calendar paper for 2016 was torn off. The month pointed by the fingertip has become July.
It not only means that 2016 has officially entered the second half of the year, but also marks the arrival of the hottest season of the year.
In the height of July, the heat is so intense that even the air is distorted, transforming into waves of heat that sweep across the city. Especially in today's big cities with tall buildings, under the influence of the urban heat island effect, people don't want to stay under the sun for a moment.
It’s just that people don’t share the same joys and sorrows. Students are already happily welcoming the arrival of their longest vacation of the year, a full 2-month summer vacation!
Unlike adults, a golden week holiday is already a treat...
When thousands of students pour out of school and flow into society, it is enough to create a seasonal consumption boom. The heights that the "summer vacation economy" can reach may not be much worse than the "Golden Week".
After all, no matter how hard it is, it cannot make the children suffer.
And in the capital city, far away from the emperor's feet, there are rows and rows of neatly arranged bicycles on the hot summer streets. The silver-white color scheme is quite technological, and the bright orange tires can easily catch the attention of passers-by.
Especially for curious students, such novel and eye-catching bicycles always make people feel eager to try them out.
"Is this the shared bike that's been rumored online? I heard my classmates in Shanghai bragging about it before, and I was confused. How come Shanghai has this thing, but our great capital doesn't have it?"
"Hey, guess what? It's here, isn't it?"
A teenager looked at the Mobike excitedly and introduced it to his friends in a knowledgeable manner.
"How do you ride this thing ?" asked a companion who knew that he would ask questions if he didn't understand.
"It's simple. Just scan the QR code with your mobile phone, tap on the phone, and the lock will open automatically. It's high-tech, don't you understand?" The leading child looked like he knew everything.
At the same time, the person who was on the right track took out his cell phone and demonstrated it to his companions. This cell phone was bought by his parents during the summer vacation, and they repeatedly told him that if his grades dropped after school started, they would take it back immediately...
In order to have a mobile phone to use during the summer vacation, I naturally agreed to the conditions without hesitation.
"Hey, look, there's a free 30-minute ride here. I'll open it!" The child pressed the unlock button, and the Mobike in front of him opened.
"Wow!" The friends exclaimed in unison. If you use a key to unlock a bicycle, it's a traditional bicycle, but if you use a mobile phone to unlock it, it's a high-tech bicycle.
What era is it now? Are you still riding a traditional bicycle? (Funny)
The same scene is common in the streets and alleys of Beijing's hutongs. It seems that just overnight, hundreds of Mobike bicycles have spread all over the capital.
In fact, this is indeed the case. Thanks to the lightweight cost advantage of version 2.0 and the tens of millions of US dollars in financing from Zhuchang Capital, it is still in hand.
Hu Weiwei, who is full of confidence, has a big move in mind. Since she is going to return to the Beijing market, it is definitely not for the purpose of just skimming the surface and stopping at a superficial level.
In particular, there is a competitor lurking in the universities in Beijing that poses a huge threat, so Hu Weiwei has put a lot of effort into this.
Using his connections in Beijing and with the help of angel investor Li Bin, he first established connections up and down the chain, and then had the factory work overtime to prepare tens of thousands of the 2.0 version of Mobike!
This decision alone cost tens of millions. Fortunately, the pig factory capital's financing was in US dollars, otherwise Hu Weiwei would not have been able to be so reckless.
They also specifically chose the summer vacation as the time when the shared bikes' home advantage was the weakest, and then launched this surprise attack.
And supporting marketing and advertising followed closely. Judging from the data performance alone, this raid was undoubtedly very successful, enough for Mobike to gain a foothold in the Beijing market in one fell swoop.
On the first day of entering the Beijing market, the number of new users exceeded 10,000. On the second day, the number of people who paid deposits exceeded 10,000. On the third day, these two figures were already approaching the 100,000 mark!
Moreover, the growth trend of data is extremely rapid, almost exponentially increasing. It has to be said that in the huge Beijing market, the social demand gap may even reach tens of millions!
After all, this capital city with a unique status once had the honor of having the largest number of foreign population, and gave birth to the nationally famous "Beijing Drifting Clan".
Although the glory of the "Beijing Drifting Clan" has gradually faded to this day, and has been replaced one by one by groups such as the "Shanghai Drifting Clan" and the "Shenzhen Drifting Clan", the number of foreign population in China remains high.
In particular, a large number of foreign tourists who come here to admire the scenery of the capital also account for a large proportion.
Among these groups, most of them have the need for short-distance travel. Compared with sitting in a car and appreciating the scenery of Peking, it is better to ride a bicycle and take a walk on Chang'an Avenue.
The inner feeling is what is called an authentic one!
Moreover, unlike the obscurity when it first entered the Shanghai market, Mobike has now become a trendy gadget that is popular on the Internet. It is a shared bicycle, but it is not limited to just one bicycle.
The internet celebrity effect created by Papi Jiang, the top internet celebrity, is far more obvious than imagined.
As a Beijing resident and a student of the Central Academy of Drama, Papi Jiang did not hesitate to promote Mobike on all major platforms when it entered the Beijing market.
After all, she is the real spokesperson for Mobike.
"Wow, I didn't expect that I could ride a Mobike in Beijing. If I had this thing when I was studying at the Central Academy of Drama, it would be much more convenient. At least I wouldn't have to worry about the bike being stolen. After all, it wouldn't be mine if it was stolen..."
Along with Jiang Yilei's humorous ridicule, the conspicuous Mobike 2.0 model in the video not only attracted the attention of many fans.
"Hey, this car seems to be different from the one in Magic City. The one in Magic City doesn't have a basket..."
"Even the model has changed a lot. Is it a new model? Or a limited edition just for the Beijing market?"
"Hey, you guys are ignorant, right? I saw this bike in Shanghai today. It's much easier to ride than the old model!"
With further promotion by its spokesperson [Papi Jiang], Mobike quickly created a wave of Mobike craze in the two major markets of Beijing and Shanghai, and Mobike's data once again ushered in a wave of significant growth.
Hu Weiwei, who has tasted the sweetness of the internet celebrity effect, can't help but feel happy about it. She even had an idea in her mind: if... Zhou Dongsheng also made a move, the effect would definitely be even more amazing, right?
After all, although the boss is slightly inferior to [Papi Jiang] in terms of the total number of fans, in terms of influence, he is far from comparable to [Papi Jiang].
After all, it is true that Papi Jiang is a top internet celebrity, but Zhou Dongsheng is definitely not limited to the word "internet celebrity", just like Principal Wang, the real "No. 1 internet celebrity of the year".
Of course, Hu Weiwei was just thinking about it. She was already very happy that Mobike could have a successful start in the Beijing market.
After all, the idea of establishing Mobike Technology was born in the alleys of Beijing at a salon gathering founded by her.
At the same time, Hu Weiwei's obsession with sharing bikes also stems from the inconvenience of shuttling through the streets and alleys when she was a reporter, as well as the hardships of commuting to and from get off work...
It was because she had experienced being caught in the rain as a worker that prompted her to want to make an umbrella.
Today, Mobike has indeed achieved this from a product perspective, but if it wants to truly realize the product concept of "sharing", it still needs to continue to expand its scale.
After all, if you want to meet the needs of millions of consumers, it is obviously not enough without putting hundreds of millions of shared bicycles into the market.
From this perspective, the future market growth space for shared bicycles is undoubtedly considerable.
Regardless of whether this story is reasonable or not, at least it is extremely moving in the capital market, and even a lot of capital has been tempted.
Action speaks louder than words. Mobike’s core competitiveness has been raised to a higher level simply by virtue of its strong performance in the Beijing market and the further reduction of costs with the 2.0 lightweight model.
Therefore, not long after Hu Weiwei returned to Mobike Technology’s headquarters in Beijing, Mobike Technology was flooded with customers and the threshold was almost broken down.
After all, many capital institutions are located in the capital, and they are the first to see the moon, so the olive branches thrown to them will naturally arrive first.
While Hu Weiwei was happily counting the olive branches she had received, on the other side, the headquarters of Ofo, also located in Beijing, held an emergency meeting for this purpose.
After all, Mobike is coming with great force and has already arrived at our doorstep. If the oft-owned yellow bike company has no response to this, it would be too careless.
Originally, Dai Wei did not take this competitor seriously. Although the other party was thriving in the Shanghai market, it did not affect the shared bike business at all.
After all, the two parties focus on different markets, just like two unrelated "parallel lines", each developing peacefully without interfering with each other.
However, the angle has already subtly changed. As long as we keep moving forward, the two sides will meet sooner or later!
The other party’s entry into the Beijing market is just the beginning, but for the ofo, it is always necessary to prepare for a rainy day.
The most important thing is not that Mobike enters the Beijing market, but the cost reduction brought by the 2.0 lightweight model, which is the biggest threat to the ofo!
After all, cost control is also one of the most important core competitive advantages of the shared bikes. The rise and fall of Mobike’s new models have directly narrowed the gap between the two sides.
Even Dai Wei had to cheer up and take this competitor seriously again.
"This wave of offensive by the other party was really planned for a long time. Not only did they launch lightweight models, but they also chose the best time, the summer vacation. It really caught us off guard!"
Dai Wei, who was sitting at the top, couldn't help but sigh and praised Mobike's decision.
"That's right. During the summer vacation, the growth rate of our small yellow bikes slowed down, but the other party could take advantage of this time to expand aggressively, and even have a chance to overtake us..."
The people below continued to analyze what Dai Wei said.
"Not necessarily. After all, our small yellow bikes have already spread across hundreds of cities and colleges, and the total number of orders is approaching the 10 million mark!"
"Compared to Mobike, a latecomer, it has only just opened up its second city market. Although it has not disclosed the number of orders, it has only been on the market for less than a few months, so it is definitely difficult to compare with us!"
"Also, although all universities are on summer vacation, it does not mean that the university campus market will fall into silence. There will still be a large number of teachers and students who stay on campus and have travel needs..."
"Also, who says summer vacation is necessarily a disadvantage for us? We can make full use of this time to examine ourselves, adjust our strategic deployment and product development, and turn disadvantages into advantages!"
The partner sitting below Dai Wei analyzed confidently.
"Good! Well said! This is the corporate spirit that our shared bikes should have. We are not afraid of challenges!" Dai Wei slammed the table and spoke passionately.
After the words of encouragement were spread, the effect was remarkable. It is true that the ofo bike currently has a huge advantage. Although it has not yet reached the point of "a flying dragon riding on the face", it is still far ahead.
Although we should face our opponents squarely, we should not throw the baby out with the bathwater.
“Since we are talking about strategic adjustments, then our topic should be whether we should adjust our original strategy and start urban services ahead of schedule in order to compete with Mobike!”
After spreading the chicken soup, Dai Wei raised the topic and walked calmly at the head of the group, waiting for his subordinates to speak.
As his career flourished and he tasted the taste of success, Dai Wei became more and more inflated with the pleasure of his skyrocketing net worth, especially the flattery from those around him and his subordinates, which made him enjoy it even more.
He really enjoys the pleasure of being sought after, which greatly satisfies his vanity. This is also a major source of motivation for him to start his own business!
That was why, in the first step after obtaining financing, he directly changed the company's office location and the company moved into a two-story duplex hotel-style apartment near Peking University.
Only a few months had passed, but Dai Wei already felt that this place was too narrow, too narrow to support his vanity.
As people go higher and higher, their vision naturally becomes higher and higher. From this double-story height, one can only see the gate of Peking University.
The Ideal International Building standing nearby is large enough to overlook most of Peking University. When Dai Wei thought of this, he couldn't help but feel excited.
What a nice name, Ideal International Building, big enough to accommodate one’s great ideals!
Dai Wei had boasted about this great ideal within the company more than once. As he mentioned it more and more times, Dai Wei gradually immersed himself in his own great narrative and even believed it.
"One day, ofo will have the same impact on the world as Google."
Now it seems that Ofo has undoubtedly taken a very successful step in this direction!
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