Volume 3: Taking Roots 2016 Chapter 768: Those who plant trees will enjoy the shade
The e-commerce war in November is not only a battlefield where major e-commerce giants fight each other, but also a battlefield for other industries that rely on e-commerce for development.
This is especially true for Ruhan Holdings. As early as before November, it had already started the intensive "exam preparation" stage, preparing to make a splash with this e-commerce college entrance examination!
After all, in the face of such a big cake as the internet celebrity industry, Ruhan Holdings has taken a different approach and used "e-commerce internet celebrity" as a breakthrough point in an attempt to gain a foothold in the market.
It also received direct recognition from Alibaba, the giant in the e-commerce industry, and received more than 300 million in cash . This undoubtedly made everyone in Ruhan Holdings firmly believe that they had chosen the right market path.
To some extent, this is true, but sometimes the first person to try something new may not be the one who has the last laugh.
On the contrary, it is often the norm in the market that those who plant trees will enjoy the shade.
But someone has to "plant the trees" . If everyone just wants to enjoy the shade, the market will never develop to the point where people can enjoy the shade.
After successfully obtaining such a large amount of financing from Alibaba through a backdoor listing on the New Third Board, Feng Ming, as the founder of Ruhan Holdings, naturally had rapidly expanded ambitions.
The New Third Board alone could no longer satisfy his requirements, so he turned his attention to the other side of the ocean. With the rapid development of the internet celebrity economy, the competition for the "top spot" in the industry has naturally become more intense.
After all, to this day, the 80/20 rule, which is widely present in all walks of life, has long formed a social consensus, that is, the so-called 80% of the wealth is controlled by 20% of the people.
It’s just that the scholar who proposed this theory a hundred years ago probably thought that his assumption was extreme enough, but he still underestimated human nature...
Ahem, but the 80/20 rule he proposed is still generally recognized by the public and is widely applicable in both society and industry.
It is also under the support of this theory that the ambitions of most entrepreneurs are to focus on the "number two". As long as they can become the "number two", they can share more than 80% of the market in the industry.
At the same time, the reason why capital is willing to raise funds and spend money at any cost, even if there are huge losses on the books, is to go for this future.
As long as you can outlast all your competitors, you can not only become the “second”, but it would not be an exaggeration even if you can become the “first”.
After all, as long as the industry progresses to the Matthew effect stage, it is basically equivalent to the dust settling, and in most cases this process is indeed irreversible.
So as long as there are sufficient future expectations as support, the loss on paper is only temporary, just like stocks, as long as I don’t sell at a loss, I will never lose money (funny).
Let’s get back to the point. As the internet celebrity economy takes off, the value of the “top spot” in this industry will naturally be reflected. If you can hold on to this position, how big a piece of cake will that be?
Although 2016 has not ended yet, the market is very optimistic about the Internet celebrity economy. According to incomplete statistics, the market size of the Internet celebrity economy has exceeded 50 billion!
What does this mean? The market uses the mature film market as a reference for comparison. According to market estimates, the annual box office of films this year will barely reach 45.71 billion yuan.
Although box office and market size are two different things, in order to achieve the goal of "reflecting the economic potential of Internet celebrities", it is very reasonable to slightly change the concepts.
However, when these two data are put together for horizontal comparison , there is no doubt that this purpose has been achieved. If the Internet celebrity economy really has the potential to surpass the scale of the film market...
The weight of this emerging industry's leading position may even have the potential to reach a scale of hundreds of billions. There is no doubt that such a high future expectation is enough to become a source of confidence to support investors' investment in this industry.
As to whether it is rational or not, that is a matter of opinion.
With such an ultimate benefit as a consensus, the purpose of both entrepreneurs and investors is naturally very clear, which is to realize this benefit and achieve the goal of making a profit.
The only thing that can satisfy the ultimate goal of both is IPO, or in layman's terms, listing.
Although going public is not the end, the title of "the first stock in the industry" is still full of temptation, and it is even a unique honor. Whoever can win the crown first can often directly establish his or her own position in the industry.
Ruhan Holdings, which was the first to test its hand on the New Third Board, is undoubtedly at the forefront of the entire industry in this regard, and its progress is leading the way.
However, it was precisely because of his example that the market took notice of such a big piece of cake and attracted many investment institutions to join in, wanting to share the cake.
Therefore, competition in the industry is naturally becoming more and more fierce, especially for Yinian Media, which has come from behind in terms of financing scale, which has made Feng Ming feel a great sense of crisis.
Although the business directions of both parties are very different, they are both in the same race of Internet celebrities, which also means that they are potential competitors, especially in the fight for market share, and they will certainly not be soft-hearted.
Even so far, the two sides still maintain a friendly cooperative relationship. After all, the basis of cooperation is mutual benefit. Once it comes to their own interests...
The answer is self-evident.
Compared with the brilliant achievements of Yinian Media, what Ruhan Holdings has at the moment is really lackluster.
All in all, Zhang Dayi is the only one who can hold the scene.
Of course, as a company that has been deeply involved in the e-commerce field for many years, Ruhan Holdings' solid supply chain system is also the foundation of its existence.
Therefore, in order to give the market a satisfactory answer and make investors more confident in him, Feng Ming fully utilized the strategy of playing to his strengths and avoiding his weaknesses, and was fully prepared to make a splash in this e-commerce war.
And Zhang Dayi is the sharpest spearhead.
In this regard, Zhang Dayi, as a shareholder of the company, naturally has an obligation to do so. In order to fully prove her commercial value as a fashion guru, Zhang Dayi has put a lot of thought into it.
Now, she not only owns a women's clothing store of her own brand, but has also opened a lingerie store and a beauty store to prove her ability to make money.
In fact, she did it successfully. On the first day of the beauty store's opening, with the dual support of Weibo and Douyin platforms, the fan group, mainly female users, exploded with unprecedented purchasing power!
Just two hours after opening, the beauty store was already flooded with orders, with cumulative sales of no less than 20,000 lipsticks, an astonishing result. The total daily sales volume was approaching the 100,000 mark!
And this is just one day's sales volume. If placed in an offline beauty store, this sales volume may be half a year or even a year's worth.
Even if it is located in a prime location in the core business district, it often takes a quarter to achieve such sales. Even if it can be achieved in a month or so during the peak season, it would be the best.
After all, no matter how good the location of an offline store is, there is an insurmountable limit to the flow of customers. However, for e-commerce stores, the so-called limit may only be the limit of the server's carrying capacity.
There is no doubt that this record is enough to fully interpret the commercial value of the "Zhang Dayi" IP, and it also forces the market to seriously evaluate the commercial value of Internet celebrities again.
After all, before this, this amazing ability to sell goods was often only seen in individual top stars. It is this ability of traffic stars to sell goods that makes them favored by many brand sponsors.
Unexpectedly, even internet celebrities are beginning to demonstrate this ability. The market will naturally make corresponding adjustments, just as there was no concept of "traffic star" in the beginning.
As long as there is this demand in the market, there will naturally be capital arriving late to fill this gap.
As "Double Eleven" approaches, this final test has naturally attracted the attention of many investment institutions.
They are very curious, can Zhang Dayi's amazing ability to sell goods stand the test in this e-commerce war?
In other words, they wanted to see how much "water" there was in the answer sheet Zhang Dayi had submitted before!
After all, Ruhan Holdings has just received such a large amount of financing. It is not impossible for it to choose to forcibly launch a golden signboard and embellish gorgeous data to deceive the market.
It is mainly in such a market that in the treacherous capital market, it is not even news. Once bitten by a snake, one will be afraid of the rope for ten years. It is still necessary to maintain the necessary vigilance.
Whether it is a paper tiger or a real tiger depends on its final leap.
Ruhan Holdings is naturally aware of the need to achieve success in one fell swoop, so its investment in marketing costs can be said to be reckless. Whether it is Weibo, Douyin, or Meipai, millions of dollars have been invested in marketing expenses.
The scale of the investment gives off a sense of desperate gamble. After all, not only is learning like rowing against the current, if you don't move forward you will fall behind, the same is true for the rush to go public.
Sometimes, once you miss the opportunity to go public, you may never have another chance to go public again, and you can only take another more difficult path.
However, all roads lead to Rome, and going public is not the destiny of all companies.
When Ruhan Holdings chose to put all its chips on Zhang Dayi, it naturally made her a major focus in the industry, and many people were very curious.
What kind of answer will Zhang Dayi give on Double Eleven Day?
Will it reach new highs or suffer a Waterloo?
While some people are looking forward to it, naturally there are also some people who are waiting to see the joke. After all, every walk of life is full of people who like to have fun, and even more so of competitors.
You always have to pull down the people above you before you have a chance to move up, right?
Now that all parties have made their commitment, all that remains is to wait and see the results.
However, unlike the wait-and-see attitude of the industry, Zhou Dongsheng, who has been through it, had already predicted the outcome and had even started his own layout early on.
The "future generations" have been held in their own hands in advance, and the predecessors have already started to "plant trees" in order to make this fire burn more vigorously.
Zhou Dongsheng naturally didn't mind adding fuel to the fire. Although it was just a matter of interest, Zhou Dongsheng not only didn't suffer any loss in Zhang Dayi's case, but he even took advantage of her...
Well, so it is reasonable for him to lend a helping hand. As for Ruhan Holdings behind the company, in Zhou Dongsheng's opinion, it is not a direct competitor at all.
After all, the former is aiming for listing, but for Zhou Dongsheng, this is not his goal.
What about the first share of internet celebrity? Just take it if you have the ability. Compared with these empty titles, real money is the most real.
In the final analysis, it's all about the money.
Therefore, Zhou Dongsheng, who had a rare free time, also wandered to Hangzhou and invited Zhang Dayi to have a simple meal at the West Lake Yazu.
Although now is the critical moment to sprint into the e-commerce war, both Ruhan Holdings and Zhang Dayi herself have been very busy recently.
However, after receiving Zhou Dongsheng's invitation, Zhang Dayi chose to accept the appointment without hesitation. After all, things have their priorities, and Zhang Dayi can clearly distinguish what is important and what is not.
For this purpose, Zhang Dayi dressed up carefully. As a person who has been very successful in the field of fashion and has become a leader in the field, her taste is naturally unquestionable.
In this world, there are only a few born with natural beauty who are unable to give up on themselves, and most of them still have to rely on acquired beauty.
The saying "30% dressing and 70% appearance" is a thing of the past. Now it can only be described as 70% dressing and 30% appearance, not to mention the help of technology.
When it comes to the path of "flesh and blood are weak, and machinery ascends", women who love beauty are the leaders who are at the forefront.
Therefore, when Zhang Dayi appeared in front of Zhou Dongsheng, even though he had experienced the aesthetic bombardment of the short video era, Zhou Dongsheng still felt his eyes brightened.
For Zhang Dayi, who makes a living in fashion, having a variety of styles is naturally commonplace. As time comes to November, the weather in Hangzhou can't help but become a little cooler.
A slim-fitting apricot coat with a white tight turtleneck sweater underneath outlines pleasing curves, while the stockings faintly visible under the coat add a touch of unique charm.
The simpler the combination, the more dazzling it appears, not to mention the echo in makeup. However, different fields have different worlds, and Zhou Dongsheng, who knows nothing about makeup, naturally cannot see the depth of it.
But it's enough as long as it looks good. After all, some things can be understood in depth, but for others, you only need to have a brief taste.
"I was a little surprised to receive your call, Dongsheng. After all, how could a busy man like you have time to ask me out for dinner?" Zhang Dayi complained with a slightly coquettish look, while taking off her coat and putting it aside.
"How can I be considered a busy man? How many people are busier than you at this moment? I have to thank you for your kindness." Zhou Dongsheng
"I may not give face to others, but how dare I not give face to you? If I offend an industry leader like you, I'm afraid you'll ban me with just one word~"
Zhang Dayi said playfully, crossing her arms across her chest and acting scared. This quirky little girl's attitude made Zhou Dongsheng burst out laughing.
"You are flattering me. I don't have such ability!"
The two of them joked around and chatted about some family matters. At the same time, a large table of dishes that had been ordered were served. Zhang Dayi's eyes lit up and her appetite grew.
"I haven't had a good meal in a few days. I have to thank you for giving me a chance to have a good meal. We can talk about anything else later. The only thing that cannot be missed is delicious food!"
After saying that, he couldn't wait to start enjoying the food. He ate with great enthusiasm and even shook his head with satisfaction.
This familiar scene made Zhou Dongsheng wonder, is it that all women in the world behave like this when they eat something delicious?
