Chapter 37: Chapter 37: Provincial Agent
He felt that directly asking the company to lower the sales target, while seemingly reasonable, was actually a passive approach. The company probably wouldn’t accept it. They’d just think he was incompetent for trying to lower targets right after joining.
’The company hired you to increase sales, not to lower your targets.’
Therefore, he decided it was better to boost sales first. Once sales had improved, he could then approach President Shan to discuss lowering the target, which would give him grounds to negotiate for a more reasonable figure.
Since he hadn’t achieved anything yet, it would be pointless to bring it up now. No one would pay him any mind.
Hearing Yang Hui’s words, Ji Kun’s eyes went wide. "Boss, there are only two days left! There’s no way we can get the completion rate up to 80%!"
Yang Hui just smiled. He didn’t lecture him or offer some platitude like "there are always more solutions than problems."
’Actions speak louder than words.’
"For now, just get back to work. How about this: you and I will visit a few of these malls today. Let’s just give it a shot. Who knows, it might work, right?"
Ji Kun had no hope. He thought his new boss was the stubborn type who wouldn’t give up until he hit a brick wall. ’How could anyone possibly boost performance at a time like this?’ The only way, in his mind, was to negotiate with the company—either get them to lower the sales target or make an exception and pay out the commission bonus regardless of whether they met the target.
After Ji Kun left, Yang Hui pulled up a list of all the stores with a target completion rate of 70% or higher. Each store had a different target; some were over 300,000, others were over 200,000.
A 10% increase in the completion rate was equivalent to generating another 20,000 to 30,000 in sales over the next two days. Given the current market conditions and the Airex brand’s performance, the pressure was indeed immense.
But he thought of a method that just might be worth a try.
Ruijing Commerce had previously worked with Yida Department Store, so he knew that because retail was currently slow, these department stores often required their management to go out and secure group purchase orders.
This was because department stores have a different profit model than shopping malls. Department stores operate on a pure commission basis. For example, the previous trading condition for Ruijing Commerce’s brands at Yida Department Store was a straight 22% commission.
The department store collected payment for the vendor’s daily sales. Then, before the 25th of the following month, the store would deduct its 22% commission from the previous month’s revenue and transfer the remainder back to the vendor.
Therefore, the stores were incentivized to arrange group purchases. Group purchases could drive up the mall’s overall sales, helping them meet performance targets, and also increase the store’s profit margins.
This was the exact area Yang Hui was targeting, but time was incredibly tight. He wasn’t sure if he could pull it off.
It would only be possible if the department store already had an interested corporate client lined up, and if the store itself could broker a deal to give a portion of that order to Airex. Moreover, the purchase would have to be paid for and recorded within the next two days. Otherwise, it was impossible.
It was still a huge challenge. Yang Hui wasn’t familiar with the management at the Yida Department Store locations and had no personal connections, which would make negotiating this deal very difficult.
He thought of Wang Qing. The last time they had dinner together, Wang Qing had been noticeably friendlier to him than to Li Yang, probably because he could see how highly Zhang Chun regarded him.
’I still owe him a favor for the car purchase. Maybe I can use that as an excuse to invite him out and see if he’d be willing to help with a small matter?’
’Yes, this small amount of sales might be next to impossible for a single store to achieve, but for the chairman of Yida Department Store? It’s nothing!’
Besides, if the sales were credited to Airex, the revenue would still belong to Yida Department Store. It wouldn’t affect the store’s performance review, and the profit would also stay with the store. The only difference would be whether the brand’s cut of the profit went to Airex or to some other company.
BZZZT~
Just as his phone vibrated, a notification popped up in his WeChat dialogue box on his PC. Zhang Chun had replied!
[Zhang Chun: A Hui, I’m good friends with the head of the Zen China region. If you’re interested, I’ll negotiate for you directly. I guarantee you’ll get the most favorable terms.]
[I didn’t realize you were thinking of going province-wide, so for NLB, I only negotiated a single-store license for you. Think about whether you want to take NLB province-wide. However, NLB already has a regional distributor. Their agreement is for three years, so if you do it, you’ll have to coexist with another company in the Qingjiang Region for the next three years.]
[But that’s not a big deal. If you decide to do it, the other company won’t be able to get any of the good locations. Brother Chun guarantees that all the best projects will basically be yours.]
’He either says nothing at all, or he says something that leaves you utterly speechless!’
Zhang Chun was just that thorough.
[Yang Hui: Brother Chun, thank you! Let’s do as you suggested. I’m interested in taking both Zen and NLB province-wide. Also, I have a small matter I’d like to ask for your help with!]
[Zhang Chun: No need to be so formal with me. Go ahead, what is it?]
[Yang Hui: I need to ask Wang Qing, the chairman of Yida Department Store, for a favor. I’d like to invite him to dinner, but I’m worried I don’t have enough clout to get him to agree. I was hoping you could accompany me!]
He probably could have gotten the meeting on his own. The real issue was the request he needed to make of Wang Qing. He was afraid Wang Qing would refuse, or at least not agree right away. If that happened, the stores wouldn’t meet their targets for the month.
He had just arrived at Futong Commerce and needed to do something to win over his team. If he could pull this off, his reputation would be instantly established, and it would do wonders for team morale.
[Zhang Chun: That’s hardly a problem. I’ll have President Tian invite him, and I’ll come along.]
’Brother Chun is so damn reliable.’ He could tell that Zhang Chun looked down on Wang Qing. It made sense. As the regional president for Xinyue Square, President Tian’s commercial standing was far higher than that of Wang Qing, the chairman of the declining Yida Department Store.
For a regional president of Xinyue Group to personally invite Wang Qing would be elevating him far too much.
[Yang Hui: Brother Chun, I’d better be the one to invite him. If President Tian makes the call, it’ll make me seem way too important. (smiley face)]
[Zhang Chun: Haha, alright! You set the time. I’m free whenever.]
Yang Hui knew Zhang Chun was a very busy man. That "I’m free whenever" meant he was making Yang Hui’s matter his top priority.
’Brother Chun is so good to me. Besides my parents, probably no one else would do this for me.’
’I really don’t understand why. I don’t have anything of value to offer Zhang Chun in return. He just keeps giving without asking for anything back.’
He sent a message to Wang Qing.
[Yang Hui: President Wang, I hope you’re well. I was wondering if you might have time to grace us with your presence for dinner today? It would be myself and President Zhang Chun.]
Wang Qing was in a meeting with his store managers. He was sitting on the dais, having just finished summarizing the situation in May and laying out new requirements for June’s performance and profits. The group’s vice president was about to go over the specific work arrangements.
Below, some twenty-odd store general managers sat upright, listening with rapt attention, occasionally taking notes on key points.
BZZZT~
Wang Qing picked up his phone and saw the message was from Yang Hui.
His impression of Yang Hui was twofold: first, that Zhang Chun looked out for him, and second, that someone so young had the means to buy a top-of-the-line Mercedes E-Class.
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