Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, one of the three major electric vehicle bases in Jiangsu Province.
Electric vehicles are highly accepted here, but unlike other regions, the Changzhou electric vehicle industrial base does not have major brands stationed, primarily consisting of local brands of various sizes.
The most common electric vehicles on the market are also mainly local brands, with manufacturers of all sizes competing on this land.
By the way, Changzhou is also the most tolerant city to date for oversized electric vehicles, commonly known as "electric motorcycles," allowing them on the road at will, which also serves to protect local enterprises.
FlashRide naturally couldn't miss such a well-developed electric vehicle market.
After deciding to launch a price war in Jiangsu Province, Tan Jincheng ordered the marketing department to capture this city and secure a foothold for FlashRide in Changzhou.
Lin Yumin, who is in charge of the domestic market, personally oversaw operations in Changzhou.
Self-operated stores, terminal retail stores, and FlashRide specialty stores of all sizes began appearing on the streets of Changzhou's major districts and counties.
At the same time, Yadi and Xinri, entrenched in Jiangsu Province, naturally noticed FlashRide's moves, and both quickly followed suit, wanting to seize this market not yet dominated by major brands.
Suddenly, the small and medium-sized assembly plants in the Changzhou Electric Vehicle Industrial Park began to tremble.
After the official price war began, FlashRide, priced at 1500 yuan after conversion, put immense pressure on the small manufacturers here, especially those producing oversized electric motorcycles.
Electric motorcycles are not heavily regulated, but that doesn't mean they aren't regulated at all; one day they might be stopped on the street, and while not impounded, a fine would likely be imposed, which is also a hidden risk.
The FlashRide series, however, has no such worries; being compliant with national standards, having a large appearance, sufficient power, and being affordable, the FlashRide series is the best alternative to electric motorcycles.
"How have car sales been these past few days?"
"Not bad, sold over 30 yesterday, and around 20 the day before. Two days' sales can match a month's sales in the off-season. Pretty good, how about you?"
Old Li was quite happy.
He seized the opportunity when FlashRide opened a specialty store here, decisively upgrading his original multi-brand store to a FlashRide specialty store, and also benefited from FlashRide's aggressive market capture with significant discounts, leading to good sales these past few days.
FlashRide's market grabbing did not harm the interests of distributors and terminal retail stores; they still earned what they should, thus the enthusiasm for cooperation from distributors and terminal retail stores was very high.
In Changzhou, there were quite a few retail terminal stores like Old Li's, which previously sold multi-brand or other brand electric vehicles, directly switching to FlashRide.
"Our sales are also good. The peak season really makes a difference. I wish it could be like this every day."
"Exactly, we're relying on these two months. But this year's sales are much better than last year's; last year's peak season wasn't as hot as it is now."
"That's because several big manufacturers are running promotions this year, and vehicles are much cheaper. We got lucky."
"Haha, true. Speaking of which, your family started it first. That young boss of FlashRide has guts."
"If you ask me, you should also switch to selling FlashRide. Those electric motorcycles in your store are always non-compliant, and now the whole country is regulating this. We'll definitely regulate it here in the future too. No matter how much the authorities protect local businesses, they can't ignore the pressure forever."
"Ah, who's to say otherwise? Everything else in our store has been okay these past few days, but electric motorcycle sales have indeed dropped significantly,"
sighed Old Zhang.
Their store sells all brands.
Previously, electric motorcycles produced by local small factories were the best sellers, priced at around a thousand yuan, powerful, and very popular among local young people.
But ever since FlashRide lowered its prices, bringing them to the same range as electric motorcycles, young people abandoned electric motorcycles and switched to FlashRide.
Compared to FlashRide, these electric motorcycles produced by small factories cannot compete in terms of either quality or service.
In addition, FlashRide and its various WindRide series also regularly hold lottery events in various stores, giving away autographed photos of major brand spokespersons, record albums, and other items, which greatly appeals to young people.
After Old Li's suggestion, Old Zhang seriously considered switching to selling FlashRide like him.
FlashRide didn't prohibit a store from selling electric vehicles other than their brand, but undoubtedly, FlashRide preferred the specialty store model.
Stores selling all brands could also get FlashRide's goods from distributors, but they would definitely be at the back of the line, and there was no room for negotiation on this point.
Given FlashRide's current production capacity, it was almost impossible for stores like his, which sell all brands, to get FlashRide's goods.
A week later, leaders of the industrial park and relevant departments all noticed this phenomenon.
"Should we put some pressure on FlashRide? If this continues, many small manufacturers will go out of business, and the industrial base will be greatly affected."
This approach would indeed force some multi-brand electric vehicle manufacturers out of business.
Tan Jincheng had considered this before launching the price war, and also anticipated potential pressure, but since it was market behavior, Tan Jincheng decided to proceed anyway.
There shouldn't be a term like 'malicious price reduction' these days, right? What's there to be afraid of? Just do it!
The leaders also had a headache.
The city resisted pressure and relaxed regulation on electric motorcycles to give some small manufacturers more time to seek transformation, grow stronger during the protection period, and, like FlashRide, create a major electric vehicle brand belonging to Changzhou.
However, these people were unfortunately disappointing; they were unwilling to invest in transformation and seek industrial upgrading.
Instead, they took advantage of the protection period to mass-produce these oversized electric motorcycles, putting great pressure on the traffic department now.
"Forget it, this is market behavior. Let's just consider FlashRide as helping us force industrial upgrading. If we don't push these small and medium-sized manufacturers, they won't feel the pain."
Industrial upgrading often comes with growing pains, which is a necessary process.
Moreover, if pressure were truly applied to FlashRide, the business environment here would genuinely get a bad reputation, making it not worth it for the sake of one industrial park.
"The market economy still needs to be left to the market. Protecting it too much may not be a good thing,"
the leader lamented.
However, he did not regret protecting these enterprises under pressure back then.
Although their actions were not commendable and the small bosses lacked foresight, these businesses, big and small, genuinely solved many employment problems.
Now, facing genuine market competition, it's up to their own performance.
"But we could contact FlashRide's young chairman and inquire about any plans to establish a presence in Changzhou."
---
Chun Ge's contract was signed on July 5th last year.
Today is July 11th, so the actual contract period is now less than one year.
Last year, Chun Ge's agent met Tan Jincheng.
This year, the person meeting Tan Jincheng was replaced by Tianyu's head, and the treatment improved dramatically.
As Tan Jincheng and his entourage arrived downstairs at Tianyu, Long Danni was already waiting for him at the entrance of the lobby downstairs with Chun Ge's agent, showing considerable importance.
After a brief handshake with Long Danni, Tan Jincheng looked at Chun Ge's agent standing nearby and smiled,
"Long time no see, Sister Man."
She wasn't seen yesterday, so it's unclear where she popped up from today.
He recalled that last year, to sign Chun Ge quickly, Tan Jincheng had given him an additional 80,000 yuan red packet, and the company for shooting the advertisement was also introduced by her.
Times change, and a year later, Man Yang naturally dared not treat Tan Jincheng with last year's attitude; she was much more respectful than before.
"Indeed, long time no see. I didn't expect President Tan to still remember a small agent like me."
"How could that be? FlashRide's current achievements wouldn't be possible without Sister Man's support back then."
"I wouldn't dare say that, it's all your credit, President Tan. Our Chun Ge, on the other hand, benefited from FlashRide, gaining a lot of exposure."
Agents and artists are mutually beneficial.
A well-known agent can powerfully boost an artist, and a well-known artist can also boost an unknown agent, at least significantly improving their income.
In one year, FlashRide progressed, and with Chun Ge's rising popularity, Man Yang, the rookie agent from a year ago, also progressed.
If Chun Ge had been with a seasoned agent instead of this rookie agent a year ago, Tan Jincheng probably wouldn't have been able to trick the other party so easily; calling it mutually beneficial is not an overstatement.
Long Danni saw that the two were chatting idly at the entrance with no intention of stopping, and then casually glanced behind the landscape tree at the entrance.
She then invited,
"President Tan, would you like to tour the company's interior?"
Long Danni's actions did not escape Tan Jincheng's eyes:
"May I? Would it be a bother?"
"Not at all, it would be an honor."
The group then walked inside, and Tan Jincheng casually asked,
"Were there paparazzi at the entrance just now?"
"President Tan noticed? Yes, there were paparazzi, but they weren't arranged by us,"
Long Danni quickly explained.
Tan Jincheng smiled noncommittally.
Whether they arranged it or not wasn't important.
However, Chun Ge had attended an event in Xiangcheng yesterday, and her lingering influence was still there.
Xiangcheng is also a city frequently visited by celebrities, so it's not surprising to have paparazzi staking out.
Tan Jincheng had never truly toured the interior of an entertainment agency; he didn't receive such treatment when he went to Shanghai last year.
It was clear that the office environment was excellent, with long corridors adorned with large photos of their artists on both sides.
The most popular and hottest celebrities were naturally displayed in the most prominent areas.
"This is our main office. We hold a regular meeting here every Monday,"
Long Danni introduced as they passed a large office after walking through the corridor.
They then arrived at the office area, which looked very cluttered with quite a few employees, all appearing very busy.
"This office area is quite similar to our company's,"
Tan Jincheng chuckled.
Tan Jincheng was referring to Orange Technology's office area, which also looked quite cluttered, perhaps even more so, with folding beds placed directly in the office area.
The only difference was that most employees here were female, while Orange Technology was predominantly male, as female programmers were still too few.
"Is that so? Then I must visit President Tan's company if I get the chance."
"You're most welcome."
After a brief tour of Tianyu's office area in Xiangcheng, Long Danni brought Tan Jincheng to her office.
After a short exchange of pleasantries, Long Danni directly addressed the topic:
"There are rumors in the electric vehicle industry that President Tan dislikes beating around the bush. If the rumors are true, then let's get straight to the point."
Tan Jincheng smiled:
"The rumors should be correct. But before we get to the main topic, let me ask, for how many years was Chun Ge's contract with Tianyu signed?"
Long Danni was surprised:
"Chun Ge was discovered by us. The contract period is five years, ending in 2010."
Hmm? 2010?
Tan Jincheng recalled that Chun Ge seemed to have had a conflict with Tianyu once, and was even allegedly shelved for a period, but it seemed the contract termination was in 2015.
How could the contract end in 2010?
Did I remember incorrectly?
Never mind, 2010 it is.
"Then let's renew the contract until 2010, what do you think, President Long?" Tan Jincheng smiled, "As for the compensation, how about the rate for a second-tier celebrity?"
The compensation for a second-tier celebrity's endorsement fee matches Chun Ge's popularity.
In the second round of promotional period's photo and text live voting on Kaixin.com, Chun Ge's fans and the 'fun-seekers' absolutely crushed Liu Yifei's fans; even Jay Chou's fans couldn't compete.
After one day of voting, Chun Ge's vote count was the same as in her finals last year, far ahead!
Whether it was voting or live popularity, even after returning to her hometown Jiangcheng, and despite significant efforts made there, this girl still came in last once again.
Needless to say for the next round, Chun Ge truly returned to her hometown venue in CD, while Jay Chou went to the Imperial Capital.
Little Liu, who was already at a disadvantage, had to go to Nanning.
Barring any surprises, she would come in last for all three rounds.
Poor Little Liu!
Tan Jincheng really set her up, tricking her during activity planning by saying other endorsers had already agreed, then she suffered a crushing defeat in the popularity contest during the event, and on top of that, her boss was fanning the flames online.
(End of chapter)