Chapter 53: The Wolf is Here!

On October 2nd, Yuanfang Supermarket launched its membership card system.

With features like free registration, discounts, and the accumulation of points for gift exchanges, Yuanfang Supermarket rolled out a grand promotional campaign.

Newspaper ads, outdoor billboards, flyers, and students holding up supermarket slogans while walking through the streets...

The multi-pronged publicity approach made Yuanfang Supermarket once again the talk of the town in Dongping, with crowds reminiscent of its opening day gathering in front of the store.

Just on the 2nd alone, over 800 membership cards were issued, and the newly launched shopping cards were also well-received, selling over 36,000 yuan on the first day.

On October 3rd, news spread that shopping cards could be repurchased at a 10% discount off the original price.

That day, many more people came to buy shopping cards.

Unlike the first day, which was dominated by housewives, this day saw a lot more men, and their purchases were often much larger, with many spending tens of thousands.

Li Dong, who was watching coldly, could immediately tell that most of these buyers were local Dongping businessmen and staff from government logistics departments.

That evening, the supermarket conducted an inventory check. Nearly 1,000 membership cards had been issued, and over 180,000 yuan worth of shopping cards had been sold.

---

As of the evening of October 6th, Yuanfang Supermarket had issued a total of over 5,700 membership cards, and the total value of shopping cards sold had reached nearly 800,000 yuan.

With 5,700 membership cards, it was equivalent to 5,700 households choosing Yuanfang. As long as Yuanfang Supermarket maintained good service and competitive prices, these people would become loyal customers.

As for the shopping cards, excluding the 200,000 yuan worth that had been given away, all of the initially launched million-yuan worth of shopping vouchers were sold out.

These shopping cards wouldn't be circulating in the supermarket anytime soon and might even become a form of currency in the market, possibly never being used in the supermarket at all.

This meant that Li Dong effectively had over 800,000 yuan in liquid funds on hand, and this was just the beginning.

Li Dong believed that by the end of the year, when the gift-giving frenzy hit, selling tens of millions in shopping cards wouldn't be difficult.

The launch of the membership and shopping cards had an added effect: the supermarket's sales hit new highs.

During the six-day National Day holiday, Yuanfang Supermarket's total sales exceeded 6 million yuan, with an average daily sales exceeding 1 million yuan!

---

On the evening of the 6th, Li Dong met Sun Tao, who had hurriedly returned from Qingyang City.

Sun Tao was darker and thinner than before.

Seeing this, Li Dong felt a pang of sorrow. Spending a long time together had fostered a bond between them.

Previously, Li Dong had seen Sun Tao as just a professional manager, but now he considered him a true partner. He couldn't help but say, "Brother Sun, there's no need to do everything yourself. We've hired so many people, not to let them slack off!"

Sun Tao smiled, looking a bit tired, and said, "Boss Li, I'm enjoying it."

On one hand, there was the incentive of profit sharing; on the other, it was the unparalleled sense of achievement!

Sun Tao was an indispensable part of Yuanfang Supermarket's growth and expansion!

After brushing off the topic, Sun Tao asked in return, "You're leaving tomorrow?"

Seeing that Sun Tao didn't want to dwell on it, Li Dong let it go, nodding and saying, "I'll leave tomorrow morning."

The National Day holiday was coming to an end, and Li Dong had to leave because the mall in Longhua needed to be finalized as soon as possible.

Sun Tao was silent for a moment, wanting to say something but hesitating.

After several attempts, Li Dong noticed that Sun Tao had something on his mind and asked, "Brother Sun, what could be troubling you so much?"

Sun Tao furrowed his brows slightly, not addressing the main issue immediately, but instead asked, "How's Longsheng doing?"

Li Dong, seeing this, didn't push him. If it was something important, Sun Tao would definitely speak up.

Seeing him bring up Longsheng, Li Dong dismissed it and said, "Their business has dropped by more than half recently. It's just a minor issue; there's no need to pay too much attention."

Yuanfang's series of actions had completely overwhelmed Longsheng. Previously, they could still compete with Yuanfang by engaging in a price war, but with the launch of the membership cards, Longsheng had no way to counter.

If Li Dong wanted to, a few more rounds of promotions and discounts would be enough to completely crush Longsheng.

Sun Tao didn't take Longsheng seriously either; otherwise, he wouldn't have even mentioned it to Li Dong before.

After inquiring about Longsheng, Sun Tao fell silent again.

Li Dong frowned and, with some dissatisfaction, said, "Brother Sun, if you have something to say, just say it. Dragging it out like this isn't like you."

Sun Tao took a deep breath and said seriously, "Boss Li, China Resources has taken control of Suguo!"

Li Dong raised an eyebrow, about to ask what that had to do with him, when a memory from the future flashed in his mind, and he suddenly took it seriously. "Is Suguo planning to expand into Jiangbei?"

"Yes!"

Sun Tao's expression was heavy as he said, "I'm not worried about other large supermarket chains entering Jiangbei; what I'm afraid of is Suguo!"

"Their target market overlaps with Yuanfang's. The 'Wolf Pack Strategy' proposed by the Ma family has a lot of market potential. What they love to do most is to open stores intensively in a regional market, thoroughly penetrating the commercial circles, leaving no room for competitors..."

Sun Tao spoke a lot about Suguo, some of which Li Dong had heard in his previous life, and some were industry rumors.

The focus wasn't on China Resources' control of Suguo, nor on Suguo's expansion into Jiangbei.

What really troubled Sun Tao was that Suguo's strategic goals aligned with Yuanfang's—they both targeted small and medium-sized cities, even rural areas.

Originally, the county-level cities in Jiangbei were almost blank areas for large supermarkets. Yuanfang's growth was partly due to the lack of competition in Dongping.

Whether it was Walmart or Carrefour, their target markets were high-end customers in large cities.

But Suguo was a mass-market supermarket, specializing in developing in towns, communities, and county-level cities. Suguo's standard approach included discount stores, convenience stores, and community stores.

This made Suguo the biggest competitor for Yuanfang in Jiangbei because Yuanfang was now following the same path.

Previously, Li Dong wasn't in a hurry because the other large malls in Jiangbei didn't care about the town and county-level markets, so he had time to develop.

But now, the wolf is here!

Suguo had deep pockets, and Yuanfang couldn't compare in terms of capital. Once Yuanfang and Suguo competed, they would have almost no advantage.

"Wait, where did you hear about Suguo's expansion into Jiangbei?"

After thinking about it, Li Dong still found it odd. In his previous life, Suguo's coverage was in the Su-Yu-Lu region, and Jiangbei wasn't their target area.

Moreover, he remembered that the first Suguo supermarket in Jiangbei opened in 2008, and China Resources had just acquired Suguo, so it didn't seem like the right time for such a big move.

Sun Tao was also a bit confused by Li Dong's reaction and said, "It's what people in the industry are saying."

He was previously the vice president at Carrefour, with wide connections and better information than Li Dong.

"Could it be a smokescreen?" Li Dong asked in doubt.

Sun Tao thought about it and said, "That's possible. Otherwise, the news wouldn't have spread so quickly. At least in Qingyang, there's no word of a Suguo store opening."

Hearing that there were no Suguo stores opening in Qingyang, Li Dong combined it with his memories and concluded that the news was probably a smokescreen. Whether it was spread by Suguo themselves or was speculation by others was unknown.

However, even if it was a smokescreen, Li Dong couldn't afford to take it lightly.

Suguo might not come now, but one day they would.

Currently, Yuanfang only had one store in Dongping truly in operation. Compared to the giant that was Suguo, it was as fragile as a paper tiger.

To secure a place in Jiangbei's retail market, Yuanfang would eventually have to face off against those large supermarket chains.

Time—it all came down to time.

Originally, after acquiring Longhua Mall, Li Dong felt that he was moving too fast and planned to slow down.

But now it seemed that his pace wasn't fast enough. Suguo could open over a hundred stores in Jiangbei within a year, while Yuanfang, at its current rate, wouldn't be able to match that even in a hundred years.

"Brother Sun, I'm planning to start renovating Longhua Plaza right away, and I want it open by the end of the year!" Li Dong said firmly, having made up his mind.

Sun Tao noticed this and, after a moment of hesitation, asked, "Are you planning to use the funds from the shopping cards?"

"Yes!"

"What if there's a rush to cash in the shopping cards?" Sun Tao reminded him.

A rush to cash in shopping cards wasn't unheard of; some small supermarkets had gone bankrupt due to a cash-in rush, resulting in a broken cash flow and eventual closure.

Li Dong, however, was unfazed. "Three to five million will be enough for the renovation. Once a few branches start making profits, it'll quickly cover the shortfall."

Sun Tao shook his head, disapproving. "You can't be too careful. What if the branches don't perform as expected and don't meet the goals..."

"Manager Sun!"

For the first time, Li Dong addressed Sun Tao as "Manager Sun" when they were alone, and he said seriously, "If you're always scared of the risks, you'll never get anything done! Yuanfang doesn't need conservatism right now. If we want to grow big, if we want to become the leader in Jiangbei's retail industry, how can we succeed without taking risks?"

Sun Tao felt enlightened, the worry on his face gradually fading, and his eyes brightened.

Becoming the leader in Jiangbei's retail industry!

This was the first time Li Dong had voiced his goal, the future direction of Yuanfang!

Yes, how could they succeed without taking risks? How could they defeat those large, well-funded retail giants?

The time for cautious, steady growth had passed. The market was evolving rapidly, and by the time Yuanfang was ready, the market might no longer have room for them.

"Then let's do as Boss Li says!"

Sun Tao's voice was firm and strong, his previous fatigue replaced by a renewed sense of vigor.

Yuanfang may be small, but its creator had great ambitions, and dreams do come true one day!