Chapter 234: Unexpected

In the Guanhai Store.

In the office on the third floor, Li Dong gazed out the window.

He stared at the bustling Carrefour across the street, his brows furrowed, deep in thought.

Standing behind Li Dong, Cao Chun looked dejected and somewhat distracted.

Beside them, Liu Qi glanced at her watch and softly said, "Mr. Li, it's noon. It's time to eat."

Li Dong waved his hand and asked Cao Chun, "What's the current sales figure?"

Cao Chun quickly replied, "According to the inventory ten minutes ago, it's 970,000."

"970,000…"

Li Dong murmured, the figure sounded not too low.

In just one morning, nearly a million in sales for a single store is impressive. If this got out, others would likely be envious.

But from Li Dong and Yuanfang's perspective, this performance was completely inadequate.

Located in the city center, with 5,000 square meters of space, a 10% discount, and a car giveaway...

With all these activities combined, Yuanfang was practically operating at a loss, and it was only the first day. Yet, the morning sales were just over 900,000.

This was the provincial capital, the city center!

If all ten stores had sales at this level, the total sales for the opening might not exceed ten million by the end of the day.

In comparison, when the store in Fucheng opened, with a lower economic level and fewer stores, it still achieved over ten million in sales on the first day.

Comparing the two, this opening in Pingchuan was a big failure!

Despite Li Dong being prepared and aware of the intense competition, the result still left him deeply disappointed.

He claimed that whether or not they made money didn't matter, but judging by today's performance, it seemed unlikely that these stores would make much profit within the next few months.

With a total investment of nearly fifty million for these ten stores, under other circumstances, it could break even in three to five months to a year at most.

But now, recouping that fifty million seemed like a distant dream.

This was just the beginning; more than twenty more stores were set to open, with a total investment of over one hundred million. If they performed like today, Li Dong might end up heartbroken.

Investing over one hundred million and not seeing returns for two to three years would be quite disheartening.

The supermarket industry's golden period is just these five to six years; if it takes two to three years to break even, how much profit can be made in the remaining years?

Maybe for others, doubling the investment in five to six years is already worthwhile, but for Li Dong, that would be a massive loss.

A slew of thoughts ran through his mind, but Li Dong quickly suppressed them.

In the end, it was the competition causing trouble. If they could eliminate other supermarkets and become the sole dominant player, the result would be vastly different.

Although they didn't make money today, Li Dong believed the other supermarkets were also struggling.

Now it's a matter of who can endure longer. If they can drive out the competition, profitable days are ahead.

Li Dong sighed and said to Cao Chun, "You did well. Keep up the good work."

Cao Chun's face flushed red, and he said quietly, "Thank you, Mr. Li."

To be honest, today's performance was a significant embarrassment for him. He had boasted in the morning, but the results were disappointing.

For others, a million in sales in one morning and at least 1.5 million by the end of the day is not too shabby.

But for him, the store manager of Yuanfang's top-performing store last month in Fucheng—where the store had achieved a daily sales of 1.5 million—this result was unacceptable.

With countless promotions, extensive advertising, nearly no profit margin, and a superior location and size compared to his previous store, to see sales just at this level on the first day was humiliating.

Cao Chun felt deeply ashamed.

Li Dong glanced at him, noticing his flushed face, and understood what he was thinking.

He smiled and said, "You've done well. It's mainly due to the competition. Carrefour has been established for over a year. It's not surprising that we're facing such results."

Carrefour was also running promotions, which diverted some of the customer base.

Moreover, Carrefour had a stable customer base, and Yuanfang was just starting in Guanhai. It's unrealistic to capture all of Carrefour's business immediately.

Understanding that Li Dong was giving him an out, Cao Chun took a deep breath and said, "Thank you, Mr. Li! But this is just the beginning. Rest assured, Guanhai Store One will not lose face for the company under my management!"

Li Dong raised an eyebrow and said, "Steady progress. Don't put too much psychological pressure on yourself. I'm prepared for a year of no profit."

Cao Chun didn't say anything more. At this point, words were meaningless without results.

To recover his reputation, he needed actual performance. No matter how well he spoke, it was hollow without results.

Others wouldn't care about the pressure or competition; they would just say he was inexperienced and ineffective.

He had once been envied for becoming the Guanhai Store manager so quickly, but now, if his performance didn't improve, there would be plenty of gossip.

It was similar to Qi Yunna, the city manager in Fucheng. She managed to turn things around on the opening day and established her position.

But with today's failure and no improvement in the future, not only could Li Dong potentially replace him, but he himself might not have the face to stay.

Seeing his expression, Li Dong didn't say more.

He looked at Carrefour across the street once again and said, "This is both a challenge and a test. Do your best."

With that, Li Dong left the office. Cao Chun hesitated for a moment and then caught up with him, saying, "Mr. Li, lunch…"

"I'll eat on my own. It's already a busy day; I don't want to add to the trouble."

Seeing Li Dong and Liu Qi leave without stopping, Cao Chun clenched his fist, feeling a bit unsettled.

---

After lunch, Li Dong visited several other stores. By the time he returned to the office, it was nearly eight o'clock.

Most employees had gone home, but the finance department's lights were still on, and Sun Tao's office light was still on.

Li Dong knocked on Sun Tao's office door, and after hearing a response from inside, he pushed the door open and walked in.

Upon entering, Li Dong shook his head and said, "Sun Ge, you're not young anymore. You should find a wife soon. You're the company's general manager, yet you're hiding in the office eating a box lunch. Isn't that embarrassing?"

Sun Tao smiled and wiped his mouth with a napkin before replying, "Well, it's all about filling the stomach. It doesn't matter what I eat."

"So according to your logic, making money is pointless? As long as we don't starve, why bother working hard to earn money?"

"I won't argue with you about this. It's an endless debate."

"You're at a loss for words." Li Dong laughed and then said, "Seriously, when you find a girlfriend, I'll give you a big red envelope and send you abroad for a honeymoon."

"No rush…"

"No rush? You're thirty-five this year, right?"

Sun Tao sighed, "Could you not reveal my age? I've been telling people I'm thirty."

Li Dong laughed heartily and, after finishing, asked, "Seriously, haven't you found anyone suitable?"

"Are you planning to play matchmaker for me?"

Sun Tao waved his hand and said, "Let's not discuss this now. How's the situation?"

Changing the subject, Li Dong shook his head slightly and said, "It's not looking good. The three competitors are all lowering their prices. It seems they're determined to compete with us to the end. Today, with ten stores, sales may not even exceed ten million."

Sun Tao frowned slightly. This result was indeed not ideal.

With sales under ten million, and considering the promotions and expenses, the total profit from opening ten stores today would likely not exceed 300,000.

In other words, the average profit per store was only 30,000. For the first day of opening, a 30,000 profit per store was too little.

Last year, the Dongping store's opening day profit was nearly 200,000.

The Longhua store's opening was even more profitable, with a profit exceeding 500,000 in one day.

Comparing these, the difference was too significant.

Sun Tao lightly tapped the desk and said after a while, "Price wars are too costly. Should we try negotiating with them?"

Li Dong frowned, "Would they be willing?"

He didn't want a price war, which would only lead to mutual losses.

If prices were restored, once Yuanfang's new stores stabilized, dealing with other supermarkets would be easier.

After all, one Yuanfang store was roughly equivalent to the total number of other supermarkets in Pingchuan.

As long as they accumulated some popularity, Yuanfang's customer base would grow, and capturing market share wouldn't be too difficult.

But Li Dong knew that if he could think of this, so could the other supermarket leaders.

They were initiating the price war to make Yuanfang's stores struggle. More stores meant more investment. If the stores remained unprofitable or even lost money, Yuanfang would suffer more.

"Let's give it a try. We won't know until we try. I'll arrange a meeting with my old boss for tea tomorrow to see what he

 thinks," Sun Tao said with a smile.

Li Dong nodded in agreement. He knew who Sun Tao's old boss was.

But Li Dong didn't hold out much hope. Carrefour's business today was not bad, and their capital was substantial; switching sides wouldn't be so easy.

Moreover, a price war wasn't something a branch manager could decide alone. It depended on Carrefour's higher-ups' views.

In Li Dong's opinion, the only way to make them reconsider was to show them Yuanfang's determination.

As they chatted a bit more, a knock on the door interrupted them.

Liu Hongmei entered and, seeing Li Dong, greeted them before saying, "Mr. Li, Mr. Sun, the performance figures for each store at eight o'clock have been compiled."

"How much?"

"Total: 10.25 million!"

"Over ten million?"

Li Dong was somewhat surprised. According to his previous estimate, they might not exceed ten million by the end of the day.

But now it was only eight o'clock, and the performance had suddenly surged.

"Mainly due to the Guanhai Store One. The afternoon performance saw a remarkable increase and has now surpassed two million," Liu Hongmei explained.

Li Dong was truly surprised. Normally, it wasn't a holiday, and it got dark early, so the morning was the golden time.

The Guanhai Store One had only made about ninety thousand in the morning, yet the afternoon performance was even higher. This was a bit unscientific.

Liu Hongmei added, "In the afternoon, Guanhai Store One gave away a car, which significantly boosted sales."

Li Dong immediately understood. It made sense; after giving away a car, sales would naturally spike.

However, it was only the first day, and another car had gone out. Li Dong's luck seemed quite poor.

The same thing happened in Qingyang; a car was given away on the first day.

It seemed that next time, if there were more promotions, the probability of winning should be lowered; otherwise, these prizes might not last long.