Chapter 139: He Yang’s Ideas

Li Xian was not surprised by Huihuang Paper's foray into fine tissue paper.

The success of Xinao Premium Tissue Paper was built on the era's lack of awareness about tissue paper use. It offered a high-quality product that stood out from the coarse paper available on the market. The strategy was based on a difference in concept.

However, there's not much technological content in tissue paper. To make it whiter, more bleach and fluorescent agents are added. To make it finer, more wood pulp and cotton pulp are used. While the proportions matter, the principle is straightforward.

If other manufacturers want to enter the market, Li Xian couldn't stop them. He had anticipated that even without Huihuang, other paper mills would follow suit.

After all, the profit margin is substantial, isn't it? If he hadn't considered this, he wouldn't be so eager to develop napkins. As Zhou Xiaobo had previously threatened him, given the current product structure of the company, if anything went wrong with Xinao Premium, the whole business could be at risk.

What he didn't expect was how quickly Huihuang Paper acted.

Just a month after Zhou Xiaobo discussed the matter before the property change, Huihuang had already developed a product and launched an advertising blitz imitating Xinao. The speed was impressive.

According to Chen Shulin, Huihuang had advertised their "Huihuang Ultra-Fine Tissue Paper" during the evening slots on Longjiang TV. However, it had not yet appeared on the market—at least not in Beilin.

Li Xian speculated that Huihuang aimed to build product awareness first, and the next step would be to use their existing distribution channels to launch it.

Although Xinao's distribution network now covers the entire Longjiang Province, Xinao is still relatively new compared to Huihuang, which has been in the tissue paper industry for nearly ten years and is backed by the Ma Shengli Group.

"Director, now that someone's copying us, what should we do?" Chen Shulin was quite agitated. In his view, Xinao Premium's popularity in Longjiang was driven by their company, so any similar products were seen as direct competitors.

Li Xian waved his hand and told Chen Shulin to stay calm.

He thought for a moment and decided that stabilizing the current distribution network was crucial. The new network was still fragile and couldn't afford any mistakes.

"Here's the plan. Keep a close watch on Huihuang's market movements. Try to get samples of their finished product and information on their channel pricing and market retail price. Then, you should communicate with the distributors directly."

"How should I communicate? Director, should we lower our prices? Pressure them on price before they hit the market!"

You're so blunt!

Seeing Chen Shulin's righteous fury, as if he was ready to fight, Li Xian gave him a stern look.

Jumping straight into a price war without understanding the market situation first would only create chaos. Does he want to make the market even more chaotic?

"No price cuts!" Li Xian immediately rejected Chen Shulin's suggestion.

Currently, Xinao Premium is still the only high-quality tissue paper on the market, so when negotiating with distributors, the policy is strict. The only thing they get is the exclusive distribution rights for their region, with no discounts on the purchase price.

With this in mind, Li Xian formulated a plan.

"Old Chen, here's what we'll do. Go to the product department and have them quickly develop a small packaging option with six rolls per pack. Let's call it Xinao Premium Deluxe Pack.

Then, have the marketing department contact all the distributors, informing them that we're expanding our production capacity and preparing a major promotional event.

For now, if they place an order for ten thousand packs of Premium, we'll give them two thousand packs of Deluxe for free. Also, prepare a promotional plan for them to follow.

Make sure this promotion is loud and clear. We need to push the stock of Xinao Premium on the market to the maximum in the short term!"

Chen Shulin considered this and nodded, "That sounds good. We need to stabilize the market first. Let the distributors hold some activities and fill the market!"

Li Xian nodded, "Okay, I'll leave this to you."

"Understood!" Chen Shulin nodded and then realized something, "What about you, Director?"

"Me?"

Li Xian looked up, "I'll handle the insurance for the company."

...

By "insurance," Li Xian was referring to napkins.

Without Huihuang's interference, napkins could be developed gradually and introduced to the market step by step. But with Huihuang's aggressive moves, the future of Xinao Premium was uncertain. To safeguard the company, a secondary avenue needed to be opened.

After the production adjustment earlier in the year, while the company's efficiency improved, the transition from two production lines to one had increased competitiveness but also reduced risk resistance.

So, developing the napkin market would serve as a backup plan in case the tissue paper market faced turbulence, preventing severe damage to the company.

A dual approach was necessary.

Resolved, Li Xian set out to Harbin after Chen Shulin executed the defensive plan. He bought a train ticket to Harbin.

Fearing that he might not be reachable while traveling, Li Xian decided to buy a large, cumbersome mobile phone for nearly 19,000 yuan. Holding it, he felt it was a waste.

In a few years, phones like this would become obsolete. Yet, despite disliking it, he had no choice but to use it—just like dealing with arranged marriages, public transportation, and hemorrhoid ointment.

Reluctantly, he boarded the green train to Harbin, carrying his own misgivings.

Upon arrival in Harbin, he went straight to the local distributor of Xinao Premium near the To-Lung area.

As the first distributor of Xinao Premium, they had agreed to represent the napkins when the company introduced them. However, since last year, sales were low compared to the average daily shipment of twelve tons, with only about fifteen hundred packs sold.

The distributor explained that napkins faced different challenges compared to tissue paper. They were sold in various stores, wholesale departments, and small shops, requiring targeted promotion to restaurants.

Though napkins had a higher unit price, the irregular market points and varying levels of acceptance from restaurants made it a tough business.

Understanding these issues, Li Xian fell into deep thought.

The party needing the product didn't recognize its value, while those seeking profit saw it as not worth the effort.

This… was awkward.

Li Xian remained puzzled until he left the distributor's office. He recognized the problem but couldn't pinpoint the key issue.

Without resolving this, napkins would never succeed.

Unable to find a solution, Li Xian stood in front of the bustling To-Lung street and shook his head.

At that moment, his large mobile phone rang.

He answered it amidst the admiring looks from people around him. It was Xu Maoheng, who had called him on the train earlier.

Learning about Li Xian's current confusion, Xu Maoheng seemed to take pleasure in it, "Still confused about something, little brother? Haha, I thought you were a genius."

A bit irritated by Xu Maoheng's playful tone, Li Xian received an invitation for dinner and a discussion about machine tools.

Li Xian, interested in the machine tools, bought some cigarettes and alcohol as a belated New Year's gift for Wang Tiecheng, who had spent the New Year alone in Ice City.

He hailed a taxi and told the chatty driver the restaurant's name. The old-fashioned three-wheeled taxi bumped along the uneven street, and Li Xian, bouncing in the back, found the driver's chatter increasingly annoying.

Bored, he noticed a small book next to him.

Picking it up, he was disappointed to find it wasn't a risqué book but rather a small printed book commonly seen at train stations and commercial areas. The cover was yellowed and cheap, with the title "He Yang's Ideas" printed in crude ink.

Li Xian couldn't help but laugh.

The book was thin and presented a few "creative product ideas" with naive notions, such as chopsticks marked with the days of the week or a magic wine bottle showing how much alcohol was left.

The twenty-third page featured "Condom Bubble Gum."

There were no technical details, just whimsical and impractical ideas.

From a modern perspective, it seemed rudimentary, but in this era, such books were groundbreaking. In a time when product innovation was scarce, these unconventional ideas offered a fresh perspective for business.

More importantly, He Yang was undeniably smart.

His most notable achievement was the transformation of Jinhua ham; a product with nearly eight centuries of history that had struggled to find a market. When He Yang suggested turning Jinhua ham into canned products, it revived the industry and earned him a reward of 100,000 yuan. That year, Jinhua ham made over 30 million yuan in profits.

But after gaining fame, He Yang became arrogant. He published an uninspired idea book—like the one Li Xian was holding—and claimed to have an IQ just shy of a perfect score, surpassing even Einstein.

As the saying goes, those whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make mad.

This was perfectly illustrated by He Yang's story.

In 1999, a lawsuit from Ningxia Acid Girl drinks accused He Yang of fraud, claiming he took 1 million yuan under the pretense of helping Acid Girl get on CCTV ads.

A month later, He Yang was sentenced to 12 years in prison for fraud.

Such was the man.

Looking at the small book and reflecting on He Yang's experience, Li Xian shook his head

 and set the impractical idea book aside.

The cold wind through the carriage turned the poor-quality pages.

The blurred text seemed like small, chaotic spirits with petty ambitions, dancing in front of Li Xian's eyes.

He looked away.

After some thought, Li Xian patted the taxi driver on the shoulder, "Excuse me, where can I find an advertising company in Ice City?"

The driver responded, "A couple of streets ahead, there are several!"

"Okay." Li Xian nodded, "Please take me there."

"Ah? Not to the restaurant?"

"Let's handle business first." Li Xian then put the book "He Yang's Ideas" into his briefcase with napkin samples.

From that moment, he felt a bit grateful to He Yang.

Despite the book's lack of sincerity and sensationalism, it had inspired him.

He remembered how Mr. Wu Xiaobo described this young man who shook up commercial thinking in the 90s in his book "The Thrilling Thirty Years":

"He Yang's fame made everyone who wasn't averse to business feel that knowledge equals money, and a shift in thinking is the start of wealth. In this sense, he inspired a generation to engage in business. If we don't judge heroes by success or failure, He Yang had a positive impact on the Chinese economy."

Mr. Wu was right.

Li Xian thought to himself.