Chapter 144: When One Side Fails, the Other Side Thrives

Considering the recent unrest within the company, Li Xian held a management meeting before leaving.

Sitting to his left, Chen Shulin had developed another blister on his mouth. Listening to the factory manager spouting nonsense even he couldn't believe, Old Chen rolled his eyes repeatedly.

Unlike when he was at the forestry bureau, Xinlao Paper was just a small factory with two hundred people, and the worries were manageable. But now the scope had expanded, and with New North Paper being a joint-stock company, even minor fluctuations in management brought pressure from both employees and the district government.

Moreover, the constant flood of calls from agents demanding solutions to stabilize the situation had been overwhelming for the over-fifty-year-old veteran.

So what to do when overwhelmed?

Push Li Xian.

Having figured out the routine from previous experiences, Chen Shulin knew: when in trouble, find the factory manager, drag out the issue, and this guy would definitely come up with a solution.

"Factory Director, how the hell do we stabilize this? I don't manage the workshop, so I don't know. But the agents are furious, demanding more advertising or a price cut. We've already done all the advertising—provincial TV, provincial traffic broadcast, plus agent promotions. But you don't want a price cut. What do you expect me to do?"

Chen Shulin was speaking the truth, but Li Xian was at a loss.

Currently, the profit per unit of paper had shrunk by a dime, meaning a daily profit of nearly ten thousand yuan had disappeared!

Could the price be lowered further?

Yes.

After optimizing New North Paper's production process by separating the wood pulp and paper production lines and streamlining the staff structure at Beilin Paper Factory, eliminating redundant positions, the profit per unit of sanitary paper could reach 65 cents. But with the current price, Li Xian dared not make further reductions.

Any more cuts would surely drag the company into a price war.

A full-scale price war with Huihuang Paper was not something Li Xian wanted to face. Even if New North Paper's scale and existing capital managed to outlast the competition, what would be the point of winning if it meant destroying the company?

Price adjustments are easy, and the effects are immediate. But once prices are pushed down, it's hard to bring them back up.

Li Xian couldn't afford to make such a reckless move.

Chen Shulin had his say, and Zhao Dongliang also started lamenting, "Old Chen's right, Mr. Li. Now that the workshop has shifted from two shifts to one, the employees are quite unhappy. You said we'd work on napkins, but it's been a hassle and they haven't sold. Employees didn't understand, and now with the reduction in roll paper production, some are even talking about withdrawing their shares to find a way out."

Upon hearing this, Li Xian slammed the table, "I'm now accepting any withdrawal of shares!"

Damn it, trying to corner me?

"Do you not know how the shares in employees' hands came about? If anyone talks about withdrawing again, let them give me a share transfer agreement immediately. I'll write a receipt for them. Whatever amount, I'll buy it all!"

Seeing Li Xian's fury, Zhao Dongliang awkwardly said, "It's just that everyone is worried the factory might not be doing well. With Huihuang making such a big move, everyone is scared…"

"Scared? If you're scared of a little noise, don't grow crops! Old Zhao, you're not needed for this meeting. Go down to the workshop now and find out how many want to withdraw. I'll buy them all out immediately!"

Seeing Zhao Dongliang hesitating, Li Xian snorted, "Anyone can handle smooth sailing, but we're running a company! What company doesn't face difficulties? What market doesn't have competitors? If business were that easy, everyone in the country would be rich. Could we even have a turn? Facing this minor issue now with grandstanding—what will it be like in the future?"

Though he was burning with anger, Li Xian knew it was not the time to stir up more trouble. He heavily reminded everyone present that any further talk of withdrawing shares would be handled immediately.

At this moment, a knock came at the meeting room door.

A female staff member from the business department, who had overheard Li Xian's outburst, hesitated as she saw the somber atmosphere in the room.

Noticing her hesitation at the door, Li Xian pointed, "Something wrong?"

His anger was evident in his tone.

Startled by seeing the usually mild-mannered manager so upset, the woman stammered, "Uh, Mr. Li, we received a lot of calls this morning…"

Chen Shulin, hearing this, waved his hand, "If it's more agents complaining, don't bother."

"No, no, no, it's not that…" The woman, nervous and stumbling over her words, continued, "It's from some advertising companies. They said…"

"Looking to place an order for paper?" Upon hearing it was advertising companies, Li Xian immediately stood up, interrupting her.

"Yes!" The woman responded promptly.

"How many orders?" Li Xian asked quickly.

"Over five… fifty thousand packs in the morning!"

"How many?" Chen Shulin's face was incredulous, "Say that again?"

"Fifty thousand packs! Small packs, no printing."

"Napkins, not roll paper?"

"Yes, yes, yes…"

Wow!

Li Xian clapped his hands.

It seemed the first batch of advertising companies had successfully distributed the napkin ads. With the new advertising channel appearing to be initially successful, he gained confidence.

"Looks like the East is failing, but the West is thriving!"

Chen Shulin muttered to the side.

…

In Harbin, after the first batch of clients were secured by several advertising companies, napkin ads received a remarkable response.

At this time, there were no small packages for everyday use. Therefore, even though the first batch of advertising napkins was given out at restaurants, people generally saved them, using them as handkerchiefs.

This circulation brought a substantial direct benefit to the restaurants using the advertising napkins.

In an era of extremely immature markets, any effective marketing tactic had a more direct impact than in the internet era twenty years later. The barren commercial mindset made new products and methods highly fertile ground for growth.

After the first batch of advertising napkins was distributed, several Harbin-based advertising companies quickly received significant feedback. As the economic and transportation hub of Longjiang Province, these napkins with restaurant business cards printed on them also quickly caught the attention of advertisers and industry peers from other regions.

Like a long-anticipated volcanic eruption, in just one week, napkins finally realized their potential value—what Li Xian had hoped for.

Faced with the sudden surge in napkin business, New North Paper's business department began operating at high speed. Calls poured in from Harbin, flooding the company.

In just three days, the small pack napkin sales jumped from a meager daily output of around ten thousand packs to a staggering 250,000 packs. The two workshops equipped with folding paper machines were running day and night.

The previously slow business volume was suddenly boosted by this unexpected growth point.

Interestingly, the roll paper business was also unexpectedly supplemented in this short period by napkins, which had previously been overlooked by everyone.

This situation indeed resembled what Chen Shulin had muttered—when the East fails, the West thrives!

Watching the busy workshops over the past few days, Li Xian felt revitalized and continued to consider the issue of Xinlao's premium paper.

After the recent business downturn, Xinlao's premium paper sales had bottomed out and stabilized, showing a 45% drop compared to previous sales.

In other words, nearly half of the market share had been taken by Huihuang.

Li Xian couldn't and wouldn't accept this grievance.

Now, Xinlao and Huihuang brands were on the same stage in terms of product quality and pricing. To win this battle, one had to address the issue of market brand recognition.

"Recognition, reputation…"

In his office, Li Xian, gazing out at the snow on the windowsill starting to melt in the warm sun, fell deep in thought.

On the windowsill, the black leather gloves blocked his view.

Staring at the worn paint on the tips of the gloves, Li Xian thought again about the brick wall he had touched when returning from Harbin.

Walls…

Hey!

A flash of inspiration struck.

He immediately picked up the phone and called the business department to buy tickets. At that moment, car horns sounded outside the window. Looking up, he saw a Cherokee parked outside and told them not to bother.

He ran downstairs and kicked Zhou Yong, who had just gotten out of the car, back inside.

"Let's go to Ice City!"

He opened the car door, sat in the back seat, and pointed forward, "Let's set off now!"