Chapter 190: Do It, But Not Like This

A product's poor sales didn't break Li Xian. He wasn't that fragile; he just felt that the BGM of "A Cut of Cold Plum" had a unique charm. Even if it was like a scene from a drama, it was clear that Zhu Feng, who didn't understand the reference, was frightened. After bringing Old Zhu to calm Li Xian down, Zhu Feng immediately gathered the factory's sales staff for a meeting to conduct follow-ups.

Seeing Zhu Feng's nervous demeanor, Li Xian stopped him and personally picked up the phone to call several regional distributors with good sales records.

The first call was to the distributor in the Beilin region.

The call connected quickly. When Li Xian asked the distributor what they thought of the high-end version of Bangye liquor, the distributor had a lot of complaints:

"Manager Li, we actually want to sell this product well too. We make 30 cents profit per bottle of regular Bangye liquor, but we could make 4 yuan per bottle of the high-end version. Of course, we want to push this product. But no one's buying it!"

Hearing this, Li Xian asked about the reasons. He first thought it might be due to price or advertising issues.

In 1993, the market economy had just opened up. With a flood of products facing the market, and consumers accustomed to the planned economy era's rationing, most of them were in a state of confusion.

In this time, whoever could gain visibility, customer recognition, and dominate market attention would be the king.

Economists later termed this period as the "marketing era," emphasizing that in this age, the marketing impact outweighed the product's inherent quality.

Looking at the development of Chinese companies, nearly all that rose in the early 1990s relied heavily on marketing.

The most famous example is Lenovo. Liu Chuanzhi, a representative of the "market-oriented" economic thought, believed that focusing on technology would consume massive resources with uncertain results. Instead, he advocated for vigorous market expansion, which eventually helped Lenovo establish a dominant position in the industry.

As for high-end liquor, the story of Moutai's success was not merely due to its taste, but its status as the "national liquor" praised by Zhou Enlai, making it a cultural icon.

Li Xian understood this well from previous experiences. So when his product faced issues, his first thought was whether the marketing approach was flawed.

But the distributor's answer was unexpected: "Manager Li, I don't think it's an advertising issue. We've advertised on provincial and radio stations, and the regular Bangye liquor is already well-known. We're also doing active promotion ourselves. The effort is considerable."

"What could it be then?"

Upon hearing this, Li Xian was truly puzzled.

The distributor on the other end of the phone was silent for a moment before explaining a matter that puzzled him about why the high-end Bangye liquor wasn't selling well. After a market survey, he received feedback from a tobacco and liquor store.

The feedback was that the high-end liquor wasn't selling because it was neither here nor there. For gifts, customers usually choose prestigious brands like Moutai, while for personal consumption, the regular Bangye liquor suffices. Thus, the market demand for the high-end version was low.

"Manager Li, I just heard this feedback casually. Please don't take it to heart."

After this, Li Xian was silent on the phone. The distributor, worried about offending him, quickly added a disclaimer.

Li Xian came back to his senses and said, "Thank you, Mr. Han. I'll take this seriously. This is the honest truth! We've misjudged the high-end product. So, stop all activities for the high-end version. Tomorrow, I'll instruct the sales staff to collect all the stock from your area."

In the office, hearing this decision, Old Zhu and Zhu Feng were shocked: "Xianzi, what about the returned liquor? Are we not doing it anymore?"

After a few polite exchanges with the distributor, Li Xian hung up and started gathering the scattered reports from the floor. He then sat down and began writing and drawing on the back of two reports.

If we're going to do it, let's do it right.

...

It wasn't until after eleven that Li Xian left the office, now holding a draft. He met Old Zhu, who was locking up for the day, and asked him to tell Yang Shuzhen to come to the house later for a discussion.

Li Xian's requests were more effective with Yang Shuzhen than with his own son, Zhu Feng. Yang Shuzhen arrived at the house by noon.

"Xianzi, what's up? Why did you call for me?"

During this time, the men and the two daughters were busy at the factory, so Yang Shuzhen took on the housework. She arrived still wearing an apron, obviously having just finished cooking.

Li Xian put down his chopsticks and called her to the table, "Auntie, you still have that black pottery skill, right?"

"Of course, I haven't thrown it away." Yang Shuzhen was a traditional woman from a family that had migrated east. She was very proper, never sitting at the table when the men were eating.

Sitting next to Li Xian, she was half-seated, not touching the tableware: "It's a family tradition, can't throw it away."

Li Xian nodded, "That's good. Auntie, I want to create a high-end liquor for our factory. But considering our factory's heritage is still lacking, I want to focus on packaging and appearance. However, porcelain or glass bottles don't seem upscale enough. I was thinking, could your black pottery skill be useful?"

Yang Shuzhen was surprised by this request: "Can black pottery work?"

Li Xian knew that after sending Old Zhu away in his later years and with the children's situation improving a bit, Yang Shuzhen had taken up black pottery again, not for making money, but as a hobby to pass the time in her lonely old age.

This mindset resulted in exquisitely beautiful pieces.

Bangye White didn't lack flavor or appearance; it lacked a certain... let's call it prestige.

For instance, Moutai's success wasn't just because of its taste but also its status as a "national liquor" praised by Premier Zhou Enlai, which added cultural value.

Likewise, the new entrant, Kongfu Family, wasn't noted for its taste. As a low-alcohol Beijing liquor, it was inferior to the rich flavor of Bangye liquor. However, its effective marketing and cultural positioning made it a preferred choice for high-end gatherings.

Bangye needed a cultural core to be considered high-end. However, the local culture was minimal.

Thus, Li Xian decided to focus on black pottery, a tradition with a rich history but little current recognition.

Yang Shuzhen was delighted that her ancestral skill was recognized. She immediately went to get clay and demonstrated black pottery making in the kiln behind the house.

Li Xian stopped her, "Auntie, I don't need to see it. Just teach the ceramics factory how to do it."

Hearing this, Yang Shuzhen was hesitant.

"What's wrong, Auntie? Can't it be taught outside?" Li Xian asked in confusion.

"It's not that," Yang Shuzhen shook her head, "it's just that black pottery is quite particular. The ceramics factory's production line might not handle it well..."

Li Xian didn't believe this; he thought nothing was impossible to put on a production line. He called in Gui Changfa to observe the demonstration of clay making and molding.

After Gui Changfa and a few technicians reviewed the entire process, they grinned.

"Boss Li, you overestimate our ceramics factory. Black pottery is so complex; even if we used manual methods, it would be difficult to handle."

Hearing this, Li Xian was stunned.

Damn it, could it be that I need a whole manual production line?