Chapter 218: The Old Female Driver Leads the Way

Although Li Xian also dealt in sanitary napkins, he held a deep-seated respect for Anle. 

As a time traveler, having an advantage over his contemporaries often came from knowing the outcome of future events—even if he had only a partial understanding of the process.

This could easily create a delusion of being "special" or "godlike."

But Li Xian remained clear-headed.

Anle had entered the female care industry as early as 1985, which was groundbreaking during the planned economy era when menstrual products for Chinese women were practically nonexistent.

In such an environment, investing millions was a bold move by Anle's founder.

For Li Xian, entering an industry not based on predictions but on the judgment of a businessman about profit and market potential was genuine skill.

It was much more impressive than his own efforts.

Thus, even though Li Xian had stepped into the related sanitary napkin industry from the tissue paper sector, his initial goal was to make money, not to compete with others.

There was enough market to go around; it was so vast and untapped, right?

However, this kind of thinking was naïve in the business world.

Hujian, Jinjiang Anhai, Heng'an Industry.

Coincidentally, the company was also holding a market summary report on the new protective wing sanitary napkin.

"Mr. Xu, the new product has been rolled out comprehensively in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, and the advertising follow-up has been handled. The reorders are looking good. In just the past week, thirty-eight distributors in Pushi alone sold 43,000 pieces, and the end-user response has been quite positive."

In the meeting room, General Manager Xu Lianjie was quite pleased with this performance.

In fact, the company had considered introducing a protective wing sanitary napkin production line and upgrading the existing Anle napkins since last year. However, despite selling for eight years, Anle napkins had already captured 40% of the Chinese sanitary napkin market. The cost of replacing it was too high, and they had hesitated to proceed.

But with the launch of Weiyu's protective wing and its hot sales in first-tier cities nationwide, Heng'an, the leader in female care products, could no longer contain itself.

Being an early mover in the industry not only meant fame but also gave Heng'an a head start, staying ahead of all domestic female care product companies.

This advantage easily fostered a sense of having staked claim to a previously unclaimed territory. The land they had cultivated was theirs, but even the unplowed land subconsciously felt like theirs too.

Seeing others encroach made them anxious.

Therefore, after witnessing the success of Weiyu's protective wing, Heng'an decided to launch the new product that had been pending. The primary target of this new product launch was Weiyu.

"How's the sales of Hengyuan Weiyu now? Have you investigated?" 

Xu Lianjie, who was forty this year and in the prime of his career, looked older than his actual age due to the wrinkles on his forehead.

Like many private entrepreneurs, Xu, who came from a farming background, had an acute sense of crisis. Just as he had switched from a clothing factory to a sanitary napkin factory ten years ago due to fears of thinning profits from increasing competitors, Heng'an had become like a fierce guard dog, fiercely protecting its territory as foreign investments and new domestic manufacturers began emerging in 1991.

It was exhausting, but the result was the "market leader" title.

"Mr. Xu, it seems that Weiyu's sales have not changed much. According to sales surveys at Pushi Minxiang Supermarket, our Anle product was heavily promoted last week, but Weiyu's shelf sales decreased by 2 percentage points with almost no other changes."

"Increase promotional efforts! Boost local advertising!" Xu Lianjie interrupted the sales manager's report midway, "I want them to exit the first-line market within six months!"

...

"Our previous report indicated that only one-third of women of menstruating age across the country use sanitary napkins, and in remote areas, according to data from the Health Ministry, this ratio in first- and second-tier cities is only one in twenty-five. I think we should focus on increasing awareness about sanitary napkins, especially among young women."

In Binhai Hengyuan, Li Xian rolled up his sleeves and personally led a group of subordinates in developing strategies for expanding into the second-tier market.

The paper was covered in chaotic pencil marks, but the core ideas were clear.

"Mr. Li, according to your thoughts, we can target universities and various enterprises and institutions. The proportion of young women of menstruating age there is higher."

In response to a female staff member's suggestion from the sales team, Li Xian pointed at the paper with his pencil to show approval, "Good idea, but pay attention to the methods."

Recalling the marketing strategy from his time at Bangye Forestry Bureau, which made Sina's premium short-lived success, someone immediately proposed a similar free experience activity targeting female students or employees in universities and institutions.

This approach wasn't quite right. Li Xian smiled and waved his hand, "The cost is too high. When we were doing tissues, the cost was just a few cents per roll. Now with sanitary napkins, it's simply unaffordable."

Among the young people, Li Xian's age was similar to most of the company's management, making the discussions feel less formal. It was more like a group of university students brainstorming a solution to a difficult problem.

Although the efficiency was a bit low, the collaborative process felt particularly relaxed.

Those whose suggestions were rejected scratched their heads, smiling awkwardly.

"My idea is to use a charitable approach." Li Xian tossed the pencil on the paper, leaned on the table, and addressed everyone, "How about we partner with hospitals across different regions to hold named women's health clinics? During these clinics, we could have local sales teams promote Weiyu protective wing sanitary napkins to the women attending. What do you think?"

Everyone's eyes lit up.

"Great idea! However, I think the clinic format might not be the most efficient. How about changing it to a women's health seminar? We could hold the seminar in universities and promote it through newspapers and radio in the name of the hospital."

"It doesn't have to be mutually exclusive. We could also conduct some on-site clinics during the seminar. Besides those with hygiene issues, most problems are related to inadequate menstrual care. We can leverage this well. Just make sure to coordinate with doctors and experts in advance."

In such settings, female employees often came up with more ideas than male colleagues.

Watching the female staff continuously improve and enhance Li Xian's ideas, the men, with their faces flushed, could only look on with different eyes.

"Wow, although I don't quite understand, it sounds impressive!"

The male staff looked at the leading female drivers, their eyes sparkling with admiration.