Our Glamorous Time - Chapter 72

Chapter 72: Who Is the Falling One

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

This round of DG Organization’s suppressing battle plan had been split into two steps.

The first step was to focus on promoting the ZAMON brand in order to make it China’s most influential luxury brand.

Of course, this step would lose them money. The sale of luxury goods is ultimately limited but the foreigners were very familiar with the principle of “losing some money to gain more visibility”. This would ensure that almost everyone in China would know of ZAMON and DG Organization.

The second step was then produce a market-altering television ad. They would link ZAMON and their other lower-tiered brands together and let the public know that they all originated from the same famous company.

This was similar to how everyone knows that Porsche is a manufacturer of sports cars and if they ever manufactured a bicycle, everyone would also think, “Oh, that’s a bicycle made by Porsche, I’m sure it’s well made.”

DG Organization planned to leverage the same principle.

Why was it necessary to split the plan into two steps? It came from the simplest rule in advertising and media studies which states that the less one broadcasts, the more likely audiences are to accept. Consumers should only be introduced to one concept at a time, so that they will be left with the deepest impression.

A few weeks prior, Charles had just completed the first step and was just about to sail through the second.

Everything appeared to be going smoothly. ZAMON had been launched into the market stably as planned, the individual stores and brands had seen increases in their sales, and investment companies had also conveyed the good news that they already had control over a portion of Aida’s shares. This would be very helpful when DG began launching their competition against Aida.

But at this critical moment, something very important happened.

From the perspective of the Chinese bag industry, Charles had come to steal the largest piece in the market.

Yet in the eyes of these Chinese DG staff, this Australian, middle-aged man was very gentle and affable, diligent and responsible, and even had a bit of sweetness to him.

Whenever he had a bit of time, he would go into each department and converse with each member of the staff; he would also invite the collaborating companies to the office and gift them with Australian kangaroo plush toys. During his last month in China, those people who had come in contact with him, spoke very highly of him.

Precisely because of the detailed way he treated people and handled his tasks, he was able to get ahold of even more key information that was a big help to his plan.

Thus, those who were familiar with him knew that he wasn’t just an easy-going and cute guy but was also one who was decisive and wise.

In the afternoon, he sat in the office of the marketing department and was chatting with several young Chinese staffers. Among them, there were fresh graduates that DG had hired and also those talents that had been stolen from other enterprises, including New Bori and Aida.

Knowing one’s opponent as well as oneself would ensure that no battle would be lost. Charles felt that this phrase was very true, and when he took over DG China, he local talent from within the industry. It had indeed become of use.

At that moment, a girl who had left New Bori was teasing a boy who had come from Aida.

“That trick of Aida’s was really quite a blow,” she said, “Controlling the shares of Mind and in the end when we, New Bori, had managed Sha Ying so well, it was finally given like a dowry to you guys.”

The young man just smiled.

In the previous carnage of war, outsiders probably had no idea about the whole story. But these staff were in the industry and naturally would understand it more clearly than an outsider.

Charles had also seen the news report but he only understood the overall outline. He looked at the boy with interest, “What was the process like, in detail?”

Charles’ feelings were complicated as he returned to his office, because he realized he had completely underestimated Li Zhicheng.

Just now, after his Chinese employees described Aida’s strategy, he clearly understood all the happenings of the previous battle. Under his pressing questions, they had told him all the details of the previous battle between Aida and SMQ as well.

Charles was one who was good at grasping key details. He quickly realized a fact; every time, Li Zhicheng would cast a bait and initiate a provocation towards his opponent. Then, the opponent would naturally go with the flow and fight back.

Eventually, they would fall into Li Zhicheng’s trap. His Aida would appear to not be able to recover from the setback and would be temporarily brought down. But in reality, he had done everything to lead the opponent into doing so.

Then, after a period of time, Li Zhicheng would deliver his fatal blow and completely crush his opponent. And it was those kinds of blows that would totally uproot the enterprise such that his opponent was unable to oppose him ever again.

Why did the front part of this process feel as though as he had experienced it before? Wasn’t it the situation that he and DG China were currently in!?

Although all his thoughts were wild guesses, Charles still broke into cold sweat. Most successful leaders have an acute intuition, and learn to trust their instincts; they don’t base their decisions purely on the analysis of data. Ning Weikai was like that, Li Zhicheng was like that, and the fact that Charles was sitting where he was meant that he was, too.

That afternoon, Charles locked himself in the office and did not see anyone. However, no matter how he thought about it and racked his brains, he still could not decipher what Li Zhicheng would do next.

However, he still managed to realize that there was a common pattern in every one of Li Zhicheng’s great comebacks. He would almost always latch onto the opponent’s fatal flaw and they were thus unable to oppose him.

In the first battle Li Zhicheng fought, SMQ had dedicated all their resources into the Ming Sheng project and were unable to compete against them in time which thus caused them to fall prey to Li Zhicheng taking away the entire mid-tiered bags market.

In the second battle, Sha Ying and Mind fabrics had been tightly bound together. At the same time, New Bori was internally conflicted and its new products had wiped out both their casual bag and outdoor bag markets.

Where was DG China’s weak point now?

Charles thought about it long and hard. With regards to such a leading and outstanding global enterprise like DG, if they had to forcefully pinpoint a weak point, there was only one now:

Chen Zheng.

Determinedly, Charles called over a few of his subordinates he had brought over from Australia.

“You guys keep an eye on Ben for the time being and observe what he has been busy doing. Headquarters also intends to assess if he is suitable to continue in the position of CEO. However, this must be done in secret and it will be best to get a few Chinese employees to work with you. After all, you guys are just like me and are not locals. We’re too eye-catching wherever we go.”

His trusted subordinates all agreed.

A few days later, they brought shocking news back to Charles. After listening, Charles had to control his rage, and immediately roared, “Get Ben to come to my office! Now!”

Chen Zheng was mediocre in a rough business war because he could not be counted as one of the most intelligent businessmen. However, in despicably securing personal gains, he indeed had his way. For example, in the past, he had placed informants in both New Bori and Aida. Now, DG China was his parent company, which both promoted and restricted SMQ. Therefore, he also inserted some informants here.

Thus, on that day, before he had even stepped foot into Charles’ office, he received the news that Charles had flown into a rage and it was likely related to the batch of casual bags he had failed to destroy.

Chen Zheng’s heart started to thump in his chest.

However, he entered Charles’ territory looking as if nothing had happened.

“Hi, Boss,” he smilingly said greeted Charles, who was seated in his chair looking overcast.

Charles’ lungs were about to explode with anger. He was actually typically good with interpersonal relationships, but it did not mean that he had to restrain his anger in front of his subordinate. Especially a subordinate whom he did not hold in high regard, but was unable to get rid of at the moment.

“You’re still selling that batch of casual bags which did not pass the quality test?” he asked, enunciating each and every word.

Chen Zheng said, “What? Of course not, I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

Charles absolutely did not expect that he would flatly deny the accusation. He really had no shame!

“Ben! I clearly told you that the batch of products should not be sold! Yet, my staff spotted them on the shelves in many of the provincial stores! Do all of you Chinese always carry out orders from your superiors in this manner! I am absolutely unable to understand! I will be lodging a complaint with the American headquarters! You are committing a very serious case of negligence of duty!”

Chen Zheng was stunned for a bit before he revealed a confused expression, “Charles, there must be a misunderstanding somewhere. Is it… there were some subordinates in the stores that did not follow orders and secretly took them out to sell? Rest assured I will definitely investigate this case and give you a satisfactory reply.”

Charles was silent, “…”

After a while, he calmed down.

He thought that DG China still could not be independent from Chen Zheng and SMQ if they wanted to expand. Since this incident had already been discovered, they could salvage it before it was too late. As for his complaint, he would wait until the next year once the business had stabilized before swapping Chen Zheng out.

Thus, he changed to a more advising tone, “Ben, I’m sure you completely did not think that this incident poses a very big threat to us.” He told Chen Zheng his analysis of Li Zhicheng from the afternoon (of course, leaving out the part about Chen Zheng being their only weak point). Then, he said, “If this gets discovered by Li Zhicheng, he can take the chance to attack us and the image that we have just gotten the Chinese consumers to accept would receive a huge blow. If that occurs, not only DG’s lower-tiered brands, but SMQ’s brand would not be able to make a comeback. Even ZAMON’s image would be affected. Then, we would be utterly defeated!”

Listening to him, Chen Zheng felt his heart palpitate violently.

The shocked feeling that he got from the realization was far greater than that of Charles that afternoon.

Because deep in his heart he had been curious. He wondered how Li Zhicheng could have precisely launched his new product, and driven high demand, just as he sent a huge batch of casual bags to the production line. He always seemed to have perfect timing; not too early yet, not too late. This caused a large quantity of SMQ’s stock to rot in the warehouse and cut of his cash flow completely. If not for the acquisition by DG, he, Chen Zheng, would have gone bankrupt already, and could even be sent to jail because of being unable to repay his loans.

Now that Charles had made it clear, he suddenly understood that Li Zhicheng had secretly watched over and controlled SMQ’s every move, either by informants or other methods. Only then was he able to choose such an accurate timing.

This man was really too ruthless. He had made up his mind to ruin Chen Zheng completely so that he would never make a comeback!

Meanwhile, what Charles had said earlier was not completely unreasonable. Since Li Zhicheng could understand the development of his products so accurately, it was very likely that he recognized the problems in its quality. With that knowledge, it would truly be as Charles had described; they would be dealt a fatal blow in the near future.

Chen Zheng broke into cold sweat.

Looking at his expression, Charles knew that his words had been effective and temporarily stopped pressing him to take responsibly but instead said seriously, “Ben, please settle this situation immediately.”

Chen Zheng nodded his head, “I will definitely settle it immediately.”

Charles was satisfied.

The two of them started to discuss the details. Initially, Charles thought that they should recall all the products that had been on sale and compensate the consumers for any loss, but Chen Zheng strongly disagreed.

Charles was dumbfounded because he felt that if there was a problem with the products, they should recall it and Chen Zheng’s disagreement went utterly against his long-standing principles. However, he could not risk the company’s image.

Chen Zheng urged him, “Charles, you should conform to local practices and you have to adapt to Chinese people’s competitive styles. With your high morals, if someone comes up with a scheming plan, you will be at a big disadvantage.”

Finally, it was Chen Zheng who managed to think of a solution that would settle things once and for all. They would secretly sell their casual bag subsidiary at a low price to another small enterprise. It would be best if they were relatively unknown.

Those companies had never had products of comparable quality to a magnate like SMQ, and they would not nitpick the problems in the batch of products. Moreover, their enterprise image would not be impacted if the low quality came to light. Even if there were problems in the future, they would be able to become the scapegoat. SMQ even had the power to convince others that black things are white, and the other enterprises would then be unable to fight back.

Charles clapped in agreement and the situation was settled. In the following days, Charles would feel a little guilty very time he thought about their “very low-handed” means of handling the issue.

But as time passed, he slowly forgot about it. He had to be flexible in China and adapt to this market with unfamiliar rules and which was exceptionally intense and ruthless.

After 10 days or so, their casual bags brand had been successfully sold.

Chen Zheng did not turn up in person. According to a report from his subordinate in charge of handling this issue, the company that bought over the brand was a small, old-fashioned village enterprise and were “rather satisfied” with the quality of the products. The subordinate visited their factory to find that their products were exported to less-developed cities and suburbs. It was very safe and would not affect the primary market of SMQ in any way.

This issue had been temporarily settled. However, now, Chen Zheng was faced with a new conundrum.

This was due to one of his trusted employee’s detailed calculations in which it was discovered that even after selling their casual bags brand at such a cheap price, SMQ would not be able to meet its sales target by the end of the year. Even if the ZAMON brand helped to pull up SMQ in the last few months, the losses in the front part of the year had been too big and it was going to be hard to save it.

According to the acquisition agreement that both parties had signed, if SMQ did not hit its target for two consecutive years, Chen Zheng would be forced to step down.

This situation made Chen Zheng extremely troubled. Who knew whether Charles would trip him up again the following year? This foreign devil was so shrewd. Now, he had learned the bad ways, and had already assigned people to secretly keep an eye on Chen Zheng.

Drawing a lesson from a bitter experience, Chen Zheng came up with a bold plan.

To him, protecting SMQ and his own status was more important than the overall sales results of DG China.

He decided to kill two birds with one stone.

A few days later, Chen Zheng went into Charles’ office again. However, this time, he initiated the meeting. He was in a hurry and his expression was solemn.

He did not even knock on the door nor did he care about the secretary restricting him and directly pushed his way in. He slammed the table and angrily shouted, “Charles, we have fallen prey to Aida’s secret schemes!”

Charles was extremely shocked.

Chen Zheng immediately told him the “whole story” clearly.

He stated that early that morning, he had received an emergency report from the production department telling him that the production line had been tampered with by someone. The large batch of the newest DG branded leather bags all had problems in their quality.

Charles was so shocked that he was rendered speechless.

The two of them quickly rushed to the workshop and looked at the mountainous piles of damaged goods. Charles became so angry and sad that he couldn’t say a word. The two of them retrieved the security footage, but realized that it had also been tampered by someone, and had not captured any abnormal practices or suspicious individuals at all.

Charles was enraged. He had never been faced with such a brazen competitor. However, he felt that something was not right deep inside and asked Chen Zheng, “You’re sure it was done by Aida?”

Chen Zheng nodded, “Of course. Last time when we were competing, they often did such things. Moreover, a person like Li Zhicheng, what will he not do? That Lin Qian isn’t a saint either. Just look at the advertisement she planned and how shameless it is! This incident did not come too early, nor too late. It came as soon as our sales had started to take off. Their efforts are very obvious. If it were not for me finding out about it early, I’m afraid all our products would have been ruined by them!”

It was only then that Charles fully believed it and vigorously nodded his head.

Chen Zheng asked again, “Do we report to headquarters about this matter immediately?”

“No!” Charles said immediately.

Recently, they had maintained good momentum in the market and DG was on the track to be a worthy competitor of Chinese enterprises. He had also just received a commendation from headquarters and was about to commence the crucial second step of his plan. If this situation was revealed, headquarters would definitely blame it on his weak management and the legislative support given in the different aspects would be cut back.

Chen Zheng laughed internally. He wanted Charles to conceal the truth and he now had a leverage against him. In the future he would become the locust on the boat; as long as Charles was safe, his status would definitely be secured.

Once again, he acted shocked and asked, “Then what do we do?”

Charles cut him off, “I will handle it! Although this batch has some problems, this is just a problem with one of the subsidiary brands. We can postpone its launch so that it doesn’t affect the overall set-up of our battle plan. We will settle it in that manner.”

“Alright, you are still the one with foresight,” Chen Zheng expressed a helpless look.

After a while, Charles suddenly lifted his head to ask, “The last time you mentioned that by making Lin Qian and Lin Mochen’s relationship public, we would be able to effectively deal a blow onto Aida and Li Zhicheng… How would you plan to do it?”