Chapter 467 - 282: Doesn’t This Guy Want to Make Money?

They had truly taken service to the extreme.

Driving back to Huipin Mall, he found the entrance nearly empty. The parking lot had far fewer cars as well. Compared to the morning, foot traffic had been cut by at least another half.

Compared to its grand opening, the place was now utterly deserted.

"Hurry, let’s go check out Berkeley. They opened today, and I heard everything is super cheap."

"Huipin’s stuff is cheap too. Is it really worth the hassle?"

"Berkeley isn’t just cheap, their service is incredible. People in my neighborhood said if you’re unhappy with anything you buy, they’ll give you a full, unconditional refund. With service that good, we have to go see it."

"Seriously? Is that even real?"

"Come on, let’s go, let’s go check it out."

As he got out of his car and walked toward the entrance, Han Guangqi kept overhearing comments like these, each one grating on his ears.

"Call a meeting with the mall’s management."

"Understood."

About twenty minutes later, the mall’s management team had gathered in the conference room.

Everyone looked grim, a stark contrast to the past couple of days.

They had known about the situation with Berkeley for a while now.

In terms of both service and product quality, Huipin Supermarket had been completely crushed.

Their only advantage was the price of some of their items.

"Let’s hear it. What are your thoughts on the Berkeley situation?"

The executives looked at each other. They had been caught completely flat-footed. Every move the competition made was perfect, leaving no openings to exploit.

"President Han, the current situation is very unfavorable for us," the head of operations said. "They’ve already built up momentum online. A lot of bloggers are posting about Berkeley, and the online sentiment is overwhelmingly positive for them. If this continues, our market share will definitely be squeezed."

"I know that. I don’t want to hear this useless crap. I want to hear how we’re going to solve the problem."

"They’re following Donglai Supermarket’s playbook, and they’re imitating every step perfectly," said Wang Xincheng, the general manager of Huipin Mall. "To break this stalemate, there might only be one way: we have to do it even better than them."

The room fell silent. This was what they were all thinking.

But achieving that was easier said than done.

"I don’t think their model is sustainable," said Deputy General Manager Liu Jian.

"I heard their mall employees’ salaries have more than doubled, which is the real reason they’re going all out with their service. On top of that, their product sourcing and their no-questions-asked return policy all require high costs to maintain. It probably won’t be long before this business model starts to show cracks. I think we should be patient. This model will collapse on its own."

This suggestion earned nods of agreement from some in the room.

"I agree with President Liu," said Liu Chenyou, the head of purchasing.

"Donglai Supermarket’s model is one of a kind. Berkeley is just making a clumsy copycat attempt. They won’t be able to keep it up forever."

’This was exactly what Han Guangqi wanted to hear. You get into business to make a profit. If you give all the profits away, what the hell are you earning?’

"’Nobody’s perfect,’ and that idiom applies to businesses too. They can’t possibly be flawless. Over time, some part of their operation is bound to have problems. Your mission now is to find those problems, gather evidence, and then expose it all at once."

"Understood!"

...

The bustle at Berkeley continued until well after six in the evening, when foot traffic hit its peak.

The day had certainly been filled with problems, big and small, but they were all resolved without any major incidents. The overall risks were within a controllable range, so Lin Jiang didn’t blame the management team.

Everyone was just feeling their way through it, so some issues were inevitable.

On top of that, the online buzz had taken off. Everything was developing in a very positive direction.

At ten that night, Berkeley closed its doors.

Lin Jiang had the management team stay behind for a meeting.

Although they were visibly tired, everyone was thrilled.

During the meeting, Lin Jiang pointed out a few issues, but he mostly offered encouragement, urging everyone to fight hard and win this opening battle.

Over the next two days, Saturday and Sunday, the online hype continued to build. Countless internet celebrities and bloggers flocked to the store to film, capitalizing on the trend. This caused foot traffic to explode, at times exceeding the mall’s capacity and forcing them to limit entry during certain periods.

But people are strange creatures. The more you restrict entry, the more they want to get inside to see what all the fuss is about.

It got to the point where many people were willing to wait in long lines outside just to get a look.

As one waxed, the other waned. Berkeley’s explosive popularity left Huipin Mall cold and deserted. Only a few people would pop in for necessities before hurrying out.

Most of these shoppers were men who bought what they needed and left immediately, never browsing. They were just looking for convenience.

Han Guangqi saw all of this. He knew that if Berkeley weren’t limiting customers, Huipin probably wouldn’t have any shoppers at all.

Han Guangqi drove to the front of Berkeley and sat in his car, watching the long line snaking from the entrance.

Everyone in line was holding a parasol, and staff members were handing out popsicles and other cool drinks to help them beat the heat.

"Fuck! Are they insane?! Aren’t they trying to fucking make money?!"

Cursing under his breath, Han Guangqi drove off and headed to the Chaoxian Association.

When he arrived at the private room, Zheng Jianghe, Li Wuyang, and Zhou Jin were already waiting for him.

The news about Berkeley had been all over the internet for the past few days, so they were all aware of it.

It wasn’t just the Huipin Mall in Xingcheng Bay Phase II that was affected; other surrounding malls and supermarkets had seen a drop in foot traffic too. Naturally, they were all sweating for Han Guangqi.

"How’s the mall been these past few days?" Li Wuyang asked.

He could already guess the real situation. On the third day, Yong’an had shipped its usual quantity of goods, but less than a third of it had sold, a stark contrast to the first two days.

The next two days were even worse, with sales dropping to less than one-fifth of the first two days.

These numbers alone showed that the situation at Huipin Mall was not looking good.

"Not good at all. We thought they’d start a price war, but they went and competed on service instead."

"Is Berkeley’s service really as amazing as they say online?" Zheng Jianghe asked.

"It’s even more amazing than what you see online. I experienced it myself. You really can’t find a single flaw."

As soon as he said that, the atmosphere in the room grew even heavier.

"The current situation is very bad for Huipin," Zhou Jin said, lighting a cigarette.

"Berkeley has already gained serious momentum online. It’s basically a huge traffic generator. As long as you post about ’Shell La,’ you get views. All the bloggers are jumping on the bandwagon now. Their popularity won’t die down anytime soon; it might even get bigger."

Among them, Zhou Jin understood the internet the best, so what he said naturally carried weight.

"They’re trying to replicate Donglai Supermarket’s model, but that company’s success is impossible to duplicate. I don’t think this model can last for long," said Li Wuyang.

"That’s what we were thinking, too. The only thing we can do now is wait for them to show a weakness, then seize it and attack relentlessly. Otherwise, we really can’t beat them."

"That’s one way to do it. After all, nobody’s perfect. It’s just a matter of finding their problems."

"We will! It’s just a matter of when they slip up," Han Guangqi said.

"I think you need to stay calm for now. There’s no such thing as perfect service in this world. They’re bound to leave you an opening."

Zheng Jianghe, holding his cigarette, looked at Zhou Jin and said:

"Your movie is almost done filming. When are you planning to release it?"

"It’s under review. The process should be faster than for Lin Jiang’s *Xia Luote’s Troubles*," Zhou Jin said.

"I plan on waiting for them. We’ll release it at the same time. Consider it helping Old Han get his revenge."