Chapter 361 - 222: The Formidable Enemy’s "Encirclement and Interception" (Part 2)

Chapter 361: Chapter 222: The Formidable Enemy’s "Encirclement and Interception" (Part 2)

"Encirclement" meant that from now on, all Wansheng Squares would treat Junxiao Business Management as a top-tier competitor, engaging Junxiao Square in all-out competition on every front.

"Pursuit" meant demanding that key clients—especially those heavily reliant on Wansheng Group—pull out of Junxiao Square. However, this would be difficult to achieve in the short term. Wansheng Group couldn’t just tell them, "If you have a store in a Junxiao Square, we’ll cut all ties with you." That wasn’t pursuit; that was suicide.

"Interception" meant that from now on, Wansheng Group would no longer sell any properties to Junxiao Business Management, unless they were undesirable assets.

Of course, that part was meaningless. Junxiao Business Management wouldn’t give undesirable properties a second glance. They wouldn’t buy them even if Wansheng was selling.

"All-out war? What gives them the confidence?"

Xu Wu scoffed.

In terms of overall scale, Junxiao Business Management wasn’t even worthy of carrying Wansheng Group’s shoes.

But in a localized battle, Xu Wu was confident she could crush Wansheng Group as if they were amateurs. The Hanjiang Region was the perfect example.

Wansheng’s corporate body was massive, but it was impossible for them to concentrate their forces. Each of their locations had its own interests, making a unified effort incredibly difficult.

Besides, war was a battle of attrition. The Wansheng Group was currently strapped for cash, whereas Junxiao Business Management’s specialty was burning it.

How could they possibly compete? In the Hanjiang Region, at least, Wansheng Group had already lost its footing.

As for other provincial capitals, it didn’t matter if they wouldn’t sell properties to her. ’It’s not like Wansheng Group is the only one who owns property!’

’Just like in some cities in Hanjiang Province—if it’s not the best property, I’m not interested in buying it anyway.’

There was another option, too. If a new, undeveloped property became available in a good location, Junxiao Business Management could just acquire it. Then, they would just have to burn money to cultivate the local customers’ shopping habits.

’Yes, we can pilot that method in the Hanjiang Region right away.’

Some of the Wansheng Squares in certain areas weren’t fully developed yet, but they were still the best properties locally. The problem was that these were asset-light projects where Wansheng had signed long-term leases of ten or fifteen years with the property owners. This meant Junxiao Business Management couldn’t buy them.

Therefore, Xu Wu had instructed Xu Jun not to focus too much on a property’s current commercial success. Instead, he should look for projects with prime locations and good physical conditions. They could just buy them and develop them themselves.

After all, Junxiao Business Management had achieved a certain scale. Within Hanjiang Province, they could definitely persuade some brands to open stores in new, still-developing locations. Simultaneously, Junxiao Business Management would pour a massive amount of funding into events to generate buzz and heat up the place.

Under such circumstances, she believed the brands wouldn’t refuse. To refuse would be to fail to recognize the changing tides.

After all, Wansheng Square had not only demanded their cooperation in the past but had done so while charging them high rent.

Now, with the excellent terms offered by Junxiao Square, any brand that still refused to cooperate would be asking for trouble. It would be necessary to make an example of one to warn the others.

After hanging up the phone, Xu Wu said, "We still need to accelerate the acquisition of Ganglong International. If we can secure a controlling stake in that company, it will be a huge boost for Junxiao Business Management’s nationwide expansion."

Chen Xiao said, "The essence of business is using money to make money. We have money, so we’re invincible."

Xu Wu shot him a look. "I know you’re rich, but have you thought about this? If we have 200 locations nationwide in the future, or even more, how much money will you have to burn?"

Twenty million a year per store... for 200 stores, that’s four billion in marketing expenses! No matter how rich they were, the thought made Xu Wu’s heart pound.

Chen Xiao chuckled. "Don’t you worry about it. I’m so poor all I have left is money. If you have the ability, feel free to spend even more."

’He wondered if Junxiao Business Management’s aggressive expansion was some kind of bizarre anomaly, specializing in ventures that everyone else saw as money-losers.’

’While others pursued asset-light operations, he insisted on an asset-heavy model.’

’While others controlled marketing expenses to ensure a quick return on capital, he was burning money to nurture his plazas.’

’Running a business without caring about cash flow, investing without counting the cost... it was completely unsportsmanlike!’

"Chen Xiao, sometimes I think being a professional manager for you is so simple," Xu Wu said. "All you have to do is know how to spend money and be willing to do it!"

He grinned. "That’s not all. You also have to be pretty."

Xu Wu knew he was deliberately complimenting her. She scoffed, "You’re never serious, are you?"

"So, do you prefer me serious, or not so serious?"

Just as he finished speaking, his phone buzzed with a message from Gao Yue. It was a selfie of her lying on the back seat of a car. Her face was out of frame, but the picture was filled with her long legs.

"Boss, how do you like this pose?"

’I’ve been corrupted by people like her.’ Chen Xiao felt like he’d just found the root cause of his "not so serious" nature.

Xu Wu had no idea what was going through his mind. After their previous encounter, she didn’t dare get too close to him. This was the office, after all. What if one spark ignited a wildfire...

"Wansheng Group is starting to take us seriously. Our development will face some resistance from now on. Do you have enough people on your team?"

"I’m already scouting for people, but we’re expanding so fast that our talent pipeline is struggling to keep up."

"Xu Jun is getting older. It’ll be hard for him to handle the high-intensity work required in the future. I’m afraid his health can’t take it."

Chen Xiao deeply agreed. ’In the future, we should focus on selecting younger managers, preferably under forty and in their prime.’

’Any younger than that, and they might be too green to be reliable, making it difficult for them to manage a large-scale operation.’

He found a moment to reply to Gao Yue: "Send one of you lying on your stomach!"

Gao Yue replied instantly with a blushing emoji, followed by the word, "Pervert!"

She knew Chen Xiao was alluding to the time she got "disciplined" in Xu Wu’s office.

Xu Wu glanced at the time and said to Chen Xiao, "Li Xiao is coming over in a little while."

Chen Xiao understood. She was asking if he wanted to make himself scarce. He didn’t know Li Xiao well and certainly didn’t want to get in the way of a chat between best friends.