Chapter 453 - 447: Take a Liking (Part 2)

"These businessmen are unbelievable. Scamming people for a quick buck... They don’t even stop to think. If their quality was good, the profits from a long-term partnership would be far greater than what they’d make cheating you this one time. Who’s going to do business with them after this? They’re just digging their own graves!"

Lin Shan thought those people were incredibly short-sighted.

Gu’er remained silent. ’The South developed first, so their products are more advanced,’ she thought. ’But it’s true that a lot of people there don’t do business honestly. They pass off defective goods as quality products and cheat others.’

’Actually, it’s not so bad right now. At least you can still wear the clothes. It’s not like later, when food and drinks will all be counterfeit, full of harmful substances that exceed safety standards. That’s when people will really get hurt.’

"So what do you plan to do with this shipment?"

’Although Lin Shan was furious about what those suppliers had done, he knew there was nothing they could do. Just as Sun Jiaming had said, without a contract and with no inspection on their end, the other party could just deny everything. They were too far away; it would be impossible to sort it out.’

"Liu Yuan and the others think we should just sell them in the department store," Sun Jiaming said, explaining their opinion. "They figure if we sell them at a discount, we can get rid of them. Otherwise, they’ll be hard to move. And this is a huge shipment; we’re talking about a lot of money."

"That won’t work."

Gu’er immediately shook her head.

Sun Jiaming and the others all turned to look at her.

"Our department store has always positioned itself as high-end, a trendsetter for the city. Even our more affordable products are guaranteed to be high-quality. We can’t sell these in the store, not even at a discount. The after-sales service would be a nightmare. When customers get them home and find flaws, handling returns would be a huge hassle. More importantly, people would start to think the quality of our store’s merchandise is slipping, which would damage our reputation. That’s why we can’t sell them inside. We should set up a stall outside the store and have someone sell them there. When we sell them, we need to be completely upfront about the defects. We should just aim to break even. Since they’ll be cheap, I’m sure people will still buy them as long as they’re wearable, even with minor issues. There are plenty of bargain hunters. By selling them this way, we avoid any after-sales responsibility, and it keeps the sale separate from the department store’s official business."

’Gu’er finished explaining her idea. It wasn’t easy to build the store’s reputation, and she couldn’t let this one incident tarnish it. Selling them outside was the only way. They had to be transparent—explain that the items had minor flaws, which was why they were being sold off cheap. Take it or leave it, no pressure. If customers bought them knowing the issues, there would be no returns and no after-sales service. That was the best approach.’

"I think Gu’er’s right," Lin Shan nodded in agreement. "Selling them in the store would cause too many problems. Your store is one of the city’s ’Top Ten Enterprises.’ Selling defective products would definitely affect its reputation."

"Alright. Tomorrow, I’ll hold a meeting with Liu Yuan, Li Zhi, and Dingzi to discuss a concrete plan and work out the details."

’Sun Jiaming agreed it was a good idea. But it was a large volume of goods, and they’d need to find people to handle the sales. They would have to discuss the specific implementation.’

"Okay. But from now on, when you place new orders, you should sign proper contracts. And inspect every shipment before it’s sent back here. That will prevent this from happening again. You should train a few people for this."

’Gu’er was already thinking it through. The person who had accompanied the truck this time was one of Dingzi’s old army buddies. It was his first trip, so he wasn’t familiar with procurement. He was very responsible when it came to security, but he was inexperienced. The supplier showed him a sample, he saw the quality was good, and he didn’t bother to inspect the actual goods being loaded onto the truck. That’s how this disaster happened.’

’So, Gu’er concluded, it was best to have the former soldiers handle security. As for negotiating deals, checking samples, and inspecting shipments, they needed to train people specifically for those tasks.’

’Their department store would always need new inventory. Although the Soviet Union had become Russia, that supply route could still be re-established. But they also needed to maintain their business with the South, so developing talented employees was essential.’

"Yes, I was thinking the same thing. I’ve already asked Liu Yuan to start picking candidates. We really need to train a few capable people. Otherwise, we’ll have to do everything ourselves, and we wouldn’t be able to manage even if we grew extra pairs of hands."

Sun Jiaming nodded.

’Dingzi said nothing. He just needed to be told what to do. He wasn’t good at business anyway. He’d just stick to what he excelled at: security.’

’Lin Shan smiled, satisfied. When problems arose, his daughter and son-in-law discussed them as equals. His son-in-law respected his daughter’s opinion. This was for the best.’

Lin Sui’er and Lin Zheng came over together after school, and they were overjoyed to see Lin Shan.

After work, Lin Shuying came over carrying several bags. She froze for a moment when she saw Lin Shan, then broke into a wide smile. She, too, had been eagerly awaiting his return.