Chapter 292 - 210: Inspection and Instruction

Yang Hui smiled. "Brother Wang, go ahead and smoke, it’s no problem. This office is huge, and the ventilation is excellent."

Only then did Wang Qing light his cigarette, remarking with a self-deprecating laugh, "A habit of several decades. I just can’t seem to quit."

"Brother Wang, Brother Chun is coming back this weekend. How about I invite you and President Tian so we can all get together again?"

He had been wanting to connect with Zhang Chun all along, so he was overjoyed to hear this. "A Hui, for a dinner you’re hosting, I’ll definitely make time."

Zhu Jing listened quietly to their conversation, surprised by how much influence her boss commanded. She could also tell that President Wang was eager to connect with President Tian and President Zhang Chun. This was especially true for President Zhang Chun—she had seen a sharp glint flash in Wang Qing’s eyes the moment Yang Hui mentioned his name.

She knew of President Tian; he was the regional general manager of Xinyue Group, a top figure at the apex of Qingjiang Province’s business world. And while she didn’t know who this Zhang Chun was, judging by the importance Wang Qing placed on him, he was clearly an even bigger deal than President Tian.

’No wonder the boss can navigate the business world so masterfully, succeeding at every turn.’

Yang Hui invited Wang Qing not only to repay a favor but also for another reason. He planned to launch his own brand in the future and would definitely need to inform these business tycoons and secure their full support later on.

He didn’t bring it up today; otherwise, he would just have to repeat himself in a few days. The main reason for his visit was to address Wang Qing’s idea—the matter of opening stores for NLB and Zen.

"A Hui, I see your two new stores are performing exceptionally well. I even went out of my way to get your sales figures from Old Tian. It’s one thing for the first week to be explosive with all the grand opening promotions, but for sales to still be over 60,000 a day after things have stabilized... In contrast, the NLB store we have with Li Yang’s Futong Commerce is only averaging a few thousand in daily sales. That’s just terrible, so I want to replace him."

Replacing a brand wasn’t something that required the chairman’s personal intervention. But he was on good terms with Yang Hui, and this was Yang Hui’s business, so he decided to discuss it with him directly.

The commercial terms for the partnership between Yida Department Store and Futong Commerce were a 13% commission. At its current pace, Futong Commerce’s monthly sales were only about 150,000. Meanwhile, Yanghe Commerce’s NLB store in Xinyue Square could pull in over 2 million a month. Wang Qing figured that if Futong Commerce’s store were handed over to Yang Hui, getting sales to 300,000 would be no problem, right? Even at that level, the mall’s revenue would double.

"Also, that Zen brand of yours—I want that one too. From what I’ve seen these past few days, its explosive potential is even greater than NLB’s."

He was quite familiar with Yang Hui by now and didn’t beat around the bush. Besides, he had already mentioned it on the phone yesterday. So he laid his demands on the table and waited for Yang Hui’s terms.

Yang Hui fell into a thoughtful silence. Zhu Jing found that her boss was also handsome when he was focused on work, a different kind of handsome from his usual roguish charm. Right now, he gave off the air of a domineering CEO. She immediately cursed herself internally: ’There I go, swooning again.’

"Brother Wang, Yanghe Commerce and Futong Commerce have very different approaches to business development. Futong Commerce prefers to race ahead and stake claims everywhere. They’re the type to grab any available spot as long as they’re not losing money on it. On one hand, they win through sheer volume; on the other, they leave no opportunities for their competitors.

But that’s not our development philosophy. I want to win through quality. I need to ensure every single one of our stores is a high performer; otherwise, I’d rather not open it at all. The purpose of this is to guarantee that my frontline employees have a high enough income. That way, the team remains stable, their execution becomes stronger, and they develop a real fighting spirit. It creates a positive feedback loop.

Therefore, my team and I have calculated that if a store’s average monthly output is below 800,000, we absolutely will not open it."

Hearing this, Wang Qing nodded slowly and stubbed out his half-finished cigarette in the ashtray. He understood what Yang Hui was really telling him: Yanghe Commerce had no interest in the store that Futong Commerce was running with Yida Department Store. No matter how brilliant the management, if the foot traffic wasn’t there, there was no way he could hit 800,000 in sales.

For that store, even with Yanghe Commerce’s excellent team, they’d be lucky to hit 500,000 at most. While that would significantly boost Yida Department Store’s revenue, it wouldn’t align with Yanghe Commerce’s interests.

From a pure profit perspective, Yang Hui could certainly make money by taking over the store. But to preserve the DNA of his corporate culture, he had to strictly adhere to his principle of not opening any store with average monthly sales under 800,000. It was a matter of principle, not open for negotiation.

Wang Qing was a smart man and naturally understood what a matter of principle was. He didn’t dwell on the issue, instead asking, "In that case, A Hui, which of Yida Department Store’s locations are you confident you could hit 800,000 in average monthly sales?"

This was a case of someone handing you a pillow just when you were feeling sleepy. Yang Hui seized the opportunity to present his main proposal for the day.

"Brother Wang, I do have an idea. At your Yida Department Store on Qingzhou Pedestrian Street, could you carve out a street-facing space on the first floor for me? I could open a Zen store there, or another NLB."

The Yida Department Store Qingzhou Pedestrian Street Branch was their best-performing location, situated in the middle of Qingzhou Pedestrian Street. The foot traffic on that street was among the highest in the entire country. Privately owned storefronts of just over 100 square meters commanded annual rents of over 3 million yuan. One could only imagine how concentrated the customer flow was there.

However, while the foot traffic was immense, the purchasing power wasn’t as strong as in a shopping mall like Xinyue Square. Futong Commerce had partnered with Yida Department Store on many brands at this location, but business was only mediocre. That was because although the department store had a prime location, only the street-level areas had high foot traffic. The stores Futong Commerce had previously operated were all on the upper floors, where foot traffic was poor.