Afternoon.
Pei Qian woke up from his usual nap and watched an episode of anime. Looking up, it was only a little past three in the afternoon.
Although it was still early, there didn’t seem to be much to do at the company.
All projects were still in development. After Chang You came to report in the morning, nobody else would likely come to report their work shortly, so Mr. Pei had nothing to do.
“Why don’t I… go back to school and study?”
“The exam week is approaching, and I haven’t even borrowed notes yet, let alone reviewed.”
“Hmm, I should find time to have Ma Yang make me a copy of his notes.”
Pei Qian shut down his computer. Time to leave work!
He would go back to school, find a study room, and make his recently empty self feel a bit more fulfilled.
Walking out of the office, he saw everyone intently staring at their screens, appearing to be working diligently.
As for whether they were working diligently… that was impossible to tell.
This was the downside of being a boss—you never saw the most authentic side of your employees.
Tang Yishu had just finished taking care of the reception area and was now quietly reading and studying at her seat.
Pei Qian couldn’t help feeling a bit ashamed.
Look at his junior schoolmate, how much she loved studying!
He should learn from her example!
With the determination to “go study,” Pei Qian left the company.
Suddenly remembering something, he turned back and said to everyone: “Good work, everyone. If there’s nothing urgent, you can all leave early!”
No one paid attention to him; they all continued to appear busy with work.
Pei Qian sighed quietly. Ah, how he wished for a brave soul to stand up and leave early with Mr. Pei!
With a hint of disappointment, Pei Qian took the elevator down, walked out of Shenhua Luxury View, and headed toward Handong University.
As he walked, he somehow ended up at the Slackin’ Internet Café Handong University branch.
Finding an empty seat, he sat down and turned on the computer—completely subconscious actions.
“Huh? What’s going on? How did I end up here?”
“Wasn’t I planning to go study?”
“…”
“Well, since I’m already here, let me check out if there are any new games.”
“After all, I am a game designer. Gathering materials in my spare time is just as important as studying.”
There were many game icons on the desktop, all popular games of the time.
The GOG test version and the “Enjoyable Version” (the “Ma’s Special Edition” modified according to Dream Realization Venture Capital) were among this pile of popular games.
However, as Pei Qian’s gaze swept across all these game icons, before he could see what games they were, he suddenly felt that something was off.
This strange feeling wasn’t coming from the computer desktop, but from…
The display board at the entrance of the shop!
A strong sense of crisis suddenly surged in Pei Qian’s heart. He hurriedly stood up and went to the entrance to take another look at the content of the display board.
On it was a beautifully printed poster with the title:
“Game Together on Christmas Eve, ROF Computer Assembly Grand Promotion!”
The main image on the poster was a fully assembled computer that looked extremely cool, especially with the shiny ROF logo that appeared full of temptation.
Below were different assembly tiers, priced at 8,599, 12,599, and 16,599!
Still three tiers, but these prices…
Pei Qian rubbed his eyes, realizing these prices were different from what he had set before!
They were cheaper!
Pei Qian carefully looked at the configurations below and found that they were largely the same as before, but with some minor upgrades to certain components.
Additionally, some small gifts were being offered, the most valuable being a USB drive, along with smaller items like cable ties, mouse pads, keyboard cleaning putty, etc.
They had been packaged together and grandly named the “Christmas Eve Upgrade Gift Pack.”
Pei Qian was speechless.
This was too forced!
Look at this slogan: “Game Together on Christmas Eve.”?
It reeked of single people!
Although Pei Qian wasn’t particularly interested in Western holidays, gaming on Christmas Eve was probably something only single people would do!
This was a forced marketing campaign trying to capitalize on the holiday.
But… it seemed very effective!
There was a prominent line of artistic text on the poster: This store has limited sales of __/500, meaning this store had a quota of 500 units.
Now, a number was posted in front: 428!
This meant that just around the Handong University store, more than 400 units had been sold!
Slackin’ Internet Café didn’t just have this one branch; other locations were likely running the same promotion…
Previously, Pei Qian had set the three tiers to match or slightly exceed the market prices of various components. After bulk purchasing, prices would decrease somewhat, so the profit margin wasn’t particularly large.
With the random upgrade policy, this whole promotion was a money-losing business.
After the 1024 Digital Festival, prices had increased to 8,999, 12,999, and 16,999.
These prices seemed less consumer-friendly to many customers.
Although considering the home delivery and after-sales maintenance policies, it was still worth buying, the previous promotional activities had already depleted many consumers’ purchasing enthusiasm in advance. So the sales volume in the short term had been lukewarm, without causing any major news that would draw Pei Qian’s attention.
But now, Zhang Yuan had cleverly raised the configuration slightly, added some small gifts, and slightly lowered the price…
Creating the effect that this package was extremely valuable!
For buyers, the value for money was still high, even better than before, as these small gifts were useful items that would be significantly cheaper when purchased in bulk compared to buying them individually.
For the ROF assembly business, there was still a considerable profit.
In this way, the reputation accumulated over the past two months would likely explode with this Christmas Eve promotion!
Pei Qian felt anxious. Could they have already sold many units?
Just as he was about to return to the café to ask a staff member, he heard a surprised voice from behind: “Mr. Pei?”
Pei Qian turned around, and sure enough, it was Zhang Yuan!
Zhang Yuan looked somewhat busy, but amid his busyness was a joy emanating from the bottom of his heart.
“Mr. Pei, I was planning to give you a surprise, but you discovered it first.”
“How about this Christmas Eve promotion! This event has been quietly prepared for a long time!”
Pei Qian felt a bit weary.
These people, each one of them, wanted to give me surprises.
They’re too much trouble!
Luckily, I discovered it early. Christmas Eve is tomorrow, and if I try to remedy the situation now, there might still be time…
Pei Qian casually asked: “So… how are the sales for this promotion? How much inventory do we have left?”
Zhang Yuan smiled broadly: “Inventory? There’s no inventory left; it’s all sold out!”
As he spoke, he somehow produced a “Sold Out” tag from somewhere and stuck it on the poster at the entrance, covering the number 428.
Pei Qian felt his vision darken.
Has all the inventory sold out?
Weren’t there so many backup locations, and such a large warehouse in the suburbs of Jingzhou???
At a profit of three to four hundred per computer, they must have sold at least a few thousand units…
Although it wasn’t much money, it was still a heavy blow to Mr. Pei!
Pei Qian found it hard to believe: “How could it… sell so quickly?”
Even if the warehouse had a lot of stock, how could it sell so quickly?
Zhang Yuan smiled: “Mr. Pei, of course, it wasn’t just sold these past few days. Don’t forget, there was also Singles’ Day!”
“This was all thanks to the 1024 Digital Festival you organized earlier, which gave the ROF brand some recognition. Without that promotional activity, it would have been really difficult to open up the market!”
“After the 1024 Digital Festival, I’ve been thinking about making ROF an online brand as well. Although we don’t have the advantage of Reverse Wind Logistics home delivery and whole machine warranty in other cities, our computers, compared to those Wall of Martyrs pre-built systems, use solid components and are honest products, which has gained the favor of some customers.”
“Of course, our sales volume can’t compare with those Wall of Martyrs pre-builts. A certain brand of assembled computers broke ten million in sales in just 40 minutes during Singles’ Day. As for us, we can’t even match a fraction of theirs.”
“But rest assured, Mr. Pei, I don’t envy them at all. I will remember your teachings and ensure that the ROF brand remains consistent and trustworthy!”
“Anyway, during this period, our reputation gradually improved, and sales steadily increased. We took advantage of this Christmas Eve promotion to clear a lot of inventory again.”
“We sold a batch on Singles’ Day online, another batch on December 12th, and now another batch with this promotion.”
“Now our warehouse is running out of stock, and I’m contacting suppliers for emergency replenishment!”
“Looking back, we were too conservative and didn’t stock enough. If only we had prepared more…”
Pei Qian’s face instantly darkened, and he felt terrible.
So that was it—the side effects of the 1024 Digital Festival had arrived!
The lasting impact was too powerful!
After that promotional activity, Pei Qian had been vigilant for a while, but he hadn’t seen any significant improvement in the ROF assembly business, so as he got busy with other things, he forgot about it.
Little did he expect that, while not paying attention, things would get out of hand!
Pei Qian asked: “So what… are your plans for the future…”
Zhang Yuan thought for a moment: “Keep some money for restocking, and use all the remaining money for promotion! I plan to next boost our online store’s sales and positive reviews, trying to take some business away from those Wall of Martyrs pre-built systems.”
“Of course, I also plan to turn in some of the profits this time, since the ROF brand has been receiving subsidies from headquarters since its inception. Now that we’ve finally turned a profit, we should turn in some profits as a gesture…”
Pei Qian hastily raised his hand: “Absolutely not!”
Zhang Yuan: “?”
Pei Qian coughed lightly and said, “Tenda Group doesn’t lack money, so don’t worry about that.”
“And boosting sales and reviews artificially is not acceptable!”
“Although it’s an unwritten rule of online stores, it’s ultimately fraudulent, and we can’t do such things!”
“In my opinion, use all the money earned to restock! Isn’t that big warehouse not full yet?”
“However much we earn, stock that much, spend it all, don’t be stingy!”
“Also, this kind of promotional activity severely depletes our sales potential. Don’t do it frequently, understand?”
“In the future, only the 1024 Digital Festival can have promotional discounts. The regular prices must not be changed arbitrarily!”
Pei Qian was at his wits’ end.
ROF had already made money; what could he do?
Whether it was spending on advertising or turning in profits, neither was acceptable to Pei Qian.
So, continue to stock up!
After this promotional activity, those who wanted to buy had already bought.
At this point, without further advertising or price reductions, frantically stocking up and converting all the money into computer parts stockpiled in the warehouse would naturally lead to gradual depreciation.
At the same time, with prices no longer as favorable as before, the number of consumers willing to spend money would significantly decrease.
Sell one unit, stock up one more unit. As long as there was enough stock, they could ensure there was no idle cash!
Pei Qian no longer hoped for ROF to lose much money; as long as they found ways to spend all the money they earned, he wouldn’t pursue the matter!
Zhang Yuan was a bit confused: “Mr. Pei, with so much stock, the sales pressure is immense… and we can’t run more promotions. If we can’t sell it, then…”
Pei Qian raised his hand: “It doesn’t matter, just do it! If the warehouse isn’t enough, rent a new one. The secret to expanding an industry is not to keep idle cash on hand, understand?”
Zhang Yuan opened his mouth, hesitated, and after a long while, nodded: “I… understand.”