As November arrived, besides the English competition, Xia Xiaolan had another concern.
In Shangdu, the clothing store should be stocking winter wear now.
Despite his earlier frustration, Chen Xiliang had achieved success, managing to secure magazine covers including “Popular Cinema.” Rising star Zhou Wangjing wore that military-style wool coat, bringing out both the coolness and elegance of the navy blue, while maintaining a masculine strength.
Although Xia Xiaolan sold this coat last year, it truly became popular this year. Lan Fengmei directly tore out the magazine cover and posted it on the wall, advertising “Zhou Wangjing style” coats in stock.
Zhou Wangjing became famous last year, with many female fans nationwide. He wasn’t just a pretty boy idol – his cool demeanor and masculine presence attracted many male fans as well.
Most importantly, the coat looked genuinely good on him. Women with sufficient means were willing to spend money buying it for their husbands or boyfriends. Knowing Chen Xiliang’s moves, Xia Xiaolan had early-ordered 200 pieces in each color.
Within a week of the magazine’s release, Chenyu Clothing Factory’s backlog was completely cleared out. Distributors who had previously complained about the high prices were now chasing He Congsheng for coats. Even with a 10-yuan increase in factory price per piece, the inventory of less than 30,000 coats was quickly depleted.
Chen Xiliang had finally made up for his mistake. He suggested that Factory Director He continues producing this coat style, but was firmly rejected. Director He feared this trend might be temporary, and if distributors stopped buying later, production would become a burden. Chen Xiliang was devastated, feeling he’d missed a great money-making opportunity. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that instead of just wholesaling, creating their brand was the right move.
“Think of how much money we’re missing out on!”
Chen Xiliang was all about money – seeing potential profits slip away hurt worse than cutting his flesh. He still hadn’t figured out the problems Xia Xiaolan mentioned. With her firm refusal to partner up for now and winter approaching, Chen Xiliang’s frustration had him drinking bitter herbal tea daily.
This approach was too profitable.
Back in ’79, ‘Shen Gui Bu Wine’ ran the first commercial television advertisement on Shanghai TV.
Since then, advertisements have bloomed across television and newspapers. By ’84, people were familiar with “advertising.” However, combining movie stars with advertisements hasn’t yet become a trend.
Although they hadn’t officially hired Zhou Wangjing as a spokesperson for the wool coat, nor heavily advertised on television, they’d achieved remarkable results just through two or three magazines. Chen Xiliang thought this was the perfect time to capitalize on the success and create their brand!
But Xia Xiaolan told him to think it through carefully, leaving Chen Xiliang frustrated despite his eagerness.
What he lacked wasn’t capital, but a business partner with foresight and judgment. As Chen Xiliang himself said, they didn’t need their factory initially – they could just design styles and place orders with clothing factories. After years as a wholesaler, he had substantial savings.
He felt he wasn’t wrong in seeking out Xia Xiaolan. When she said something could make money, the amount might be uncertain. But if she hesitated, it usually meant instability. Take their partnership in reselling cheap radios – Xia Xiaolan only did it once before stopping, and Chen Xiliang had controlled his greed accordingly.
That business brought quick money, much more than his two or three yuan profit per piece from wholesale clothing.
But if he had been greedy then and tried to expand the radio business, he would have been caught off guard by the sudden price drop like Senior Wan. Wan had small capital and lost 2,000 yuan, but with Chen Xiliang’s substantial capital, losses could have reached tens of thousands!
Xia Xiaolan had proven her judgment through results – Chen Xiliang couldn’t ignore that.
Selling men’s brands, women’s brands?
How to open retail stores, and which city to start in?
The more Chen Xiliang calculated costs, the more he sighed. No good – after hanging up the phone, he had to drink herbal tea to calm down.
Guangzhou’s herbal tea wasn’t yet the improved Wong Lo Kat version – it was especially effective at clearing heat and fire, with strong medicinal properties, but a particularly bitter taste. Chen Xiliang was torturing himself. Xia Xiaolan knew he was anxious and sometimes wondered if she should stop pressuring Old Chen so much. But she quickly suppressed such soft-heartedness – this was Zhou Cheng’s money, she was helping with Zhou Cheng’s investment, and couldn’t let Chen Xiliang waste it.
…
Zhou Wangjing wearing the coat on “Popular Cinema’s” cover, though not an advertisement, had completely popularized Chenyu’s coat.
Li Fengmei even called Xia Xiaolan to say the coats were selling well.
“It’s just that people keep tearing down the posters outside…”
This time, Lan Fenghuang had made a major investment – 400 coats in black and navy blue combined. Chen Xiliang had given them last year’s wholesale price rather than the increased price, but that was still nearly 30,000 yuan in inventory. In late autumn and early winter, Lan Fenghuang’s clothing indeed focused on wool coats. Including other goods, this new stock represented about 50,000 yuan in capital.
For this winter collection, Lan Fenghuang hadn’t distributed dividends for the past two months. The last distribution was in August when Xia Xiaolan had used it as a deposit for sportswear.
Xia Xiaolan wasn’t in a hurry for dividends, neither was Li Fengmei. They had already agreed to make a big splash with this winter’s collection.
By year-end when dividends accumulated, Xia Xiaolan estimated they would have enough capital to open a branch store.
“Let them tear the posters, it’s fine. We’ll just print new ones!”
Having fans steal posters was even more exciting than giving them away. Xia Xiaolan marveled at Zhou Wangjing’s popularity, which rivaled future fresh young stars.
Television penetration wasn’t nearly as high as in the future, and screen actors weren’t as numerous and dazzling as they would become. Future celebrities were fast-moving products from star-making assembly lines – quick to rise, quick to fade.
The 1980s were different – besides good looks, one needed real talent.
Zhou Wangjing was a rising star now, and in 30 years he would mature into a respected veteran artist.
According to Li Fengmei, before the magazine came out, they sold only three or four coats daily. After the magazine’s release, sales jumped to seven or eight pieces, with the busiest day seeing over 20 coats sold. There were less than 30,000 coats distributed nationwide, and in Shangdu, only Lan Fenghuang had secured 400 pieces.
At over 100 yuan per coat, they weren’t cheap.
But how many people lived in Shangdu?
And how many more are in the surrounding counties and cities?
While most found it expensive, some consumers could afford it. Four hundred coats wasn’t a burden – though this batch tied up nearly 30,000 yuan in inventory, it would undoubtedly generate over 20,000 yuan in pure profit.
Li Fengmei had another matter to discuss with Xia Xiaolan – Liu Yong had quietly bought the Beijing courtyard house before telling her, turning a surprise into almost a shock.
“My uncle didn’t tell you about this?”
Comrade Liu Yong, with your male chauvinistic way of handling things, you’ve gotten yourself into trouble!