Chapter 776: Price Adjustment

With Wang Tianhe's support, the land acquisition plan for the Qingpuqu employees' community also proceeded very smoothly.

As repayment, Chen Yang had Shen Anna personally lead a team to the Modu western suburbs International Agricultural Products Trading Center to conduct an on-site inspection.

To boost publicity, Wang Tianhe specially arranged for TV station reporters to conduct an on-site interview with Shen Anna.

That evening, the news of Old Hundreds Agricultural Products Trading Company moving into the western suburbs International Agricultural Products Trading Center spread quickly online.

From e-commerce big promotions to offline chain store layouts, and then to officially taking root in Modu, this series of actions made all those engaged in agricultural products trading in Modu feel strong pressure.

In order to defend their interests, some local capital began secretly conspiring, trying to unite to drive Old Hundreds Agricultural Products Trading Company out of Modu.

That day, after Chen Yang finished the board meeting at Three Stone Technology Company, Wu Jingzhong suddenly called out to him.

"Director Chen, your trading company has been too prominent lately; watch out for people eyeing you!"

"President Wu, have you heard some news?" Chen Yang frowned slightly. Wu Jingzhong is a local bigwig in Modu, with very well-informed news. His reminder is definitely not baseless.

But he couldn't figure it out. With Deputy Mayor Wang Tianhe as his backing, who in Modu would still go against Old Hundreds Agricultural Products Trading Company?

"Director Chen, your company's low-price sales strategy, while benefiting the people, has already severely affected peers' interests. Moreover..." Wu Jingzhong solemnly reminded Chen Yang: "Excessively low prices do not fit the image of Modu as an international financial center city. Before long, Deputy Mayor Wang's side will also bear some irresistible pressure."

Chen Yang immediately understood Wu Jingzhong's meaning. The low-price strategy can help Old Hundreds Agricultural Products Trading Company quickly gain a foothold in Modu, but it also destroys Modu's original agricultural products market. As long as competitors use this as an excuse to file complaints upward, Wang Tianhe may not be able to withstand the pressure.

After thanking Wu Jingzhong, Chen Yang immediately went to Old Hundreds Agricultural Products Trading Company to find Shen Anna, who had not yet returned to Xingcheng, and informed her of the possible crisis facing the company.

After thinking for a while, Shen Anna told Chen Yang: "Boss, since Modu isn't suitable for a price war, let's take the premium route!"

"From now on, all products sent to Modu will undergo secondary sorting. High-quality products will be placed in offline chain stores and sold at market prices, while slightly lower-quality products will be put on e-commerce platforms for low-price promotions."

Chen Yang thought this idea was good. If the products in offline chain stores are all carefully selected good-quality items, even if the price is a bit higher, consumers will have no objections. As for the low-price promotion activities on e-commerce platforms, since the products have quality defects, even if competitors have objections, the relevant authorities can explain it away.

Thus, Chen Yang immediately convened a high-level meeting of the Modu branch, readjusting the sales process for offline chain stores. He eliminated the low-price promotion activities and adjusted all product prices to align with Modu market prices.

At the same time, before products are sent to various physical chain stores, an additional quality inspection and sorting step was added. This guarantees that all products sold in physical stores are top-quality.

However, regarding product sales on e-commerce platforms, Chen Yang made no adjustments. He merely required the e-commerce department to add a statement at the bottom of the product details page: "All our products are shipped randomly from the warehouse; if there are quality issues, please contact after-sales customer service to file a complaint."

That evening, Chen Yang was, as expected, summoned to Wang Tianhe's home.

"Chen Yang, the higher-ups talked to me today, hoping your company won't disrupt Modu's market economy."

Chen Yang had already prepared, smiling and saying: "Uncle, I've already held a meeting and made adjustments; from now on, all products in offline chain stores will be synchronized with market prices."

"That fast?" Wang Tianhe, upon hearing this, showed a hint of surprise and curiously asked Chen Yang: "Did the mayor also talk to you?"

Chen Yang shook his head and frankly said: "Today I went to Three Stone Technology Company for a meeting; it was Wu Jingzhong who privately told me."

Wang Tianhe suddenly realized: "That Wu fellow has many connections in the publicity department and is also a member of the Modu Chamber of Commerce; it's no surprise he knows."

"However, this guy originally wasn't on good terms with you; why would he kindly give you a heads-up?"

Chen Yang gave a wry smile: "He's not genuinely trying to help me. He must have bought a lot of our company's stock and doesn't want his interests harmed."

"Indeed!" Wang Tianhe nodded thoughtfully: "I was wondering why the Tang family has been praising his little son's enlightenment lately. Turns out that kid has been following Wu Jingzhong, speculating in your company's stock!"

Chen Yang sighed helplessly. He had expended great effort and capital, finally achieving some results, only to have two people he dislikes reap the benefits. Just thinking about it makes him feel resentful.

But since Old Hundreds Agricultural Products Trading Company chose to go public, this is an inevitable outcome. Chen Yang can only resign himself to it.

The only thing comforting him is that Wu Jingzhong and Tang Qingquan have heavily invested in Old Hundreds Agricultural Products Trading Company, which amounts to binding their interests with his. As long as they don't face an irresistible catastrophe, they will definitely not stand by idly.

Seeing Chen Yang's low spirits, Wang Tianhe comforted him: "You don't need to be too discouraged. Having one more friend in the marketplace is better than having one more enemy. Wu and that Tang family kid have great influence in Modu's business circle. With them stepping in, it helps ease your conflicts with those local agricultural products trading companies. Moreover, isn't your cooperation in Three Stone Technology Company also quite successful?"

Chen Yang thought about it and found it reasonable. Since the Tang brothers and Wu Jingzhong stopped causing trouble, his business development in Modu has indeed become much smoother.

Indeed, in this world there are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests.

The next morning, relevant authorities, accompanied by TV station reporters, conducted a surprise inspection of all Old Hundreds Agricultural Products Trading Company chain stores in Modu. Apart from discovering many consumers protesting the sharp price hikes of in-store goods, they found nothing they were looking for.

Even so, Old Hundreds Agricultural Products Trading Company still made the headline of Modu's late-night news. The reason is that the company raised the prices of physical store goods but did not adjust the prices on the e-commerce platform, seemingly inducing consumers to buy low-quality cheap goods online.

As soon as the news came out, the entrance of the Modu branch of Old Hundreds Agricultural Products Trading Company was instantly blocked by reporters coming for interviews.

Upon hearing the news, Chen Yang simply stayed at home, only letting Shen Anna come forward to give an explanation. He indicated that all products the company sells online and offline have undergone strict quality testing, with no safety issues. The reason offline products are more expensive than online ones is mainly due to the added labor cost of secondary sorting.

Thus, the controversy died down instantly. Even Old Hundreds Agricultural Products Trading Company's competitors temporarily had no countermeasures.

After all, e-commerce platforms target online consumers, theoretically not forming a competitive relationship with them.