Chapter 191: Plagiarism Controversy

Su Ruo's gaze swept over everyone, and all of them shook their heads; the Clothing Factory is doing well now, how could they possibly leave.

Even if they wanted to quit, they would first find another job before leaving, after all they still have families to support; if they left now, would the whole family have to drink the northwest wind?

Su Ruo's gaze focused on those few confidants of Huang Qiu; seeing her look at them, their hearts jumped, fearing she would target them next.

After all, Su Ruo dared to fire even Huang Qiu; firing them would be child's play.

But Su Ruo merely glanced at them and then withdrew her gaze: "Now that Huang Qiu has left, the sales manager position is vacant."

I announce that from now on, all positions in the sales department will be filled based on sales volume—whether manager, deputy manager, team leader, or small team leader, whoever brings in more orders gets the post.

Several young men, upon hearing Su Ruo's words, instantly had their eyes light up; after all, these positions used to be assigned by seniority.

With the new rule in place, as long as one has ability, anyone gets a chance to compete.

Su Ruo looked appreciatively at a few of them; it's good that young people have ambition and drive.

But Su Ruo also emphasized: "I don't oppose you competing with outsiders, fighting and snatching orders, but these tactics absolutely cannot be used against our own people."

Fair competition is fine, but malicious competition is something I absolutely cannot tolerate!

Su Ruo stressed her bottom line; she didn't want her company to end up in chaos over snatching orders.

Everyone nodded in understanding; without Huang Qiu's deliberate suppression, these people in the sales department, eager for commissions and the manager position, all kicked into order-snatching mode.

In just one month, order volume not only didn't drop compared to before, but showed a faint upward trend.

If we can stabilize it, plus Xia Hua's orders, it will be enough to sustain the textile factory's production.

Su Ruo also let out a sigh of relief; no matter what, the toughest hurdle has finally been passed.

But that difficult afternoon, Li Zhaodi came to Su Ruo holding a pile of clothes, her face grim.

Li Zhaodi's eyes reddened; she angrily dumped that pile of clothes onto the table before Su Ruo.

"What's going on?" Since coming to Kyoto, Su Ruo had never seen Li Zhaodi so angry.

Li Zhaodi didn't answer Su Ruo's question, but said: "Look at these clothes!"

Su Ruo picked up the clothes on the table one by one and quickly noticed the problem.

These clothes' styles are identical to Xia Hua's garments, but the workmanship and fabric are far inferior.

"Someone is copying us?"

Su Ruo had long known this day would come; after all, even some big foreign brands can't escape being copied or imitated, but she didn't expect it to happen so soon.

Li Zhaodi's eyes reddened with anger: "Who says it isn't! We've worked hard here drawing sketches, designing, laying out, never imagining it would be so easy for someone to copy us."

What's worse, they not only copied our products but also deliberately undercut prices, selling at half our price to snatch our orders.

Li Zhaodi, by the end of her speech, couldn't hold back tears; after all her years in business, this was the first time she'd seen such shameless people.

Su Ruo's face also darkened; if it were just copying, it could be tolerated, after all in these times everyone is poor and wants to make money, sometimes people do things that sell their conscience for cash.

But copying their goods and undercutting prices to snatch orders is just too despicable.

"Now many malls have returned our orders; some are still watching, but between the lines they're asking if we can lower prices—what should we do now?"

Li Zhaodi is now at her wits' end; the clothes they make have very high standards for quality and workmanship.

Moreover, to improve the clothing's quality, they have hired several designers at high salaries.

If we really get into a price war, the other side might not suffer much, since they're just a bunch of copycats, but Xia Hua would lose big.

Moreover, once price competition starts, it's likely to fall into the trap they set, ending in either your death or mine.

Su Ruo remained silent, seriously considering countermeasures; if Xia Hua's fame were already big enough, she could completely ignore the opposition, because as long as there's brand effect, many consumers will buy.

But Xia Hua's current reputation clearly hasn't reached that level.

What should we do to break through the current situation?

Su Ruo put herself in the opponent's shoes, thinking about why they did this; their blatant provocation is obviously meant to force them into a price war and then drag them down.

In the end, Su Ruo's gaze turned sharp; the opponent wants to force them to lower prices and fight, but Su Ruo will not let them have their way.

"We won't lower prices; we will notify all malls cooperating with us that from now on, if they carry Die Lian's clothing, Xia Hua will absolutely not have any further cooperation with them."

Li Zhaodi hesitated a bit: "Isn't doing this a bit risky?"

"Many malls have already started returning orders; Li Zhaodi worries that doing this will make it even harder for them to get orders."

"Our costs are already high, so we absolutely cannot win a price war; all we can do is insist on making our clothing brand well."

Not being led by the nose by the opponent is the only way we might break through in this business war.

"Trust me; as long as we hold firm, a brand that relies on copying and imitation, shoddily made, will absolutely not last long."

Li Zhaodi's mind was originally in turmoil, but after hearing Su Ruo's words, her emotions seemed to be instantly soothed.

Li Zhaodi already had extraordinary trust in Su Ruo; now she also firmly believes that, since the master said so, she will surely be led out of her current predicament.

Su Ruo saw Li Zhaodi sweep away her previous listlessness, her eyes once again bright; Su Ruo continued:

"This way, you take the Die Lian counterfeit clothes and our garments to all the malls we cooperate with, and preferably bring a few young, pretty girls so they can see firsthand the difference when wearing the two kinds of clothing."

"I believe that by then, some malls that uphold quality will naturally know how to choose. As long as the opponent's clothes are rejected by all major malls and reduced to street‑vendor goods, we will win."

"Okay, I understand, Master; I will definitely do this well."

Li Zhaodi said that, then hugged those clothes and walked away with high spirits, vigorous and proud, a complete contrast to how she came in.

Su Ruo continued to think about the next countermeasures; to thoroughly win this battle, they must quickly raise Xia Hua's fame.

Only by getting the brand name out there can they stand firm for the long haul.