Chapter 342: 336 Director Guan Zu

At this moment, in North Point, at a certain breakfast shop.

A red taxi is parked outside. Brother Hao and Mark are eating breakfast, and they happen to see the news advertisement for "Five-Star Supermarket" playing on the television.

Mark is surprised: "Wow, such a big move?"

Song Zihao takes a bite of rice noodle roll and says: "I helped out with this supermarket; it is indeed very grand, not an ordinary big move."

Meanwhile, the citizens eating breakfast nearby all look up at the television, discussing it animatedly.

"This supermarket looks pretty good!"

"Sheung Wan isn't very far from here, only four or five subway stations away. We can take the subway over."

"Are you stupid? The subway is so expensive; we should definitely take the bus."

"I'm too tired from taking care of the kids every day. Can I send the kids over there while I go shopping, and have them help me watch the kids?"

"That makes sense!"

"The Five-Star Group's companies are all very conscientious. I'll go over and support them."

"That Boss Li doesn't have a conscience. If the Five-Star Supermarket is good, I'll buy things at Five-Star Supermarket from now on!"

"The distance is only 5 kilometers, not far, just a few minutes by car."

……

Following the extensive promotion by television stations and newspapers, Five-Star Supermarket quickly became the hot topic of conversation among citizens after their meals that morning.

Everywhere in Hong Kong, people are discussing it.

Words like "epoch-making" and "behemoth" are tickling the curiosity of every citizen.

"It's a full 60,000 square feet! Wouldn't that be super huge?!"

"Wouldn't that be three times larger than the ParknShop in Causeway Bay?"

"The news said there's a children's playground there. I won't have to worry about childcare problems when I go shopping anymore!"

"My home television is broken. They said repairs are free, so I can just go over and take a look. If parts need replacing, it must be very conscientious, after all, it is a Five-Star Group company."

"Right, the Five-Star Group has always been very conscientious; they are much better than Boss Li, who only thinks about making money."

On the streets and in the alleys, people are discussing it animatedly, their eyes sparkling with curiosity about this new supermarket, unable to help but plan their trip to Five-Star Supermarket to see for themselves.

Citizens across the entire Hong Kong Island district cannot help but be tempted to go to Five-Star Supermarket to take a look.

Even citizens in places like Yau Tsim Mong cannot help but want to go and experience it.

This range is one or two times larger than the radiation range of the Central and Western District that Director Guan Zu predicted, which is something Director Guan Zu did not expect.

This is perhaps the manifestation of the approval rating.

The Five-Star Group's reputation is so good that it has led citizens to be full of trust and support for the Five-Star Group.

……

A. S. Watson Group,

A supervisor of the supermarket system, after finishing breakfast, arrives at the company feeling worried.

He knocks on the door of the supermarket system's vice president's office.

Then he reports this morning's news to the vice president, as well as his own worries.

Then the vice president directly gives him a "The higher-ups have already considered this" and "Nothing to worry about!" to dismiss the supervisor.

The supervisor is surprised: Could it be that the higher-ups have countermeasures?

"Trust the leadership!"

……

October 18th, one day away,

Newspapers and news outlets across Hong Kong received Director Guan Zu's money, and they all cast their spotlights on Five-Star Supermarket in unison.

Whether it is the front-page headlines of authoritative daily newspapers or the corner columns of street tabloids, all are occupied by the four big characters "Five-Star Supermarket".

Asia Television is even broadcasting special reports and internal displays of Five-Star Supermarket around the clock, as if the entire city has been swept into this propaganda storm.

This propaganda offensive is not limited to television and newspapers; outdoor billboards, bus stops, subway stations, and even taxi roof lights on Hong Kong Island have all been replaced with Five-Star Supermarket's promotional posters and slogans.

The entire Hong Kong Island district,

In every corner of the streets and alleys, one can feel the existence of Five-Star Supermarket.

This advertising model is simply outrageously absurd!

In just two short days, this carpet-bombing style of propaganda offensive allowed Five-Star Supermarket to rapidly increase its popularity.

Do you think this is just to promote the supermarket?

A waste of money?

No!

Because following this overwhelming advertising, the stocks of Cheung Kong Group and A. S. Watson Group on the stock market have started to fall.

……

……

At noon, Director Guan Zu has lunch with Ruan Mei before returning to the Five-Star Group at a leisurely pace.

At this time, all employees of the entire Five-Star Group are in high spirits.

On their way to work, they constantly hear many neighbors discussing Five-Star Supermarket, all saying that the Five-Star Group is a conscientious enterprise, and that the supermarket's "free repairs," "clothing alterations," "children's playground," and the like are also very conscientious.

Neighbor after neighbor is shouting: The Five-Star Group is so conscientious, we must support them!!

What does this mean?

Five-Star Supermarket is bound to be a hit!

It must be said that in the hearts of the citizens, the Five-Star Group's appeal is simply outrageously strong!

Whatever they do, it becomes a hit!

They've won big!

Every employee and lackey is full of energy at work!

Director Guan Zu arrives at the company, and many employees salute him along the way.

"Good morning, Boss!"

"Good morning, Brother Zu!"

They look at Director Guan Zu with admiration.

The boss is awesome!

Director Guan Zu nods as he returns to his office.

Ah Wah rushes over in a hurry.

"Brother Zu, are you sure about giving up the door-to-door promotion?"

This door-to-door promotion was a plan set long ago, intended to let all the neighbors know about this supermarket and then increase the supermarket's foot traffic.

The flyers were already printed.

The lackeys were already arranged.

And then Director Guan Zu made a phone call to cancel it?

Ah Wah is extremely confused.

"Look, you're rushing again..."

Director Guan Zu takes a slow sip of the tea Fang Ting brewed to moisten his throat before explaining,

"Do you know what the foot traffic capacity we set for our Five-Star Supermarket is?"

"Only 200,000 people a day. If it exceeds 200,000, they definitely won't be able to squeeze in."

"My original estimate was a bit too cautious; at the time, I thought it would be good if we could attract neighbors from the Central and Western District."

"As it turns out, I took Ah Xing, Xiao Fu, and the others to North Point and Chai Wan today, and discovered that the neighbors there all want to visit..."

Director Guan Zu shows a speechless expression.

He didn't expect the neighbors to be so enthusiastic.

Originally, he was wondering whether to use the "approval rating" to make the opening a bit more lively, but looking at the current situation, it's completely unnecessary.

He doesn't even dare to use door-to-door promotion.

He's afraid that if he uses it, Five-Star Supermarket will be so crowded that people will be squeezing each other and won't be able to buy anything.

That would make all the citizens of Hong Kong laugh to death, and he would inherit the legacy of Hong Kong Island.

"So, absolutely no door-to-door promotion!"

Director Guan Zu says solemnly,

"You have to know that there are 2 to 3 million citizens in the entire Hong Kong Island district. If one-tenth come, Five-Star Supermarket will be crushed."

"Don't forget, there might also be citizens from Kowloon and the New Territories running over..."

Ah Wah initially thought Director Guan Zu was making a mountain out of a molehill, but after thinking about it carefully, it really is true!

Wiping sweat! This is a bit outrageous!

"Okay, then I'll stop the door-to-door promotion first."

"Right!"

Director Guan Zu thinks for a moment: "When we open the day after tomorrow, remember to send manpower to maintain traffic order on the surrounding streets. I'm afraid there will be a huge traffic jam by then."

Everyone knows how the roads in Hong Kong are; most are two-lane roads.

Fortunately, Shun Tak Centre is located on Connaught Road Central, which has six lanes, and there is also a Sheung Wan subway station, so traffic is considered relatively smooth.

Ah Wah nods: "I've already arranged this. I've also transferred over 300 valet parking attendants; that should be enough."

Valet parking is a service feature of Five-Star Supermarket, focusing on worry-free parking.

Director Guan Zu: "Good."

After thinking about it, Director Guan Zu is still afraid of too many people, so he makes a phone call to the news director of the television station.

He gives an instruction:

"In the evening news and the night news, help me report that Five-Star Supermarket might be overcrowded in the next few days, and I hope the neighbors will shop at off-peak hours!"

!.

News Director: "????"

What the heck?

I understand every word, but why can't I understand when they are put together?

What is shopping at off-peak hours?

The news director confirms again: "Did I hear that right? Mr. Director Guan, are you afraid that there are too many people in the supermarket?"

Director Guan Zu: "That's right. Just report it like that; I'm afraid the citizens will swarm there."

The news director is silenced.

Finally,

"Okay, since Mr. Director Guan requested it, I will definitely get it done!"

……

……

On the other side,

Outside the Cheung Kong Group building,

A group of reporters are like wolves and tigers, blocking the entrance and exit of the building, not only affecting the normal entry and exit of employees but also causing traffic congestion in the surrounding area.

They hold microphones, eyes full of expectation, eager to interview Boss Li and have him express his attitude towards Five-Star Supermarket.

Upstairs, a meeting is being held.

A. S. Watson company is holding an internal meeting, hosted by Boss Li, to discuss "Whether Five-Star Supermarket can succeed."

Although it has been discussed many times, Boss Li is feeling restless due to Director Guan Zu's promotional news, so he can't help but hold another seminar.

"Everyone has seen the news from the past two days, right?"

Boss Li gets straight to the point: "Everyone, share your thoughts and speak freely."

Soon, the many supervisors and leaders of the supermarket system begin to speak one after another:

"The promotion for this Five-Star Supermarket is indeed quite fierce."

"I still stick to my original point of view; their approach cannot be profitable; the costs are too high."

"I think so too..."

"This kind of propaganda of theirs is just a continuation of their boldness and arrogance; in fact, their fate is already sealed."

"That kind of extreme service will have very high labor costs. Think about our ParknShop and Wellcome; we try our best to compress labor costs and control all kinds of costs to the bottom line to make the profit statement look good. Why should his Five-Star Supermarket be able to do so well?"

Everyone is discussing animatedly,

The unified view is————this Five-Star Supermarket is doomed!

Boss Li feels a bit more settled after hearing so many supervisors say this, and is even more convinced that his point of view is correct.

However, Boss Li does not realize that these supervisors are all wealthy people who usually live in high-end residential areas and have long since "detached from the masses." They cannot see or feel the thoughts of ordinary citizens.

And although the employees below are a bit worried, they believe more that "the leadership is never wrong," because the Cheung Kong Group has always been winning, winning, winning in the business world! You can doubt Boss Li's character, but no one will doubt his business strength!

Soon,

The meeting ends.

Boss Li strengthens his confidence, once again feeling that Five-Star Supermarket is nothing but a paper tiger!

In the evening,

Boss Li gets off work and drives his Rolls-Royce out of the Cheung Kong Group's garage.

At the garage exit,

He is surrounded by a group of reporters.

These reporters have waited for as short as 3 hours and as long as 5 or 6 hours.

When the black sedan Boss Li is riding in slowly drives out, the reporters instantly boil over.

"It's coming!"

"Brothers, block the car for me!"

"Don't let him run away!"

The reporters swarm up like happy grasshoppers, surrounding the car, microphones pointed directly at Boss Li.

Through the car window, they ask questions frantically.

"Boss Li! Does the opening of Five-Star Supermarket make you feel pressured?"

"What is your evaluation of the unprecedented service model of Five-Star Supermarket?"

"What measures will the supermarkets under the Cheung Kong Group take to respond to the challenge of Five-Star Supermarket?"

"Boss Li, are you worried that Five-Star Supermarket will steal the market share of Wellcome and ParknShop?"

The car window rolls down,

Revealing Boss Li's extremely confident and calm expression.

"Everyone, quiet!"

"First of all, I want to say that business competition is the norm; there is progress only with competition. The opening of Five-Star Supermarket undoubtedly brings new vitality to the market, which is worth affirming."

"As for their service model, my evaluation is: innovation does not mean success. The essence of business is profitability and continuous operation, not just a short-lived gimmick."

"A. S. Watson Retail Group has decades of management experience, and we know the importance of stability. We will not blindly follow the trend, and we will not lose ourselves because of temporary competition."

"As for the cost problem of Five-Star Supermarket, I don't think it can be profitable. I believe the market will soon teach Director Guan Zu a lesson: sometimes if you take too big a step, you are more likely to fall."

"And our Cheung Kong Group always insists on being down-to-earth and walking step by step."

Boss Li's confidence and calmness make many reporters astonished.

A reporter: "Boss Li, do you mean that Five-Star Supermarket will eventually go bankrupt due to losses?"

Boss Li smiles: "That's right, that is exactly what I think."

Many reporters cheer instantly.

Very good!

This is exactly what they wanted—these two fighting!

They have already started thinking about news headlines:

Is "Boss Li claims Director Guan Zu's supermarket is 'extremely stupid,' predicts 'digging his own grave'!" better?

Or is "Director Guan Zu's supermarket makes a high-profile debut, Boss Li mocks: Be careful of playing with fire and getting burned!" better?

……

Soon,

Asia Television's evening news is broadcast.

It makes these reporters excited again.

"Good evening, dear viewers..."

The Asia Television host sits upright, looking serious:

"Now we are going to broadcast a special news item regarding Five-Star Supermarket, which is about to hold its grand opening at Shun Tak Centre on Hong Kong Island."

"Five-Star Supermarket, as a new retail giant that has attracted much attention recently, has already sparked widespread concern on the eve of its opening. However, unexpectedly, the supermarket's boss, Mr. Director Guan, issued a special appeal through our station today—the supermarket may face overcrowding in the early stages of its opening, affecting the shopping experience of customers, so we earnestly request that citizens shop at off-peak hours, especially avoiding the peak periods of the first three days of opening."

Citizens across Hong Kong are watching television and happen to see this news,

And then...

They are all confused and dumbfounded.

They have heard ParknShop and Wellcome's constant "warmly welcome you to come and shop," but they have never heard of a term like "shop at off-peak hours."

What an abstract and strange term!

(End of chapter)