Chapter 326: Month-on-Month Growth of 1127%

The next morning, Xiaomi Tech publicly announced that the number of MIUI system users had surpassed 10 million for the first time.

But what embarrassed Lei Yi's team was that sales of the Xiaomi 1s running the AuroraOS system were far higher than those of the Xiaomi 1s running the MIUI system.

In fact, to adapt to the operating system, the Xiaomi 1s (AuroraOS version) actually had slightly inferior hardware performance compared to the Xiaomi 1s (MIUI version).

Half an hour later, Weibo announced the launch of its QR code feature.

Right after that, Benlai. com boldly declared: it would bring in Chu's Oranges and provide them with a top-tier traffic entry point.

Chen Yansen hadn't understood it back then, but looking at this news now, he felt it was brimming with nothing but worldly wisdom and social savvy.

"iPartment Season 3 a hit, web comedies all the rage!"

"Apple iPhone 5 meets cold reception in China, criticized for lacking innovation, sales fall short of Sister Chengzi's phone!"

"Han Geng launches custom phone, celebrity crosses over into tech circle!"

"Kuaipao Takeout Enterprise Edition launches, Meican. com is in trouble!"

"Sister Chengzi App Store sees surge in users, becoming the core distribution channel for Android apps."

Chen Yansen scanned from top to bottom and immediately shook his head; 2012's self-media had already started acting shamelessly, running off at the mouth, making up nonsense all day long.

The iPhone 5 sold 2 million units in three days, breaking the 5 million unit record in seven days; the Sister Chengzi C3 took half a month to sell 2 million units, and adding in the sales of the Green Orange D1s, it was indeed more than the iPhone 5.

But this kind of spiritual victory method, Chen Yansen couldn't be bothered with.

Defeating Apple head-on is the real winner!

The strengths of the Apple phone lie in: the deep adaptation between the iOS system and its self-developed chip; the optimization of imaging quality through algorithms (HDR, facial detection); and the App Store's over 700,000 applications, giving it an obvious ecosystem advantage.

If Sister Chengzi's phone wanted to overtake in the high-end field, the first priority was to independently design chips, the second was to improve photographic imaging quality, and the last was to perfect the application ecosystem.

Among these, the last point was especially critical: when users used the AuroraFutureOS operating system, if they couldn't use the apps they were familiar with, even if the system's operational performance was incredibly powerful, it would still be hard to adapt.

This was also the reason why, seven years later, when Huawei launched the Hongmeng system, it remained lukewarm.

An insufficient ecosystem can't retain users!

Domestic smartphone users had long grown accustomed to the application ecosystems and operating habits of Android and iOS, so the difficulty of changing was naturally high.

Therefore, Chen Yansen had chosen to take the lead in launching the self-developed system and self-developed chip plans even though the R&D conditions were not yet fully sufficient.

The timing of market entry was crucial!

Although domestic smartphone users had already reached 370 million, there was still a billion-strong market space waiting to be tapped.

If he followed Huawei's example and waited until ten years later, the day would be long cold!

"Knock knock knock—!" came a knocking sound from outside the door.

"Come in!"

Chen Yansen looked up and answered.

With a creak, the room door slowly opened, and Ye Qiuping pushed the door and walked in; looking at Chen Yansen, there was actually a hint of complaint in her eyes: this guy hadn't drunk her sweet soup in ages.

"Boss, the people from the advertising company are here," Ye Qiuping said softly.

Ever since the major phone manufacturers had successively hired image spokespersons, the Sister Chengzi Tech marketing department, unwilling to fall behind, had repeatedly submitted multiple candidates to Chen Yansen.

Ko Dong-zhen, who had become hugely popular thanks with You Are the Apple of My Eye;

Wen Zhang, a mainland first-tier young actor, the godson of the King of Kung Fu.

Zheng Shuang, who had risen to fame from Let's Watch the Meteor Shower Together…

Chen Yansen remembered it clearly: at the time, his eyes had gone black, and he had almost fired the employee liaising with the talent agency.

Every single person the other side recommended later collapsed (had a scandal)!

That eye for talent was razor-sharp to the extreme!

But on second thought, he couldn't really blame them—who could have predicted that after 2012, the entertainment circle would be like a string of firecrackers, constantly blowing people off their feet.

Moral issues were already the mild ones; sometimes from one year-end to the next, the directors, producers, screenwriters, and actors who went in to step on sewing machines could form a whole crew inside and start preparing a sequel to Prison on Fire.

Chen Yansen would rather not have a brand spokesperson than take the risk, so he refused them all.

But Ye Qiuping was unhappy: a spokesperson with a good image and high popularity could create hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of extra sales for the brand.

Even Han Geng's Geng Phone could sell out 5,000 units in three days, proving there were too many fools and never enough to go around.

The result was that the brand spokesperson for Sister Chengzi's phone would be Chen Yansen himself—a twenty-year-old business genius with 40 million followers across the web.

Chen Yansen's objection was overruled!

All members of the marketing department, including intern Tang Zhenzhe, unanimously approved the decision.

"Fine, knock off early this afternoon and make me a pot of sweet soup," Chen Yansen said, putting away his signing pen, his temper flaring a bit.

Ye Qiuping wanted to see him make a fool of himself, and he wasn't going to let Ye Qiuping off easy either.

"Sure," Ye Qiuping replied with a light laugh.

Twenty-eight years old this year, she was at an age like a wolf or a tiger, and wouldn't feel the slightest bit of fear in her heart.

Chen Yansen sighed faintly; you know your own people best—he was no better than those celebrities, all cut from the same cloth.

"Let's go," Chen Yansen instructed.

The two took the elevator down to the first-floor photo studio; this had originally been a conference room, but after some renovation it had become a temporary studio for the photographer.

Feng Hai was a Master of Visual Arts from the Central Academy of Fine Arts, had taught for four years at Huaqiao University, and was skilled in portrait photography; he had originally not wanted to come.

In his view, a business genius like Chen Yansen was most likely a product of marketing, similar to the likes of "Guo Si and Han Han," with no telling how many big shots standing behind him.

As for the photos posted on Weibo, they were absolutely the product of heavy retouching.

But a veteran photography teacher from CCTV had said: Go! You'll know when you get there; some people can eat off their bone structure and looks alone for a lifetime.

The implication was that Chen Yansen's looks were by no means just a marketing selling point.

Carrying his curiosity and a Hasselblad camera, Feng Hai still accepted the advertising company's invitation to shoot a set of promotional ads for Chen Yansen.

"President Chen!"

"Boss, you're even more handsome than usual today! Let's take a photo together? My mom likes you the most."

"Boss, why don't you debut as a celebrity?"

Passing the administrative department's workstations, a young girl nearby chattered nonstop, her gaze burning as she scrutinized Chen Yansen from head to toe.

To be honest, Chen Yansen's appearance was already above average; otherwise, in his previous life, he wouldn't have had the chance to pin Ye Qiuping down on the bed.

In this life, with his constitution score of over 30, his physique tended toward perfection day by day, and his skin and facial features underwent subtle changes, making him extremely attractive to those around him.

"You don't want your Q4 performance review?" Chen Yansen's face darkened, and he questioned sternly.

"Boss, you're busy!"

"Boss, I was wrong!"

Hearing that their wages would be deducted, the group immediately grinned, speaking with ingratiating smiles.

Ye Qiuping shot a glance at the others, then continued to lead the way, bringing Chen Yansen to the front of the photo studio.

"Hello, Mr. Chen. I am your photographer, Feng Hai. You can call me Old Feng or Ah Hai."

Feng Hai stepped forward proactively and greeted with a smile.

He had photographed portraits for many entrepreneurs and stars, yet upon seeing Chen Yansen, he still couldn't help but be startled.

At this moment, he finally understood the meaning behind the CCTV photographer's words. "Let's begin."

Chen Yansen nodded in response and immediately gave orders.

Perhaps Feng Hai held a high status and a loud reputation in the industry, but in his eyes, he was merely a photographer.

"Uh, okay, right away! Makeup artist—wait, never mind, no need!"

Feng Hai scrambled to arrange things; he had intended to have the makeup artist refine Chen Yansen's look, but the man's skin condition and facial contours required no unnecessary embellishment.

Although Chen Yansen had never endorsed his own products, when he served as CEO of Feiyu Technology, he had shot similar promotional posters, so he was extremely familiar with these procedures.

Feng Hai felt that his coordination with Chen Yansen was excellent; in less than an hour, they had completed the theme promotional images for Sister Chengzi's C series and Green Orange D series, finishing two hours ahead of the original schedule.

"Call Huang Zheng, Liang Bo, and Zhang Yinjia over; have them bring the heads of each department. Shoot individual portraits first, then group photos by project. Old Feng, no problem?"

Seeing that there was still time, Chen Yansen spoke to Ye Qiuping, while not forgetting to ask Feng Hai's opinion.

"Mr. Chen, I charge by project, not by time..." Feng Hai weakly explained.

Before he could finish, Chen Yansen waved his hand impatiently and said, "I'll pay you more."

Upon hearing this, Feng Hai froze in place; he, a truly internationally renowned photographer, had been treated by the other man like a shutter machine at a street-side photo studio.

But he indeed hadn't had his fill of shooting, especially shooting Chen Yansen.

"Okay, Mr. Chen, no problem." Feng Hai readily agreed.

In no time, a large group arrived in a grand procession, some dressed in suits and leather shoes, others in casual or sporty styles.

Wang Zihao arrived wearing only slippers; Chen Yansen looked at him with a half-smile, his expression full of mockery.

"Hehe, give me a minute; I'll go change my shoes." Wang Zihao scratched his head awkwardly, then turned and ran back.

Feng Hai first photographed Huang Zheng, Liang Bo, and Zhang Yinjia, then proceeded to shoot group photos by project.

In every photo, Chen Yansen stood in the center position, giving the impression of a crane standing among chickens.

On October 14, 2012, the senior executives of Sister Chengzi Technology, Pinbei Shangcheng, Jinri Technology, and Sister Chengzi Payment shot their team group photos on the first day.

"Hmm, not bad. Hang them on the corporate website later."

After checking several sets of photos, Chen Yansen praised with a smile and instructed Huang Zheng, Liang Bo, and Zhang Yinjia.

"Okay, Boss." The three replied in unison.

Feng Hai's gaze swept back and forth among them, and he instantly understood: Chen Yansen's business operational abilities were probably a hundred times stronger than he had imagined.

These three business circle elites, Huang Zheng, Liang Bo, and Zhang Yinjia, looked at Chen Yansen with eyes filled with reverence; such authenticity could not be acted.

He had seen too many stars and knew well the difference between genuine emotion and performance.

Not until one o'clock in the afternoon did Feng Hai, utterly exhausted, wrap up the shoot and snag a work meal in the cafeteria.

Ye Qiuping escorted the person out of the technology park, returned to her workstation to busy herself with work, yet the sound of wind chimes 'ding-dong' seemed to linger in her ears, making her face flush crimson; she unconsciously pressed her legs together, calculating what soup to make for dinner.

On the other side.

Chen Yansen, along with Huang Zheng, Song Yuncheng, Zhang Yifeng, and others, walked into Building Six, the office building where Pinbei Shangcheng was located.

The pre-sale phase of Pinbei's Double Eleven Grand Promotion had already begun; besides the existing Hundred Billion Subsidy channel and Brand Group activities, it was also divided by category, splitting the main venue into more than a dozen sub-venues to facilitate user ordering and shopping.

There was even a special agricultural assistance venue, with products mainly consisting of agricultural and sideline products, covering fruits and vegetables, aquatic seafood, chicken, duck, eggs, and meat, salted fish and cured chicken, as well as fresh flowers and wild mushrooms from Nanyun.

On the first-floor LED giant screen, real-time scrolling displayed Pinbei's orders, number of orders, active users, average order value, and transaction volume.

From 0:00 to 16:00, a total of 16 hours, the cumulative order volume was 13.07 million, sales volume 1.28 billion yuan, and average order price 98.1 yuan.

From this, it could be seen that Pinbei was not inferior to Tmall Shangcheng in selling high-average-order-value goods.

Low-priced goods and high-priced goods coexisted!

Furthermore, the sales output of categories, brands, and products in these two price segments was equally good.

"Compared to sales volume at the same time yesterday, it only grew by 112.7%; users are too smart, they all saved their consumption needs for Double Eleven."

Chen Yansen joked with a smile.

Compared to last year's Double Twelve and this year's June 18th, Pinbei was also the first to extend the pre-sale timeline to one month.

It had an effect, but not a big one!

'I wonder how Jingdong is doing?'

Chen Yansen pondered silently.

At the same time.

Liu Qiangdong, stationed at the Beijing headquarters, hung a banner reading 'Cat-Hunting Command Center' at his office door.

He and Ma Liyun had always been at odds; similar slogans would appear during every major promotion.

Jingdong's pre-sale time was originally scheduled for October 18, but when Huang Zheng moved Pinbei's event date forward by one day, he adjusted accordingly to align with Pinbei.

"Boss, as of 16:00, sales of major appliances reached 140 million, digital 3C sales reached 210 million, food 97 million, furniture and home decoration 84 million..."

Xu Lei reported one by one.

"What's the total?" Liu Qiangdong cut in directly, asking casually.

"570 million," Xu Lei hurriedly answered.

Home appliances, digital 3C, food, and furniture/home decor brought in 530 million; the rest—clothing, beauty, shoes and bags, and auto supplies—came to only 40 million combined.

From this one can see how extreme Jingdong's subject bias really is!

It calls itself a comprehensive e-commerce platform, but in essence it's still a 'vertical e-commerce site' focused on digital and home appliances.

"What's the month-over-month growth rate?" Liu Qiangdong asked again.

"81.9%! Compared to the usual daily GMV, the growth is clearly strong, but it didn't hit the sales target—mainly because the push wasn't aggressive enough."

Xu Lei thought for a moment, then answered with clear logic.

Users know that the most discounted day on an e-commerce platform is definitely Double Eleven; the platform also knows in its heart that the biggest discount event must be placed on Double Eleven itself.

Otherwise, how could it still be called the Double Eleven mega-sale?

Everyone wants to pull the GMV up several times, even over ten times, on the day of the mega-sale—only then can they hand in a satisfactory report card to their investors.

OTPP is considering making a second investment in Jingdong.

Liu Qiangdong wouldn't dare drop the ball at this critical juncture—even if it meant throwing money around or guiding merchants to fake orders on their own, he had to push the GMV up!

"On the marketing side, add an extra 10 million in funding every day, and increase the subsidy intensity for digital and home appliances," Liu Qiangdong murmured for a moment, then instructed Xu Lei.

"Understood, boss." Xu Lei nodded.

He knew clearly in his heart that this Double Eleven mega-sale was an extremely important milestone for the group.

As long as they got through it successfully and secured OTPP's second round of financing, Jingdong could sail smoothly through the first half of 2013; otherwise, there would be the risk of a broken capital chain.

After receiving OTPP's 400-million-US-dollar investment, Liu Qiangdong also built three large logistics transit warehouses in North China, East China, and South China respectively, with the first-phase investment alone reaching 1.2 billion Hua Yuan.

At the current burn rate, the 400 million US dollars would only last until the end of 2012.

"I wonder how the output of Yaogou Shangcheng and Pinbei looks?"

Liu Qiangdong narrowed his eyes, mulling it over.

At the same time, at the Suning headquarters in Jin Ling, a banner reading "Operation Department for Beating Dogs and Destroying Cats" was brazenly hung up.

(End of chapter)