Chapter 73: Amazon's Cooperation Request (32k)

The core of the Fox Tao 2.0 plan is to transform from a tool-based shopping guide website into a brand flash sale service provider, while search and mall cashback are solidified as basic functional modules of the product.

Chen Yansen has three benefits in implementing this plan: first, it allows direct cooperation with brands, reducing reliance on e-commerce platforms; second, it leads in the business model, alleviating competitive pressure from peers; third, it improves profitability and secures more diverse cooperation revenues.

Take this Metersbonwe brand group event as an example; besides the commission margin, he can also earn a considerable amount of advertising space revenue.

Additionally, the security deposit accumulates potential earnings; drop by drop fills the bucket, and once the number of registered merchants exceeds several thousand, each paying 100,000, the total can reach hundreds of millions.

"Brother Sen, the frontend and backend are both done. Once the Metersbonwe brand event ends and goes offline, we can switch to version 2.0 and show users the brand-new Fox Tao."

Zhuang Rui heard Chen Yansen's instruction, stood up, and replied.

"At midnight on December 3rd, switch the UI style on time. There are less than five days left. Hu Li, Xu Kun, the limited-time flash sale products for the first phase of Super Cashback must be fully prepared; my minimum requirement is 100 products."

Chen Yansen nodded, and after speaking to Zhuang Rui, walked over to the operations team and seriously instructed them.

"Okay, Brother Sen. The current problem is that most categories are concentrated in clothing, general merchandise, and small home appliances, lacking diversity. Can we make up the numbers with products from the pool?" Hu Li thought for a moment and said hesitantly.

"No! Super Cashback products must go through the selection and sample submission process. You must guard the quality for the users so they can trust Fox Tao." Chen Yansen shook his head and rejected this proposal.

"Alright, I understand." Hu Li nodded and replied.

This workload is indeed not small; moreover, Chen Xu and Zhang Yifeng are still on a business trip, leaving only four people in the operations team. They must handle product selection and push, merchant acquisition and docking, and negotiate brand group cooperation, leaving them truly too busy to stand still.

"Don't worry. In a moment, I will have Xu Dan publish a recruitment notice. In the future, product selection work will be handed to new hires, and merchant docking matters will be assigned to the business department. You and Xu Kun will be responsible for auditing store and brand qualifications, selecting the highest quality event products for users."

Chen Yansen smiled slightly and softly comforted them.

Xu Dan was the HR specialist recruited last time, majoring in Human Resource Management. She kept a head of wavy long hair and usually preferred a mature sister style of dressing, which was very popular among the technical department colleagues, so Chen Yansen kept her on.

Returning to his seat, Chen Yansen opened the Fox Tao homepage. The mall cashback section currently only includes Taobao, JD, and Paipai. com. Although Fox Tao has gained some fame, in the eyes of those comprehensive e-commerce giants with annual sales of tens of billions, it is still a nobody.

Those who came to discuss cooperation were all vertical e-commerce websites like Dreambasha, Mai Bao Bao, and Le Feng Wang. Their annual sales were not even comparable to Fox Tao's, yet they demanded a commission rate of 1% right off the bat.

Was this treating him like a fool, or like a beggar to be dismissed?

Chen Yansen didn't even bother with these people. He could earn less money, or even not earn any, but he absolutely would not earn it while kneeling, unless he was lying down.

"Buzz buzz buzz—"

Just as he was dazed, the mobile phone on the table rang. He picked it up, saw it was a strange number, thought for a few seconds, and still pressed the answer key.

"Hello, may I ask if this is Mr. Chen Yansen? I am Hollis from the Amazon Channel Department, and I would like to discuss mall cashback cooperation with your company."

The person on the other end of the phone said straight to the point.

Amazon?

In 2010, Amazon's scale was not as large as Taobao or JD, but compared to Dreambasha, Mai Bao Bao, and others, it was still dozens of times stronger.

Hearing this, Chen Yansen became somewhat interested.

"What commission rate can you offer?"

Chen Yansen asked directly. His patience had long been exhausted by the business departments of the previous few companies; if it didn't meet his expectations, he didn't want to waste time.

"Uh, Mr. Chen, the specific commission rate depends on the category, but I can guarantee a minimum starting point of 3%."

Hollis was stunned; he hadn't expected Chen Yansen to be so direct. He paused for a moment and then continued speaking.

The smile on Chen Yansen's lips gradually rose. 3% was still negotiable. On 100 million in sales, that's 3 million in commission. Returning half to the users, he could still earn 1.5 million. Plus new customer rewards, there would definitely be a gross margin of two percentage points.

With money to be made, Chen Yansen's tone softened a bit.

After the two chatted for over ten minutes and finalized the meeting details, he hung up the phone.

After the other party sent the contract template, Chen Yansen first had the legal staff review it. After confirming there were no traps, he tapped the table, looked at Song Yuncheng opposite him, and said, "Go to Beijing on a business trip. Leave tonight."

"I am a UI designer, not a... Okay, Boss. I'll go back to the dorm and pack my things immediately."

Song Yuncheng was about to object when she saw Chen Yansen smiling wickedly and whispering "deduct salary." She quickly changed her tune and pouted in agreement.

"But you don't look very happy about it. How about I ask Xu Dan to help me recruit an assistant during this recruitment drive?"

Chen Yansen raised his eyebrows and said with a half-smile.

"Boss, it's really unnecessary! I can do two jobs' worth of work and save you the cost of one salary." Song Yuncheng laughed dryly.

Previously, she served concurrently as the head of the customer service team and the operations team. Chen Yansen had raised her salary from 2,000 to 3,000, and at the beginning of the month, to 3,500. Including overtime pay and bonuses, her monthly income was close to 5,000 yuan.

She was truly afraid Chen Yansen would deduct her salary.

Chen Yansen smiled, called Xu Xingxing to book his flight tickets, gave his requirements, then turned and went downstairs, heading toward 0418.

Xu Xingxing looked at Chen Yansen's back, then glanced at Song Yuncheng. She always felt that the relationship between Chen Yansen and Song Yuncheng was not ordinary; otherwise, why did he always take Song Yuncheng on every business trip?

Of course, Chen Yansen's explanation was quite reasonable.

The first time he went to Penguin, he needed a female assistant who understood the product, and only Song Yuncheng in the team was suitable; at that time, Xu Xingxing had just joined. The second time, he said Song Yuncheng had rich experience, and this time he specifically requested Song Yuncheng to follow.

Xu Xingxing felt resentful in her heart; it was just one business trip, how did that make her experienced?

One hour later.

Chen Yansen pulled his suitcase, walking out of the school while checking the sales progress of Metersbonwe on his phone.

From the 28th to 4 PM on the 29th, a cumulative 30 hours of sales, the total output of the Metersbonwe brand group was 29.47 million.

Compared to yesterday, the growth rate slowed significantly. After the three-day event period, the final sales figure would probably only break through 30 million.

But this number was already explosive in the 2010 e-commerce circle, as evidenced by the continuous stream of cooperation invitation calls.

"After the Fox Tao 2.0 version goes online and the Super Cashback sales results stabilize, channel managers can handle cooperation negotiations of this level."

Chen Yansen thought to himself.

Liang Youzhi from Paipai. com was quite capable. Although he and Zheng Chunbin had a falling out last time, he had not cut off contact with Liang Youzhi.

In casual conversation, he learned that Liang Youzhi, who looked twenty-seven or twenty-eight, was actually thirty-three years old.

He had held positions such as business and channel investment promotion at eBay and Amazon. Knowing that the first year of domestic e-commerce was only eleven years ago, Liang Youzhi was a true veteran of the first generation of internet e-commerce.

Chen Yansen wanted to poach him, but couldn't manage it. First, Penguin offered high benefits; for a middle-aged man working, supporting the family was the primary goal. Second, the ceiling of Fox Tao's model was low, and he wouldn't look up to it.

The plot in novels where the male lead simply draws a big pie and others follow him with unwavering loyalty simply does not exist in reality.

Anyway, Chen Yansen had never encountered it.

Human nature is universal. If one truly wants to recruit talent, paying enough money is just the most basic requirement; whether the project has prospects and how much revenue it can generate in the future are the key factors.

Arriving at the school gate, Chen Yansen hailed a taxi, stowed his luggage, and sat in the back seat.

"Driver, please wait a moment; there is one more person. We are going to Peng Cheng Airport."

Chen Yansen glanced toward the school, then explained to the driver.

The taxi driver was about to say, "Wait for my grandpa," but upon hearing the destination was Peng Cheng Airport, over a hundred kilometers away, he quickly smiled and said, "Alright, no rush."

Not long after, Song Yuncheng appeared in view, carrying that earth-yellow backpack, her small face flushed.

"Couldn't you buy a suitcase?" Chen Yansen asked.

"The backpack isn't broken; it's still usable," Song Yuncheng replied.

"Get in the car."

Chen Yansen sighed and instructed the driver, "Go to Huamao first."

"No need to waste time; carrying this is just fine," Song Yuncheng waved her hand and firmly refused.

Chen Yansen ignored her, patted the driver's seat, and signaled for the driver to follow his arrangement.

The driver smiled, assuming they were a couple, stepped on the accelerator, and drove the car to the Huamao entrance.

Chen Yansen got out of the car and told the driver to wait at the intersection.

He led Song Yuncheng into the first-floor lobby, spent three minutes selecting a white suitcase, then walked to a telecommunications service point, turned to face Song Yuncheng, and said, "Give me your phone."

"What are you going to do?" Song Yuncheng asked, looking puzzled.

"I'm changing your phone! Unless you plan to pull out that Shanzhai phone tomorrow when discussing cooperation and exchanging contact details? You'd be losing face for me."

Chen Yansen snatched her phone, threw it onto the counter, and told the staff, "Please help me cut the SIM card, thank you."

Saying this, he placed the idle Apple 4, unused for several months, on the counter.

The Apple 4's SIM tray differs from domestic mainstream models; the SIM card must be cut smaller to fit.

The staff member nodded, took out tools, and cut the card for him; the entire process took less than 30 seconds.

Chen Yansen picked up the SIM card, inserted it into the tray, and handed it to Song Yuncheng.

"Thank you," Song Yuncheng said, momentarily at a loss for words. She knew clearly that Chen Yansen's reason seemed somewhat reasonable, but ultimately, he had given her a new phone worth 6,000 yuan.

"Thank my ass! This is a work phone; you must return it to me on your last day," Chen Yansen raised an eyebrow and snorted.

Afterwards.

Afterwards, the two left Huamao and got into the car. The bumpy ride lasted until 8 p. m. before they arrived at Peng Cheng Airport.

They completed check-in procedures, passed security, had dinner at the airport, and then sat in the waiting area.

Chen Yansen stood before the glass curtain wall and called Liang Youzhi, who had previously worked in Amazon's Channel Department and should at least know the current person in charge.

Learning information about the negotiation opponent in advance naturally benefits the outcome of tomorrow's meeting.

After some exchange, Chen Yansen narrowed his eyes, stared at the distant taxiway, and thought: No wonder they took the initiative to contact; they actually want to treat me like a fat sheep to slaughter.

Using their channel, once the Shangcheng rebate system is integrated, Fox Tao must give the Channel Department manager a five-percent commission; for a rebate amount of 1 million, they take 50,000; for 10 million, they take 500,000.

Chen Yansen sneered, but didn't care too much.

A five-percent commission was within his psychological tolerance; this was also an industry unwritten rule. Spend money to avoid trouble, as long as they handle the matter.

(End of this chapter)