Chapter 389: A Single Spark Starts a Prairie Fire

Regarding this anti-monopoly lawsuit stirred up by the Torch Group, Huang Guangze was also not very optimistic. Xinhai Company had really dealt with that group of overseas companies quite a few times and knew how difficult that group of overseas lighter companies was to deal with.

Just like the lighters Xinhai exported overseas, and the manufacturers that did OEM for that group of Japanese lighter manufacturers in the country, the requirements of the other side were quite strict. This was not wrong in itself, but the quality of the lighters produced locally by the other side was not as good as domestic ones. They treated domestic and local completely with two different standards.

The most direct one was Japanese cars. When promoting, it was all kinds of craftsman spirit. As a result, decades later, it was exposed and became bowing spirit.

Nothing happened, and they still picked three points. Not to mention this time, that group of overseas companies also lobbied some Old European members of parliament to come forward, plus many Old European trade departments, to target the domestic lighter industry together. Huang Guangze felt that this time the Torch Group might be bluffing more, and might not really dare to fight this lawsuit.

Shaking the notice of the Lighter Import and Export Association in his hand a few times, Huang Guangze shook his head. "Now the Torch Group has raised the tone so high. If they lose this lawsuit in the end, tsk tsk..."

Now the Torch Group is using the righteousness of the anti-dumping lawsuit to command the entire lighter industry. Any lighter company that doesn't cooperate with the Torch Group is eating inside and out, an industry stirrer, or even a sinner.

But if the Torch Group fails to win this anti-dumping lawsuit, then the authority of the Lighter Import and Export Association will also be greatly discounted. If they can't stand up for the industry, why should domestic lighter manufacturers listen to them?

Huang Xinhai glanced at Huang Guangze. "That's not a problem we need to consider now. Right now, the entire domestic lighter industry doesn't need to fight the price war so tragically, the OEM fee has risen, and it's easier for us to go overseas. This is Xinhai Company's opportunity. We must try to launch a mid-to-high-end lighter brand as soon as possible!"

Before, the domestic price war was fought too fiercely. Japanese lighter manufacturers looked for domestic OEM factories, and domestic lighter OEM factories were even willing to do OEM even if they lost money.

This led to the fact that the cost of Japanese lighter manufacturers was even lower than that of domestic lighter manufacturers like Xinhai who exported overseas. This made domestic lighters going overseas unable to gain a foothold overseas at all.

Now that the competition wasn't so fierce, it was easier for Xinhai and these lighters to go overseas. Huang Xinhai was prepared to build a foreign brand in Falanxi and then try to launch a mid-to-high-end brand of lighters.

"What?"

While speaking, Huang Guangze's phone rang. Seeing the surprised expression on Huang Guangze's face after connecting the phone, Huang Xinhai knew that something big must have happened.

After hanging up the phone, Huang Guangze looked at Huang Xinhai with some surprise. "The Lighter Import and Export Association announced that the domestic legal team has been formed. Today, they will fly to Hong Kong to meet with the Hong Kong legal team, and then they will fly to Old Europe to start formally responding to the Old European anti-dumping lawsuit!

There is news that the Torch Group's board of directors has raised 3.5 million US dollars in funding for this lawsuit."

In such a short time, they formed a legal team, raised such a large sum of money to fight the lawsuit, and then went straight to Old Europe. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the Torch Group was coming for real this time, really prepared to fight a bayonet battle with that group of foreign lighter companies!

Huang Xinhai was silent for a moment after hearing this. Honestly, now no matter what people feel about the Torch Group in the country, they have to admire the courage of the Torch Group.

The Torch Group formed the Lighter Import and Export Association, pushed for industry quality standards, and forced the minimum OEM fee. It looked domineering, but it was really establishing the order of the entire domestic lighter industry. Looking at the entire domestic lighter industry, after fighting for so many years, which company could have such determination and courage?

Under the gaze of the entire domestic lighter industry, the plane carrying Gu Dayang and several domestic lawyers took off from the provincial capital airport.

This lawsuit was not only related to the Torch Group, but also related to the market and status of domestic lighters overseas in the next ten or even twenty years.

And after Gu Dayang left, He Yunxing, the manager of the Torch Group's marketing department, also took a plane with a group of people. He went on this trip to develop the overseas market for the Torch Group.

He Yunxing would first go to Hong Kong to prepare, and under the bridge-building of the Torch Group's Hong Kong agent, Ning's Trading Company, he would contact lighter distributors, agents, and retailers in places like Siam, Jiaozhi, Singapore, Malaysia, etc., seeking to sell the Torch Group's lighters.

As Dongling High-Tech's largest ally in Hong Kong, Ning's Trading Company naturally became the Torch Group's largest lighter agent in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia!

In the past, domestic lighters were basically sold to Japan, America, Germany, Falanxi, England, Italy, etc., and didn't pay much attention to markets like Southeast Asia, Nanmeizhou, Eastern Europe, Africa, etc., because with the economic level of these regions, they couldn't afford a lighter that cost several US dollars or even over ten US dollars.

Now the Torch Group was prepared to activate the massive user market in Southeast Asia, Nanmeizhou, etc., just like activating the domestic lighter market!

He Yunxing's trip was to find distributors and agents all over the world for the Torch Group, and finally go to Old Europe to negotiate with Old European agents to sell the Torch Group's products to the Old European market.

That group of Old European lighter companies like Bic saw the suddenly emerged Lighter Import and Export Association responding to the anti-dumping investigation they initiated, but they would never have thought that the Torch Group was prepared to give them a big wave!

When Li Dongling sat in the Mercedes driven by Yang Zhi Gao and drove out of the Torch Group's main gate, he could still see that from the main gate all the way to the four-lane road, it was filled with trucks carrying goods.

The entire Torch Group's daily production capacity had almost been filled, but it was still in short supply. The big head of the daily production was snatched away by tobacco companies, small and medium-sized liquor brands, health supplement companies, and restaurants and hotels all over the country. These companies and places bought the lighters back basically to hold activities.

Buy cigarettes and get a lighter, buy liquor and get a lighter, buy health supplements and get one. Then restaurants after eating, staying in guesthouses, hotels, etc., also gave them away. It was hard to say how much effect this kind of activity had, but it was like an arms race. Peers were all holding activities. If you didn't, users would buy the opponent's products and go to the restaurant across the street to eat!

This kind of activity that almost covered the entire country allowed domestic users to accept the Torch Group's one-yuan lighter in a very short time.

Companies producing matches began to be hit by dimensionality reduction in a very short time. Many old-fashioned match factories in big cities had already started to stop production. They really couldn't sell them. Now even people living in mountain ditches used lighters.

Li Dongling felt that at the latest in the next year or two, the country would completely get used to this thing called a lighter. Every household, and even every person, would have a few. It was estimated that "foreign fire," a thing that had been popular in the country for more than a century, would also slowly become history.

In the future, only people who were full and had nothing to do would start playing "nostalgic style," or those who wanted to show off would pull matches out of history again. But its era had completely ended. In the future, the country would definitely be the lighter era stirred up by the Torch Group!

The car drove on the road of the Shangguan Development Zone. Li Dongling saw that the Shangguan Development Zone in front of him was almost completely different from the Shangguan Town in his memory of his previous life.

In his previous life, Li Dongling remembered that when he returned to the Li family, Shangguan Town hadn't changed much for more than ten years. But now, the entire Shangguan Development Zone had become the busiest and fastest-growing area in Pingyang, second only to the area where the Dongling High-Tech Industrial Park was located.

Li Dongling returned to the old Li family first. As soon as he returned, he heard Wang Xiulan nagging about her little cotton-padded jacket. "Dongyue, that girl, is she going on winter break soon?"

Li Zhenlin was still smoking his dry tobacco as usual. Even though Li Dongling, Li Dongshan, and Gao Peng, Zhang Ao, and others who came to visit the Li family had sent various brands of cigarettes from home and abroad, the little old man claimed he wasn't used to smoking them. The dry tobacco grown in the Li family's fields was more to his taste.

Li Zhenlin was smoking dry tobacco, but when he heard Wang Xiulan mention Li Dongyue, he still pricked up his ears.

"It should be next month!" Li Dongling looked at the time. It was almost approaching the end of the year. "Besides, didn't you and Dad just talk to Dongyue on the phone two days ago?"

Wang Xiulan, who was sewing a new quilt for Li Dongyue by hand, stared as soon as she heard this. "Can a phone call be the same as seeing a person?"

After saying that, Wang Xiulan also had signs of wiping tears. "Dongyue, that girl, has never traveled so far since she was a child. I don't know if she can get used to eating in Yanjing..."

Seeing this situation, Li Dongling quickly changed the subject. Parents in the world are all the same. A mother worries when her child travels a thousand miles. Wang Xiulan is a typical example. This is Li Dongyue going to Yanjing. In his previous life, Li Dongling heard Li Dongshan mention that when he went to the provincial capital, Wang Xiulan didn't worry less about him, especially after he divorced An Ruxue, Wang Xiulan didn't wipe tears secretly less.

"Big brother, how are you and sister-in-law doing?"

Li Dongling changed the subject and asked Li Dongshan, who was dealing with the chicken that had just been killed, with a smile. As long as Li Dongling, Li Dongshan, and Li Dongyue returned home, those local chickens raised by Wang Xiulan would definitely have a few suffer.

Hearing Li Dongling ask this in front of Wang Xiulan and Li Zhenlin, Li Dongshan, this rough man, actually blushed, blushing all the way from his neck to his ear roots.

Since Li Dongyue went to Yanjing to go to college, the minds of the old couple Wang Xiulan and Li Zhenlin began to be placed on Li Dongshan's marriage. They didn't worry about Li Dongling, after all, Yao Luoying and An Ruxue swayed in front of them every few days.

Wang Xiulan and Li Zhenlin now care most about two things. The first thing is Li Dongshan's major life event, and the second thing is when they can hold their grandson and granddaughter.

Suddenly hearing Li Dongling mention this, Wang Xiulan couldn't care about worrying about her little cotton-padded jacket and looked at Li Dongshan.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 390 =====