Chapter 417: 413. The Great War Begins (Please subscribe, monthly tickets!)

September 16th.

It was originally a beautiful day with clear skies and a gentle breeze, but Zhuo Fan's mood was extremely poor, because just a moment ago, all Maikai Supermarket locations in the South China region announced massive price cuts and began a series of vigorous promotional activities.

Their Fengchao Supermarket's primary business locations were in the South China region, and what's more, the discount rates at Maikai Supermarket locations near Fengchao Supermarket were simply astonishing!

At this point, it was no longer a matter of distance; anyone who knew the news, let alone those with a Fengchao Supermarket right at their doorstep, even people half a city away were running to Maikai Supermarket.

For a time, it wasn't just Fengchao Supermarket; other supermarkets were also significantly affected.

Compared to other supermarkets, Fengchao Supermarket was actually faring relatively well because they had made some preparations in advance.

Zhuo Fan looked at the people in the conference room; although his mood was extremely poor, he was able to keep his temper for now. "We already discussed this a few days ago. If there are no issues, let's proceed according to this plan."

After learning that Zhang Ran had acquired Maikai Supermarket, Zhuo Fan had also made some preparations, first stabilizing the internal situation and then formulating response plans for the series of moves Zhang Ran might make.

Just as Zhuo Fan finished speaking, someone spoke up: "General Manager Zhuo, it's no problem for us to follow suit with price cuts, but their discount rates far exceed our projections. Even if we run promotions now, I'm afraid it will be hard to see any improvement."

"Then do the same as them. Do I need to teach you that?" Zhuo Fan's tone was not very good.

"That is indeed no problem, but we have never run promotions with such deep discounts before. It is very likely that some problems will arise. Also, how long are we going to do this for? Funding is also an issue."

Listening to this person's nagging, Zhuo Fan frowned and said: "Follow them first. Otherwise, with such a huge loss in customer traffic every day, will you take responsibility for these losses?"

After saying this, he looked at the others: "I know you all might still have some hidden agendas, but I can tell you plainly that this is the moment of life and death for our Fengchao. Once we can't hold on, it's hard to say whether Fengchao Supermarket will even exist moving forward."

"Don't think I'm fear-mongering, and don't think you can stay out of this. Haven't you seen the situation at Yaotian Pharmaceutical?"

"Of the entire group, how many of those original shareholders are left now? How much stock do they hold?"

"What about Maikai Supermarket?"

"As long as you aren't blind, you should be able to see Zhang Ran's wolfish ambition, so I hope everyone can work together at this time and not cause trouble behind the scenes."

Zhuo Fan's words had some effect; everyone knew about the previous matters involving Zhang Ran, and Zhuo Fan had touched upon their deepest concerns.

In their view, the way Zhang Ran did things was too ruthless; he simply didn't leave anyone a way to survive!

Just look at people like You Jingyang and you would know.

That afternoon, Fengchao Supermarket had already caught up with the rhythm. Anyone could see that this was the start of a great war between the two sides.

Coupled with the fact that the internet was too developed now, no news could be hidden, and the news of the war between the two companies was even more so; it began to spread wildly online.

As for some other supermarkets, especially small ones, they suffered an unprovoked disaster, but no matter what, they could only endure it.

Fortunately, the costs for these supermarkets were not very high, so it was no problem to barely sustain themselves for a period of time.

On the Maikai Supermarket side, Jiao Zhen sat in the center to command, while people like Geng Yichang began to rush to various locations.

In fact, there was some gossip regarding such discount rates at Maikai Supermarket.

But Zhang Ran's previous dominance and ruthless methods were still fresh in their memories, so everyone only talked about it in their hearts; no one dared to stand up and voice opposition.

At the same time, no one dared to take things lightly at this moment. Since the discount activities began, every middle-level manager or above had focused all their energy.

If anyone made a mistake at this time, then what might be waiting for some of them could be imprisonment.

As for saying it was unintentional?

Go ask Zhang Ran if he believes that!

This could be considered the only benefit left behind by people like You Jingyang; throughout the entire Maikai Supermarket, with the subordinates following the example of their superiors, almost no one was clean.

Added to that was Zhang Ran's ruthless style, which meant that at this time, not a single person dared to harbor other intentions.

Sometimes Zhang Ran truly admired You Jingyang; the entire company management was already rotten to the core, yet he was still able to deliver a satisfactory answer—one couldn't help but admire him.

In fact, You Jingyang was not a fool either. If he wanted to obtain long-term benefits, he had to ensure Maikai Supermarket did not collapse, and it couldn't even show too much of a decline.

Therefore, the people he selected were capable; they were just pulled into the fold by them later on.

The next day, Tianjin Maikai Supermarket headquarters.

Jiao Zhen looked at the battle reports coming in from various places, constantly pondering something.

"Boss, Fengchao Supermarket has already followed up. Our customer traffic is declining. What do you think we should do?" Geng Yichang said in a video conference.

Others also asked one after another; at this moment, these people all appeared somewhat excited.

Back when they were at Shangguo, although they had experienced a lot, in reality, most of the time they couldn't make decisions for themselves, and a single meeting could last two or three days.

It was nothing like now; basically, whatever issue arose could be resolved that same day. The higher-ups gave them an order, and no matter how they did it, as long as they achieved the goal, it was fine.

Such authority and circumstances made them feel excited, and they also felt that their choice this time was correct.

Jiao Zhen smiled and said: "Don't be anxious. Haven't we already discussed it? If they lower prices, we continue to lower ours."

Geng Yichang said with some hesitation: "Boss, it's not that I'm being meddlesome, I just want to ask, does the company have enough funds?"

"Right now, we actually don't have much profit to speak of. If we lower prices any further, we're going to be operating at a loss."

"I looked into the company's situation; although there are some funds now, it won't be able to support us for very long."

"At the very least, we can't compare to Fengchao Supermarket. Boss, we aren't relying on Nianrun Group anymore; we don't have such a big backer. If something happens..."

Geng Yichang's worry was also the worry of the others. They were having a good time now, but if this continued, whether the company could hold on was also a question.

Jiao Zhen smiled faintly: "The boss isn't worried about this problem, what are you all worried about?"

"No, Boss, you can't say it like that. We abandoned our homes and careers to come here; you can't just let us have a good time and then be done with it," Geng Yichang said jokingly. They were all old colleagues, so there weren't that many rules when they spoke.