Rebirth begins with studying hard

Chapter 33 Zhong Muqing's Secret

Lu Jie took a sip of the milk tea in his hand, thought for a moment, and then spoke:

"In the business world, there's a concept called people, goods, and place."

"They together constitute the core elements of business activities."

"In the tea beverage industry, this refers to people, or service."

"Goods" refers to products.

"The venue" refers to the store.

"These three factors determine a brand's core competitiveness."

"I believe that building brand awareness should also be approached from these three perspectives."

If Xie Bai had suddenly heard Lu Jie utter these terms, he would have assumed that Lu Jie was just randomly playing with words he had seen somewhere.

However, once people recognized Lu Jie's understanding of the tea beverage industry and regarded him as an insider, these words became proof of Lu Jie's professionalism.

He nodded repeatedly as he listened.

"What do you think are the advantages of Feicheng compared to Jinling?" Lu Jie asked a question because interaction is essential for deeper communication.

Xie Bai thought for a moment and said, "Less competition, lower costs."

Lu Jie nodded. As expected of the person who made Kafka the benchmark for tea drinks in Anhui Province, he was right on the spot.

He continued, "Weak competition means that the market has a high tolerance for the product."

"Product development ultimately comes down to financial investment; the more you invest, the more new products you can develop."

"New brands are at a disadvantage when trying to compete with established brands like Coco in terms of R&D investment."

"Therefore, I believe that product development should not be the focus of early-stage development."

"All you need to do is create a few blockbuster products, even if it's just copying or imitating."

"If it's not available in Feicheng, then it's the first release, it's original, and that's the advantage of a weakly competitive market."

"I think the focus should be on how to leverage the advantage of low cost."

"In terms of the venue, or store, Feicheng's advantage is low rental costs and low decoration costs."

"The rent for a 30-square-meter shop in Jinling can buy a 60-square-meter or even 100-square-meter shop in the same area of ​​Feicheng."

"In Nanjing, it costs 1000 yuan per square meter to renovate, but in Feicheng it only costs 800 yuan or even less."

"Then we can leverage this advantage to open larger stores, provide seating, and offer rest areas."

"In terms of human resources, Feicheng has low personnel costs, so we can hire more employees to provide services."

"Therefore, I suggest that Kafka be positioned between traditional milk tea brands like Coco and high-end brands like Starbucks, creating a high-quality milk tea shop that provides a part of the third space."

"Once the market and consumers have shaped the perception of branded milk tea shops into stores that provide rest areas and high-quality services, milk tea brands like Yi Dian Dian, which operate on a window-style, buy-and-go model, will be seen as generic brands when they come to Feicheng. Even if their products are more diverse, they will find it difficult to gain market recognition."

Xie Bai found the information increasingly convincing, and by the end, he couldn't help but give a thumbs up: "Young man, your understanding of the tea beverage industry is truly impressive!"

Lu Jie was not surprised by Xie Bai's reaction; what he said was actually the path Kafka would take in the future.

It will definitely resonate with Xie Bai.

Xie Bai is currently focused on turning the stores around and hasn't spent much time thinking about the next steps in development strategy.

He felt he had said enough today, and that was about it.

We need to give Shepherd time to process and accept this information.

When Xie Bai wants to continue developing the business but is troubled by losses, that will be the best time for him to discuss cooperation.

It's not the right time yet.

Seeing that Zhong Muqing had returned after making her rounds, he prepared to say goodbye: "Boss, I..."

"Hey, stop calling me 'boss,' it sounds too formal. My name is Xie Bai, just call me by my name." Xie Bai interrupted him.

Although Xie Bai is a post-80s generation and quite young now, he is still ten years older than him, so it would be somewhat impolite to address him by his name directly.

Lu Jie then said, "Okay, Brother Bai, my name is Lu Jie."

"I have something to attend to, so I'll have to go now. Let's talk again next time."

"Okay, let's have a meal together sometime." Xie Bai didn't linger when he saw Lu Jie's female companion arrive.

He also wanted to think carefully about what Lu Jie had just said.

"What were you talking about with the bubble tea shop owner?" Zhong Muqing asked curiously.

"Let's talk about the future development direction of the milk tea industry; maybe there will be opportunities for cooperation in the future," Lu Jie said succinctly.

"Want to partner with Kafka's boss to open a shop?" Zhong Muqing immediately realized the key point when she thought of Lu Jie's previous comment about wanting to open a milk tea shop.

"If the opportunity arises, I do have some ideas," Lu Jie said without hiding anything.

"Come find me when the time comes, I'll provide the funding and partner with you," Zhong Muqing said directly.

"I don't have the money to compensate you for the loss," Lu Jie joked.

Zhong Muqing replied seriously, "Whether I lose money or not, I don't really care."

Seeing how serious she was, Lu Jie stopped joking with her and became much more serious: "I won't let you lose money."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "I'll tell you when I've finalized the deal and am confident."

After strolling around Women's Street with Zhong Muqing for a while, they left when they saw that it was already three o'clock.

Zhong Muqing lives in Yunqiyuan, at the foot of Shushan Mountain. Even 20 years later, this community is considered a high-quality community. In 08, it was considered a high-end community in Feicheng.

Lu Jie wasn't surprised by this; after all, a high school student who could produce a bank card with a five-figure deposit must come from a very well-off family.

But to his surprise, this was not only her grandparents' home, but also her home.

The grandparents she mentioned were not her father's elders in the traditional sense, but her mother's elders.

"I've always called them grandpa and grandma since I was little, I don't say maternal grandpa and maternal grandma," Zhong Muqing explained.

"I understand, I've seen that term before too." Lu Jie had indeed seen this situation in his previous life.

Zhong Muqing's grandparents look very young; they don't look 50 at all.

Of course, that's not actually the case; at least her grandmother has already retired.

Her grandparents and aunt at her house were very hospitable, preparing drinks and snacks for him in advance, which made him feel a little embarrassed.

After exchanging pleasantries in the living room, Zhong Muqing led him to her room: "I have a few chemistry problems I don't understand. Could you take a look at them for me?"

Upon hearing that his granddaughter wanted to study, the grandfather, who was sitting on the sofa with her, immediately told them to go ahead.

Lu Jie was surprised that Zhong Muqing, who was outgoing and even somewhat masculine, had decorated her room in a very pink and girly way.

It's a standard princess room.

There's a computer on the long table, and next to it is quite a lot of space with a lamp and some books.

In the center of the table was a photo album, which showed a picture of her and her mother. The mother and daughter looked about six or seven parts alike.

After answering her question, his gaze swept over the photograph again:

Is your mother coming today?

Zhong Muqing picked up the photo on the table.

After watching in silence for a while, she slowly spoke:

My mother died in an accident when I was twelve years old.