Chapter 397 - A White-haired Beggar (1/2)
After leaving Zhongshan District, Xiao Luo and Li Zimeng caught up for a bit. Having a cuppa in a downtown café, Li Zimeng reported to him that Luo Workshop’s factories in Xiahai City were still under construction, and they had engaged dozens of engineering teams to expedite its completion. She expected that all the factory buildings would be completed within half a year should everything go as planned without any hitches.
Li Zimeng also added that the procurement of their bakery equipment and renovations for the outlets were also underway and that everything was progressing on schedule.
Her only worry was that the bakery industry in Xiahai City was dominated by Sumir, a locally established business. When Luo Workshop started moving into the Xiahai City market, they would definitely come face-to-face with Sumir sooner or later.
“I’m sure you’ve done your investigation; do you know who the boss of Sumir is?”
Xiao Luo asked Li Zimeng after listening to her updates.
Li Zimeng handed a document to Xiao Luo and said, “Yes, I have. The person behind Sumir is the A-list star, Su Li.”
Su Li!?
Xiao Luo almost spat his coffee out, and he quickly looked at the document to find out more about Su Li’s involvement. The information sheet was quite comprehensive and even included her biodata—her age, height, weight, hobbies, and her professional work, which amused Xiao Luo somewhat, as it had never crossed his mind that Su Li, his titular wife, would land up being Sumir’s boss.
Xiao Luo could not make sense of it; a pop star getting involved in the baking industries?
“This isn’t uncommon as many celebrities leverage their brand to start new businesses. I know a male celebrity who started a nationwide hotpot franchise, and with his celebrity status, the business is doing extremely well,” Li Zimeng said, “However, Su Li is more low-key, preferring not to expose herself as the boss of Sumir. Barely anyone knows that she is the owner.”
Li Zimeng passed another document to Xiao Luo and said,” President Xiao, have a look. This information is the footprint of all Sumir’s branches across the country. They’re a big name and very well established in the market.”
Xiao Luo took the document and immediately felt some pressure. His Luo Workshop setup was, at most, the king of Jiangcheng, but Sumir, on the other hand, had outlets in every major city in the country. The scale of their business was significantly larger than Luo Workshop’s, which was like a child’s play compared to Sumir.
No wonder that woman was always strutting and acting like she was above everyone else—with such assets, she certainly earned the right to do so!
Xiao Luo cocked his brow and reflected on how little of Su Li he actually knew.
“Li Zimeng, thanks for the hard work you’ve put in, getting things up and running.”
“It’s my job, but you should know that my male colleagues have it tougher. They are always with the engineering team and work like horses, haha…” Li Zimeng responded, giggling and evidently delighted to have received Xiao Luo’s praise.
“Then let them work, they could use a little more physical exercise for their health’s sake.”
Xiao Luo took a sip of coffee and said,” I want you to come with me to visit Sumir’s outlets. I plan to check out their products and what advantages they have over us. Then. Let’s see what we can do with our products to create a more level playing field for our operation here.”
“Okay, will do.”
Li Zimeng nodded as she added some sugar to her coffee, before stirring it and lifting the cup to her lips gracefully.
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It was almost 8 p.m. when they were done visiting every Sumir outlet in Xiahai City. Xiao Luo and Li Zimeng had dinner together and shared their thoughts and opinions on assessing Sumir’s critical success factors. They now had a better idea of Sumir’s products and operation, and how they’d positioned themselves in the market.
If Luo Workshop wanted to remain competitive in Xiahai City’s market, it had to outdo Sumir—competence, service standards, better product offerings, and in every aspect of marketing and promotions.
Xiao Luo felt that the road to Luo Workshop’s success in Xiahai City was a long and challenging one. Firstly, Sumir is already well-established with reliable operational capabilities and a large customer base; and, secondly, Su Li was the boss! With Luo Workshop’s entry into the Xiahai City market, he would inevitably be forced to start a war with Su Li, and it made him feel rather uncomfortable.