Chapter 569 - The Situation (2/2)

Many nodded as they agreed with Luo Qi. They could not accept using deceit even for the sake of increasing the company’s sales.

Xiao Luo instructed everyone to settle down and asked, “Anyone else?”

A female manager stood up and said, “I have conducted a survey myself too. I picked ten retail stores randomly and surveyed fifty customers from each store. When asked why they chose Sumir over Luo’s Workshop, their answers were exactly the same. Sumir was a trusted brand in Xiahai due to its long history here. Many believe that many money-grubbing businesses in the Hua nation were willing to replace dried meat floss with cigarette filters to extend their products’ shelf life. On top of that, they would also add in a lot of preservatives in the pastries for the same purpose.”

“Don’t they know that Luo’s Workshop is a trusted brand with a long history too?” Zhang Dashan asked.

“President Zhang, we are indeed a trusted brand with a long history, but that is based in Jiangcheng. However, in terms of national reputation, Luo’s workshop is indeed a very minor company. Although we did have great national coverage last year, people would naturally forget about us after some time. To the people of Xiahai, we are just another unfamiliar name with no background. To put it into an individual’s perspective, a familiar man would always win our trust over a stranger, isn’t it?”

As he heard that, Zhang Dashan was speechless, and he was humble enough to know that Luo Workshop was not a national name.

The female manager then said, “The key to raising our sales is to earn the trust of the people of Xiahai. I think we can publicize the images and videos of how the pastries were made in the factories. Leaving these materials in the retail shops all day round and showing them every step in our production process. This would help them understand how our pastries are made from start to end. Of course, we have to display a positive image and pay attention to details such as hygiene issues.”

After she finished speaking, everyone started discussing, for that was a really bold idea.

“Would this cause a leak of our business secret? These products are the researchers’ hard work, and our rivals could gain these recipes without any effort. This is to our disadvantage, right?” Li Zimeng put down her pen and raise this question.

The female manager replied, “That is a very relevant question. So we would take out the most important steps of the process as most of our customers are not professional bakers. They will not notice if we did not reveal all the steps, and believe that what we are showing them our entire process openly.”

Everyone nodded as this sounded sensible.

“President Xiao and president Zhang, allow me to share my two cents,” another manager said.

He was a male manager, and he stood up before he continued. “As compared to Sumir, we are considered outsiders. Besides the issue of cultural adaptation, we actually had no advantage in terms of our pricing. Just like what manager Wong had said, eighty percent of our customers are senior citizens,” he said, “The senior citizens have a vastly different view on pricing compared to the younger generation. Pricing will be prioritized over everything, and they will be inclined toward lower-priced products. To their understanding, pastries are all the same, and this being the case, why wouldn’t they choose the cheaper option? This is totally in keeping with their frugal nature.”

“Do you mean that we should lower our prices?” Zhang Dashan asked puzzled.

The male manager nodded and replied, “Yes. We should not be focusing on profits now but build our roots and ingrain our brand in the Xiahai market. We should redefine our financial objectives to be able to cover the total operating cost. After we have secured market share, then we can think about higher margins.”

“We might not win in a price war against Sumir!”

Li Zimeng was calm in her response and said, “On top of Sumir’s impressive cash reserves, its owner, Su Li, has a very close friend. She is the president of Huayao Corporations, and if we ever wage a price war, we would not stand a chance against both of them.”