12dz Chapter 592 Take the initiative
Chapter 592 Take the initiative
The next morning, as soon as Li Xiangyang arrived at his office, he heard a commotion outside. He went to the window and saw a large crowd gathered at the factory gate, but this time they weren't there to cause trouble; they were distributors and consumers who had come to buy goods.
"Great, Xiangyang! Yesterday's TV report worked!" Ma Qingfu rushed in excitedly. "Since six o'clock this morning, people have been coming to the factory to inquire about the products. The sales department's phones have been ringing off the hook."
Li Xiangyang felt a warmth in his heart, but his expression remained calm. Having weathered so many storms, he had learned to stay clear-headed in the face of success.
"How are the orders?"
"Another 300,000 more than yesterday!" Ma Qingfu's voice trembled with excitement. "Especially that anti-counterfeiting traceability code; customers say it's the most responsible approach they've ever seen."
Just then, Lin Yuqing knocked on the door and came in, carrying a stack of fax papers.
"Director Li, I just received some important news." Her expression was somewhat serious. "A large chain supermarket in Beijing wants to come and inspect our business. If the cooperation is successful, the order volume may exceed the total of all our current clients."
Li Xiangyang took the fax and read it carefully. The visitor was the North China Purchasing Director of "Jinghua Chain," a company with hundreds of stores throughout North China and a huge influence.
When are you coming?
"The day after tomorrow afternoon. They want to see the entire production process and also want to conduct on-site product sampling." Lin Yuqing paused for a moment. "The fax also mentioned that they had previously inspected several similar companies, but were not very satisfied with any of them."
Li Xiangyang frowned slightly. These kinds of large clients usually have extremely high demands, and if the cooperation fails, it could very likely damage the company's reputation in the industry.
"Where's Feng Mingyuan? Tell him to come over here."
Soon, Feng Mingyuan rushed over. Li Xiangyang explained the situation.
"Factory manager, I think this is an opportunity," Feng Mingyuan analyzed. "Although their requirements are high, if we can win over this client, our market position will be completely secured."
"The question is, can our production capacity keep up?" Li Xiangyang asked the crucial question.
"There is indeed some tension at the moment," Feng Mingyuan frankly stated. "If their order volume is indeed as large as expected, we may need to increase production lines."
Li Xiangyang paced back and forth in his office, deep in thought. Expanding production meant more investment, but without stable major clients, rash expansion would be risky.
"Let's accommodate them under the current conditions for now," Li Xiangyang finally decided. "If the cooperation goes smoothly, we'll then consider expanding production."
In the afternoon, Li Xiangyang was inspecting production in the workshop when Ma Qingfu rushed over.
"Xiangyang, something bad has happened! Zhao Mingyuan has made another move."
Li Xiangyang's heart sank: "What's going on?"
"I just received news that they're handing out flyers at the entrances of major shopping malls, claiming that our anti-counterfeiting labels are just a gimmick to cover up product quality issues," Ma Qingfu said angrily. "They even said things like, 'The more a company tries to hide things, the more problematic its products are.'"
Li Xiangyang sneered. This Zhao Mingyuan is truly a persistent ghost; he just saw the company starting to improve, and now he's back to cause trouble.
"Does the flyer contain specific information?"
Ma Qingfu pulled a crumpled flyer from his bag. Li Xiangyang took it and read it; it contained all sorts of malicious slander, especially attacks on the anti-counterfeiting system, saying things like "This is a classic case of protesting too much" and "Truly good products don't need these fancy tricks," and so on.
"How many of these flyers were distributed?"
"I'm not sure, but it's said to cover at least all the supermarkets and farmers' markets in the county."
Li Xiangyang placed the flyer on the table, lost in thought. While such malicious slander was despicable, it could indeed influence some unsuspecting consumers. Especially before Jinghua Chain's visit, any negative news could jeopardize the cooperation.
"Connect me to Manager Wang from Hualian," Li Xiangyang said to Lin Yuqing.
The call was quickly connected.
"Manager Wang, this is Li Xiangyang. I'd like to brief you on something..."
Li Xiangyang briefly explained the matter of the flyers. Manager Wang remained silent for a while on the other end of the phone.
“Director Li, we’ve seen this kind of malicious competition many times,” Manager Wang’s voice remained calm. “But rest assured, our Hualian’s purchasing decisions will not be influenced by these rumors. On the contrary, the more people attack us like this, the more it shows that your product is a threat.”
These words put Li Xiangyang at ease.
"However," Manager Wang changed the subject, "I suggest you take the initiative. Clarification alone isn't enough; it's best to turn defense into offense."
After hanging up the phone, Li Xiangyang fell into deep thought. Manager Wang was right; passively responding was not a long-term solution, and they had to take the initiative.
"Ma Qingfu, contact the county TV station and major newspapers immediately. I need to hold a press conference," Li Xiangyang said firmly.
That evening, Li Xiangyang's press conference was held as scheduled. The conference room was packed with reporters, as well as some consumer representatives and distributors.
"Friends, I've invited you all here today to clarify some maliciously spread misinformation," Li Xiangyang said, standing at the front of the stage. "Recently, some people have been distributing leaflets maliciously defaming our anti-counterfeiting and traceability system, claiming it's an attempt to cover up quality issues."
He held up a leaflet: "I want to ask those who spread these rumors, do you dare to stand up and reveal your names? Do you dare to produce evidence?"
The audience was quiet.
"Since they don't dare to step forward, then I will," Li Xiangyang continued. "I solemnly promise here that if anyone can prove that our products have quality problems, we will not only compensate tenfold, but I myself will also resign!"
These words caused a stir among the audience. A reporter raised his hand and asked, "Director Li, weren't you being a bit impulsive?"
"No, this isn't impulsiveness, it's confidence," Li Xiangyang replied firmly. "How can an entrepreneur make a good product if they don't even have confidence in their own?"
He gestured to his assistant to bring out a box: "This box contains products we randomly selected from different batches today. Now, I invite everyone here to choose any box, and we will send it to an authoritative institution for testing on the spot. We will cover the testing costs, and the results will be made public."
A consumer representative went on stage and randomly selected a box of dried blueberries from the box. Li Xiangyang signed the packaging on the spot and handed it to the staff of the county's Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision.
"The test results will be released in major media outlets in three days," Li Xiangyang said firmly. "Then, it will be clear who is right and who is wrong."
After the press conference, Li Xiangyang felt an unprecedented sense of relief. This proactive feeling was much better than being passively attacked.