Free Web NovelChapter 138: Chapter 138: Selling by the Pound
"The North?" the employee called Ah Ze murmured. He then pulled an abacus from his bag, and the crisp clacking of beads filled the air.
A moment later, he looked up and shook his head. "Boss, my assessment is that this isn’t as good as the first plan. First off, if we ship this batch of clothes to the north for sale, what method of transport will we use? No matter which method we choose, the cost will increase significantly."
"Second, the purchasing power in the northern regions is low. If we price them too high, no one will buy them. If we price them too low, after factoring in production and shipping costs, we’ll most likely lose money."
He said this sincerely.
But Wen Ci’s lips curled into a confident smile. "I’ll take 200,000 worth of goods to test the waters first. If it works, you all can follow my lead."
"Er..." Ah Ze looked at the confident Wen Ci, hesitated, and then held his tongue. He ultimately decided against saying anything that would dampen his enthusiasm, since he didn’t have a better idea anyway.
"Let’s give it a try then."
’The factory’s sales team is idle anyway. If this plan works, we can send them all out on a business trip to sell off the inventory as quickly as possible. That batch of clothes is just taking up warehouse space.’
’We can’t produce more of the Hong Kong-style clothes if we don’t have space to store them.’
Wen Ci asked, "Can I go into the factory warehouse and see the clothes?"
Xu Jinghe raised an eyebrow slightly. "Of course."
The warehouse was in the back of the factory. As the group passed through the production floor, Wen Ci looked at the equipment, raised his brows, and asked, "Are there still any state-owned factories in Shen City?"
Xu Jinghe answered, "Yes, there are. Although entrepreneurship is encouraged now, Shen City’s state-owned factories are still quite profitable. There’s even a state-owned clothing factory that plans to produce Hong Kong-style garments as well."
"But the problem with state-owned factories is all the red tape. We need to establish a firm foothold in the market before they do. Otherwise, people will still prefer to buy products made by the state-owned factories."
The warehouse key was kept by a designated person. After Wen Ci had waited a few minutes, the employee in charge of the key came running over, out of breath.
"Boss."
Xu Jinghe said gently, "What’s the rush?"
When the warehouse door opened, Wen Ci and the others walked inside. They were met with rows upon rows of shelves stacked with bags full of clothes.
In the middle were tightly sealed bolts of fabric. The bottom shelves were also packed with clothes, and each bag was labeled with the clothing style.
Summer short-styles. Winter long-styles.
Wen Ci asked, "For 200,000, roughly how many pieces of clothing is that?"
"Almost forty thousand pieces."
Wen Ci continued, "Is the quality the same as the samples you showed us before?"
"I guarantee it."
Wen Ci couldn’t help but rub his hands together in anticipation. ’The winter long-styles include cotton-padded coats. The cost price is five yuan, and with shipping, it’s seven yuan at most. I can sell them for nine yuan a pound.’
’A single padded coat weighs much more than a pound, so that’s a guaranteed profit.’
’As for the summer short-styles, I’ll sell those for fifteen yuan a pound.’
’Fifteen yuan sounds like a lot, but a short-sleeved shirt doesn’t weigh a full pound. It sounds expensive, but in reality, the price per piece is about the same as what’s on the market.’
’You need a gimmick to sell things.’
’Whether it’s a good one or a bad one, as long as you can draw people in, you’ve already succeeded.’
Wen Ci said with a smile, "If these sell well, I’ll be back for more."
Xu Jinghe replied, "No problem."
Ah Ze offered, a bit doubtfully, "I hope you don’t lose money on this..."
"I definitely won’t," Wen Ci replied.
’Shen City is a coastal city. People here earn more, so their purchasing power is high. But everyone underestimates the buying power of people in the north. Good quality, new styles, and cheaper than the department stores...’
’Only a fool wouldn’t buy it!’
Ah Ze immediately called an employee over to start sorting the goods for Wen Ci. "Should we pick out more of the summer short-styles for you? It’s summertime right now, so they should be easier to sell."
[PS: Once we get through all this business, we’ll get to the sweet romance!]
