Free Web NovelChapter 124: Chapter 124: Mobike’s Prying Eyes
The sweltering afternoon sun was making people drowsy.
In an office in a Capital City high-rise, a cold drink sat on the chairman’s desk, beaded with condensation, while the central air conditioning hummed, pumping out cool air.
Hu Weixiao leaned back in her executive chair with her legs crossed, a posture that accentuated her graceful curves. A shame no one was there to appreciate the sight.
Hu Weixiao held her phone, her manicured nails making crisp tapping sounds as she swiped across the screen.
From morning until now, aside from breaks for meals and to use the restroom, Hu Weixiao had remained in this exact position, engrossed in today’s "clash of red and yellow."
"KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!"
The knocking at the door shattered Hu Weixiao’s wandering thoughts.
"Come in!"
A woman in her early thirties walked in, holding a stack of documents.
"Director Liu, is the investigation report ready?"
As soon as the clash between the red and yellow bikes began, Hu Weixiao had assigned her company’s marketing department to investigate the industry’s new focal point.
This woman was none other than the director of Mobike’s marketing department. Since Mobike’s app and bicycles were still in the preparatory stages, the marketing department had very little to do.
So when this task was assigned, the marketing department was mobilized in full force, fanning out across the city’s streets, alleyways, and major university campuses.
Like an army breaking ranks to infiltrate enemy territory, they disguised themselves as reporters and the like to extract information from users and on-the-ground promotion teams.
"President Hu, our department focused its investigation on Little Red Car today. For Little Yellow Car, we only sampled a few university campuses. This is the summary report of today’s investigation. Please take a look." Director Liu handed the folder to Hu Weixiao.
"Have a seat. You’ve all worked hard today, especially in this heat! Make sure the employees’ expenses from the investigation are fully reimbursed. Don’t let anyone feel awkward about claiming a few dollars. Go on, sit down. I’ll take a look at the report."
As she spoke, Hu Weixiao gently flicked open the folder’s clasp with a fingernail.
The industry leader is always the primary object of study for any latecomer. The leader’s successes and failures provide valuable lessons, helping competitors avoid making the same mistakes.
The report was light on text, relying instead on hard data for support.
As of 4 p.m., Little Red Car had set up nearly 300 promotional hubs across the city.
Each hub had several hundred shared bikes, and they were primarily located at high-traffic spots like intersections and subway station entrances.
Looking at the accompanying photo of the neatly arranged bicycles, Hu Weixiao sighed.
It was like this in the Capital City, and it was surely the same in Modu.
They had planned a large-scale launch for National Day, but looking at this now, Hu Weixiao felt they were already too late.
The market in Modu was massive, but it wasn’t infinite. Every additional bike Little Red Car deployed felt like a small piece of her own territory being stolen away.
Shaking off her thoughts, Hu Weixiao continued to read the report.
The report detailed not only the questionnaire-based surveys conducted at dozens of sampled hubs but also interviews with customers about their user experience.
In summary, Little Red Car was seeing about three new users register for every bike deployed.
In other words, based on Little Red Car’s press releases, the 150,000 bikes deployed in the Capital City had so far generated 450,000 new users.
’And the security deposits...’ Hu Weixiao was practically drooling. Little Red Car had deployed a total of 500,000 bikes across several major cities today. That was 450 million in deposit fees!
The money was coming in so fast. Hu Weixiao was both envious and thrilled. She was confident that when Mobike launched, it would do just as well as Little Red Car, if not better.
Quickly, Hu Weixiao scanned the information on Little Yellow Car as well.
Due to Little Yellow Car’s unique strategy of directly targeting university students, its registration ratio was slightly higher than Little Red Car’s, reaching about four new users for every bike.
Of course, the fact that Little Yellow Car’s security deposit was cheaper couldn’t be discounted as a factor.
"You all must have ridden both types of bikes today. Tell me, what are the differences between them?"
Hu Weixiao closed the folder and set it on her desk. Leaning back in her chair, she asked in a languid tone.
Director Liu, however, didn’t dare to relax as Hu Weixiao had. Having worked with her for some time, she knew exactly how formidable this seemingly amiable woman could be.
"President Hu, I also went out and rode both types of bikes today. I’ll share my personal experience," Director Liu said, sitting up straight and looking at Hu Weixiao.
Hu Weixiao gave a slight nod, and only then did Director Liu begin. "First, let’s talk about the ride feel. Overall, the Little Red Car is easier and more convenient to ride."
Before Hu Weixiao could even ask, Director Liu paused to gather her thoughts and continued, "As for being more convenient, that’s self-evident. With the Little Red Car, you scan the code, confirm on your phone, and the bike unlocks automatically. It’s far more convenient than the Little Yellow Car, which makes you receive a dynamic password after scanning and then unlock it manually."
"From a user’s perspective, if the Little Yellow Car’s deposit weren’t a hundred yuan cheaper, I would choose the Little Red Car without a moment’s hesitation."
"Furthermore, in terms of build quality, the Little Red Car is far superior. In the long run, the Little Yellow Car’s malfunction rate is bound to be significantly higher."
Director Liu then went on to give a clear and articulate analysis of the other pros and cons of the red and yellow bikes.
"Alright, I understand. You can go home and get some rest. You’ve worked hard. Tomorrow morning at nine, all directors and other senior management will meet in the conference room to discuss Mobike’s future strategy!" freёwebnoѵel.com
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Wu Yun got some good news from Bai Yue. She had managed to get the evening off, and had even secured leave for the entire following day.
This made Wu Yun ecstatic. He grew excited just thinking about it.
Wu Yun booked a table for two at a high-end Western restaurant near the hotel. He also had Xie Qi pick out a Cartier necklace that afternoon, one that cost between forty and fifty thousand yuan.
It wasn’t that Wu Yun didn’t want to buy her something more expensive, but he knew Bai Yue would likely refuse it if the price was too high. After all, she’d never received such a valuable gift in her entire life. He would have to ease her into it.
The situation with her was different from his relationships with Qi Fei and Wen Meng.
To make it easier to use the car and send people on errands, Wu Yun had Wang Wei and Xie Qi each book a room at the hotel. This would save them the trouble of waking up extra early to commute back and forth.
This thrilled the two of them. They had never stayed in such an expensive hotel before; even a standard room cost seven or eight hundred yuan a night.
Wang Wei and Xie Qi privately marveled, ’Who knew there would be hidden perks like this when traveling with the Chairman?’
When their colleagues heard the news, they flooded them with messages asking for details. The jealousy in their tone was so thick you could practically taste it through the screen.
Xie Qi found herself fantasizing about becoming Wu Yun’s personal assistant or secretary. ’But that’s not realistic,’ she told herself. She’d read plenty of romance novels, and some of their plots were even more outlandish and absurd.
When he picked up Bai Yue at five in the afternoon, she was carrying a small bag and wearing an old-style military uniform. Even so, the simple attire couldn’t conceal her vibrant, youthful aura or her beautiful face.
This only made Xie Qi more certain. ’Our chairman isn’t someone I can fantasize about,’ she thought. ’The plots in novels and TV shows are all lies. Rich men are only ever surrounded by beautiful women. It’s nearly impossible for a Cinderella to become a princess... although, wait, there is one way.’
