Chapter 57 Cash-strapped

el A stores are considered premium shops that deal with domestic and international first-tier brands, while the others rank slightly lower.There were already seven established mall-level (presumably r...Chapter 57 Tight on Cash

"It's still more natural to call you Xiao Su."

Su Can smiled, and indeed, despite Du Dawei being the head of the security department at Dunhuang in Rongcheng's first store, he was not responsible for daily inspections. The security department was located on the side yard of the first Dunhuang store in Rongcheng, and Su Can usually worked in a separate office building when visiting the mall. It had been quite some time since they last met.

Standing next to Du Dawei were two others, both dressed in black boots and uniforms that hinted at well-built physiques under their clothes. Their eyes were sharp and firm; it was clear that this firmness could easily turn into a fierce demeanor if necessary. Su Can silently praised Du Dawei's talent for selecting capable individuals. When Du Dawei was overseeing security at Dunhuang, the quality of the guards there was top-notch.

Due to his good relationship with his former unit's leadership, many of the current security personnel at Dunhuang were retired soldiers from Du Dawei’s original military unit. The salaries for guards at Dunhuang mall in Rongcheng were relatively high among various department stores there; new hires started at 1800 yuan per month and could increase to 2500 or even 3000 yuan annually after evaluation. Such income was quite attractive, even for many white-collar workers, thus enhancing Dunhuang’s reputation.

Du Dawei had recruited some ex-soldiers who were having difficulty finding employment after discharge, making the bloodline of his security team very pure and solid. Some well-established private security companies attempted to secure these quality soldiers before their official military retirement by attending pre-discharge meetings to recruit them. This move brought Du Dawei much recognition within his former unit, where he was respectfully called 'Old Du' or simply 'Mr. Du.'

Su Can observed that the two guards beside Du Dawei were no more than twenty-five or twenty-six years old and quite young. He asked, "Who are they"

Du Dawei introduced them one by one, saying, "This is Xiao Sun, and this is Xiao Li. They both joined Dunhuang after discharging last year; Xiao Sun is the son of a comrade in my unit." To the towering Sun Bing and Li Jun, he added with an instructive tone, “This is our Su General from Dunhuang whom you’ve often said that you would like to learn from. Look at him now and tell me—give yourselves another ten years, can you pick up even a single trick from him”

Both of their gazes fell on Su Can, but he did not see any signs of surprise in their eyes. Clearly, Du Dawei frequently used him as an example of success in his conversations with them. They must have learned quite a bit about Su Can’s age and background.

Su Can smiled and gently patted the arm of Xiao Li—the guard nearest to him—before entering the office building without further ado.

Wang Yue said to the deputy general manager in charge of Brown Light store, "Quickly get all department managers and above to come to the meeting room for an emergency meeting. Where's your General Manager Yang... Give him a call and tell him Su Boss is here."

At this moment, Wang Yue spoke efficiently and concisely, completely different from her earlier girlish behavior of dodging in the elevator with Su Can while eating ice cream.

The meeting room gathered more than ten people. They were all department managers from departments such as marketing, franchise recruitment, logistics, quality inspection, among others. The three general manager-level individuals of Brown Light store were also present.

Brown Light store's opening on Consulate Road was a significant event. If the previous three stores in Dunhuang had been in an exploratory phase, then relatively speaking, Brown Light store had accumulated more mature management and operational experience. Brown Light store also faced the smallest competitive environment among its peers.

Having fewer competitors had both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage was that it greatly benefited market share expansion and could cultivate a large number of loyal customers. However, the disadvantage was that the consumption soil in this commercial district wasn't yet mature, which would inevitably affect performance. One significant benefit brought by a department store was its ability to drive upgrades and improvements in nearby residential areas. A well-known shopping mall could transform an area into a major commercial district over time.

Back then, the year 2000 marked the era of advertising-led consumption. In recent years, it had become an era of intense advertising saturation. Whoever could carry out more frequent and lively activities to attract public attention would gain psychological advantages. Dunhuang, having tasted the sweet fruits of promotion, naturally didn't lag behind in this aspect. The opening of Brown Light store was reported by major newspapers, and they even organized some events such as establishing a special fund with China's Children and Teenagers Foundation for education assistance programs like the Sunshine Education Aid Project to capture public attention.

Therefore, when it first opened, nearby residential areas and commercial districts were very active.

Brown Light store was a new starting point in Dunhuang's development. It was also a breakthrough that would enable Dunhuang to break through the encirclement of its top four competitors within Chengdu city. Su Can hoped that Dunhuang could generate 15 million yuan in profit this year, and Brown Light store would lead the charge.

"I can't say you are all industry elites, but at least you have all been immersed in this field for decades. Some of you have worked on malls in Harbin or other northern cities. Others have established their own chains or have had high-level positions within the industry. What I'm saying should be clear to you. Let me just emphasize a few points: For our newly opened store, there are two most critical aspects. Can someone tell me what they are"

"Isn't it all about attracting people Attracting more people is the most important thing." Someone in the room said.

The speaker was a deputy manager, and Su Can nodded in agreement. "It's not comprehensive enough. Popularity and market share are both crucial; you can't do without either one of them. By popularity, I don’t mean flooding the market with activities and advertisements. Rather, it’s about positioning ourselves as a mass-market brand. We should regularly offer discounts to lower our profit margins to around 8%-9%."

A seasoned sales manager commented, "Once you lower your target profits, each store's profitability will decline too. Although we don’t have to worry about being taken over by other large shopping malls here, reducing profits would negatively impact market share. It seems paradoxical."

"It’s not a contradiction," Su Can shook his head and said to everyone looking at him, "Reducing target profits will make our positioning clearer and more focused on the mass-market segment, which is very effective in attracting our target demographic. Consumers will naturally get an impression of us as a popular brand, indirectly boosting our popularity. It’s beneficial for market share too; this approach works."

"Next, let's talk about market share. We need to pay attention to the details. Let's take the issue of suppliers first: whether direct or indirect supply channels, we should always choose suppliers with strong operational capabilities. Don’t underestimate this detail; a supplier’s operational capability directly affects our staff training, product listings, market channels, inventory replenishment rhythm, and promotional cooperation. It’s like playing the piano—step by step, it will inevitably produce beautiful melodies. Of course, this is just preliminary work. Dealing with these suppliers is akin to forming an army; only after organizing troops and honing our skills can we move forward in battle."

"The next step would be to grasp the distribution of suppliers within a region. The mall has various categories like women's clothing, shoes, men’s wear, children's wear, etc. We should establish relationships with influential supplier brands in these areas through public relations efforts. Major suppliers must not be offended—take Belle as an example; they are fierce competitors anywhere. If we upset them within the shoe category region, our entire mall's women’s shoe sales could suffer. Similarly, in the women’s wear sector, E-Land is another major supplier, and it’s important to focus on this."

Su Can noticed that many people were already taking notes of what he was saying; they likely hadn’t heard such concepts from him before. In fact, these ideas were common knowledge during his time as a small sales manager in the future world. However, China's retail and department store industry had yet to reach this level of sophistication. Many stores still relied on tactics like price cuts and promotional activities for survival.

What Su Can was now saying seemed like a leap from large-scale group military maneuvers to precise missile strikes—a generation gap that couldn’t be bridged easily.

"Based on the previous issue of supplier brands, we can also use it as a commercial weapon against competitors. For example, if we focus on Belle and sell hundreds of thousands while they only manage six thousand in sales, what do you think will happen Soon enough, Belle’s company would negotiate with them to resolve conflicts; otherwise, their growth pace would slow down. As for us, our internal capabilities would be stronger..."

After Su Can finished speaking, all the senior managers from Brownlight clapped enthusiastically. Only people within the industry could understand how impactful these ideas were and that they no longer looked down on Su Can. Looking at these people before him, Su Can thought about what kind of impact his words would have if they left for other companies in the future.

"It’s really impressive; look at their eyes—they've never shown such interest when looking at me," Wang Yue arrived at the staff cafeteria and helped Su Can get food. The two then went to a corner to talk privately.

"Oh, what kind of look did they give you" It wasn't strange that Su Cen had a puzzled expression. In his view, those men in their thirties and forties looking at Wang Yue, a pretty young lady, who knew what was going through their minds even if they were being polite on the surface.

"You're going to eat alone if you keep acting like this." It was rare for Wang Yue to display her authority as the general manager in front of Su Cen.

"The big boss is eating alone here, do you want everyone at Dunhuang to be worried" Su Cen smiled.

"Didn't you see that there were a lot of people who wanted to eat with you today and stay longer It seems like your body has something that makes them very interested." Wang Yue smiled. "No wonder you thought about coming down to inspect things today, looks like you made some progress during the period when you shut yourself off from everything."

Su Cen bitterly smiled. "It's not as simple as that; mainly it's because I'm a bit short on cash. Dunhuang's profit key lies in Brown Light Store; this year we need to earn 15 million, so things will be better for us next year."

"I heard you invested in several companies in Shanghai, are these companies all promising" Wang Yue asked doubtfully. She had confidence in Su Cen, but the more she got to know him and the higher her level of understanding became, the more she realized how precarious everything was. Any large company at any time worried about a possible winter when their industry hit a trough; anyone who gave directives could fall flat on their face. But Su Cen boldly moved forward, and she feared that one day he would fall and be utterly destroyed.

"The prospects of our companies..." Su Cen murmured, nodding his head. "All the companies we've looked at in Shanghai will become number one in their fields."

Wang Yue was stunned by this confident statement; she couldn't understand where Su Cen's confidence came from, but regardless of whether he would be lost in the tide of this era, she chose to believe.eriod, Su Cen wished he could split his time into two halves, but naturally, that was impossible.But this time was different. Su Cen knew that Tang Wu's grandmother Mu Qin came to Shanghai mainly to h...