Snack manufacturers, who had been watching the drama unfold among the meat product companies, were caught completely off guard this time.
Like every year, they had launched their Lunar New Year gift packs. Sales were initially on par with previous years, but starting yesterday, the sales of these festive snack packs seemed to have hit a standstill.
Manufacturers who noticed the unusual sales slump quickly dispatched their sales staff to major supermarkets for an investigation. The findings were eye-opening: the sheer popularity of the pork jerky left little room for their products. A typical family's budget for New Year's goods was limited.
With several large packs of pork jerky consuming over a hundred yuan, the remaining money was only enough to buy a single "Meow Meow Gift Pack," and then it was back to square one.
While the "Meow Meow Gift Pack" only saw a reduction in sales, manufacturers of gold coin and gold ingot chocolates were seemingly forgotten.
Snack companies, who relied heavily on the Lunar New Year season for their annual profits, were suddenly plunged into gloom.
Soon, whispers began to surface online:
"I don't believe it's such a coincidence! The interview just ended, and Meimei brand's pork jerky is launched? I think this is all Liu Chen's plan, using our sympathy to sell their own products!"
"Meimei Sausage, for the sake of sales, has no regard for its father's image! They're colluding for hype, smearing their father for attention!"
"I knew it! How could it be such a coincidence? The interview just finished, then the sister's Weibo was verified, and the pork jerky was launched. This family is too good at generating buzz."
"..."
Prompted by influential individuals, such comments rapidly spread across Weibo and Hupu.
Some users with wavering convictions and a penchant for conspiracy theories were quickly swayed by these unsubstantiated claims and joined the outcry against the Meimei brand.
Some customers even clicked "received" and left negative reviews for Meimei Sausages before the products had even arrived.
Yu Bing, witnessing the surge of one-sided negative reviews, felt both indignant and helpless.
Liu Chen, while perusing inventory data, listened to Yu Bing's exasperated breaths and calmly reassured her without looking up, "Let them say whatever they want. We just need to focus on our own work. Besides, the police have already opened an investigation. The social impact of this matter is severe, and they should expedite it. In a few days, the police will issue a public announcement.
When I post the announcement directly on Weibo, what do you think those who left negative reviews and posted them on Weibo and Hupu will do? The public's sense of justice will instantly turn their attention towards these self-proclaimed moral crusaders who were at the forefront."
Yu Bing blinked, processing her boss's words, and then a smile spread across her face. "So, boss, you deliberately let them speak ill of you? Because when the police announcement comes out, you can slap them in the face?"
Liu Chen had finished reviewing the inventory data. As she suspected, one product line per production line was indeed insufficient. At the current rate of a thousand units sold offline daily and five hundred units online, the daily production of one thousand units was falling short by five hundred.
Seeing Liu Chen's gaze linger on the inventory, Yu Bing understood. "Boss, the express delivery will stop for another three days. During this period, we should be able to guarantee supply for our offline channels. After the Spring Festival, offline channels will naturally weaken for a while. It's a normal phenomenon. During that time, I suggest slowing down production to avoid excess inventory."
Yu Bing's advice was professional, the kind any food industry boss would readily accept.
However, in Liu Chen's plan, the period after the festival was when she intended to establish offline channels. Of course, distributors in major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen were notoriously discerning. For a brand that didn't even have its own factory, securing immediate cooperation with them would be a pipe dream.
Therefore, the sales during this Spring Festival were crucial. Breaking through the competitive New Year's market and making distributors aware of a pork jerky brand that had outperformed most of its competitors was essential.
The distribution volume in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen wouldn't be solved by a mere thousand units a day. These mega-cities, with their massive populations, meant that even a slight success for a single product could translate to tens of thousands of units sold daily, especially for consumables like snacks.
"After the festival, we might need to start establishing offline channels in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. We still need to expedite stocking to avoid running out of goods as soon as we enter the channels, which would offend distributors."
After all, in her previous life, she had often been reprimanded by distributors due to Wang Dong's foolish principle of not overstocking, which frequently led to stockouts. Of course, Liu Chen also knew that she only bore the brunt of the distributors' anger, while the distributors themselves faced the wrath of customers who wanted the product but couldn't get it.
Now that she was the boss, Liu Chen also had to grapple with production capacity issues.
Yu Bing, hearing this, opened and closed her mouth. She wanted to remind her boss how difficult it was to win over distributors in those major cities, but then she thought about stocking...
Considering the food consumption capacity of megacities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, Yu Bing asked with some excitement, "Boss, you're amazing! Despite all these issues, you've managed to establish offline channels in these four cities! So, how much do you think we should prepare?"
Liu Chen looked at Yu Bing in surprise. "I didn't say we've established them yet."
Yu Bing blinked rapidly. "Huh? But you just said..."
Liu Chen nodded. "Yes, I said we might need to establish them."
"Cough cough!!" Yu Bing, startled by her boss's words, choked slightly and quickly offered a more tactful reminder. "Boss, to ensure freshness and texture, our pork jerky has a shelf life of only six months. It's best to ensure that the production date of the product delivered to customers is within the current month."
Liu Chen nodded. "Yes, you're right. But we still need to maintain full production capacity for stocking."
Yu Bing: "..." Was her reminder too subtle? Back then, Chairman Chen had tried to expand beyond S Province for years without success. If the boss went all out with full production capacity, how much money would be wasted!
"Yu Bing."
"Yes, boss!"
"Don't lie to me. Send me the daily warehouse inventory data."
"Yes..."
After agreeing, Yu Bing still wanted to try one last time. "Boss, what if, I'm just saying, what if the channels don't open up?"
Liu Chen leaned back in her chair, a smile on her face. "Don't worry! I'm so lucky, I definitely will!"