Chapter 228 - 188: Making a Move (3)
Li Yang lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and said in a low, muffled voice, "So if Yang Hui were to leave the company one day, would Zhu Jing stay?"
’Yang Hui, leaving the company? How could they let someone who brings in so much profit leave? They should give him a raise just to keep him.’ Dan Biao looked at Li Yang in confusion, thinking, ’If you let a guy like this walk, Li Yang, you’d be the biggest fucking idiot on the planet.’
Ever since Yang Hui joined the company, he had created millions in value—from the group buys with Yida Department Store to securing marketing funds, rent reductions, and support for the online mall and livestreams from the Xinyue Group region. And for all that, how much was he even paid?
When it came to squeezing an employee for everything they were worth, no one was a better or more productive target than Yang Hui.
These thoughts flashed by in an instant. He still had to answer Li Yang’s question. "Not necessarily. If it’s for a supervisor position, Yang Hui could take her with him. But if it’s for an operations manager role, he probably can’t arrange a position like that for her, right?"
Li Yang gave him a deep look but said nothing. ’How could he not be able to? He’s more than capable. Doesn’t his own company need people? It’s just that Yanghe Commerce is still too small right now. It probably doesn’t need a management layer yet. A single supervisor can manage seven or eight stores, so they likely haven’t created an operations manager position for now.’
"Find some time to talk to Zhu Jing. Sound her out. If she’s committed to a long-term career at Futong Commerce, then give her a promotion. I don’t want to train talent just to have them all leave for our competitors."
Dan Biao nodded. Li Yang’s words reminded him of Xia Jie, and he said casually, "President Li, Xia Jie, who resigned from our company last week, has gone to Yanghe Commerce. She’s a supervisor in charge of NLB now."
The corner of Li Yang’s mouth twitched. His face was visibly clouded over, and the cup in his hand creaked as he clenched it. "Good. Good. Just great!"
’Why is he so angry?’ Dan Biao wondered. ’He’s the one who forced her out. She’s free to work wherever she wants.’
Just then, Li Yang picked up his phone and scrolled through his Moments. A sales report from Yanghe Commerce was being forwarded by people at all levels of Xinyue Group—1 million in sales in the first six days of opening. He then checked the sales for NLB at Wanlong Square for the same six days: a total of 35,000.
Veins bulged on his forehead as he spat out each word, "You have completely humiliated me. Yanghe Commerce made 1 million in six days, and Wanlong Square made 35,000. Their supervisor used to be your subordinate! You’re an absolute disgrace. From now on, you and Zhang Li are to shift your focus to NLB. If you can’t get its performance up to 400,000 a month by the end of the year, Zhang Li will be demoted to supervisor, and you’ll be demoted to NLB’s manager."
’Dan Biao didn’t respond. He knew it was just hot air. Li Yang would never actually make him the NLB manager. If he did, who would handle the mess in the operations department for him? A threat like this had less bite than docking his year-end bonus.’
After instructing Dan Biao to go talk with Zhu Jing, Li Yang had Cai Miao call Han Chao in.
"Xiaohan, how sure are we about the Sanyang situation?" Li Yang asked, flicking the ash from his cigarette as he looked at Han Chao.
"From what Zhao Rui said, I think victory is basically in the bag. The commercial terms Yanghe Commerce offered are too low, and one of their own leaders has already pointed this out. Our position aligns with Xinyue Group’s interests, which gives us a legitimate reason to intervene. On that basis, no one can force the 6% rate through. Anyone who tried would be suspected of colluding with Yanghe Commerce, and everyone will want to steer clear of that."
Li Yang nodded. Thinking about the commercial terms from Yanghe Commerce, he still found it hard to believe. "Are you sure their store on the first floor of Xinyue Square has these terms?"
"Yes. The Vice President of Business at San Yang Xinyue Square personally called the VP of Business at Qingzhou Xinyue Plaza First Store to find out. Besides, these deal terms were spearheaded and confirmed directly by the regional office. The store itself was only responsible for submitting the report and going through the motions."
𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚
He picked up a calculator and tapped on it for a while. Han Chao understood Li Yang; he knew he must be calculating the profit for that Yanghe Commerce store. And indeed, that was exactly what Li Yang was doing.
NLB products were currently selling at an average 10% discount. Using his own company’s acquisition cost of 38% of retail as a baseline, the gross profit margin was 58%.
They’d already done 1 million in revenue in just seven days this month. It shouldn’t be hard for this store to stabilize at 1 million in monthly sales. In that case, the monthly gross profit would be 580,000.
A 6% commercial term meant 60,000 a month in rent. Factoring in 100,000 a month for wages and miscellaneous fees, the monthly net profit would be around 400,000. It would be even higher during peak season. A store like that would have an annual net profit of over 5 million.
His breathing grew ragged. Futong Commerce’s most profitable store had never made more than 2 million a year, and that was a large, nearly 800-square-meter store. Yet this 200-square-meter store from Yanghe Commerce could clear 5 million a year. His eyes turned red with envy.
Of course, this profit was just an estimate. Yanghe Commerce’s actual labor costs were over 200,000. Furthermore, Li Yang’s gross margin calculation was wrong. Yanghe Commerce’s acquisition cost for NLB was 30% of the retail price. Selling at a 10% discount, their gross margin was actually 67%. Based on an estimated average monthly sales of 1 million, their gross profit would be 670,000.
Calculated this way, Li Yang’s final profit estimate was still basically accurate.
"If what Zhao Rui says is true, is it likely that the Zen brand has the same commercial terms, correct?"
’Zen’s brand power was even greater than NLB’s. It was a brand Li Yang had wanted but failed to secure. He’d never expected Yang Hui to beat him to it. Now, he had a pretty good idea of what happened. Zhang Chun had probably intervened.’
’As someone in the retail world, he knew just how much influence Zhang Chun wielded over the brand companies.’