Chapter 429: The Situation Is Bizarre

The unknown breeds fear so a new competitor can seem scarier than an old one.

Especially when your accumulated market experience is useless against this new rival. You find yourself needing to adapt their mindset.

In today’s group-buying industry, every website has its style. Pintuan’s was blurry until recently when they figured out that ground promotion is their strongest asset.

This team has conducted various promotional campaigns across major cities, knowing the market well.

Each team member is versatile and adaptable on any terrain.

They gradually assimilated into other city teams during their promotional activities on Zhihu, taking over later promotions and rising as team leaders.

When activities started in Shanghai, they were redeployed effortlessly.

This required strong logistical and command abilities—how they achieve this with such precision remains unknown.

As it stands, the rapid opening in Shanghai could be attributed solely to this.

Once everyone learned about their competitor, panic subsided.

No matter how robust Pintuan’s ground force is, they are human. How could they not tire?

Even if Pintuan treats their promoters like mules, the intense workload would likely wear them down in a week.

Especially as they move away from university areas, expanding their operational radius by fivefold, their aggressiveness is unlikely to be sustainable.

And as Pintuan ventures deeper near areas heavily marketed by LaShou and Nuomi, they’re unlikely to ambush anyone unprepared.

Speed is impressive, but size often proves a deadly factor.

Pintuan’s initial covert strikes could only work once. Now that major websites are prepared, opportunities for exploitation are minimal.

“Following Pintuan’s current strategy, we could organize a special promotion nearby.”

“Pintuan might be loud, but a price war against us would barely make a splash.”

“Breaking their rhythm, blocking their path into the city center… with their current scale, they won’t hold up long.”

“Group-buying is all about attrition. Pintuan may move quickly, but they can’t withstand prolonged pressure, hence why they are ‘not to be feared’.”

“This upcoming targeted promotion would also be a great training for our team. We need efficiency and precision like Pintuan.”

After a heated discussion, a plan to counter Pintuan was drafted.

In their eyes, Pintuan might possess some skills in stealth tactics, but against tangible wealth, they pose little actual threat.

However, at this moment, Robin’s brows are deeply furrowed as he gazes out at the night from his office.

Attrition warfare, huh?

At 6:45 PM after a meeting in the Shanghai division, Cui Yiting left the office, took a taxi to her hotel, and sighed.

What was supposed to be a relaxing holiday was anything but. Rushed departures and returns only added to her frustration.

After removing her makeup and changing clothes, she logged into the Suixin Group chat on her laptop.

Though their website was acquired, the Suixin group chat wasn’t dissolved. She, Zhou Zhenhao, and Ye Ziqing still discussed industry matters. “Three heads are better than one,” after all.

“In just five days, Pintuan has carved out its domain in Shanghai, and we were caught off-guard…”

“Their promotional team is strong.”

“Suixin didn’t face these competitors when entering the Shanghai market, and even then couldn’t match Pintuan’s current speed.”

“Do you think someone actually planned perfect strategies back in 2009 for the end of 2010?”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhenhao loudly exclaimed it was impossible. Literally impossible.

It may be fundamental in business to have a forward-looking vision, but predicting several years of developments borders on prophesy.

If someone could really see that far ahead, why bother competing? Might as well concede the market.

Zhou Zhenhao never understood why, despite minimal interactions, he was annoyed when people mythologized Jiang Qin. Maybe because during Suixin’s toughest times, instead of trusting him, Ye Ziqing consulted Jiang.

He felt betrayed recalling this.

Why elevate someone who hasn’t accomplished anything particularly legendary? Their ambush didn’t secure a market larger than what Suixin had.

“Don’t mythologize the opponent. It boosts their morale and dampens ours!”

Zhou Zhenhao emphasized his point with exclamation, expressing his displeasure.

“True, but Jiang really does have perfect timing. Came back rushing from my holiday, haven’t even had dinner, straight into overtime meetings.”

“He’s supposed to time his business around your vacations? Wishful thinking.”

Cui Yiting pursed her lips, typing, “Actually, I regret coming to Shanghai. Feels like a shadow’s hanging over me. Despite backing from LaShou, the idea of competing still leaves me feeling powerless as in November.”

Zhou Zhenhao immediately responded, “Yiting, you’re overthinking. What was the situation when Suixin was active? LaShou and Nuomi were fierce competitors. Now, it’s just Pintuan. It’s much less stressful.”

“That’s true…”

Zhou Zhenhao and Cui Yiting have since joined LaShou, changing their affiliations.

They can now discuss Suixin’s downfall casually, long past their initial dejection, but Ye Ziqing is different.

An intensely competitive woman, she never joined LaShou, still emotionally invested in Suixin, making it difficult for her to endure their lighthearted chats about its failure.

Soon, Ye Ziqing mentioned she was tired and her icon turned gray; she exited the chat.

LaShou and Nuomi are prepared now, planning to engage in a price war to leave Pintuan with contracts but no customers.

This tactic mirrors how they jointly targeted Suixin.

No one survives the drain of two major group-buying websites—a harsh reality why the rich get richer and the poor poorer.

This is a lesson she learned while with Suixin.

However, what happened next was entirely unexpected.

On the sixth day of promotion in Shanghai, Pintuan maintained its momentum and secured a bustling mall, establishing a second market.

Jiang Qin personally led the negotiations with the mall’s manager.

Details of their discussion and the financials are unknown, but their collaboration was set—Pintuan had secured its first complete shopping district beyond university areas.

As the marketing manager of Pintuan’s Shanghai division, Cui Yiting had prepped for the event but hadn’t received the funds.

“It’s been a while since I looked at the group-buying market from a holistic perspective. We’ve all overlooked one thing—everyone’s out of money.”

“LaShou and Nuomi banded together against Suixin, draining their own resources significantly.”

“Now, they are spreading their remaining funds across lower-tier markets, hoping to secure more financing in the next round, needed to continue outperforming their competitors.”

“What if…if we pull back funds to support the Shanghai market, other markets would struggle, stalling operations.”

“Yiting, he’s not expanding because you’re on vacation. He’s timing it with the fourth phase of vulnerability.”

“The group-buying sector has evolved. Inept investors have pulled out, cautious venture firms are on the fence, and only the more capable are watching. This time, whoever blinks first loses.”

“…”

“And if I were LaShou’s owner, I’d reckon Pintuan isn’t quite there yet—not worth disrupting the later-stage strategies.”

As discussed, Robin truly didn’t receive cash flow support immediately, putting their brilliant campaign plans on hold.

Instead, the focus shifted to lower-tier cities, accelerating their development, not sparing surrounding towns. Pintuan faced a fierce backlash in these markets.

You target the rear? Interesting.

Then forget about securing lower-tier markets!

Thus, while Pintuan entered Shanghai, the real battle shifted to second-tier cities.

Within a week, Pintuan’s market share in these cities dropped by about twenty percent.

All sites prepared for one last surge to carve out prosperous paths for the upcoming year.

A significant milestone isn’t just saying, “Hey, I secured the Shanghai market.” It’s about how many cities your site now serves.

“We’ll trade their second-tier cities for our first-tier ones!”

In April, a statement by Jiang Qin proved prophetic.

Hence, the market scenario became incredibly bizarre—illogical yet somehow logical.

Six months earlier, Pintuan had clinched the lower-tier markets at minimal cost, waiting ahead on the road.

Half a year later, they shifted focus, again bypassing the main battle zones, capturing markets Suixin had desperately defended.

People thought Pintuan was too slow, questioning the impact of their actions half a year into group-buying.

But witnessing this, they realized—damn, Pintuan had always been ahead!

Of course, LaShou and Nuomi wouldn’t let Pintuan just mess around on their turf.

Robin and Chang Jian Song of Nuomi, though not funded, received calls from their respective bosses. Though the bosses hadn’t coordinated, their messages bore a strikingly similar tone.

In group-buying, spending money is a given. But we can’t keep splurging in the same market.

Moreover, just because you’re out of funds doesn’t mean you stop operating the market. What use are you then?