Chapter 538: Economic Community

The Dianping seminar ended in a hastily, without a grand finale or even a post-event dinner, just sweat-soaked crisis PR.

But some issues are really hard to explain.

Why didn’t so many brand representatives show up?

Not even Dianping could figure it out and no one answered when asked.

In stark contrast, the Pintuan website was on fire.

Masses of empathetic consumers kept returning. Over twenty top brands collaborated in marketing and there wasn’t enough money in the whole market to match what Pintuan was earning.

In just a few days, all the refunds they had initially given out were recovered, making their pockets nearly burst.

As the buzz continued, Dianping was sweating bullets preparing for a press conference to go public with their corporate accounts.

At this time, Pintuan’s billing cycle had quietly arrived.

Merchants in Kyoto received their payments in full and news began to saturate the internet once more.

There were no premature payments, no financial crunches. Pintuan continued to thrive in the drama, slapping their competitors many times over.

“Has Jiang Qin left yet?”

“Nope, he’s still staying at our hotel. He says he wants to wait until the market stabilizes before he goes back.”

“Still at our hotel?”

“He said that the night of the dinner, he booked a week’s worth of vouchers, breakfast included. He also mentioned that although everyone online is guessing Dianping will run out of funds, he doesn’t believe it. He trusts Dianping, that’s why he dared to buy.”

“Crap…”

After hearing Yang Xueyu’s report, Zhang Tao’s blood pressure shot up, his vision swirling between darkness and light.

At that moment, Chen Jiaxin walked in, “Boss, people from major websites have arrived, and the investigators are back too.”

“To the meeting room!”

“Alright.”

Zhang Tao massaged his temples to calm his breathing then headed to the top-floor meeting room with Yang Xueyu.

The media war was over, Pintuan had won big, but there remained one core issue: how exactly did Pintuan persuade those brands?

Because in this whole affair, that was the strangest link.

These websites are currently targeting smaller-tier city markets, markets they’ve spent a lot of money to develop.

Yet, in those lower-tier markets, these brands are still top tier, still representing a major share of sales in the lifestyle services sector. Everyone felt uneasy not understanding the relationship between Pintuan and them.

“Those top brands are just like Pintuan, members of the Linchuan Business Group.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s a local business association in Linchuan. Not all, but many are members.”

In Dianping’s meeting room, bosses and executives from several websites sat together quietly listening to the investigative reports from recent times.

Frankly, with the market transformed, many website bosses began to beware of information asymmetry. They’d rather share information flow than be blindsided like Dianping.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend as in business warfare.

But some just couldn’t accept this investigation’s results, especially only halfway through.

“Is that all?”

“Indeed it is.”

“This is nuts. Dianping and Lashou are also good brothers in the Kyoto Internet United Association. Did we not hammer them hard when we fought?”

Wu Bo couldn’t help but look up at Zhang Tao’s words, thinking, aren’t you polite, damnit.

But Shen Yang of Nuomi and Wang Binliang of Wowo Group did support Zhang Tao’s statement, “There are tens of thousands of associations of similar nature nationwide. Besides collecting annual fees and gathering everyone to boast during the New Year, what else do they do?”

After hearing this, Wu Bo also spoke, “Those stupid associations collect a load of money, all squandered on frivolities. You telling me they suddenly rebelled because they are from the same trade group? Do you believe that yourself?”

“Gentlemen, please calm down and let me continue. Their trade group is different from the ones you’ve joined; they genuinely help each other out.”

“?”

“We looked into several representative companies, like River Hotpot, Burger King, and Fresh Meet Mr. Some of their headquarters may not be in Linchuan, but nearly all their bosses are from Linchuan.”

The investigator spoke, “The most interesting part is their development paths; surprisingly similar—starting to plot in major cities two years ago, then moving into smaller cities a year later.”

After hearing this, Zhang Tao leaned back in his chair, “Sounds familiar.”

“Of course it’s familiar because this is exactly the groupons market growth path.”

Upon hearing this, the room fell silent for a moment then faces changed rapidly – the overlapping of the two paths suddenly clear in everyone’s minds.

“While you all fiercely competed in major cities, they suddenly appeared, becoming darlings of the groupons market by providing quality services. And when you quickly moved into smaller markets, they followed you there.”

“We consulted marketing specialists in city divisions, and indeed, these brands were the most enthusiastic in signing up.”

“While many merchants were still skeptical about groupons, afraid of scams, and deciding to wait and see, they had already signed up. Whenever you needed to run promotions, they cooperated in doing so.”

“Moreover, their business model suits groupons well, for instance, they … have dedicated coupon verifiers.”

“Also, wherever there is a price war, they are the first to open stores, because a swelling market also lets them rapidly gain fame.”

“Then, they also share channels, helping later-joining brands grow together.”

After finishing, the investigator looked around the room, “We all know Jiang Qin understands the groupons best, so in other words…”

Zhang Tao looked up, “Jiang Qin used our money for competition, helping these brands achieve a nationwide presence.”

“Correct.”

As the room fell silent, only the anxious emotions spread along with the friction sound of chairs against the floor.

Money, like energy, is conserved. If you burn money, someone surely benefits.

Like Lashou, Nuomi, Wowo Group, and over five thousand websites that had died, all had once fiercely burned money into this market, some even going blind with spending, inadvertently burning through their foundations.

In the end, the market indeed grew larger, but many looked back only to realize the burning money did not correlate to rewards.

Some even burned their websites to bankruptcy, unaware of what they had gained.

The result? Jiang Qin had used the money they burned into the market to effortlessly nurture a host of national brands, continuously incubating, integrating, harnessing the wind, eventually forming the backbone of the entire Pintuan.

【Pintuan was never going it alone】

This phrase resounded in Yang Xueyu’s mind, the suspense finally landing.

But could everyone accept it? No, nearly eighty percent present felt unable to accept this investigation result.

“He moved two years ahead then just sat waiting for us? Third-party payments were exactly this way, now brand incubation too?”

“Haha.”

“When the groupons first emerged, we didn’t even know where the industry would eventually go, and he was already crafting his crown for coronation? Damn, does that even make sense?”

“Forget it, let’s all stop playing.”

“We burnt money to nurture the market, and he used our money to nurture brands. Now that the final battle has begun, we have neither swords nor blades while he has an arsenal?!”

“Impossible, I can’t accept this. Now that these brands dominate smaller-tier markets, do we still do groupons? I’d rather believe Jiang Qin spent the money than accept this result.”

The room buzzed with voices, many questioning the investigation results.

But this doubt wasn’t due to irrationality; it stemmed from fear. For if this was all real, then continuing with groupons made no sense. Would you still spend your money nurturing his brands only for him to reap the benefits?

The investigator sighed, “The results we found indeed confirm this, and based on these results, everything makes sense.”

After a long silence, Zhang Tao finally spoke, “What exactly is Jiang Qin doing? Isn’t he doing groupons? How come… he’s got so many pieces moving?”

“I believe from the beginning what Jiang Qin was doing wasn’t just simple groupons. More precisely, groupons are just one part of his business strategy, a channel he values highly…”

“So, we’ve been demoted?”

“Pretty much.”

The investigator flipped to the last page of the report, “Also, after filtering, we’ve compared the equities of these brands and found a private equity organization called the Golden Silkwood Fund.”

Wu Bo frowned, “What’s this private equity doing here?”

“That’s right, Mr. Wu. Except for Xitian and Earth Cinema, other brands all have significant stakes from them. They can be seen as part of an economic community.”

“Is this also Jiang Qin’s doing?”

“Structure is unclear, but judging from the timing, investment style, and fields, this fund is probably also driven by Jiang Qin.”

“…”

After the meeting, everyone started leaving the room.

Apart from Dianping’s staff, others first returned to their hotels, packed up, and prepared to leave for their cities the next day.

Once you’re targeted and seen, it ceases to be a secret.

Besides the ordinary public, some fellows from the same industry and circle would also catch wind of it.

For instance, at the Internet Industry Summit being held in Shanghai, some big names who had rushed to attend also received the news, their expressions slightly changing.

“Dianping lost.”

“Those brands were nurtured by Jiang Qin himself.”