Chapter 621: Joy City Cuts Prices to Attract Tenants

The direction of commercial real estate is controlled by the collaboration of Wanzhong Group and Qin Group, with Jiang Qin not involved in decision-making.

After all, with the Mall Handbook 3.0 he provided, even a fool wouldn’t misstep.

He Yijun is no fool; he’s very astute. He even guessed that Jiang Qin might pilfer steel reinforcements and found out that he was the only outsider in his family—an extremely cautious man.

Meanwhile, Jiang Qin’s focus remains on the online platform competition.

Since the collapse of Meal Point, Hungry Yet?’s market share has started to recover.

When Duan Wenzhao learned that Meal Point was targeted by Group-Buy on his aunt’s advice, he decisively packaged his resources, equipment, and riders to give to Hungry Yet? in exchange for shares.

It was the best move since Meal Point was shattered and unsellable.

Besides, there’s a saying: the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

However, even as Hungry Yet?’s business revived, its market share in college towns was still slightly below that of Group-Buy.

It couldn’t be helped. Group-Buy Delivery had a significant number of exclusive merchants and special deals, plus students used it extensively for movies, singing, dining, and study sessions.

If this trend continues, it’s only a matter of time before Group-Buy monopolizes the delivery market.

But in early May, a news flash drastically altered the takeout scene.

Hungry Yet? secured a five-hundred-million investment from Alibaba, vastly exceeding its prior fundraising, making Alibaba and Tencent co-investors, which astounded the investment world.

“Damn, are the capital giants teaming up?”

“I see it now. They’re targeting Group-Buy, aren’t they?”

“Obviously. When have you ever seen Alibaba and Tencent join forces?”

“But there were photos from the last Internet Conference, showing Jiang Qin and Mr. Ma chatting shoulder to shoulder. They seemed on good terms. That said, isn’t it those two Mas who are known to be at odds?”

“Chatting is one thing, but business is business. How could you grow so big and not go after the money because of personal relations?”

Alibaba’s investment in Hungry Yet? stirred significant public attention, even trending on Weibo.

By then, Hungry Yet? had three major shareholders.

Besides Alibaba, there were Public Review and the silent partner behind it, Tencent.

The rivalry between Alibaba and Tencent has been well known for years.

Tencent wanted a slice of the e-commerce sector, while Alibaba aimed to leverage social media traffic to boost Taobao. These two giants have been clashing behind the scenes, neither willing to back down.

Yet, this time on the takeout field, they showed a rare agreement, betting on the same platform.

Although no one mentioned Group-Buy during the investment, anyone could tell they were planning to unite against Group-Buy, aiming not just to take over the delivery market but also to snatch the on-site group-buying and community purchasing sectors from Group-Buy.

Alibaba planned to use Hungry Yet? to boost Alipay transactions.

Tencent hoped Hungry Yet? would feed into Public Review, revitalizing its investments in group-buying and seizing market share from Group-Buy.

With this, Hungry Yet? was suddenly in the spotlight, an enviable position that left other investors speechless.

But on closer analysis, the decisions by Alibaba and Tencent were logical.

From the group-buying era to the era of takeout, no one had lasted under Jiang Qin’s rule, but Hungry Yet? endured, representing their hope.

In other words, more dazzling than Zhang Xuhao, who ran Hungry Yet?, was Jiang Qin.

Although Group-Buy’s scale couldn’t match Alibaba or Tencent, making it a second-tier internet company, in the lifestyle service sector, even the two giants had to team up to dare to challenge it.

If Zhang Xuhao was the chosen champion of these two factories, then Jiang Qin was the dragon that had broken many a champion.

As the financing news broke, interviews with Zhang Xuhao flooded the internet.

“Mr. Zhang, some say you resemble Jiang Qin, who once made a breakthrough in the group-buying market, even following a similar corporate path. What’s your view on this comparison?”

“My staff often say that, but I don’t want to be the next Jiang Qin. I aim to be the first Zhang Xuhao.”

“So, do you believe you can outperform Group-Buy in the food delivery market?”

“Our paths are different. Hungry Yet? follows a professional delivery route, setting a service area every three kilometers to ensure the fastest meal delivery, unlike Group-Buy’s approach centered around business districts.”

Zhang Xuhao, emboldened by the heavy funding, spoke confidently in the interview.

The reporters, hearing this, glanced at each other, noting the firm tone of his statements.

Hungry Yet? took the professional route to ensure the quickest meal delivery, subtly suggesting that Group-Buy’s service was less professional and slower.

Alright, the air was thick with rivalry. It looked like the delivery market was headed for another round of upheaval.

Indeed, after the May Day holiday, Hungry Yet?, flush with new capital, rapidly entered the scene, starting its expansion.

However, the path it chose for expansion surprised many.

Previously, during a costly war, Group-Buy had focused on the college student market, where they had directly competed.

Logically, well-funded Hungry Yet? should have counterattacked to regain the college market share, but Zhang Xuhao didn’t do that; instead, he turned around and targeted the white-collar market of Baidu Delivery at the national level.

With the first wave of funding, Baidu Delivery felt a substantial impact, and Guo Ming was stunned.

Damn, after talking tough about Group-Buy, he turned around and slapped us. What’s the logic in that?

But Zhang Xuhao’s business strategy was correct. To face off against the top two players, they had to beat the third player to prevent any surreptitious disruptions.

“Mr. Guo, Hungry Yet? has launched a white-collar special, one yuan for an instant kill.”

“Damn it, they’re really flush with cash, huh? Alright, I’ll consult with the leadership.”

Guo Ming collected himself and headed to the head office.

Baidu had its map application and had initially signed a lot of high-quality exclusive delivery riders. In theory, it shouldn’t be concerned about Hungry Yet?

However, with Tencent and Alibaba backing, the situation was different.

Guo Ming wanted to strike back, but the company’s upper management was hesitant.

Given that Baidu Delivery’s market share was already below that of Hungry Yet? and Group-Buy, should they continue to compete?

From a positive perspective, if Baidu Delivery could capture the entire market, it would be greatly beneficial for Baidu.

Unlike Group-Buy, they didn’t have their own supply chain. Even if they captured the market, they couldn’t turn a profit in the short term.

Also, they hadn’t started their own payment application yet, nor did they have an e-commerce platform. If the delivery service itself couldn’t profit, then how could they monetize this traffic?

After much consideration, Baidu’s Mr. Li decided not to follow suit.

With an ambiguous attitude from above, reluctant to commit, Guo Ming, though strongly inclined to counterstrike as the head of Baidu Delivery, was helpless.

This was a chronic issue for Baidu: they always wanted in on new things, investing heavily at the start but then faltering mid-way, never daring to follow through fully.

“Mr. Li and the two Mr. Mas are not of the same kind. He’s not aggressive enough. Without that push, it’s normal for Baidu Delivery not to follow.”

“Then, what kind of person would you say Jiang Qin is?”

“He’s from the abstract school.”

“?”

“Jiang Qin can keep a low profile but also strike fiercely. When the food delivery market was just starting, he appeared completely disinterested but once he decided to enter, he quickly claimed a large share. It’s really quite abstract.”

“Indeed, high-profile like Alibaba’s Ma, restrained like Tencent’s Ma, both are representatives, but Group-Buy’s Jiang Qin is really in a category of his own.”

The heated group-buying market sparked much discussion; the distinct styles of the different companies were widely talked about.

Jiang Qin, as one of the most dazzling recent business figures, was repeatedly compared by various media outlets.

Meanwhile, Hungry Yet? pressed forward relentlessly, continually eroding Baidu’s user base and surpassing Group-Buy in market share in less than half a month.

Yang Xueyu, who had just purchased a batch, suddenly found himself with nowhere to put it.

Remembering the group-buying wars, companies like Lashou, Public Review, and Sticky Rice Delivery couldn’t get an edge under Group-Buy. But Hungry Yet? managed it!

This was perhaps due to the circumstances, as in the past group-buying wars, Alibaba and Tencent’s mutual confrontations also depleted each other. Now, with all bets on Hungry Yet? and their concerted efforts, achieving this outcome seemed natural.

But really, having suppressed Group-Buy, who wouldn’t be thrilled?

The outcome of the group-buying wars had indeed made many who believed in the power of large capital reconsider, thinking that even capital might not determine everything.

But now it seemed that the power of capital could indeed play a decisive role.

And Zhang Xuhao, seizing the moment, immediately organized a meeting to set plans, aligning everything with KPIs, not discussing methods, just signing up as many merchants and recruiting as many riders as possible.

Their operational strategy involved creating a business circle every three kilometers to shorten delivery times, which required more merchants to join.

Thus, under high-pressure KPI demands, a large number of unlicensed eateries that would set up shop in residential areas got approved by Hungry Yet?, sporting a fancy logo and starting operations.

The spike in Hungry Yet?’s online merchants increased the variety of choices for users, who gradually grew in number.

Meanwhile, at Sheshan Manor in Shanghai, Duan Wenzhao and Duan Ying watched the news about Hungry Yet?, feeling a subtle delight.

Yes, their Meal Point was gone, but it seemed Group-Buy couldn’t swagger about anymore.

What delighted them even more was Alibaba’s investment, which continuously pushed up Hungry Yet?’s valuation. The shares they had exchanged might not only break even but could even turn a profit.

Meanwhile, Jiang Qin was busy with his thesis. Upon hearing the report from Ye Ziqing, he couldn’t help but sigh.

“Damn, can’t there be a moment of peace?”

“Just finished with one, and here comes another. Who still remembers I’m just a college student, damn it!”