Rebirth of the Industrial Tycoon - Vol 2 Chapter 527
Chapter 527 It hurts to cut an abdomen and commit suicide
There is something called the Lipstick Index, which was proposed by the former president of the Estée Lauder Group. It means that the sales volume of lipsticks will not decrease during the economic recession, but will be sold against the trend.
From an economic point of view, when the economy is down, consumers will reduce their purchases of commodities, so they will have more “spare money” in their hands than in normal times, just to buy “cheap non-essentials” such as lipsticks.
In fact, this is a substitution effect. Under normal circumstances, people’s income will increase, they will buy more goods, and the demand for bulk goods and luxury goods will also increase.
When the economy is in recession and income is reduced, human consumption will decrease. When people give up buying houses, cars, and luxury goods, “cheap non-essentials” similar to lipsticks will replace the original bulk commodities and luxury goods. This produces a substitution effect.
Of course, this situation will only occur in countries with more developed economies. In developing countries, consumers are still satisfied with daily necessities such as food and clothing. Only developed countries that are rich in material will consider lipstick.
Not only lipstick, products such as foundation, perfume, nail polish, stockings, etc., will also be sold in times of economic depression.
For example, during the subprime mortgage crisis in 2008, luxury goods companies were in a difficult situation, but the sales performance of perfumes was exceptional. In 2009, sales of high-end perfumes priced at more than $100 in the United States increased by 7%.
If you look closely, these so-called “cheap non-essential goods” are actually women’s commodities.
This is a very interesting phenomenon. Whenever there is an economic depression, women tend to dress up more glamorously, and the sales of various products aimed at women have risen instead of falling.
Beauty equipment is obviously this kind of commodity. When the storm of the Asian financial crisis hit Japan, the consumption situation in Japan as a whole fell precipitously, but the sales of beauty equipment were not affected.
Later generations often say that the Japanese income has not changed for 30 years, which means that the Japanese income 30 years ago was the same as it is now.
At that time, Japan had not yet expanded the scope of employment for temporary workers. A large number of workers were employed for life. If calculated in this way, the overall salary of Japanese people at that time was actually higher than it is now.
After the future Koizumi cabinet took office, the “Workers Dispatch Law” was revised and passed, which expanded the scope of temporary employment of temporary workers.
Although this has reduced labor costs in Japan and increased job opportunities in name, it has led to a decline in the overall income of corporate employees. Many Japanese who entered the workplace during the Koizumi cabinet were in their forties by the time of the Tokyo Olympics. Still a temporary worker.
The income of Japanese in the 1990s was really high, and after 40 years of rapid development, the savings rate of Japanese households at that time was still acceptable. Therefore, even if the new micro-current face-lifting device of Puppy Electric is priced at 15,000 yen, it is still acceptable for Japanese women.
More importantly, the financial rights of Japanese families are often in the hands of the mistress.
In most Japanese families, women don’t have to work after they get married. A typical male is responsible for making money and women are responsible for spending money.
In Japan’s consumer market, female consumers account for nearly 80% of the total, which means that nearly 80% of Japanese goods are bought by women. This ratio is the highest in the world.
It is precisely because women control the financial power of the family, so there is no need to worry about selling products specifically for women.
……
Mr. Kuwano walked into a Yamada Denki’s chain store, which is considered to be a relatively prosperous area in Tokyo, but Yamada Denki’s storefront is a bit sluggish. The clerk is staring at it, and there are no customers at all.
“Is it always like this today?” Mr. Kuwano asked with a sullen face.
The store manager next to immediately replied: “This has been the case for more than a month. There are very few customers. Even when they come to the store, many customers just take a look and then leave, and they don’t look like they want to buy.”
Specialist Sangye took a deep breath of depression, and then he stood near the door, intending to feel it on the ground.
Sure enough, there are a lot of pedestrians coming and going on the road, but no one walks into Yamada Denki.
Across the road, there happened to be a drugstore. The situation of this drugstore is much better than that of Yamada Denki. Although it cannot be said that it is a city, there are still customers coming in and out.
What makes Mr. Sangye more jealous is that these customers basically enter the store empty-handed and carry their bags out, which means that they buy goods in the drugstore.
Others can sell things, but there is not a single customer here. Mr. Sangye has mixed feelings in his mind. He subconsciously walks to the drugstore opposite, intending to find out.
Specialty Sangye walked into the drugstore, and the clerk immediately bowed to say hello, and then ignored Specialty Sangye.
This clerk obviously thinks that Sangye is a big man in charge, not like customers who need cosmeceuticals, but should give priority to those who really want to buy Obasan!
Supervisor Sangye was so happy that no one paid any attention, he stood aside and quietly observed.
At this time, the clerk is selling a micro-current face-lifting device to an Obasan.
“Micro current can stimulate the growth of collagen and elastic fibers, making the skin more elastic. And it can also be that your facial contours will be tightened, and the lines of your face will be improved…”
After some introduction, Obasan paid 15,000 yen to buy this face-lifting device.
“This little thing can sell for 15,000 yen?” Mr. Sangye was already in his mind, he subconsciously stepped forward and asked, “Can I take a look at this product?”
The clerk was a little surprised, and said that it was just a face-lifting device for women. You, a greasy man, would add to the mess!
However, based on the “customer first” service concept, the clerk passed the micro-current face-lifting device to Mr. Sangye, and then began to introduce it carefully.
“Which company made this product?” Mr. Sangye asked.
“It’s a PUPPY appliance.” The clerk replied politely.
Puppy Appliances in Japan uses the English name “PUPPY”, which also looks a little bit foreign. This is also a conventional method for Chinese companies to expand abroad. Normally Japanese people will not think of a Chinese brand when they see the trademarks of English subtitles.
Executive Sangye pondered for a moment, then shook his head: “I haven’t heard of this brand. Where is this company?”
“Here is the description of the place of origin.” The clerk had to pass the instructions to Mr. Kuanye.
Specialist Sangye took the explanation, and when he took a closer look, his face suddenly showed a surprised expression: “China? Is this a Chinese brand?”
“It is indeed made in China. But you can rest assured that the quality of this product is still good, and the after-sales service is also our responsibility.” The clerk explained quickly.
Mr. Sangye suddenly remembered that Section Chief Kobayashi had mentioned before that he would sell new products. The so-called new products are Chinese brand beauty equipment that has been sold in drugstores. And I once said that I would rather kill myself than sell Chinese brand products.
Thinking of this, Mr. Sangye asked, “How about the sales of this product?”
“The sales are still very good, and there are many customers buying. And this product is also endorsed by Kimura Takuya, so it is very popular with customers!” The clerk said and pointed to the poster next to Kimura Takuya.
Sangye executive nodded silently: “It seems that Section Chief Kobayashi said this is the product!”
……
In the evening, Mr. Sangye dragged his tired body and returned home.
“I’m back!” Executive Sangye shouted from the hallway.
Soon, Mrs. Sangye walked out, took the briefcase from Mr. Sangye, and asked, “Are you back? The rice is ready and the bath water is ready. Are you going to eat first, or Take a shower first?”
“Let’s take a shower first, and then prepare me a bottle of beer.” Executive Sangye said.
For Japanese, taking a bath every day is a must-have homework. After the bath, eating and drinking a glass of beer is probably the most pleasant time for many Japanese office workers every day.
After dinner, Mr. Sangye watched TV for a while and walked directly into the bedroom, lying down with a tired face.
Soon, Mrs. Kuwano, who had finished the housework, also walked in, but Mrs. Kuwano was not empty-handed. She was rolling around on her chin with a face-lifting device.
Mr. Sangye saw this face-lifting device at a glance, and he was shocked. Even his wife bought this face-lifting device. This is enough to show that the sales volume of this product is very good.
However, when his wife bought a Chinese brand product, Mr. Sangye was still very upset. In the next second, Mr. Sangye asked coldly: “What are you holding?”
“This is a face-lifting device, a beauty device for women, you don’t understand.” Mrs. Kuwano replied.
“How much did it cost?” Executive Sangye asked again.
“It’s not expensive, it only costs a few thousand yen.” Mrs. Kuwano replied with a red heart on her face. She obviously didn’t want to tell her husband the real price, so as not to say that she was spending money indiscriminately.
“A few thousand yen? It’s impossible, isn’t it? The beauty equipment used by women is generally more expensive.” Mr. Kuwano suddenly questioned.
“I seem to remember wrong, it was in the early ten thousand years.” Mrs. Kuwano said with a guilty conscience.
“15,000 yen, bidding for a little over ten thousand?” Director Kuwano said angrily.
Mrs. Sangye didn’t expect her husband to know the price of the face-lifting device. After a brief panic, she immediately turned the subject off.
I saw Mrs. Kuwano smile instantly, then she lowered the collar of her pajamas, trying to expose herself as much as possible, and then approached Mr. Kuwano and asked, “My dear, look at me, is my face right? Much smaller?”
……
In the meeting room of Yamada Denki, a board of directors is being held.
Mr. Yamada Noboru, the founder of Yamada Denki and the president of Yamada Denki, sits in the middle, and next to him is the other founder, Mr. Koji Miya.
Miya Koji is the brother-in-law of Noboru Yamada and the vice chairman of Yamada Denki.
These two people can be regarded as the core of Yamada Denki’s power. In the board of directors, the other people are the only two who are the first to look forward.
Yamada Denki was founded in the early 1970s. It was Yamada Nobuyuki and Miyoshi Koji that were the first to dominate the world. Later, when Yamada Denki became larger, it began to boldly use newcomers to enter the board of directors and management. It was that time that Kuwano’s director entered Yamada. Electrical.
In the administrative structure of Yamada Denki, Mr. Kuwano is considered to be the person with great power under the president, but Mr. Kuwano does not have much say in the board of directors.
Now those sitting in the conference room are all the bosses of Mr. Sangye, and Mr. Sangye also needs to report to them.
Due to the outbreak of the financial crisis, Yamada Electric’s sales data are not good-looking, and its profits are far worse than last year.
Such data is reported to the board of directors, and other directors are naturally very dissatisfied.
So, a series of questions sounded, and even the president, Noboru Yamada, who had always trusted him, cast some doubtful glances.
Fortunately, Noboru Yamada gave the business executive a chance to explain, he said: “In recent years, the work of the Kuwano executive has been very good, and the profit of our Yamada Denki has also been greatly improved.
But this year our sales situation is very poor, and profits have dropped significantly. Mr. Sangye, do you have anything to explain to the board of directors? ”
Mr. Kuwano immediately said, “Dear directors, this year’s sales fell sharply in the last two months. This was caused by the economic downturn in Japan.
In the past two months, several securities companies and banks have closed down in Japan. Securities companies and banks that did not fail are also considered to be potentially risky. This has led to a recession in the entire Japanese economy.
This kind of recession is bound to affect the consumption of home appliances. Consumers who originally wanted to buy home appliances were in a wait-and-see state due to the economic downturn, which led to a sharp drop in our sales! ”
Yamada Nodded slightly: “The economic downturn is a real phenomenon. As far as I know, the sales of other home appliance chain companies are also declining, so this year’s profits are declining, and I can’t blame Mr. Sangye.”
Yamada Nozomi’s words made Chief Kuwano breathe out. It seems that after working hard over the years, he has gained the trust of the president.
The vice chairman Gong Koji said, “The economic downturn has affected sales. It is true that you can’t blame Mr. Kuwano, but in the face of such a sluggish economy, Mr. Kuwano should also take some measures to deal with it. ?
If there are no countermeasures, wouldn’t our sales next year be so bad? Mr. Sangye, the board of directors invites you to solve the problem, not to shirk your responsibilities! ”
“Hi!” Mr. Sangye quickly replied.
However, Mr. Kuwano did not prepare any solutions at all. Facing the pressing of the board of directors, Mr. Kuwano suddenly remembered the suggestion of Section Chief Kobayashi in an urgent situation.
So Mr. Sangye hurriedly said; “I have worked out a plan to solve the problem.”
“What plan?” Gong Koji asked.
“The current economic prospects are not optimistic. It is difficult for traditional home appliances to recover from the previous market in a short time, so I think we should look for new growth points.” Mr. Kuwano directly repeated the words of Section Chief Kobayashi.
“What is the new growth point?” Gong Koji continued to ask.
“The new growth point is the new varieties of home appliances. Recently, I have been doing market research and found that there are several beauty equipment in the market. Even in the current economic downturn, the sales are still very good.”
Mr. Kuwano continued to repeat the words of Section Chief Kobayashi: “The profits of beauty products are generally relatively large. So I think that we, Yamada Denki, should also introduce these beauty equipment to make up for the losses in the field of traditional home appliances.”
Sangye’s chief executive said, while secretly touching his stomach, thinking to himself:
“It’s still a bit painful to cut your belly and commit suicide. Forget it, don’t cut it. The Chinese brand will be a Chinese brand, and forbearance will sell it!”
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(End of this chapter)