Chapter 343 - 216: Rejecting a Toast, Drinking a Forfeit (2)

Chapter 343: Chapter 216: Rejecting a Toast, Drinking a Forfeit (2)

Since it was a rare occasion for him to visit, Xu Wu seized the opportunity to discuss the development plan for the entire year with him.

Junxiao Business Management was definitely going on a land grab this year. The goal was to expand to at least forty shopping squares, and they would strive for fifty.

Meanwhile, the acquisition of Ganglong International was also underway. Its shareholders were a complex group, and the equity was highly dispersed, which made for slow negotiations.

The most important thing for Junxing Auto right now was the official debut of the Junxing M7’s exterior at the February Yue City Auto Show, followed by the new car’s official launch in March.

The current focus was on preparatory work, including capacity planning and supply chain coordination. It was crucial that they could ship vehicles as soon as the car was launched and ramp up production immediately. They were striving to sell over 5,000 units in the first month.

They didn’t even dare to think about selling ten thousand in the first month. For a new brand like Junxing Auto, selling over five thousand units of an SUV priced above 300,000 yuan in its first month would already be a massive success. Hitting ten thousand would be a pipe dream.

As for Junxiao Capital, its current investments were primarily focused on new energy, including the supply chain and some artificial intelligence-related companies. At this point, Xu Wu smiled and glanced at Chen Xiao.

He knew she was alluding to how he’d used company resources to help Feng Feifei secure orders.

With Junxiao Investment Group’s cash on hand now exceeding one hundred billion, Junxiao Capital’s investment pace was likely to accelerate further this year, with a focus on major strategic projects.

As for the Junxiao Hotel Management Division, the plan for the year was to acquire at least twenty five-star hotels.

That’s right, acquisitions. When it came to commercial real estate, Chen Xiao didn’t like buying land and building from scratch. He preferred buying existing properties, paying a premium to acquire the good ones directly.

Although the return on investment wasn’t high, it had the advantage of being stable.

Of course, the main reason was that money came too easily to him. He had no shortage of cash flow and wasn’t concerned about a quick return of capital.

The appreciation of these prime properties was, in itself, a significant part of the profit.

The hotel division was Gao Yue’s responsibility. Xu Wu had surely discussed this plan with her already, but when it was brought up, Gao Yue still joked, "Are we only acquiring five-star hotels? That’s so expensive!"

Xu Wu smiled. "You don’t know him. He loves to buy expensive, high-quality things. He’ll buy something great no matter how much it costs, but he probably wouldn’t take something subpar even if you gave it to him for free."

She truly understood Chen Xiao. If you offered him a three-star hotel now, he genuinely wouldn’t want it. He’d look down on it—it was just chump change to him.

As for running three- or four-star hotels? He couldn’t afford the embarrassment.

"President Xu is right. I hope the hotels we acquire from now on are all landmark properties, like the Carmen Lake Hotel, or even more high-end. The more expensive and the better they are, the more we should buy them!"

"It feels like you hired me to go on a shopping spree across the country, not to manage hotels!"

"Boss, can I invite you on my business trips from now on? We could go and experience the hotels together, and if they’re good, we’ll just buy them!"

Chen Xiao noticed Gao Yue was getting bolder and bolder, daring to be this wild right in front of Xu Wu.

Xu Wu said, "Ah Yue, stop teasing him. Don’t come crying to me when you’re the one who gets hurt."

’She knew exactly what kind of person Chen Xiao was. After a few drinks, he’d pretend to be drunk and grope her thigh, his hand even trying to slip inside her safety shorts!’

’Cry to you? What good would that do? When he gets wild, he’s capable of making both of us cry our eyes out!’

’Gao Yue thought about the times he’d "bullied" her... Oh, well. She’d enjoyed it too. She’d just pretend it was a massage she’d paid for.’

Not every corporate headquarters was in as high spirits as Chen Xiao and Xu Wu’s.

The chairman of Minghan Business Management was listening to a special report from Miao Lei.

His brow furrowed tighter the more he listened, until he finally burst out, "What the hell is this Junxiao Business Management? How can a brand-new company be this arrogant?"

"We have over thirty Minghan Business Management projects nationwide! If they want to piss us off, we can just team up with the brands and blacklist them!"

Miao Lei froze for a second, then realized he hadn’t explained Junxiao Business Management’s background or its recent string of victories in Hanjiang Province.

He quickly provided a detailed summary of Junxiao Business Management’s situation.

This included acquiring six shopping squares in a short period after its founding, all of which were top-tier, or ’Class A,’ squares in their respective regions.

He went on to list the subsidiaries under the Junxiao Investment Group umbrella, including Junxing Auto, Junxiao Capital, Junxiao Business Management, and the Junxing Intelligent Research and Development Center.

After hearing this, the chairman said nothing. His earlier fury was completely extinguished.

’Wimped out in a second,’ Miao Lei cursed inwardly.

"Continue. Let me see your proposed countermeasures."

Miao Lei continued to report on his proposed strategies for the current situation.

[1. I hope the group will approve a monthly marketing budget that is no less than that of Junxiao Square Second Store. We need to prepare for a tough fight.]

[2. I hope the group can leverage its strategic alliances at the headquarters level—that is, through our key accounts department—to pressure the chain brands in our mall to make strategic price adjustments.]

This "strategic" adjustment referred to a flexible response to Junxiao Square’s exclusive promotional events. If Wanhong Square were to demand that its tenants match Junxiao Square’s prices exactly, the tenants would be forced to either opt out of Junxiao Square’s promotions or lower their prices even further.

Either way, it would be a losing situation for both the tenants and Wanhong Square.

That’s why he was proposing a "strategic" approach. They could have tenants lower their prices to be just, say, one yuan more expensive than the items at Junxiao Square. This would create the perception of a price drop without preventing the tenants from participating in Junxiao Square’s promotions.

This was a move born of desperation. Forcing tenants to participate in Wanhong Square’s events at the expense of Junxiao Square’s was an impossible goal.

They had tried it before, and reality had dealt them a resounding slap in the face.