After the meal, Xu Shenxue returned home from work.
When he arrived, he saw Xu Weiwei studying under the guidance of her tutor. Not wanting to disturb her, he exchanged a brief greeting and headed to his room to take a shower. Afterward, he sat down at his desk and opened his computer to review the company's financial documents.
Around nine o'clock, after the tutor had left, Xu Shenxue emerged from his room.
"Mom's busy preparing her beauty salon for its opening," he said. "She'll be staying at the Anhua house for the time being. I'm also swamped with work, but let me know if you need anything."
Xu Weiwei replied with a simple "oh," but after a moment's hesitation, she added, "She called me at noon."
After a pause, she continued, "Actually, I don't hate Mom. I love her… it's just that she nags me all the time. Before, it wasn't so bad, but ever since Dad passed away, she's been like this every single day."
Xu Shenxue, unsure how to respond, said, "Mom overreacted after Dad's accident. She's expressing herself in an urgent way, but it will get better with time."
He smiled lightly. "Let's visit her beauty salon together once it opens."
"Okay," Xu Weiwei said.
"Go to bed early," Xu Shenxue advised before returning to his room to continue examining financial reports.
The financial situation at Weiku Electronics was healthy, with ample cash flow. The company's main problem wasn't survival but a consistent decline in both sales and profits.
Even so, staring at those downward-trending sales and profit graphs could make anyone frown. The original owner had been deeply anxious about it.
After a quick review of the financials, Xu Shenxue began browsing major e-commerce platforms. He was exploring the possibility of using these channels to directly sell Weiku's phones to consumers.
He spent some time reviewing sales data from the past year, focusing on mobile phones. Finding it still early, around ten o'clock, he sent a text message to Marketing Manager Bai Qiwen.
"Take a preliminary look at e-commerce channels," he wrote. "Let's meet tomorrow for a small discussion."
Shortly after, Bai Qiwen replied: "Received!"
Though about to go to bed, Bai Qiwen got up, turned on his computer, and started gathering information. His wife, seeing him at work yet again, grumbled, "It's so late, and you're still working. You're either working overtime at the office or at home. Do you even care about this family?"
Bai Qiwen gave her an apologetic smile, then moved his laptop to the living room.
"If I don't work overtime, this company might be in trouble," he thought to himself.
At the dining table, he briefly reviewed e-commerce materials and called several team leaders, assigning them tasks to collect data and prepare reports. By one in the morning, his team had scoured relevant sources. Bai Qiwen finally went to bed, though not before his wife, still grumbling, brought him some fruit and midnight snacks.
The next morning, Bai Qiwen convened a brief meeting with his team to finalize their findings before heading to see Xu Shenxue.
Xu, unaware of the late-night scramble he had inadvertently triggered, greeted Bai with a polite smile. Noticing his tired appearance, Xu wondered if he had fought with his wife or simply slept on the sofa. Deciding it wasn't his place to ask, he focused on the task at hand.
Gesturing for Bai to sit on the sofa, Xu began brewing tea.
"Our current sales channels are too limited," Xu began. "We're overly reliant on offline distributors, and building offline channels is both challenging and expensive. I'm considering developing an online channel."
He continued, "I looked at online mobile phone sales data last night. The numbers are significant. Taotao alone reported 3.32 million mobile phones sold in the first half of the year, with an average unit price around 1,000 yuan. That's 4.7 billion yuan in sales, accounting for 9.9% of Taotao's total."
"That's a huge number. It's likely the largest single mobile phone channel in China."
Bai Qiwen, armed with the data from his overnight research, nodded. "Mr. Xu, you've hit the mark. Online channels are indeed a growing trend. While their share is small compared to offline channels, the potential is immense."
He elaborated, "Beyond Taotao, smaller platforms like Jingxi Mall are also noteworthy. Jingxi focuses on 3C products. While its overall sales are lower, its growth is impressive. Last year, it generated over 300 million yuan in sales, and this year it's on track to exceed 1 billion. Mobile phones make up a significant portion."
"Jingxi's self-operated model builds consumer trust, which is crucial."
However, Bai cautioned, "The challenge lies in consumer perception. Online buyers often prefer international brands. Even well-known domestic brands struggle with sales. Mobile phones are relatively expensive, and consumers are wary of domestic options, especially lesser-known ones."
He handed over the report he had compiled. Xu Shenxue flipped through it, impressed by the amount of information gathered overnight.
Among the statistics, Xu noted the dominance of Nokia. The brand had sold over 500,000 units on Taotao in the first half of the year, with models like the N73 and N95 leading the charts. The N73, despite being a feature phone released in 2006, still commanded a market price exceeding 2,000 yuan.
"This truly is Nokia's era," Xu mused. "Even with the advent of smartphones, the inertia of feature phone dominance persists."
The data also revealed an opportunity. While consumers favored Nokia's premium-priced feature phones, the market was ripe for more affordable Android smartphones. If Weiku could position itself in this niche, it could capture significant market share.
Xu's thoughts turned to the future. With the right strategy, Weiku could establish itself as a leader in the e-commerce mobile phone market.
(End of Chapter)