"I truly didn't expect to meet the renowned Madame Versailles of America today!" Hao Jianguo exclaimed with delight. This was something he had not anticipated at all before setting out.
However, Hao Jianguo was also very curious as to why he was meeting Versailles today.
"I initiated the meeting with Miss Versailles!" Huang He said with a smile. "I have great confidence in the current achievements of the America First Group in the United States, so I hope to form a joint venture with America First Group to establish the America Jiangnan Commercial Sales Group!"
"Madame Versailles will become the investor and chairperson of this company, and you will serve as the Chief Executive Officer, responsible for the actual operations of the company!" Huang He stated quite frankly.
"Don't jump to conclusions so quickly! We haven't agreed to cooperate yet, Mr. Huang!" Versailles said unceremoniously before Hao Jianguo could express his excitement.
"Heh, I believe we have a solid basis for cooperation. We already have a certain marketing network in the United States, as well as some flagship products. With Miss Versailles' full support, we will be unstoppable!" Huang He said.
"I think you're facing a lot of obstruction within the company, which is why you want me to step in and clean up the mess!" Versailles said bluntly, exposing Huang He's true intentions.
"That's right, I recall reading that Jiangnan Group's physical businesses in the United States are currently not going very smoothly," Hao Jianguo mused inwardly, recalling the information he had read.
Jiangnan Group currently has only two main businesses in the United States: one is server products, and the other is the sale of some storage chip products. These products are sold directly to large companies and enterprises. In the United States, only an office is needed; no departments directly interacting with customers are required. Therefore, as long as there are no legal impediments and companies can be persuaded to purchase their products, there are generally no issues. Due to the absolute price advantage, this part of the business has proceeded very smoothly, without any problems.
However, the other business, which is Jiangnan Group's other flagship product, the blind box business, has encountered significant setbacks and failures in the United States. The initial opportunity for Jiangnan Group's blind box business to enter the United States was due to Blizzard Entertainment last year. Players in the United States were very interested in the various blind boxes for Warcraft 3 but found it difficult to purchase them at affordable prices domestically, leading to high speculation. Later, when Jiangnan Group's official blind boxes entered the market, the entire market opened up very smoothly. They sold nearly $400 million worth of blind boxes in a year, astonishing global gaming giants. They had never imagined that a single-player game could be so profitable.
However, subsequent actions were not as smooth. Jiangnan Group attempted to transplant the entire blind box system that was operating in China into the United States. For instance, Jiangnan Group's most classic food blind boxes, daily necessities blind boxes, apparel blind boxes, home appliance blind boxes, and even catering blind boxes, etc. These blind box businesses are already fully expanded in China. Because the prices of goods inside the blind boxes have significant advantages, even if they are not used immediately after purchase, the prices are incredibly attractive compared to market prices. Consequently, these blind box businesses bring in hundreds of millions of renminbi in profit for Jiangnan Group every month and have become very mature.
But when Jiangnan Group further attempted to bring these blind box businesses into the US market, trouble ensued. Jiangnan Group encountered unprecedented resistance from all sectors in the United States. The main resistance naturally came from American corporations and forces, who were very unwelcoming to Jiangnan Group's blind boxes, especially their specialty stores opened in the US. Jiangnan Group frequently faced issues like difficulty renting shop spaces, problems with restocking goods, and encountering various typical American "traditional arts" incidents.
On the official front, there was also a general lack of cooperation. Either they couldn't obtain approvals from the outset, citing that blind boxes did not comply with American policies and were not allowed to be sold. For those that were permitted, there were always various other forms of obstruction. In summary, Jiangnan's blind box business in the United States has been extremely bumpy, completely failing to adapt to the local environment and facing all sorts of targeting and difficulties. In the six months to date, it is reported to have incurred losses exceeding $30 million and continues to lose money, having given back much of the profit earned from game blind boxes in the early stages.
When Hao Jianguo saw this intelligence, he thought Jiangnan Group would retract its reach and abandon its idea of continuing blind box operations in the United States. He did not expect Mr. Huang to still be unyielding and to have approached Madame Versailles again for the blind box business, seemingly attempting to invite her to cooperate in managing this enterprise.
"But can this Madame Versailles really bring it back to life?" Hao Jianguo mused. He was actually quite familiar with the background of Jiangnan Mall's blind box business. This was because the forces that were obstructing Jiangnan Province City's blind box business from taking root in the United States were the forces behind the elder that Hao Jianguo was associated with, or more precisely, the entire forces of Wall Street. Even further, it was the entire traditional mindset of the United States.
Firstly, Wall Street hoped that Jiangnan Group would go public, then directly take control of Jiangnan Group, absorb its technology, and finally use Jiangnan Group to amass wealth frantically in the Chinese market. This was Wall Street's fundamental objective. Therefore, they wished to hold chips in Jiangnan Group, and the struggles of Jiangnan blind boxes in the US were a warning from Wall Street to Jiangnan Group.
At the same time, Wall Street had repeatedly conveyed messages to Huang He through various channels: as long as Huang He was willing to share half of the shares with the big players on Wall Street, Jiangnan Group's blind box business could proceed smoothly in the United States. Of course, the Wall Street big players did not think highly of this blind box business; they merely wanted to use this opportunity to invest in Jiangnan Group, open a gap, and ultimately break open the entire turtle shell. However, Huang He remained completely uninterested in this joint venture plan, giving the Wall Street big players no response.
As for the entire traditional mindset of the United States, it was a deep-seated contempt for Chinese people, especially those engaged in retail industries such as this grounded sector. Some Chinese online companies might open up markets in the United States, or companies providing services to enterprises could survive. However, companies directly interacting with consumers had never succeeded in the United States. This was because these companies needed to deal with grassroots commercial networks in the United States and interact with countless Americans and local powers. All these forces inherently looked down upon Chinese people, let alone Chinese people attempting to steal their livelihoods. Therefore, they naturally suppressed these foreign enterprises in various ways. In fact, it wasn't just China; even many European companies could not directly conduct grassroots business in the US. This was a systemic environmental issue in the United States.
After understanding these circumstances, Hao Jianguo unceremoniously concluded that Jiangnan Group's blind box business would not be able to fully expand in the United States, no matter who they found, not even the great figure behind him. This was systemic resistance. However, Hao Jianguo did not expect Huang He to eventually turn to Madame Versailles. But did this woman, who was only famous in the media, really have the ability to resolve this predicament?
"In that case, we cannot cooperate!" Huang He's expression was somewhat grim. "Then I don't understand why Madame Versailles agreed to meet me today. I heard you even rejected a meeting invitation from that President. Don't tell me you have no demands from me!"
"Of course not, it's just that I'm not satisfied with the conditions you've offered, and I hope we can reach some new consensus!" Versailles said, elegantly crossing her legs. Hmm, when many men cross their legs, their posture is quite unpleasant. But when a woman crosses her legs, it feels somewhat different, because when her smooth, nylon-clad leg emerges from beneath her skirt and is displayed prominently before everyone, the seductive aura is truly difficult to resist. However, when Versailles crossed her legs, exposing her uncovered calf, everything was different. Because her leg was black, and besides that, it was covered with all sorts of wounds: needle marks, burns, festering scars, and even traces of sulfuric acid corrosion. This was not the smooth, silken leg that people imagined, but rather a terrifying leg full of scars, like a toad's leg. When Hao Jianguo saw this leg, he was completely stunned.
"No wonder the media is always amazed by this woman's past experiences, saying her story could fill 10 copies of 'Uncle Tom's Cabin.' Now it seems that is indeed the case!" Hao Jianguo lamented inwardly, looking at Mr. Huang, whose expression remained indifferent, completely unfazed.
"What consensus?" Huang He asked.
"Firstly, this company cannot be called 'America Jiangnan...' It sounds like a Chinese company. Such a company cannot rise in the United States. It must be renamed!" Versailles stated.
"Will changing the name save it?" Huang He hesitated and then asked.
"No, but if you don't change the name, it will be doomed!" Versailles said.
"Alright!" Huang He pondered for a moment and then nodded in agreement. "Then what do you think this new company should be called, Madame Versailles?"
"Let's call it BLm!" Madame Versailles said, stubbing out her cigarette. "Most Americans don't understand complex words. Simple letters are easier to remember!"