The meeting room fell silent at the mention of sales figures.
Gazing at the excited Ding Yao, Gao Fei blinked and asked, "Are we excluding costs like labor and materials?"
"No, just guess the total amount directly."
"One hundred million?"
Ding Yao shook her head, signaling him to continue guessing.
"Two hundred million?"
She shook her head again.
"Sister Ding, is it less than one hundred million, or should I keep guessing upwards from two hundred million?"
"Keep guessing higher, you're getting closer!"
Ding Yao exclaimed, barely able to contain her excitement and blurt out the total sum.
Hearing that they needed to guess higher, Gao Fei, Wang He, Jin Qiqi, and Qiao Sisi all froze in unison.
They still needed to guess above two hundred million.
And they were just getting closer.
How much could have been earned in half a day?
Gao Fei, his mouth dry, took a sip of tea and voiced his guess: "Four hundred million?"
"Close, very close!"
"Holy crap!"
Four hundred million was close?
The four of them couldn't help but gasp.
Ding Yao, no longer wanting to tease them, directly shared the recently compiled information: "One hundred and thirty-five directly operated stores. After seven hours of operation, excluding the fractional part of the total, the revenue totaled five hundred and thirty million."
*Pfft!*
Wang He spat out a mouthful of tea and sat up straight, stunned.
Even Jin Qiqi, who had seen it all, and Qiao Sisi, the young lady of Qiao Run Group, were shocked by the five hundred million figure.
Even Gao Fei was no longer as calm as usual, his face filled with disbelief.
He swallowed hard, his voice trembling, "Seven hours, five hundred million, Director Ding, are you sure there were no calculation errors?"
"Mhm, the finance department has reviewed it over ten times."
Ding Yao replied excitedly, assuring him there were no statistical errors.
Gao Fei's hand trembled, spilling some of the water from his cup onto the table.
Even without deducting labor and material costs, earning five hundred and thirty million in seven hours was a number and a speed he hadn't dared to imagine since his transmigration.
Wang He, snapping back to reality, picked up his cup and took several gulps of tea. He looked at Gao Fei, who was trembling with excitement, "Seven hours, five hundred million, Xiao Fei, you've made a fortune today. Brother Wang here has lost big time!"
He knew that if his father hadn't changed the terms and made him re-sign the contract with Gao Fei, he, Young Master Wang, would have reaped a windfall today with the original two-tenths profit share.
Seeing Wang He's almost tearful expression, Qiao Sisi beside him couldn't help but reveal a pained look. "Xiao Gao, when you wanted to borrow my beauty salon for promotion back then, I should have agreed to your profit-sharing. Sister regrets it now, is it too late?"
That's right, the nationally franchised Qiaoling Beauty Salon was owned by Miss Qiao.
When Gao Fei had contacted Miss Qiao, he had intended to use Qiaoling Beauty Salon for the pre-launch publicity and promotion of Gao Lan cosmetics, paving the way with discount coupons.
In their collaboration, any customer who renewed their beauty salon membership would receive not only a discount coupon but also a trial product from Gao Lan cosmetics.
This was why female customers, who were captivated by Gao Lan cosmetics and even forced their husbands and boyfriends to grab them, had already used Gao Lan cosmetics before.
When they initially collaborated, Gao Fei had planned to give Qiao Sisi some profit in addition to the promotion fees.
But Qiao Sisi had directly refused.
This was because, aside from being the daughter of Qiao Run Group, she was also a fan of Gao Fei.
Therefore, during their collaboration talks, she had decisively refused Gao Fei's profit-sharing.
Now, hearing that Gao Lan cosmetics had generated five hundred million in sales in seven hours, Miss Qiao was filled with regret.
Seeing the nearly tearful Wang He and the immensely regretful Qiao Sisi, Gao Fei couldn't be heartless.
"Old Wang, Sister Sisi, one of you let me use the shop rent-free, and the other helped with free promotion for only five hundred thousand. I remember your kindness. Although I can't give you the profit share from before the cooperation, there will definitely be a consultation fee, and I know how much to give." He said, patting his chest with certainty.
"My brother Fei is generous. Just send the benefits to my private account!" Wang He grinned.
Qiao Sisi didn't expect Gao Fei to offer a profit share and said sheepishly, "Xiao Fei, I just mentioned it casually, don't take it to heart."
Wang He glanced at her and said grumpily, "Miss Qiao, please, if Xiao Fei is giving, then accept it. If you don't, you're cutting off my financial path."
Normally, Young Master Wang wouldn't lack this much money.
But after joining Wang Corporation, he needed money to pave his way and build relationships within the group.
Therefore, his cash reserves were rapidly dwindling.
Qiao Sisi understood Wang He's current situation and, after a moment of thought, awkwardly accepted the gesture.
Seeing that they no longer refused, Gao Fei immediately took out the prepared red wine.
After decanting the wine, they each had a glass and raised a toast to the glorious news of earning five hundred million in seven hours.
Except for Ding Yao, who needed to keep a close eye on the newly opened one hundred and thirty-five directly operated stores, Gao Fei, Wang He, Jin Qiqi, and Qiao Sisi drank from noon until the afternoon.
After three bottles of wine, the four of them moved to a restaurant to continue their celebratory drinking.
By ten o'clock at night, apart from Gao Fei and Jin Qiqi, who were half-drunk, the other two were completely insensible.
After escorting them to Wang Ke Hotel, Gao Fei and Jin Qiqi took Ding Yao's car back to the cosmetics factory.
Ten-thirty PM.
The one hundred and thirty-five Gao Lan Weipin directly operated stores nationwide finally closed for the day after a blazing hot day.
Eleven o'clock at night.
Back at the factory, Gao Fei took a quick shower and then began listening to Ding Yao's report on the first day's performance.
"Boss, the Beijing flagship store's first-day revenue was sixty-nine million nine hundred and fifty thousand Long Guo currency. The Shanghai store's first-day revenue was eighty-three million nine hundred and forty thousand Long Guo currency. The Shenzhen store's first-day revenue was sixty-three million seven hundred and ninety-four thousand four hundred Long Guo currency. The Guangzhou store's first-day revenue was seventy-two million seven hundred and forty-eight thousand Long Guo currency..."
Ding Yao meticulously described the first-day revenue of the directly operated stores in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities.
She didn't go into detail for Tier 3 cities, as there were already over a hundred of them.
"Excluding labor, materials, and other costs, and excluding the fractional part of the total sales, the Gao Lan Cosmetics factory's first-day total revenue was nine hundred and twenty million."
Ding Yao trembled as she read out the total revenue.
Upon hearing this figure, Gao Fei's heart skipped a beat.
Nine hundred and twenty million, two hundred million more than he had expected.
Today's total revenue was only eighty million short of breaking one billion.
Compared to all cosmetic brands nationwide, Gao Lan Cosmetics' first-day revenue was about to break one billion, setting a new national record. Furthermore, it might be an insurmountable figure in the future.
After finishing her report, Ding Yao asked, "Boss, should we release today's total revenue?"
"No, it's not the right time yet!" Gao Fei waved his hand and explained, "Gao Lan cosmetics has just entered the market and has already captured half of the national market. If we release this now, it will only alienate us from the entire industry. We should keep a low profile as much as possible. I don't want to be ganged up on by the entire industry."
Ding Yao nodded thoughtfully. "Then when is a good time to release it? After all, we've set a new industry record."
"When I need to leverage it!" Gao Fei chuckled, offering no further explanation.
The reason Gao Lan cosmetics broke industry records upon its launch was not only due to the pre-launch groundwork laid by the beauty salons but also, more importantly, due to his celebrity status. Without his identity as a system chief engineer and without his publicity on interview programs, today's revenue would definitely not have approached one billion.
Gao Fei was self-aware and had a plan for when to announce the total sales. Now was definitely not the best time for immediate disclosure, as it would undoubtedly generate explosive hype.
Seeing that her boss wasn't elaborating further, Ding Yao continued, "Boss, should we seize the momentum and continue to expand Gao Lan cosmetics' market? For example, by opening directly operated stores in Tier 4 cities."
Gao Fei shook his head, rejecting the suggestion again.
"Why?" Sitting opposite him, Ding Yao frowned and blinked in confusion.
"Sister Ding, the population income in Tier 1 to Tier 3 cities is higher than in Tier 4 cities and below. Currently, Gao Lan cosmetics primarily focuses on mid to high-end products, targeting families with a certain disposable income. So, if we start expanding directly operated stores now, what do you think the future revenue will be like?" Gao Fei asked with a smile.
Ding Yao fell silent for a moment and, after a rough calculation, said, "If we were to develop our current products in Tier 4 cities and below, they would likely not sell and would end up as dead stock."
"Exactly!" Gao Fei snapped his fingers and laughed, "If your monthly salary was 2,800 yuan, and you were faced with Gao Lan cosmetics, one set priced at 1,399 and another at 699, which would you choose?"
"If I wanted to show off, I'd definitely choose the former. But with my salary of over 2,000 yuan, I'd definitely choose the latter."
"Market expansion is a matter of time, but to continue expanding, we need to produce other products. At least in terms of price, we need to make them affordable for people in Tier 4 cities and below."
"I've learned a lot, boss!" Ding Yao nodded humbly.
Gao Fei waved his hand awkwardly and coughed, "Starting tomorrow, reduce the production of fifteen series and return to the planned output. As for the 699 package product, I will provide a plan for you as soon as possible."
Ding Yao nodded in agreement, not inquiring further about the reason for the production cut. She understood that once the initial surge passed, Gao Lan cosmetics would enter a buffering period. Therefore, it was essential to reduce production and cut losses promptly.
After a brief chat, Ding Yao opened the door and left. As soon as she was gone, the half-drunk Jin Qiqi suddenly pushed the door open and walked in.
"Boss, Hank arrived in Long Guo an hour ago."
"Which film and television company picked him up?"
"It's a Sino-foreign joint venture company registered just three months ago, named Zero Degree Entertainment."
Upon hearing this unfamiliar name, Gao Fei couldn't help but frown slightly. Hank hadn't gone with one of the many major domestic film and television companies, but had chosen a film and television company registered only three months ago. It seemed that Zero Degree Entertainment had a significant background.