"Shanchi Tianjin Production Base Settles in Jinghai!"
"The largest electric vehicle production base in the country, after completion, will reach an annual production of 1 million electric bicycles!"
"Following its acquisition of a controlling stake in Bafang Electric, Shanchi Group once again makes a major move, with the official signing of the Tianjin factory, a total investment exceeding 300 million yuan!"
"Shanchi Group Chairman Tan Jincheng Attends Tianjin Factory Site Selection Ceremony!"
"The Expansion Journey of an Olympic Sponsor: A brief discussion on the causal relationship between Shanchi Group's expansion and its Olympic sponsorship, with a detailed interpretation of the value of an Olympic brand sponsor."
"Monthly Sales Champion for Electric Vehicles: Shanchi's rapid expansion, a detailed analysis of Shanchi Group's capital chain and its business layout."
"That man next to Liu Yifei? Details behind the ten-year long contract? A brief look at the miraculous life of the electric vehicle industry's most handsome and youngest chairman."
"Chun Ge's mentor? The indissoluble bond between Shanchi and Super Girl."
When Zhao Xinyi read the media headlines in that rhythmic, slightly ordinary voice, Tan Jincheng, who had been enjoying the flattery, stopped Zhao Xinyi after the last two articles were read out.
"What is all this? Which obscure newspaper wrote this? Why is the entertainment industry joining in the fun too? What does 'the man next to Liu Yifei' mean?"
Tan Jincheng could accept official media reports; building a factory wasn't a big deal after all.
But why did the entertainment gossip media have to join the fun?
Was this related to them?
Or had the entertainment industry run out of gossip recently?
What were the big scandals in the entertainment industry in 2006?
"Haha, there are also reports about signing a collaboration with Jay Chou. Want to hear more?"
Zhao Xinyi laughed heartily.
This was even more outrageous, saying that the boss impressed Jay Chou with a piece of lyric, successfully drawing Jay Chou into the deal.
From Zhao Xinyi's perspective, it might not really be the gossip media actively seeking attention, but rather press releases from the teams behind these celebrities, especially Liu Yifei.
Zhao Xinyi highly suspected it was her team that released it.
Although Liu Yifei's popularity remained high recently, her act of singing in the 'Little Japan' area caused considerable controversy due to national sentiment.
Furthermore, this action reminded netizens once again of a certain popular female celebrity's behavior a few years ago, stirring up netizens' nerves.
It was only because she was still young and hadn't done or said anything too outrageous that the criticism was relatively mild, but it was also her first experience of cyberbullying since entering the industry.
At this time, it was entirely possible to create a sensational news story to attract attention.
"By the way, boss, did you really win over Jay Chou with a single lyric?"
Zeng Jixiang asked curiously.
"It's fine if others ask this, but why are you asking? I won him over with money, alright?"
Tan Jincheng said grumpily.
8 million yuan a year, which was not cheap in 2006.
In addition, the supplementary clause about not signing with competing products, which seemed to be what Tan Jincheng wanted, was actually extremely beneficial for Jay Chou.
After three years, the signing would be at a different price.
Shanchi might not be willing to pay that much for endorsement fees.
If he didn't sign, he would get a year's endorsement fee for free.
The initiative to sign or not sign was on his side; it was a win-win situation no matter how you looked at it.
In fact, it already meant that Shanchi signed him for a price exceeding 10 million yuan per year, just paid in four installments.
"By the way, boss, Chun Ge's agent called me, wanting to ask about Chun Ge's contract renewal,"
Zhao Xinyi said.
"Oh, what did she say?"
Chun Ge had a two-year contract, and it was approaching the one-year mark.
Discussing renewal in advance was normal business practice.
Additionally, she might want to leverage the recent buzz around Shanchi Group and Tan Jincheng himself.
After all, the internet already had the term "Shanchi Month," indicating the immense traffic.
"The other party expressed willingness to continue cooperation, but the endorsement fee should increase a bit, though a specific amount wasn't mentioned."
"Hmm, the endorsement fee should indeed increase. You can talk to her. If it's not too outrageous, we can renew."
"What do you mean 'not too outrageous'?"
Tan Jincheng thought for a moment and said,
"Treatment for a second-tier celebrity."
"Okay, understood."
The endorsement fee for a second-tier female celebrity is roughly around 1.5 million yuan, with some higher ones reaching 2 million.
With the emergence of a new batch of Super Girls, no matter how popular Chun Ge was, this year she was like a stock in a downward consolidation phase.
Tan Jincheng felt that the price for a second-tier female celebrity endorsement was quite appropriate.
He just didn't know if Tianyu, who was known for making outrageous demands and courting trouble, would accept this offer.
What if they didn't accept, who should be chosen then?
Should they continue to find bargains?
Zhao Xiaodao would debut this year; should he sign her next year by finding a bargain?
But it seems her fans and Lao Liu's fans don't get along very well.
It would be infuriating if they cursed each other daily under Shanchi's media accounts.
Forget it, let's talk about it later.
It would take several years for this girl to become popular.
Shanchi was no longer the Shanchi of 2005.
Signing an unknown female celebrity might not do much for Shanchi, but it would be a great promotional tool for her.
Hadn't the gossip media already likened Shanchi to Chun Ge's mentor?
After officially signing with Jinghai, Tan Jincheng's affairs in Tianjin came to a temporary close.
He acquired a total of 125,000 square meters of industrial land, and the total building area after full completion would reach 87,500 square meters, making it the largest electric vehicle production base in the country.
The entire project is expected to be completed by the end of 2008, but after the completion of the first phase, the production of the Shanchi brand series will move from Beicang to Tianjin.
In the future, the Beicang production base will primarily produce the Fengchi series.
If future sales reach the level of Yadi in his previous life, leading to overcapacity, then a third production base will be built.
By then, the Fengchi Feiyi series will move to Tianjin, Beicang will produce the high-end Guanneng series, and the new third base will undertake the capacity for low-end products.
"What are the next itineraries?"
"On the 28th, a large car dealership in Gusu, together with us, Yadi, and two other local electric vehicle companies, is holding a large-scale promotional event in Taicang. I wonder if you are interested in attending."
"Xiao Zeng, you can represent me on this trip."
Tan Jincheng recalled this matter.
This was after just reaching a cooperation with Bafang Electric, a large automobile company in Gusu sent an invitation for a joint promotion.
It should be a local reciprocal gesture, but this was a small matter, and Zeng Jixiang representing him would suffice.
It was time for these two assistants to represent him on some matters; he couldn't run everything himself.
It was also time to train them; there would be a need for someone to manage things in Tianjin in the future.
"Okay,"
Zeng Jixiang happily responded.
As an assistant, anyone would understand what that meant.
Zhao Xinyi didn't say much more, continuing to report:
"You can skip this one, but you must attend the seminar on the Eleventh Five-Year Plan for the bicycle industry in Shanghai on the 1st of next month. This is an invitation from the Bicycle Association."
"Also, you'd better not miss the member conference of the Zhejiang Provincial Bicycle Association held in Hangzhou on the 8th."
Shanchi Technology was no longer the small factory fighting alone; it was now a member of the Zhejiang Provincial Bicycle Association and the National Bicycle Association.
Furthermore, it was also a member of the Ningbo Anhui Chamber of Commerce.
Anyway, it had joined many miscellaneous associations.
"Okay, I won't miss these two. You can arrange them. Also, contact Boneng to see when we can meet, or if we can go directly to Huzhou after the meeting in Hangzhou."
"Didn't they say they would come to Beicang?"
"Don't be rigid about formalities. It's the same wherever we go; just meet and talk. You can arrange it."
"Okay, understood."
Getting busier and busier, current itineraries need planning.
In fact, Tan Jincheng doesn't like attending these association-type meetings, but sometimes, depending on the plan, some are hard to refuse.
You can play a mysterious persona in front of consumers and the public, but in the industry, if you play mysterious, the ultimate result is that you won't know many inside stories, creating an artificial information gap for yourself.
How is that different from a big fool?
It's not that just because you're reborn, you're awesome.
Some industry insiders, even if reborn, still wouldn't know.
For example, although it is a bicycle association, many automotive topics related to electric vehicles are often mentioned, such as electric bicycles.
Tan Jincheng learned from one meeting that the Electric Locomotive Research Institute of the South Vehicle Group had signed a supply contract for 21 sets of hybrid bus drive power electrical systems with a certain bus industrial group in Shandong Province.
In addition, the BYD electric vehicle project had made substantial progress, and its first electric vehicle charging station was almost completed and ready for trial operation in Shanghai.
The research and industrialization of new energy vehicles had actually begun long ago in large companies.
If he hadn't known this, Tan Jincheng wouldn't have been so eager to cooperate with Zhongtai and acquire shares in the Beicang factory.
Electric cars are different from e-mopeds; early planning is essential.
If described using the method of speculating on stocks, the e-moped industry is like short-term trading: I know you're about to explode, and by buying in on the first rise, I can make quick money.
But electric cars must be a long-term play.
You need a certain base position, or foundation, to accumulate slowly, buying a little each year, and casting a long line to catch a big fish.
"How is the collection of foreign lithium-related companies that I asked you to gather last last time?"
"Some have been collected both domestically and internationally, but there are quite a lot of such companies, and it will take some time to collect them thoroughly,"
Zeng Jixiang replied.
He was mainly responsible for this area.
"Hmm, how about this: you find headhunters and have them recommend several people from the securities industry, such as investment talents, analysts, traders, etc. The requirements don't need to be too high. Arrange them in Julang Engine Company, and I'll have a plan then."
It's time to mobilize some funds and slowly acquire shares in lithium-related companies.
(End of chapter)