Chapter 33: Sharkun: The Advantage Is Mine
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Five days later…
Six outfits were delivered to Wong Yiu-tong, along with the results of the investigation.
The East Union Society, Shark Kun, and Blind Wah were behind it.
Of the six outfits, all five of Wong Yiu-tong’s designs had been copied, including the newly released Sheer Chiffon Republican-Era Style and Little Nurse Outfit. The designers had merely altered a few details of the original plans.
Ah Kit, Ah Jik, and Ah Wai were so furious their eyes seemed to spit fire.
“Four-Eyes, can we sue them?” Ah Wai asked in a low voice.
“I don’t know, but I’d say it’ll be difficult.” Four-Eyes sighed as he held up the Republican-era outfit. “Styles like this have existed for hundreds of years. All we did was make ours transparent. Lawyer Song warned us when we registered the copyright that it wouldn’t be of much use. At best, it can frighten people who don’t know the law.”
“The leopard-print bodysuits and crotchless tights, on the other hand, were our original creations. But taking them to court would just turn into an endless dispute. Even if we won, they’d simply bypass the company and continue selling knockoffs.”
“I told you, studying law is useless! We still need to cut people down!” Ah Kit shouted. “Tonight I’ll take some men and burn down his operation!”
Ah Jik kept his eyes on Wong Yiu-tong. He watched as Wong grabbed the clothes and tore at them several times, then picked up the plastic packaging and examined it. His expression gradually turned strange.
“Brother Yiu, what is it? Have you thought of something?” Ah Jik asked.
“Heh. Let them sell it. It’ll bankrupt them.” Wong Yiu-tong laughed.
“What do you mean?” Ah Wai immediately asked.
“The quality is far too good. How are they supposed to sell it?” Wong Yiu-tong shook the outfit in his hand.
“What?”
The others exchanged bewildered looks, wondering whether they had heard him correctly.
“Isn’t better quality easier to sell?” Four-Eyes blinked.
“That’s where you’re wrong. With lingerie like this, the whole point is that it should fall apart the moment you tear it!” Wong Yiu-tong burst out laughing.
…
He had 890,000 in hand—no, 1.43 million.
Who said a businessman wasn’t allowed to delay paying his suppliers?
With more than 1.4 million at his disposal, Wong Yiu-tong suddenly had the confidence to go toe-to-toe with Shark Kun. Not merely to fight him, but to expand while fighting him.
New Mado Apparel stores would continue opening.
He couldn’t keep working out of a horse stall. He needed a separate office.
He also needed a large warehouse. As the distribution network expanded, future inventory would certainly exceed one hundred thousand pieces. Without an independent warehouse, it would be impossible to manage.
The marketplace was a battlefield, and opportunities vanished in the blink of an eye. Lady Ye had exposed a weakness, and he had to seize it. Otherwise, once his opponent regrouped and returned to take an even larger share of the market, all that would remain would be to burn down the warehouse…
That solution was far too crude, and the consequences would be disastrous.
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Ignoring the discussion among the other four, Wong Yiu-tong took a sheet of draft paper and wrote down everything that came to mind.
Where did their advantages lie?
Cost.
Their raw materials were inexpensive, and their production lines were already mature. As long as an individual design did not exceed twenty thousand pieces, it could be produced fifteen percent more cheaply.
Distribution.
They already had an established sales network and did not need to build another one from scratch.
Design.
They had many more designs ready to be released at any time.
Sales methods.
Innovative sales methods far ahead of their time, penetrating the lower-end market.
Given all that, which move should come first, and which should follow, to inflict the greatest damage and deliver a fatal blow?
After much deliberation, Wong Yiu-tong’s gaze settled on the words “design” and “cost.”
He looked up and found that the other four had fallen silent. All of them were staring at him.
“What are you looking at me for?”
“Brother Yiu, have you thought of something?” Ah Kit asked impatiently.
“Ah Wai, go to my house. There’s a box under my bed. Inside are three outfits I designed recently.”
Two designs from the Fishnet Crotchless Bodysuit Series, and one Lace Temptation Sexy Back Heart-Clasp Sleepwear Crotchless Bodysuit Passion Set.
(The picture was too risqué. The censors rejected it, so it couldn’t be posted… Never mind. Better to protect one’s virtue.)
“Take one design to Old Lai every day. Have him order twenty thousand of each. If they’re going to copy my new designs, I’m afraid they won’t be able to keep up!”
“Ah, you…” Ah Wai frowned, his face troubled.
“You think I’m giving Shark Kun the designs for free?” Wong Yiu-tong chuckled. “Relax. I’m only afraid he won’t take the bait. Doesn’t stocking inventory cost money?”
“I understand!” Ah Kit slapped his thigh. “The more stock they prepare, the greater their losses when it burns. Brother Yiu, you’re brilliant!”
The corner of Wong Yiu-tong’s mouth twitched.
So you’re determined to set something on fire, are you?
“Ah Kit, tell Sister Fa tonight that I need to find a place to shoot some promotional photographs with fashion models. Ask her to help me locate one.”
“Got it.”
“Four-Eyes, what happened with the storefronts I asked you to look for on Portland Street, Garden Street, and Shanghai Street in Yau Ma Tei?”
“There’s nothing available on Portland Street, but there’s a place near the intersection with Mong Kok Street, a little over two hundred square feet, for thirty thousand.” Four-Eyes thought for a moment. “The place on Shanghai Street is a little over three hundred square feet and costs twenty-one thousand. The one on Garden Street is a little over two hundred square feet and costs eighteen thousand. All of them require three months’ deposit and one month’s rent in advance.”
“Rent all three. Spread the word that I’m opening three stores at once!”
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“Won’t that put too much pressure on us? If we want to expand everywhere, wouldn’t market stalls be more effective?”
“No. Stalls will have to disappear sooner or later. Goods sold from a stall are naturally associated with cheapness, which would be a tremendous blow to the brand.” Wong Yiu-tong shook his head. “From now on, keep the goods supplied to the other societies as they are, but repackage everything sold through our own stores.”
“What? We’re shutting down the stalls?” Ah Wai had not expected Wong Yiu-tong to say that.
“We’ll shut them down eventually, but for now we need more of them. Add as many as possible. Cover Tsim Sha Tsui for me.”
“Luring Shark Kun in?” Four-Eyes’ eyes lit up. He was beginning to understand Wong Yiu-tong’s plan. This was a way of forcing Shark Kun to invest even more heavily.
Wong Yiu-tong gave a cold laugh.
“Goon Jai-sum believes that the East Union Society’s Twelve Friends of Kuen Hung have connections everywhere. He thinks Shark Kun can use the society’s advantages to open distribution channels faster and crush us in one stroke.” Wong Yiu-tong laughed coldly several times. “Shark Kun thinks the same way.”
“If the distribution network is so extensive, why not keep all the profits for ourselves? Why let the garment factories earn a share?”
“Taking control of the garment factories would also make it easier to prevent counterfeiting.”
“That’s a good idea, but what about the financial pressure?”
“Old Lai is bearing most of our financial burden. Our inventory pressure is actually quite manageable. But Shark Kun’s appetite is enormous. His financial burden is several times greater than ours.”
“I’ve already poured more than a million into this. How much is he planning to invest?”
“Two million? Three million? Or five million?”
“Does Goon Jai-sum have that much money, or does Shark Kun?”
“Once the cash flow breaks down…”
“Heh.”
“Then we set the whole thing ablaze!” Ah Kit was so excited he nearly exploded, waving his arms with all his strength. “That’ll be spectacular!”
Wong Yiu-tong’s expression froze, and he could not help questioning himself.
What, exactly, was the essence of commercial competition?
Was it a carefully interlocking business strategy?
Or did the most sophisticated commercial wars often rely on the simplest methods…
Posting bad reviews, producing knockoffs, stealing secret recipes, seizing company seals, poisoning rivals, replacing Ultraman with the God of Wealth, killing an opponent’s money tree, sabotaging a competitor’s coffee machine—
Every successful person had a unique trump card for commercial warfare.
What was mine?
This wasn’t the commercial war I had imagined at all!
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