Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

”So, what brings President Liu here? Afraid Pinbei’s going to poach your suppliers?”

Zhang Jindong shot back bluntly, a cold smirk playing on his lips.

With no media present, he dropped the act entirely. The two had been trading barbs from afar for months, and he was filled with pent-up anger.

”No one can steal what’s mine.”

Liu Qiangdong crossed his legs, appearing nonchalant on the surface, but inwardly, Zhang Jindong’s words had struck a nerve.

He had arrived early and, glancing around, saw many familiar faces. Representatives from over one hundred digital and home appliance brands were present, and to his surprise, more than half of them were Jingdong’s key account (KA) suppliers.

Only then did Liu Qiangdong understand. No wonder Chen Yansen had merely added a symbolic clause about Orange Pay to the contract, allowing Jingdong’s self-operated products onto the Pinbei platform.

Although the two were currently partners, the ever-vigilant Liu Qiangdong had already sensed the threat Chen Yansen posed.

”I wouldn’t be so sure,” Zhang Jindong replied with a grin.

He said it deliberately to sow discord between Liu Qiangdong and Chen Yansen, hoping Sunning would benefit from the fallout.

The past year’s experiences had taught him that online and offline retail were two completely different ball games.

Even though he had defeated Gome, Sunning was still a minor player in the online space. It needed to leverage traffic from third-party channels to grow.

Moreover, Zhang Jindong was confident that with over 1,500 physical chain stores, Sunning had far more leverage over its suppliers than Jingdong did.

Even if brands under the Sunning umbrella bypassed it to join Pinbei directly, Chen Yansen would never get the same wholesale prices that Sunning commanded.

”President Zhang, I think you’ve got the right idea. Just give up on your online strategy. Hand the appliance business over to Jingdong and Pinbei. It’s a win-win for everyone, right?”

Liu Qiangdong countered with a smile.

The implication was that Sunning wasn’t cut out for e-commerce and should just stick to being a brick-and-mortar retailer, leaving the online operations to Jingdong and Pinbei.

”You got 1.5 billion in financing and now you think you’re hot stuff? You think you know how to handle a heavy-asset model? If Sunning’s e-commerce business fails, I’ll hand the whole company over to you.”

Zhang Jindong was no fool. He immediately understood Liu Qiangdong’s jab and didn’t hold back in his reply.

’Heh, he lost his cool.’

Liu Qiangdong felt a surge of satisfaction. Beaming, he ignored Zhang Jindong.

Jingdong was already under immense pressure from its price war with Taobao, and now Zhang Jindong was relentlessly nipping at its heels.

For the exact same product, if Jingdong sold it for 100, Sunning would deliberately sell it for 90, undercutting Jingdong by an average of 5% to 10%.

To protect his market share, Liu Qiangdong could only grit his teeth and lower prices again.

He had only started the conversation to get under Zhang Jindong’s skin. His goal achieved, he abandoned Zhang Jindong and started chatting with Li Mingzhe, Supor’s head of e-commerce.

Zhang Jindong’s chest heaved with rage. He only managed to compose himself when Chen Yansen walked over with Xu Pei Xin, the owner of Red Child.

”President Zhang, what a surprise to see you here.” Xu Pei Xin hurried over to greet Zhang Jindong the moment he saw him.

Recently, Sunning’s investment department had been in contact with Red Child about a full acquisition.

Xu Pei Xin came from an investment banking background and prioritized return on investment above all else.

His current mindset was similar to Lei Yijun’s seven years prior. He felt e-commerce was a cash-burning business, and after seeing Chen Yansen sell FoxTao and cash out for over ten billion, he began entertaining the idea of selling Red Child to cash out early himself.

The moment Sunning reached out, he had been eagerly receptive.

”President Xu, does Red Child also have plans to join Pinbei?”

Zhang Jindong beckoned for Xu Pei Xin to sit on his right and asked with a smile.

He was genuinely interested in Red Child, wanting to absorb it into Sunning’s e-commerce division to bolster their user base in the mother-and-baby product category.

But if Xu Pei Xin joined Pinbei and his company’s performance improved, his willingness to sell would become a major question.