The 1970s: Married First, Fell in Love Later-Chapter 216 - 215: All the Customers Were Snatched Away
Little Chen added, "Third Uncle, it’s true. Many customers come in, take a look, and then head across the street."
He Lang was puzzled. "Half price? Can they even make a profit? The rent for the shop across the street can’t be cheap."
’Selling at half price... After factoring in the cost of goods and other expenses, could they have any profit margin at all?’
Shitou said, "We’re not entirely sure. We’ve just heard it from some customers. And their styles really are similar to ours. I couldn’t just take their word for it, so I went over to see for myself, but their salesperson recognized me and threw me out. Now, our store is only getting old customers, those who aren’t worried about money, and people buying shoes or accessories. The clothes are barely selling at all. What are we going to do?"
With He Lang gone, the few staff members had been worried sick. Shitou’s tooth had been aching for days from the stress, and his heart sank every time he watched people stream in and out of the shop across the street.
"How long have they been open?"
Shitou said, "About a week now. But their opening day was even more chaotic than ours. The firecrackers went on all morning until my ears ached. And I don’t know where they found them, but they hired two older women with incredibly loud voices. They stood at the entrance, shouting and hollering to pull in customers. The two of them dragged just about every passerby into the shop. Third Brother, what if we lower our prices, too?"
He Lang had a good grasp of the situation now.
"I understand. Pay them no mind. We’ll stick to our original prices. If the shop is slow, the four of you can take breaks in shifts."
Shitou didn’t understand. "Third Brother, are we just going to stand here and watch them steal our customers?"
He Lang explained, "When you open a business, you have to play the long game, not just chase after a moment’s profit. Besides, if they’re selling that cheaply and their clothes are, as you say, similar to ours, it points to one of two things: either the quality is different, or their profit margins are razor-thin. In either case, they won’t be able to keep it up for long."
Guan Wenwen nodded. "The boss is right. I agree, they won’t last long if they carry on like this. We should just focus on our own work."
Shitou was still unhappy. The shop’s daily revenue was dropping. ’At this rate,’ he thought, ’how long will it take me to save enough money to get married?’
He Lang nodded. "Shitou, we’re not back in our hometown anymore. This is Beijing City. We can’t possibly be the only clothing store here. Today it’s one competitor, tomorrow it could be two, or three, or even more. We can’t lose our cool just because someone else opens up shop. All we need to do is focus on our own work. Don’t worry about the rest; it’s pointless. And Wenwen is right. If they keep going like this, they’re bound to close down sooner or later."
Hearing He Lang and Guan Wenwen say this, the color returned to Shitou’s face.
He Lang had been right. The clothing shop across the street only kept their prices low for a few days. Then, suddenly, the prices on all their clothes shot up.
Many customers, lured by the shop’s reputation for low prices, went inside, found an item they liked, and then asked for the price.
"This isn’t what I heard at all! This isn’t cheap. I might as well go to Fashion Woman across the street. At least they have clothes, shoes, and accessories all in one place, which saves me an extra trip."
"Exactly! Their shop is decorated so nicely, and the staff isn’t just friendly, they’re good-looking too. The whole shopping experience is important."
"I agree, let’s go across the street. Seriously, they made us come all this way for nothing."
Watching helplessly as customers slipped through their fingers, the two women grew anxious and rushed to find their boss.
"Boss, I’ve lost count of how many groups of customers have walked out. Why don’t we go back to the old prices? At least we had a crowd then."
The boss shot them a nasty glare. "I’ve been losing money for days on end! If I keep selling at those prices, are you going to cover my losses? Or do you think your salaries and the shop’s rent don’t need to be paid? Forget it. People will come. I refuse to believe that with all the customers we had a few days ago, we won’t get any return business."
The two women, having gotten an earful for nothing, were thoroughly frustrated. ’Oh, there are return customers, alright,’ they muttered to themselves. ’But they run next door the moment they hear your prices.’
For several days straight, customers would enter the shop across the street, only to emerge a moment later, fuming, and come right over to He Lang’s.
They managed to overhear snippets of conversation. Apparently, not only had the prices skyrocketed, but the service was terrible, and the staff was even using high-pressure sales tactics.
Now, Shitou was finally convinced. ’Third Brother really is a genius,’ he thought. The shop across the street had raised its prices, just as he’d predicted, and now they couldn’t hold on to their customers.
This was all within He Lang’s expectations. Cutthroat competition never lasts.
As for the other shop, while it hadn’t officially closed, no one went inside anymore. The employees and the owner had started arguing over unpaid wages.
Shitou even ran over to eavesdrop.
"The two of us have worked our asses off for you for over a month! Our throats are raw from shouting! You promised to pay each of us forty yuan a month. It’s been over a month, so where’s the money? How can you go back on your word like that?"
"I hired you to sell clothes! So how many pieces did you sell? You can’t even move the merchandise, so on what grounds should I pay you?"
One of the women planted her hands on her hips and yelled back, "You think we didn’t want to sell them? It was because you were trying to undercut the shop across the street! You deliberately sold everything at a loss, and then you jacked up the prices. That’s why the customers stopped buying! What does that have to do with us?"
"I don’t care! The fact is, not only did I not make any money, I lost a ton. I can’t get you your wages right now. Or, you can just keep selling clothes in the shop. As soon as I turn a profit, I’ll pay you."
The owner had hired the two women in the first place precisely because they were cheap labor.
But there was no way the two women were going to agree to that.
"You want us to work for free? Dream on! Let me tell you something, we are not afraid of you. If you don’t give us our money today, we’ll smash this shop to pieces. Let’s see you do business then!"
"You dare smash anything, I’ll call the police! I’m broke anyway. Wreck the place, I still won’t pay."
The owner remained nonchalant, probably assuming the women wouldn’t dare.
The two women were so angry they were practically fuming. They shot each other a look.
"If you won’t give us money, we’ll take the clothes instead."
The two women produced a bag from out of nowhere and began grabbing clothes off the racks, stuffing them inside.
The owner rushed forward to stop them, only to get a hard slap across the face from one of the women.
The owner was completely stunned by the blow. In the moment he stood there dazed, they had already stuffed a large bag full of clothes.
"We’ll take these clothes and sell them for our pay. I refuse to believe we can’t make 80 yuan off of this. Let’s go."
The two of them swaggered out, carrying the bag of clothes.
On their way out, they saw Shitou and actually shot him a smile.
Shitou was so scared he shuddered.
