After May 1st, university students from Zhejiang University, Financial College, and several other colleges in Lin’an suddenly discovered something—New Era has started selling smartphones!

And they are selling quite a lot.

You can find brands like Nokia, Motorola, Bird, Siemens, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Amoisonic, Coolpad, Alcatel, CECT, Daxian, and even the very rare full-keyboard Blackberry phones at New Era.

Actually, Su Zelin didn’t expect to sell many of such niche phones; he just wanted to tell people one thing.

Our New Era sells a complete range of smartphones!

Whatever is available in the market, we have it all!

If you can find Blackberry here, what other brand can you not find?

Old models, new models, niche, popular, high-end, low-end, sliders, clamshells, bar phones, full keyboards, all available in stock, and it’s a try-before-you-buy model.

These university students were once again amazed by the grand tactics of New Era.

On the day the mobile phone business launched on May 1st, several of the stores were instantly packed.

The experience model is absolutely a killer strategy in this day and age. It’s okay for computers, as some computer stores still set up a few demo machines for customers to play with.

But for smartphones, sorry, no phone shop is willing to do this.

Phones are all placed inside glass counters. Customers have to ask the sales staff to take out the one they are interested in, and some even remind you to be careful, as if fearing you can’t afford to pay if you break it. If you play a little longer, others become impatient, and you feel embarrassed to try more phones.

But New Era is different. Even the newest, most high-end phones are placed on the counter with a small sign next to them: "Feel free to try, buy only if satisfied."

See, how generous they are!

New Era obtained a loan of five million, and Su Zelin is this bold.

Why didn’t university students want to buy smartphones on campus before?

Firstly, they feared that the quality and after-sales of small "wild-chicken" shops could not be guaranteed.

What if they bought a second-hand phone?

What if the shopkeeper doesn’t handle after-sales service?

Secondly, there’s too little choice.

Small shops have so few phone models in stock, and it’s impossible to have a full range of brands, so why not go to off-campus smartphone stores?

New Era doesn’t have such problems.

Thanks to the reputation built from the computer business, it has already become a big brand in schools. Quality and after-sales service are guaranteed, and almost every smartphone brand and model available in the market can be found here, and you can freely try them out.

So the integration of the smartphone business went smoothly, and there was no need to change the store layout, since Su Zelin had reserved smartphone counters from the beginning, surrounding the perimeter, with computers and other businesses in the center.

The investment in the smartphone business was indeed quite high, mainly because they stocked up so thoroughly, with each store requiring an investment of several hundred thousand yuan.

If they hadn’t secured such a significant loan, Su Zelin couldn’t have done it even if he wanted to.

But these products are not hard assets; once sold, they turn into money, so the investment returns quickly and the funds come back fast,

The key is the high profit margin of smartphones, and it’s expected that each store’s annual profit could easily double.

Lin’an, a certain unit’s employee dormitory.

"Dad, Mom, New Era is doing smartphone business, and I want to follow suit!"

Zhang Yuanhang exclaimed excitedly as soon as he got home.

After transitioning from knock-offs to genuine products, he quickly tasted the benefits.

Young Master Zhang has now put aside his pride and feels that relying on a big name isn’t bad at all. Although he can only drink a sip of soup, it’s hassle-free.

Moreover, he found that New Era truly has the drive; opening new stores rapidly is one thing, but their business keeps expanding, even encompassing smartphones, and the momentum seems quite strong.

Currently, only the five directly-managed stores have engaged in the smartphone business. The Ligong University franchise store has yet to start, as it’s a third-party investor, and the investment requirement for this scale of smartphone business is relatively large, so there’s no pressure on the franchisees for now.

Thus, Zhang Yuanhang observed for a while.

It didn’t take long for him to feel tempted.

Initially deciding to follow New Era, Zhang Yuanhang wasn’t completely brainless; he had some foresight.

Smartphone profits are high, and they update quickly. Judging by the footfall at the directly-managed stores after launching the smartphone business, the profits are bound to be substantial.

So he couldn’t wait to keep up.

"Smartphones? Son, are you sure?"

"Mom, New Era’s five directly-managed stores all launched their campus smartphone business on May 1st. I’ve observed them for a while, and their business is really good; they must be making big money!"

"How much investment is needed?"

"At least three hundred thousand!"

"Three hundred thousand? That’s a lot!"

"Mainly because stock needs to be adequate. If the inventory isn’t sufficient, tossing in one or two hundred thousand might be enough, but the headquarters won’t approve it. They said that if they venture into the smartphone business, they have to do it the best! Mom, all five directly-managed stores have adopted this new business, and I’ve heard from headquarters that New Era will soon advertise on many TV stations throughout the province. As the company grows bigger and bigger, following them can’t go wrong!"

"Alright, but don’t rush. Wait until your dad comes back and discuss it together. If he agrees, we’ll find a way."

"..."

Zhejiang University.

Su Zelin was sitting in Zhou Fuliang’s home.

Now that New Era has made a name for itself in Lin’an, it doesn’t need to build connections first to negotiate with other universities on behalf of the company.

However, the loafer still occasionally has tea with Dean Zhou, and often goes to have meals with Dai Chuangxing.

Just because you’re doing well, you can’t burn bridges after crossing the river; the partnership remains. Besides that, social interactions should still be maintained, as Xia Country is fundamentally a society built on relationships.