Chapter 62: Malicious Competition (Third Update)
"Cheers."
In a five-star hotel.
Su Jie hosted a celebration banquet for the executives of Tianyuan Daily Company, accompanied by Liu Yingying, to celebrate Tianyuan Hair Growth Liquid's sales breakthrough of 50 million units.
Tianyuan Daily is simply the rebranded name after acquiring a shampoo company, and currently, they only have Tianyuan Hair Growth Liquid on the market.
However, it was exactly this single product that, within just a month, had the company making a fortune daily, with monthly revenue exceeding 5 billion. Although this was not pure profit and various costs and taxes had yet to be deducted, it was more than enough to show the enormous market and cornucopia-like nature of Tianyuan Hair Growth Liquid now.
"To Mr. Su."
A group of Tianyuan Daily's senior executives promptly rose to clink glasses. Many of them were veterans retained from the previous company, who had witnessed the growth of Tianyuan Daily Company firsthand. They were well aware that with such an innovative product, Tianyuan Daily was bound to become world-famous, and therefore they were exceedingly respectful toward Su Jie.
After dining and drinking with the group, Su Jie returned to Jingjiang No.1 Villa with Liu Yingying.
"Su Jie, we've succeeded."
In public, Liu Yingying couldn't let loose, but once alone, she was as happy as a child.
"Success was inevitable, after all, the effect of the hair growth liquid is evident," Su Jie said, flicking Liu Yingying's forehead, unimpressed by her surprise, "Now, with enough cash flow in the company's account, we can expand the pig farming and insect breeding according to our previous plan."
"Understood. However, Su Jie, there are a lot of online comments smearing our Tianyuan Hair Growth Liquid now. They come from domestic hair loss treatment enterprises, wig businesses, beauty salons, relevant industry doctors, and so on," Liu Yingying reported, her expression turning serious as she brought up a different issue.
"They got anxious so quickly, huh," Su Jie nodded, having anticipated this move.
The launch of Tianyuan Hair Growth Liquid had significantly eroded the market shares of these interest groups, causing their businesses to plummet.
As the main culprit, it was expected that they would take action to retaliate.
Su Jie opened his phone, browsed online, and sure enough, there were many sensational news stories smearing Tianyuan Hair Growth Liquid.
"Ma Tingkang, an expert in hair disease and gene therapy for hair disease, hair transplantation, renowned dermatologist, professor, and doctoral supervisor, recently spoke up, claiming the effectiveness of Tianyuan Hair Growth Liquid is unclear and it could produce some extremely severe side effects, such as skin cancer..."
"A hair loss patient suffered from severe allergic reactions all over the body, and persistent rash after using Tianyuan Hair Growth Liquid, and is still hospitalized to this day."
"Multiple victims of Tianyuan Hair Growth Liquid have come forward, stating that the product has made their hair loss even worse."
All these news stories were completely fabricated without any shred of truth.
The sources and authenticity had virtually no value, and it was clear to any discerning person that they were the work of internet trolls.
But not everyone is wise, and there were still many people online who were deceived, leaving likes and comments below the posts.
"These can't hurt us. Are there any other tactics in play?" Su Jie continued to inquire, confident in the undeniable effectiveness of Tianyuan Hair Growth Liquid, which these accusations couldn't undermine.
"Besides these, the largest hair loss treatment company in the country, Linghui Pharmaceutical Company, has made a move.
They've introduced a health product aimed at hair loss treatment called Yafa Hair Growth Liquid, which also boasts impressive hair growth effects.
We've tested it, and indeed, it works very well; it's only slightly less effective than our Tianyuan Hair Growth Liquid."
Liu Yingying raised another more serious issue, causing Su Jie to pause momentarily.
"They cracked the secret of our Tianyuan Hair Growth Liquid?"
Su Jie looked at Liu Yingying with suspicion. Could Blue Star's technology be so advanced that they could decipher the effects of radiation from Ghost Hair?
"At first, I thought the same, but after we bought back their Yafa Hair Growth Liquid for testing, the result..."
Liu Yingying shook her head, her face expressing annoyance as she explained, "We found the components of Tianyuan Hair Growth Liquid in their product. We suspect that they bought our Tianyuan Hair Growth Liquid, diluted it, and then filled their own Yafa Hair Growth Liquid bottles with it."
"That works for them? Aren't they losing money?"
Su Jie rubbed his temples, shocked by the rogue moves of these competitors.
Really, to make money, they'll resort to any means!
"They sell it at a much higher price, marketing it as a health product. Moreover, this brand is a big company, a well-known brand. The best-selling alopecia topical medication in our country used to be the foreign Asder Company's product represented by Linghui Company, a drug called Mino Hair Growth.
So, many people trust the products produced by Linghui, and many are willing to pay a high price for this product, which is why they can make a profit. Stay updated via My Virtual Library Empire
Additionally, in remote areas not covered by our sales, many people still don't know about the existence of Tianyuan Hair Growth Liquid. There, they sell their product at an even higher price."
Liu Yingying was also furious about this because the Tianyuan Hair Growth Liquid had just been launched and was lesser-known; there would always be people who trust these so-called big brands and big manufacturers.
"We can't let them get away with this, disclose the information."
Su Jie was very upset; his painstakingly produced hair growth liquid was being sold by others as their own product.
Although their sales don't significantly affect Tianyuan Hair Growth Liquid's market, it's just infuriating!
"I've already asked the company's lawyer to prepare the lawsuit materials and issue a statement revealing the despicable actions of this company."
Liu Yingying said, determined not to let Linghui Company take advantage of Tianyuan Hair Growth Liquid without consequences.
"Besides that, I'll help gather some evidence on my end."
Su Jie added. The effectiveness of a lawsuit is limited; such profit-driven companies would definitely delay as long as possible, and if it really came down to it, they'd drag out the lawsuit for years. By the time they'd have to settle and pay a trivial sum, they would have made enough money, and by then, Tianyuan Hair Growth Liquid's brand would be established, and they could retire on their success.
Thus, it was necessary to use public opinion to press them and let more people know about Tianyuan Hair Growth Liquid so that companies like Linghui couldn't exploit loopholes.
"The main issue was that our production capacity was struggling to keep up, but once our hair growth liquid production increases, it'll be better. Right now, the construction of three new factories will soon be completed, and the workers have all been trained. Then we'll be able to meet domestic demand and also expand to international sales."
"Oh, going international, huh?"
Su Jie's eyes brightened. The domestic demand for hair growth liquid would slowly decline; although there were over two hundred million potential users, not all patients with mild hair loss would buy it, and there was also the issue that patients are always anxious about new products, requiring time to cultivate brand trust.
"Right, we've already started preparing for it. There is still one issue unresolved, though. We don't know how much to price it overseas?"
Liu Yingying turned her gaze to Su Jie, looking to him to make a decision.
Su Jie furrowed his brows and pondered for a while before saying, "Considering taxes and shipping costs, let's sell it for 159."
"Oh, that sounds reasonable."
"I meant in US dollars."
"US... US dollars?"
Liu Yingying's mouth dropped open in shock.
"Of course, developed countries earn more, so naturally, we should charge a bit more."
Su Jie's smile beamed, ready to reap a new harvest from the tender crops abroad.