89: Chapter 90 Retail War Escalates

Qian Xu had just returned to his office when Kim Min-jun pushed the door open and walked in, a smile on his face.

"Mr. Qian, it's done."

"Old Man Li has signed."

"The other few wavering farmers have signed as well."

Qian Xu smiled.

"Good."

"What about Lotte Mart?"

"They know," Kim Min-jun said.

"The procurement department is furious."

"But there's nothing they can do."

"The farmers signed voluntarily."

"It's none of their business."

Qian Xu leaned back in his chair.

"That's good."

"Now, cracks are starting to appear in Lotte Mart's supplier alliance."

Kim Min-jun nodded.

"Right."

"As long as we keep the farmers steady, the other suppliers will waver too."

"After all, who doesn't want to make more money?"

Qian Xu smiled.

"Exactly."

"That's human nature."

---

His phone vibrated. It was a system notification.

Qian Xu tapped it open.

[Gyeonggi-do Farmers Association cooperation complete]

[Signed farmers: 12]

[Categories covered: Cabbage, Radish, Strawberry, Apple]

[Supply chain stability: S-rank]

He smiled and put away his phone.

"Representative Kim, let's celebrate tonight."

"Call T-ARA and let's have a meal together."

"Good," Kim Min-jun smiled. "I'll arrange it right away."

---

Just as Kim Min-jun walked out, his phone vibrated again. It was a message from Eunjung.

"Mr. Qian, I heard the farmers are all settled?"

Qian Xu replied.

"Yes."

"All 12 farmers have signed."

Eunjung replied quickly.

"That's great!"

"What about Lotte Mart?"

"How are they reacting?"

Qian Xu typed.

"No movement yet, but they will definitely retaliate."

"How is your rehearsal going?"

Eunjung replied.

"It's okay."

"So-yeon is in good condition."

"Boram is a bit distracted today."

Qian Xu paused. Distracted? Was it because of last night? Just as he was about to reply, his phone vibrated again. It was a call from Kim Min-jun.

"Mr. Qian, something happened."

"What is it?"

"Lotte Mart has started a price-slashing promotion." Kim Min-jun's voice was urgent.

"The Hongdae branch."

"Everything is 30% off."

"Fresh produce is half price."

"Limited for three days."

Qian Xu frowned.

"When did it start?"

"This morning," Kim Min-jun said. "I just received the news."

"There's already a long queue at the entrance of the Lotte Mart Hongdae branch."

"They are trying to steal our customer traffic."

Qian Xu leaned back in his chair.

"I understand."

"Where are you?"

"I'm at the Hongdae store," Kim Min-jun said. "The renovation team just left. The shelves are set up, and we're just waiting for the opening tomorrow. But now that Lotte Mart is running a promotion, our opening traffic might be affected."

Qian Xu was silent for a few seconds.

"Alright."

"I'm coming over immediately."

---

Twenty minutes later, at Yunmengze Life Plaza in Hongdae, Qian Xu pushed the door open and walked in. Kim Min-jun was standing in the center of the store, looking grim.

"Mr. Qian, look." He pointed out the window. Through the glass, one could see the entrance of the Lotte Mart Hongdae branch across the street. There was a long queue, at least two or three hundred people.

"They've been queuing since seven this morning," Kim Min-jun said.

"Fresh produce is half price."

"Cabbages are 1,000 won each."

"It's half the market price."

"The local aunties have gone crazy."

Qian Xu looked out the window and smiled.

"They're desperate."

"Desperate?" Kim Min-jun frowned.

"They're trying to intercept our traffic."

"We open tomorrow."

"Consumers are all going to Lotte Mart to grab cheap goods. Who will come to us?"

Qian Xu turned to look at him.

"Representative Kim, do you believe me?"

"The harder they discount, the more it shows they fear us."

Kim Min-jun paused.

"Fear us?"

"Yes."

Qian Xu walked up to a shelf and touched it.

"Lotte Mart is the second-largest retailer in South Korea, with annual sales exceeding 10 trillion won."

"We are just a small, newly opened supermarket."

"Why would they slash prices? Because they know our model is better than theirs."

Kim Min-jun looked thoughtful.

"So... they're panicking?"

"Yes," Qian Xu nodded.

"They're afraid of us growing, afraid of us stealing their market share. So, while we haven't gained a firm foothold, they want to kill us in the cradle with a price war."

Kim Min-jun became anxious.

"Then what do we do? Should we lower prices too?"

"No," Qian Xu shook his head.

"We can't follow suit and lower prices."

"Why?"

"Because we can't beat Lotte Mart in a price war."

Qian Xu looked at him.

"Their supply chain is more mature than ours, their procurement volume is larger, and their costs are lower. If we fight a price war with them, we'll definitely die."

Kim Min-jun was stunned.

"Then what do we do? Just watch our traffic get stolen?"

Qian Xu smiled.

"No. We won't lower prices. But we have other ways."

---

He took out his phone and opened his memo app.

"Representative Kim, take notes."

Kim Min-jun quickly took out his phone.

"Go ahead."

"First, for tomorrow's opening, launch a membership points system."

Kim Min-jun paused.

"A membership points system?"

"Yes," Qian Xu said. "Spend 1 won to get 1 point. 100 points equals 1 won. First-time members get 1,000 bonus points."

Kim Min-jun wrote it down quickly.

"And then?"

"Second," Qian Xu continued, "on a member's birthday, they get double points on all purchases. On the 8th of every month, it's Member's Day, with a 20% discount storewide."

Kim Min-jun's eyes lit up.

"This is good. It's more attractive than just a direct discount."

"Yes," Qian Xu nodded.

"Third, for purchases over 50,000 won, give a small Chinese cultural gift. First come, first served, while supplies last."

Kim Min-jun smiled.

"This is great. Koreans love free things."

"Fourth," Qian Xu looked at him, "for the first two hours of tomorrow's opening, the first 100 customers to enter the store will receive a free bag of rice."

Kim Min-jun was stunned.

"Free rice?"

"Yes," Qian Xu smiled. "A bag of rice costs less than 10,000 won, but it can attract hundreds of people to queue. It's more attractive than Lotte Mart's half-price cabbage."

Kim Min-jun took a deep breath.

"Mr. Qian, you are amazing. Lotte Mart would never think of these tactics."

Qian Xu smiled.

"This is how the Chinese retail industry plays. Koreans are still fighting price wars, while we've already started playing with membership systems."

---

At 2:00 PM, at the Yunmengze Building in Apgujeong, Qian Xu sat in his office with Kim Min-jun standing nearby.

"Mr. Qian, I've sent the membership points plan to the design department. Posters and flyers will be ready before we open tomorrow."

"Good," Qian Xu nodded.

"One more thing."

"Go ahead."

"Contact some influencers near Hongdae," Qian Xu said. "Invite them to visit the store tomorrow. Free food, free gifts. As long as they post on social media, that's all."

Kim Min-jun smiled.

"Good. I'll arrange that right away."

---

He walked out. Qian Xu leaned back in his chair and looked out the window. The sky over Seoul was gray, but he was in a good mood. Lotte Mart thought they could win by lowering prices, but they didn't know that the Chinese retail playbook was a decade ahead of them. His phone vibrated; a system notification. Qian Xu tapped it open.

[Membership points system plan activated]

[Estimated increase in repurchase rate: 35%]

[Estimated increase in average transaction value: 20%]

[Estimated increase in membership conversion rate: 50%]

He smiled and put his phone away.

---

7:00 PM, at a barbecue restaurant in Hongdae. When Qian Xu arrived, the six members of T-ARA were already there. Boram was sitting by the window. Seeing Qian Xu walk in, her eyes lit up.

"Mr. Qian! Over here!"

Qian Xu walked over and sat down.

"Have you been waiting long?"

"No," Boram smiled. "We just arrived."

Eunjung sat opposite him, looking at Qian Xu.

"Mr. Qian, I heard Lotte Mart lowered their prices?"

"Yes," Qian Xu nodded. "Everything 30% off, fresh produce half price."

So-yeon frowned.

"Then will our store opening tomorrow be affected?"

"No," Qian Xu smiled. "I've already thought of a countermeasure."

"What countermeasure?" Boram asked curiously.

"A membership points system."

Qian Xu briefly explained the plan. After hearing it, all six of them were stunned.

"A membership points system?" Ji-yeon blinked. "Sounds very high-end. Much smarter than just lowering prices."

Hyomin smiled. "Boss Qian, how does your brain work?"

Qian Xu smiled. "It's just basic operations in the Chinese retail industry. It just hasn't become popular in Korea yet."

Qri looked at him. "Mr. Qian, you can always think of solutions that others can't. That is your strength."

Qian Xu raised his soju glass.

"Come on, let's have a toast. To a successful opening tomorrow."

"Cheers!" The six of them raised their glasses together.

---

10:00 PM, Qian Xu arrived home. After taking a shower, he lay in bed and checked his phone. There were two unread messages. One was from So-yeon. "Mr. Qian, thank you for your hard work today. Good luck with the opening tomorrow. Good night." Qian Xu replied, "Good night." The other was from Boram. "Mr. Qian, thank you for treating us today. The barbecue was delicious. I'll come to support the opening tomorrow! Good night!" Qian Xu smiled and replied, "Good. See you tomorrow. Good night." He put down his phone and closed his eyes. Tomorrow, Yunmengze Life Plaza would officially open. Lotte Mart's price war, the counterattack of the membership points system, everything was under control.

---

The next morning, 7:00 AM, at Yunmengze Life Plaza in Hongdae. When Qian Xu arrived, there was already a long queue at the entrance, at least forty or fifty people. Kim Min-jun stood at the entrance with a smile on his face.

"Mr. Qian, look. They are all here to get the free rice."

Qian Xu smiled. "Good. Open the doors."

At 8:00 AM sharp, the roller shutter rose slowly. The crowd in the queue began to stir.

"Don't push!" "Line up!" "One by one!" Kim Min-jun maintained order at the entrance. The first 100 customers each received a bag of rice, and their faces beamed with joy.

"Wow, it's really free!" "This supermarket is so conscientious!" "I'll come here to shop from now on!"

Qian Xu stood next to the cashier, watching all this, and smiled.

---

10:00 AM, the customer flow reached its peak. The store was crowded, and the goods on the shelves were snapped up. There was a long queue at the checkout. Kim Min-jun ran over.

"Mr. Qian, the data is out. Two hours after opening, the in-store traffic exceeded 3,000 people. Sales exceeded 200 million won."

Qian Xu nodded. "Good. What about membership registration?"

"More than 800 people have already registered." Kim Min-jun smiled. "Everyone is asking how to use the membership points. We have arranged for someone to explain it."

"Good," Qian Xu said. "Keep it up."

---

2:00 PM. His phone vibrated. It was a message from Kim Min-jun.

"Mr. Qian, Lotte Mart is starting to panic."

Qian Xu replied, "What happened?"

"They saw us giving away rice," Kim Min-jun said, "so they started giving away rice too. But their event was too rushed. The quality of the rice is poor. Consumers are complaining."

Qian Xu smiled. "That's the consequence of following the trend without preparation. It only ends up backfiring."

---

5:00 PM. The first-day data was released. Kim Min-jun stood at the office door with a smile on his face.

"Mr. Qian, the first-day data is out."

"How much?"

"In-store traffic," Kim Min-jun said, "15,000 people. Sales, 1.2 billion won. Membership registrations, 3,500 people."

Qian Xu smiled. "Better than expected."

"Yes," Kim Min-jun nodded. "Lotte Mart's traffic dropped by 30% today. Their price-slashing promotion actually helped us."

Qian Xu leaned back in his chair. "That's the power of the membership points system. Short-term price cuts can't retain customers, but a membership system keeps them coming back."

---

His phone vibrated; a system notification. Qian Xu tapped it open.

[Yunmengze Life Plaza opening day]

[In-store traffic: 15,000 people]

[Sales: 1.2 billion won]

[Membership registrations: 3,500 people]

[Lotte Mart Hongdae branch traffic drop: 30%]

[Retail War Phase 1: Victory]

He smiled, put his phone away, and looked out the window. The night in Hongdae was brightly lit. Lotte Mart's price-slashing promotion failed to steal his traffic; instead, it made Yunmengze Life Plaza famous overnight. Tomorrow, there would be more challenges waiting for him, but he wasn't afraid, because he had the cards in his hand.