134: Chapter 134 Taobao: A Way Out

At the same time.

Anli Group headquarters.

The atmosphere in the conference room was completely different from the last time, with a sense of urgency hanging over everyone's heads.

Whether it was the board members or Old Ma, no one looked very good right now.

Pinduoduo's moves were too fast.

They had noticed when Pinhaohuo forced an update at 8:00 AM yesterday, but at that time, everyone thought it was just a routine adjustment by Langchao Group after their setback in fresh produce e-commerce.

They increased the discounts, changed the name, and at most, optimized the main interface.

No one expected.

That Qin Mo would turn a fresh produce e-commerce software into an all-category e-commerce platform overnight.

The key is, just one day later, Pinduoduo's user count had increased by ten million, a figure that was quite exaggerated even in their eyes.

At this moment.

Feng Haicang stood in front of the projection screen, holding the data that had just been compiled, his expression not looking good.

"We have internal payment data from Alipay."

"In just yesterday alone, the number of new Alipay-linked users on Pinduoduo exceeded eight million. And that's just card-linked users; those who only use bank cards for payment aren't included in this data."

He paused.

"If the ratio of card-linked users to bank card users is about the same as it was during the Pinhaohuo period, then Pinduoduo's actual new user count yesterday indeed exceeded ten million."

Feng Haicang closed the data report and placed it on the table.

"What on earth is going on?"

"Why did Qin Mo suddenly enter the all-category e-commerce market? Wasn't he supposed to be doing fresh produce e-commerce?"

"What exactly is he up to?"

An executive next to him chimed in, his voice carrying an irrepressible anxiety.

"The key issue right now isn't what Qin Mo is trying to do."

"It's that we can't turn back."

"We've already invested billions into fresh produce e-commerce, signing deals with cooperatives and supply chain enterprises in dozens of fresh produce production areas across the country."

"In fact."

"We've already signed agreements with various county governments to build local logistics and warehousing centers and increase job opportunities; the contracts were signed long ago."

He pulled out a document and placed it on the table.

"Construction teams in some areas officially started work a few days ago."

"Several county-level cities, in order to secure our logistics centers, gave us tax breaks and land incentives; we've even received the first year's tax subsidies in advance."

"If we stop now, all these subsidies will have to be returned, and the liquidated damages plus the initial total investment costs won't be a small sum."

No one in the conference room spoke; everyone's expression was grim.

What the executive said was true. Although it had only been a little over a week since Taobao entered the fresh produce e-commerce market, Anli Group's actions had been proceeding at the fastest possible speed.

Ma Kun's logic at the time was also very clear.

Since Qin Mo had hidden it for nearly a month without daring to go public, it meant that the fresh produce e-commerce market indeed had huge potential, so they had to move at the fastest speed to capture all the market share and not give Pinhaohuo any chance to catch its breath.

Therefore.

Taobao not only created a fresh produce channel but also directly signed contracts everywhere to roll out logistics.

This time, the logistics construction for fresh produce e-commerce was walking on two legs from the start: on one hand, negotiating with local governments to acquire land for warehousing, and on the other, signing exclusive agreements with supply chain enterprises.

These contracts and construction teams had now become the anchors locking Taobao in place.

You have to understand.

The biggest reason why Taobao didn't build its own warehousing and logistics before wasn't that they couldn't use them, but that this move wouldn't bring extra revenue to Taobao, nor would it increase Taobao's market share; at most, it would just benefit the users.

But they wouldn't make moves that didn't generate revenue for Taobao.

In their eyes, this was even considered a loss. This was the capitalist mindset: established market share wouldn't increase just because they built warehouses and logistics, so they had absolutely no reason to do so.

But once the blue ocean of fresh produce e-commerce was discovered, they had the motivation to do it. But now, Qin Mo seemed to have thrown himself into all-category e-commerce, wanting to take direct action against Taobao!

Old Ma sat in the main seat, his expression quite grave. He turned his head to look at Ma Kun, who was sitting next to him.

"What do you think?"

Everyone looked over.

The veins on the back of Ma Kun's hand bulged slightly. His brain was spinning at high speed; he hadn't closed his eyes since yesterday, constantly reviewing the interface and activity rules after Pinduoduo's update.

He was also thinking about one question.

What exactly was Qin Mo trying to do?

If the other party really wanted to enter the all-category e-commerce market, then was throwing money around like that meaningful?

Back then, JD.com spent tens of billions to build a logistics system to deal with Taobao, but in the end, it couldn't do anything to Taobao.

This model of directly giving away money to acquire new users, while increasing user numbers quickly in the short term, meant users came for the money; once the money was gone, the people would leave too. It couldn't retain users long-term, so no matter how much money was thrown at it, it was just burning money for nothing.

Just relying on those trashy, low-priced goods inside Pinduoduo?

Finally.

Ma Kun took a deep breath and spoke, his voice steady.

"Don't worry, this must be a feint to the east to attack in the west."

He stood up and walked to the front of the projection screen.

"Qin Mo is using a feint to the east to attack in the west."

"He wants us to think he's entering the e-commerce market, to make us panic, to make us withdraw the funds invested in fresh produce e-commerce, and give him time to catch his breath."

"His real goal is definitely still the blue ocean market of fresh produce e-commerce."

"He invested a month in the early stages of fresh produce e-commerce, acquiring JD.com's logistics and warehousing, setting up a nationwide delivery network, and attracting the first wave of seed users. These investments were not small; he couldn't just give up like that."

Hearing this, Feng Haicang frowned.

"How did you determine that?"

The other executives also looked over; they were equally unsure of the basis for Ma Kun's judgment.

Ma Kun turned to look at everyone.

"Think about it yourselves."

"Is the chance of competing with Taobao greater in a brand-new blue ocean market?"

"Or."

"Is the success rate higher in trying to seize the traditional e-commerce market, where Taobao already holds the vast majority of the share?"

"If you were starting a business yourselves, which one would you choose?"

Everyone thought for a moment and all leaned towards the first one.

Feng Haicang also spoke up.

"The first one, and without hesitation."

This was basic business common sense. Any entrepreneur, if choosing between two options, would choose to open up a new market without hesitation, rather than going head-to-head with a giant.

In the blue ocean of fresh produce e-commerce, Pinhaohuo was just a step away from success.

If it weren't for Ma Kun discovering the clues from the Alipay backend, once Pinhaohuo had accumulated enough users, it would have been difficult for Taobao to catch up.

And in the traditional e-commerce track, Taobao couldn't take away the market share it occupied even after JD.com threw tens of billions at it.

A newly transformed Pinduoduo, on what grounds?

Seeing that everyone understood him, Ma Kun continued.

"Even if."

"Qin Mo really wants to enter the e-commerce market, it would be easier for us to deal with."

"JD.com fought us for so many years back then and didn't win; how long can users bought by throwing money around last?"

"If Pinduoduo really wants to challenge Taobao, it would actually be easier for us to crush it."

Hearing this, the atmosphere in the conference room loosened a bit. Several executives whispered among themselves for a few moments, all feeling that this analysis made sense.

Ma Kun sat back down and glanced at Old Ma.

The father and son locked eyes for a moment.

In that gaze, there was an unspoken consensus.

No matter what Qin Mo's real purpose was, it was very difficult for Taobao to turn back.

You have to understand.

The groundwork for fresh produce e-commerce had already been laid out: contracts were signed, construction teams were on-site, and tax breaks and employment commitments with local governments had already been coordinated.

If they stopped now, Anli Group would face not just losses on the books, but also issues with local government trust. If these matters weren't handled well, it wouldn't just affect this one project of fresh produce e-commerce.

Moreover.

He, Ma Kun, had just returned to the country and had just begun to enter the core management layer of Anli Group.

The first major decision he made was to fully enter the fresh produce e-commerce market; if he turned around immediately after a week, his prestige before the entire board and the group's senior management would instantly collapse.

Old Ma's successor had been in office for less than half a month and had already caused such a huge blunder; how could he suppress this group of people who had been in the business for decades in the future?

Therefore.

No matter what Qin Mo's real purpose was, Ma Kun could only treat it as a feint to the east to attack in the west.

He only had this one choice.

And for them, one good piece of news was.

Judging from the transaction data of fresh produce e-commerce during this period, there was indeed a real demand in this market.

The repurchase rate of new users was not low, and the demand for low-priced fresh produce in the sinking market was quite considerable.

Even if, in the end, Ma Kun himself had misjudged the direction of Qin Mo's actions.

At least.

The money Taobao invested in fresh produce e-commerce wouldn't all go down the drain; this market itself could generate profits, just that the payback period was longer than he had estimated.

At least for now, that was what they believed.

Ma Kun took a deep breath and scanned everyone present.

He made a decision.

"The decision on fresh produce e-commerce will not change; the construction of the logistics system will continue as planned, and the construction progress in various places should not be affected."

Everyone nodded one after another.

The meeting dispersed in a barely maintained calm. The executives left one after another, and the expression on everyone's face was not relaxed.

Ma Kun sat in his seat and did not move.

He took out his phone; the home page of Pinduoduo was open on the screen, with those daily necessities costing a few yuan and discounted small appliances filling the entire screen.

He stared at that red icon for a long time, his finger hovering over the screen for quite a while, and he whispered to himself.

"Is your goal really Taobao?"

"But if that's the case."

"On what grounds do you think you can go head-to-head with Taobao in the e-commerce market?"