Chapter 256: Chapter 253: Another Cheat? The Fruit Group’s Plan

’Open the gift pack.’

Ye Ling thought without hesitation.

DING!

’Congratulations, Host, for successfully opening the New Year Gift Pack. You have obtained "Fruit Group Stock Trends for the Next Seven Days"!’

’System reminder: The stock market can experience unexpected events at any time. Please check frequently, Host.’

’Holy cow!’

Ye Ling was truly impressed with the system now. Was this its indirect way of goading him into making a move against the Fruit Group?

To be honest, armed with that business secret, Ye Ling was already in a position where it felt like he was using a cheat code to deal with the Fruit Group.

And now, it had given him a precognition cheat, too?

This was the very definition of having victory in the bag!

However, Ye Ling was still a bit confused about the final reminder, so he asked the system in his mind.

’The Host’s actions will interfere with the stock trend predictions. Therefore, please check the system’s predictive chart frequently, Host.’

The system’s cold voice sounded once again.

Ye Ling nodded in sudden understanding. ’Nice, the system is very meticulous about this!’

For example, if the system originally predicted the Fruit Group’s stock price would surge on the 12th, but Ye Ling then exposed one of their scandals, it would cause the stock to plummet.

So, was the system wrong?

Of course not!

It was just that because of the existence of a ’BUG’ like Ye Ling, an ’unexpected event’ occurred in the stock market.

Yes.

The unexpected event the system mentioned was Ye Ling himself!

...

「February 10th.」

「United States.」

「Fruit Group Headquarters.」

"Everyone, the iFone 7X launch is imminent. At this juncture, I’d like to have everyone review our company’s performance over the past year."

CEO Kurda spoke as he tapped a few times on the tablet in front of him. A series of images appeared on the large screen behind him, each corresponding to monthly sales figures.

In addition to the Fruit Group’s own figures, there were also sales charts for phone brands like the Xia Wei Group and the Mitsubishi Group, providing a very clear visual of the Fruit Group’s position in the market.

Although rumors had circulated online that the Xia Wei Group’s phone sales had surpassed the Fruit Group’s, in truth, there was still a considerable gap between them.

The most obvious area was profit.

While the Fruit Group’s market share had slipped, its profit margin was the highest, accounting for sixty percent of the market!

This wasn’t hard to imagine. Although the Xia Wei Group had indeed sold more phones than the Fruit Group, the Fruit Group’s phones were generally more expensive.

This resulted in the Fruit Group’s profits being far higher than its competitors!

"Regarding the launch of the iFone 7X on the 12th, what are your thoughts?" Kurda asked the many company executives present.

Hurst spoke up, "I believe our opponent this time is already very clear: the Xia Wei Group."

"Tell me what you’re thinking." Kurda nodded, his gaze turning to Hurst.

There was a good reason Kurda had become the CEO of the Fruit Company. Beyond his agile business mind, he was, more importantly, adept at listening to the opinions of his subordinates.

He might not have been the most skilled person at the Fruit Company in an all-around sense, but he knew how to leverage the strengths of others to get his own job done!

"The last time we teamed up with Guge and other companies to suppress the Xia Wei Group, it was actually effective. In mid-to-late December and early-to-mid January, the Xia Wei Group’s phone sales saw a significant decline."

"As for why their sales gradually increased in mid-to-late January, it was mainly because they announced the development of the Noah operating system."

Hurst offered a very keen analysis of the market.

The United States was different from Xia Country. In the US, people were expected to be bold in expressing their opinions, especially in the workplace. If you just sat there quietly taking notes, you would never get very far.

"You’re absolutely right,"

Kurda nodded and continued, "Therefore, the launch of the iFone 7X this time is extremely important. What we need to do is completely crush the Rongwei P40 in terms of sales!"

"I think that will be a little difficult..."

A man in a black suit nearby frowned and shared his thoughts. "The Xia Wei Group’s phone sales have generally been higher than ours over the past year. And this time, they’re even featuring a new operating system."

Everyone present nodded in agreement. Although the Fruit Group still commanded the majority of the market’s profits, their sales volume truly hadn’t surpassed the Xia Wei Group’s.

The root cause came down to value.

The Fruit Group’s phones had been using the same design template for two or three years. In other words, the Fruit Group had essentially been treading water all this time.

The reason they could still hold on to the majority of sales profits was mainly due to their brand appeal.

And this was the very source of the Fruit Group’s confidence!

"You have a point, but I’d like to make two of my own," Kurda stated immediately. "First, we still don’t know how good the Noah operating system actually is; everyone is just guessing. Second, the reason the Xia Wei Group’s sales are higher than ours is mainly because their phones are cheaper."

"So you mean..."

Hurst and the others seemed to realize something, their eyes narrowing.

"There’s a saying in Xia Country about taking a targeted approach. I have two ideas..."

Kurda said, sitting up straight.

"First, we hype up the Noah operating system online—the higher, the better! Second, we lower the initial launch price of the iFone 7X by one hundred and fifty dollars!"

Kurda’s second point wasn’t hard to understand.

Since the Xia Wei Group had a price advantage, the Fruit Group would simply lower its phone’s launch price to stimulate consumption.

While this might lead to lower profits, sales would definitely increase!

As for the first point, to put it bluntly, it boiled down to a simple tactic—

Killing them with praise.

Although the Xia Wei Group’s Noah operating system hadn’t been fully revealed yet, most people weren’t actually very optimistic about it.

Both the Little Green People operating system and the Fruit operating system had taken over a decade to form stable ecosystems and reach their current level.

How good could an operating system just developed by the Xia Wei Group possibly be?

Clearly, Kurda thought the same. Subconsciously, he believed the so-called Noah operating system was just a reskinned system.

Therefore, he didn’t choose to spread negative reviews about the Noah operating system online. Instead, he did the exact opposite: first, hype it to the moon!

Once the phone was actually released, consumers would naturally feel the disparity.

At that point, what the Xia Wei Group would lose wouldn’t just be the sales of one phone, but the reputation of the entire brand!

Why did Ye Ling place so much importance on the business secret the system had given him?

Because that business secret was aimed squarely at the Fruit Group’s brand reputation. If it were exposed, the Fruit Group would absolutely be set back for many years.

If nothing else, at the very least, many consumers who had originally been attracted by the Fruit Group’s brand cachet would be driven away!

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