Hollywood Hunter

Suzhou City Center, west of Pingjiang Ancient City, is the earliest commercial district in the city.

The time is April 15th.

Saturday.

Simon arrived in China yesterday afternoon, and came here this morning. The exact location is in a commercial center at the intersection of Lindun Road and Guanqian Street. The relevant capital of the Westeros system has been invested and built, and Jinshu’s studio in Suzhou is also here. In a business center.

What we want to see here is the Jinshu audio-visual rental chain store that opened in early April.

Chen Qing accompanied them as usual, and also took the initiative to call out Ren Jingxi and Mo Wuling who happened to be in Suzhou. Because of Simon's arrival, Saturday was supposed to be the busiest time for business, so the shop chose to temporarily close.

"The first batch was done entirely as a facade, so we chose this very popular location. The two floors total 300 square meters, and the annual rent is 200,000. Oh, it's actually our own property, and no outsiders are allowed. No. In terms of content procurement, we only talk about decoration, equipment, etc., and there is also special management software. It is useless to introduce Blockbuster, which is too expensive. We developed it ourselves on the basis of movie theater ticketing and audio-visual retail software. In short, The average investment for each store is about 1.2 million, and the subsequent annual operating cost is expected to be between 300,000 and 400,000, which is more than half of the rent. Well, this is not counting the subsequent content purchase.”

Listening to Chen Qing's introduction, Simon took a box of "To Our Perishing Youth" vcd disc from the shelf. It was packaged in a square plastic box. When he opened it, there were two discs inside, which were different from those printed on the market. Very simple style, only the name, and a row of barcodes.

Chen Qing introduced again at the side: "This is a disc that we pressed ourselves. The biggest feature is the barcode. Whether it is renting or returning, the user only needs to scan the code at the counter to complete the process. Moreover, this can also prevent users from dropping the disc. .”

Simon nodded with a smile: "Very caring."

Chen Qing followed suit and curled her lips: "The code scanning equipment that works with the management software is also specially customized, which is very expensive. Anyway, if the first batch of six stores fail to succeed, Jinshu will lose a lot."

"The biggest problem in China's film and television industry is that users lack commercial recognition of copyright, so most people take it for granted to watch pirated copies." Simon shook his head slightly and said, "So, whether it's Jinshu's audiovisual retail chain, or For the current rental stores, you should understand that reversing certain values ​​​​of users is more important than the pure profit and loss of this part of the business.”

"Well, that's why we do it."

Chen Qing nodded in agreement, and the other two girls who accompanied her also agreed, but seeing that Chen Qing's boss was right, they couldn't help curling their lips together.

Simon put the vcd of "To Youth" back on the shelf, continued to move forward, glanced at the neat and dense discs around him, and asked, "How many movies are here?"

"Not just movies, but also TV dramas and some popular variety shows. There are more than 800 titles in total. Counting the parts in the back warehouse to replenish the vacant shelves at any time, each store is equipped with about 50,000 sets of discs. The follow-up will be adjusted according to the specific situation."

Chen Qing said, without waiting for her boss to respond, she continued: "This is the largest number of copyrights we can obtain in a short period of time, and we have done research, and those pirated disc stores in the market may be able to break through the censorship It is limited to have more diverse content, but basically, a store can only have a few hundred kinds of discs at most, and we have a lot of types here, and at the same time have a great advantage, that is, TV dramas."

Simon understood the situation in China, and he didn't think it was too little. Instead, he said, "There are already a lot, more than 800 film and television dramas, what about the expenditure?"

Speaking of coming to the stairs leading to the second floor, Jiang Shanwu led the way in front, Chen Qing stepped up the steps with her boss side by side, and said: "The signed agreement is different, and if we want more types, there are so many old brands in China The state-owned studio has accumulated over the years, and it is no problem to collect thousands of film and television dramas, but it is meaningless. Many films have not been released in any form since they were shot, so these more than 800 films were carefully selected by the team. The first is all kinds of classic old films, such as "Tunnel Warfare" and "Landmine Warfare", which are familiar to everyone, or "Book of Heaven" and "Havoc in Heaven" by Shangmei Factory, and many of them are packaged at once. Buyouts can be won with an average of a few thousand yuan, but because of the large number, it still cost more than three million yuan. Moreover, this is not the most expensive. The key is the hot new films and imported films in recent years. We signed The sharing agreement is basically 30-70%, and we get 70%. In general, all the odds and ends add up, and the total investment of the first batch of six stores is about 12 million. China Film Group feels that it cannot make money, so this time it will I dare not follow."

The U.S. dollar is valuable in this era, and so is the renminbi.

A total investment of 12 million has been invested to set up a video tape rental chain in six major cities in China. Thinking about it, it is a loss-making business. After all, the money is now enough to buy several sets of courtyard houses in BJ City. In the future, a set of courtyards will be worth hundreds of millions, and the return will be dozens of times .

Of course, things don't count that way.

After all, Simon’s investment in China’s real estate industry has also been constant, including buying all kinds of ready-made properties such as courtyard houses directly in central cities, one yard for one yard.

The second floor of the store is basically full of big boxes of TV dramas and variety shows. While browsing, Simon thought of one thing: "Isn't it a membership system? If it is divided, how will it be divided?"

Simon had seen the finalized lease plan in advance.

After market research, the Jinshu team came to the conclusion that if the rental strategy of charging by the day is adopted, the genuine chain will definitely not be able to compete with those small shops full of streets, and finally decided on the membership system.

You only need to apply for a card, and then, users can watch as much as they want, as long as they can spare enough time.

Tool

The overall plan is divided into two packages.

The basic package costs 8 yuan per month, and there is a discount for a one-time subscription for the whole year. It only costs 80 yuan, which is regarded as two months as a gift, and another deposit is 20 yuan. However, the limit is that you can only rent one set at a time, and that's only for movies. After all, TV dramas in large boxes are expensive and expensive, and a box often contains dozens of discs, so basic packages cannot be enjoyed.

Then there is the second tier, the upgrade package, 18 yuan per month, and a two-month discount for the whole year, with a deposit of 100 yuan, and you can rent three sets of discs each time. This time includes TV series, but there is a maximum of one TV series at a time.

Is it cheap or expensive?

Simon probably remembered that even if it was a small pirate rental store, it seemed to be 50 cents a day, and the more expensive ones cost 1 yuan a day. So look at this one again. Based on the basic 8 yuan package, 50 cents a day is equivalent to renting a set of discs for 16 days, or watching 16 movies a day.

However, the truth is, similar to a buffet, most people can't watch 16 movies a month.

Next to a shelf on the second floor.

Chen Qing watched as her boss took out a box of "Legend of Sword and Fairy" TV series VCD to look through. Hearing this question, she said, "Movies are calculated at 5 cents, and TV series and complete variety shows are divided at 2.5 yuan at a time."

Simon thought about it for a while, nodded slightly, and said, "One more thing, these discs must be replaced, new ones are coming, have you considered how to deal with the old ones?"

"Yes," Chen Qing said, "According to the records of our management system, we will conduct an inventory every month. Some movies that few people rent, or movies that have stored too many copies after the hot stage, will be cleared at a low price. Sales, including TV dramas. After all, our discs are genuine, the quality is much better than pirated versions, and they are very valuable for collection. As for the price, such as movies, the pricing will probably vary according to the content or appearance. About five yuan."

Three or five yuan for a genuine movie disc, which is already cheaper than some pirated copies.

However, Simon certainly knew that even if it was genuine, regardless of the copyright cost, if it was just the disc or the packaging itself, it would only cost a dollar. After many leases, you can still sell it for another three or five yuan, which is still profitable.

After all, it was the weekend, and he didn't intend to delay the business here for too long. Simon turned around, went downstairs quickly, and left directly through the back door.

After getting into the car, the target was the manor that was completed last year by the Dushu Lake in the east of the city. After the car started, Simon continued to ask Chen Qing beside him: "How about the performance?"

"From the current point of view, it's pretty good," Chen Qing said, "Just say that this store in Suzhou opened on April 1, and has already accumulated more than 6,000 members in half a month. Question, according to the proportion of the two levels of members, the average payment per member is about 13 yuan. Calculated based on 10,000 members, the monthly account is 130,000. However, this is mainly because of our marketing in the early stage. In the future, if it can be stabilized at About 10,000 members, excluding various expenses, can have a net profit of about 400,000 to 500,000 per year."

The annual net profit is 400,000 to 500,000 yuan, which seems a lot at first glance, but the six stores, with a compromise, the total net profit is 2.5 million yuan a year, and it will take about five years to recover the initial investment of 12 million yuan.

five years later?

People today may think that in the future, DVDs may replace VCDs, or even further, Blu-rays will replace DVDs, but Simon knows that after five years, the era of Internet video will come, and DVDs and the like will, at most, be around after 2010. Completely eliminated by Internet video.

Therefore, the current business is basically a waste of work on a purely commercial level.

Of course, the same sentence, the key to this matter itself is not to make money, but to subtly cultivate the public's genuine consumption concept.

Chatting casually, the team came all the way to the island in the middle of the lake between Jinji Lake and Dushu Lake in the western suburbs.

Ren Jingxi and Mo Wuling, who hadn't talked much in the rental shop just now, were still a little confused at first. If someone doesn't have a serious work schedule today, why don't they go to the film and television city to watch peach blossoms? After all, it's the last season .

When the convoy entered the 20-hectare classical garden here, looking at the surrounding pavilions, stone paths, smoked willows, peach bamboos, and flying beams and painted buildings like a carefully drawn Jiangnan landscape painting...for a while, I just felt that I was starting again. eyesight.

Luxury guy.

Especially after getting off the car, walking through a long corridor built by the artificial lake, listening to Chen Qing talking to someone in front, and realizing that this area covers an area of ​​20 hectares, it is even more shocking.

The Maoer Hutong mansion in the capital, with the three courtyards together, covers an area of ​​just over 6,000 square meters, which is less than one hectare, which is already very large in their eyes. Here, it is a full 20 hectares, or 200,000 square meters. Simple calculation, the length and width can be like that of a mile.

Aren't you afraid of breaking your leg?

Complaining a little inwardly, they walked through the promenade, made some twists and turns, and finally entered a courtyard. The two girls were attracted by the two rows of cheongsam girls at the entrance of the courtyard for a while, and forgot to look around.

Slander again.

Licentiousness, abominable fellow.

Regardless of Ren Jingxi's thoughts, Chen Qing took her boss directly to a three-story retro book building in the courtyard, which was regarded as the tallest building in the garden. Everyone went to the third floor and stood at the window to look out. , the surrounding patchwork garden scenery can be seen at a glance, and the view of the viewing windows seems to be carefully designed, facing south, the surrounding gardens are in front and left and right, and further away is the open Dushu Lake. Going, immediately makes people feel a little relieved.

Mo Wuling really found that he couldn't control himself and unconsciously stood next to Simon, admiring the surrounding scenery, quietly breathing the fresh air under the warm spring sun, well, of course the breath of someone around him was unavoidable, and couldn't help but look at him. The man looked at it, and there was a compliment in his tone that he wanted to please him unconsciously: "This place is so beautiful."

Simon leaned on the window rail and said, "You can come here often if you like."

Ren Jingxi on the other side was also admiring in his heart, but after hearing someone say that, and seeing Mo Wuling next to him looking like a nymphomaniac who he didn't know, he couldn't help tearing down the stage: "This place is so big and empty. It can be a little scary to come in."

Simon glanced at Ren Jingxi with a smile, and said, "I feel free, so I can ask Xiaoqing to arrange more people to accompany you."

Ren Jingxi was at a loss for words.

Thinking about the two rows of beauties in cheongsam that he had just greeted, he really didn't know how many beautiful women the Golden House had in private.

Still laughing!

Even if he had never been unruly, Ren Jingxi would inevitably have the urge to pounce on him and bite him.

Simon Zangjiao's Yu Tingyu here brought two maids to bring tea, and everyone sat down at the tea table by the window, watching the girl around him pour tea for him, smelling the fragrance of Xinran's daughter, Simon She couldn't help reaching out to wrap her arms around Yu Tingyu's slender waist, and boasted, "Tingyu seems to be beautiful again."

Yu Tingyu was hugged by the man, and when he heard his praise, his face flushed slightly, imitating the question-and-answer pattern of Westerners: "Thank you, boss."

Ren Jingxi who was next to her slandered again: She is so beautiful, you can't hug her like this, this is called a salty pig's hand.

Simon seemed to have finally sensed the little flame in Ren Jingxi's eyes, glanced over again, and hugged Yu Tingyu, who had put down the teapot, directly onto his lap.

My own woman, what's wrong with cuddling and hugging?

Ren Jingxi was speechless.

On the contrary, Mo Wuling was a little envious, and fantasized about how he and Yu Tingyu would switch places. Probably, they would be like each other, like a cute kitten.

Chen Qing has been watching the excitement calmly, and waited for the other two maids to pour tea for them and leave the room, then said with a smile: "Boss, there is a small theater in the garden, you can go there later, let listen Let the rain dance for you."

Simon kissed the rosy fair neck of the girl in his arms, pushed her up, and said with a smile, "Take some time."

Yu Tingyu got up, not daring to pester anyone. He straightened the cheongsam on his body a little bit, and said softly, "Boss, lunch is already being prepared. Do you need anything else?"

"No," Simon shook his head: "I will eat whatever you do."

Yu Tingyu hummed, knowing that it was not her turn to sit down here due to her status, she nodded to Chen Qing a few times, and obediently backed out, leaving room for the four people here.