Reinventing the Millennium

Bezos is a very forward-looking person.

Fang Zhuo visited Amazon and felt more and more that what he said "everything revolves around long-term value" was not a slogan. Amazon's AWS was not without internal opposition, but it was indeed launched at the insistence of Bezos.

"AWS can provide more basic content than our current business. The closer it is to the basic field, the greater its value will be. This will take time."

"Compared with traditional retail, Amazon's advantage lies in technology, technology, technology! We must maintain investment in technology research and development."

"Hey, Amazon only has three things: customers, technology, and patience."

During his visit to Amazon, Bezos was happy to promote his company's philosophy to a wealthy man with a similar net worth. Patience is the long-term value, customers are convenience and discounts, and technology means high R\u0026D investment every year.

According to the financial reports that Fang Zhuo saw, Amazon's technology expenses in the past four years have exceeded US$200 million, and the revenue it invested in technology accounted for more than 6% on average.

Technology expenses account for 6% of revenue, which is probably quite high among e-commerce companies.

Especially, depending on what Bezos means, this will be a practice he sticks to for a long time.

At the end of the visit to Amazon, Yi Ke and his team took a group photo with the head of Amazon against the background of their company's logo.

On the way back to the hotel, Fang Zhuo asked Director Xiao Yu: "Mr. Yu looks thoughtful, does he have something in his heart?"

"Amazon has invested a lot in infrastructure such as warehousing and logistics." Yu Hong nodded. "This will definitely bring long-term returns, but the upfront investment is also quite staggering."

She also asked her boss: "After seeing the strategies of competitors, does Mr. Fang still think Dangdang can beat Amazon in China?"

"It's not my competitor, it's Dangdang's competitor." Fang Zhuo muttered, "If Dangdang faces such an Amazon and such a Bezos, it may really not be able to win."

“But is Amazon’s domestic strategy consistent with its domestic strategy?”

“Is Amazon also adhering to the concept of long-term value in China?”

"I think there's a question mark on this."

Fang Zhuo's attack on Dangdang did not change because of a visit, but became more insistent: "Dangdang wants to fight, and it must take advantage of Amazon's strategic focus to attack North America, and it must create a relatively established The market structure emerges.”

"I'll call Mr. Li later and talk to him about the next round of financing. According to the current competition, the money in Dangdang's account will definitely not be enough."

Fang Zhuo kept his word, but before contacting Li Guoqing, he called Mr. Xiong from IDG and Mr. Xu from Capital Today, and talked about his views on domestic e-commerce and his trip to Amazon that day. .

The principle is universal, long-term value, and it is worth sticking to this word in the e-commerce field.

IDG itself was a participant in Dangdang's round of financing. Xiong Xiaoge also had some thoughts on the competition among domestic e-commerce companies, and he agreed to continue the financing competition.

As for Xu Xin of Capital Today, she was originally not optimistic about Dangdang, but if Mr. Fang really stood behind Dangdang, there would be something to talk about.

Fang Zhuo briefly communicated with these two people and then contacted Li Guoqing.

Li Guoqing was very happy on the phone and said that Dangdang will be even more powerful if it obtains the next round of financing and will definitely become the domestic B2C leader.

However, when he ended the call and discussed Mr. Fang's financing suggestions with his wife Yu Yu, differences arose.

"What is the purpose of this round of financing from Yike Investment?"

“Isn’t it just to raise the shares to a safe position?”

Yu Yu hesitates about the fierce competition Dangdang has fallen into.

Yike invested US$11 million and borrowed another US$2 million. The latter helped the couple increase their holdings from 41% to 59.5%, fully controlling Dangdang.

Now, as competition intensifies, Dangdang must quickly start its next round of financing.

Will the next round of financing be enough to finish this battle?

How long can Amazon, eBay, and Taobao burn their funds?

Will we continue to raise another round of financing next year?

What will happen to this shareholding ratio after the two rounds of financing?

Sina’s lessons learned from its past are indispensable.

After hearing his wife's concerns, Li Guoqing hesitated in his heart. This party couldn't be a fake Taoist guó, right?

If Yike Investment's shareholding is further increased, Dangdang will not be like Sina at that time. It will face the richest man in the mainland with abundant funds. Mr. Fang used to be so overt and covert, but now he can't do anything more. Sophisticated?

Both husband and wife had some doubts in their hearts.

But the current competition is imminent, and we have to take action.

Dangdang has not stopped its efforts as a department store e-commerce company and continues to expand its competitive categories.

However, a few days later, Li Guoqing suddenly saw the contents of Mr. Fang’s blog on the Internet, which showed a photo of him and Amazon head Bezos.

Mr. Fang’s blog has not been updated since the Sina blog became popular. This sudden release of new content has spread quite widely.

Li Guoqing was murmuring in his heart. While Mr. Fang was urging Dangdang to burn money, he was also meeting with the boss of his competitor...

You know, it’s not that Amazon has never talked about acquiring Dangdang, but it was rejected by itself.

Now Mr. Fang goes to see Bezos behind his back. What is the plan?

If the competition is really like what Mr. Fang said, then after two more rounds - let’s see who is the leader in Dangdang today?

On August 30, the Chinese e-commerce market, which was suddenly ignited, still did not calm down. The four major companies expressed their determination and attitude to the media.

On this day, Fang Zhuo decided to return to China to discuss the financing of Dangdang.com in person.

Originally, he wanted to make the decision himself and have the company implement it, because Lao Xiong was among them, which was reassuring.

But after thinking about it, Fang Zhuo sighed to Yu Hong, "No, I still have to go back to China to see Li Guoqing's hard work and the current situation of Dangdang." He immediately booked a flight to return to China.

If possible, he is determined to burn Dangdang into what Jingdong looks like.

Moreover, while the e-commerce market is not stable, Dangdang can create more possibilities.

Fang Zhuo believed that it was necessary to talk face to face with Li Guoqing about the ambitions that Dangdang.com could have.

On August 31, the passenger plane landed in Beijing. As soon as Fang Zhuo landed, he called Li Guoqing and made an appointment to go to Dangdang's headquarters to discuss the financing plan.

"Old Xiong, Mr. Xiong, I have arrived in the capital."

"Mr. Xu, new sister, I have arrived in the capital."

After contacting the person in charge of Dangdang, Fang Zhuo called Xiong Xiaoge and Xu Xin, and took them to Dangdang.com for an interview the next day.

That night, Xiong Xiaoge came directly to the door to discuss with Mr. Fang first.

"Mr. Fang, why are you so passionate this time?" Xiong Xiaoge was a little surprised by Mr. Fang's enthusiasm for supervising Dangdang.com.

"Old Bear, Old Bear, if you want to become a great investor, you must remember one thing." Fang Zhuo felt cordial after not seeing his old friend for a long time, so he directly recounted his indirect involvement in this domestic and foreign e-commerce competition. Reason, “Every opportunity to redefine the market should not be missed.”

Xiong Xiaoge smiled: "Do you think this competition is of such great significance?"

"I went to Seattle to visit Amazon a while ago." Fang Zhuo said, "Dangdang is called the Amazon of the East. Now it has a chance to become the real Amazon of the East. Local B2C can give birth to a giant company."

"How is Bezos like this person?" Xiong Xiaoge asked curiously.

Fang Zhuo thought for a while and described: "He is an extremely pragmatic person with long-term goals."

Xiong Xiaoge asked again: "Since you think Dangdang can become Eastern Amazon, do you think Li Guoqing can become Eastern Bezos?"

This is a good question.

Fang Zhuo made some new tea and reviewed the few contacts he had had with Li Guoqing until now, knowing that Xiong Xiaoge had returned to the stance of "investment is investor".

"Dongfang Bezos, good question." He slowly took a sip of tea, "Old Bear, what do you think?"

Xiong Xiaoge participated in the last round of financing of Dangdang.com and said after careful consideration: "Dangdang's development is very stable. Li Guoqing is capable, but as you said, 'redefining the market', I'm afraid...I'm afraid There’s still some distance to go.”

Fang Zhuo chewed on what Lao Xiong meant, frowned slightly, and asked, "Do you disapprove of this financing?"

"If you don't agree, I won't come here." Xiong Xiaoge lit a cigarette, threw another one to Mr. Fang, and said with a smile, "I think Dangdang has always been careful about its development speed, and suddenly such a money-burning competition , the management of the website may not be able to grasp it.”

"Do you have any thoughts on their management?" Fang Zhuo shook his head, "It's not a good idea to change generals on the spot. Besides, we are investors, so it's better not to cause hostility. I think Yu Yu from Dangdang.com is okay with this. Quite sensitive.”

Xiong Xiaoge asked back: "Then if you ask Dangdang to burn money to compete, aren't you stepping in?"

"I mentioned it to Yu Yu last time when I was in Lin'an, but she didn't agree. This strategy was made by them after they figured it out on their own. I didn't interfere in their strategic thinking, but I was willing to help their strategy." Fang Zhuo paused and said, "I'm here to speed up Dangdang."

Xiong Xiaoge nodded silently, and after a while he suddenly smiled: "Mr. Fang, if you are willing to intervene more, IDG may be willing to invest more."

Fang Zhuo said displeased: "Old Xiong, I'm not that kind of person."

"If Dongfang Bezos doesn't want to do Bezos' business, what can we do?" Xiong Xiaoge sighed.

Hearing that Mr. Fang described Bezos as "an extremely pragmatic person with long-term goals," he almost immediately thought of Mr. Fang himself. Bingxin's goals are obviously very long-term, and Mr. Fang's methods have always been "extremely pragmatic."

Although he hasn't discussed financing with Dangdang yet, Xiong Xiaoge has a vague feeling that daring to burn money is a rare skill.

"Even if it doesn't reach the height I envisioned, if Dangdang.com can capture more of the market, our previous investment will still be profitable." Fang Zhuo didn't care about Lao Xiong's flattery and drew the bottom line, "If Dangdang.com can't become Amazon, then It’s still Dangdang.”

Yike Investment currently holds 18% of the shares in Dangdang. The company's development is a win-win situation.

However, under the current circumstances, Dangdang does have a golden opportunity.

The exchange between Fang Zhuo and Xiong Xiaoge about Dangdang did not continue. The latter asked about the review of ice cores in the United States.

This time it really hit the mark.

The approval process for ice cores in the United States is one of Fang Zhuo's great pride, and it does involve many aspects that he did not expect. It is an endless conversation.

IDG is also a shareholder of Bingxin, and Xiong Xiaoge also sounded interested.

When he heard the end, he suddenly felt that it would be good for Dongfang Bezos to continue working on ice cores, and the joy on Mr. Fang's face almost jumped out.

On the first day of September, the weather in Beijing was very good.

Xiong Xiaoge had so much fun chatting yesterday that he simply opened a room next door. Today he and Fang Zhuo took a bus together and decided on the time for Capital Xuxin today. The two parties arrived at the headquarters of Dangdang almost at the same time.

"New sister, long time no see, you are even more charming."

"Oh, is this Mr. Liu? I heard that you are a general of Capital Today."

Fang Zhuo was chatting with Xu Xin downstairs, while Xiong Xiaoge and people from IDG were accompanying him.

Li Guoqing and Yu Yu from Dangdang.com looked at the scene of Yan Yan laughing in three dialects. The couple unconsciously looked at each other and then approached them.

"Mr. Li, Mr. Yu, I heard that Dangdang did well this time. Congratulations, congratulations."

Fang Zhuo shook hands with Dangdang's talker and said cheerfully: "I came back from New York this time just to help Dangdang."

Li Guoqing nodded repeatedly and walked upstairs to meet this group of investors.

The richest man in Mainland China showed up at the company, which caused many Dangdang employees to wonder what Mr. Fang looked like, and many people were taking photos with their mobile phones.

Seated in the conference room, there are two rows on the left and right. Dangdang’s management is on the left and investors are on the right.

Fang Zhuo sat in the first place on the right without hesitation, and without much greeting, he went straight to the topic: "Mr. Li, Dangdang's department store e-commerce strategy has made a good start. I think Dangdang's future can be compared to the current situation of Amazon in the United States. .”

Amazon is now a publicly traded company with a market capitalization of $17 billion.

Just as Li Guoqing was about to speak, Yu Yu next to him said, "Mr. Fang, let's talk about the 'start' first. To be honest, I've been really worried recently, fearing that Dangdang will fall in this fierce competition."

"Haha." Fang Zhuo laughed, "I have confidence in Dangdang, I have confidence in Mr. Li and Mr. Yu, and I have confidence in our investors. How could Dangdang fall?"

He continued: "It is not terrible to burn money. If it were not for the huge future market, Amazon, eBay, and Taobao would not be so fierce. Mr. Xiong and Mr. Xu are very optimistic about the future market development."

Xiong Xiaoge and Xu Xinjin both nodded. With President Youfang standing behind Dangdang, the website will definitely develop faster.

E-commerce is not a groundbreaking thing. Those that have been listed abroad and those that make money make money. It is a foreseeable and excellent market.

Yu Yu said no more.

Li Guoqing said: "Mr. Fang, how long do you think Amazon and eBay can compete this time?"

Fang Zhuo has considered this issue and specifically learned about the current situation from the side.

In comparison, the competition between Amazon and Dangdang is quite gentle, while eBay and Taobao are fighting to the death.

eBay covers advertising on major domestic websites at a price that is double the market price, including the three major portals, which have received cooperation from eBay.

NetEase and Sohu will conduct normal business transactions, and the highest bidder will win.

However, Sina noticed its boss's speech in Lin'an, paid attention to the trends of Yike Investment under his command, and took into account the factors of its sister companies, so it rejected eBay's "If you want Taobao, go to eBay" advertisement.

Now, Sina's advertisement has been given to Dangdang, which is "online shopping at Dangdang.com".

"It will be September soon. This year is about to be over, and I guess next year will be almost there." Fang Zhuo mused, "If everyone develops their consumption habits, it won't be delayed until the year after next."

Li Guoqing and Yu Yu looked at each other again. This front line is really not short for the website, and it is a very stressful test.