Reborn since 1993

Chapter 626 Storm
The current domestic lighter market, plus the newly entered markets in Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia and other regions, has a daily demand for lighters of over four million!

As for lighters, the high-end metal lighter market is probably brand-conscious, and buyers mainly go for the brand.

However, the consumer-level disposable lighter market has no particular rules at all. Whoever has the most advantageous price will sell better. Users generally do not pay attention to the brand of the lighter in their hands!
This time, black label lighters not only entered Eastern Europe, but also tested the Southeast Asian market. These two lighter markets, one is the back garden of old European lighter manufacturers, and the other is the territory of Japanese and Korean lighters.

But now they have been easily conquered by Black Label. In these areas, the average selling price of overseas disposable lighter brands such as BIC and Donghai is around four or five US dollars. When Black Label lighters grabbed the market with a retail price of three US dollars, they almost instantly snatched a large piece of meat!
It is somewhat difficult to directly enter the lighter markets of the old European Union, Japan, South Korea, and America, but it is not difficult to enter the markets of Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, South America, etc.

Now, Torch Group has to supply the domestic lighter market and rush orders for black label lighters. It has to produce at least four million lighters every day, and its production capacity has suddenly become tight.

This is how the current situation came about. Through the Lighter Import and Export Association, foreign trade orders are distributed to various lighter manufacturers, on the one hand to win them over to the Torch Group camp.

On the other hand, Torch Group’s production capacity is indeed unable to keep up, especially overseas orders, which are now worth a lot of money.

However, this kind of high-priced lighter orders are not expected to last long. BAK will definitely not tolerate the market being snatched away and will definitely try to start a price war with Black Label!
But this price war depends on who can withstand it. BAK has been complaining about the dumping of domestic lighters. This time, Torch Group must let it see what dumping is, no matter what!

“It’s just the beginning now. Once Black Label lighters enter the markets of France, Germany and other countries and replace foreign brands such as Bic, orders will start to explode.

In the future, if the American, Japanese, and Korean markets all enter, then maybe even if we produce 10 million lighters a day, it may not be enough! "

Li Dongling shook his head and asked Zhang Xiaocheng to be mentally prepared.

It would be difficult for black label lighters to enter markets such as France and America through formal channels. However, if local dealers, scalpers or even gangs use various means to bring the black label over to sell, then it has nothing to do with the black label.

Even if the black label brand fails one day, Torch Group can continue to sell products under the blue label, red label or purple label brands. It's just a cover. The key is that the machines must be sold!

"Ten million lighters a day?"

Zhang Xiaocheng was shocked by these words. He recalled that when Torch Group started operations and sold one million lighters, they celebrated with drums and gongs. But now they are talking about producing 10 million lighters a day. Zhang Xiaocheng himself felt shocked.

Li Dongling looked at Zhang Xiaocheng. He felt that not only the product, but also the mentality of Zhang Xiaocheng and others needed to change.

“If Torch Group wants to replace BAK and take over the global lighter market, it needs to be prepared not only for its products but also for its products!”

Li Dongling pointed to his chest and said, "We need to increase production capacity as soon as possible, and give orders to more domestic lighter OEM factories.

If domestic lighters can replace lighters from old Europe, America, Japan, and South Korea and become the global lighter supplier, there will be a lot of orders. At least in the next ten years, there will be no need to worry about orders at all.

Torch Group must use the Lighter Import and Export Association as a card to make domestic lighter manufacturers gather around Torch Group to achieve all this! "

Zhang Xiaocheng pinched his swollen head. He was not a professional graduate in financial management. He had finally taken over the Torch Group. However, the global lighter market was not his strong point.

However, Zhang Xiaocheng was very clear about one thing, that is, it was enough to do as Li Dongling instructed. Those lighter OEM factories that had previously opposed the Torch Group could also take this opportunity to be brought under the Torch Group's command and serve as its minions.

Zhang Xiaocheng didn’t know whether he could defeat those foreign brands like Bic and Donghai, but with the experience of Dongling Hi-Tech, he had the experience to deal with those foreign brands!
……

“Often the more brutal someone is to their own people, the more likely they are to be their own people!

Some companies are still living in the past, closed, conservative, selfish, and unaware of opening their eyes to the world. They don’t realize that the era of globalization is already coming like a rolling tide!

A certain company regards itself as the leader in domestic lighters and boasts about its so-called world-leading technology. But the fact is that it has difficulty entering the markets of developed countries. Is this method of covering up one's own faults really effective?

It is extremely foolish to prevent domestic lighter manufacturers from manufacturing for world-renowned lighter brands such as BAK, Donghai, Dunhill, and Grasshopper. It will bring the entire domestic lighter industry into an irreparable situation! "

Yan Lixiang wrote a magnificent article. Although he did not mention the name of Torch Group, he criticized Torch Group and the Lighter Import and Export Association as being worthless.

What's so special about leading the international level and owning exclusive patents? In Yan Lixiang's opinion, it's nothing but using domestic brands to fool the domestic market.

For people like Yan Lixiang, who have been imprinted with this ideology, it is impossible for China to have more advanced technologies and products than those abroad. If someone says they have done it, he is a liar!
As a senior media commentator, Yan Lixiang has had a hard time in recent years. On the one hand, it is due to economic reasons. On the other hand, the scene of being widely praised after his comments in the past is gone.

Yan Lixiang fell from grace for criticizing the Shenzhou digital cordless phone. He became a pariah and became a street rat. He no longer had the scene of thousands of people following him when he raised his arm. He then disappeared from the media and public opinion industry for several years.

In the past few years, Yan Lixiang created a new pen name, and with the help of some overseas friends such as Riben, he contributed money and effort to public relations promotion for him, which made Yan Lixiang's new account influential in the domestic media and public opinion industry.

Even Yan Lixiang followed the trend and set up accounts on Tianya.com, Yinghaiwei and some Internet forums and BBS.

Because he "speaks out for justice" and often makes some "far-sighted" comments, he also has a "deep knowledge" of developed countries such as Japan and America.

Through his descriptions, people who have never been abroad can know what life in a paradise in developed countries is like. This has also earned him a considerable number of supporters under his pen name "Ming Deng".

This time, Yan Lixiang was commissioned by Japan's Donghai lighter company and some domestic lighter companies to criticize the Torch Group. They hoped that Yan Lixiang could speak up for them. Yan Lixiang wrote several articles in succession to criticize the Torch Group.

But what makes Yan Lixiang regretful is that now the world is in decline, and when he criticized someone or a company in the past, it would cause an uproar and make the person or company he named "correct their mistakes immediately."

But now, he and many like-minded independent media people, social commentators, scholars, etc. have been bombarding the Torch Group for a long time, but the Torch Group does not show any intention of "repentance".

In the past, the industrial and commercial departments, which would have taken action in the face of such a huge public opinion, also did not make any move, which made Yan Lixiang sigh that people's hearts have changed...

After finishing this moving article, Yan Lixiang checked the time, picked up the manuscript, and prepared to go to a dinner party, which was organized by some lighter manufacturers.

During special periods, people like Yan Lixiang, who have the right to speak in public opinion and can "speak up" for lighter manufacturers, have become popular guests.

Of course, Yan Lixiang didn't do it for nothing. Just like this great article, if the bosses of lighter manufacturers read it and then published it, he would receive a considerable "writing fee".

Arriving at a restaurant with quite high-end decoration, Yan Lixiang gave his name and was led to a private room.

Originally, Yan Lixiang imagined that as soon as he entered, he would be welcomed by a group of lighter manufacturer bosses, who would welcome him to the main seat and then listen to him speak with great authority and give guidance to those bosses.

But the fact is, when Yan Lixiang entered, no one was around him, no one even looked at him, but they were around a man in his twenties who was thin and had a distinct science and engineering temperament. "Technician Xiao, please come to our factory for guidance. Our first batch of black label lighters has failed the three trials. If it fails again, we won't be able to get the order!"

"Come to our factory first, Mr. Xiao. As long as you come, our factory will subsidize your travel expenses of 5,000 yuan a day!"

"We will provide a subsidy of 10,000 yuan. As long as you can help us successfully start production, Mr. Xiao, we can negotiate any amount!"

"My dear Chief Engineer Xiao, you have to save us first. There are more than 800 mouths in our factory, all waiting to be fed!"

At the dinner table, a group of lighter manufacturer bosses raised their glasses and vied to toast Xiao Yuan, the technician who was sent by the Mainland Lighter Import and Export Association to guide them in the production of black label lighters.

As a person with a background in science and engineering, Xiao Yuan had never experienced such a situation.

After finally pushing the wine away, he said to the bosses of the lighter manufacturers, "Drinking will delay your work. I was sent here to help you put the black label into production as soon as possible.

This time the time is tight and the task is heavy, so I won't drink the wine. I will drink this celebratory wine after the black label goes into production.

Don't panic, my new colleague will come tomorrow to help you solve the technical problems. I will go to... Mr. Hong's factory first!"

"it is good!"

Boss Hong, who was told by Xiao Yuan, was overjoyed. He immediately stood up and took Xiao Yuan straight to his factory.

Seeing this, the bosses of other lighter manufacturers no longer cared about drinking any crappy wine. What kind of wine could be more tempting than an order for a lighter worth $1.5?

As soon as Yan Lixiang sat down, he saw a group of lighter manufacturer bosses all running after Xiao Yuan, which made him dumbfounded.

Yan Lixiang quickly grabbed a person and asked, "Boss Zhou, what's going on? I just wrote a new article and haven't shown it to everyone yet!"

Boss Zhou, who was held by Yan Lixiang, did not even look at the manuscript, "You have delayed my important work, don't you know that?"

"You don't need to put this in the newspaper. Also, take down all those crappy articles you wrote before!"

Boss Zhou said unhappily that when the Lighter Import and Export Association placed an order with their group of OEM factories, all dissatisfaction with Torch Group and Lighter Association disappeared. If anyone dared to say anything bad about Torch Group and Lighter Association, he, Zhou, would be the first to disagree!

Looking at the group of people running away, Yan Lixiang was a little dumbfounded, not knowing what was going on.

This feeling of being thrown away like toilet paper after use really made Yan Lixiang uncomfortable.

With full of doubts and ready to leave to find out what happened, Yan Lixiang saw a black label lighter left on the table.

Yan Lixiang picked up the black label lighter and looked at it carefully for a while. He saw that it was not a torch brand but an English brand. Thinking of the scene just now, Yan Lixiang felt that he had discovered the "truth".

……

When the domestic Torch Group was running at full capacity and the Lighter Import and Export Association continued to place orders with domestic manufacturers, the black label lighters produced domestically were entering the Russians from Suifenhe day and night, and then sent to Hungary and began to spread throughout old Europe.

When the profit of a lighter reaches one dollar or even two dollars, it doesn't matter whether the sale is allowed or not.

Lighter dealers, scalpers and gangs in old Europe desperately get goods from Global Trade and then resell them to France, Germany, England, the Netherlands, Belgium and other places.

First, black label lighters were put on the shelves of convenience stores and tobacco shops in Paris, and then they quickly spread to the whole of France.

"The share price of BAK Group has fallen by more than 33% in a row. There are rumors that the daily sales of BAK lighters have dropped by more than % recently!"

"The new lighter brand Black Label is spreading to old European regions such as France. Black Label has occupied about 70% of the lighter market in Eastern Europe!"

The sudden news report in the French media made the outside world pay attention to this old company.

……

"Bic lighters have already lost the Eastern European market. If we don't lower the price, we will also lose the Western European and even French markets!"

"The daily sales of Black Label lighters in old Europe are now approaching more than two million!"

"The investors are very dissatisfied with us!"

"Look at the tobacco shop downstairs. They even have black label lighters!"

The meeting room of the BIC Group was as noisy as a vegetable market, and the person being besieged was Antoine, the head of BIC's lighter business.

Antoine sat there like a wooden chicken, obviously still a little confused.

The Bic lighter market was lost too quickly, just like the Gallic roosters of France were still drinking coffee in the Maginot Bunker during World War II, but Paris was gone...

Before Antoine could react, all the Bic lighters in the Eastern European market were sold out.

Now a bunch of old European scalpers, and even gangs, have started to resell the Black Label to Paris. The huge price difference makes Bic vulnerable to the Black Label.

"Antoine!"

"What do you have to say?!"

Bruno Bick, the head of the Bick Group, asked unhappily that it was okay for the sales of lighters to drop, but the sharp drop in stock prices made him uncomfortable, because that was all his money.

(End of this chapter)