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Unboxing blind boxes is essentially Zhou Buqi’s original motive for starting an e-commerce business in Japan, which was to sell domestic products to Japan and use Japan’s huge consumer market to absorb excess domestic productivity to a certain extent.

It’s somewhat like cross-border e-commerce.

However, it is difficult to implement.

Jingtao has come a long way, choosing entry points in entertainment, games, and the second dimension, and cooperating with online platforms such as Yahoo Japan, YikYak, and Ucgram to break out in the e-commerce field.

It is currently the third largest e-commerce platform in Japan.

After being successfully listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange this year and learning a lot about the essence of the blind box business from Chaowan Commune, I finally launched this plan that I had been thinking about for many years.

Domestic goods must be sold to Japan, especially those products produced by small and medium-sized enterprises.

How to sell?

If it were listed for sale under the normal model, I'm afraid not many people would buy it.

Blind boxes are the answer.

Turn consumption behavior into a game, into a gamble!

Relying on the uncertainty of the blind box to stimulate the secretion of endorphins in the human body, it generates pleasure during the surprise process of unboxing, thus making others obsessed with the heart-beating feeling of unboxing.

Jingtao will import a large number of thousands of products from China, and then randomly deploy them, all of which are packaged in a black box.

What's in the blind box?

have no idea!

If you're lucky, you might even be able to get a laptop.

That’s a lot of money!

Rather than saying that buying black box blind boxes on Jingtao is consumption, it is better to say that it is an entertainment activity of unboxing blind boxes. What consumers spend money to buy is the "heartbeat", "stimulation" and "unboxing" brought by unboxing. "Surprise" feeling, rather than the product itself.

The commodity itself is less important, paving the way for domestically produced goods to be exported to Japan.

The blind box culture itself was born in Japan. "Gachapon" has been around for decades, which is to put toys in a capsule-like egg. I don't know what it is. Twist the egg open and you will be surprised to see what toys are hidden inside.

But this model has been around for too many years.

However, Japanese society is too rigid and there are no changing and more creative business models. Jingtao seized this opportunity and launched a grand blind box unboxing event.

It became popular immediately.

Sitting in the car, Chen Dong couldn't help but tell the truth, "The past two months...the past month to be precise. When it was first launched in the first month, it was still fermenting and not too popular. In the past, this It became popular all over the country as soon as the first month of the month.”

Zhou Buqi asked: "How many sales were there?"

Chen Dong said with a smile: "There are nearly 2 million boxes. In the past month, 1.3 million boxes were sold."

Zhou Buqi asked again: "How much does a box cost?"

Chen Dongdao: "Not necessarily. There are three levels. The regular version is 2,999 yen, the premium version is 3,999 yen, and the collector's version is 4,999 yen. Shipping fee is not included. After all, it is basically 30 US dollars per level and 40 US dollars. One level, it’s $50 per level.”

Zhou Buqi nodded, "That's really not expensive."

Chen Dong said with a smile: "It is originally something that young people like, but it is too expensive and they cannot afford it. The highest-selling version is the regular version, with 1 million units sold."

Zhou Buqi said slowly: "There are at least 40 million teenagers in Japan. Looking at it this way, the sales volume is not much, and the popularity is not high enough."

Chen Dongdao: "It has only been launched for two months, and the total revenue of this business has exceeded 50 million US dollars. In the entire Japanese e-commerce field, there is no more popular online shopping activity than the blind box unboxing event. ”

Zhou Buqi smiled and said, "Once the blind box is ready, it will have long-term stickiness. Just like many people like to play cards, if they don't play for a long time, they will feel itchy and unbearable."

Chen Dong sighed, "Yeah, who says it's not? I remember when I was a child, my second uncle worked in the south for a year and earned more than 20,000 yuan. He went home for the Spring Festival. As a result, he played cards with others during the Spring Festival and had fun. But when it gets older, it’s all lost in a few days.”

"That's pure gambling, it's out of bounds." Zhou Buqi waved his hand, "We are talking about this kind of small gambling. Many people play cards, and the winning or losing is only RMB 80 cents. What they are playing is actually looking for uncertainty. In the process of sexual stimulation, winning or losing is not important."

Having said that, the blind box business is essentially a gamble.

Most of the consumers are gambling for pleasure.

But there are always some people who like to go to extremes, get addicted to it uncontrollably, and start spending a lot of money... There is nothing that can be done about it.

If you sell an iPhone and someone sells a kidney to buy it, you can’t say it’s the iPhone’s fault, right? Sell ​​cough syrup, and some people are addicted to it.

Wen Zhixia and Chen Dong had known each other for a long time. At that time, she was still Zhou Buqi's real wife, but now they are divorced. She asked softly: "With an income of 50 million US dollars, where is the cost? Where is the profit?"

"This..." Chen Dong's expression was a little complicated.

Zhou Buqi understood immediately, "You didn't make any money?"

Chen Dong nodded, "We lost about 10 million US dollars."

"I go!"

Zhou Buqi had long known that this boy was a bit "daring", and he was really courageous.

The blind box unboxing business brought Jingtao sales of US$50 million, but caused Jingtao to lose US$10 million... Looking at this kind of business in Japan, he is probably the only one who can handle it.

Chen Dongdao: "The cost of the product is actually not much. In a blind box of 50 million U.S. dollars, the cost of goods is only about 40 million U.S. dollars. I deliberately increased this. After all, it is the early stage of the blind box business. The quality of the products inside must be better to make it more attractive.”

"Yeah." Zhou Buqi agreed with this idea, "What about the future?"

Chen Dongdao: "It will definitely decrease in the future, and the gross profit must be maintained at around 35%. For a product worth US$50 million, the cost must be controlled within US$35 million."

"The gross profit margin is not high."

Zhou Buqi has seen the financial report from Chaowan Commune, which is scary. A blind box figure of a player that costs US$1 can be sold for US$5 ex-factory.

Chen Dong said with a smile: "We still need to continue this activity for a long time and use it as an important source of traffic to attract users to Jingtao. This time you have reached a comprehensive strategic cooperation with Yahoo Japan, and Jingtao also intends to participate. , open a blind box dismantling channel.”

"How much does it cost?" Zhou Buqi now knew why the loss was so serious, "You invested a lot in marketing?"

Chen Dong nodded, "In the past two months, I have approved a marketing budget of US$12 million."

"Where did it fall? Did it all go to Yahoo Japan?"

"How is it possible? Of course the biggest boss is Niconico. The most popular thing among the up owners of this two-dimensional website is the blind box unboxing video. Jingtao and Niconico jointly launched a blind box unboxing activity. In the next two years, Within this period, Jingtao will have to pay US$5 million in bonuses and marketing expenses.”

"Yes, you can't use the traditional model when marketing. You must link it with the hot traffic on the Internet."

Zhou Buqi felt more relieved.

Niconico is a video website owned by Ziweixing Japan.

Although Jingtao’s marketing budget is large, it still does not go to outsiders.

Chen Dong continued: "There are also YikYak and Ucgram, who have also invested a certain amount...and Mr. Mitsui, he has been a lot of help. Originally, it was tepid in the first month, but it improved in the second month. It became popular, and it was Mr. Mitsui who helped run it.”

"Old bastard Mitsui..."

Zhou Buqi really didn't know what to say.