“It’spletely useless, and the purchase price is shed by 40%! So, do we just have to eat the northwest wind?” Fadil expressed his frustration.
“There’s no choice,” Fadil added with a sigh. “The individuals here today are all agents from prefecture-level cities and above. They’re like our ancestors now, and we can’t afford to offend any of them, especially since they’re all gathered together. Offending them would only make matters worse for me.”
“Why not?” Ermias retorted, visibly displeased. “They’re just inting prices and extorting money. If I were in your position, I would have scolded them already!”
Fadil sighed again, “In the past, it was manageable to scold them and then step back a bit, offering them some dates to keep everyone satisfied. However, this year’s situation is different…”
He continued, cursing in frustration, “To use your youthful lingo, the Pu’er tea market is way too hot this year! And then, he added, “Not only are several major traditional teapanies desperately shing prices to lower the market rates, but new brands are also using aggressive marketing and pricing strategies to encroach on our territory. You can’t just say your tea is great; when he ims the same tea next door is less than half our price, it’s hard to convince him otherwise. If he thinks there’s no difference in taste, what can we do?”<h3 style="background-color:DodgerBlue">
Ermias responded gloomily, “There are more and more people drinking tea now, but few truly understand it. They can’t even tell the difference between tea leaves worth a fortune!”
Fadil nodded, expressing his agreement, “What’s even worse is that the bottled beverage industry is now targeting the tea market. In the past,petition was mainly about oolong and green teas, which didn’t affect us much. But now, they’re setting their sights on Pu’er tea.”
“Pu’er tea is tricky to brew, so they just brew it and bottle it. Consumers can enjoy it cold after simply unscrewing a cap, while our customers still have to brew it with boiling water at 100 degrees. If the tea sits too long, its vor diminishes.”
Hemented, “But those bottled drinkse off a production line, ensuring consistent quality. No matter where you drink it, it tastes the same. How can wepete with that?”<fna916> Th? link to the orig?n of this information r?sts ?n find?novel</fna916>
Ermias sighed and confessed, “Dad, I’ve been feeling for a while that our business is bing increasingly difficult. Thepetition is relentless.”
“And,” he continued, “we’ve focused on developing in southern Yunnan, but the resources and connections we have are limited here. The industry isn’t well developed, and transportation is inconvenient. Even if we switch to dry tea drinks, we’ll still struggle. Just look at the example of the old godmother next door—before emerce took off, they were leaders in the sauce category, but once emerce started, they quickly fell behind.”
Gathering his courage, Ermias suggested to Fadil, “Dad, I think we should consider finding a suitable buyer for thepany. You’ve worked hard your whole life; it’s time to retire and enjoy life.”
Fadil scoffed, “Finding a buyer? Do you really think it’s that easy? If you’re not optimistic about this industry, why would anyone else be? Right now, our group is in a tight spot. Largerpanies are cutting costs, and they won’t be spending money to acquire us. Smaller emerging brands are all about quick profits; they want fast returns on their investments, not to take on a burden like us. They look down on us because our production costs are high! If they could ignore thew, they’d sell rotten leaves as tea—why would they choose our products?”
Feeling disheartened, Ermias asked, “Isn’t there any chance for us to cash out?”
Fadil replied, “Yes, of course. Based on the current profit situation and the market value of our assets, we should be worth around 1.2 billion. So, we shouldn’t aim for a high premium. A discount down to 800 million is reasonable, right? But no one is willing to offer that now since they won’t give us any room for a premium. If we set the price below 500 million, we might be able to sell it. Below 400 million, it could be even more likely.” After a moment of thought, he added, “But 400 million is far too low; I’d prefer at least 700 million.”
“Seven hundred million?” Fadil sneered. “You must be dreaming! Instead of worrying about that, focus on how to deal with those dealers tonight. They want a 40% discount, and I’ll try to negotiate with them. Let’s see if we canpromise on 450 and get the contracts signed quickly.”
Ermias replied, “Dad, it’s always good to dream. What if ites true?”
Fadil huffed, “If someone buys us for 700 million, I’ll run around Heping Road three times without clothes!”
Ermias couldn’t help but feel resentful. He hadn’t expected his father to be so negative.
Just as both father and son were feeling down, the door burst open with a bang. Their secretary rushed in, looking frantic. Before she couldpose herself, she eximed, “Chairman! You won’t believe what just happened!”
Fadil, already irritated, shouted, “When did you start barging in without knocking?”
Ignoring his frustration, the secretary continued, breathlessly, “Chairman, it’s the Banks Group! The top-ranking group in the country! Their secretary just called—they want to discuss an acquisition with you!”