Back to 1958: Creating a Century-Long Family Empire

Chapter 52: Chapter 52 – Agreement Secured



Chapter 52 – Agreement Secured

"Alright," Yang Wendong nodded.

Generally speaking, even though suppliers and distributors are partners, they always remain a bit cautious with each other—after all, each side depends on the other.

As long as he had a general understanding of their background, Yang didn't care much for the fine details.

In this era, information was power—and many people made fortunes purely through connections.

Knowing didn't mean you could act on it.

After taking a sip of tea, Yang continued, "Over the past few days, I've analyzed our production costs and market potential. Based on that, I've decided the price will be forty cents per glue board."

"Forty cents?" An Yongqiang and Zhao Chengguang exchanged glances.

Zhao spoke first. "Mr. Yang, that's a bit high.

If your factory price is forty cents, and we add our distribution costs and profit margins, the final retail price could hit seventy or eighty cents. That's not very competitive."

An nodded. "Right. The average salary in Hong Kong is only about 80 dollars a month.

Many people make just one or two dollars a day. If the price is too high, it'll be hard for us to scale the product."

Yang shook his head. "Compared to rat cages, which require people to dispose of the bodies or even deal with live rats, our glue board is worth every cent.

Besides, the first wave of customers for any new product are always the wealthy. They don't care about price—they care about effectiveness and convenience. That's our starting point."

In modern mainland China, this price would seem outrageous.

But that was a different world—the world's largest industrial economy, with cheap logistics and manufacturing.

Hong Kong in 1958, on the other hand, was still developing. Most industrial products were imported and expensive.

Even if something could be produced locally, prices still followed market expectations, not actual cost.

So in this case, rat cage prices would determine the ceiling for glue board prices.

And in Hong Kong, a place with no iron ore, rat cages were already pricey.

Zhao nodded thoughtfully. "Actually, your strategy makes sense.

Start at a higher price, target the rich. Once demand stabilizes, lower the price."

Yang added, "Exactly. And right now, our production capacity is still limited.

If we sell cheap and can't keep up with orders, we'll invite copycats. That would be a nightmare."

Zhao smiled. "Don't worry. I may not be the most powerful man in Hong Kong, but I have enough influence.

And the really powerful people? They're not interested in this kind of market."

Yang continued, "That's good to hear.

From a business perspective, our goal should be maximum profit.

There's no need to start cheap. Besides, I've already invested in equipment and infrastructure. I need to cover those costs."

In most industries, pricing involved market testing.

Car companies, for example, often started high. If the product sold well, they might raise prices further or require mandatory accessories.

If it didn't, they simply dropped the price.

Consumers hated it—but that was just business.

As long as the product wasn't essential for survival, profit came first.

"That makes sense," An admitted. "But if sales underperform, you'll need to adjust the price."

"Of course," Yang agreed. "For me, production scale is key. In the long run, volume matters more than margin."

Zhao chuckled. "Besides, An, your market is the cargo ships.

Those people don't care about a few cents."

An nodded. "True. But I have to grease a lot of palms.

If the price is too high, it opens the door for competitors. And I'm not the only one with connections."

Yang leaned forward. "That's why we all want profit.

I have the patent and the factory. You have the channels.

If we work together, the Hong Kong market may not even be enough to meet demand.

"Remember last year when Li Ka-shing launched his plastic flowers?

They sold out instantly."

Zhao smiled. "True. There's plenty of wealth in Hong Kong.

If our product fills a need, it could easily go the same way."

"In that case," Yang said calmly, "we raise the price."

Unless a product was essential for survival—like food or winter clothing—Yang firmly believed in free-market pricing.

That was his principle in both lives.

Granted, he had never run a massive business in his past life. But in an era when influencers on TikTok made millions, who did?

Zhao nodded. "Let's try it your way for now. If it doesn't work, we can always adjust.

No one really knows what the right price is for a brand-new product."

"Exactly," An agreed. "And we don't have to use a single price across the board.

We can sell higher in wealthier areas and lower where demand is weaker."

Zhao added, "So let's make it official. Mr. Yang, we'll start with your price.

As long as we see market feedback, we'll adjust accordingly.

But since we're your distributors, we'll need exclusive access. You can't supply anyone else."

Yang nodded. "Fair enough.

But I need you both to ensure the product reaches every corner of Hong Kong."

"Absolutely," Zhao agreed.

"Let's give this a one-month trial period. After that, we'll evaluate and finalize long-term terms."

"Sounds good," Yang agreed.

Such trial runs were common. If nothing went wrong, it meant they were effectively locked in as long-term partners.

"How soon can we get the first shipment?" An asked, clearly eager.

Yang smiled. "Within a couple of days. Once my team gets into a rhythm, production will accelerate fast."

Hong Kong had cheap labor, and glue boards were simple to make.

As long as there were enough workers, production could scale without expensive machines, helping to create local jobs in the process.

"Perfect," An said. Then he suddenly asked, "Mr. Yang, will you be exporting the glue boards later on?"

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