Losing Money to Be a Tycoon

Li Shi’s analysis stunned Che Rong.

Deposit Fitness had not been very effective when it was first opened. It had been incurring losses. Many gyms that were about to close down had given their shops to Deposit Fitness. Those bosses had thought that they had found someone to take over the business and were very pleased with themselves.

However, the Deposit Fitness soon skyrocketed. They were now opening branches in first-tier cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou!

Other gyms wanted to learn this model, but they could not!

Deposit Fitness had very strict screening of users. What’s more, it was equipped with Fish-Catching Take-Out’s fitness meals. Customers there could tolerate such harsh conditions because Deposit Fitness already had a superb reputation. Everyone knew that the effect was good here, so they gritted their teeth and persevered.

This was a virtuous cycle.

If other gyms did the same, they would definitely not know how they died.

That was why Che Rong did not continue to pay attention to Deposit Fitness after that. After all, only Tengda could manage this model.

However, Boss Li was obviously trying to make an issue out of this smart fitness drying rack.

Boss Li was the one paying but both sides would have to bear the risk if anything went wrong.

He had to find a place to set up the smart fitness drying rack after buying it. That meant that he had to remove a portion of the other fitness equipment. The entire gym’s layout had to be rearranged.

If this thing took up space and no one used it, and part of the original equipment was removed, the fitness experience would decrease for ordinary customers.

Given the current state of Star Bird Fitness, if such a thing really happened, they would not be far from death.

Li Shi saw Che Rong’s hesitation.

“Boss Che, think about it carefully. What advantage does Star Bird Fitness have compared to other chain gyms? None at all!”

“Fighting a price war alone would be a dead end. The various gyms would lower their prices one by one. In the end, they would close down.”

“Now, there are risks in the smart fitness drying rack, but there are also opportunities. The first person to eat crabs and the second person to eat crabs get completely different results!”

“Deposit Fitness might also have smart fitness drying racks, but the members that the Deposit Fitness can accommodate are strictly limited. It’s impossible to satisfy all the requirements of using smart fitness drying racks.”

“As for buying it for yourself… This equipment takes up a lot of space and is quite expensive. There is a moving service but there are many people who buy it and many people who don’t.”

“They don’t have Deposit Fitness members and don’t want to buy smart fitness drying racks themselves. Isn’t that a perfect target group?”

“The other chain gyms have yet to catch on. If Star Bird Fitness can take the lead to launch the ‘interactive fitness zone’ mainly starring the smart fitness drying rack and use this as a topic to promote discussions and successfully capture these target users, it will definitely bring Star Bird Fitness an extremely high reputation and seize the initiative among the gyms!”

“At that time, even if the other gyms follow on, Star Bird Fitness would definitely benefit as the first gym to launch a similar model!”

“What’s more…”

Li Shi paused and lowered his voice. “Given my relationship with Tengda, I can also guarantee that the smart fitness drying rack will give priority to you.”

“As far as I know, the smart fitness drying rack is limited by the production capacity of the factory and is in a state of continuous shortage.”

“That’s why we can’t rush to buy it online.”

“I know the person-in-charge of Otto Technologies, Chang You. As long as I talk to him about business procurement, I can ask the factory to increase production capacity and collect goods in batches. What’s more, only we will be able to get the goods. No other gyms can!”

“This situation will not last long. The other gyms will definitely get the goods one after another. However, even if our lead is only two or three months, it will be enough. That’s because we would have sold a large number of fitness cards by then and won over a large group of customers!”

“Boss Che, you have to consider this carefully. If you don’t participate, I will still look for other gyms.”

Star Bird Fitness was Li Shi’s first choice.

There were a few other chain gyms in Jingzhou, but they were basically found all over the country. Their headquarters might be in Beijing, Shanghai, or other big cities. Their cooperation would not be so smooth.

On the other hand, the small gym in Jingzhou was too small. It could not eat a few smart fitness drying racks and could not be used.

Star Bird Fitness was a local gym in Jingzhou. It was neither big nor small. It was easier to take the initiative and develop in the future by working with Che Rong.

It was also because of the opportunity of the smart fitness drying rack and the suitable conditions in all aspects that Li Shi finally decided to invest in Star Bird Fitness.

Li Shi felt that he had been drinking Boss Pei’s soup. Naturally, he had to pull others to drink his soup as well. Many hands make light work with a higher chance of success!

Of course, Li Shi could only look for someone else if Che Rong refused.

Che Rong lowered his head in deep thought. Obviously, he had been convinced by Li Shi.

Everyone knew that the only investment legend in Jingzhou was Boss Pei, followed by Fu Hui Investments’ Boss Li.

If Boss Li invested with Boss Pei, the success rate and yield would be extremely high. Any project that Boss Li took a fancy to and was related to Tengda would basically succeed.

What’s more, Boss Li’s relationship with Boss Pei made this plan more stable.

If he could indirectly cozy up to Tengda through Boss Li, would it be difficult for him to revive Star Bird Fitness?

Boss Li’s plan might be risky, but it was nothing compared to the potential profits.

It was worth a try!

At that thought, Che Rong nodded. “Alright, Boss Li, I accept this condition!”

“I will set up an ‘interactive fitness zone’ in all the gyms to be filled with smart fitness drying racks. I will also assign two professional fitness trainers to keep an eye on them and guide the members in using the equipment.”

“Then, we’ll publicize this point and let everyone who wants to play the Fitness Battle come here to apply for cards!”

“As for purchasing equipment, I’ll leave it to you, Boss Li!”

Li Shi smiled and nodded. “Don’t worry. I’ll contact Chang You of Otto Technologies directly. I’ll get the goods from the manufacturer and deliver them immediately!”

Chang You had no reason to refuse an order that was in the hundreds compared to small orders from online orders.

There were more than 10 branches of Star Bird Fitness. If each branch purchased 10 units, the first batch would be an order of more than a hundred units.

What’s more, this was only the first batch of purchases. There would be more to come.

Once he found that this model was feasible and the response was enthusiastic, Li Shi would naturally continue to invest or use other methods to finance it. He would let Star Bird Fitness continue to open branches quickly and spread this model in the short term.

It would also allow Star Bird Fitness to expand rapidly by snatching customers from other chain gyms while bringing huge orders to Otto Technologies!

In the end, Tengda, Star Bird Fitness, and Fu Hui Investments would have a triple win situation. Wouldn’t that be perfect?

What’s more, Li Shi felt that he could also consider talking to Shang Yang Games and offer some benefits to the customers who used the smart fitness drying rack at Star Bird Fitness.

Customers could be allowed to use some free clothing or gift some coins when they played ‘Fitness Battle’ at Star Bird Fitness just like the GOG free skin with the internet cafe they collaborated with.

In fact, when he opened a new store, he could set up a theme store for “Fitness Battle”, customize a few figurines of characters in the game, and set up a fitness scene similar to that in the game. That would attract more customers.

Of course, Li Shi kept in mind that the premise of freeloading on Tengda’s benefits was to leave most of the profits to Tengda.

Thus, the new branch of Star Bird Fitness would definitely work hard to be branded differently from Deposit Fitness and help Deposit Fitness snatch business from other franchises. They would even advertise Tengda’s industry in their own gym and work hard to be good underlings.

What’s more, Li Shi knew very well that Boss Pei hated scalpers the most. That was why he chose to look for Chang You directly. He would take the goods from the factory and open a production line. That would not affect the original stock of the smart fitness drying rack.

That way, not only would there not be a shortage of goods to benefit the scalpers, they could obtain a large number of products and quickly open the ‘interactive fitness zone’ of the Star Bird Fitness to seize the initiative.

Li Shi had perfected the entire plan based on his understanding of Boss Pei.

After reviewing it, he felt that the success rate was very high!

Li Shi and Che Rong finalized the details and officially reached an agreement. They rubbed their hands and prepared to do something big!