Chapter 168: You’re the New Store Manager

“I understand, President Chen.”

Su Dan nodded slightly, her gaze filled with gratitude.

President Chen was the most easygoing boss she had ever worked for in all her years, and working under such a boss was a fortunate thing. Moreover, since she had received such treatment, she knew she had to manage the Coffee Shop well during its operation.

“Alright, no further questions? Then you two should finalize everything in the next couple of days, including the purchase of coffee beans and the required budget. Just let me know, and I’ll inform the finance department to transfer the funds to you.”

After confirming that there were no more questions, Chen Mo quickly settled everything. He was about to leave when Song Xia raised her hand.

“President Chen, I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“President Chen, if I am promoted to general manager, then who will take the position of store manager?”

Song Xia asked in confusion. If she became the general manager, the store manager position would be left vacant.

Hmm!

Chen Mo paused for a moment, realizing that he had overlooked this matter. He turned his gaze to the newly hired staff members in the Coffee Shop.

After a moment of thought, he pointed to one of them.

“Her. She’ll be the new store manager.”

There were so many backup store managers, so picking one was easy.

Song Xia: …

Su Dan: …

Was it really that casual?

“Lin Zhu, come here.”

Su Dan snapped out of her thoughts and called to the girl Chen Mo had pointed to.

“Teacher Su, you’re looking for me?”

Lin Zhu quickly ran over.

“President Chen is looking for you.”

Su Dan nodded toward Chen Mo.

Lin Zhu turned toward Chen Mo, suddenly becoming tense, unsure of why he wanted to speak to her.

“You’re Lin Zhu, right? Starting today, you’ll be the store manager of this Coffee Shop.”

Chen Mo looked Lin Zhu over and said with a smile.

“Ah, what about Song Xia?”

Lin Zhu exclaimed. If she became the store manager, wouldn’t that be taking Song Xia’s position?

“Song Xia has already been promoted. You don’t have to worry about it.”

Chen Mo explained.

Once it was confirmed there were no other matters, he left the Coffee Shop with Shen Rou.

“Go back to the Clothing Factory, prepare three new contracts for Song Xia, Su Dan, and Lin Zhu, and bring them to me.”

Back in the car, Chen Mo turned to Shen Rou and gave the order.

Since the positions of these three people had changed, the contracts naturally needed to be renewed.

“Got it, President Chen.”

Shen Rou nodded.

At the Clothing Factory, as soon as Chen Mo entered his office, Wu Yu knocked and walked in.

“Is there something?”

Seeing Wu Yu looking downcast, Chen Mo instantly breathed a sigh of relief.

It clearly wasn’t related to good performance.

“President Chen, I was thinking… maybe we should lower the franchise fee. Our clothing brand doesn’t have much recognition yet, and a franchise fee of 100,000 yuan makes it difficult for anyone to take the risk.”

“I’ve thought of a way. We can lower the franchise fee to 20,000 yuan and the remaining 80,000 yuan can be deducted gradually from the franchisee’s operating profits. This way, the franchise fee will still be 100,000 yuan, but in an installment plan. It’ll indirectly lower the franchisee’s initial cost, making them more willing to franchise.”

Wu Yu briefly explained his idea. After running the business for a while, he realized that most of the people who rejected the franchise were concerned about the high franchise fee.

He had also calculated the costs of franchising.

A 100,000 yuan franchise fee plus a 10,000 yuan deposit was the basic requirement.

Then the franchisee would need to rent a store, generally around 50 square meters, which would cost about 50,000 yuan per year. There were also expenses for store decoration, shelves, mannequins, inventory, and employee wages.

Altogether, the total investment would be around 300,000 yuan.

Chen Mo listened to Wu Yu’s proposal and scrutinized him carefully.

This guy really thought things through, even considering an installment plan for the franchise fee. If the franchise fee was lowered to 20,000 yuan, maybe this guy could attract a franchisee.

However, Chen Mo had set the franchise fee at 100,000 yuan initially to increase the cost and make it harder for people to take the plunge.

Now, lowering the franchise fee? That was impossible.

He lightly tapped the desk and said meaningfully, “Wu Yu, the 100,000 yuan franchise fee isn’t just a simple figure. It’s also a filter. You have to understand that by making franchisees spend more, they’ll be more motivated to operate the store. If the store is run well, sales will go up, and our Clothing Factory will benefit.”

“Besides, major brand franchises all have a 100,000 yuan franchise fee. This amount is our goal, our belief, our direction. How could we lower it so easily?”

“But President Chen, now that the workshop has started production, if we can’t recruit any franchisees, the clothes produced will just pile up in the warehouse!”

Wu Yu spoke urgently.

Chen Mo rubbed his brow in frustration. This guy really wasn’t easy to deceive!

“Wu Yu, I understand your eagerness to find franchisees for the company, but you have to remember, business doesn’t work that way. You must keep a calm mindset, and the business will come when it’s time.”

“So just relax. It’s normal not to find a franchisee right away. Tomorrow is Saturday, take some time to relax and clear your mind. With a positive attitude, you’ll be able to approach business more effectively!”

After some persuasion, Wu Yu finally left.

Watching Wu Yu leave with his head down, Chen Mo finally laughed contentedly.

Lowering the franchise fee? Not a chance.

Wu Yu returned to the business department.

The business department was much bigger than before, and there were still many vacant positions. However, the new salespeople were still being recruited. For now, the department only consisted of him, Cai Jing, and Luo Yuan.

“How did it go? Did President Chen agree?”

Cai Jing quickly asked when she saw Wu Yu return.

Wu Yu slowly shook his head.

“President Chen rejected it, so we’ll have to keep working hard on business. Tomorrow is Saturday, so we shouldn’t rest.”

“But tomorrow is the opening of President Chen’s Coffee Shop. Aren’t we going to congratulate him?”

Luo Yuan suddenly spoke up from the side.

Wu Yu froze for a moment upon hearing this.

“President Chen didn’t mention the Coffee Shop opening. How did you guys know?”

“Assistant Shen just announced it in the staff group. She said that President Chen’s third business, the Coffee Shop, will officially open tomorrow.”

Luo Yuan said as he showed Wu Yu the information on his phone.

Wu Yu took a serious look, and indeed, the Coffee Shop was opening tomorrow!

After a moment of thought, he slowly spoke.

“Then we should go congratulate him first, and then focus on business. But for a new store opening, it’s better to bring some gifts along.”

“I think a flower basket or a money tree would be good. It has a nice meaning.”

Cai Jing spoke at the right moment.