Chapter 250 - 196: The New Company’s Positioning

The two then moved on to discussing brand positioning.

Yang Hui discussed it for a bit, and they ultimately decided to go with a mid-to-high-end sports fashion route. They settled on this because such brand positioning would be a better match for channel resources like Xinyue Square, and it would also allow them to achieve scale. If they positioned it as affordable luxury, they wouldn’t be able to open many stores, and they wouldn’t be able to create economies of scale.

The two felt that even if they were to create an affordable luxury brand, it shouldn’t be their first. The sportswear sector was already dominated in the minds of consumers by a few major international brands and several large domestic companies, making it difficult for a new brand to gain traction.

This was why they positioned it as "sports fashion"—it had to be both athletic and stylish. A new brand’s athletic DNA couldn’t compare to those long-established foreign brands. Besides, those companies sponsored numerous sporting events and hired countless NBA stars for endorsements every year, and Yang Hui simply didn’t have the resources for that yet. If they set the prices too high from the start, no one would bite. Customers wouldn’t even give them a second glance.

Taking into account the customer demographics of Xinyue Square, they set the product price range between 200 and 5,000 yuan. The core collection would be concentrated in the 500 to 3,000 yuan range, which was higher than other domestic sports brands and on par with the high-end lines of Nike and Adidas. In the future, they could nudge these prices a bit higher to enter the affordable luxury price bracket.

Unlike the purely athletic DNA of their competitors, Yang Hui and Serene discussed having the new brand adopt a differentiation strategy. It would blend "sports + fashion," combining design aesthetics with athletic functionality (like skiwear and a golf collection) while downplaying the label of a purely professional sports brand.

The entire product line would cover multiple scenarios, including daily commutes and social gatherings, breaking the mold of sportswear being limited to a single use case.

The more the two talked, the more they clicked, until they were like old friends who had gotten so engrossed in conversation they’d forgotten to eat.

"Serene, have some food. It’s going to get cold."

While urging her to eat, he said, "About the equity split, since our business philosophies are aligned, let’s do it this way. I’ll invest 30 million, you invest 20 million. I’ll take 51% of the shares, and you’ll take 49%."

"No, that won’t work. Why split it like that?" Serene was confused.

Yang Hui said, "Because you’re responsible for handling the land transfer. That’s going to save the company a huge amount of money upfront."

Serene shook her head. "No. That’s just a matter of me making a few calls. The most I’ll take is 40%."

’Just a matter of making a few calls? Your words must be golden. A hundred mu of land with just a few words? Even if industrial land is cheap, in a city like Qingzhou, it has to be worth tens of millions, right?’

In the end, she insisted on investing 20 million for no more than 40% of the equity, so Yang Hui didn’t press the issue. For both of them, starting this company was probably more about fulfilling a dream; the money wasn’t the most important part. Of course, the main reason they could feel this way was that they were both already rich.

They couldn’t decide on a company or brand name right away, so they agreed to go home, come up with a few ideas, and then get together to make a final decision.

When dinner was over, Yang Hui called the waiter over to pay the bill. He had initially thought about using Huang Lingyu’s phone number to cover the meal, but the thought of bothering her for a verification code was too much trouble. ’She can use the card for herself,’ he thought.

Seeing him settle the bill, Serene subconsciously started to say, "Don’t you have—" but she quickly stopped herself mid-sentence.

After paying, Yang Hui asked, "What were you about to say?"

Serene took a sip of water and said, "I was just going to say, isn’t the owner of this restaurant one of your elders? Didn’t they give you a discount card or something?"

He smiled faintly. "They did, actually. A card for free meals."

Serene seemed to understand something. Smiling, she said, "You don’t even take advantage of a good deal when you see one. You’re not suited for business."

Yang Hui said nonchalantly, "I don’t like getting free handouts. I guess I’m not suited for short-term, quick-profit businesses. I’m better suited for businesses built to last."

As she stood up with him, Serene nodded, seemingly agreeing with his point of view.

After leaving the restaurant, Yang Hui was planning to hail a cab home, but Serene insisted on giving him a ride, so he didn’t refuse her hospitality.

"Your car’s in the shop, so it must be inconvenient without one. Why don’t you take my car for a few days?"

Yang Hui glanced inside the car. It was immaculate. It was obvious that she rarely had other passengers. A car is a private space, much like one’s bedroom. Many people wouldn’t even dream of lending their car to someone else, let alone be comfortable with someone eating in it.

He was surprised their meeting and conversation today had deepened their friendship so quickly that she would offer him her beloved car. He thought about it and decided against it. If he took her car, then she would be the one without a car to drive.

"No, that’s okay. My car will be fixed in a few days. I can just take cabs until then."

Serene didn’t insist. She drove him to the entrance of the Wenjing Yunlu District. They said their goodbyes and agreed to finalize the company and brand names in the next couple of days and meet again to discuss them.

After finishing dinner at home, Shen Meng was stopped by her aunt, Jia Lian. "Meng Meng, when are you going to bring that boyfriend of yours home for dinner?"

Shen Meng hadn’t expected her aunt to be so persistent. "He’s been really busy lately. Maybe in a little while. I’ll bring it up with him again."

Wu Min, who was nearby, laughed and said, "Busy? Busy taking you shopping?"

Shen Meng shot her a glare, as if to blame her for fanning the flames. Sure enough, her aunt looked a little displeased. "Well, I can accommodate him. He doesn’t have to come to our house. We can go eat wherever is convenient for him. Don’t worry, I’ll pay for the meal."

Hearing this, Wu Min couldn’t stop laughing. It was obvious that Jia Lian’s final comment about paying for the meal was entirely because Wu Min had described Yang Hui to her as someone who liked to freeload.