Reborn in Russia as a Big Shot

58. Copy JD.com to Russia

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's largest city, is still more commonly known as Saigon by locals.

No sooner had Li Xiang returned "home" than Nguyen Tuan Anh arrived from neighboring Binh Duong province the very next day.

Are you planning to stay in Saigon for the Lunar New Year this year?

Nguyen Tuan Anh was in charge of investment promotion at the Binh Duong Industrial Administration, and SnowFlying's garment factory in Vietnam was the first project he was in charge of.

"Going back to China, I need to take the baby back to show the elders after giving birth." Li Xiang knew why Ruan Junying had come, and proactively cut to the chase, asking, "How's the garment factory in Pingyang doing now? Has Bosideng expanded its production capacity?"

Ruan Junying sighed, "They were still expanding production capacity, but now they're going to have to close down."

Li Xiang said in a more palatable way, "In less than twenty days, you will also join the WTO. It's only a matter of time before the textile supply chain shifts to Vietnam. There's nothing wrong with setting up a presence in Vietnam sooner rather than later."

"We can't control what Bosideng thinks. I'm not in the clothing business anymore. I'll ask my dad for you later and see if he's interested."

"Don't look back. I've come all this way, let's talk today. Your uncle is there too." Ruan Junying was slightly excited and started to try to get closer to him. "We're old classmates, you can't just give me empty words."

Li Xiang joked, "We're not really old classmates, we're just alumni at best."

"Alumni are also friends. How many Chinese people go to Russia to study, and how many Vietnamese people go? It's such a great coincidence that we can attend the same school in Russia."

"You start talking differently now that you've become a civil servant." Li Xiang put away his nonchalant attitude and his expression gradually became serious. "I can't make decisions about my dad's affairs. Stay for dinner, and talk to him yourself after dinner."

Ruan Junying: "Since we have time before the New Year, I'll take you on another trip to Pingyang to check things out. We can walk around and explore, and maybe we'll find some business opportunities."

Li Xiang initiated the conversation, "You knew I switched careers to work in the beauty industry, right?"

"I know." A hint of anticipation flickered in Ruan Junying's eyes.

Li Xiang explained in detail: "Originally, I just wanted to create a website and sell my brand of cosmetics online. But then I thought, the basic expenses like the website and logistics are unavoidable. Since I've already spent the money, why not sell something else as well?"

"You want to create a comprehensive e-commerce website?" Ruan Junying was startled.

"Do you know JD.com in China? I want to replicate it in Russia, to do online B2C, and under the premise of ensuring genuine products and quality, use the scale advantage of centralized procurement to lower prices."

In 06, JD.com had not yet started building its own logistics network, nor had it opened up to third-party sellers.

"E-commerce in Russia is hellish," Nguyen Tuan Anh remarked.

Li Xiang made a surprising statement: "No challenge, no reward. I'm prepared to break away from the Russian state postal service and build my own logistics team covering the entire territory of Russia."

"Have you found investment?" Ruan Junying asked the most crucial question.

Amazon has already perfected the e-commerce model; all you need to do is copy it.

Russia has many e-commerce companies, among which Ozon, the "Russian version of Amazon," is the absolute leader in the industry, accounting for 40% of the total traffic on the internet.

Ozon also started by selling books. After transitioning to e-commerce, the website now sells not only books and audio-visual products, but also electronic products and daily necessities.

All are self-operated, and no third-party merchants are allowed to join.

Bolero (15%), Uhracomp (12%), Books (10%), Dostavka (8%)…

These diverse e-commerce platforms in Russia all face the same predicament: the inescapable presence of the Russian State Post Bureau. Currently, only e-commerce giant Ozon is attempting to build its own logistics network, but it has only been a few months since then.

Is it difficult to build your own logistics network?

There's no technical difficulty; the main challenge is money.

"I provided the start-up capital myself; I just happened to make a windfall this year."

"Huh?" Ruan Junying's expression faltered slightly.

Li Xiang asked with a smile, "Have you registered for VKontakte?"

"I heard about it, but it didn't work." Ruan Junying looked slightly puzzled. "You made it? That's not right. Ruan Mingzhi told me that VKontakte was made by our alumnus, Durov."

Nguyen Minh Chi was also a Vietnamese student sent to Russia on a government scholarship, one year younger than Nguyen Tuan Anh.

Although the two share the same surname, they are not related.

Nguyen is the most common surname in Vietnam.

Li Xiang: "I have some shares."

Ruan Junying looked on with envy, but a moment later she changed her expression to flattery, saying with a sigh, "There really is no comparison between people. You're almost on the Forbes list. I work myself to the bone, and my salary and bonuses combined don't even amount to a hundred dollars a month."

Ruan Junying joked, "How about this, I'll resign and work for you from now on."

Li Xiang seized the opportunity and said, "Okay, I'll give you two hundred."

"Seriously, I wouldn't even open my mouth if I didn't have the ability. You're about to become a world-class billionaire, so why don't you invest a little in Pingyang?"

Nguyen Tuan Anh is an "elite" in Vietnam's civil service system. He holds a master's degree from overseas and is one of the few in Binh Duong province who can be counted on one hand. He has a bright future ahead of him.

I just started working this year and am still relatively inexperienced.

"That's exactly what we're talking about. Once I've built the e-commerce website, I can directly connect with businesses in Pingyang and help them sell their goods to Russia."

"In the early stages of the website, there was no traffic, so the purchase volume couldn't go up. We also had to maintain quality control. It was a lot of work for little money. This kind of low-paying business won't make a lot of money in a short time. It depends on whether the companies here are willing to take it on."

Ruan Junying readily agreed, saying, "I'll take full responsibility for the connection. I'll go and talk to each company for you, and I'll definitely help you find one you're satisfied with."

In his previous life, Nguyen Tuan Anh rose to the position of Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of Vietnam. Now, he is in the early stages of his career and is able to maintain it through his classmates' connections.

Once they achieve great success in the future, the friendship card may not be effective anymore; they will still need to rely on mutual benefits.

Not only must they offer political achievements, but they must also offer money.

"Natasha has decided to immigrate to Turkey and will leave after the New Year. My parents also need to go back to China; someone has to take charge of things here in Vietnam."

"Where's your cousin?" Ruan Junying knew a lot about Li Xiang's family situation.

"She's on Ri Island," Li Xiang offered. "I'm completely clueless about Vietnam. Do you have any suitable candidates you could recommend?"

"Education and experience are not important. As long as you are willing to work hard and have a sense of responsibility, that's enough. Don't shy away from recommending good people, even if you have relatives or friends."

The phrase "recommending the worthy without avoiding relatives" startled Ruan Junying, who was stunned for a moment. She cleared her throat and said, "You are a large foreign-invested enterprise, so you must select the best among the best. I can't recommend anyone right now. Give me some time, and I will go back and help you find someone."

-

Binh Duong province is right next to Ho Chi Minh City, only a 40-minute drive away. Nguyen Tuan Anh had dinner at Li Xiang's house and then went straight home.

"What's wrong? You seem restless as soon as you get back. Did your classmate disrespect you?"

After returning to China, Nguyen Tuan Anh started dating a new girlfriend. It was introduced to him by his supervisor. The woman's uncle works at the Binh Duong Provincial Finance Bureau. The two are living together without being married.

"I misspoke." Ruan Junying's eyes were blank.

"What did you say?"

Ruan Junying turned to his girlfriend and said truthfully, "In the heat of the moment, I said my monthly salary plus bonus is less than a hundred dollars."

"He said his company needed a manager in Vietnam and asked me to recommend someone, even saying something like... 'Recommending the worthy regardless of kinship.' Am I overthinking it?"

His girlfriend asked, "Besides the garment factory, have you two discussed any other projects?"

"We talked." Ruan Junying subconsciously swallowed.

The girlfriend thought for a moment and said, "Recommend a few more people to him and let him choose. If his thoughts are the same as yours, he will definitely choose the one you want him to choose."

"But don't be too direct and just send all your poor relatives over. Pick one that's a little further away but that you can talk to."