My Daily Basic Stipend Is 10 Million

Chapter 162: Chapter 156: The Mysterious Sales Representative

Xu Jun wasn’t entirely clear on the full story behind this matter.

Tenant adjustments were typically handled by the vice president of business development. The general manager usually just signed off as a formality, only getting personally involved in major projects.

The initial decision to have Sa Mo replace Yi Rui wasn’t exactly aboveboard, which was why Peng Yu had arranged for the regional vice president of leasing, Li Ming, to handle it back then.

A regional VP of leasing was roughly on the same level as a store’s general manager, but their influence was nothing compared to that of the GM of a major plaza like Xu Jun.

So, he had only delegated the task to the VP of business development. That VP, a man surnamed Xiao, figured it was an order from the regional head concerning a non-essential brand. A simple tenant switch wasn’t a big deal, so naturally, he didn’t feel the need to report it specifically to Xu Jun.

Who would have known that in just one week, everything would be turned upside down? The plaza changed owners, and that VP, Xiao, was "adjusted" right out of his job.

"President Xia, does Sa Mo absolutely have to have this location?"

Hearing this, Xia Bin grew anxious. "President Xu, there can’t be any changes now. We’ve already drawn up the blueprints and had the fixtures manufactured! If we can’t move in, we’ll lose at least 300,000!"

Xu Jun said flatly, "You’ve been too hasty with this. How could you commission blueprints and manufacture fixtures before signing a contract? That’s far too reckless."

"The plaza has its own circumstances to consider. We can’t let ourselves be held hostage just because you’ve already made your fixtures. There’s no rule that says we have to agree, is there?"

Xia Bin could tell Xu Jun was displeased, but he had no good explanation. He couldn’t very well say that Peng Yu had told him to do it. That wouldn’t solve the problem, and he’d end up offending Peng Yu in the process.

"President Xu, I don’t mean to hold the plaza hostage. I’m just explaining my difficult situation. We are strategic partners, after all. We still have five brands of ours operating on the first floor."

Xu Jun’s eyelids twitched. "Are you implying that if this isn’t handled well, it will affect our partnership regarding the brands on the first floor?"

’He wasn’t born yesterday.’ If that’s how Xia Bin wanted to negotiate, then he had no interest in continuing the conversation.

After just a few exchanges, Xia Bin realized Xu Jun wasn’t falling for his tactics. ’If I push him too hard, this old fox will probably throw caution to the wind and go berserk. I’ll be the one to lose out in the end.’

He immediately softened his tone. "President Xu, you’ve misunderstood. I just mean that we have a long-standing relationship built over many years of cooperation. On this matter, I’m asking you to please, help me out."

"If my brand, Sa Mo, can’t move in, it’s not just a matter of losing 300,000. I’ll have no way to answer to the parent brand company, and what’s more, I’ve already ordered all the merchandise!"

"Let’s look into it and get back to you." This matter involved Yi Rui. Until he knew Zhao Hui’s thoughts on the matter, Xu Jun wouldn’t make any promises.

Xia Bin wasn’t satisfied with that answer, but he knew better than to press the issue too hard. If he annoyed Xu Jun, he’d risk losing everything.

So he changed the subject. "President Xu, in that case, the contracts for my brands on the first floor are up for renewal soon. Can we expect to renew with the same terms this year?"

Xu Jun wasn’t falling for his trap. He would never commit to anything without knowing all the facts.

"Xiao Sun, what’s the renewal status for those first-floor brands?" he asked, turning to Sun Wei. As the leasing manager, Sun Wei knew the details of every brand like the back of his hand.

Sun Wei recalled what Zhao Hui had just told him. He couldn’t just blurt it out here, so he chose his words carefully. "President Xia currently has five brands on the first floor. They all signed long-term contracts when the plaza first opened. At the time, the commercial terms were pure commission-based."

"I just reported this to President Zhao, and his opinion is that we need to switch them to a pure rental model."

He didn’t directly say that Zhao Hui wanted to kick out Four Seasons Clothing’s stores. Even if that was the goal, it was more appropriate to use high rent to force them out.

That was why he’d taken the initiative to bring up the rent. ’If Four Seasons Clothing is willing to switch to a pure rental model,’ he thought, ’President Zhao would probably agree. At the same time, it would be a major achievement for me—securing a significant amount of additional rent for the plaza from these five stores.’

Xia Bin’s five brands on the first floor were all affordable luxury brands. They were the kind that were critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful—they had brand prestige but generated no sales.

They had been brought in to look good when the mall first opened, and the terms offered at the time were a simple 8% commission on sales.

On average, each of his first-floor stores only generated about 3 million in annual sales, which meant each store was only paying 240,000 a year in rent.

But the current rental rate for the first floor was now over 600 yuan per square meter per month. For Xia Bin’s stores, that would translate to an annual rent of over a million yuan each.

By that calculation, the previous Wansheng Square had been losing out on at least 4 million yuan per year in rental income from his five stores alone.

Of course, in the early years, the mall had leveraged the prestige of these brands to attract other high-quality tenants.

But now that the plaza was well-established, these brands were no longer considered top-tier within Junxiao Square and had lost their original purpose.

Rent collection was a key performance indicator for Xu Jun. Hearing what Sun Wei said, he immediately declared, "It’s definitely time we switch to a rental model this year!"

There was no way Xia Bin would agree to that. With his current sales figures, all five of his stores would be operating at a loss if they switched to a fixed-rent model.

He immediately scoffed, "President Xu, does that new VP of yours even understand business? Look at the caliber of my brands. How could they possibly operate on a pure rental model?"

While his mockery was aimed at Zhao Hui, he was also indirectly criticizing Xu Jun.

Xu Jun chuckled. "How about this, President Xia? Why don’t you discuss it with President Zhao first? He’s in charge of leasing, so his opinion is what really matters."

Xia Bin was annoyed. ’I’m the general manager of a major company, and he wants me to talk to a vice president? That’s beneath me!’

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