Hu Zhishang

Black Bamboo Café

Ken is waiting for Hu Zhishang to come here. He is interested about this Hu Zhishang. Yuan Liqin said that Hu Zhishang is still finishing his work in his previous job, so he can come here only on the afternoon.

As Ken has nothing to do in the café, he decided to help in making coffee. Observing from behind the counter, he noticed that the café is indeed more crowded than the previous month.

~~~

At around 3 PM, Hu Zhishang came to the cafe. He is now sitting with Ken in one part of the café. Ken is surprised when he met with Hu Zhishang for the first time.

Hu Zhishang has a big, tall, and sturdy body. Coupled with the sharp look on his face, he looks imposing, to say the least.

"Hello Boss Chen, sorry I am late at coming here." the burly man started the conversation. "I still need to finish my last job."

"Nah, it is not a problem for me. Anyway, where do you work now?"

"I only help my friend with his project. I have already finished it though, today I have finished transferring responsibilities to other workers there."

"Really? That is good! So we can start with work already?" said Ken a little excited. Ken is actually a little tired after running around the city for three weeks. He wants to at least have a friend when looking for the new store's place.

"I don't know but I think I still need to learn more things from Yuan Liqin."

"That's alright, there is still time before we open the first branch. I need you to help me look for a potential place. You can still learn from Brother Yuan while we plan the first branch." Ken observes the expression on Hu Zhishang's face, "Don't worry, it will be alright."

"Well if you say so..." Hu Zhishang is still not sure about this.

"Okay that is a deal, give me your number, I will send the detailed plan for tomorrow."

Hu Zhishang asked a little confused, "Is this really okay? I thought I will get an interview?"

"You have been interviewed by Brother Yuan right?"

"Yes,..."

"Then, it is okay. I believe in his judgment. Also your suggestion last time is very good, I think you can do this. So don't worry too much."

Ken then tell all about his plan for expansion, including the target of 3 new branches in 5 years.

~~~

The next day

Ken brings Hu Zhishang to the place with 350,000 dollars yearly rent. Ken wanted to know Hu Zhishang's opinion about this place. Personally, Ken thinks that this place is the best place for the first branch of Black Bamboo Café.

After examining the place for a few minutes, Hu Zhishang opened his mouth. "This place is good for a restaurant or other kind of business, but … I don't think this is a perfect place for our café."

Ken is surprised with this answer, "Oh?? Can you elaborate?"

"Well... I don't know from where I heard it, but they said that a café is a destination instead of a checkpoint on the road. Basically, people that come to the café are someone that has planned to visit the café.

"Of course some random person might come inside. But if we try to compare café and restaurants, the chance of people coming inside a random restaurant is higher than for someone to go to a random café.

"Try to imagine this, a man is on a date with his girlfriend. After having fun for a day, they are now hungry. In that situation, they most likely go to a restaurant in the area. Is there a chance they go to a café? Of course, there is a chance. But café that serves a heavy meal is rare, so the choices of café are often brushed-off.

"Now, imagine if they are thirsty instead of hungry. The chance they go to a café is smaller than the previous situation because they have many choices. From buying a bottle of water from a small store, vending machine, visiting a restaurant or café.

"One other situation, they are tired from walking and they want to rest for a bit. Same as before, there are many choices, from sitting in a park, going to a local library, restaurant, café, and more.

"What I said before is the checkpoint situation. We can see that it is hard for café to attract a random passerby.

"Then about café as a destination.

"I am pretty sure we are familiar with a sentence like this. 'Why don't we study in Black Bamboo Café? The atmosphere there is perfect for studying', or 'I heard there is a good café in that area. Let's go there together next time?'

"These two are examples of café as a destination. Based on my observation, most café customers in the city belong in this group."

Ken thought for a bit, nodded, and found himself agreeing with most of those. "Hmm? But that doesn't answer why this place is bad?"

"Oh right, in conclusion, the passerby attracting force of a café is lower than other competitors. That means the number of customers of the café is limited. With that being the case, we don't need a big building for the café.

"Other than that, there is another reason. Yesterday you said that the plan is to open 3 new stores in 5 years right? A big café needs a long time to return the invested money.

"For example the first Black Bamboo Café in Zhoumen University. I read the financial report and it needs one and a half years to break even. Until this month, the café is still not returning the initial investment, right?

"If we go that way, it will be hard to achieve the plan."

What Hu Zhishang said is true. Chen Qiu has used more than two million dollars from his personal account. Before the café break even, the money is used to pay salary. After three years of operation, the café has only gained 211 thousand dollars or less than 10% from the invested money.

"Good job! Let's follow your arrangement. Where do you think is a good place for the café?"

"The area here is not bad. Is there another building that is for sale nearby?"

"There is one, near the bookstore. Before, it was used as a café too, but they closed this year. So I don't think that is a good place, what do you think?"

"Let's look at the place, for now, there are many reasons a café closes down."

They walked for about 5 minutes to the site. On the way, Ken explained all the detail of the building. It has a rental fee of 130,000 fiction dollars per year. In front of it stood a nationwide bookstore chain.

Looking around the neighborhood, Hu Zhishang nodded and said to Ken.

"Let's take this place."