"Zhao Zong--" Her voice was a little tight, "You have to talk to Sister Shen in person."
Zhao Chen raised his head, took the phone, and pressed speakerphone.
"Director Shen, it's me."
Shen Jue's voice came from the other end of the phone:
"Zhao Chen, are you serious? You want to vote for Bubble Mary?"
Zhao Chen said, "I have this idea. Director Shen, do you have any questions? Do you have Wang An's contact information?"
Shen Jue was silent for two seconds. "I have the phone number. But I have to tell you something first."
Zhao Chen Waiting.
"Bubble Mary was seeking financing some time ago."
Shen Jue lowered his voice by half a minute, "And it's not just started - they have already found investors.
This afternoon, they will open Board of Directors to vote on this financing."
The office was quiet for a moment.
Su Wantang also raised his head.
Zhao Chen's expression did not change. "Which institution?"
Shen Jue said, "Ningxia Huaqiang. A fund focusing on Consumer Sector. I asked about it and found that it has a very accurate vision in the consumer field."
Zhao Chen tapped his fingers on the table twice.
The Board of Directors vote will be held this afternoon. In other words, he only has a few hours time window.
"What's the valuation? What's the financing amount?" he asked.
Shen Jue said, "I'm not sure about this, I need to ask for you."
Zhao Chen said, "Please, please do it as soon as possible."
"Okay, wait for my call." Shen Jue hung up.
Zhao Chen put the phone on the table and leaned on the back of the chair.
Chen Xi and Su Wantang both looked at him, but no one said anything.
Three minutes later, Shen Jue's call came back.
"Asked." She said, "The valuation is about 800 million, and the financing scale is about 40 million. Ningxia Huaqiang, accounting for about 5% of the shares after the investment."
Zhao Chen's brow moved slightly.
800 million valuation. 40 million financing. Ningxia Huaqiang.
The numbers were spinning in his mind.
"Zhao Chen," Shen Jue's voice came from the other end of the phone, "Do you attach great importance to this project? If you don't attach too much importance to it, there is no need to get involved."
Zhao Chen did not hesitate. "We take it very seriously."
He paused and his tone was a little heavier than usual:
"Director Shen, Yunnan Agriculture Group are far behind Bubble Mary.
Yunnan Agriculture is engaged in industry, which has cycles and ceilings.
Bubble Mary is different - what it does is IP, it is Emotional Consumption, and it is a business with no upper limit. This investment is very important to Henglong."
There was silence on the other end of the phone for two seconds.
Shen Jue's tone changed, from the casual question just now to serious, "Are you so optimistic about it?"
Zhao Chen said, "Very optimistic. How much do you know about Bubble Mary?"
Shen Jue was silent for two seconds, then smiled, "You really asked the right person."
She paused, and there was a hint of memory in her voice. "I have seen this project before."
Chen Xi and Su Wantang both pricked up their ears.
Shen Jue said, "About June or July this year, someone in the circle recommended this project to me.
At that time, Bubble Mary had just been listed on New Third Board and was seeking a new round of financing.
I specially flew to Beijing, visited their store, and also met Wang An himself."
Zhao Chen asked, "What do you think?"
Shen Jue thought for a while, "Let's talk about Wang An first. In 1987, Henan,
Zhengzhou University graduated with a major in advertising and opened the first Bubble Mary store in Beijing Zhongguancun in 2010."
She paused:
"This guy is very interesting. You know, when he first opened the store, he sold everything--
Cosmetics, stationery, accessories, just like a small grocery store.
It was very difficult in the first few years. We suffered losses for three consecutive years, and store managers and store employees resigned en masse."
She continued, "An investor asked him what he did, and he said, 'I want to sell toys to adults.'
People say - you're kidding, buying toys for adults is equivalent to selling shampoo to bald heads."
Chen Xi couldn't help but laugh.
Su Wantang also curled his lips.
Zhao Chen tapped his fingers on the table twice.
Shen Jue continued:
"But he is very resilient. In 2015, he discovered that a Japan doll named Sonny Angel was selling very well, and he began to think about it--
Why did the adult buy this thing? Later he figured it out: he was not buying a toy, but companionship and emotional projection."
"Then he did something - he cut off all other categories in the store, leaving only Designer Toys.
Mololoy Blind Boxes was launched in 2016 and sold out in 4 seconds."
Zhao Chen asked, "Then why didn't you vote?"
There was silence on the other end of the phone for a moment.
Shen Jue's tone became a little subtle. "Because of valuation."
She sighed, "Do you know what the valuation of Bubble Mary was at that time?"
Zhao Chen said nothing.
Shen Jue said, "More than 700 million."
Chen Xi took a breath. "700 million? How much profit did they make at that time?"
Shen Jue said, "That's the problem.
They didn't have any profit at that time. Without any profit, they asked for 700 million, although the Blind Boxes strategy had already been effective at that time."
Su Wantang said softly "Ah" next to him.
Shen Jue smiled bitterly, "So I hesitated at that time. No matter how I calculated it, I felt it was expensive.
And they were still in a period of transformation then and even now - from a Designer Toys retail store to a bilateral platform connecting consumers and IP Designer."
She paused. "To put it bluntly, they are now in an 'investment vacuum period'.
The business model has not worked out, profits have not been released, and the valuation is not cheap.
Most investors don't understand it, and neither do I."
Zhao Chen listened, and every word Shen Jue said was spinning in his mind.
Zhao Chen asked, "What's the current situation of the company?"
Shen Jue said, "We just turned a profit in the first half of 2017.
The annual revenue is about 150 million, and the profit is more than 1 million. The scale is not large, but the momentum is very strong.
Nearly 50 stores have been opened, and Robot Shops has also begun to be sold."
She added, "And their IP is not just Mololoy. Pucoky, Satyr Roroy are also pushing.
I heard that they are still talking about a new IP, it seems to be Hong Kong and Designer, what are they called..."
"Long Xiangsheng." Zhao Chen said.
Shen Jue was stunned for a moment. "You know?"
Zhao Chen asked, "Ningxia Huaqiang, what's the background?"
Shen Jue said, "Shanghai Guoqiang Equity Investment Management Co., Ltd. focuses on Consumer Sector and has not invested in many projects.
This time I invested in Bubble Mary, probably because I took a fancy to their opportunity to transform from a retail store to an IP platform."
She paused. "Zhao Chen, if you really want to vote, you have to hurry up.
As soon as Ningxia Huaqiang and Board of Directors pass this afternoon, the share will be determined.
Although this organization is not as famous as Sequoia, it has already reached the stage of signing."
Zhao Chen was silent for two seconds.
"Send me the phone numbers of Director Shen and Wang An."
Shen Jue said, "Okay. I'll send it to you right away."
She paused and added:
"Zhao Chen, your vision is really vicious. I have been exposed to this project Bubble Mary, but I don't take it as seriously as you do.
After hearing what you said today, I have to go back and take a closer look."
Zhao Chen said, "It's not a loss after watching it."
Shen Jue smiled, "Okay. Hang up."
The phone hung up. The phone vibrated and a number was sent from Shen Jue.
Wang An's mobile phone number.
Zhao Chen looked at the string of numbers and did not dial immediately.
Su Wantang came over and asked softly, "Do you think we can negotiate?"
Zhao Chen said, "I don't know. But it's worth a try."
He won't let go of the fat in his mouth easily.
Moreover, this kind of cultural creation is difficult to copy, otherwise he could create his own brand and compete with Bubble Mary.