Brand issues

"Alright, let's get serious. Have you used UC?" Chen Yu asked.

"I just downloaded it and tried it out," Wang Chang replied.

"What do you think?"

"Isn't this the instant messaging app developed by your classmate?"

"Yeah."

"I see."

Chen Yu nodded. He hadn't expected that UC, the app from Sina, was actually developed by his classmate, Wang Chang. It seemed like WHU had some talented individuals.

"See? Why not share your thoughts?" Chen Yu asked.

"Why should I? It's not a competitor to our product, so it's irrelevant to us. By the way, your classmate seems to be doing well. How about asking your classmate to help us get some free advertising from Sina?"

Wang Chang was almost speechless. "You..."

Chen Yu chuckled. He could sense that Wang Chang and her classmate were not on good terms.

"Alright, I'll give you a brief evaluation. UC is actually pretty good. It has all the necessary features and even some that QQ doesn't have. Especially the UC Show feature, it's quite impressive. To be honest, it has the potential to succeed."

"What do you mean by 'potential'?" Wang Chang asked.

"I mean that if there was no QQ, UC could have succeeded."

However, Chen Yu, who knew about the future, was well aware that although UC was somewhat famous, it was utterly defeated in competition with QQ. In the end, it had to pivot to group voice chat software and still couldn't compete with YY.

"Do you have such high hopes for QQ?"

"It's not just QQ; I have high hopes for the QQ team."

"Are you talking about Ma Huateng and his team?"

"Yes."

After a moment of thought, Chen Yu continued, "I predict that QQ Show will be launched in the market in half a month."

"QQ Show? Are you serious?"

Wang Chang was skeptical. "That's impossible. UC Show was just released, and it's been less than half a year. How could they launch QQ Show so quickly?"

"QQ has the capability."

"Even if, as you say, QQ might launch QQ Show, how could it surpass the originality of UC Show?"

"Don't worry; in half a month, you'll see just how terrifying QQ's imitation abilities are."

Chen Yu then mentioned that in his previous life, QQ Show was not an original QQ product. Back then, there was a product manager at QQ named Xu Liang who noticed that a South Korean software featured a fashion show concept. He suggested that a fashion show concept would be a great fit for QQ's style. QQ's higher-ups agreed, and eventually, QQ Show became one of QQ's earliest profitable ventures.

However, Chen Yu didn't delve too deeply into their affairs. They could do their thing, and he could do his. For now, he preferred dealing with smaller challenges, leveling up, and saving the big showdown with the boss for later.

...

"Dad, I noticed you haven't been going to the shop recently."

"The shop has your mom and a few helpers; whether I go or not doesn't matter."

"Oh, Dad, acting like a big shot now, huh?"

"Don't get carried away."

5173 had established a solid foundation through collaboration with gaming  workshops, and both workshops and regular players were aware of the virtual item trading website. This had left Chen Yu with some free time. One rare afternoon, Chen Yu took a nap at home.

However, when he woke up, he saw his father holding a book on legal matters, constantly furrowing his brows.

"Dad, what's going on? Maybe I can help with some ideas."

"Yes, yes, I almost forgot, you're the little genius of our Chen family."

After some thought, Chen Simian said, "Longnan opened a restaurant called 'Beauty Snail'."

"Meiniu Tianluo? That name sounds so vulgar."

"Regardless of how vulgar it sounds, I checked it out, and their business is doing well. But the way I see it, they're clearly copying our 'Snail Beauty'. Should I sue them?"

"Sue them?"

"Yes, they copied our 'Snail Beauty', can't we sue them?"

"Uh..."

Chen Yu suddenly understood. He had been wondering why his father was reading legal books when he had nothing to do.

It turns out he wanted to sue someone.

"Dad, forget it, don't sue them, you won't win."

"Why won't I win? Look at their sign, we're called 'Snail Beauty', and they're called 'Beauty Snail'. And we have five flavors of snails, and they also have five. Our plates cost 3 yuan each, and so do theirs. We recently added duck feet, and they did too."

"You really can't sue them."

Chen Yu smiled wryly and said, "Dad, logically, we can make snail dishes, so why can't others make snail dishes? Besides, they haven't copied our secret recipe, and even if they did, they've made it using their own skills. It's not like this restaurant monopolizes a dish just because they cooked it. Also, about the prices..."

Chen Yu explained at length, and in the end, Chen Simian threw the book aside. "Alright, alright, I understand all of this. It's not that I don't know we can't sue; it just doesn't sit right with me."

"Okay, okay, don't worry about them. Let them do their thing, and we'll do ours. I'm heading to the shop."

"Hey, Dad, don't go yet; I haven't finished speaking."

Chen Yu stopped Chen Simian, who was about to go to the shop.

"Xiaoyu, what else do you want to say?"

"I mean, Dad, if we turn a blind eye today and Longnan opens a 'Beauty Snail', then tomorrow, Dingnan might open a 'Dashing Snail', the day after, Quannan could have 'Uncle Snail', and even in Xinfeng, there might be a 'Snail Patriarch'."

"Ah..."

As Chen Simian listened, he started to panic.

"What should we do? If they really start doing this, how are we going to run our business?"

Over this period of time, Chen Simian had become quite skilled in business, and he could consider various aspects. In reality, small eateries like Snail Beauty didn't have a high level of culinary expertise; their success was rooted in specialization and freshness. If someone wanted to imitate them, they could easily replicate the exact same thing. In fact, there might be experts out there who could make snails even tastier than those at Snail Beauty.

"Dad, don't worry."

"Why shouldn't I worry? If they all start imitating us, our franchisees will be out of business."

After the franchise in Nankang was established, Snail Beauty had gained some recognition. Later, two more branches in Chongyi and Anyuan joined as franchisees. Chen Simian had even planned to expand Snail Beauty to all eighteen counties in Ganzhou. But now, it seemed hopeless.

If everyone could imitate them, what was the point of paying franchise fees?

"Dad, we can't run away."

"Why can't we?"

Chen Simian became even more anxious. "If they realize that joining us as franchisees doesn't yield significant benefits, they won't consider franchising with Snail Beauty. After all, not everyone is willing to pay 30,000 yuan."

"Dad, the real reason they're reluctant to franchise with us isn't just about the 30,000 yuan."

"What's the reason, then?"

"It's because our Snail Beauty brand isn't well-known enough."

"Not well-known?"

"Yes," Chen Yu added, "If our Snail Beauty brand were as famous as KFC, do you think they would prefer opening their own imitation shop or franchising with KFC?"