Chapter 1181 — The Kang Family's Shock: Watching Dr. Guan's Trauma Ointment Roll Out in Bulk and Pour Steadily into the National Market, the Whole Kang Family Was Left Gobsmacked
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"Didn't I tell you to lock down the supply channels for raw materials? What happened? Where on earth did Dr. Guan's Pharmaceutical Company get hold of so much?" Divine Doctor Kang stared at the reports in the newspapers and on the television, hurled the teacup from his hand onto the floor, and roared at Kang Guifeng: "Kang Guifeng, explain this to me — what is going on? Weren't you the one in charge of the raw materials?"
"Father, I really did buy up every last bit of raw material... including the poor-quality lots... There shouldn't be a scrap of stock left on the market!" Kang Guifeng said with a bitter face. "Unless they began purchasing raw materials in bulk years ago, everything on the market has been monopolized by our Kangjia by now!"
"Years ago? How could that be? Are you telling me they brooded over it for years before putting the product on the market? Do you honestly think that's possible?" Divine Doctor Kang said angrily.
"I don't think it's possible either... but there simply is no other explanation!" Kang Guifeng said rather helplessly. "I've already asked every raw-material supplier — not one of them has any stock left. I even offered to buy at a premium, and they still couldn't produce any. That proves nobody has goods left..."
"No goods? Then it must be ghosts. This Dr. Guan trauma ointment is streaming into the market without end — more of it than our own supply, everything you could possibly ask for. At that price we couldn't even cover our own costs!" Divine Doctor Kang snorted coldly.
"They may be taking a loss just to keep up the cry — bleeding money to crush us..." Kang Guifeng hesitated a moment, then said. "It's a standard business tactic, and plenty of people use it. Once they've squeezed our product out of the market and driven us into delisting, once they've captured the whole market, they raise the prices — that way they recover every penny they lost before."
"Oh? You mean they did it deliberately? All that stockpiling was meant to bring us down?" Divine Doctor Kang asked.
"That's certainly possible..." Kang Guifeng had turned it over and over in his mind for days and still could not work out how Dr. Guan's Pharmaceutical Company had managed to blanket the entire market within the space of a few days.
"Hmm — then let us discuss it. How should we respond?" Divine Doctor Kang frowned and asked.
"Well... Grandfather, I happen to have a splendid idea!" Having lost face before, Kang Jinglong made a point of speaking up ahead of Kang Jingming this time.
"Oh? What splendid idea? Tell us." Divine Doctor Kang looked at his eldest grandson and smiled faintly. In truth, the grandson he favored most was still the eldest, Kang Jinglong — though as matters stood, Kang Jingming was proving quite capable as well.
"It's like this. Since Dr. Guan's Pharmaceutical Company is willing to sell at a loss, let them. On the surface we carry on exactly as before, making no adjustment whatsoever to our product's price or sales volume — while in secret we buy up Dr. Guan's trauma ointment by the truckload." Kang Jinglong said: "If we can't even cover our own costs, we'll purchase their product in bulk and stockpile it. Then, when Dr. Guan's Pharmaceutical Company can no longer hold on, we swap the packaging and push the goods right back onto the market at the original price — and we'll take Dr. Guan to the cleaners for a very tidy sum!"
"Hmm... there is something to that." Divine Doctor Kang nodded, feeling that Kang Jinglong's plan did have a measure of practicality to it. Still, he turned his gaze toward Kang Jingming, wanting to see whether his second grandson had anything worth saying; Kang Jingming had lately achieved a thing or two of his own, so Divine Doctor Kang asked: "And you, Zhaoming? What do you say — how should we handle this?"