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Chapter 440: Chapter 202 - Getting Ready for the Wild
At noon, when we were wining and dining Su Huai, L’Oréal sent out their witch brigade, giving the countrified fella quite an eye-opener.
Beauty companies are certainly never short of beauties.
The beauties at L’Oréal are different from those outside; they combine the gift of gab from sales with the avant-garde trends of the fashion circle. At first glance, they appear dignified and serious, but when you get to know them, they’re freaking good at flirting.
One of them kept stuffing things into Su Huai’s hands, her tender hands like fresh bamboo shoots, while playing games with him.
Another one schooled Su Huai in perfume and lipstick, and when it came to perfume, she shoved her neck in Gou Huai’s face: "To truly understand perfume, you must experience it yourself..." Su Huai didn’t catch a single word after that.
The method of schooling him in lipstick was even more outrageous, with her eyes seductively on Su Huai: "Handsome, it’s a new flavor, do you want to try it?"
Corruption, sheer corruption!
Si Bohan watched Su Huai with nowhere to hide and laughed heartily.
In truth, nothing really happened; it’s just that a couple of close-to-30-year-old big sisters rarely encounter a young and fresh client and got a little too enthusiastic, that’s all.
Su Huai kept his hands to himself, and all they could do was drool.
Everyone shared a bit of wine and chatted about everything under the sun. Su Huai was not intimidated at all and soon figured out L’Oréal’s bottom line, with Si Bohan intentionally cooperating.
It’s worth mentioning that L’Oréal’s move to turn BAs into online influencers wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision; they started signing contracts with YouTube influencers as early as 2014.
"Of course, what we sign are only business agreements."
Si Bohan spoke truthfully, "L’Oréal won’t and can’t take over the management contracts of influencers, to personally train or manage them. Otherwise, we would have established a modeling department a long time ago, do you understand?"
Got it, all the rights to the influencers belong to me.
Su Huai quickly grasped the key point and also knew how to make his demands in the contract negotiations that afternoon.
It wasn’t so much that Si Bohan was intentionally giving him a backdoor; it’s just that similar fashion brands are all the same, focusing on their core business and not spending extra energy on non-essential elements to save costs.
However, the attitude of the person in charge during the afternoon contract discussions was quite different.
"The influencers you mentioned are actually our full-time sales staff at various store counters with benefits and formal employment. Without L’Oréal’s long-term training, they would not possess such professional sales skills. So, isn’t it appropriate that we retain their employment status, or at least let L’Oréal have some managerial powers?"
Clearly, there was still a division within L’Oréal.
Some executives hoped to gain more benefits and even fantasized about having the ability to independently cultivate influencers in the future, which is quite understandable.
But Si Bohan himself had already revealed his stance to Su Huai, so Su Huai firmly rebutted.
"Are you planning to establish a dedicated influencer management department to collaborate with our company? If so, please set up that department first, then come to me asking for powers. For now, I don’t want to discuss such hollow topics."
The vice president maintained a seemingly self-reliant demeanor but tried another angle.
"Then we could take another step back. Shouldn’t you give L’Oréal some exclusive assurance?"
After putting up a firm front, Su Huai suddenly softened, not outright refusing but starting to reason.
"Don’t rush, let me straighten this out for you.
Our influencer project specifically works like this—
L’Oréal provides the staff, and we offer online sales training; those staff members are your full-time sales staff at various store counters with benefits and formal employment.
Therefore, you believe you should have some control over the final outcome of the hosts.
I can understand that, but in practice, it’s not really feasible.
Because transitioning from a BA to a host isn’t just a change of sales scenario, it’s a complete overturning of identity.
Why aren’t they called online salespeople, but influencers instead?
Because in offline stores, their appeal is built on the brand. A customer goes to a L’Oréal store specifically for that brand.
But online, there’s no physical product, it’s not one-on-one, and there’s no strong purchase desire. The hosts’ appeal is entirely built on us—we provide specific plans, scripts, training, traffic investment, and scenario building. We gradually build up the personal influence of the influencers. Therefore, their contracts belonging to us is both a professional requirement and a source of benefit and motivation..."
Su Huai finally got into the specifics of the influencer strategies, and the other party kept nodding in agreement.
But what Su Huai didn’t say was...
In essence, Xingyu needs L’Oréal more.
The premise for influencer BA transformation is the need for good sales. The beauty track is too specialized. Xingyu can’t cultivate that, nor does it know where to dig.
With so many department store counters nationwide, who knows which salesperson is suitable for transitioning to a host?
Li Jiaqi is a diamond sifted from the sand, in reality, maybe only one out of a hundred offline salespeople is suitable to be a host.
The congeniality and attentiveness of the top salesperson at a store are completely useless in a live broadcast room.
So L’Oréal’s talent reserves are crucial. Without them, Su Huai simply can’t make it in the beauty field.
There’s a total of three main players in the entire beauty track, and the other two aren’t interested in the influencer approach at all. Can you believe that Estée Lauder only had its first official live broadcast in 2021?
L’Oréal, even without Xingyu, cultivated Li Jiaqi, but Xingyu without L’Oréal would see its grand ambitions thwarted.
However, after a round of fast talk by Su Huai, the tables have turned, and it now seems as if Xingyu is calling the shots from on high.
