In ancient Japan, a year was divided into two parts: January to June and July to December.
July is also the first month.
The festival from January to June is repeated from July to December.
Although the influence of this habit no longer exists, July is still regarded by the Japanese as "Zhongyuan".
It can be said that this is a festival that has been indifferent to our countrymen and has almost been forgotten, but it is still quite prosperous in Japan.
For the Japanese, Nakagen was a religious activity in the past, in which food such as rice, rice cakes, and fish offered to gods or Buddhas were given to those close to them.
But now it has evolved into a habit of giving gifts to those who take care of you every day to express your gratitude.
Not only among private individuals, but also among companies, it is popular to give gifts to each other, and the level of importance is equivalent to that at the end of the year.
The gifts given are usually food or daily necessities, which are really diverse.
For this reason, every year at this time, Japanese department stores, other stores, and large supermarkets will open special counters, display a variety of seasonal products, and hire temporary workers to carry out large-scale promotional activities.
People don't even have to send gifts directly to each other's homes; most of them are delivered directly to doorsteps by department stores or other places.
Needless to say, as Japanese people’s wallets become increasingly bulging, this year’s Ghost Festival will naturally cost more on gifts than in previous years.
Not to mention the endless supply of high-end products, even the packaging is unique.
Merchants do not hesitate to use precious materials such as gold foil, and put small gifts such as gold and silver utensils and crystal products into gift boxes to increase the value of the gifts.
In Ning Weimin's view, the business atmosphere of the Japanese is quite similar to the domestic Mid-Autumn Festival in the previous life, when "bath crabs" and sky-high-priced mooncakes were once popular.
Business conspiracy.
From this point of view, the Japanese people who are treated like leeks by Japanese retailers have some sympathy with the Chinese people who will buy high-priced mooncakes and "bath crabs" in the future.
However, although Japanese people are full of calls to "abolish this habit" and many people are miserable because of the high cost of gifts, there is no sign of this in reality.
After all, Hungry Ghost Festival gifts are given to bosses, elders or people who have taken care of you to express gratitude.
This gift-giving custom has a considerable social effect, especially for people with social anxiety.
From a certain perspective, without this custom, many unsociable Japanese would be at a loss as to how to ease conflicts among colleagues and smooth out interpersonal relationships.
Therefore, because of this, some department stores even take the initiative to lobby foreign-funded companies, hoping that they will "do as the locals do" and comply with Japanese customs, saying that doing so can help them consolidate their business foundation and improve customer relationships more smoothly.
(Tokyo, Japan, 1987)
Needless to say, after returning to Tokyo, whether it is Ning Weimin or Matsumoto Keiko, the first problem they need to solve is nothing else, but the problem of receiving gifts, returning gifts, and giving gifts.
The higher the social level, the more people understand that giving gifts to each other is a science, a gamble of taste, and a manifestation of the ability to cater to people's hearts.
Especially for a nation like the Japanese who often give gifts and like to give gifts, there are numerous taboos and rules when it comes to gift communication, making it even more difficult to achieve something impeccable, just right, and touching people's hearts.
Don't talk about anything else, just talk about returning the gift.
The principle of returning gifts is to give the same gift to subordinates or juniors, and to give half the value to superiors and peers.
This standard is determined by habit. If you get it wrong, you may cause other people to gossip behind your back.
This is the same as tipping in European and American countries. How much is considered appropriate is very confusing.
Especially for people like Ning Weimin and Matsumoto Keiko, who have extensive contacts and complex social relationships, not only did they receive so many gifts, they could almost open a store.
Moreover, they are not familiar with the preferences of many gift givers, and it is difficult to estimate the value of many gifts delivered to their door, which makes this matter even more difficult.
For example, no matter how valuable they are, the practical daily necessities received by Ning Weimin and Matsumoto Keiko.
Such as: mobile phones, PC laptops, Sharp
OK, microwave oven, oven, electronic watch that can store phone numbers, Yamazaki whiskey, Suntory whiskey, Vittorio Phoenix, Rémy Martin brandy, Moët & Chandon, French red wine, pink beer, oolong tea, Gyokuro tea, Western snacks, ham, roast beef,
These things all have standard market prices, and it’s easy to tell how much they cost. Even if many of them are new products that have just been launched, it doesn’t matter. You just need to make some effort to find out.
But for different products from imported luxury brands such as Rolex, Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Hermès, Chanel, Tiffany, Bulgari, and Gucci, as well as products sent by local or imported jewelry stores such as Mibiki and Van Cleef & Arpels
With all kinds of jewelry in different styles, it is more difficult to find out the specific price.
Because the prices of these things vary greatly, the prices of products of the same brand and type can vary greatly due to differences in materials, craftsmanship, and styles.
Moreover, some special products are available in one store but not in that store, and you may not even be able to find out the price.
Even the class who often consume this luxury item cannot accurately judge the value of most gifts.
Therefore, it is even more difficult to make an accurate judgment.
This is nothing, but things like "health-preserving Chinese medicine" that has recently become popular in Japan, as well as calligraphy and paintings, tea cups, Chinese antiques and other things that someone took advantage of and sent specially for Ning Weimin, are the most disappointing things.
Something whose value is hard to estimate.
The actual value of some things is no matter what, but if these people can buy them and give them to Ning Weimin, the value will not be too cheap.
God knows how much they spent on these things in Japan. Anyway, the probability of blood loss is relatively high.
How should Ning Weimin respond to this?
If ordinary people faced such a difficult problem, it would probably be like taking the college entrance examination all over again. They would think about it day and night, and even lose a lot of hair.
But having said that, the good thing is that Ning Weimin is not an ordinary person.
First of all, he is an expert in giving gifts. In addition to understanding some Japanese customs and taboos about gifts, he also knows that the best gifts must have the following characteristics.
1. The best gift should be something that the recipient wants or likes.
Second, the best gifts are unexpected and surprising.
Third, the best gifts can reflect sincerity and kindness.
Fourth, the best gift should be something that is not vulgar in style.
5. The best gift will not exceed your financial ability and corresponding budget planning.
Secondly, in addition to the tasks that Ning Weimin has when he comes back this time, in addition to opening the branches of Tan Gong Restaurant in Kyoto and Osaka as soon as possible, he also has the task of further promoting "Dream of Red Mansions" in Japan.
Therefore, this time he not only brought back thirty carefully selected employees as the vanguard, but also asked these employees to use trolley suitcases to transport a large number of handicrafts on the theme of "Dream of Red Mansions" for him, as well as a suitcase of Yin
Yue used 30% of the price to purchase the panda souvenir sheet and panda stamps.
In addition, Ning Weimin also obtained domestic authorization. Before leaving Japan, he had already asked the Japanese printing factory to print 20,000 sets of the Japanese version of the "Dream of Red Mansions" comic strip, and also had the Japanese audio and video products factory record it
Ten thousand sets of "Dream of Red Mansions" videotapes.
So in this way, he has enough gifts of different grades, full of exotic sentiments and cultural atmosphere to solve this problem.
You know, not only do Japanese people generally like craft gifts, but in Japan, both video tapes and books are very valuable things.
One video tape sells for 15,000 yen. Eighteen video tapes with the length of thirty-six episodes of the "Dream of Red Mansions" TV series are recorded, and the total price is 270,000 yen.
In terms of comic books, Ning Weimin took the reading habits of the Japanese into consideration and retyped the sixteen volumes of "Dream of Red Mansions" from the 1980s version of "Shangmei" under the name of Huiwentang Bookstore, and printed it into Shangxia by a small printing factory in Tokyo.
There are two large format volumes, and the total price is 4,800 yen for the hardcover edition.
These two things alone are enough for him to meet most of the needs of returning gifts and giving gifts.
(Japanese version of "Dream of Red Mansions" comic book cover)
(Inside page of Japanese version of "Dream of Red Mansions" comic book)
As a Chinese businessman, Ning Weimin chose such a gift that is full of Chinese culture and is suitable for both refined and popular tastes. It is definitely a clever way to get the best of both worlds.
Whether it is used as a gift to your subordinates, as a gift to your partners, or as a way to impress those high-ranking figures, it can be just right and not cliché.
Not to mention that there are silk figures, porcelain, glazed lamps, various toys, round fans, incense fans, paper umbrellas, and purses as effective supplements, allowing him to make appropriate adjustments according to the status of the other party and the thickness of the gift.
Even if it is slightly lacking in practicality, it doesn't matter, because don't forget Ning Weimin and Tan Gong Restaurant.
He also brought a lot of people from the capital. Now that the branch has not yet opened, they are all used to assist with gifts.
Get some pastry gift boxes, get some tea and candy gift boxes, and get some palace cake gift boxes, with your own packaged sour plum soup, rose dew, and jasmine flowers packaged in the name of "A Dream of Red Mansions" and "The Twelve Hairpins of Jinling"
Tea, chrysanthemum tea, and Chinese wine can effectively make up for this shortcoming.
Not only that, what he did actually highlighted the cultural heritage of the big IP of Red Mansion, making it look more and more dazzling with gifts and decent scenery.
It must be said that China has a long history of culture and art, and its praise from the world is not in vain.
Ning Weimin only used one of the four great classics and randomly took out one or two hands to achieve the unique, elegant, exquisite and unexpected effects of the gift.
It makes social problems that are originally difficult to deal with easier, and it is even possible to gain a lot of favor from others through this matter, which will have a positive promotion effect on your career.
After all, he is used to seeing many Japanese people criticize their true virtues.
Just like Dan Gong Restaurant, there will always be Japanese customers who complain to the waiters because of their preconceptions.
"The taste of this mapo tofu is wrong? Why is it so spicy? It's not sweet at all?"
The waiter replied, "This is a traditional Chinese method, and it is different from the Japanese method."
The customer chewed, "It doesn't taste good..."
Chew Chew Chew, still with a disgusted tone, "It really doesn't taste good, it's too spicy..."
I took a sip of ice water, chewed it, and took another sip.
As a result, the next time I came, I ordered this dish and ate it without fail.
What's more, China's labor is too cheap, but the art technology is extremely mature. This advantage is reflected in handicrafts, which is a big killer that sweeps away everything.
Things like silk utensils, silk and sandalwood fans, and embroidered uchiwa fans are considered by the Japanese to be valuable luxuries.
But the fact is that these gifts are very cheap, regardless of the external price tag.
When Ning Weimin came here, the average cost of the things he brought from China was really not high.
For example, the traditional Japanese handicraft "Ningyo" is a doll made of clay, paper, wood and other materials.
This kind of doll is very similar to the silk doll, but it is expensive.
The cheapest one costs 10,000 to 20,000 yen, and the most expensive one costs more than 100,000 yen, or even hundreds of thousands of yen.
However, the production cost of the silk figures brought by Ning Weimin was only five or six hundred yen for a small one, and only one or two thousand yen for a large one.
Ten thousand yen is enough for the ex-factory price of a set of silk figures with twelve gold hairpins. Where is the difference?
If he sends such a gift to the Japanese, then does it matter how the Japanese feel?
The standards for measuring value are completely incompatible.
(Traditional Japanese dolls called "Ningyo")
In fact, for Ning Weimin, the gifts that probably cost the most financially among all the gifts were video tapes and books made in Japan, but the cost was only 20 to 30% of the selling price.
So even from the most philistine perspective, Ning Weimin has made a lot of money.
No one would have thought that this guy would even give gifts in a speculative way.
Through the Ghost Festival, he actually managed to run a small shop just by giving and receiving gifts, making a profit of no less than ten million yen. This is also an anomaly.
And this is still a little guy.
Ning Weimin not only gives them away himself, he also sells them. Just like what he did at Japan's cultural festival, he also put up a "Chinese Zhongyuan Traditional Gifts" promotion banner at the Huibundang Bookstore in the Azabu area.
, there are one or two long cases of samples specially placed in the store, including various Chinese handicrafts and Chinese pastries, candies and snack gift boxes.
Even before the Ghost Festival, which lasted less than a week, we took advantage of the right time and location to sell more than 20 million yen in goods. We finally did not miss this business opportunity.
What's even more surprising is that without any publicity, "A Dream of Red Mansions" got the credit.
The just-published "Dream of Red Mansions" comic book has also sold more than 600 copies due to the increase in customer traffic, which is quite surprising.
If we look at it objectively, in fact, at this time, Ebuntang Bookstore, located in one of Tokyo's downtown business districts, already had a small status in the hearts of Japanese people in Tokyo who loved Chinese culture.
And because this is not just a place that sells Chinese books and handicrafts, you can also taste Chinese tea, pastries, and candies that are rare in Japan.
In fact, the business model here has already broken through the original plan of a literary cafe or teahouse designed by Ning Weimin, and has become a window that can truly promote Chinese culture.
Not only are there more and more customers coming here because of it, but also the number of repeat customers is increasing day by day. There are also greedy customers who want to buy the Chinese pastries and tea they have read about in books.
There are also cultural scholars and college students who specialize in Chinese culture and hope that the bookstore can help them purchase some books published in mainland China.
If we look at the future of the store, the existence of Huiwentang Bookstore is no longer dispensable.
Profits have also made it the leader among most bookstores in Japan that are still losing money, and they even have the unique resource of importing books from mainland China, which has allowed them to resume part of their publishing business.
It should be said that achieving the current results was not only an unintentional move by Ning Weimin, but also stemmed from the poor cultural exchanges in this era and the unique charm of Chinese culture accumulated over five thousand years.
Unknowingly, Ning Weimin already had a small bridgehead on Japan's cultural front. God knows how far he can go in the future with the help of this bookstore.