Chapter 66 Knock-Off Product
Leslie's incident caused a stir in Ludington City. However, it was over after the TV station revealed the truth the next day.
As things calmed down, Zachary focused on his cultivation again.
As for the company, they had produced a large amount of Wonderzac Refining Ointment after a period of time. The next step would be the official sales of this product.
Although the refining ointment was famous in Ludington City, the sales would not be good if they just sold it without any marketing. Therefore, Lauren specially prepared a press conference to launch the Wonderzac Refining Ointment as a form of promotion.
The preparation for the press conference was in full swing as it was just around the corner. Zachary, who was the one who formulated the refining ointment, was asked by Lauren to give a speech at the press conference.
There was still one night left before the press conference. After cultivation, Zachary started to prepare his speech before he was ready to rest.
All of a sudden, he received a phone call from Lauren. He answered it immediately. Lauren's anxious voice came from the other end, "Zachary, bad news!"
"What's wrong, Sister Lim?" Zachary asked.
"I can't make it clear in words! I'll send you a web page. You'll know when you look at it," Lauren said.
Zachary turned on his laptop quickly. He received the link to the website sent by Lauren in the next second and clicked on the link immediately. His face darkened as soon as he saw the title of the news.
The title of the news was "Huang Group collaborated with Ludington Medical College in the development of refining ointment. A press conference will be held at 10 o'clock the next morning." This was exactly the same time as the press conference by Wonderzac Group.
After glancing through the news, Zachary's face was sombre because the news mentioned that Huang Group had collaborated with Ludington Medical College to launch a brand of refining ointment. They named it Ludington Refining Ointment. The descriptive effects and the price of it were very similar to that of Wonderzac Group. Besides, the location of the press conference was just next to Wonderzac Group.
They wanted to monopolize the market for refining ointment under the great reputation and influence of Huang Group.
"Zachary, the Huang Group has collaborated with Ludington Medical College. Perhaps they have developed a new formula together?" Lauren asked.
Zachary shook his head instinctively, "That's impossible. It's not easy to develop a new formula for refining ointment. Also, I'm confident that the effect is definitely not as good as my refining ointment even if they could come up with their own formula to achieve the effect of body strengthening."
"We don't have to worry if it's just a normal health supplement. But, they clearly named it as refining ointment as well. I'm afraid they're going to compete with us," Lauren said quickly. Suddenly, she paused, "Zachary, could it be possible that your formulation has been leaked to them?"
"No," Zachary responded. He knew that he didn't reveal the formulation of refining ointment to anyone else.
"Perhaps the person who leaked the formulation is from our company?" Although Lauren had put on several security layers on the formulation, it was still very likely that their staff could leak it out.
Zachary said deeply, "Sister Lim, I know what you mean, but it's impossible. Also, it'd not be a big deal even if my formulation is leaked."
"Oh, why is that so?" Lauren asked.
Zachary explained, "A person will only produce a normal paste if he makes it according to the herbs and dosage mentioned in my formulation. There will be no refining effect at all. This is because there are two steps in the manufacturing process that require special methods. It's my own creation. It's impossible for anyone to know."
"Could the staff in the production line of the factory..." Lauren was not entirely convinced.
"It's impossible. The manufacturing process in the factory has been divided into several sections. The dosages and the processing time of each herb is different. Moreover, the manufacturing process in the factory is not in accordance with the real order. The workers only know how to deal with their respective stages. They don't know what to do next because they can't link each section in the manufacturing process together. The refining ointment will not be effective if any of these steps is wrong."
"Well, you're saying that their refining ointment is definitely not as effective as ours," Lauren said, feeling a little relieved.
"Of course! It will be much worse than us," Zachary had strong confidence in his own product.
"That's great!" Lauren calmed down and said, "But, they chose to hold a press conference at the same time as us. This will definitely bring an impact to the sales of our product. We have to do our best in this press conference." "Okay, I will make some preparations. Sister Lim, don't worry too much. Have a good rest," Zachary comforted.
"Zach, I'm relieved as long as you're here. Have a good rest too!" Lauren said charmingly.
After hanging up the phone, Zachary was still frowning. He was not worried that the other company's refining ointment would be better than his. What worried him was that the other party would disrupt the market and the trust of consumers in the refining ointment. He had spent so much effort to build the consumers' trust in refining ointment. Also, he was afraid that this would affect public trust in Chinese medicine.
"Alan Wu, Jimmy Yan, you better behave yourselves. Otherwise, don't blame me for humiliating both of you tomorrow," Zachary thought as he gripped his fists tightly.
The next morning, Ludington Convention Center was crowded with reporters, relevant personnel from the pharmaceutical industry, relevant government officials, and onlookers.
Everything was ready in both neighboring booths. Everyone was waiting for the press conference from Huang Group, the biggest pharmaceutical company in Ludington City, which had collaborated with Ludington Medical College. They were also waiting for the press conference from Wonderzac Group, which had gained the people's attention for a long time.
The crowd was swarming with enthusiasm outside. Vincent, who was standing beside Alan on the backstage of the Huang Group, was feeling a little nervous. He glanced at his father and said anxiously, "Dad, there won't be any problem with today's press conference, right? Our products..."
"Shut up! Why are you so dispirited?" Alan growled. "Our products are good. Director Huang has made other preparations as well."
"Dad, but the effect... It doesn't work at all..." Vincent muttered.
"Shut up! We must defeat Wonderzac Group. You just have to sit there when the conference starts. You don't have to say anything. Do you hear me?" Alan reminded sternly.
Alan didn't usually treat him this way. Vincent was quite unhappy over this, but he knew that his father valued this event a lot. He just nodded his head to agree with his father.
Seeing this, Alan walked to the side again and whispered to Jimmy. Then, he went to make a handshake with a middle-aged man in a yellow suit while muttering something to him. This man was the president of Huang Group, Simon Huang. The bell rang at 10 o'clock sharp.Please check at N/ôvel(D)rama.Org.
Simon smiled and nodded at Alan, "Principal Wu, let's begin!"
Alan glanced at Jimmy and his son, Vincent, who were standing behind him. Then, he walked onto the stage with Simon.
"Let's welcome the president of Huang Group, Mr. Simon Huang, and the principal of Ludington Medical College, Mr. Alan Wu." Simon and Alan got on the stage and sat down on two seats in the middle of the stage. Vincent and Jimmy followed suit and sat at the side.
"The press conference between Huang Group and Ludington Medical College for Ludington Refining Ointment officially starts now!" The host announced loudly.
Countless flashes of light beamed across the audience as the crowd incessantly pressed on the shuttle of their cameras.