章節 171: Chapter 171: Facing a Great Threat
In the following days, Xia Yu entered a busy mode, dedicating almost all his spare time to writing comic plot outlines and designing character settings.
Before this, Xia Yu had also had Yan Wenhan publish a recruitment advertisement in the *Jiuding Daily*, announcing the establishment of Jiuding Animation Co., Ltd. and seeking comic talents. The salaries offered were notably higher than those in the Hong Kong comic industry.
This news caught the attention of many readers. After all, Jiuding Animation Co., Ltd. was clearly a sibling company of Jiuding Media Group. Even though it had just been established, the influence of Jiuding Media Group suggested that Jiuding Animation Co., Ltd. would start with a strong foundation.
However, the industry it was entering was comics, which made many people frown.
In their impression, comics were not regarded highly. Many parents feared that their children might develop a bad habit by becoming too interested in comics.
Of course, this wasn't entirely their fault. Given that only Xia Yu knew about the plans for *Zhiyin Manke* at this stage, their cautious attitude was understandable. However, once *Zhiyin Manke* was released, they would undoubtedly be stunned.
The recruitment advertisement in *Jiuding Daily* caused the most agitation in Hong Kong's comic industry.
The two dominant forces, Shenghuo Publishing House, led by Shangguan Xiaobao, and Yulang Publishing Company, run by Huang Yulang, were the first to react.
"President, it's bad. Jiuding Media Group and that stock market guru are entering the comic industry. They are already recruiting talents," a Shenghuo Publishing House employee rushed into Shangguan Xiaobao's office early in the morning, holding a newspaper and looking alarmed.
Seeing the employee's anxious expression, Shangguan Xiaobao frowned. He was about to scold the employee but was interrupted by the alarming news. He grabbed the newspaper and began to read it urgently.
Shangguan Xiaobao read carefully, afraid of missing any important details.
As time passed, his expression grew increasingly grave. His hand gripping the newspaper unconsciously clenched into a fist.
After finishing, he slammed the newspaper on the desk with a loud sound that startled the reporting employee.
The employee secretly watched Shangguan Xiaobao, who was now frowning deeply, leaning back in his chair, and contemplating, his expression changing continuously.
"This is trouble. A shark has entered the field. Why would stock market guru Xia Yu be interested in the comic industry? This industry is not even comparable to the financial sector. Why abandon the more promising financial world and dive into the small pond of comics…"
"Such a headache…"
Shangguan Xiaobao rubbed his temples, muttering to himself in frustration.
The recruitment advertisement detailed Jiuding Animation Co., Ltd.'s advantages. Although newly established, it shared the same owner as Jiuding Media Group and Jiuding Securities. With Xia Yu as the owner, Jiuding Animation Co., Ltd. would undoubtedly be financially strong.
The advertisement also emphasized that Jiuding Animation Co., Ltd. could utilize all the distribution channels of Jiuding Media Group.
Despite Shenghuo Publishing House's seven to eight years of development and efforts to expand its distribution channels, it still lagged far behind Jiuding Media Group. Even though Shangguan Xiaobao was unwilling to admit it, he rationally acknowledged the growing gap.
Jiuding Animation Co., Ltd. had made it clear that they were not lacking in money or distribution channels. The only thing they needed was comic talent, which meant their recruitment would significantly fill the gap in talent, though the extent was uncertain.
As long as Jiuding Animation Co., Ltd.'s comic quality was decent, even if it didn't immediately surpass Shenghuo Publishing House's *Li Xiaolong*, its powerful distribution channels could still carve out a significant market, impacting Shenghuo Publishing House.
The only hope now was that Jiuding Animation Co., Ltd. would fail to recruit enough talent!
However, seeing the promised salaries in the newspaper, Shangguan Xiaobao could only shake his head and smile bitterly.
The salaries offered were higher than the industry average in Hong Kong, making it hard for people not to be tempted. Employees at his publishing house would surely be tempted as well.
Fortunately, his publishing house was currently implementing an apprenticeship system, binding the drawing talents as his apprentices, making it difficult for Jiuding Animation Co., Ltd. to poach them. However, the high salaries still posed a problem, causing unrest among his employees.
Comparison often leads to dissatisfaction, and without it, there would be no harm!
If Jiuding Animation Co., Ltd. actually implemented the advertised salaries, Shangguan Xiaobao would face pressure to raise wages, significantly reducing his income. Could he be happy about that? Unless Jiuding Animation Co., Ltd. went bankrupt, he would have to increase salaries!
"It's clear they have deep pockets. Without even seeing the comics, just the recruitment advertisement has already caused me trouble. Sigh…"
Shangguan Xiaobao sighed inwardly, feeling quite distressed.
"President, some of our colleagues are already aware of this news. What should we do?" the employee who had been waiting for a long time asked cautiously.
Shangguan Xiaobao frowned, then stood up and said, "Let's go outside."
He needed to stabilize the situation within the publishing house. Otherwise, unrest among the staff could lead to even greater trouble.
---
Meanwhile, at Yulang Publishing Company, another major player in Hong Kong's comic industry, Huang Yulang also saw the recruitment advertisement in *Jiuding Daily*, his face equally grave.
Huang Yulang shared the same concerns as Shangguan Xiaobao, and the pressure on him was palpable.
The Hong Kong comic industry was relatively small compared to others. For example, his *Longhu Men* comic sold about 100,000 copies per issue, but each copy was only two Hong Kong dollars, resulting in a sales revenue of just over 200,000 Hong Kong dollars per issue.
Considering that the two Hong Kong dollars was just the retail price and the factory price was even lower, *Longhu Men* generated an annual revenue of around 500,000 dollars, with profits being even lower.
With another Hong Kong comic, *Li Xiaolong*, also breaking the 100,000-copy mark, and other miscellaneous revenues, the entire Hong Kong comic market was only worth a few tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars.
Such a small market was not attractive to big players or wealthy individuals. This kind of money was seen as low-end, hard-earned cash that major figures wouldn't consider.
Moreover, the comic industry's reputation was not great!
Huang Yulang had never worried about wealthy figures entering the industry for such modest earnings, but he didn't expect the intrusion to be so sudden, with a shark crashing in. How could he not be extremely cautious?
Yet he couldn't understand what might attract stock market guru Xia Yu to the comic industry. Was there really significant potential in this field? After all these years, Huang Yulang had not seen any substantial growth. If there were potential, there should have been some signs by now.
It was no wonder Huang Yulang felt this way; Shangguan Xiaobao likely thought similarly, assuming the comic industry was just a small niche.
The scope of their vision determined the breadth of their thinking. They had been entrenched in the Hong Kong market for too long. Even though they competed with each other, they remained as frogs in a well.
They couldn't imagine that the global comic industry's market capacity was hundreds or even thousands of times larger than the Hong Kong market.
In the future, the entire comic industry chain, originating from comics, would reach a market value of thousands of billions of dollars!
Regardless, upon learning that Jiuding Animation Co., Ltd. was entering the field, Huang Yulang and Shangguan Xiaobao treated it as a serious threat, constantly monitoring Jiuding Animation Co., Ltd.'s latest developments.
They also took measures to retain their own employees.
This is the influence of Xia Yu and Jiuding Media Group. Just a small gesture was enough to frighten a group of people, making them brace for impact!
Of course, Huang Yulang and Shangguan Xiaobao most hoped to see Jiuding Animation Co., Ltd. make a lot of noise but ultimately fail due to issues with comic talent, leading to its downfall.
Would things turn out as they wished?
Only time would tell!
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