Chapter 32: A Great Start
Chapter 32: A Great Start
Public opinion on the internet continued to grow. That evening, many articles appeared that started to smear Legion Ant Company. The label of hunger marketing was directly placed on Legion Ant Company. Following that, articles about the waterproof interface not being waterproof gradually appeared.
However, more articles discussed the performance of the Butterfly Eye. Its configuration was almost the same as the latest Xiaomi phone, but the price was a bit higher than Xiaomi’s. The main point was whether the performance of the Army Ant System was as claimed.
If it was true, the performance undoubtedly surpassed Xiaomi’s latest phone. Then the Butterfly Eye would become the phone with the best value for money. It also had a waterproof feature, and its appearance far surpassed many other phones. It was undoubtedly the most beautiful phone of the year.
Amid the wait of many people, at ten o’clock the next morning, the online sales channels of Legion Ant officially began.
Zhao Min was in the backend, staring at the technician’s computer. “What is the current number of visitors on the official website?”
“Over ten thousand, and it’s still rising.”
“What about the flagship store on Black Cat Mall?”
“Over one hundred thirty thousand, and the traffic is still increasing.”
“Release the phones on both platforms at the same time. Remember, each account is limited to one purchase.”
Zhao Min did not want scalpers to ruin their launch. Otherwise, the criticism online would surely drown them. They were already accused of hunger marketing. If scalpers jumped in, they would be criticized even more.
“Okay.”
“Keep a close watch. If there’s any problem with the official website, fix it immediately.”
Bang!
As soon as Zhao Min finished speaking, the official website screen on a nearby staff member’s computer instantly crashed and showed an error message.
The technician immediately became tense. “General Manager Zhao, our official website just suffered a traffic attack. The server crashed.”
“How long will it take to fix?”
“It’s a bit troublesome. Someone is targeting us. Even if we fix it, we’ll be attacked again.”
“Don’t worry about that. Fix it as quickly as possible.” General Manager Zhao frowned. What she had feared had finally happened. “Release an announcement stating that the official website is under malicious attack and is being urgently repaired. Cancel the release on the official website channel. Delay the phone release by fifteen minutes and put them up for sale in the flagship store on Black Cat Mall.”
“Understood.”
After yesterday’s launch event, the official Weibo account of Army Ant had gained over eight hundred thousand followers, all of them active. As soon as Army Ant’s official Weibo posted the message, the comments below exploded.
“Someone is jealous.”
“Only mediocrity escapes envy.”
“Targeted before even starting? Is something bad going to happen?”
“When clouds rise over the stream, the sun sets behind the pavilion…”
“Serves you right for being attacked, with your hunger marketing.”
…
Within just ten minutes of the message being posted, various news articles appeared on major news platforms.
After all, it was called the most beautiful phone. Army Ant’s Butterfly Eye went on sale today, but just as it was about to start, it got attacked. It made people feel that something was unusual.
Fifteen minutes passed quickly. Everyone who had logged into Army Ant’s official website had now moved to Black Cat Mall.
“Release the phones now,” Zhao Min said calmly.
As soon as she spoke, everyone turned their attention to the computers.
“A hacker is attacking the company’s computers,” said the person in charge of the company’s cybersecurity.
For a moment, everyone became tense.
Zhao Min’s face darkened. They hadn’t even started selling the phones, and they had already suffered two attacks. No one would be in a good mood.
“Is everything okay?” Zhao Min asked.
“It’s fine. We were prepared,” Wang Sijia said.
“The phones are up for sale.”
The staff member’s voice drew everyone’s attention back to the computer.
The moment the phones were listed, the inventory of thirty thousand units began to decrease rapidly. The orders in the backend were refreshing like crazy.
The speed at which orders were placed made the backend staff’s hearts race.
The impact from yesterday’s launch event far exceeded their expectations. In various Moments, images of the Butterfly Eye phone had been turned into memes.
It could be said that overnight, the Butterfly Eye phone had become popular all over the country.
But the current ordering speed was terrifying. Even though they were mentally prepared, they never expected it to be this effective.
…
Li Guo checked the time and suddenly remembered that the Butterfly Eye phone went on sale today. Without a second thought, he immediately grabbed his phone and opened Taobao.
The number of phones released by Legion Ant Company this time was too small. If he didn’t hurry up and grab one, he might miss the first batch.
After logging into Army Ant’s flagship store on Black Cat Mall, Li Guo quickly opened the phone’s sales page. He prayed silently that they wouldn’t sell out too quickly, or he wouldn’t be allowed to sleep in the bed tonight.
“Faster, faster.”
As soon as Li Guo entered the page, he quickly selected the most expensive Butterfly Eye and immediately clicked to pay.
The product no longer existed.
What? Li Guo was dumbfounded. He quickly returned to the phone page.
Sold out?
“Damn, this isn’t fair. It’s only been a few minutes.”
Li Guo looked dismayed. Within minutes of the sale starting, the most beautiful Butterfly Eye was already sold out. If he bought another solid color model, even though it was also beautiful, his wife definitely wouldn’t like it.
Forget it, he would buy another model first. If his wife didn’t like it, he could return it.
But when Li Guo tried to select another model, he was stunned again. He found that all the phones were sold out.
Similar scenes of shock happened in every corner of the country. Those who managed to buy one were overjoyed, while those who didn’t were frustrated.
Five minutes, just three hundred seconds, and thirty thousand phones were sold out. From start to finish, it was like three hundred phones were sold every second.
Even the Singles’ Day sales weren’t this terrifying. Those who failed to get one were inwardly wailing.
Everyone watched the inventory decrease until it was sold out, and only then did they breathe a sigh of relief.
The whole process was like a roller coaster. For five short minutes, everyone was on edge.
“Start shipping now. Release the news about pre-orders,” Zhao Min said, relieved. “Zhu Li, tell the factory to increase phone production. When purchasing components, pay close attention to quality. I don’t want any major issues with quality. Use all the battery inventory we ordered earlier.”
After saying this, Zhao Min walked back to her office.
Even though they sold thirty thousand phones in five minutes, Zhao Min knew this was just the beginning. They had passed the first hurdle safely, but the real test was yet to come.
As soon as the Butterfly Eye phones sold out, the news came out. Thirty thousand phones sold in five minutes, and many people still couldn’t buy one. If they had released more, it would have been even more terrifying.
Among new phone brands, this sales speed could be described as terrifying.
The current phone market had become stagnant, with only a few big brands competing. It was hard for other brands to grow unless there was a major change. Companies like Lenovo and Gree tried to enter the market but ultimately failed.
This time, however, Legion Ant Company managed to break into the phone market with the Butterfly Eye, making many people envious and even jealous.
However, the number of phones sold this time was indeed a bit small, making it seem somewhat petty. The label of hunger marketing was instantly slapped on Legion Ant Company.
Zhao Min put down the document in her hand and turned to look out the window.
The news about pre-orders had been released, and the number of pre-orders reached two hundred thousand. For a company just entering the phone market, such a high number of pre-orders was definitely great news.
Just as Zhao Min was thinking about how the company should develop next, the landline on her desk rang. It was an unfamiliar number.