Restrictive pricing refers to the fact that in a monopolistic market (even if it is monopolized by only one manufacturer), there is still a threat of other competitors joining the market at any time, and market players, after realizing this, should be willing to sacrifice some short-term profits and appropriately reduce prices so that the market is not so attractive to potential entrants. Restrictive pricing is a short-term non-cooperative strategy+ behavior, which affects the potential manufacturer's expectation of the profit level after entering the market through the current price strategy of the incumbent manufacturer, thereby influencing the entry decision of the potential manufacturer. A restrictive price is a price that disappoints entrants or prevents them from entering. Since the 50s of the 20th century, restrictive pricing has gradually become an important theme in the field of industrial organization.

In practice, it is not easy to distinguish between competitive+ and restrictive pricing. For example, some of the same price reduction behaviors may be strategic+ behaviors taken by incumbent manufacturers in order to curb entry, while others are caused by the normal cost reduction of existing manufacturers, but it is difficult for government regulatory agencies to distinguish between the two behaviors. U.S. antitrust agencies believe that too little regulation of strategic+ behaviors such as restrictive pricing will induce undesirable competition methods and monopoly power, and too strict regulation will hinder manufacturers from engaging in fair competition, and they are also afraid that fair competition will be misinterpreted as restrictive pricing and other strategic+ behaviors and be sanctioned.

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In the evening, Moxiang Building.

When Raj was introduced into the box, he saw Qingyi and Li Mo who were smiling, so he showed a somewhat helpless smile: "It's really true." Mr. Zhang, even Xinglong Express is your ally, this is your hole card, right? This time he didn't go on and on.

"Believe me, this is just the beginning, and my hole cards certainly won't be played as soon as they start." Qingyi got up and also pulled up Li Mo: "This is the director of Xinglong Express, Mr. Li Mo; This is the director of Curry Curry, Mr. Raj. Akito doesn't talk darkly, I asked two people to gather here to deal with the low-priced plate of the Sicilian Express. In the case of the advertising campaign launched by Little Bee Express, Sicilian Express chose to reduce the service fee, which caused us a lot of disturbance. ”

"Downprice...... The most common of the three tricks of vicious competition, but it is difficult to judge whether the Sicilian Express is vicious or not. Take a supermarket as an example, as long as the customer pays more than the manufacturer's suggested price, then the price of its products is reasonable, so we can often see that Walmart's prices are much cheaper than other stores. Similarly, as a food and beverage delivery business, we cannot sue Sicilian Express as long as the full amount paid by the customer to the Sicilian Express is higher than the original price of the fast food. ”

"However, are we going to be in a vicious competition with it? For the sake of short-term benefits, we have to reduce the quality of service, even at the cost of losing money to defeat it? That's stupid. The price of goods is a very important factor for customers to decide whether to buy, but it is by no means the only factor, in fact, timely and thoughtful after-sales service and additional services are also an important link. In addition, we can also consider the purchase channel, strive to reduce the intermediate links, get price concessions, sales volume reward rebates, etc. - of course, you two have no pressure on this, Li Mo You are a shareholder of Moxianglou, and curry curry is a one-stop catering. ”

Raj immediately asked, "Pay attention to service and business?" According to you, we don't really need to sit down and discuss it at all, because everyone can solve the problem on their own. ”

"You're not entirely right. Any industry is a forest, each company is a separate tree, space and nutrients are limited, and we must compete with each other for resources if we want to survive. However, there is an old Chinese saying that 'a single tree cannot support a tall house', and if you want to gain a foothold, you have to seek cooperation. Together, we can weather storms and rain together, and we can grow together. Qingyi smiled: "Shopping malls do not have eternal friends, but there are eternal interests, and learning to seek the way of mutually beneficial coexistence and development is the eternal pursuit of merchants." It's always better to win together than to end up together, so that's why we have to sit down and discuss, am I right? ”

"How do you do that?" Raj seemed to understand something, and stared at Qingyi's face.

"Compare the KFC and McDonald's promotions and you'll see the difference. Because the scale, service, and product are infinitely close, the two fast-food giants have come up with strange tricks, and have been creatively imitating the tricks of their opponents, and they are not willing to lag behind half a step at any time, but in fact they have not been carried away and have taken over customers in the form of price reduction. They are very tacitly aware of maintaining a long-term profitable business model, and even if every customer spends with coupons, they can still make a lot of money. Qingyi glanced at the two of them, and his tone was unhurried: "Since that pair of enemies can cooperate in a competitive way, why can't we?" As long as we rectify the rules of the catering express industry, determine the price range of the service, and safeguard the interests of all merchants, everything will be different from now. ”

"There are no rules in the catering express industry." Raj smiled with interest, waiting for Qingyi's words.

Qingyi followed the conversation: "That's why we have to make a rule, even if it's only in Cambridge City." ”

Li Mo picked a mustard with a toothpick and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing it loudly: "Let's talk about it." ”

"In the final analysis, catering express delivery is also express delivery, and the express delivery industry emerged in 1971, among which the leaders are Fedex (FedEx), DHL (DHL Express), UPS (United Parcel Service), TNT (Tiandi Express), these four even implemented international express delivery. Fred Smith, the founder of Fedex, is ......" Speaking of this, Qingyi suddenly remembered a person - his boss, Mr. Smith. Oh, this must be a wonderful coincidence. He continued: "He is the father of the courier industry. ”

Li Mo muttered: "How does the last one sound like explosives (TNT also means trinitrotoluene)?" Did I hear me right? As soon as I heard it, it was a special parcel bomb! ”

Qingyi ignored him: "And catering as a commodity has its particularity, so the catering express company can't do the same as the above four large companies, this is our unique limitation." It is also interesting to talk about the origin of food delivery, although the exact time is not known, but it arose after the economic crisis. When the economic crisis hit, the operating costs of restaurants increased and operating profits decreased, so layoffs were imperative. As a result, some restaurants simply outsource home delivery services, which not only saves manpower, but also saves expenses, and importantly, reduces the chance of being exploited by the tax bureau. After the integration of resources, there is a special catering express company, and Little Bee Express is the first one to appear. ”

"It was the first to appear, and naturally had the largest market share. Little Bee Express accounts for more than 50% of the market. Sounds like a scary number, right? But we are only 50% of Cambridge, not 50% of Massachusetts, and not 50% of the United States. Our earnings are very thin, and the profits that are two less than the two that we occupy in the market share are naturally even thinner. That's why we need to make a rule and find a suitable price point so that we can all have something to eat. This is known as 'restrictive pricing'. ”

"The curry curry business model is a one-stop catering, and the price for Little Bee Express is definitely not suitable for curry curry." Raj said.

"It's okay, it's okay. Hin Leong Express costs one dollar more than Curry Curry, and Little Bee Express is one dollar more than Hin Leong Express. How about the overall spread between two dollars? ”

When he first heard "Xinglong Express costs one dollar more than curry curry", Li Mo opened his mouth and wanted to speak, but after listening to the whole sentence, he was even more surprised: "Hey, aren't you suffering a lot like this?" ”

"The service features are different, and the price is naturally different. I set the price according to the degree of reasonableness, and there is no bias towards one or the other. Qingyi looked at Raj again, smiling: "However, as an alliance, we must keep the service fee for curry curry at an acceptable level." ”

Raj did not hesitate: "Okay. Our service fee is fixed at one dollar and the tip is 15%. ”

"Two dollars. Anyway, I also have Moxianglou here, which is considered half a dragon, can you lower it a little more? Li Mo answered.

"Then I'll get four dollars. Okay, that's it. Qingyi was very satisfied: "Next, I will ask the law firm to draft an agreement." ”

"Wait, you haven't said how to deal with the price reduction of the Sicilian Express?" Raj hurriedly asked. "Even if we set up a self-discipline association for the catering express industry, Sicily Express would not buy us, and we lack effective restraints."

"We can't directly restrain Sicilian Express, but we have indirect means of restraining it. Also, it's better if it doesn't buy it, so I can kill it completely. ”

Qingyi's smile made people shudder. It was not that his expression was terrible and his voice was cold, but on the contrary, he said it with great enthusiasm and energy. The words "kill it" are like "my salary has gone up again" or "someone gave me a new phone".

(Raj asks Li Mo in a low voice, "Has he always been like this?") ”）

(Li Mo smiled happily: "Yes!") ”）

"Just as the express delivery industry is dependent on the production industry, the catering express industry is dependent on the catering industry. Since we can't limit the pricing of Sicilian Express, we will start from the source, block its resources, and by the way, raise the entry threshold of the catering express industry, knowing that the effect of raising the threshold is better than restrictive pricing. From now on, we have to re-sign contracts with restaurants, which are long-term and more legally binding. We all sat down together and negotiated amicably as we enlisted the support of the restaurants. Qingyi took out a map of the city of Cambridge.

"Oh, I know this, divide the territory!" Li Mo suddenly realized, and then waved his hand: "My Xinglong Express relies on Chinatown to survive, I only need the one in Boston." ”

"We want this one...... Here, and here. Raj pulled out his pen and drew circles on the map. These are the lots that Curry Curry has mastered, and at most 10% of the purchase sources have been added. ”

"The rest is mine?" Qingyi smiled and took out a piece of white paper covered with lead letters. It was a bluffing letter of intimidation that had been placed at his door this morning, and the third letter of intimidation he had received.

As peers, we have long known each family. Most of the remaining areas of Cambridge are the territory of the Sicilian Express, and if Qingyi wants to occupy enough resources, he must go head-to-head with the Sicilian Express. But......

He smiled kindly and tore the threatening letter to shreds: "Still, that's what I want. ”