Johnson came to the sports field of New York University with a big box.

"Mr. Johnson, you are here again. What good things did you bring to us today?" A man in his fifties came over.

"Coach Ball!" Johnson quickly put down the box in his hand, greeted Coach Ball, and then opened the large box.

"Coach Ball, I brought a new sneaker this time, which is very comfortable to wear, and many basketball players are wearing it." Johnson said, taking out a simple paper bag from the box and then taking out a pair of sneakers from the paper bag.

The packaging of goods in the 1940s was very simple. Unless it was expensive leather shoes, there would be a decent shoe box. Ordinary sneakers were cheap, and it would be nice to have a paper bag as a packaging. Many sneakers didn’t even have packaging, and dozens of pairs of shoes were shipped to merchants in a sack.

For example, Phil Knight, the founder of Nike, founded Blue Belt Sports in the 1960s, which is the predecessor of Nike. Blue Belt Company represented shoes from Japan's Onitsuka Company. At that time, Phil Knight directly used old newspapers as the packaging of shoes. Someone came to buy shoes, took an old newspaper and handed them over to the customer to take them away.

Coach Ball took a pair of "Nike One", looked at it, and asked, "Which manufacturer is this?"

"Although Nike is a new company that was just established last year, their shoes are really good." Johnson said quickly.

"Nike? I really want to hear about it." Coach Ball thought about it carefully, then said, "Does their company still sell basketball? The outdoor basketball not long ago is the product of this Nike company?" Coach Ball asked.

"That's right, that outdoor basketball is the product of this company. Now this company has started to produce sports shoes again. I have brought a few pairs. Do you want to give it a try?" Johnson asked.

"Okay, I'll give it a try first. You should have my size there, right?" Coach Ball said and took off his shoes.

Johnson handed a pair of "Nike One" to coach Ball. After putting it on, coach Ball tried to jump and then ran two more steps.

"The sneakers are pretty good. They are very comfortable to wear on the feet. The canvas fabric is also breathable, which is very suitable for exercise." Coach Ball took off the shoes and took them in his hand to carefully observe the materials and workmanship of the sneakers, and the result was very satisfied.

"How much does this pair of shoes cost?" Coach Ball asked.

"Don't worry, we are all old friends. The price I give you is definitely cheaper than the price in the store." Johnson said quickly.

"Well, I'll recommend these shoes to my athletes," Coach Ball said nodded.

...

Johnson left Duke University with satisfaction and walked towards another university.

Johnson is a salesman who mainly sells sports shoes and occasionally sells other sports goods.

This kind of salesman who sells products on the door was everywhere in the United States at that time. Salesmen were also divided into manufacturer salesmen and independent salesmen. Manufacturer salesmen are similar to salesmen in our current companies, and are responsible for selling their own companies' products and obtaining corresponding commissions according to the number of products sold. This kind of salesman is considered a formal employee of the company.

Independent salesmen purchase goods from the channels and sell goods, which is equivalent to a second-hand dealer. Such independent salesmen often have to take the blame for their own profits and losses. If they can't sell the goods and then they lose money, then they are the ones who lose money. Moreover, such salesmen are not formal employees of the company. For example, Hollywood black actor Will Smith starred in a movie called "When Happiness Comes Knocking the Door", in which Will Smith plays a salesman selling bone density scanners. If he can sell a bone density scanner this year, he will have money to eat. If he can't sell it tomorrow, he will have no money to eat.

Before the 1950s, American business was not so developed. In that era, American shopping malls had not even found out the shopping day of "Black Friday", and ordinary people had limited channels for purchasing goods, so home salesmen became an important channel for commodity circulation.

At that time, people wearing suits, top hats, and holding a large box in their hands knocking on the door door and immediately take off their hats when they see the owner open the door and pay tribute. Such people are just a door-to-door salesman. The goods sold by door-to-door salesman are also all-encompassing, but they are basically some daily necessities.

These door-to-door salesmen often get goods directly from the manufacturer, and their purchase price is also cheaper, but they do not have physical stores and do not need to pay rent. Selling goods is just a matter of physical work, which is completely a physical job, so their products are often lower than in stores, and the price advantage is also the guarantee for salesmen to survive.

Therefore, many housewives have developed a habit of waiting for salesmen to come to their doors, because salesmen's products are cheaper than in stores, and many salesmen even get familiar with housewives in their area and will deliver the products regularly.

Sports goods salesmen are also one of many salesmen, and their sales also occupy a large part of the sales of sports goods in the United States. The main reason is also because of the special sports atmosphere and environment in the United States.

The United States has the most developed campus sports in the world. Every American is always in a campus sports environment from elementary school to university. The school’s sports coach is a very important role. The reason why many athletes can succeed is because of the keen eyes and careful training of the sports coaches in the school. Other sports coaches are also serious about cultivating potential students into talents, rather than the physical education teachers in our school, which is like herding sheep in class.

Therefore, many sports goods salesmen will go directly to the school coach to sell products. As long as a school coach recognizes the product, the product will be promoted in this school.

Take Nike as an example. When Phil Knight first founded Blue Belt Sports, there was a partner named Ballman. This Ballman was the track and field coach of Phil Knight's college years. Coach Ballman played a crucial role in the early development of Blue Belt Sports. It was also thanks to coach Ballman's connections that Blue Belt Sports was able to sell 1 million pairs of sports shoes in just five years.

In addition, many sports clubs in the United States are also the most common places for sports goods salesmen to visit. If you contact the owner or coach of the sports club, you can sell this product to the entire club.

The scene of sports competitions is also a common place for sports goods salesmen. Those who go to watch the competitions on site are sports enthusiasts, and they will definitely be able to use products such as sports shoes.

...

The first batch of "Nike One" produced only 20,000 pairs. Before Chen Qiang had time to advertise "Nike One", the sports goods salesman sold all the 20,000 pairs of shoes.

The rubber raw materials in Chen Qiang can produce about 800,000 pairs of shoes. 800,000 pairs of shoes sound like a lot, but in fact it is not much. To give the simplest example, Fujian is a shoemaking base in China. A shoe wholesale market in Quanzhou, Fujian, sold about 200,000 pairs a day during the off-season, and sold more than 400,000 pairs a day. Just this wholesale market, selling 100 million pairs a year is definitely not a problem. In this way, Chen Qiang's annual output is enough to sell a wholesale market in Quanzhou for two days.

In the 1940s, the United States had a population of 130 million, and it was definitely not a problem to digest 10 million pairs of shoes a year. Chen Qiang invested these 20,000 pairs of sneakers into the US market, and even no splashes were splashed. The New York market alone easily digested these 20,000 pairs of sneakers.

...

In the factory's office, Jared is reporting on the recent production situation to Chen Qiang.

"The batch of canvas materials we purchase can produce 50,000 pairs of shoes. After the 50,000 pairs of shoes are finished, if you want to continue to produce, you need to continue to purchase canvas materials." Jared said.

"Then let's buy it. At present, it seems that our sneakers are not worried about selling, so don't stop production. If possible, it's best to increase the output." Chen Qiang said.

"I can expand the factory. Anyway, we still have vacant places here. We can make the factory by renovating it a little, and then order a batch of sewing machines. In addition, we need to recruit some female shoemakers. These are not difficult." Jared showed a look of wanting to speak but stopping.

"What is that problem? We should not lack funds, right?" Chen Qiang asked.

"It's not a problem of funding. We still have a lot of money on our account, and the advertising fees we had planned to use for promotion have not been used yet!" Jared sighed and continued: "The problem we are facing now is the raw materials. The rubber quota we get from the government is only enough to produce 800,000 pairs of shoes. If we expand our production capacity, by the end of the year, our rubber raw materials will not be enough."

Chen Qiang thought for a while and asked, "If you expand your production capacity as you said, how many months can our rubber quota last?"

"September, at most October," Jared said.

"It's enough to last until September. According to your ideas, decorate the new workshop, buy a sewing machine, and recruit new people!" Chen Qiang said.

Chen Qiang knew that by August, Japan would surrender, and World War II would end there, and the United States would also abolish the distribution system for various strategic materials. At that time, Chen Qiang would no longer have to buy rubber raw materials with the government's quota order.

Moreover, due to the end of the war, the market demand for materials will also drop significantly. The prices of materials such as steel and rubber energy will also drop accordingly. Chen Qiang can buy rubber raw materials at a cheaper price.

Jared didn't know that World War II would end in August. He advised: "Mr. Chen, if we used up the rubber quota in advance, then in the next few months, we would have to stop production. Without rubber, we would not be able to make shoes. At the end of the year, we would also encounter Thanksgiving and Christmas. These two festivals are the best time to sell goods. Many families are accustomed to purchasing goods on these two festivals or buying gifts for their families. If we stop production, we would miss the two most important festivals, Thanksgiving and Christmas."

"I understand all what you said, but according to my judgment, the war will not be delayed until the end of the year. If it goes well, the war may end in summer, and the distribution system of strategic materials will be cancelled. We don't have to worry about the source of rubber raw materials at all." Chen Qiang said.

"Mr. Chen, are you talking about wars in Europe or wars in Asia?" Jared asked.

"Is there any difference?" Chen Qiang looked puzzled.

"If it was a war in Europe, I believe it would end when summer came. We have already attacked Germany. I heard that on the Eastern Front battlefield, the Soviets had also entered Germany. I believe that it will not take long before we can attack Berlin and end the war in Europe. However, in the Asian battlefield, the progress may not be as smooth as Europe. Although we have eliminated most of the Japanese navy, Japan still has millions of troops, and the Japanese mainland can still arm millions of soldiers. After all, Japan is an island country. If we want to capture Japan, it is probably not something that can be accomplished in a short time." Jared said.

It has to be said that Jared's judgment is very accurate. Of course, other Americans' judgments are the same as Jared. They believe that victory will be achieved soon on the European battlefield, while Asian battlefields will take a long time to fight. After all, from the strategic level and strength analysis, Germany is out of the blue, and Japan still has the capital to resist.

Chen Qiang can't tell Jared that the reason why the Japanese surrendered so quickly was because the United States threw two atomic bombs. And even if Chen Qiang said the atomic bomb, Jared didn't know what it was.

After all, the Manhattan plan is the core secret of the United States. If Chen Qiang lets go, he might be arrested by FBI as a spy.

Chen Qiang thought about how to explain to Jared, and his eyes couldn't help but sweep a leaflet on the table. This leaflet called on everyone to purchase government-issued military vouchers to support the war. There was a photo on the leaflet, where six American soldiers were standing on the top of the mountain, holding an American flag and putting it on the ground.

This photo comes from Iwo Jima, and this photo of US soldiers raising the national flag in Iwo Jima is also one of the most classic photos during World War II. I believe many people have seen statues or paintings of this photo in film and television works.

At this moment, Chen Qiang suddenly had inspiration. He pointed to the photo on the poster and said, "It is this photo that tells me that the war will end this summer!"
Chapter completed!