Chapter 287 New Products: Rice Cookers and Microwave Ovens

Wang Zhiqun also said: "Yes, this is also the sales volume of media publicity in a short period of time, and it is also a new product. The first wave of interested people all came to buy it."

“Yes, we’ll just have to do it slowly later. Besides Carrefour, we’ll also sell it through other channels.” Yang Wendong nodded.

Carrefour currently has only six stores. Although they are all located in prosperous areas and may cover a population of several hundred thousand people in the surrounding areas, it is still far behind the total population of Hong Kong.

Unless one day Carrefour has nearly a hundred stores across Hong Kong and Kowloon, it will still need to rely on other channels to sell any product in Hong Kong.

"Okay." Wang Zhiqun said, "Mr. Yang, our products still need to rely on overseas markets like other electronic products to achieve success.
The transistor production factory has also started trial production in the past few days, and the production capacity of our electric mosquito swatter can be further improved, so I think we should directly enter the European, American or Japanese markets. "

"Well, it's okay. It's the beginning of summer in the northern hemisphere now." Yang Wendong agreed and asked, "We made the transistors ourselves. There shouldn't be any problems, right?"

At the beginning of this year, Honor Electronics introduced an old production line from the United States. After almost half a year, it can now start production.

For something like this in a purely technical field, Yang Wendong's advantage as a time traveler couldn't help much, so he only understood the progress and had to rely on the technical team for the rest.

Wang Zhiqun said: "We are still doing early tests, and there are no problems so far. The transistors we produce are not the latest models, but older models with mature technology;

Fairchild Semiconductor engineers have also been involved in debugging and testing, and all kinds of tests have been carried out without any problems. "

"Okay, anyway, the European and American markets won't be developed so quickly." Yang Wendong added: "The electric mosquito swatters sold in Hong Kong or Taiwan can also be used as preliminary tests."

Although it is not a good idea to use the first batch of customers' products as test items, this is not a car and will not cause any major safety hazards.

And if a problem really occurs, we will compensate the customer, and under normal circumstances, the customer will be willing to do so.

In fact, many products are operated in this way. After various tests are completed, a part of them will be released to the market first, so that many users can use and test them. The same is true for cars. Many brands will sell new models to their own employees or supplier employees at a cheap price before releasing new cars, just to obtain more data.

"Yes, in the Hong Kong and Taiwan markets, it is estimated that it will not be a problem to sell tens of thousands of products a month." Wang Zhiqun said: "It is a good opportunity to test a small batch. Otherwise, we don't have the manpower and time to test tens of thousands of products."

"Hmm," Yang Wendong thought for a moment, and then said, "Then do you have any ideas about the development of the European, American and Japanese markets?"

Wang Zhiqun replied: “The simplest way is to go through Hong Kong’s foreign trading companies, especially Jardine Matheson, Swire and Wheelock, which all have their own channels overseas;
We have negotiated with them, and given the good positioning and quality of our products, we can easily get orders from the Hong Kong market that are dozens of times larger.”

"It's true. Many radio and toy companies in Hong Kong have gone through them, so they have achieved some success." Yang Wendong said with a smile, "But in this way, the channels are controlled by them, and life and death are completely controlled by them."

Wang Zhiqun agreed: "It is true, but it is very difficult to develop overseas channels on your own."

Yang Wendong nodded: "It is definitely difficult. If we are a small company and don't have the ability, we will naturally look for a trading company. Surviving first is the most important thing.
But we are not like that now. Although Honor has just started, I hope that even if it takes more time, we need to gradually build our own channel relationships in several major overseas markets, especially the United States, Japan and several large European countries. We can find trading companies in other places.”

Wang Zhiqun thought for a moment and said, "I understand what Mr. Yang means. Then I will start with Japan. They are close to Hong Kong, have a large market, and their culture is similar to ours."

"Yes, the Japanese market is indeed good." Yang Wendong agreed and said, "But I also have some connections in the United States. There is a person named Lin Youqing who is the head of several businesses of Changxing Group in the United States.

He has been dealing with the retail industry in the United States. You can contact him and let him develop the US market while you are responsible for Japan. You can operate the two major markets together. "

The United States and Europe are the two largest economies in the world today, but the latter has too many countries and its total economic size is not as large as that of the United States, so it will be a major market for any business;
Therefore, as early as 1959, Yang Wendong sent a team to the United States. Initially, they cooperated with 3M to sell sticky notes. Later, they gradually helped Yang Wendong complete some tasks, such as inquiring about Walmart and finally reaching an investment.

Over the past few years, the team led by Lin Youqiang has also established acquaintances with many retail channels, which is a preparation for building their own channels for export-oriented industries such as Changxing Industry and Honor Electronics in the future.

"Okay." Wang Zhiqun took the business card.

He also knew that Changxing Group had begun to develop its presence in the U.S. market a long time ago and had dedicated personnel there.

Yang Wendong added: "The electric kettle can also be developed in this way. Once a channel is opened, all things can be used universally.

So we have to work harder in the early stage, but once the channels are opened, we can relax as long as our products are of high quality and have good technology. "

Wang Zhiqun smiled and said, "I understand."

"Okay, let's do this." Yang Wendong added: "Let's make these two products successful first. When the funds flow back, we can also develop other electronic products."

Wang Zhiqun asked, "Does Mr. Yang have any new direction?"

"Yes, there is, but it's quite difficult to research and develop." Yang Wendong said with a smile.

Wang Zhiqun asked: “Can you tell me about it first? I can check the information first, and Honor’s R&D staff can also prepare first.
Now that the two existing products have entered the production phase, the R&D team has little time to do except tracking quality issues.”

"Well, that's fine." Yang Wendong asked again, "Which electronics industries do you think are the largest now?"

Wang Zhiqun thought for a moment and said, "The largest industry is definitely the home appliance industry, including televisions, refrigerators, washing machines, and electric fans."

"Yes." Yang Wendong nodded. Before the computer industry exploded, the largest electronics industry was the home appliance market, which was a golden market.

Then he added: “These things have a high level of technical content. Even an electric fan may be made in Hong Kong, but it is a bit difficult to make a good one.

The most important thing for these home appliances is brand promotion. Otherwise, if they don’t have a reputation, no one will buy them even if they are sent to European and American channels.”

“Yes, this requires brand power.” Wang Zhiqun also agreed: “In recent years, Japanese home appliance brands have tried to enter the European and American markets;

It is easy to open up the market for small household appliances such as electric fans and radios, but it is more difficult to open up the market for large appliances. Without brand promotion, most people will not buy them. "

Generally speaking, the more expensive something is, or the more safety-related it is, the more consumers will value the brand when buying it, such as cars;

Even if two cars have the same configuration and performance, the one with a brand name can easily sell for 15% more. The same is true in the home appliance industry. When people buy air conditioners and refrigerators, they pay great attention to the brand name and would rather it be more expensive but more stable.

Relatively speaking, washing machines may be a little worse, but electric fans and the like don’t matter, as long as they can turn.

Yang Wendong then said: "Yes, Japan's technology is not bad, but it takes a long time to produce results, so in the short term, I am not planning to make these conventional products, I will consider it later.

I am more optimistic about kitchen appliances. There are many varieties of this type of products, and the prices are not expensive, so consumers do not have such high requirements for the brands of these products. "

Kitchenware actually has brands, but people don’t know much about this and don’t care much about brands, especially in this era when advertising investment is far less than in the past.

Wang Zhiqun nodded and said, “Mr. Yang is right. When I buy small appliances, I usually don’t care about the brand, as long as it’s cheap.
But there aren’t many types of kitchen appliances. In Europe and America, there are ovens, bread machines, etc., but here in China, we Chinese have very few. Including the ones we use to boil water, there are also rice cookers. "

Yang Wendong smiled and asked, "Then are you sure about making a rice cooker?"

Wang Zhiqun thought for a moment and said, "The rice cooker I bought at home is Panasonic, and the price is more than 400 Hong Kong dollars. If we make it, the cost will definitely not be higher than 200;

But this thing has a certain technical content. If you want to evenly control the temperature inside the rice cooker to ensure that the rice outside is not scorched and the rice inside is cooked, this requires a period of research and development. As far as I know, Japan has spent several years of research and development before launching a product that is popular with the market. "

Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Yes, it looks simple, but it is a bit difficult to do well. However, I am still going to do it. I can tell you that an electronics factory in East Guangdong Province is already doing it. If even they can develop it, there is no reason why we can't do it, right?"

The rice cooker actually came out in the 40s, but the patent has expired today.

However, early electric rice cookers were not easy to use and therefore could not be made on a large scale. It was not until recent years, when electronic control technology was improved, that they were gradually accepted by the market.

Of course, no matter what the mainland does, it does not need external patents.
Wang Zhiqun said: "Okay, I will arrange for someone to buy some Japanese rice cookers for research."

"Well, this is the simplest research and development method." Yang Wendong nodded and said.

Studying other people's products is indeed the simplest method, but it is just reference and not direct copying.

After all, the creative patent for the rice cooker has expired, but the various technologies and appearances developed by subsequent companies can all be registered as new patents.

And even if it is legal, Yang Wendong will not agree. He is not a new entrepreneur who needs to make quick money. The most important thing is that his team has the ability to develop new products.

Wang Zhiqun added: "In fact, what is more important is to learn its time control logic, how to ensure that the rice is cooked and not burnt, and the internal control unit. Even if I can't design it here, I can pay someone in the United States to design it."

"Okay, you decide how to handle professional matters." Yang Wendong paused, and then said, "But even if the rice cooker is successfully developed, its market is only in Southeast Asia. It's not small, but it can't go to Europe and the United States.

So, in addition to the rice cooker, I want you to research another kitchen appliance.”

A capable company will not develop just one new product; it will usually develop multiple products simultaneously.

After all, other bosses are not time travelers. If they only develop one product and it doesn’t sell well, won’t the company go bankrupt?

Besides, simple product development requires time-consuming research rather than a large amount of manpower. If the company is stronger, it can carry out multiple projects at the same time.

"What kitchen appliances?" Wang Zhiqun asked.

Yang Wendong said, "Have you heard of microwave heating?"

"Microwave heating? Do you mean radar heating?" Wang Zhiqun thought for a while and then asked, "Is it the radar furnace used in some factories or restaurants in Europe and the United States?"

"Yes, but I want to miniaturize this product." Yang Wendong nodded.

Microwave heating was discovered accidentally by an American radar engineer during World War II.

Later, the first microwave oven was built based on this principle. However, due to technical limitations, this thing was made very large, weighing up to 300 kilograms, and the life of the microwave tube was not long, so it had little commercial significance.

After development and optimization, it was gradually bought and used by some restaurants and factories. Its characteristic is that it heats up quickly without open flames.

To this day, Yang Wendong has checked the European and American markets and has not seen any civilian microwave ovens.

Wang Zhiqun said: "I have seen this thing before. I cannot say whether it can be miniaturized or not, but the heating magnetron inside is definitely not something Hong Kong can develop."

Yang Wendong said: "Then we will set up a research and development center in the United States and conduct research there. In the future, we will develop in the United States and produce in Hong Kong. This will be our short-term operating model."

Everyone has their own advantages, and so does every country.

In Hong Kong, the electronics industry has just started. It is okay to make some small things, but it is not possible to carry out complex research and development. Electric mosquito swatters and electric kettles are actually creative things with very low technical content.

In the United States, R&D capabilities are strong, but workers’ wages are high and there are union disturbances.

Therefore, R&D in the United States and production in Hong Kong is the best model.

Wang Zhiqun agreed and said, "Okay, I think we should choose Los Angeles. There are a lot of talents in the electronics field there, and there are many universities nearby."

"Okay." Yang Wendong also knew about the future Silicon Valley, and then said: "A research and development center will be established in the United States, but Hong Kong also needs to send people over to learn more and help out;

In the long run, Hong Kong still needs to have a certain level of R&D capabilities. Even if we cannot develop high-tech products, we still need to have a certain level of research and development.”

"I understand." Wang Zhiqun said, "I will go to the United States right now to find some technicians related to magnetrons."

PS: Please give me a monthly ticket
(End of this chapter)

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