Chapter 356 Expansion of the Supply Chain Industry
Chapter 356 Expansion of the Supply Chain Industry
Time quickly came to the beginning of October.
Yang Wendong came to a Carrefour supermarket in Admiralty. He was accompanied by the local store manager Li Bochao and several people from the head office, as well as Wang Zhiqun from Honor Electronics, because today was also the day when the Honor TV was first launched.
"Old Wang, how many televisions can be sold in Hong Kong every year now?" Yang Wendong asked curiously.
Wang Zhiqun replied: "Last year, a total of 1.8 TV sets were sold in the entire Hong Kong market, and this year the number is expected to rise. 2 should not be a problem. Now that Hong Kong's economy is getting better and better, when people have money, the thing they want to buy the most is a TV set."
"Indeed, a normal family really wants to buy a TV." Yang Wendong nodded.
In previous lives, many people’s entertainment threshold was too high to even watch TV. But in this era, TV is more attractive to people than computers and mobile phones in previous lives.
I still remember when Yang Wendong was a child, around the early 90s. At that time, whoever had a TV at home was very famous, and many people wanted to run over and have a look.
Wang Zhiqun added: "This is because imported TV sets are too expensive. Although Hong Kong's import tariffs are not high, the prices sold by Japanese TV manufacturers are very expensive. Adding the shipping cost, one TV set generally costs at least 500 Hong Kong dollars, and the normal price is to , or even .
If the price can be lower, it is estimated that the sales volume will double in a year.”
Yang Wendong glanced at the price on his TV and asked, "Our cheapest one is 469, and the bigger ones are or . This price is not much cheaper than the ones imported from Japan. Is it because the cost is too high?"
Wang Zhiqun nodded and said, "Yes, at present, we still basically use all imported parts, with only a few self-produced. If we want to completely lower the price, we have to wait until we can produce qualified cathode ray tubes ourselves.
We also have to consider profits. Even if our costs are very low, there is no need to make them very cheap all of a sudden. As long as we can control them to be slightly cheaper than overseas, we can maximize our profits.”
"Well, OK." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Let's do this first. First, open up the market and gain some fame. Then, we can slowly control the industrial chain ourselves."
For many commodities, it is impossible to build the industrial chain first and then the terminal, unless you are already building the industrial chain and then move into the terminal products.
In the past, automobiles and home appliances in the mainland also developed in this way. They were first purchased for assembly production lines, and then imported parts were used for assembly in the country. They were then gradually localized. Hong Kong is also following this path today.
"Okay." Wang Zhiqun said with a smile: "Our quality has been confirmed, and Qinsheng has given us enough advertising, so we will definitely get good results."
"Yeah," Yang Wendong said with a smile.
Now that he controls part of the Hong Kong media, it is much easier for him to promote his products in Hong Kong. As long as there are no problems with the quality and some of the products have some creativity, it will be hard for them not to be popular.
Later on, we can also use the Hong Kong market’s achievements and quality inspections to identify problems, and then enter other markets with peace of mind.
At 9 a.m., Carrefour supermarket opened. Many people entered through the door, some rushed to the vegetable area, and some went to the home appliance area.
A few days ago, Oriental Daily and Hong Kong Chinese Daily did a lot of publicity, claiming that the first television produced in Hong Kong would soon be on the market, with a low price and limited sales. This naturally aroused the interest of many people.
Home appliances area:
There are 15 televisions placed on a huge horizontal cabinet. There are three models in total, namely 14 inches, 17 inches and 19 inches, all of which are black and white TVs.
The TV shows are also broadcasted by Rediffusion Television, because this is the only choice.
In front of the cabinet, dozens of people gathered together, looking at the three types of TVs in front of them. There was a price tag on the side of each TV, which read 469, 669, and 869 yuan respectively.
"469 is so cheap. A TV of this size in Japan would cost at least 600, right?"
"But I still think it's expensive. The Japanese ones sell for more than 600 yuan, so why do you sell the ones made in Hong Kong for more than 400 yuan? Two or three hundred yuan is about the same."
"Are you Japanese? Should I give you the Hong Kong stuff for free? Don't you have bones in your knees?"
"Why are you swearing?"
“I didn’t curse anyone.”
There were too many people in the crowd, and there were all kinds of people. Yang Wendong, who was preparing to check the sales results from a distance, did not expect that he would actually see a "fight". Fortunately, the supermarket security was helpful and directly carried the two people out.
After Wang Zhiqun learned about the situation, he also informed Yang Wendong. After listening, Yang Wendong said: "Actually, many people have this mentality, always thinking that foreign things are good."
"From some aspects, it's not wrong, especially for some products with high technological content," Wang Zhiqun said embarrassedly.
Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Yes, so we must also focus on technology in the future to create some high-quality brands that belong to us Chinese, especially in the electronics industry."
In fact, this situation also happened in China in the past. Even 60 years later, when the mainland became the world's second largest economy and various high-tech products emerged in an endless stream, there were still people who looked down on domestic products.
Of course, it is impossible to say who is right or wrong in this matter. Even if a latecomer brand rises in technology, it still takes a certain amount of time to change consumers’ perceptions. This is also the value of the brand’s long-term operation.
"I understand." Wang Zhiqun continued, "Once our TV production is stable, Mr. Yang, I want to try to enter the field of white appliances." "White appliances?" Yang Wendong said, "Simple white appliances technology is not very difficult, but they are all large items, and the transportation cost is very high. We can only export them, which is not easy to do."
Monitors and televisions are not light, but white appliances are even heavier and bigger. Before containers became popular, transporting them was extremely troublesome.
Wang Zhiqun said: "I know, so I want to start with some parts. For example, our electric fans and hair dryers now need motors, so I will make motors.
The first is that we need it ourselves. The second is that we can do export business. The motors are relatively small and can be exported easily. The third is that if we enter the finished products of white appliances in the future, at least washing machines, refrigerators and air conditioners will all need motors. "
"Starting from small parts?" Yang Wendong thought for a moment and said, "Your idea is fine, but it's very difficult. Are you relying solely on technology to compete with overseas counterparts for the market?"
"Yes, but if we want to gain a firm foothold in the home appliance industry, we must have relevant technology," Wang Zhiqun said, "and we have to take one step at a time. This motor has a wide range of uses, and we also have our own needs. Relatively speaking, the technical requirements are relatively simple;
Once we have satisfied our own requirements, we will slowly try to contact other Japanese and even European and American electrical appliance brands and become their supplier, and then gradually develop and research new technologies.”
"That's fine." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Although it's a little different from our previous product development path."
Previously, whether it was Changxing Industrial or Honor Electronics, they first relied on creativity to enter the terminal civilian market. After success, they had orders and then gradually entered the supply chain. Then, they used the mature supply chain to enter other terminal industries. This is a normal way for a consortium to expand.
Now, although they are also using fan orders to produce motors, their own fans are not promoted by Yang Wendong. Even if the company develops normally and the sales volume is not very good, the motor orders that can be brought in are estimated to be not very many. If they want to develop well in the motor industry, they have to rely on their own strength.
Wang Zhiqun smiled and said, "Yes, but Mr. Yang, don't worry. The motor industry also has a high demand for manpower, which is in line with Hong Kong's current development model. Compared with Japan, Europe and the United States, it still has a cost advantage;
In fact, a few years ago, there were already several companies in Hong Kong that specialized in motor production, and they all did export business, and their development was getting better and better. "
“Nowadays, the copper wires in motors are mainly wound by people?” Yang Wendong also has some understanding of motors.
Wang Zhiqun nodded and said, "Yes, but there is also the cooperation of machines, which can be regarded as semi-manual. The demand for manpower is also very high."
"That's good." Yang Wendong said, "Then you should give it a try first. The motor industry does have huge market potential."
Human society cannot live without electricity, and anything involving kinetic energy conversion requires motors, from basic home appliances, factories, cars, buildings, and even the cooling fans in various computers and game consoles in a decade or so.
In the original history, Hong Kong also gave birth to a large manufacturing group that survived into the 21st century, called Johnson Electric, whose main products are various motors.
Of course, it was able to survive because it moved its factory to the inland early on.
Wang Zhiqun smiled and said, "Okay."
Yang Wendong added: "In the future, if you have any projects you want to launch, as long as there is a reasonable market plan, it is all possible. I will basically support it, so you should be bold to try it yourself."
As a time traveler, he certainly knew some of the future hot-selling products, but it was impossible for a large industrial group to only produce these few products. For the others, it would need to rely on the team it recruited.
And because this is Hong Kong, many industries do not have supply chains, so we can only build them one by one by ourselves. Although it will be a bit hard in the early stage, everything will be worth it after success. If you want to be self-sustaining in the supply chain, you need to rely on a team, not an individual. Even if you are a time traveler, you can't help much in terms of technical quality.
"Okay, let's make the motors first." Wang Zhiqun said with a smile: "I will set up this division tomorrow and strive to make the motor industry the best in Asia."
"Yes, you are ambitious." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "But don't waste too much time in the early stage. Buy the technology that needs to be bought and recruit the people that need to be recruited. It is more cost-effective to exchange early investment for time."
"I understand." Wang Zhiqun replied.
For professional managers like them, it is really a great opportunity to follow such a boss. The boss does not care about small investments, but only focuses on future returns, which also allows them to show their talents.
Yang Wendong glanced at the crowd not far away who were discussing TV and said, "Let's leave it at that. We'll just have to wait a few days and see how well the TVs sell."
This TV is not an innovative product. It is no different from other TVs, except that it is cheaper. All you need to do is wait for the data in the end.
Wang Zhiqun said: "Okay, I'll let you know when the data comes out."
A week later, on August 8:
Wang Zhiqun came to Changxing Building again and reported with a smile: "Mr. Yang, in the past seven days, we have sold a total of 7 TV sets."
"223?" Yang Wendong did some mental calculations and then said, "Not bad."
Wang Zhiqun said: "Yes, this is the sales volume only in Carrefour. When the TVs are delivered to other shopping malls, the sales volume will increase significantly."
"Well, okay, you guys decide this among yourselves." Yang Wendong nodded and asked, "I remember the microwave oven will be on the market soon, right?"
PS: Ask for monthly ticket
(End of this chapter)