Chapter 718 "Walkman"

Chapter 718 "Walkman"

Chapter 718 "Walkman"

Wang Zhiqun replied: "It's the car radio business. When the company was poaching people from other Hong Kong electronics companies, it hired a project manager who was quite capable. He was good at radios.

Later, because of our cooperation with RCA, and because RCA was also the largest car radio manufacturer in the United States, we purchased some technology and wanted to develop this business in Hong Kong and then supply Japanese or American car companies, but we were unsuccessful. "

"Is the product not made? Or are there any quality or technical issues?" Yang Wendong asked.

At this time, RCA was a top 50 business giant in the United States, with core industries including NBC Television, the largest color TV manufacturer in the United States, and once the largest radio manufacturer in the world;

However, in the American market, the radio industry has naturally declined long ago, but the car radio market has always existed, and RCA is the king of this industry.

Wang Zhiqun shook his head and said, "No, our quality is actually good. It's just that it's too difficult to become a supplier to Japanese or American car companies. We have spent a long time without success. We have been negotiating with Nissan of Japan recently. It seems that the talks are almost over, but there is no feedback."

"It is indeed not easy to enter the automotive supply chain of these big brands, especially since we are still overseas and it is difficult to guarantee the supply chain." Yang Wendong nodded and then asked, "We can start with some small companies. There should be many small car companies in Japan, right?"

During this era, Japan's economy was in a period of rapid development and it also gave birth to many automobile industries. Many of them persisted until the new century before being gradually acquired.

Wang Zhiqun said: "We have considered it, but small car companies don't have radios yet."

"That's true, I don't really care." Yang Wendong smiled awkwardly;
In the past, some brands in the mainland were ridiculed for only having radios, but in this era, cars with radios are at least mid-range, if not luxury cars.

Then, he suddenly thought of something and said, "You should know about the tape, right?"

"I know." Wang Zhiqun nodded and said, "The music industry in Hong Kong has been developing very fast recently, which has a lot to do with tapes and tape players. There are also many companies in North Point that produce this kind of equipment and tapes."

In the past, if most people wanted to listen to music, they could basically only listen to it on the radio or TV. They had little choice unless they participated in on-demand streaming, which is also one of TVB's major sources of income, but the cost is also quite high.

In recent years, tape players have appeared, and music can be burned directly onto tapes. Then anyone can selectively listen to the sounds they want to hear, which has led to a huge explosion in the music market.

Yang Wendong asked: "We don't do this business?"

Wang Zhiqun shook his head and said, "No, this business is just like the radio business in the past. Any factory can make it. Even if we did, it wouldn't be very competitive, so we didn't participate. However, I also supply many electronic parts to factories throughout Hong Kong."

"Well, there is indeed no market for civilian use, but you can consider making it for cars." Yang Wendong added: "If you can play tapes directly in the car, it will also be a good choice for the driver or passengers."

After listening to this, Wang Zhiqun said, "This is indeed a good idea. Mr. Yang is really amazing."

"It's not my idea. I think some car companies in Europe and the United States have already done it." Yang Wendong shook his head and said, "You can try to integrate it, but no matter what, you still have to find a car manufacturer to cooperate with and design it on a new car project. Otherwise, no matter how good the idea is, you won't be able to make a product."

In the automotive industry, except for a very small number of very strong suppliers, all others need to follow the lead of the automotive companies. That is, they need the data provided by the automotive companies on what products to produce, the mature shape, weight and size of the products, etc.

This is different from other industries. You can't just make something and then sell it.

Wang Zhiqun said awkwardly: "Yes, before, individual radios could be made into similar standard parts. This new design must be coordinated by the main engine manufacturer."

Yang Wendong glanced at the world map beside him and said, "Let's put it this way. It's difficult to enter the Japanese and American markets, but you can try the British market. Large car companies generally don't choose inexperienced suppliers casually. It's normal for Japanese and American car companies not to choose us. But the British automobile industry is not doing well, and many large suppliers may not be willing to cooperate with them. Let's get on this ship first, and after we have practical experience, we can consider the future."

In any industry, whether it is for a company or an individual, getting started is the most difficult. If someone can guide you, subsequent development will be much easier.

The automotive industry is also very exclusive. It is extremely difficult for a company with little experience in the automotive industry to become a supplier for a big brand. So it is better to start with some less successful companies first, at least to ensure that they have a ticket, and then consider the future.
The British automobile industry began to gradually decline in the 60s. By the 80s, it was dismantled and sold off by Thatcher, leaving only a few small companies surviving.

Perhaps I may have the opportunity to participate in the events of the 80s, but it is too far away so I won’t waste my energy on it. Considering the present, it is a good choice to let my company enter the relevant industrial chain first, and then find a way to supply Japanese and American cars.

Although the automotive parts industry seems to be working for others, the scale of this industry is extremely large, and some giants are no smaller than automotive giants.

In the future, some of his "prophetic" golden fingers may be of some help to this industry. Not to mention the cars of the 21st century, even the cars of the late 20s had many comfort features that were not available in this era. If he could invent them, he would also get a good return.

"From the UK? Okay, I'll send someone to the UK to check first." Wang Zhiqun nodded and said.

Yang Wendong then added: "You guys should handle this business internally and strive for success, but for the civilian tape player, I need you to get involved as well. I want to make the player smaller, preferably so it can fit into a larger pocket."

It was hard to say whether the auto parts business would be successful, and it was impossible to control it. As a time traveler, he currently had little effect in this area, and it was also his subordinates who had to do it, so he just had to wait and see the results.

In fact, there are many such projects within Changxing Group, and Yang Wendong is unaware of most of them. Only those with huge investments or high returns after success will be informed to him. Others may not appear in the group's financial statements and are classified as "other businesses."

This is also the norm for large groups. No boss or CEO can control the small projects below. However, many times, black swan-level results may be born from these internal projects. After the group discovers this, it will fully invest resources to support incubation.

However, there were also some that he personally requested, which were naturally the top priority of the group. During this period, due to the relatively high capital level, he did not intervene much in general projects. However, when it came to "cassette player", he thought of the most famous Japanese Sony "Walkman" in his previous life.

This is a player with average performance, but its special feature is its small size;

In today's era, whether it is a radio or a tape player, the size and weight are very large, and the lightest one weighs several kilograms. It is specially placed in the room, living room or office. This is why the radio is gradually replaced by television. Music players can listen to music freely, which cannot be replaced by television.

Everyone took this size as the norm, but in 1979, Sony launched the "Walkman", a player that claimed to be able to fit in your pocket. It immediately exploded the market and can be said to be the originator of portable music players.

It is already 1974, so it should be in time for me to start my research today.
Historically, "Walkman" sold nearly 3 million units in the first ten years. This was a miracle of huge sales in the early electronics industry before the emergence of mobile phones and MPs. If Hong Kong had its own "Walkman", the electronics industry would have achieved explosive growth with this product.

"Put it in your pocket? Wouldn't that be about the same size as a cassette?" Wang Zhiqun was shocked. He had never thought of doing this before.
The same thing happened to Lin Youqiang next to him. He was also using a tape player, but he just listened to it in his room.

Yang Wendong smiled and said, "It's not that small. It's a bit exaggerated to say that I can put it in my pocket. But my requirement is that it can't be much bigger than a cassette. At least it should be easy to hold with one hand."

In fact, even the previous generations of "Walkman" were not that small. Although Sony used this slogan in the original history, it was cheating because they specifically found a clothing brand to customize clothes and pants with very large pockets that could fit the first version of the "Walkman";
Although it was a bit nonsensical and was criticized by many people, the entire project was still very successful. After all, being able to hold something easily in your hand was much better than before. Even the customized clothes were sold in millions of sets in total because of the high sales of "Walkman", which is enough to show how popular "Walkman" is.

"Okay, I'll set up a project team right away." Wang Zhiqun agreed and asked, "What's the name of this project?"

Yang Wendong thought for a moment and said, "Let's call it Walkman. This product is definitely aimed at the European and American markets, so an English name would be better."

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