In the following days, Chen Zhiwen went to a different villa every day. There were also some dedicated cleaners inside, who cleaned everything.
Chen Zhiwen, who felt a little tired these days, came to the Red Bull factory. Qin Zhihao had already gone to Germany on a business trip. The person currently in charge of the Red Bull factory was the company's vice president Wang Jinlai. He was one of the senior executives of the United Soda Drink Factory. Red Bull was acquiring United After soda, we will naturally need to rely on these former senior executives.
After walking around the factory, Chen Zhiwen asked: "Is there any news from Qin Zhihao?"
"Chen Sheng, I received a call from Qin Sheng last night. He praised the German equipment very highly. Although the price is expensive, the production capacity is very high. In terms of maintenance, there is almost no one in Hong Kong who understands the control of their equipment. People, he is worried that if there is a problem with the equipment, it will have a big impact." Wang Jinlai said.
"The price is negotiable, and as long as the efficiency is high, being expensive is not a problem. The after-sales aspect is indeed troublesome." Chen Zhiwen nodded. Let alone Hong Kong, there are probably not many people in RB who understand PLC control logic. The equipment is broken. Being extorted by a German is a small matter, but delaying your own production and affecting your delivery plan is a big deal.
Wang Jinlai continued: "Qin Sheng wants us to send a few people here to study in Germany to learn this technology, at least the maintenance technology."
"It's not that easy." Chen Zhiwen shook his head and said, "Ask him to send the model information of the German equipment by air. If possible, we will buy a few more units. For maintenance, we will dig two engineers directly from Germany to Hong Kong. The money will be enough. That’s it.”
In this era, the wages of Europeans and Americans are much higher than those of Hong Kong, but it is nothing to the rich people in Hong Kong. Many British companies in Hong Kong recruit British people, but they do not receive the same wages as local Hong Kong people.
"Okay, we have agreed to have a phone call tonight, and I will inform him then." Wang Jinlai said.
"Okay." Chen Zhiwen nodded. In the 1970s, communication efficiency was so low. You had to make an appointment in advance, and the person who answered the phone had to wait in advance. Information such as documents could only be sent by mail, and even international express delivery had to wait a few days. God, this makes Chen Zhiwen very nostalgic for his old WeChat.
After leaving the Red Bull factory, Chen Zhiwen went to the Midea factory next door. Compared with the busy Red Bull next door, Midea was much worse. Although it is still very hot in the northern hemisphere, the end of summer is coming soon. Fans This area has also started to become idle, and then it will enter the stage of stockpiling and production, entering the off-season. Radios will be similar. In addition to the vehicle business, Chen Zhiwen basically only requires that things be maintained as they are and will not invest too many resources.
"Lao Lei, this radio is similar to a tape player, right?" Chen Zhiwen touched a radio and said suddenly.
"Some tape players are similar in appearance to radios." Lei Shengli seemed to understand what his boss meant.
Chen Zhiwen thought for a while and said: "Although the profit margin of the car radio business is not bad, the auto parts industry is not so easy to expand. It has been difficult to achieve large scale in recent years. I am not optimistic about the radio business, although I am also prepared to do so." Making televisions, but it has also been difficult to scale in recent years. We have to think of ways to make other products to support so many workers who make radios, right?"
The radio market actually had a large scale in the 1970s and even the 1980s, but this thing has been around for decades, and the technology is simple. It can be produced in Europe, the United States, Japan, South Korea, and even some Southeast Asian countries. The market has long been saturated. At the same time, , TV sets are also competing for the market of radios. Even if Midea's channels are still there, there are still hundreds of thousands of sales a month, but Chen Zhiwen knows that it will not be able to survive in a few years. The historical Global Electronics was in the early 1980s. The business was running poorly, and then it was sold to an RB company at a low price.
As for the mainland, which will be reopened in a few years, there is indeed a huge demand for radios, but this market cannot be opened to the outside world. The purpose of the reopening is to earn foreign exchange, not to give the market away to let outsiders earn foreign exchange for the mainland government. , unless it is in some special industries, otherwise, don’t even think about it before 1990, and by 1990, radio was basically almost eliminated in China.
Of course, it is possible to enter the country through special methods, but this method is not feasible and is not necessary for Chen Zhiwen.
The music player is different. Although it appeared early, it is not popular and there will still be a large market in the future.
"The principle of a music player is not difficult. The structure is even simpler than that of a radio. It is not difficult for us to make it." Lei Shengli thought for a while and said.
"I don't want to make the most ordinary music player, I want to make a high-end one, at least with good sound quality." Chen Zhiwen smiled and said: "The target market is still Europe and the United States, and I am responsible for the channels. You just need to make the product and position it. It’s about miniaturization, not so big and heavy, let’s find a balance between sound quality, price and weight.”
Miniaturization is actually a requirement of major electronic groups for music players. In a few years, Sony will launch the Walkman, the most classic portable music player. The sales volume of 200 million units in 20 years is enough to make anyone and even the country jealous. However, this requires a very high technical foundation. Midea obviously does not have this ability, but if it is just a music player placed in the room, it should be no problem. As long as the cost can be controlled, plus the sales channels that Chen Zhiwen is about to build, we can obtain a certain amount of sales. The market should be fine.
"Then I have to buy all kinds of music players from around the world for reference." Lei Shengli said with a smile.
"No problem, buy it. I just want to see what the current players are like." Chen Zhiwen agreed, and then said: "In addition, find a group of primary school students to choose from and see which type they like. You need to take your opinions seriously.”
"Primary school student?" Lei Shengli didn't quite understand.
"The child's choice is the best and simplest." Chen Zhiwen didn't explain much, just said with a smile.
Later generations of Apple's Steve Jobs liked to use children to test their products. It is said that when Apple's first-generation mobile phone was developed, many children were allowed to try out different functions to choose the most suitable one. It is said that the results were very good.
Music players may be different, but adults have many opinions of their own and may not be as good as children relying on their own interests when judging products.
"Okay, I'll go arrange the purchase first." Lei Shengli nodded and said.
"Let's study it and see if there is an opportunity to develop in this direction." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.
Later generations of Sony's Walkman could be said to be the biggest gold mine in the electronics industry before personal computers. Chen Zhiwen was naturally very interested in it. However, there were many patent restrictions on magnetic tape technology, so there was no advantage in having future generations' memories.
But the radio business is indeed in the twilight. Transformation is difficult, but you still have to give it a try. Even if you cannot become a top player, it is enough to gain a certain market. As long as you have a certain market share, you can develop steadily and slowly. The tape era may not be able to grasp it. What opportunities, but not necessarily in the digital age.
