Midea's other main business is naturally air conditioners and refrigerators, but in fact they are similar to radios. They are all assembled goods and have almost no technology of their own. Even the fans are inferior. The motors of the fans are still produced by themselves after all.
The core of the air-conditioning refrigerator is naturally the compressor, but the technical content of this thing is not low. Not to mention making it yourself, even the internal working principles are probably not understood by many people in Hong Kong.
Chen Zhiwen's current main business strategy for white household appliances is to build his own brand. Even if the main profits are taken away by the suppliers of these major components, as long as there is a market and brand awareness, there will be many opportunities in the future, just like later generations of domestically produced products. Like all car brands, they assemble first and then slowly develop their own technical reserves.
In Hong Kong, it is okay to play with the simplest industrial products such as clothing, simple electrical appliances, electronics, etc., but there is really no market for complex products. Chen Zhiwen hopes that after the mainland is reopened, he can go to the mainland to conduct research.
Although the current per capita education in the Mainland is far less than that in Hong Kong, the foundation is too large and there are still a lot of internal talents. The only disadvantage is that it may be out of touch with the international community, but many domestic industries should also need compressors, and talent and technology in this area There must be reserves. When the time comes, I can communicate as an intermediary bridge, which can not only improve domestic technology in this area, but also reduce my own costs and increase technology patents, etc. In the few years since the reform, as long as I do not lose money or even lose less Lose a little and win the market.
After experiencing Midea's air conditioner, Chen Zhiwen still felt that the noise was relatively loud. The air conditioner was always on and off. Although the interior of the room was not hot and cold, it was indeed uncomfortable.
"The compressor of this air conditioner doesn't have a low-power working mode?" Chen Zhiwen asked.
"Yes, there are two working modes. When the temperature difference is large, it will operate at full load. When the temperature is close to the set value, the load will be reduced. The latter only has half the energy consumption of the former." Lei Shengli explained.
"But it always stops frequently, and when it starts and stops like this, it will be very noisy." Chen Zhiwen said, it's just a little noisy, but it's nothing. Just get used to it. Customers in the Middle East are used to it, and Europe and the United States may I'm not used to it.
It doesn’t matter if it keeps making noise, but if it suddenly stops after a while, it will easily attract people’s attention. Just like you may fall asleep while watching TV, but if the sound suddenly stops, you will easily wake up. .
"Chen Sheng, all air conditioners are like this. A good air conditioner has a better compressor and is very quiet. We can also buy it, but the price positioning is different." Lei Shengli explained.
Everyone knows that buying good parts can assemble good products, but brand awareness is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. In a mature market, it is difficult for new brands to survive, and it is basically impossible to take the high-end route. , no one will admit that even if there is no shortage of money in the early stage, it is impossible to compete with so many mature industrial chains on cost. The cost of procurement will be higher, and there is no market.
Only those low-end markets or untapped markets that industry giants have given up on have a little chance. Midea relied on the newly-exploded Middle East market to obtain its first order, which can be regarded as a firm foothold in the Middle East. However, It only takes the civilian route. Whether it is technology or brand, there is no way to compare with traditional giants.
"I'm not talking about the noise of the compressor, but the problem of it turning on and off for a while." Chen Zhiwen paused and said, "Have you ever heard of variable frequency control technology?"
"Variable frequency control? Chen Sheng is talking about variable frequency motor?" Lei Shengli said without any pause.
"As long as you have heard of it, do you think the frequency conversion technology can be put on the air conditioner?" Chen Zhiwen thought for a while and said: "We can monitor the temperature of the room and then control the speed of the compressor through the feedback data from the temperature sensor. When the temperature difference is large, it operates like the current air conditioner. When it is close to the set temperature, the compressor runs at low power. This can not only stabilize the temperature of the room, reduce noise, but also save electricity. When the compressor starts, The most power-hungry.”
"Chen Sheng, this idea seems to be a pity in theory, but it is very difficult. We need chips to calculate data. The price of chips is very high, and what level of chips is needed can only be known after research and development. In addition, the control technology of variable frequency motors is also It is controlled by several European and American companies. Whether it can be used in compressors needs to be studied before we know. These research and development require a lot of time and money." Lei Shengli said after thinking for a moment.
"Funds are not a problem, and time is not a problem. In fact, according to Moore's Law, the computing power of chips can double every year and a half, so in a few years, the price of chips will be much lower than now, and the software in the chips will not be needed. Worried, I can find a company in Silicon Valley to write about it. As for variable frequency motor technology, we don’t need to develop it ourselves. We can just buy the finished product. However, you have to put in the effort to develop the cooperation between the compressor and the variable frequency motor." Chen Zhiwen paused for a moment. said.
At the current level of Midea, not to mention R&D, even if you buy a finished air conditioner and dismantle it, you may not be able to get a score of 60 points. Therefore, even if you have the idea of developing an inverter air conditioner, you cannot do it yourself. The core Things can only be purchased.
As long as you develop this somewhat creative product first, you can hit the high-end market. In mature industries, only innovation can have the opportunity to enter the high-end market, similar to the way electric vehicles change lanes and overtake fuel vehicles in later generations.
Of course, similar to the fact that smartphones eliminate feature phones, it will turn the table. Unfortunately, in the home appliance market, except for LCD screens that eliminate picture tubes, there are basically no other disruptive innovations.
In fact, such innovations can easily be directly copied by traditional giants, but there is such a time difference. If you can get a little fame, you can get some markets. If you can get some markets, you can get some markets. Again, when you promote it in the future, you can say Midea is the first company in the world to invent the inverter air conditioner, which is very impressive.
Although this invention is just an idea, it has no core technology and can only rely on various suppliers.
"That's okay, but in this way, our costs will be very high, and our suppliers will also be able to control it." Lei Shengli nodded and said, although Midea did not have much technology for ordinary air conditioners in the past, all core components were purchased. , but because the market is mature, there are many manufacturers of such parts, and many parts have been standardized. However, if you create a new thing yourself and have to rely on a few suppliers, you will be completely pinched.
"It doesn't matter, we can only do this without technology. What's important to us now is the market. With the market and funds, we can make up for these shortcomings." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.
If you don’t have technology, you will definitely suffer. If you have technology, you will be awesome. Even powerful automakers like Volkswagen and Toyota sometimes have to be led by the nose by parts suppliers like Bosch and Magna. However, in markets like European and American home appliances, users don’t quite recognize low-end products, so they have no choice but to go ahead.
Some of Chen Zhiwen's advantages can provide the company with sufficient funds and certain sales channels. This is the only advantage at present, so we must make good use of it and develop it first. Even if we rely on strong suppliers, when we grow in scale, we will naturally Have the ability to develop their own technology.
The development journey of most traditional companies is like this. So many domestic automobile companies in later generations first relied on various suppliers and various foreign monopoly technologies. After they developed, they had funds, capital and markets, and then they could turn around. Come to clean up or replace those suppliers that were once arrogant, and you will also invest in research and development, forming a virtuous cycle.
