"Shafu Morita is coming to Hong Kong? Visiting our company?" After Chen Zhiwen heard the news, he almost thought someone was joking with him?
I have no business cooperation or conflict with this old man. Although we both have home appliance business, Sony does not make fans. As for refrigerators and air conditioners, their market shares are not large, and their price positioning is also different. Sony's strongest business is color TVs, and Midea is not involved in this area.
"It's true. I thought the other party was joking at first, but then they sent a fax through Sony's Hong Kong trading office and I was sure it was true," said Angel.
"This old man came to me, 90% of the time, it was for the arcade machine." Chen Zhiwen thought for a moment and determined this possibility. With Sony's current scale in the global electronics market, only arcade machines, the black swan of the electronics industry, can This attraction attracted Morita Shaofu.
"The Hong Kong Commerce Bureau also knows about this. They want to hold a welcome ceremony at Kai Tak Airport. Would you like to ask your opinion?" An Qi said again.
"Welcome ceremony? What does it have to do with me? They can do whatever they want, but I won't go." Chen Zhiwen directly objected: "Shaofu Morita comes to my company. I can go to see him, but he wants me to pick him up at the airport." , then don’t think about it.”
With Shao Morita's status, when he comes to Hong Kong, it is normal for some officials or chambers of commerce in Hong Kong to go to the airport to welcome him and hold a welcome ceremony, but he is too lazy to go. He is not his big customer, nor is he a cooperation partner. , the god of global management will not ignore him even when he comes.
It doesn't matter if you go to the airport to pick up a friend, but if you pick up a colleague with whom you have no relationship, doesn't that mean you are telling outsiders that you are shorter than the other person? Although Sony is indeed very strong now, no matter how strong it is, it has nothing to do with Midea, and it will not affect Midea. Besides, it's not like I invited the other party to come.
"Okay." An Qi said immediately. He also knew the boss's character, but what the Hong Kong government and the Chamber of Commerce needed was Chen Zhiwen's reply, not hers.
"Everything within the company remains as usual, and there is no need to deliberately cater to it." Chen Zhiwen said again.
In this era, Japan's economy and science and technology are very strong. It is not bad at all to describe it as "Light of Asia". Many people in Asia admire Japan, and Shao Morita is also one of the most powerful entrepreneurs in Japan. Coming to Hong Kong will definitely attract the attention of many people, including people in your own company.
"Okay." An Qi nodded and said.
On July 10, at Hong Kong Kai Tak Airport, the business jet of Japan's Sony Corporation successfully parked on the airport runway.
Ma Zhiqiang, the president of the Hong Kong Industrial Chamber of Commerce, personally came to pick up the plane. This is really because many electronic companies in Hong Kong are now OEM for Japanese companies. The big boss from Japan came in person, so he naturally had to give him face. At the same time, The Hong Kong Government’s Commerce Bureau also sent a deputy director.
When Shao Morita came to Hong Kong, Hong Kong's financial media also paid close attention to it. Many reporters also brought cameras and filmed from various angles around him, watching everyone shaking hands with each other.
After getting to know everyone's names, one of Morita's assistants asked: "Midea Electronics Company, no one is here?"
"Midea Group is already waiting for Mr. Shengtian at their company headquarters." Ma Zhiqiang said with some embarrassment.
For him, it was a great thing for the Japanese business god to come to Hong Kong, but Midea Company only replied that he would allow him to visit. Just the day before yesterday, he went to Midea's headquarters in person, thinking To convince Chen Zhiwen.
Ma Zhiqiang, the president of the Hong Kong Industrial Chamber of Commerce, still has face, and Chen Zhiwen is polite to him, but when he heard that he wanted him to go to the airport to pick up someone, he was directly rejected by Chen Zhiwen. Ma Zhiqiang also understood that Midea is now considered a leader in the global electronics industry. Some people are famous, even if they are not as good as Sony, but there is no need to curry favor with others. However, when he asked Midea to send a senior executive to pick him up, he was rejected. Ma Zhiqiang was so anxious that he vomited blood, so he didn't need this little face. Don't even give it.
But now that the matter has come to this, all we can do is tell the truth.
The assistant was stunned for a moment. He had been to so many countries with his boss, and even the presidents of some small countries had picked him up at the airport. But now he came to Hong Kong, but something like this happened.
"Then let's go directly to Midea." Morita Shaofu said directly without any unusual expression after listening to the translation of the simultaneous interpreter beside him.
"Mr. Shengtian, would you like to go to the hotel to rest for a while or have lunch before going to Midea?" Ma Zhiqiang said.
"No, just go ahead." Morita Shaofu said to the translator.
After listening to the translation, Ma Zhiqiang could not say anything more and could only agree. After some arrangements, a convoy of Rolls-Royce and several Mercedes-Benz cars drove towards the Admiralty with Shaofo Morita and his group. .
After a while, the car arrived at the Galaxy Building, which is also the headquarters of Midea.
The door was desolate and there was no one queuing to welcome him. After Morita Shaofu got off the car, he doubted whether he had come to the wrong place.
Ma Zhiqiang was a little embarrassed and said, "Mr. Shengtian, let's go in first."
"Okay." Shaofu Morita seemed to understand a little bit and nodded in agreement.
After entering the building gate, Ma Zhiqiang hurriedly trotted towards the front desk of the lobby. Fortunately, the front desk had already known about Morita Shaofu's arrival, and was directly preparing to lead a group of people to the top-level office.
This finally put Ma Zhiqiang's heart at ease. If Chen Zhiwen really didn't take Shaofu Morita seriously and he was caught in the middle as a receptionist, he would be unable to step down.
After taking the special elevator and reaching the 46th floor, Chen Zhiwen was already waiting at the elevator entrance.
"Hello, Mr. Shengtian." Chen Zhiwen looked at the energetic old man in front of him and said in a neither humble nor overbearing tone.
Although I don’t like the Japanese very much, I don’t really have any respect for him. Shao Morita is a figure who can leave his name in the history of business. He has great influence in the fields of radio, music playback, and color televisions. promotion effect.
But it is limited to this. Morita Shao's role is mainly for Sony and Japan. He developed Sony into a global electronics giant and improved Japan's electronics industry to a certain extent. Compared with those that have an impact on human history, Businessmen such as Steve Jobs who proposed the concept of personal computers and invented smartphones, Bill Gates who launched a visual operating system, and Musk who promoted electric vehicles and recyclable rockets are all very different from each other. They are not at the same level at all.
"Hello, Mr. Chen." Morita Shaofu bowed slightly, but he didn't know what level of etiquette it was in Japanese culture.
"Please come this way." Chen Zhiwen pointed sideways, and a group of people headed to the inside of the building, where some fruits and drinks were also prepared.
Lei Shengli also came here. With the help of simultaneous interpretation, he began to introduce the people following Shaofu Morita. The office on this floor belonged to Midea. In addition to some high-level offices and conference rooms, there was also a It is a very large exhibition hall, and some samples of all Midea products are displayed here.
Morita Shaofu didn't speak, just listened to the translator's introduction. These household appliances were very ordinary, and he didn't have much interest until he walked to three arcade machines.
Lei Shengli spent a few minutes introducing the gameplay of the three games respectively. With Morita Shaofu's permission, several Japanese students started to play. After a while, they were very excited to play. If Morita Shaofo hadn't been there, Here, everyone is probably making a lot of noise.
Seeing his subordinates getting addicted so easily, Morita Shaofu was even more surprised. He had actually played these games, but obviously he didn't have so much fun.
"Have you never played before?" Chen Zhiwen approached the beautiful female translator and asked.
The female translator shook her head and said, "I haven't seen this kind of thing in Japan. They should be the same."
"Japan's bar culture is not developed, so the operating methods in the United States will not work in Japan." After the female translator whispered her conversation with Chen Zhiwen to Morita Shaofu, Morita Shaofu explained.
"I know this. There are basically no bars in Asia." Chen Zhiwen also nodded and said.
The current mainstream market for arcade machines is bars. Even if Henry Morgan used his connections to send arcade machines to many shopping malls, universities and even airports, the number of these machines is limited and is not at the same level as the tens of thousands of bars spread across the United States. At the same time, Reason, this is basically the case in Europe where everyone is white.
As for Asia, there are not many bars at all. Firstly, the economy does not allow it, and secondly, the culture is different. In Japan, a developed country, or in developed cities in Asia, there may be some, but they will not reach a large scale at all.
The most common game arcade in later generations does not yet exist, mainly because arcade machines are too expensive.
"This is a pity. Japan's current consumption power has basically reached a quarter of that of the United States. It is a pity that this market has given up." Morita Shao said.
"What do you think, Mr. Shengtian?" Chen Zhiwen asked.
"Can we go to a quieter place to talk?" Morita Shaofu said again.
"Okay." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said, there is a reception room next door, we can go there, there is the sound of games here, and the two bosses are here, they probably won't be comfortable playing.
After talking to Lei Shengli, Chen Zhiwen took Morita Shaofu and the female translator to the next door.
The reception room faces south, and the sun is very high on this day. Only a small amount of sunlight comes in, which is not dazzling, but makes people feel refreshed.
"Sit down, what do you want to drink, Mr. Shengtian?" Chen Zhiwen asked.
"Ordinary tea will do." Morita Shaofu said.
After accepting the order, An Qi walked to the side to make tea. Chen Zhiwen asked: "Did you have any thoughts on what Mr. Shengtian just said?"
"Yes, the success of arcade machines relies on the bar culture in the United States, but it does not work in Japan. It would be a pity not to develop such a large market. So based on my idea, Sony obtained the exclusive agency rights of Midea Group in Japan. , use our resources to rapidly expand the Japanese market." Morita Shaofu said with a smile.
"But we, Midea, already have several dealers in Japan." Chen Zhiwen said.
In the early stages of development, because he needed to rely on Henry Morgan's resources to quickly open up the market and advertise well for other parts of the world, Chen Zhiwen acquiesced to Henry Morgan's exclusive agency rights throughout the United States.
It is different in other places. First, when these places were developed, Midea had already gained a lot in the U.S. market. Second, naturally, the success of the United States was a bargaining chip in negotiations. Therefore, many larger European countries have both. Among the three dealers, although Japan cannot develop bars, they still chose one on each island, but the sales volume was a bit too poor.
"Mr. Chen, don't worry about this. I, Sony, will handle internal matters in Japan. As long as you agree, I will naturally convince Midea's current agents in Japan." Morita Shaofu said.
"Okay, if you can do it, I'll have no problem here, but it's still the same problem as before. How should Japan develop without a large number of bars?" Chen Zhiwen asked.
With Sony's position in Japan, it is indeed not difficult to suppress a few small dealers, especially since this distribution task can hardly open up the market in Japan.
"Ali Ga Dao." An Qi came over and handed the tea leaves to everyone, and Morita Shaofu thanked them.
After taking a sip of tea, Morita Shaofu said: "Good tea."
"If Mr. Morita likes it, I can give you some," Chen Zhiwen said with a faint smile. The tea he prepared in various reception rooms and offices were all top-quality tea and coffee purchased by the client from the mainland. The taste was very good. , and many tea drinkers around the world have never had this pleasure.
"Thank you." Morita Shaofu nodded and said: "To get back to the point, Japan does not have a bar culture, but it has a lot of KTV culture. This KTV is a place where everyone goes to sing together. In fact, every bar has it. It’s just a little different.”
"KTV?" Chen Zhiwen's mind immediately flashed to this familiar word. He had never thought about this place, but he still had some questions, so he asked: "Mr. Morita, KTVs are generally single rooms, which is different from the openness of the United States." The KTV bar is completely different, and the customers in each KTV are also fixed. Is this not conducive to the arcade business model? "
"There will indeed be a big difference, so we can't copy the American model." Shao Morita said with a smile: "The first problem is the price. The price of American arcade machines is too expensive. Put this in a Japanese KTV. It is absolutely impossible to succeed.”
"The price of arcade machines is the same globally, and it cannot be cheaper in Japan." Chen Zhiwen shook his head and said. If the prices were different, then the smuggling situation would still be in full swing?
"I'm not talking about new games, but games from two years ago, such as "Snake." Two years later, the price of the same chip has dropped by more than half. I think the price can also drop significantly. Right?" Morita Shaofu asked.
(End of chapter)
