The Industrial Giant Reborn

"There is already a new game. This time, Henry is here to experience it first." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said, "This way, please."

"Okay, I'm looking forward to it." Henry Morgan suddenly regained his spirits. Although he was forced by Chen Zhiwen to give up part of the profits of the second arcade game called Magic Cube, the overall profit was still huge. Now he is naturally looking forward to it. to the next new game.

The two came to the corner of the office. Now that the Xinghe Building can provide Chen Zhiwen, the boss, with a bigger office, it is impossible for Henry Morgan to see it in advance.

The arcade machine located here has already been turned on, obviously ready for a long time. Standing in front of the arcade machine, Chen Zhiwen said, "This new game is called Space Invaders."

"Space Invaders? Is this trying to capitalize on Star Wars fame?" Henry Morgan asked.

"Can I say, is this a coincidence?" Chen Zhiwen shook his head and smiled.

"Star Wars" is a sci-fi movie shot by 20th Century Fox last year, and almost all the resources of the entire company have been invested in it. It can be said that if this movie fails, then the entire Fox can declare bankruptcy.

"Star Wars" will be released in May of a few years, and there is still about a month before now. As a Hollywood giant, it will naturally publicize a lot in advance, such as promotional screens in various places, part of the plot broadcast on TV channels, and personal promotion by Hollywood movie stars. Wait, judging from the results of the current social feedback, the public is still looking forward to this movie, and its popularity is naturally growing. Space wars and science fiction have become mainstream leisure topics in American society.

Did you take the opportunity to hitch a ride? Of course Chen Zhiwen didn't, but the original historical "Space Invaders" was released next year, that is, after "Star Wars" had already been released, and when it was most famous, Japan's Taito might indeed have this idea.

"Coincidence is fine. This is indeed an opportunity for us. The customers of this kind of sci-fi movie also coincide with our game arcade customers." Henry Morgan naturally did not believe it was a coincidence, but there was no need to dwell on this topic. Movie fame is also a good thing.

"I've already set it up, why don't you play for a while?" Chen Zhiwen stepped aside to give up his position, and said, "You can think of it as a spaceship, and they will descend step by step just like the setting of the Magic Cube. It is also adjustable. The difference is that these spaceships will come down together. The following thing that looks like a fighter jet is controlled by the player. The fighter jet can fire bullets. The bullets are used to destroy the spaceship. It can move left and right. If the spaceship reaches the bottom, Then the game is lost.”

The game is naturally very simple. In the original history of this game, when it was in Japan, it was called Little Bee, but it became Space Invaders in the United States. It can only be said that the person in charge of marketing is a bit level.

"Understood." Henry Morgan nodded, then stood in front of the game console and started playing.

The first game was lost quickly, but it made him a little familiar. The second game lasted for a while, and then lost again. In the third game, it seemed that he had gotten used to it. Afterwards, the "spaceship" that fell from above became more and more Faster and faster, Henry Morgan's operations began to be a little frantic, and after a while, he lost again.

"How do you feel?" Chen Zhiwen leaned against the wall next to him and asked with a smile.

"It's very good and feels very good. It's completely different from the previous Magic Cube." Henry Morgan thought for a while and said, "The gameplay doesn't seem to be as much as the Magic Cube, and it doesn't require much thinking, but it's very exciting to play, especially at the end. When the speed gets faster, the adrenaline feels full."

"Henry, you will soon become an expert in video games." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.

The main test of the magical cube is the brain. When a cube of a shape comes down, the player needs to consider where to place it to ensure the greatest benefit (score) in the future. Even the greedy snake has a similar nature. The control of each direction affects Follow the fate behind.

But "Space Invaders" is a completely different gameplay. It doesn't need to know any brains, just do it directly.

"Of course, this is my business." Henry Morgan said with a light smile. If he came to Hong Kong two years ago to try to become a dealer of the Snake Arcade in order to make a fortune, then now, he is planning to make it A business, after all, Midea's arcade machines, has shown a long-term development trend, a long-term stable product, and its distribution channels are naturally a stable business.

"Okay, let's discuss the follow-up plan." Chen Zhiwen nodded, and then motioned to take Henry Morgan back to the rest area.

"The distribution channel is basically very mature. We can still follow the previous method, first transport hundreds of units to some bars in the United States to test the water, and then according to the feedback results, I will place an order here, and you will produce here. How about ? Eric." Henry Morgan said.

"Okay, but we have to renegotiate the price." Chen Zhiwen said calmly. The arcade machine is not a car, it is actually facing bar owners, shopping malls or a few commercial places. After two years of development by Henry Morgan, it has basically stabilized. There may be occasional new customers, but the scale is not large. It may be too big. In this case, the importance of distribution has actually been greatly reduced.

"Then how much is the price of this arcade machine?" Henry Morgan asked with some distress. Although he has already built a channel, the product is still Midea and has absolute control. Even if this channel is gone, with the current reputation of Midea arcade machines in this small area, it is easy to build another one, because there are many bars. The owner will take the initiative to contact Midea, and he can't forcibly separate customers and suppliers. Every arcade machine has a contact method.

Even if there is a contract in hand, there is a contract time limit, and it will be gone when it expires. Besides, the liquidated damages on the contract are not very much, and Midea can fully afford it.

He also knows that the reason why Chen Zhiwen did not breach the contract is also because in many other aspects, he can give the other party a certain amount of help, or in the future, but this is not enough for Midea to share a large amount of profits with him. The era when he earned four to five hundred dollars from arcade machines has long passed. On the magic cube arcade machine, he can only earn more than two to three hundred dollars per machine, but even so, he can earn tens of millions of dollars in total .

"The price is still the same as before, 3,500 US dollars a piece. On the terminal side, when the initial demand is tight, we will increase the price, wait for the production capacity in Hong Kong to supply, and then resume when the demand decreases, or appropriately discount, but the price I will give you, Maybe a little more." Chen Zhiwen said with a chuckle.

"How much?" Henry Morgan asked with a frown.

"2,800 US dollars." Chen Zhiwen said, "The price of the increase is still 70% for us, 70% for me, and 30% for you."

"Eric, the 70/30 share of the price increase is okay, but the price difference is only 700 US dollars. I also need to calculate the transportation cost, the profit distributed to the dealer, and the 3% tariff. I'm afraid it's not enough?" Henry Morgan said with a frown .

The share of the previous price increase was also seven to three, which is not a big problem. Midea is very strong in this area, and this area is not a big one. With the current production capacity in Hong Kong, it can keep up in a month or two. After the supply exceeds demand, Naturally, it is impossible to increase the price.

But the distribution price has been falling, which makes him very uncomfortable. The Snake is 1,000 US dollars, and the Magic Cube is 850 US dollars, and now it has dropped to 700.

"Henry, your dealer team can be said to be the most relaxed dealer team in the world, right?" Chen Zhiwen said lightly.

"This" Henry Morgan was a little speechless, and Chen Zhiwen was right. Their team, except for looking for potential customers in the first year, made money lying down, because there were only so many customers and the products were popular. There are also very few new customers, and most of them come to the door on their own initiative.

"It's too easy, and you won't make too much money." Chen Zhiwen continued: "Although I lower the price here, you can do the same, can't you?"

"Yes." Henry Morgan nodded. The entire dealer team is indeed too relaxed. In theory, he can indeed suppress the price. When the price of the Magic Cube was reduced before, he actually suppressed a little bit, but not a lot. Once, being pressed too hard by Chen Zhiwen, he had to be pressed even harder.

As for rejecting Chen Zhiwen, that's really unfounded. The agreement signed by the two parties at the beginning was negotiable. If the reverse channel is strong, it will definitely lower the price even harder.

But how can we achieve strong channels? It is impossible to rely on them. Only the games of many companies appear in the market, and they are very popular. When all the bars are choosing, then they, the channel operators, have a great say. But now, it is purely a dream, the market There was no one that could play the last one. Even Atari, the founding company of arcade machines, under the pressure of Snake and Magic Cube, released several games, and they didn't even make a fuss.

However, Henry Morgan still likes the current situation. Midea's arcade machines have no rivals. They can easily make money, even if it is a little less, it is much better than multi-party competition. After all, it is impossible for them to monopolize the sales channels of all game companies.

Of course, there is another possibility, that is, Henry Morgan has great power in the United States and can control the game console market, preventing disobedient brands from entering. But this is just a dream. Even if the Morgan family uses a lot of resources, it may be able to achieve this, but for what? Just for a game distribution market? With this ability, there are many ways to make money, so why bother.

"Or, Henry, you can cut off some second-tier dealers. In this simple business model, first-tier dealers are enough." Chen Zhiwen went on to say that when looking for customers in the early stage, it did require a lot of manpower and material resources, but now what? , there is no need, but Chen Zhiwen can be lazy to do this kind of thing. When he tightens up the price, Henry Morgan will naturally make a move, just like the auto industry in the mainland.

Even Europe, Japan or other countries and regions need to lower the profits of dealers. Now that Midea is strong and monopolizes the arcade market, it is natural to suppress this group of dealers.

This is the case with business. If Midea's arcade machines do not sell well, this group of people will also take a bite out of it.

"I need to think about it." Henry Morgan shook his head helplessly, but he didn't worry much. Obviously, this was not a psychological burden.

"The factory in Hong Kong has already produced 1,000 Space Invaders, and you can arrange to send them to the United States for testing." Chen Zhiwen said.

"Okay, I will arrange for the cargo plane of American Airlines to come to Hong Kong to pick up the goods." Henry Morgan nodded and said. This is already a normal process, and he is very familiar with it.

"Okay, the factory in Hong Kong has moved to a new location. If you are interested, you can go and have a look." Chen Zhiwen said again.

"Let me arrange for my men to go. I don't understand technology or production." Henry Morgan shook his head and said.

"It's up to you." Chen Zhiwen paused, and said, "Henry, there is something I want to entrust to you."

"What's the matter? Just say it?" Henry Morgan said straightforwardly. Although the price was lowered, he can also lower the price of others, and the comprehensive calculation will not lose too much. Now Midea's products are strong and monopolize the entire market. It is normal for merchants to be priced down, as is the case in any industry.

And if you want to maintain a stable relationship, or not be so ruthless in lowering prices next time, you have to show your own value. This value cannot be reflected in arcade machines that are not worried about selling at all, and can only be reflected in other fields.

"I hope to introduce a most advanced wafer production line from the United States for the production of chips." Chen Zhiwen said.

"The most advanced?" Henry Morgan frowned and said, "Eric, are you going to produce arcade chips yourself in Hong Kong? Isn't the risk too great?"

"Of course not. My home appliance industry is developing fairly well in the US market. As far as I know, many Japanese home appliance giants are preparing to use integrated circuit technology in home appliances. I also need to develop in this direction, so I prepared Build a fab in Hong Kong and produce it yourself first," said Chen Zhiwen.

The arcade chips all use chips with Intel's most advanced manufacturing process. Chen Zhiwen absolutely dare not replace this chip casually. Now that arcade machines are frantically picking up gold in the market, even the cost of the chips is far less than that of Arcade profits.

But household appliances, especially refrigerators and air conditioners, involve temperature control. Previously, such household appliances were controlled by various relays, and everyone is the same. Naturally, there is no problem. However, recently, several major electric appliance giants in Japan have begun to prepare to try. Integrated circuits, although the design cost of integrated circuits is relatively high, once they are mass-produced, the cost will drop in a straight line, and it can also reduce the weight of home appliances, killing two birds with one stone.

In Midea's laboratory, the inverter air conditioner that has been investing in research and development is actually an integrated circuit. At present, samples have been made, but there are still some problems.

Other home appliances produced in industrial parks in the United States still use traditional control methods. Previously, these products could be exported to the United States. Apart from Chen Zhiwen’s terminal layout, the most important thing is that the labor cost is much lower than that of Japanese home appliances. Once Japanese home appliances are equipped with integrated circuits, That beautiful advantage is gone.

Cost reduction is the lifeline of all enterprises, even automobiles. Fortunately, the Japanese home appliance giants have just started, and it is estimated that they will have to wait until the early 1980s to launch them on the market.

"Home appliance industry? This type of chip doesn't need the highest process production line?" Henry Morgan asked.

"It is not necessary, but the chip industry is upgrading too fast. According to Moore's Law, it basically doubles in one and a half years. I buy the latest production line now. When it is put into production, it is estimated that I will fall behind. If I buy old ones, then It's too far behind." Chen Zhiwen replied.

"Hong Kong is now a British colony. In theory, there is no problem in purchasing the most advanced production lines such as wafers, but you also know that it will be different in practice. Let me ask a few friends to see the latest policies. "Henry Morgan thought for a while and said.

"Okay, thank you very much." Chen Zhiwen said.