Chapter 89: Visit from Compaq Company

After dealing with the matter of Jianlibao Factory, Fan Wubing returned to Beijing.

Because my sister Fan Ting had already heard from her that she had requested a sales agent to Compaq.com. She said that the other party's senior management had recently been preparing to come to mainland China for inspection and was willing to contact her.

Just contact? Fan Wubing laughed in his heart. He understood the arrogance of Americans and thought that all the latest technologies in the world were created by himself. China should be based on a primitive society in ignorance. It is ridiculous to say.

However, Fan Wubing is confident that as long as the other party comes to Beijing and sees huge market opportunities and his own economic strength, he will be moved. Lenovo, which had only 200,000 yuan in funds back then, could he take down ibm and hold hundreds of millions of dollars. Could it be that he can't handle a Compaq Company that has only been established for two years and has not taken off in the true sense?

Billy Merton got off the plane and arranged the hotel, and came to the PCfans Club in Wangfujing.

This name was chosen by Fan Wubing at will. Although it will take many years for personal computers to become popular in mainland China, it is also a good choice to remember a loud name. Therefore, when Billy Merton saw the English sign with red background and gold characters at a glance, he was very stunned.

It was weekend, and there were about a dozen Peking University students working in the hall, and more people went out to get business. Billy Merton glanced at the surrounding environment and found that it was very casual, making people feel that it was a commercial institution. There was a bar on one side of the hall, and there were many alcohol and drinks inside. A refrigerator that was probably Nissan was filled with ice cubes. It was obvious that they also drank ice water.

Around the hall, some rattan chairs with a strong Chinese rustic atmosphere were placed. Billy even saw two or three swings hanging in a corner. In short, Billy felt different from any commercial organization in China. He couldn't help but feel very curious about this Chinese company that issued a cooperation proposal to Compaq.

Billy is undoubtedly one of the few major shareholders of Compaq. In 1982, he and Rod Kenny and Jimmy Harris, who also came from Texas Instruments, invested 10 million US dollars to establish Compaq.

Compaq's original product was the first version of ibm's personal computer that combines portability and compatibility. In March 1983, it sold for $3,950. This big guy should be considered the ancestor of today's laptops. Although it is not the first portable computer produced in the world, it is the first portable computer produced outside of ibm, and the first compatible personal computer recognized by ibm. It quickly gained everyone's recognition. Compaq sold more than 53,000 units in the first year, creating the company's sales revenue record in the first three years in the US business field.

However, this computer is very bulky in the back. It is a big guy with a nine-inch black and white screen, two five-inch floppy disks, and weighing 20 kilograms.

Billy and others keenly grasped the key to the problem. Most of the components of ibm in PC machines are not produced directly by themselves, which may be the main reason for Compaq's great achievements. And because Microsoft has never transferred its operating system license to any computer manufacturer, this has also become a major obstacle for all computer manufacturers. However, Billy and others found that the only thing that needs to be copied in hardware production is Bios, so Compaq spent one million dollars to buy this patent and could decompile it, which made it quickly become an industry leader compatible with other companies in the PC industry.

From 1982 to 1984, Compaq's development momentum was extremely rapid. It is expected that sales revenue will reach more than 100 million US dollars this year, and will set a record for commercial sales in the United States for the first time. This also made several owners of Compaq feel very proud. After receiving the cooperation proposal sent by Fan Wubing and others, everyone was not very interested.

"Will they use such advanced modern tools in that ancient and closed Eastern country? I have deep doubts about this-" A major shareholder expressed full doubt, believing that even if the computers were sold in mainland China, the gains were minimal.

The final result of the discussion was to ask Billy, one of the major shareholders, to come to Beijing to see if there is really a possibility of cooperation.

"Hello, what do you need?" A girl in charge of reception at the front desk immediately walked up and asked Billy in English.

Oh! Thank God, this is really great! I thought they couldn't speak English! Billy first paid tribute to God, and then introduced himself, "I am Billy, executive vice president of Compaq, and you proposed to cooperate." Billy handed over the invitation letter from his pocket.

Fan Ting, who was reading the report in the office next to her, heard the noise and immediately walked out, looked at Billy's invitation letter, confirmed his identity, and invited him to the bar next to her with apologies. She said with some complaints, "I thought Fan Wubing would come, but I still don't know where this kid has gone. I'm so depressed."

However, Fan Ting generally knows Fan Wubing's intentions. In addition, they have also known that Compaq in the United States, and they know that Billy is one of the big bosses of Compaq, so they dare not neglect at all in the reception.

Billy said straight to the point, "I've been in China this time very tight because Compaq is also very interested in the business in mainland China. Therefore, after seeing your company's cooperation proposal, I also discussed it. So as soon as I came to Beijing, I first visited your company. I wonder, if your company becomes the general agent of our Compaq company in mainland China, what kind of development roadmap will it bring to our company?"

Billy's problem is actually one of the most concerned issues of Compaq's senior management. The economic level in mainland China is relatively backward. It is difficult for them to imagine what the Chinese will do to buy these personal computers? Moreover, the problem of Chinese input in computers has not been well solved yet, right? It is difficult for Billy to imagine how much development of personal computers will be in mainland China by simply using the English input method.

Even the senior management of ibm only believes that high-end servers are the ultimate demand of the market, and personal computers are just a good-looking luxury product and will not have great development.

Although Compaq's personal computer business is the highest in the United States, it is hard to imagine that in the next few years or decades, more than one-third of the world's population will use personal computers as one of the main tools for learning, working, communication and consumption.

Fan Ting said to Billy calmly, "Mr. Billy, the market in mainland China is much more complex than any country or region. Perhaps from your perspective, it is a useless piece of money and not much profit can be made, but from our perspective, it is not difficult to open up this market. Therefore, you first need to build confidence in our potential partner, and secondly, you can understand our complete set of market operation strategies."

"Hmm?" Billy felt that the young girl had some negotiation skills and asked with great interest, "So, beautiful lady, how will you strengthen our confidence in your company? This is not as simple as empty talk-"

Fan Ting was prepared for this and immediately took out a piece of materials and handed them to Billy.

Billy opened it and found that it was a Chinese-English comparison material, which was very formal. When he looked carefully, he couldn't help but feel deeply shocked.

This material is Fan Wubing’s trump card to negotiate agency with major companies.

The content is not complicated. It is just a proof of Mr. Fan Wubing's income and assets issued by the Swiss Bank. However, the amount involved on a few pages is over 100 million yuan, and some of them are settled in Japanese yen.

After counting this, Mr. Fan Wubing's personal assets are about 30 million US dollars, but 30 million US dollars sounds quite a lot, which is just the total investment of Compaq when he started. Although Billy believes that the PCfans club has the strength to represent Compaq's brand, he does not believe that his power can spread throughout mainland China.

Therefore, Billy said, "I believe that there is no problem for your company to represent a region's business, but can you afford such a huge market in mainland China? Moreover, in terms of qualifications, most of your company's employees are students. How can I believe that your company's business will continue to grow?"

This foreigner said a lot. Fan Ting frowned and then explained, "Personal computers are a relatively new thing in mainland China. Simple sales cannot meet the needs of consumers. Therefore, we need to establish a large and effective after-sales service team. As college students, their learning ability is amazing. They can grow into a qualified sales or after-sales service staff within three to five months. This is also an important reason why our company focuses on choosing college students as employees. Moreover, young people are vigorous and enterprising. I wonder what Mr. Billy thinks?"

"Then, okay!" Billy obviously would not be moved by Fan Ting's words. He shrugged and said, "I think I need to contact the head office and make some preliminary understanding of the mainland Chinese market. Before I end the formation of my visit to China, I will give your company a clear answer on behalf of Compaq on the matter of cooperation."

"As you wish." Fan Ting replied reservedly.
Chapter completed!