Chapter 416: Pingguo is mediocre again, Xiaomi is still struggling, and Germination is willing to break rather than bend!
Thursday, September 5th.
Under the spotlight, Pingguo held its annual autumn press conference as scheduled.
The Pingguo 5S, which looks similar to the Pingguo 5 but has a starting price of RMB 5,288, cannot be said to be exactly the same as the "leak pictures" leaked online. It can only be exactly the same.
There are no surprises at all.
Although it is the second high-end model after Maili X1 to be equipped with fingerprint recognition, despite the excellence of Maili X1, Pingguo 5S is still so ordinary in the eyes of consumers.
There are too many points to complain about.
In an era when 4.7-inch screens have become common, the Pingguo 5S has a 4-inch screen, which is really shabby. The main camera has 8 million pixels, which has no advantage at all in an era when 10 million pixels have already been exceeded.
It all shows Pingguo's arrogance and lack of innovation.
Well....
In fact, there are still some changes, such as changing the color to gray, gold, and silver, canceling the black color that consumers like most, and replacing it with the local gold launched by Maili X1.
If this were the original time and space, Pingguo would be arrogant.
But not in this life.
Local gold replaces the classic black. In the eyes of consumers, this is plagiarism.
And the copying is so poor.
The most surprising thing is that in order to give users more choices in the color of their mobile phones, Pingguo has launched leather protective cases in as many as six colors.
The price is 298 yuan, do you want it?
A proper IQ tax!
Especially in the eyes of Chinese consumers, isn’t a mobile phone case worth ten or twenty yuan worth of Mobao delicious?
In addition to the Pingguo 5S, which has a "high price and few innovations", Pingguo also thoughtfully launched the Pingguo 5C, a new model targeting the mid-range market, and also launched a rainbow color scheme.
The starting price is 4,488 yuan. Is it very conscientious?
Consumers, especially Chinese consumers, can only curse Pingguo for being shameless. What a mid-range market. The price is 4,488. Isn’t it delicious to buy Maili X1?
What the hell is Pingguo 5C?
Even mid-to-low-end mobile phone manufacturers such as Xiaomi, Huawei, and OV have not really felt the threat from Pingguo 5C, because it is really "unworldly".
no doubt.
Against the background of Maili mobile phone, Pingguo's autumn conference is far from being called a success.
Although, in order to debut before Maili X2, Pingguo not only took great pains to advance the press conference, but also deliberately leaked the relevant parameters and data of Pingguo 5S, just to prove to the outside world——
Pingguo is different from Maili mobile phone.
"Well, it is indeed very different. I always feel that my IQ has been humiliated!"
For Chinese consumers, Pingguo 5S once again disappointed them, and their confidence in the Pingguo brand also suffered an unprecedented setback.
Pingguo doesn’t seem to be that good!
After watching Pingguo's autumn press conference, global consumers, especially Chinese consumers, have added expectations for the Maili press conference a week later.
I look forward to saying that Maili X2 can bring some new surprises.
………
The next night, Binhai City.
Ordinary consumers were disappointed with Pingguo's autumn press conference, and Zhang Shuona didn't pay much attention because he already knew the answer.
What surprised Zhang Shuo was that Rebus actually came to Binhai City to treat him.
Obviously, there is nothing else to ask for.
After three rounds of drinking, Zhang Shuo glanced at Rebus sitting opposite and said with a smile: "Mr. Lei is here not just for a drink, but I can't afford it."
"Ahem, there is one thing."
Although he didn't have much contact with Zhang Shuo, Rebus also knew that Zhang Shuo was an "upright" person and he didn't like to mince words when speaking. He took advantage of the situation and said, "It's Gaotong. Let me be the middleman and pass a message to Mr. Zhang."
."
"Gaotong?"
Zhang Shuo raised his eyebrows slightly.
Due to the Gaotong Incident, China's mobile phone industry has been very unstable in recent times. Major mobile phone manufacturers have been fighting openly and secretly, and they have been fighting fiercely.
Although you can't see the flash of swords, there are hidden murderous intentions everywhere.
Even Maili Group was affected. One of its suppliers made a temporary plan and said that it would give priority to supplying spare parts to other mobile phone manufacturers.
As a result, Maili Group directly kicked the supplier out of the supplier list.
As early as last year, when Factory H tried to cause trouble with the supply chain, Maili Group began to prepare emergency plans, and many spare parts suppliers had backups.
The same type of spare parts may be obtained from two or even three suppliers at the same time.
Of course the standards are all set.
This makes Maili Group's supply chain system very resilient. Even if one or two suppliers are temporarily instigated, the supply chain can be adjusted in the shortest possible time.
It doesn’t matter which supplier takes advantage of it.
After the Maili Group resorted to thunderous tactics and eliminated the "outstanding player", other suppliers suddenly became more obedient. No matter what conditions other mobile phone manufacturers offered, they would give priority to Maili Group.
They even wish that some of their peers would continue to jump on the bandwagon so that they could reap the benefits.
This is the deterrent power of industry overlords.
"That's right, Gaotong hopes to be able to reconcile with the Germination Group. If a settlement can be achieved, Gaotong promises that it will not initiate intellectual property litigation against the Maili Group in America, Europe and other places."
Rebus was also entrusted by others.
Of course, if Mei Ya and Gaotong really reconcile, it will also be beneficial to Xiaomi.
On the Internet, the negative public opinion against the four mobile phone manufacturers, Xiaomi, OV, and Meiyuan, is still continuing to ferment. Although the four mobile phone manufacturers are not going to be criticized by everyone, they are still having a hard time.
It's okay to not dare to think about it, since the mobile phone business is not their core business anyway.
Meiyuan has also been on the decline. Even though Hongyi Capital and Ali invested successively, it was still unable to turn the tide. Founder Lan Zhang retired again, and the future was worrying.
As a result, some of the talented people in the company have begun to submit their resumes to Maili Group.
For Mei Dao, this turmoil only accelerated Mei Dao's decline. Even without this incident, it would not have been able to prevent Mei Dao from sliding into the abyss.
Generally speaking, Xiaomi and OV have the biggest impact.
In 2013, OV was actually at a disadvantage when facing Xiaomi. Only in the next year or so after launching the celebrity endorsement and offline sales model did OV gradually catch up with Xiaomi's pure online model.
so.
Xiaomi was the most hurt by this turmoil, and it happened to be that Xiaomi 3 had just been released, so it was almost life-threatening.
This is not difficult to understand.
Why was Rebus able to put aside his shame and come all the way to Coast City to work as a lobbyist?
If Suya is unwilling to reconcile, then Gaotong will use its intellectual property sword against Maili Mobile in major overseas markets outside China, forcing Maili Mobile to withdraw from overseas markets.
Relevant departments in China cannot control markets outside China.
But the problem is, if we look closely at the conflict between Sprout and Gaotong, in essence, it was Gaotong who started the attack, instigated rebellion against Xiaomi, OV and other manufacturers, slandered Zhulong chips, and wanted to ban Maili phones.
Germination was just a passive counterattack, which made Gaotong unbearable.
It seemed as if he had suffered some great grievance.
"What Gaotong means is, firstly, he hopes that Suiya will not put any additional pressure on the relevant departments in this antitrust investigation; secondly, he hopes to seek cooperation with Suiya in order to clear up the past feud," Rebus said.
Gaotong's move was obviously guided by an "expert".
The current situation is obvious. As the main accuser, Sprout Group has unparalleled influence in the Chinese business circle, coupled with Zhang Shuo's strong personal connections.
If the pressure continues, it will probably be enough for Gaotong to drink a pot.
As for settling old feuds, Gaotong's real purpose is to use cooperation with the Sprout Group to achieve the purpose of "whitewashing" the company in the Chinese market and no longer encounter resistance from Chinese consumers.
Along with Gaotong's partners such as Xiaomi and OV, they can also "wash their name".
It's a very clever strategy.
"Gaotong, how do you want to cooperate with Moya?" Zhang Shuo was noncommittal.
As for the investigation of Gaotong by the relevant departments, what they can do has been done before it started. Zhang Shuo is not interested in putting any additional pressure on this matter if it is not necessary.
That's not necessarily a good thing.
As for cooperation with Gaotong, Zhang Shuo was skeptical.
After all, Gaotong is just a semiconductor company that mainly focuses on chip design. It does have a great position in the semiconductor field, but in terms of overall strength, it is actually far behind the Germination Group.
With a valuation of over one trillion, Sprout Group is a true super giant on a global scale.
"What Gaotong means is that he hopes to get the opportunity to invest in Daosui Group, so that the two companies can reach a strategic cooperation and no longer have to fight to the death. What do you think?" Rebus was looking forward to it.
"Hey, Gaotong has a big appetite."
"So, Mr. Zhang, what do you mean?" Rebus felt a little uncomfortable.
"Can I please tell Mr. Ke Meng, President of Gaotong, that the overall scale of Daosui Group is even greater than that of Gaotong. Gaotong actually wants to invest in Daosui Group. It's really... I don't know what to say!" Zhang Shuo sneered.
"Ah, this..."
Rebus was dumbfounded and said subconsciously: "Does it mean that Maili Group is not worried about being sued by Gaotong in overseas markets? As far as I know, Maili Group pays great attention to overseas markets."
"Maili Group certainly values overseas markets, but it is not willing to be coerced."
Zhang Shuo was unusually calm, "Tell Ke Meng that in the worst case scenario, Maili Group can reluctantly give up overseas markets, but Gaotong, are you willing to give up the entire Chinese market?"
Isn't that just saying harsh words? No one would be the same.
As Lukia sold its mobile phone business, Factory H gradually declined, but Chinese mobile phone manufacturers rose strongly and already accounted for half of the global mobile phone market.
Losing the Chinese market would undoubtedly cost Gaotong his life.
"Uh, this..."
Rebus was also at a loss for words. He really didn't expect that Mo Ya had such courage.
perhaps.
Is it precisely because of this budding courage that they can support their development to their current scale?
Rebus sighed inwardly.
His trip to Binhai City was a complete failure.
………
The next day, Rebus returned to the capital.
Although it was already the weekend, I still showed up in the office on time.
Precisely because Xiaomi has been facing an unprecedented crisis recently, as the helmsman, Rebus must lead by example. In recent times, there has been basically no mention of weekends.
"Boss, how was the discussion with Mr. Zhang?" Xiaomi President Lin Wu came over after hearing the news.
"The talks fell apart."
Rebus's face was full of bitterness, "Zhang Shuo rejected the olive branch extended by Gaotong."
"Here, is it true that Germination is not afraid of Gaotong's overseas sanctions?" Lin Wu was very surprised.
"Who knows."
Rebus had to admit that he could no longer see through Zhang Shuo, let alone the Sprout Group.
"Mai Ya's rejection does not leave us with much room for maneuver." Lin Wu also frowned, obviously worried about the current situation.
"It is better to ask for others than to ask for yourself."
Rebus is okay, after all, he has experienced big storms. "China's domestic market is blocked, so we can only open up overseas markets in advance and bet our money overseas."
At the beginning of the year, Rebus had intended to follow Gerrard's example and expand overseas markets.
The first choice target is Tianzhu.
The original plan was to start exploring the Tianzhu market next year, but the plan could not keep up with the changes.
Rebus decided to enter Tianzhu in advance.
As for China's domestic market, we don't mean to give up just yet. We can only rely on rice noodles to maintain the basic market first, and wait until this wave of public opinion fades before making further calculations.
It is true that the Internet has memory, but this memory is actually very short-lived.
Especially consumers.
Many of them are forgetful. As long as Xiaomi continues to adhere to the low-price strategy, it will not be said to be completely out of business.
There will always be a day when things turn around.
In order to restore the image in the minds of consumers, in the next period of time, Xiaomi, OV, and Mei Dao, the four companies will also increase their investment in marketing in a tacit understanding.
As long as you do enough soft advertising, you can always restore some of the decline in public opinion.
No one can cover up the sky with one hand.
Moreover, in the minds of Rebus and others, choosing to cooperate with Gaotong instead of Zhulong Technology is not a heinous thing. It is because consumers have overreacted.
So since it's an overreaction, just find a way to reverse it.
………
Monday, September 9th.
In the past few days, in addition to the attention paid to Pingguo's autumn conference, there has also been a lot of news in China.
Ahri alone has two new moves.
First, the new social software Laiguang beta version has been launched.
Second, Ali-Dianping officially launched the shared bicycle function after two months of planning.
Almost at the same time.
Nomi-Dianping has also officially launched the bike sharing function.
In order to seize market share in the shortest possible time, two local life service companies started a subsidy war almost simultaneously, setting off another capital feast.
In response to this, Zhang Shuo just sat back and waited to watch the show.
Because the original time and space has long proved that sharing bicycles is not a good business, especially bicycles.
It will be eliminated in a few years.
Even the electric bikes used by Qingcheng Bicycle are not a good business.
In the original time and space, Moutuan Bicycle invested too much money in the early stage. In order to stop losses in time and achieve profits, it repeatedly raised the price of shared bicycles regardless of the appearance.
The non-discounted prices for 7 days, 30 days and 90 days are 15 yuan, 35 yuan and 90 yuan respectively.
It doesn't look expensive, but the question is, who has enough time to ride a shared bicycle every day? Many people only ride it occasionally for emergencies, and the starting price is already two yuan for half an hour.
Riding a shared bicycle is more expensive than taking the bus or even the subway.
It has attracted numerous complaints from consumers.
"Shared bicycles are so expensive, why the hell should I buy one myself? Isn't it delicious?"
The shared bicycles that we were originally proud of have become a means of transportation that workers cannot afford to ride.
It’s true and it’s magical enough.
But in the face of complaints from consumers, Moutuan is also full of "grievances". The average purchase price of a shared bicycle is between 200 and 3,000 yuan.
But in fact, Moutuan not only needs to pay a higher cost for the purchase of shared bicycles, but also needs to store, maintain and dispatch a large number of bicycles.
Compared with the various expenditures, the profit path of shared bicycles seems extremely monotonous.
perhaps.
From the beginning, the bike-sharing business model did not work, but was poisoned by capital.
The original intention of "sharing" is actually more suitable for temporary and urgent needs. For example, the destination is not very close and you can't wait for an online ride-hailing service. Obviously, shared bicycles can provide emergency relief in this case.
But if you are commuting regularly, between two points and one line, and you need to ride a bicycle every day, it is obviously more cost-effective to buy one.
And this kind of emergency application scenario is obviously contrary to the concept of cycling card, monthly card and annual card.
Low-frequency use will inevitably lead to price increases.
It just doesn't work in terms of business model.
Therefore, Zhang Shuo’s initial positioning for Qingcheng Bicycle was an auxiliary business.
Not thinking about making a profit.
………
After reading the news, Zhang Shuo called together Senior Vice President Gu Mingzhang, General Manager of the Legal Center Cheng Minghua, and Vice President in charge of the group's overseas affairs Lu Kai for a meeting.
Unknowingly, he bypassed the rotating president Lu Qi again.
The discussion at the meeting was naturally how to deal with Gaotong's upcoming overseas intellectual property lawsuit against Maili mobile phones and prepare countermeasures in advance to avoid being forced to withdraw from overseas markets.
This is unacceptable to Maili Group.
The first person to speak was Cheng Minghua. Cheng Minghua is an expert in dealing with intellectual property litigation, especially overseas intellectual property litigation.
"The first fact that must be acknowledged is that Gaotong does have a huge say in the field of 3G/4G communication technology, and it is almost difficult to shake it in a short period of time."
Even the arrogant Pingguo had to compromise with Gaotong on the tax issue.
Is it so easy to shake?
It was not until the advent of the 5G era that Huawei replaced Gaotong and gained the leading position.
Especially in the United States and Europe, while protecting intellectual property rights in these markets, intellectual property rights themselves have become a powerful tool for criticizing competitors, which is very difficult to deal with.
It cannot be explained clearly in a few words.
"So, we are helpless?" Zhang Shuo frowned.
"That's not true."
Cheng Minghua explained: "The most common response is to file a lawsuit, which takes a long time and can be delayed as long as possible. Even if the lawsuit is lost, the worst case scenario is compensation."
This means that as long as Maili Mobile is willing to pay the fine, Gaotong cannot completely block it.
"And if we master some core technology ourselves, we can also use it on our opponents to initiate reverse intellectual property litigation."
One is passive defense, and the other is offense instead of defense.
"In terms of core technology, does fingerprint unlocking technology count?" Gu Mingzhang interjected.
After developing the fingerprint unlocking technology, Maili Group not only registered patents in China, but also registered international patents in major overseas markets.
Therefore, although the fingerprint unlocking technology launched by Apple 5S is derived from its own research and development, if we investigate carefully, it actually infringes on the patented technology applied for by Maili Group.
This can be regarded as a sharp weapon in the hands of Maili Group.
"Of course fingerprint unlocking technology counts, but the problem is that Gaotong cannot use this technology and can only use it to counter Pingguo. Overseas mobile phone manufacturers such as Samsung cannot counter semiconductor companies at all," Cheng Minghua explained.
This is the crux of the problem.
"So, the only way we can do it is to respond to the lawsuit and accept a fine?" Zhang Shuo frowned.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "At the moment, it looks like this."
Cheng Minghua nodded, "That's all, the local regulatory authorities have to be generous and allow Maili mobile phones to continue to be sold during the period of responding to the lawsuit. Otherwise, if like the beautiful country, as soon as Gaotong sues, the regulatory authorities will stop the sales of Maili mobile phones.
Sales, that’s even more unsolvable.”
This is why Xiaomi and other manufacturers are so humble in front of Gaotong.
Overseas giants are really domineering.
Moreover, whether it is the beautiful country or the European market, they almost all wear the same pants as these overseas giants, and they jointly suppress Chinese companies.
The road to sea is even more difficult.
"All right!"
Zhang Shuo must also admit that breaking the monopoly of overseas giants is not easy, nor can it be done overnight. It requires both technological breakthroughs and gradual progress.
"so."
Zhang Shuo turned to look at Lu Kai, "The public relations work in overseas markets is led by Jiaoyang Holdings."
"Don't worry, I will keep an eye on it myself."
Lu Kai certainly knows that the success or failure of Maili mobile phones in overseas markets has a great bearing on Bu Ya.
It is simply a battle in which failure is not allowed.
"in addition...."
Zhang Shuo looked at Cheng Minghua again, passive defense was not his style.
"We can't let Gaotong dictate. Since we can't take the initiative overseas, we should try to solve the crisis in China."
"For example, in this antitrust investigation against Gaotong, Gaotong is required not to adopt discriminatory strategies and engage in so-called blocking against Chinese mobile phone manufacturers."
It means.
Globally, as long as Maili Mobile is willing to pay patent licensing fees, Gaotong will have to buy it.
"clear!"
Cheng Minghua naturally understood it and was amazed by the wisdom of the big boss.
At the end of the meeting, Zhang Shuo looked at Gu Mingzhang and asked with a smile: "How are the preparations for the press conference going?"
"Everything goes well, the final version of the PPT has been sent to your email."
Gu Mingzhang is still very reliable in his work.
"very good!"
Zhang Shuo is also looking forward to this Friday’s press conference, which will bring new surprises to consumers again.