After hearing that a customer had canceled an order, Tadao Yoshida from YKK Zipper Factory quickly came to inquire about the situation in person.
"President Yoshida, it's not that I don't miss old friendships, it's just that business is business. You are also a businessman, so you should understand this problem." Heirō Kameda, the owner of the garment factory, replied.
Tadao Yoshida said quickly: "President Kameda, I know this truth. But I just want to ask, which product did you choose? I want to see what is the difference between our products?" After saying that, he bowed seriously.
Hirō Kameda then took out a zipper from the drawer, handed it to Tadao Yoshida, and said: "We also purchased it from a zipper wholesaler, but the quality is indeed very good and the price is cheaper."
Tadao Yoshida quickly took the zipper and felt familiar as soon as he took it. He immediately started to visit it seriously, fearing that he would miss anything.
"Is this a zipper made in the United States?" Tadao Yoshida was shocked.
Because in the fall of last year, an American zipper wholesaler showed him zippers produced by automatic zipper machines, which were of good quality and cheap prices, so Tadao Yoshida was laughed at.
At that time, he had an idea in his mind: if American zippers were dumped to RB, RB's handmade zipper factory would be devastated.
It’s over!
"I don't know! The price of such a zipper is only 70% of yours, but the quality is much better." Heirō Kameda said.
Tadao Yoshida thought of a terrible fact and became more and more frightened the more he thought about it, so he asked Hirō Kameda which wholesaler of zippers he had.
When Hirō Kameda saw Tadao Yoshida behaving like this, he was not embarrassed and told him.
after one day.
From Hiroto Yokokawa, Tadao Yoshida finally learned some useful information: the machine-made zippers on the market came from Hong Kong, a place he had never expected.
Tadao Yoshida muttered to himself in frustration:
"Hong Kong? In such a small place, there is such a far-sighted businessman?"
"What should I do? An automatic zipper machine costs 30,000 to 40,000 U.S. dollars, and my capital is only 10,000 U.S. dollars, so I can't afford it. Should I just watch Hong Kong's zippers encroach on RB's market?"
In 1945, on the eve of RB's surrender, Tadao Yoshida's factory was razed to the ground. He picked up some useful things from the rubble, hoping to make a comeback; after the end of World War II, the factory that Tadao Yoshida just opened was in arrears due to arrears to workers.
wages, and everything was taken away by the workers.
It wasn't until the beginning of last year that Tadao Yoshida's zipper business was on the right track. After the war, RB suffered from an economic depression and a severe shortage of goods. If there were goods, he would not worry about being able to sell them. At that time, Yoshida's equipment was rudimentary and he could only use human machinery to make zippers. Although the quality was
Poor, demand exceeds supply in the market.
I finally made some money, but I didn't expect that the zippers produced by machines in Hong Kong were imported to RB.
"Hong Kong manufacturers probably don't have many machines. After all, one machine is too expensive."
"Since I can't afford a machine, I invite colleagues in the industry to buy it together and set up a joint venture. We must drive Hong Kong's zippers out of the market."
Thinking of these, Tadao Yoshida finally ignited confidence.
Through some investigation, he learned:
First, the market share of zippers exported from Hong Kong is not particularly large, which means that there are not many automatic zipper machines in Hong Kong, and there is also room for survival of RB manual zipper workshops;
Second, Hong Kong’s zippers use agents to enter the RB market, and the agents set the price at a higher price, almost HK$1.3~1.5 per piece (aluminum alloy). This means that as long as you buy an automatic zipper machine,
, you can defeat Hong Kong manufacturers in one fell swoop.
"What? Hong Kong has already used automatic zipper machines and produced zippers for export to RB?" an RB zipper merchant said unexpectedly.
At this time, Tadao Yoshida invited several handmade zipper owners he knew to talk about the situation.
"Not bad! There are already many zippers produced by automatic zipper machines on the market, occupying a large share of RB. If this continues, our hand-made zipper factories will gradually be replaced."
For a moment, all the zipper merchants were shocked.
"This is how to do!"
At this time, Tadao Yoshida suggested: "So, I propose that we all work together to establish a joint venture to import automatic zipper machines from the United States to cope with the current situation."
He thought that everyone would readily agree to his proposal.
Little did I know.
"This is too risky! It's not like we can't sell zippers produced by hand!"
"That's right, an automatic zipper machine costs US$30,000 to US$40,000. How long will it take us to earn back the cost?"
"I think we need to do it step by step to avoid losing everything."
These people are small handmade zipper manufacturers who are willing to take risks.
What's more, at this time, RB was even more backward than Hong Kong. The people had no food or shelter, and it was miserable, so the workers' wages were very low. They recruited dozens of workers and started production slowly, making a steady profit.
Tadao Yoshida was stunned and said quickly: "As long as we buy back the machine, we can make a lot of money immediately!"
"Who knows, if we lose money, more than two years of hard work will be in vain."
"I think so too. Let's just do manual production first and wait until we make enough money."
As you can imagine, everyone rejected the automatic zipper machine that cost 30,000 to 40,000 US dollars.
Tadao Yoshida returned disappointed!
But he did not give up the idea of buying an automatic zipper machine!
Returning to the factory, he gathered the workers and mobilized them.
"Everyone, the factory is in trouble now. Therefore, I hope that everyone will work harder to produce more and better zippers. In this way, I plan to use bank loans to purchase automatic zipper machines. When the time comes, I will definitely
The bonus will be divided among everyone."
He understands that banks are not benevolent people. If he wants to borrow 12 million yen, he also needs at least 5 million yen in assets (currently 1 US dollar is equal to 270 yen, and it will be fixed at 1:360 in the second half of the year).
At this time, many people in RB were hungry, far from being the rich people of later generations. After all, they were badly bombed by the United States, and agriculture was almost in ruins, so there were many people who were hungry.
Therefore, the workers did not think too much and quickly became very motivated just for the sake of food, or a meager salary.
After mobilizing the company's employees, Tadao Yoshida's eyes revealed a strong look.
"I will find a bank loan as soon as possible. Even if it is one automatic zipper machine, I can quickly turn it into two or three."
"I want to set up a trading company to prepare for importing machinery."
For a time, Tadao Yoshida became even more confident.
Because he found that Hong Kong manufacturers entered RB through agents, and the price must have changed hands once, which was only 20 to 30% lower than that of manual work.
So as long as he has an automatic zipper machine, he can develop quickly.
"I'm very curious that that businessman in Hong Kong is so far-sighted. I must meet him if I have the chance."
"Although he is a competitor, I believe he is my defeat."