"Former R&D Director of Estée Lauder?"
Wang Yi smiled:
"Alright, where's the address? I'll go there myself!"
For Zhenyou Beauty to go high-end, it cannot do without overseas R&D institutions and a big-name R&D team.
And the title of former R&D Director of Estée Lauder is enough; it's worth Wang Yi making the trip himself!
With him joining, Zhenyou Beauty would have hope of being packaged as a high-end brand.
Wang Yi looked at the location Steve mentioned:
"It's not far from me. Then book a five-star restaurant, invite him, and we'll have lunch together!"
"Okay!"
Wang Yi had just hung up the phone when he saw Lao Huang again, holding a box in his hand.
"Chairman Wang, hello, I'm back!"
Lao Huang handed the box to Wang Yi:
"Your words yesterday greatly benefited me, Huang. This is NVIDIA's latest flagship graphics card, a gift for you!"
"Thank you!"
Wang Yi accepted it and handed it to Wu Shuang.
"By the way, are you going out?"
Lao Huang couldn't help but ask.
"Yes, I'm planning to poach someone and need to go talk to them. Chairman Huang, are you free? Want to come along?"
Wang Yi said with a smile.
The former director of Estée Lauder looked down on Meiyou probably because he felt the Meiyou brand wasn't big enough.
After all, compared to Estée Lauder, the current Meiyou and Zhenyou indeed don't measure up.
Even if Wang Yi went personally, the negotiations might not go smoothly.
These people from the US are stubborn and very arrogant!
But with NVIDIA CEO Lao Huang, it wouldn't be a big problem.
The face card tool, online!
"Sure, I happen to be free, let's go together!"
Lao Huang readily agreed.
He had been scolded by Wang Yi yesterday and benefited greatly.
Today he came again, still wanting to learn more and get closer.
Then Wu Shuang drove the car, taking a few people straight to the agreed five-star hotel.
On the way, Lao Huang talked about Xiaomi:
"Chairman Wang, without comparison, you can't see the difference. You Xia Country also has an emerging mobile phone company called Xiaomi. But their orders are too small, only 300,000 sets in half a year! Unlike you, with a direct big order of five million sets!"
Wang Yi waved his hand:
"It's just a different development model. Xiaomi wants zero inventory, high turnover, then drags out the cycle, waiting for price drops!"
"Right, that's exactly it!"
Lao Huang nodded:
"It was released in August, and now it's early October, and it hasn't even gone on sale yet!"
The mobile phone supply chain updates very quickly; a 10-20% price drop in three months is normal.
Xiaomi, released in August, won't go on sale until late October.
In the previous life, to wait for costs to decrease, by the end of this year, in four months, Xiaomi Generation 1 sold a total of 270,000 units.
This was because the material cost of Xiaomi Generation 1 was high during these four months, around 1200-1300 yuan, plus taxes and fees of 1500, with a profit of only 500.
By December, when Xiaomi Generation 1 sourced components again, the material cost could drop to around 900, and with taxes and fees, it would only be around 1100.
If it goes on sale again in January and sells for 1999, the profit would be as high as 800!
With higher profits, Lei Bus would purchase components in large quantities and sell them in large quantities!
But unfortunately, he overlooked the Xingyi phone!
When costs dropped and profits were high in January, and Lei Bus was preparing for a big sale and huge profits, the Xingyi phone burst onto the scene.
Millions of units immediately in stock!
Although the price was a thousand more, the quality and configuration were much higher.
Many consumers would probably give up rushing to buy Xiaomi and choose the in-stock Xingyi phone.
After all, if you've already spent 2000, do you still care about spending an extra thousand?
Especially since Xiaomi Generation 1 didn't even have a front camera, while Xingyi Generation 1 had a 5-megapixel front camera, a dimensionality reduction attack!
Basically, female users would choose the Xingyi phone for selfies, abandoning Xiaomi.
And the 720P high-definition screen, 4.3-inch screen, makes gaming more exciting, and would also make male users prefer the Xingyi phone.
In the previous life, Xiaomi became increasingly popular because it had no competitors and relied on the gimmick of "hunger marketing," selling over 7.9 million units in a year.
But this time, encountering Wang Yi's Xingyi phone, it's hard to say.
There's no other way; the market is only so big.
In the previous life, Xiaomi seized Meizu's market.
This time, the Xingyi phone will also seize Xiaomi's market.
The marketplace is like a battlefield; the fittest survive, and the strong are crowned!
Frankly, Xiaomi Generation 1 poses little threat to the Xingyi phone.
However, the iPhone 4S was also launched in China in January.
This is a problem.
The iPhone 4S, starting at 4988, would steal some of the Xingyi phone users who opted for the 2999 starting price.
After all, the appeal of the iPhone in those days was simply terrifying.
Wang Yi was even thinking about whether to speed up the process, release the Xingyi phone in early December, and then open pre-orders.
And go on sale directly in mid-to-late December!
Sell in large quantities before the iPhone 4S hits the market, to snatch away some of the iPhone 4S users!
This is completely feasible.
Upon returning, they must fully accelerate the mobile phone project.
Soon, the group arrived at the hotel.
Steve and a white man were seated inside.
Steve quickly stood up, somewhat surprised:
"Chairman Wang, Chairman Huang, you're here!"
He didn't expect Wang Yi to bring Lao Huang along too!
The CEO of NVIDIA, a truly influential figure.
Even the white man stood up, full of surprise.
"Let me introduce you!"
Steve looked at the white man:
"This is Kenneth Woods, former R&D Director of Estée Lauder. The famous Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair came from his hands!"
Then, Steve looked at Wang Yi and Lao Huang:
"This is Wang Yi, CEO of Meiyou Technology, my boss!"
"And the CEO of NVIDIA, Mr. Huang, my boss's... friend!"
"Hello."
The group exchanged pleasantries and took their seats.
Kenneth's expression became very serious.
He couldn't believe that a newly established company was friends with the Chairman of NVIDIA!
And judging by the look of it, the Chairman of NVIDIA was very polite, even somewhat respectful, towards this young Xia Country boss!
Are you kidding me!
There was nothing they could do; although NVIDIA's graphics cards were powerful, it was still a junior in the mobile chip field, a B-side party.
A generous big client like Wang Yi was the A-side party!
What's more, Lao Huang was still hoping Wang Yi could scold him again like last night, give him a few more pointers, help him discover problems, and avoid detours.
He had something to ask of Wang Yi, so naturally, he was very polite to Wang Yi.
Lao Huang was very perceptive:
"Mr. Kenneth, if you can join Chairman Wang's company, it would definitely be a wise choice."
"It's an honor for me, Huang, that NVIDIA can cooperate with Chairman Wang."
"???"
Kenneth was confused, full of disbelief:
"Wait, Chairman Wang started in clothing and is also doing beauty. How can he cooperate with NVIDIA?"
He couldn't understand; neither clothing nor beauty would need NVIDIA's graphics cards or chips!
"Haha, you don't know, besides clothing and beauty, Chairman Wang is also making smartphones. Just the day before yesterday, he ordered 5 million quad-core flagship chips from NVIDIA! He's our super big client!"
"Quad-core flagship chips? Five million units? How much would that cost?"
Kenneth found it incredible.
"125 million US dollars!"
Kenneth fell silent: "..."
'Chairman Wang is so rich? Meiyou Technology is so powerful?'
"It's nothing!" Lao Huang waved his hand:
"Chairman Wang also ordered 10 million application processor chips and 15 million baseband chips from Qualcomm. He spent nearly 400 million US dollars!"
Kenneth was completely stunned: "..."
'NVIDIA 125 million dollars, Qualcomm 400 million dollars, that's over 500 million dollars...'
'The problem is, these are just chips; other components for making phones also cost money!'
'This unassuming Eastern boss, is he really that powerful?'
For a moment, Kenneth was dumbfounded, his head buzzing.
He truly underestimated this Eastern company!
"Mr. Kenneth?"
Only when Wang Yi called him did he come back to his senses:
"Yes, Boss, I'm here!"
At this moment, Kenneth no longer seemed like the former high-and-mighty director of Estée Lauder.
Instead, he was like a small employee facing a tech titan.
He thought to himself:
'No wonder someone like Chairman Huang is so polite, even respectful, to Chairman Wang.'
'It turns out Chairman Wang really has power!'
Wang Yi smiled slightly:
"Our Zhenyou Beauty focuses on high-end products and needs an R&D director. Mr. Kenneth, would you be willing to take on this role?"
"I am willing!"
Kenneth agreed directly without any hesitation.
Originally, he thought that although Meiyou did well with its pure desire style clothing, making cosmetics was amateurish and not worth mentioning.
Therefore, despite Steve repeatedly inviting him, he didn't agree.
Left with no choice, Steve had to ask Wang Yi to talk to him personally.
But now, Kenneth's attitude completely changed!
This Meiyou is amazing, with boundless prospects.
Must join!
"Welcome to Meiyou Technology! I will establish the Zhenyou R&D institution for you in the US. Of course, your assistants, students, and team can all join, with compensation fully benchmarked against Estée Lauder!"
Wang Yi said cheerfully.
"Thank you! Thank you!"
Kenneth was thrilled.
He had thought that after leaving Estée Lauder, he would never find such good compensation again.
But he didn't expect Wang Yi to directly benchmark against Estée Lauder.
Great, he could earn a high salary again.
As for the reason he left Estée Lauder, it was also simple.
The Advanced Night Repair developed by Kenneth was very mature and had earned a lot of money for Estée Lauder.
But his new R&D project failed!
And the vice director's project was very successful, so Estée Lauder discharged him, letting the vice director take his place and vigorously develop the vice director's products!
The R&D director position couldn't be maintained by simply "coasting"; without output, one had to leave!
"Work hard, and I can guarantee that your compensation and bonuses will only be higher, not lower, than what you had at Estée Lauder!"
Wang Yi guaranteed with a smile!
"Don't worry, Boss, I will!"
Kenneth nodded, full of fighting spirit:
"They kicked me out; I will definitely lead Zhenyou to defeat them!"
"Very good, let's work together!"
Wang Yi smiled.
He liked people with goals, fighting spirit, and even a bit of resentment!
Steve wants to defeat H&M and ZARA, and now he's full of fighting spirit every day, expanding international business.
Kenneth wants to defeat Estée Lauder, and he's also full of fighting spirit.
Good!
With this drive, it's easier to succeed.
"By the way, Steve, how's the search for the R&D institution coming along?"
Wang Yi asked.
Kenneth has a small team, mostly R&D elites who came with him from Estée Lauder three years ago.
If they all join, the Zhenyou R&D team will be formed!
As for changing sides, Wang Yi wasn't worried; the employment situation wasn't that good these days.
Estée Lauder's R&D personnel were worried about unemployment, let alone those who had already been unemployed for some time...
To put it bluntly, after the 2007 subprime mortgage crisis, the US economy had not fully recovered.
Unemployment remained at a high level, especially for such high-paying R&D positions.
Kenneth looked at Wang Yi:
"Boss, I actually have an R&D institution and some new products, considered a niche brand—Xiya."
"After all, we haven't been idle in the years since leaving Estée Lauder. It's just that none of us are good at operations. Although Xiya has some reputation, sales are not good, funds are a bit tight, and it's on the verge of bankruptcy..."
Wang Yi understood.
Although they were all developed by Kenneth's team, without Estée Lauder's brand endorsement and platform sales, Xiya couldn't sell!
Someone who specializes in R&D is not good at sales.
Wang Yi smiled, however, he had sales platforms!
Meiyou Mall, Meiyou International Mall, Meiyou Flagship Store, exclusive stores, authorized stores.
These are all channels!
As long as it's packaged, it's completely not a problem!
"Chairman Wang, I can guarantee that all of Xiya's products are excellent, have passed EU and US reviews and approvals, and are just as good, if not better, than Estée Lauder's products!"
Wang Yi looked at Steve.
Steve opened his phone and sent a report to Wang Yi:
"Boss, after I learned about Xiya, I sent people to study its products and conduct tests. They are very good. This is the freshly released test report."
Wang Yi looked it over; it was indeed good.
After all, a team that could create Advanced Night Repair definitely had skills.
And Xiya had some reputation overseas, but its marketing was poor.
Similar to the original Meizu, it had a reputation but was small in scale and niche.
Most importantly, Xiya lacked money for promotion and didn't have enough sales channels, leading to its impending bankruptcy.
"Chairman Wang, to be honest, Xiya's products aren't selling, and we're currently operating at a loss. Could you take over?"
Kenneth asked with anticipation:
"For just 20 million dollars, the entire Xiya R&D institution, including property ownership, all equipment, all products, achievements, patents, and the brand, will be yours. And I'll bring my team to work for you!"
He had invested over 10 million dollars earned at Estée Lauder, but the products didn't sell, resulting in a total loss.
But the R&D team's salaries had to be paid as usual.
If they couldn't find a buyer, they would start accumulating debt!
They really couldn't sustain it anymore.
Such a niche brand could survive with money, but without money, it would be useless.
As for venture capital?
No one was willing to invest in projects that were difficult to profit from.
Wang Yi pondered for a moment.
20 million dollars is 130 million yuan.
Acquiring a bankrupt R&D institution for 130 million yuan might seem like a losing business to others, but Wang Yi thought it was fine.
Especially since the achievements and products inside had already passed European and American review, they could be sold directly on Meiyou Mall!
This is what Wang Yi valued.
Furthermore, the property ownership of the entire R&D institution and so much equipment were also valuable.
If Wang Yi were to re-establish an overseas R&D institution, he would have to register a company, buy factory buildings, buy equipment, establish connections...
Not to mention the time and effort, it would also require an investment of hundreds of millions of yuan...
It would be better to directly spend 130 million yuan to acquire Kenneth's Xiya R&D institution and its achievements.
Of course, what Wang Yi valued most was Kenneth's team's R&D capabilities!
"Alright, if there are no other financial disputes or debts, I'll acquire it for 20 million dollars!"
Wang Yi said readily.
(End of chapter)