Reinventing the Millennium

Yike still faces problems, but the domestic Yike department seems to have begun to fight back.

This signal is interpreted together with the former. Has Yike found a way to solve the problem of ice core replacement?

As Mr. Yu said after the autumn conference, Yike is still negotiating with other manufacturers?

It’s September, which is already the last month for BIS’s second temporary license. However, the just-released Mars 9 and other products are still equipped with chips made from ice cores. What’s next?

No matter how you look at it, the current situation is not good.

However, this time it was beyond everyone’s expectation. Faced with the issue of Yike’s product sales qualifications, BIS officially issued the third temporary license on the 8th, which ensured the legality of Yike’s sales in the US market this year. .

This calmed down the slightly chaotic public opinion a lot.

Yike's official position has always been to actively solve the problem. BIS is also different from the delay in March. This time it quickly issued the license. Both parties seem not to want to make the situation more difficult and complicated.

Along with the news from BIS, a piece of news that cheered up many media also emerged. Mr. Fang, the head of Yike, will attend the Internet industry conference to be held in Shanghai next month.

This is his first public appearance since Yike faced a crisis.

No matter how Yike makes an announcement on Nasdaq, no matter how co-founder Yu Hong or YMS president Qi He and others respond to the outside world, the real leader of Yike is only Fang Zhuo. This is recognized by everyone.

For more than half a year from March to September, Mr. Fang rarely made any noise, which puzzled people who followed Yike from various angles.

Now it seems that he is ending his "reclusive" days, and the media has been waiting eagerly for it.

Similarly, the organizing committee of the domestic Internet industry conference suddenly received many requests from well-known foreign media to participate. Apparently, foreign media also attach great importance to the appearance of the head of Yike in public.

Perhaps because of such news, perhaps because of the license issued quickly by BIS, or perhaps because of the continued strong performance of Yike mobile phones in the US market, Yike's market value rebounded slightly in September and stabilized at US$350 billion.

On September 28th, Yike mobile phones will also be launched in the European and Asian markets as scheduled, continuing the popularity of last year's mobile phone.

This year, there are still many evaluation agencies dismantling Yike mobile phones. The focus is still on the chips equipped with Bingxin International's manufacturing process, and their conclusion is - it is no wonder that Yike and Bingxin International are inseparable. This The two companies have reached perfect synergy in design, manufacturing and even packaging.

With the hot sales of Yiko mobile phones, some media also gave time predictions. By the end of the year at the latest and the expiration date of the BIS temporary license at the latest, Yiko will finalize a new wafer foundry. The total “pay” today is a signal.

Last year’s Mars 8.8 allowed Yike’s flagship to enjoy the honor of being number one in the world. This year, the last released Mars 9 from Yusanjia defended this honor and perfectly inherited the popularity in the market.

Not only do public opinions about Yike appear every day, they also appear every now and then. It has almost become a bubble drama in the business. It not only lets many consumers know the information about the new flagship, but also makes many people wait for the final answer.

On October 3, the Internet Industry Conference was held at the "Yike Center" in Shanghai. When many reporters came here, they almost felt as if they were attending the Yike press conference again.

It was the first time for some foreign reporters to come to what has become the venue for Yike's regular press conferences, so they couldn't help but eagerly take photos as souvenirs, which became the scene under the lens of domestic media.

Compared with foreign counterparts who are focused on the prospects of Yike, domestic reporters have other thoughts when attending this meeting. In addition to Mr. Fang, Mr. Ali Ma, Mr. Penguin Ma, and Mr. Duji Li are also rare participants.

In other words, the heads of YBAT will be on the same stage again after several years.

Alibaba is expanding rapidly this year and is competing with Yike in many fields. Not long ago, Duji encountered a humiliating offer from Yike, and Mr. Fang has not shown up for a long time...

The reporters were really excited and looked forward to this meeting.

Unfortunately, what is regrettable is that just as the industry conference is about to open, the head of Duji, Robin, who was originally confirmed to attend the conference, is no longer coming.

Why doesn't Robin come?

Are you afraid of being criticized by Mr. Fang in person?

What makes people happy is that even if Robin doesn't come, Mr. Fang is still willing to respond to Yike's humiliating acquisition.

At nine o'clock in the morning, the head of Yike, who had not appeared in public view for many days, arrived at the venue of Yike Center. He was surrounded by Lei Jun from Mi Tuan, Wei Zhe from Dada, Fan Minggang from Douyin and others. He was chatting and laughing all the way. , ignored the surrounding reporters and seemed unable to hear their questions.

However, when a reporter struggled to bring up the issue of Yike's humiliating offer and Robin's temporary absence, Fang Zhuo still stopped in his tracks.

"He's not coming?" Fang Zhuo was a little surprised. As far as he knew, Robin had already arrived in Shanghai.

The reporters became excited and confirmed the authenticity of the news.

"Oh, that's it." Fang Zhuo felt a little regretful, and responded to the question by the way, explaining, "There is no humiliating offer. The number 0.01% sounds small, but it is actually hundreds of millions. Who can do anything if they are idle? Carrying so much money to humiliate others? Is this actually a humiliation in your mouth?”

The reporter who asked the question was at a loss for words. It seemed to make sense, but could Robin be like us?

At this time, another reporter asked about this matter: "Mr. Fang, why did Yike suddenly acquire Duji? Is it because Robin had previously publicly claimed that Yike was a monopoly? Are these two things related? If Yike successfully acquired Duji, Remember, isn’t this really a monopoly?”

Fang Zhuo glanced at the reporter who was talking like a volley of words, and said with a smile: "Isn't Yike unsuccessful? The two things have nothing to do with each other. As you said, we don't have a monopoly. Isn't Du Ji still there? "

He further explained: "I just think that Yike's current search business is doing well. If Yike takes over this area, the industry ecology may be better. If Robin doesn't want to sell it, it's just a pity. The shares will continue to depreciate.”

More questions followed.

Fang Zhuo just smiled and shook his head without answering anything else. He was just surprised by the absence of his old friend.

Yi Ke and his party continued to move forward, but the reporters' shooting increased instead of decreasing. There was Pony the Penguin in front of them, and these two were not very easy to deal with!

Fang Zhuo saw Pony, whom he hadn't seen for a long time. He didn't mean to avoid him and actually said hello directly.

"Pony, how are you doing?"

Pony had long noticed Fang Zhuo's arrival, watched him walking towards her, and heard the reporters' laughter after receiving his answers. He was even more unwilling to show weakness, and was mentally prepared for a verbal confrontation, but he didn't expect to hear only Such a light sentence.

"Not bad, how about you?" Pony replied lightly.

"I've been very worried recently. There are many things and they are complicated." Fang Zhuo was as candid as he has been in the past few years. "Moreover, Alibaba has been very aggressive in spending money this year, and we are under great pressure from competition."

Pony nodded slightly, Alibaba's expansion this year was simply inhumane.

He pondered how to answer but saw the head of Ali on the other side also arrived.

"I'm going to say hello to Lao Ma." Fang Zhuo said with a smile.

For a moment, Pony felt as if there had never been any discord between the two of them, as if they were still drinking and chatting about the Internet. But the emotion in his heart was shattered by Fang Zhuo's words behind him.

"Oh, yes, if you haven't heard of Yi Xin yet, add Yi Xin." Fang Zhuo turned around and said.

Pony's face darkened: "You..."

Fang Zhuo smiled, turned around and continued to greet the head of Ali.

Pony looked at the departing figure, you hurt me and you laughed it off...

The head of Yike and the head of Penguin successfully met and had a cordial conversation.

This scene was photographed by many reporters, but because the front row was far away, I don’t know what they talked about. However, it’s okay. As long as the photos are posted online, there will naturally be talented people among the crowd who can read the lips.

Fang Zhuo's meeting with Ma Ren was just pleasantries, but he was asked a key question, but he just smiled and said nothing.

"Yike is really tied up with the ice core and is going to be ruined, right?" Ma Dan lowered his voice when he asked this question.

Since the news broke out at the beginning of the year, his judgment has been based on Fang Zhuo's own perception over the past few years, and with only the last quarter left, he feels that the answer has become more obvious.

Yike's talks with the remaining five wafer manufacturing companies in the world have collapsed. Although there are rumors of continued talks, Yike's options have been greatly reduced.

Because of the competition with Yike, Ma Chen also paid attention to the problems of the semiconductor industry for a while. Although Mr. Fang is indeed one of the best CEOs in the world, even though Bingxin has been around for a long time, he has now been selected by Ami. I'm afraid it's not time for a hard power competition.

Mr. Ren Shifang is so full of tricks, and being stared at like this, I'm afraid he can only sink in silence.

It is precisely based on this judgment and recent continuous news verification that Ali’s expansion this year has become increasingly fierce.

When everyone was seated, Qi He, the president of YMS who was present this time, asked curiously: "Mr. Fang, what did Mr. Ma just say?"

"What can I say? Just say hello to each other. Who is a good person and can provoke each other in person?" Fang Zhuo replied casually.

The people next to him were silent. Well, Mr. Fang was not stimulating. Mr. Fang was just joking with his old friend.

A lot of people came to this year’s Internet industry conference, and almost all those who have made a name for themselves in the past few years came. Although there are shadows of giants, verticals such as Momo, Jumei Youpin, Xiaohongshu, Mogujie, Meiyou, and BOSS Zhipin are all here. There are still many companies that are successful in this segment.

Emerging companies are happy to participate in such an occasion, and seeing Mr. Fang, Mr. Ma, Pony and others meeting this time made the trip feel more worthwhile.

With the usual opening, speeches, and several mobile Internet companies taking the stage to speak, the morning passed peacefully.

In the afternoon, the big names came on stage and everyone was in high spirits.

What is even more regrettable is that Penguin's Pony did not appear on the stage, only Ali and Yike, which seemed to confirm the change from the four giants YBAT to the bipolar YA in disguise.

The host and the heads of the two giants exchanged a few polite words and talked about the trends of mobile Internet, and the topic quickly turned to the competition between the two companies.

Originally, this was a regular topic, but Fang Zhuo took it over without being polite and commented a little on Alibaba's expansion in the first half of the year.

"Alibaba went public again and achieved great success. In the first half of the year, as everyone has seen, it started aggressive expansion. My feeling is, well, that's the word, radical."

"I think the larger the size and influence of a company, the more restraint it should have."

When Ma Chen heard this, he responded without hesitation: "Did Yike restrain himself? Yike almost beat Du Ji to death. Mr. Fang, I don't think Ali is radical. I think Ali should continue to move forward. In the future, , I hope Alibaba can also lower the price of Yike mobile phones!”

There was laughter at the scene, and the two big guys were fighting hand to hand, which made the scene more interesting. With the competition between the two YA giants this year, this is even more interesting.

"Hey, don't laugh, I'm serious. Alibaba plans to invest in a mobile phone brand that can bring down the price of Yike mobile phones early next year." Ma Yan said half seriously and half jokingly, "The domestic industry chain is quite mature. It can be of high quality and low price, Mr. Fang, do you mind if we lower the price of mobile phones? Alibaba is willing to pass on the profits to consumers.”

Mobile phones are undoubtedly Yike's core business.

When Yike attacked Penguin and Duji, they always focused on each other's core business. This move is now also put on the table by Ma Min, and the issue of high product prices is also slightly sensitive.

Fang Zhuo just took a sip of tea and said with a smile: "President Ma wants to lower the price of mobile phones to benefit consumers. This is good. If Alibaba makes high-quality and low-price mobile phones, Yike will welcome it."

"In fact, Yike has also played a role in the maturity of the domestic industrial chain. We are willing to see a hundred flowers bloom."

"Moreover, Mr. Ma doesn't need to be so sharp. There is not one solution to the problem. The one you mentioned is one, and Yike is also doing one. I think as soon as our new Yike mobile phone comes out, the price of Samsung mobile phones has been We're down."

Someone at the scene shouted: "Apple has also started to cut prices!"

Fang Zhuo paused, then turned to Ma Ren and said: "Look, Apple has also been defeated. We can not only make high-quality and low-priced mobile phones, but also make a mobile phone brand recognized by the global market. Mr. Ma, are you right?"

Ma Yan pondered for a moment, what was so powerful was not the words, but the fact that they were supported by facts.

He did not dislike such debates, but was very good at it. He replied with a smile: "Yes, Yike is very successful. Our future goal is to cultivate a brand that allows a successful company like Yike to also consider pricing, as long as Mr. Fang is willing to consider it." , that would be a success.”

"I hope to see such a future. The more healthy competition, the better. Just like Tesco also wants Ali to consider its radical steps, I think this kind of competition is beneficial." Fang Zhuo introduced new objects.

"President Fang has been trying to give the word 'radical' to Alibaba today, which is incorrect." Ma Zhen did not accept this concept, "The situations of Alibaba and Yike are different. I can probably understand the restraint that Yike needs now. ”

He tactfully mentioned the challenges that Yike is facing now, which is an unusual situation in the business field.

"I am really willing to discuss with Mr. Ma today, mainly because I really have doubts." Fang Zhuo did not want to be stimulated and directly pointed out the situation of his opponent, "Alibaba's current e-commerce business, if it can be summarized in eight words, is Taobao sets the stage and Tmall performs the show.”

"Tmall is developing rapidly. It has also invested in warehousing and branding, which has brought great competitive pressure to Tesco."

The head of Yike is honest about the pressure faced by Tesco. This is vaguely a sign of weakness and is not common.

The horsemen on the stage and the guests and reporters in the audience became attentive.

Sure enough, there is a twist.

“However, Alibaba’s slogan is ‘Let no business be difficult to do anywhere in the world.’ In my opinion, whether Alibaba is Taobao or Tmall, the entire platform ultimately comes down to traffic business.”

Fang Zhuo saw Ma Yan's slight frown, and he continued to explain: "Mr. Ma insists that Taobao is free, so how can Taobao make money? It just needs to charge traffic fees from sellers, advertise, and engage in click traffic. I think Alibaba’s financial report, by the way, and Tesco’s estimates show that the traffic advertising fees earned by Taobao account for about 4% of the entire GMV.”

"As for Tmall, it charges advertising fees and commissions, and has started to build brands and operate its own businesses. I think Alibaba will also make a big move into new retail this year and launch an offline Hema. This strategy makes me uncomfortable. understood."

"This can inflate revenue figures, but the profits may not be good, and Taobao's traffic needs to be diverted."

"In the past, Alibaba was a relatively simple advertising business. Now Alibaba is doing sales. The magnitude and difficulty are different. Is this Mr. Ma's or Zhang Yong's idea?"

Fang Zhuo said with a smile after saying this: "In this way, fighting back and forth becomes the final fight for traffic. Is Alibaba's traffic pool enough? I heard from Tesco that they are going to develop new traffic on Douyin. ”

Who is the traffic king in China today?

There is only the Yike department.

If the focus of competition is attributed to the competition for traffic, according to this logic, Alibaba will inevitably fail.

"Mr. Fang has always been able to confuse people, and I have suffered a lot in this regard." Ma Yan calmly defused the attack with one sentence, which also successfully aroused laughter and made the atmosphere less tense.

Everyone at the scene knew that Mr. Fang’s circle of friends worked, and it was said that he really took care of Ali’s affairs.

Wei Zhe, who is now sitting not far from Mr. Fang, is the former CEO of Alibaba and is now the founder of Dada under the Yike department. His ability to "confuse people" is evident.

"President Fang said that we will fight for traffic in the end. If traffic is really that useful, then Pony will not lose." Ma Yan's example made many people look at the Penguin leader in the audience.

Pony's face was expressionless. He was already envious of Robin who changed his mind at the last moment. He really shouldn't have come...

This is also a real case, which almost refutes the logic of the head of Yike.

Ma Dian continued: "Nowadays, this era is an era that destroys you but has nothing to do with you, an era that crosses the border to rob you but you are powerless to fight back, an era where you wake up too slowly and don't need to wake up at all, an era where it is not that the opponent is stronger than you, but that you don't even know who the opponent is!"

"In such a cross-border era, only by constantly moving forward, constantly innovating, and constantly combining the Internet with new industries can we continue to succeed."

"Mr. Fang thinks that Alibaba is radical, but it is the so-called radicalism that has brought Alibaba to where it is today, and it has also allowed Alibaba to continue to try, make mistakes, correct and move forward!"

The head of Alibaba raised the proposition, which triggered applause from the audience.

Fang Zhuo waited until the applause died down and added: "Mr. Ma is right, let me add one more thing, if Taobao merchants think that the traffic fee is too expensive, then look forward to the new Yiguo."

There was laughter again in the venue, and Mr. Fang seemed to use reality to drag Mr. Ma back from the proposition.

Ma Dian also laughed, and pointed at Fang Zhuo helplessly.

The two big men's arguments seemed to be a footnote to the fierce competition between Yike and Alibaba. The real collision between the two giants was much more fierce than what they said.

So there was no interview session for reporters on the first day of the industry conference. In the evening, Fang Zhuo was escorted away quickly without entanglement with the media reporters, and they could only hope for an interview the day after tomorrow.

However, a report from foreign media suddenly pushed the Yike incident to a more violent level, causing crazy discussions.

The New York Times published an anonymous revelation online, which was from a recording of a call. One party was Fang Zhuo, the head of Yike, and the identity of the other party was unknown, sounding like an administrative staff member of BSI.

The two quarreled over the cooperation between Yike and Bingxin.

At the end of the recording, the BIS people issued a warning: "Mr. Fang, if you don't stop the damn cooperation with Bingxin, Yike's business will be completely destroyed!"

Fang Zhuo's voice was very recognizable and clear, and there was no hesitation in the recording: "Fuck u, then come on!"