Reinventing the Millennium

"I am the deputy director of the electronic design department of Sony EMCS, Mi Tanaka (shí)."

"My Chinese name is Tian Zhongshi."

"Fortunately, the walkman in the hands of this gentleman may have some design credit from me."

A middle-aged man in the business class saw that the two people who had just criticized Sony did not respond to his questions, so he took the initiative to introduce his identity.

Then, he smiled and said: "I don't mean to disturb you. I am indeed eager to hear your views, sir."

Being able to fly business class in this era is somewhat different, not to mention that the destination of this flight is New York. Tanaka Mito's attitude is very humble, but in his heart he recognizes and is proud of Sony.

Fang Zhuo was a little surprised that there was a Japanese who had a good life so close to him, and he belonged to Sony.

He smiled slightly and had no intention of getting into any more entanglements with the other party: "It's just a casual talk. Deputy Tanaka doesn't need to take it seriously."

Although the syllables sound the same, the Japanese surname is Tanaka instead of Tian. The second-in-command calls himself Tanaka. Domestic branches may not use this name. This person is probably a local middle-level person at Sony.

As for Sony EMCS, it is not clear whether it is a functional department or a subsidiary.

Fang Zhuo briefly judged the other party's situation in his mind.

"This gentleman just said it's okay, don't worry about me being at Sony." Tanaka was a little stubborn, and his strange accent and written language seemed quite strange. He said to Fang Zhuo, "The truth becomes clearer the more we debate it."

"Sony is a great company. I was just teasing my friends. Don't take it to heart, Mr. Tanaka." Fang Zhuo tilted his head slightly and said to Tanaka helplessly.

Tanaka Min said modestly: "No, no, sir, you were very serious just now."

Saying it once means you are sincere, saying it three times in a row means you are arrogant.

Fang Zhuo was a little bit confused about why this person still had such a unique sense of humility in his tone.

He said politely: "Since Mr. Tanaka insists on my opinion, I will just express my opinion. I hope Mr. Tanaka will not mind if there are any fallacies."

Pan Ben on the side asked the stewardess for three cups of coffee in a low voice. He turned off the Walkman fuse in his hand and watched this scene with interest. He felt a little regretful and should have taken it out with him when he was halfway through the flight. Listen, that way the journey will not be lonely.

Fang Zhuo still said politely: "I personally admire Sony very much, and I also like Mr. Akio Morita very much. I have read many of his books."

When Tanaka Mi heard the name "Akio Morita", the founder of Sony, he became awe-struck, at least, that's how it looked on his expression.

However, what he said next made his expression change.

Fang Zhuo said leisurely: "To talk about Sony's strategic issues, we must first talk about the semiconductor dispute between Japan and the United States. Unfortunately, Japan has lost this high-end competition that can be called the battle for national destiny."

Sony first made its fortune in radios based on transistors, and later on integrated circuits and semiconductors became popular in household appliances such as televisions and electronic products such as calculators.

Fifteen years ago, Japan occupied more than 50% of the world's semiconductor market.

Then, the Japan threat theory and anti-dumping tariffs against Japanese semiconductor chip companies began to appear in the United States. It supported South Korea and directly reshaped the global semiconductor industry chain in this competition.

It can be said that this is a pain that will never go away for any Japanese who understands this period of history.

Pan Ben didn't know much about the history of this aspect, but he clearly saw the change in Tanaka's face and understood that President Fang probably aimed at the sore spot and poked him hard.

Tanaka took a deep breath and said calmly: "At least, we have fought before, and China is not qualified to enter."

Fang Zhuo smiled slightly and said in Shencheng dialect to Pan Ben, "He's anxious."

Tanaka's face turned dark, he could understand Shencheng dialect!

Fang Zhuo noticed the expression and murmured in his heart, does this Tanaka still understand dialect? Isn't it native to Sony?

Tanaka calmed down and apologized: "I'm sorry, I got excited. I'm sorry for offending you sir."

"Mr. Tanaka is not wrong. Just as Japan spent ten years localizing the semiconductor industry, China will inevitably have this process. I am just studying Japan's industrial history of ten years, ten years of transcendence, and ten years of decline. It’s just a matter of emotion.” Although Fang Zhuo had deliberately targeted the sore spot just now, his emotion was also true. The competition in the semiconductor industry between Japan and the United States is really exciting.

Tanaka's face softened and he said sincerely: "Please give me some advice, sir."

The passenger plane had already taken off, and above the white clouds, a small discussion attracted the ears of a couple next door.

Fang Zhuo took a sip of coffee, nodded, and said with interest: "The impact of this technical dispute is in all aspects, and it continues to this day. Japan's original semiconductor industry strategy focused more on analog circuits, while the United States chose Digital circuits."

"In this case, Sony's analog devices are too good. Take its TV products as an example. It has been insisting on developing picture tube technology, but did the launch of LCD TVs this year wake Sony up?"

Fang Zhuo asked with a smile.

Tanaka's face was solemn and it was difficult to answer. He had just bought an LCD TV at home.

"TV is a relatively important product line for Sony, and the impact of LCD TVs on Sony will definitely become greater and greater in the past two years."

"Mr. Tanaka just said that he is from the electronic design department and has participated in the design of walkman, right?"

"Of course this is Sony's unique product. However, as far as I know, last month an Apple company in the United States released an Ipod that supports mp3 format. Does Mr. Tanaka know?"

"It's a coincidence that I saw the development of 'digital' music mentioned many times at the Ipod launch conference."

"This time, will Sony stick to Walkman just like it sticks to CRT picture tube technology, or will it actively turn to this kind of Internet-based digital music player?"

Fang Zhuo asked.

Tanaka Ming glanced at the walkman on Pan Ben's desk, and slowly said: "I have noticed that Ipod, but according to the evaluation of the company's people, it is impossible to beat the walkman."

He told his reasons: "Its biggest drawback is that it cannot provide users with high sound quality. In addition, its use time is shorter than our walkman, and the price is quite expensive."

"Also, Sony Music owns the most music copyrights in the world."

"Maybe Ipod will have a certain market, but it can't beat Walkman or replace the classic product that has been selling well for 20 years."

Tanaka Mi's voice was very determined.

Fang Zhuo seemed to praise and not praise: "Yes, Walkman has been selling for twenty years, which is really a long time."

He clasped his hands slightly: "Don't worry about Mr. Tanaka's nonsense, it's just my wild imagination."

Tanaka Min said seriously: "Sir, you have extraordinary insights. I don't know what to call him?"

"My surname is Fang." Fang Zhuo smiled, "This trip is to see the outside world and see a different scenery."

Tanaka said gratefully: "Mr. Fang's words surprised me. I hope there will be opportunities for cooperation in the future."

Fang Zhuo nodded with a smile and said politely: "I hope there will be such a day."

Sony's Deputy Commander Tanaka turned around and took a sip of the cooled coffee with an expressionless expression. He sat by himself for a while, trying to calm down, but the words "It took so long" filled his heart like a dark cloud. .

"How come Mr. Fang still knows this? He has so much knowledge." Pan Ben turned on Walkman and listened to half the song before speaking to Fang Zhuo in Shencheng dialect.

"Sometimes I chat with Director Xu. He understands these things. He is from a major. I understand better after listening more. Mainly because I find it interesting." Fang Zhuo also answered in Shencheng dialect. However, he saw Tanaka Ming's face turned slightly sideways.

Fang Zhuo thought for a while and said in Cantonese: "This little Japanese seems to understand Shencheng dialect. Let's change it."

Pan Ben looked at Fang Zhuo blankly, and still said in Shencheng dialect: "Uh, Mr. Fang, I don't understand Cantonese."

Fang Zhuo: "...just listen to the song."

Shouldn’t people like VCs, who often travel all over the world to inspect projects, master a few more mainstream dialects?

Pan Ben smiled bitterly and shook his head, and simply listened to the song that his wife had specially recorded for him.

Tanaka opened the book in disappointment. This Mr. Fang definitely did not come out to see the scenery as he said. Regardless of whether his judgment of the situation was correct or not, such concern and thinking are not common in life and work.

Moreover, Sony is indeed under great pressure in terms of TVs, and there is also a lot of discussion about MP3. During my trip to New York, I was tasked with learning more about the Ipod. If necessary, Sony Music will launch an investigation and lawsuit against Apple's iTunes.

The flight from Shanghai to New York is long.

Tanaka Ming tried to learn more about the origin of the man above the seat in the back. However, even if he found an opportunity to exchange business cards, he gave a reason why he didn't have them with him. Instead, the ordinary older man next to him gave Zhang VC IDG business card.

IDG?

Is Mr. Fang also a talent from an investment institution?

It's possible, but who is the "Director Xu" who is "from a major" he mentioned?

Tanaka Mi couldn't help but be curious, and finally exchanged numbers with the other party before getting off the plane.

When he got off the plane, he discovered that there were not just two people, but another group of people who respectfully surrounded Mr. Fang and left. Their posture was a bit like the Yamaguchi-gumi - of course, the looks on this group of people proved that they were relatively Those who are unfamiliar and curious are definitely not social organizations.

When they arrived at the parking lot, Tanaka witnessed the group of people being picked up by three cars. Mr. Fang seemed to be aware of his gaze and glanced in this direction before getting out of the car.

Because of this look, Tanaka Mi humbly bowed in that direction, but as the vehicle drove away, he began to hate the etiquette of his own nation.

"Let's go, Watanabe-kun, let's go directly to the company."

…

"Mr. Fang, I'm almost suffocated this whole way."

"I'll learn Cantonese next time. It has a wide range of applications."

Fang Zhuo took the mineral water handed over by Pan Ben and joked.

Pan Ben shook his head. Who would have thought that something like this could happen on a plane? However, Mr. Fang is also a thief. When talking about competition, he also mentions Ipod. I wonder if Mr. Tanaka will regard Mr. Fang as a distributor who wants to be authorized to come to the United States. business.

He lowered the car window and said: "The person we are contacting in New York is Smith, our global senior vice president of IDG. He can provide certain help and convenience. Some procedures for M1 in the United States also go through Smith."

"Oh, Mr. Shi, do you want to express your gratitude to him?" Fang Zhuo asked.

"Cough, cough, Mr. Fang, I'm from IDG, so don't ask me about this." Pan Ben said awkwardly.

Fang Zhuo said seriously: "Mr. Pan, Lao Xiong lent you to me so that you can be mine temporarily. You are on my side now. Do you understand? You have to understand the leader's thoughts. This Smith doesn't care about you." For the promotion of IDG China, you have to help me accomplish the career that Lao Xiong also hopes for."

Pan Ben sighed: "Then I'll deliver it."

"Look at you." Fang Zhuo casually took off the watch on his wrist and put it on Pan Ben's wrist. "Special thanks to Mr. Pan for being considerate of us entrepreneurs. Starting a business is not easy."

Pan Ben couldn't help but pulled his hand away: "Mr. Fang, please don't come to this with me. Let's just see how to do the market this time."

Fang Zhuo smiled and put his watch back on. This was a gift from Xiao Zhou to him. Even though that guy looked dull, he was quite capable of causing trouble sometimes.

"Actually, our competitive strategy is already very clear, more applicable system + lower price." Fang Zhuo glanced at the dim sky outside the window, "After the M1 procedures are completed, can Smith introduce us to suitable channels?"

"Of course, now I want to see Ipod's market performance research. Does IDG have one? Or is there any reliable institutional research report?"

"Also, how does Apple respond to the lawsuit? Its iTunes directly imports songs, and from which companies does it license the copyright?"

“Let’s take a look at the word-of-mouth feedback from users.”

Fang Zhuo mentioned many problems casually.

Pan Ben quickly turned on his phone and wrote them down one by one, and then said: "I have an appointment with Smith tomorrow afternoon. Let's adjust the time difference tonight."

"Yeah, no problem." Fang Zhuo had slept on the plane for several hours, and he didn't feel sleepy at all. He lowered his window and took two breaths of fresh air. He suddenly remembered a story he heard a long time ago. Question, he said, "This air isn't sweet either."

"What?" Pan Ben didn't hear clearly.

"I said the moon is not round either." Fang Zhuo pointed to the moon already hanging in the sky.

Pan Ben smiled, knowing that Fang was always joking.

The three cars arrived at the hotel. Fang Zhuo first reiterated discipline with the seven employees who came with him, and then chatted for a few words with Vice President Yang Wan among the group before having dinner together and returning to the room.

It was still early and there was a computer in the room.

While Fang Zhuo was experiencing the speed of the Internet in New York, he opened Amazon and browsed the dazzling array of products. At this moment, the Internet in the United States is indeed much more advanced.

After a while, he received an email from Pan Ben, which contained some of the latest Apple product research.

Fang Zhuo watched for a few minutes and discovered a problem. The music on iTunes was actually free and not authorized. Its method was CD transcription and network sharing, which was almost completely different from the music platform that later generations were familiar with.

He thought for a while, then stood up and walked a few steps to open the window and saw the sky outside. The moon was indeed not that round, just like the apples were not so dazzling now.