The Industrial Giant Reborn

Lei Shengli paused and said: "Chen Sheng, according to our estimation, the ex-factory cost of this air conditioner is as high as 350 US dollars, which has reached the terminal price level of well-known European and American brands. Procurement of core components."

"It doesn't matter. We are taking the frequency conversion control route, which is different from them. Under the dislocation competition, there is still a little market." Chen Zhiwen said: "But this time will not be long, we can't do it in the field of frequency conversion. Patent monopoly, other companies will definitely continue to develop, so what we need to do is to produce the core components of the air conditioner one by one by ourselves, only in this way can we control the cost.”

Under the condition that the core components are completely purchased from outside, Midea’s mastery of frequency conversion technology is only software control and some structural patents. This kind of thing can be easily bypassed by others, even Toshiba, which invented the frequency conversion air conditioner in the 1980s. Technological monopoly cannot be achieved.

However, in the case of having an advantage in the terminal channel market, coupled with strong after-sales service, at least the first step of product retailing is easy to go out. Even if this step achieves a small success, it will also allow Midea to stabilize in the high-end home appliance industry. The first step.

On this basis, the market will be gradually expanded, but if long-term development is desired, self-production of parts and components is a must. The first is that the cost can be minimized, and the second is that only with technical reserves can further research and development be possible.

After all, the air conditioner itself has no technical content, it is just an assembly, the compressor, condenser, and evaporator inside.

"What Chen Sheng means is that we buy such overseas companies?" Lei Shengli is also a shrewd person, so he naturally knows that Hong Kong has no possibility of research and development of these core components of air conditioners, and has no foundation at all.

"Yes, just find a mid-level company. We can't afford to buy a company that is too cutting-edge, and maybe it will be obstructed by the government. Small ones don't make much sense. We can pick middle-level companies. We can afford the purchase price. We have some help, Hong Kong does not have a suitable target, so we can only choose overseas." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.

Previously, we only purchased assembly plants, so Hong Kong has many options. If it’s not for saving time, it’s okay to build one yourself, but when it comes to certain technical requirements, Hong Kong basically doesn’t meet the requirements.

Fortunately, Hong Kong at this time belongs to the Commonwealth of Nations. Although it is still discriminated against, the restrictions in many aspects are not very strong, especially civil technology. As long as it is not cutting-edge, basically there will be no ZZ problems.

The problems that can be solved with money should be solved with money as much as possible. After obtaining huge profits from the arcade market, Midea's financial resources will have a qualitative change, and it will be able to have a certain amount of financial resources to meet the strategic needs of the electrical appliance business.

"We barely have a certain foundation for the motor, and we will start with the compressor in the next step." Lei Shengli said: "The compressor is the heart of the air conditioner, and it is also the most expensive component. If the compressor can be produced by itself, our The cost is at least $30 lower, and you can supply the refrigerator business or even other companies."

"Do you have any goals?" Chen Zhiwen asked.

"I thought of one." Lei Shengli said: "Before, our air-conditioning parts were mainly from Japan. For a while, through a trading company, I got to know a company located in Italy, Domu Laike, which specializes in making various types of compressors. I also talked with their salesman. Although the owner of this company is Italian, he immigrated to France a long time ago. The Italian company hired professional managers to manage it.

I think that this kind of boss who has been in other countries for a long time does not say whether he wants to sell the company, but he definitely does not regard this company as a career. Maybe, as long as the price is right, he will buy it. "

"Damu Laike? What's the name?" Chen Zhiwen almost couldn't spell it.

"It should be a direct transliteration from Italian, and it's not a civilian brand, so it probably doesn't matter." Lei Shengli said with an embarrassed smile.

"Italy, it's a bit far away, but it's okay." Chen Zhiwen didn't bother with the company name, and said after thinking about it.

Later generations will only think of the United States, Japan, South Korea, and Germany and France when they talk about industrial countries, but in fact, many other European countries have good industries, but because the countries are small and the industrial chains are not perfect, they are not very good. famous.

Chen Zhiwen is fairly familiar with Italy as a country, and he has traveled in his previous life. Its main economy is tourism, but in fact the industrial level is not bad. There is a giant in the automobile field, Fiat, but this automobile brand has not been established in later generations. Enter Chinese market.

"It's just that the company's scale is not small, and it doesn't only supply compressors for home appliances, but also compressors for car air conditioners." Lei Shengli said.

"Car? Which car brands?" Chen Zhiwen asked in surprise.

"Volkswagen, Renault, Fiat, and British Langley." Lei Shengli replied that when he first met the salesman of this company, the first thing he introduced was their achievements in the auto industry. Their cooperation project is civilian products, and Lei Shengli also admired each other after hearing about the achievements in the automobile industry.

This is the reputation in the automotive field. As long as you get along in the automotive industry, especially as a supplier of a well-known big auto brand, you seem to have a halo of trust.

"It's so powerful, there are only a few ordinary car brands in Europe, and there is no BBA?" Chen Zhiwen laughed.

"No, and they are the second-tier suppliers of the automobile industry, not directly supplying to the automobile factories." Lei Shengli explained: "Suppliers who directly supply to the automobile factories are called first-tier suppliers, and those who supply the first-tier suppliers The goods are called level two."

"Well, I understand. They supply automobile air-conditioning companies, and they are very good. You can check the size of this company? Is it listed? What is the technical level? How many patents are there? If we If you want to buy it, if the other party is willing, roughly how much money you can get, and you have to consider the issue of the local government in Italy." Chen Zhiwen thought for a while and said.

In the development of enterprises, mergers and acquisitions of vertical industrial chains are nothing more than one of the fastest expansion methods, especially in industrial chains with mature technologies, it is difficult to bypass previous patents through self-development, and it is far from keeping up with mature technology. the speed of competitors.

In particular, the other party still has the production capacity of the automobile industry. If you take over and invest funds yourself, you can make another step forward.

"Okay, I'll arrange for someone to go to Italy to investigate on the spot, but it may take a long time including the subsequent negotiations." Lei Shengli said.

"It's okay, time is not in a hurry." Chen Zhiwen shrugged and said.

Next, he needs to spend a lot of money for sniping and remembering. This period of time is not the time to spend a lot of money on other aspects. In addition, no matter what, if Midea’s air-conditioning refrigerators want to succeed in the US market, it may take only five years. It’s just the beginning, and ten years may not necessarily have a large scale.

In such a mature market, if you really want to overtake in a corner, you can only rely on the inland market that is about to be re-opened. Otherwise, there is no possibility. Only with control in hand can we directly take advantage of the advantages of the mainland and develop rapidly.