"I have prepared 10,000 air purifiers with anti-radiation function. After arriving in Japan, you will donate it to Japan in the name of Xiaomi. At the same time, you will find reporters to promote it. Let's create a wave of momentum first, and then we will discuss the purchase with Sharp.

." Li Weidong answered.

"What a good idea! Before negotiating, we must win the favor of Japanese public opinion and let the Japanese know that we are here to support their Japanese-made products. The bigger the momentum becomes, the less Sharp will dare to refuse us. If we take this kind of initiative

If those who come to purchase products come home empty-handed in the end, it will also be a blow to the confidence in Japanese manufacturing."

Rebus immediately understood Li Weidong's intention, but he still asked: "But does this air purifier really have the function of anti-nuclear radiation? If it doesn't have this function, wouldn't we be making false propaganda?

"

Li Weidong immediately explained: "During the Cold War, both the United States and the Soviet Union built a large number of underground fortifications to resist nuclear attacks. However, these underground fortifications could withstand nuclear explosions, but they could not withstand nuclear radiation.

Nuclear radiation is mainly spread through tiny dust in the air, so both the United States and the Soviet Union began to study the installation of purifiers in the vents of underground fortifications to prevent dust floating in the air from entering the underground fortifications. This was the earliest air purification

device.

From this perspective, even masks can protect against nuclear radiation, let alone air purifiers. They already have the function of protecting against nuclear radiation, but we just focused on promoting this function."

"It seems that I need to learn more from you about product marketing!" Rebus said with emotion.

"Are you praising me or hurting me? But even if you are hurting me, it is normal. I am also one of the first self-employed people in the country. Those of us who started from street vendors are different from college students like you.

Although we have reaped the first wave of dividends from reform and opening up, we have also done some deception and deception. This can be regarded as a microcosm of an era!"

Li Weidong couldn't help but think of the glorious history of selling health care equipment. He shook his head mockingly, and then asked: "Mr. Lei, are you interested in making home appliances?"

Rebus shook his head without hesitation: "The competition in the home appliance industry is too fierce. Those who can establish themselves in this industry are all big and experienced brands. It is difficult for newcomers to gain a foothold in this industry."

"I'm not talking about traditional home appliances, but smart homes. We already have our own operating system and will also have our own mobile phones. This means we have the system and the operating terminal. Then we only need to integrate the terminal.

We have a smart home system." Li Weidong explained.

"This is a good development direction. To be honest, I have considered wearable devices before, but I just felt that even mobile phones have not been built yet, so thinking about these is too far away," Rebus said.

"It's not that far away. Technology is advancing very fast. Within ten years, smart homes will begin to become popular. If you want to do it, you have to deploy it as soon as possible." Li Weidong continued; "Mr. Lei, if you plan to build a smart home,

You can find our puppy OEM, but the quality of our OEM is hard to say.”

"Aren't you afraid, Mr. Li, that Xiaomi's home appliances will compete with your puppy appliances?" Rebus asked with a smile.

Li Weidong replied: "Only when you are competitive can you make progress! What's more, the home appliance market is so big that it is impossible for one company to monopolize it. This pie is enough for everyone to share. Only an industry where a hundred flowers bloom can create more possibilities!"

"

…

Historically, when Rebus was making Xiaomi mobile phones, he took advantage of the Fukushima nuclear accident to go to Japan to negotiate with Sharp. According to later media reports, Rebus risked his life and braved nuclear radiation to negotiate. This sincerity moved him

After buying Sharp, it will eventually provide Xiaomi with mobile phone screens.

But if you think about it carefully, you will know that this is most likely a glorified report by the media. It is true that Rebus risked nuclear radiation to negotiate. Sharp may also be moved by Rebus, but selling mobile phone screens to

Xiaomi, it must be a business consideration.

At that time, Rebus was in the business of futures mobile phones. The 1999 Xiaomi mobile phone was a cost-effective killer, but it only released a few thousand units at a time. In terms of market demand, it was just a scratch.

Therefore, Xiaomi's purchase of hardware for mobile phones is very small. When such an order is sent to Sharp, no one will even take a look at it. Wouldn't it be better to have the time to serve big customers like Apple who order tens of millions of dollars!

The result was the Fukushima nuclear accident, which gave Rebus an opportunity. The Fukushima nuclear accident was a catastrophic blow to the entire Japanese manufacturing industry. No consumer was willing to buy products that had been exposed to nuclear radiation. Made in Japan

Naturally, a large order was lost.

Even though Sharp's mobile phone screen was unique at the time, customers still chose to wait and see. They would not continue to place orders with Sharp until they were sure it was safe.

It was at this time that Rebus personally came to Sharp's headquarters in Japan and proposed a purchasing plan. This was undoubtedly a timely help for Sharp. As long as there were customers willing to place orders, those old customers who were waiting would return one after another.

Even though the order quantity given by Rebus was not large, Sharp still agreed to the deal in order to have the effect of buying horse bones for a thousand dollars.

This is a deal where both parties get what they need. Although it is not as glorified by the media, Rebus's adventurous spirit and decisive timing of the move can be used as a textbook business case.

…

Drug stores on the streets of Japan have signs saying "Masks sold out" on the door.

After the Fukushima nuclear accident, there was a rush to buy salt in China, and the Japanese were no exception, grabbing masks, medical protective clothing, and iodine tablets to use as much as they could.

At that time, the price of iodine tablets was so high that it cost thousands of yen per piece. I couldn't get any iodine tablets, so I rushed to buy iodine wine, which can be taken internally or externally.

At this time, the news that Xiaomi Group donated 10,000 radiation-proof air purifiers instantly attracted a lot of media attention.

It doesn’t matter whether the air is purified or not, radiation protection is the key!

The public relations company hired by Xiaomi was not idle either. It first sent a batch of air purifiers to reporters. In Japan at the time, this was much more practical than giving money. As a result, reports about international friends Xiaomi Group donating purifiers appeared in many media

, the report cannot help but mention that Xiaomi Group came to Japan to purchase this time.

These news first alarmed Japan's Ministry of Environment, and then Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is well aware of the impact of the Fukushima nuclear accident on Japanese manufacturing. Many customers are worried about nuclear contamination and have canceled their orders. Most of them are in a wait-and-see state. Although the orders are still there, they will not be available for a while.

Can't come.

Now that I have finally met a loyal customer who is not afraid of nuclear radiation and dares to come and buy something, I must actively facilitate the transaction. It doesn't matter how much the customer buys. The key is to open an opportunity so that the customer can continue to believe in Made in Japan.

Even with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry stepping up to the plate, Sharp couldn't continue to be pretentious and had no choice but to quickly complete the order.

…

Sharp's headquarters is located in Osaka City.

The building of Sharp's headquarters was once a representative building in Osaka. This building carries Sharp's century-old glory and is also a symbol of the rise of Japanese manufacturing.

However, due to Sharp's poor management, the building was eventually sold in 2015 to alleviate Sharp's situation. The buyer was the Japanese home furnishing brand Yideli. This is like a microcosm of the Japanese economy. The manufacturing industry that dominated the world at that time cannot continue.

Brilliance was gradually replaced by consumer industries with little technological content.

Later, Hon Hai acquired Sharp and wanted to buy back the building, but Director Guo’s price was too low and Yideli was unwilling to let go. Sharp did not regain its former glory in the hands of Hon Hai and was unable to bring in huge profits, so it finally bought the building.

The matter of returning to the building was settled.

At this time, Sharp's president Kozo Takahashi was waiting for Rebus' arrival.

Rebus was here to sign a mobile phone screen purchase contract. Normally, Takahashi Kozo would be happy when business came to his door. However, at this time, his face was gloomy and he looked depressed.

"President, the reporters we invited have arrived, and they will witness today's signing ceremony shortly." The assistant reported.

"Damn it! Xiaomi Group's order is so small, but we have to publicize it with great fanfare! When did Sharp fall to this!" Takahashi Kozo said viciously.

"President, there is no way around this. After the Fukushima nuclear accident, other customers, including Apple, are now waiting and watching, afraid to place orders for us. We now need to break this deadlock." The assistant paused.

, and then said:

"And the Xiaomi Group that signed the contract this time donated 10,000 radiation-proof air purifiers to our country, which has attracted public attention. This high-profile purchase by Xiaomi Group also supports our Japanese manufacturing industry. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has

I am also very concerned about this signing.”

"Isn't it just an air purifier? It's not like we don't have one at Sharp! The world's first household purifier was launched by Sharp!" Kozo Takahashi snorted coldly, and then said: "If it weren't for the pressure from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry,

How could I care about such a small order!"

Kozo Takahashi is not a successful business manager. This guy is arrogant, but he often apologizes at shareholder meetings. After Hon Hai officially completed the acquisition of Sharp in 2016, Kozo Takahashi completed his last

He apologized and then resigned as president of Sharp.

When Kozo Takahashi was in charge of Sharp, Sharp suffered losses year after year. In some cases, it lost more than 200 billion yen a year. Kozo Takahashi's "wise decision-making" was indispensable.

Sharp's LCD TVs were once the number one in the world, thanks to Sharp's ability to make the best LCD panels. There was a time when only Sharp could produce large-screen, high-definition LCD panels in the world.

At that time, the largest customer of Sharp's LCD panels, besides Sharp itself, was South Korea's Samsung, which meant that Samsung, the giant in the home appliance industry, had to rely on Sharp's LCD panels to produce TV sets.

Due to the increase in sales of Samsung TVs, market competition with Sharp's TVs has arisen, so Sharp decided not to sell high-end panels to Samsung. Samsung had no choice but to develop its own LCD panel technology, and then it has the current panel.

Giant Samsung.

Samsung's TV sales have also succeeded in ranking first in the world. At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Hisense had an advertisement of "Second in the world, first in China". Many people will question who is number one in the world. Simply based on sales volume

If you look at it, Samsung is number one in the world.

Sharp's TV share is declining year by year, and even Xiaomi's sales are stronger than Sharp's.

In the face of foreign competitors, Sharp directly cut off supply and suppressed them, hoping to kill them by choking their necks. When facing Japanese competitors, Sharp also used the same method.

Both Sony and Toshiba were customers of Sharp, but they were also competitors of Sharp. Sharp also cut off supply to these two companies. As a result, Sony and Toshiba directly found another supplier, JDI, which is Japan Display Company, and waited for JDI to take over.

After losing its two major customers, Sony and Toshiba, Sharp recovered and quickly resumed supply. Unfortunately, it was too late.

Kozo Takahashi has made many similar "wise decisions", which turned Sharp, a former industry giant, into a company that has been losing money year after year.

After 2011, Sharp's core LCD panel business also suffered losses. The rise of Samsung and LG eroded a large amount of Sharp's share. Thanks to the rise of smartphones, Sharp was able to rely on mobile phone screens to survive for several years.

time.

…

The car slowly stopped in front of the Sharp headquarters building, and Li Weidong and Rebus both got out of the car.

"The negotiation with Sharp went surprisingly smoothly this time, thanks to the help from Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. It seems that the donation of 10,000 air purifiers is still very effective." Rebus said.

"If there is no opportunity, we create opportunities. Especially in cross-border negotiations, it is very effective." Li Weidong continued: "There is a book called "The Art of Negotiation". I suggest you read it."

"Is this book well written?" Rebus asked.

"The writing is average, but the person who writes the book is extraordinary. That guy has a famous saying, no one understands XXX better than me. This XXX can be anything."
To be continued...