Putting advertising aside for now, the expansion of sales channels encountered problems right from the start.
If flashman wants to ship in large quantities, it is impossible to rely solely on retailers in Tokyo.
Those large-scale electrical appliance mass-markets are the mainstream sales channels. Daiei Electric originated in Kobe in the 1950s.
After more than 20 years of development, it has already begun to roll out chain stores across the country. It is the first target partner of Shirakawa Electric.
However, things went against his wishes and Hasegawa lost his first battle.
So today, President Shirakawa Kaede decided to take action himself.
"Mr. Takagi, our Shirakawa Electric's Flashman is officially authorized by the creative inventor, Mr. Andre.
It has nothing to do with Sony's Walkman, and it is not a copy. Please see, this is our patent authorization letter."
As he spoke, Shirakawa Kaede placed the authorization letter written entirely in English in front of Takagi Kunio.
However, Takagi Kunio just glanced at it casually and ignored it, "Shirakawa-san, but in Japan, Sony is the inventor of the walkman.
Without Sony's authorization, it would be difficult for us at Daiei to sell your products."
"Takagi-san, please believe me..."
"Shirakawa-san~"
However, before Shirakawa Kaede could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by Takagi Kunio with a wave of his hand.
"It's not impossible for your company to sell this Flashman in Daiei, but..."
Takagi Kunio crossed his hands on the table and leaned forward slightly. "But the pricing power of Flashman must be given to us."
Baichuan Feng narrowed his eyes slightly, raised his head and looked at the person in front of him carefully.
The other party still maintained the forward leaning posture, still with that expressionless look on his face.
No, he wasn't expressionless, he was just too cold to explain further.
So that's what it is. The patent infringement issue is just a cover.
Daiei Electric doesn't care about the so-called patent issue at all. That is the business of Shirakawa Electric and Sony.
What Dayong Electric really wants is the pricing power of Shirakawa Electric products, and it is well aware of the hot sales of Walkman.
After all, walkman has been sold like crazy in its own Daiei retail department store for several months in a row.
As the head of the planning department of Daiei Electric, Kunio Takagi is well aware of how much profit is behind this.
"Mr. Takagi, there is no other product like Flashman on the market.
Even when compared with Sony's Walkman, it is not inferior and has enough charm to attract consumers to buy it.
The price of 25,000 yen is a very reasonable price.”
Although knowing that the other party is eyeing it covetously, Shirakawa Electric needs to open up the market and Flashman needs to be promoted to the public.
Baichuan Feng could only continue to deal with the other party, and he had to lower his posture as much as possible when asking for help.
Kunio Takagi agreed very much with Shirakawa Kaede's judgment. As a retailer directly facing the market, he knew very well what the public liked.
He even thought higher of Shirakawa Electric's Flashman, saying that the four color combinations alone were enough to beat Sony's single model.
But greed is the most basic quality of a businessman.
A little-known small company suddenly came up with such a product.
I guess he must have invested a lot of effort in it, maybe even betting his entire fortune on it.
If this is the case, this Flashman may very well be the product that determines their life or death.
In that case...
"Shirakawa-san," Takagi Kunio shook his head seriously, "Daiei selling your Shirakawa Electric products carries a considerable risk of infringement.
If we give the pricing power to Dayong, we are willing to bear the risk.
And this is also an extremely wise choice because we understand consumers' psychological price point best.
The pricing power is given to us, and Shirakawa Electric's Flashman does not have to worry about sales at all."
"Also," Takagi Kunio's expression became more serious. He leaned closer to Shirakawa Kaede's ear again and said, "I guess Shirakawa-san is also waiting for Flashman to sell well so that he can revitalize Shirakawa Electric."
After saying that, Kunio Takagi sat back, twitching the corners of his mouth, with a look of complacency in his coldness.
The harsh voice echoed in his ears for a long time. Baichuan Feng looked at the other person expressionlessly, then slowly lowered his eyes.
Hasegawa, who was sitting next to him, was both angry and helpless.
…
After applying extreme pressure, Kunio Takagi crossed his arms and waited calmly for Shirakawa Kaede's decision.
Such small companies can often only survive by relying on a single product.
This is the basis for their survival, but from another perspective, it is also their fatal weakness.
As long as we grasp this point, there is no need to worry that they will not submit.
The rebates from selling products alone cannot bring in as much as those earned through fair and honest means such as pricing power.
"Sorry Takagi-san, Shirakawa Electric will not give up its pricing power."
Without warning, Shirakawa Feng stood up and said, "I'm sorry that we didn't reach a cooperation agreement with your company this time. I hope there will be opportunities in the future."
"Huh!" The result was completely opposite to what he expected, and the confident Kunio Takagi was shocked.
Baichuan Feng didn't want to continue playing nice with the other party. He bowed to him and prepared to go out with Hasegawa.
"Shirakawa-san," Takagi Kunio's angry voice came from behind him, "After we leave this door, Shirakawa Electric's products will never appear in any of Daiei Electric's retail stores. I promise!"
Baichuan Feng paused, then left without looking back.
Coming out of the building in front of Toyocho Station, Shirakawa Kaede loosened his tie.
Huh~, a long breath of suppressed breath came out, and my restless heart finally calmed down.
"I'm sorry! President Shirakawa, it's my incompetence!" Hasegawa, who was standing beside him, put his hands against the seams of his pants and bent down deeply.
Not only did he fail in his mission, but he also made his president suffer a lot. At this moment, Hasegawa felt very ashamed of being humiliated by his master and then dying by his servant.
Baichuan Feng waved his hand and said, "Hasegawa-san, this is not your fault. It's the other party's request that is too much."
Pricing power? If Flashman gave up its pricing power to Dayong Electric, the result would be disastrous.
The price of 25,000 yen was the price that everyone at Shirakawa Electric discussed for a long time and finally agreed upon.
Compared with Sony's 33,000 yen, the price advantage is obvious and can guarantee considerable profits.
After all, they are focusing on the mid- and low-end markets, which can be considered a misaligned competition with Sony, so Flashman will have a better chance of making a profit.
But if the pricing power is given to Dayong Electric, then the final price on the shelves will be another matter.
Darong Electric is optimistic about the flash memory market and wants more profits, so it sets a higher price.
Then it will inevitably compete directly with Walkman, the price will be too high, and the number of people buying it will decrease.
In the end, Shirakawa Electric will still be the one that suffers, after all, Dayong Electric does not bear the production risk.
If Dayong Electric engages in a price war with its competitors, it can lower the price of Flashman to attract crowds.
In the end, Shirakawa Electric's profits will be diluted, after all, production costs are fixed.
Moreover, large price fluctuations are detrimental to the credibility of the product itself.
This will invisibly damage the brand value of Shirakawa Electric, and consumers will eventually abandon KITA over time.
So no matter what, Baichuan Feng will not give the pricing power to the other party.
He even thought, not without malicious intent, that Dayong Electric wanted pricing power with the ultimate goal of controlling Shirakawa Electric.
After all, your sales channels are with me, and I have the final say on how much you sell.
After a long time, if you want your company to continue to survive, won’t you be obedient?
It is possible that Shirakawa Electric will eventually produce the product and then put the Darei Electric brand on it.
Therefore, Baichuan Feng would certainly not make such a decision that would leave himself with huge hidden dangers.
Besides, for a product like Flashman, there is no other similar competitor in the market except Sony's Walkman.
Scarcity makes things valuable. As a manufacturer, Shirakawa Electric has certain bargaining power.
Seeing that Hasegawa was still keeping his head down and keeping silent, Shirakawa Feng patted him on the shoulder.
"Hasegawa-san, Daiei Electric is just one of our targets. Don't be discouraged now. Let's wait until we get through other mass-market home appliance stores."
"Huh!" Hasegawa perked up after hearing what Shirakawa Kaede said.
Dayong Electric Appliances is indeed developing very rapidly and has hundreds of chain stores across the country.
Especially in recent years, it has developed rapidly through various price wars and mergers with other retail stores.
Just like Gome in China, it is currently in a period of wild growth.
But if the requirements are too demanding, it’s better not to go.
After all, it is not the only company dominating the home appliance retail industry. In Japan, which has a capital background, there are many electrical appliance department stores.
Shirakawa Kaede gave Hasegawa a very clear bottom line in the negotiations: the pricing power must never be handed over.
However, there may be fluctuations in the rebate, ranging from 10% to 15%, and can be adjusted according to the size of the other party.
Hasegawa regained his spirit and set out again, with Yodobashi, Yamada Denki and others as his targets.
Although he lost the first battle, Shirakawa Feng is actually very confident in his own products.
He believed that there would always be someone with a discerning eye who would recognize Flashman's potential.
But then again, it is rare for manufacturers to go around to retailers and directly connect with sales, as Shirakawa Electric does.
There are currently three mainstream ways to sell home appliances in Japan: home appliance wholesale channels, manufacturer direct sales channels, and corporate sales channels.
Home appliance wholesale channels account for the mainstream of electrical appliance product sales, but manufacturers generally contact home appliance retailers through sales companies.
After all, it is impossible for manufacturers to visit retailers one by one across the country, and sales companies play the role of distributors. They are responsible for selling products to retailers of all sizes across the country.
However, Shirakawa Electric was just starting out and had not yet found a distributor willing to accept them.
Currently, we can only contact home appliance retailers in person. Of course, powerful retailers with branches all over Japan are no different from dealers.
Another sales channel is direct sales from the manufacturer, which goes without saying.
Apart from giants like Panasonic and Hitachi, few have the ability to establish a direct sales network throughout Japan.
The amount of manpower and material resources consumed is absolutely astronomical.
For Shirakawa Electric, there is no need for such a channel at present. After all, the products are too simple and cannot be supported.
As for the last type of corporate sales, it is the manufacturer selling directly to the enterprise, which is similar to the future B2B business.
For example, when a company purchases computers, air conditioners, etc. in bulk, this sales method relies on strong personal connections.
Needless to say, Baichuan Feng is alone at the moment, and Flashman is not a bulk commodity purchased in bulk by the company.
Therefore, the only channel that is most suitable for Shirakawa Electric at present is the home appliance retailer channel.
However, unexpectedly, when Hasegawa was looking for sales channels all over the world, someone took the initiative to come to Shirakawa Electric.