Chapter 169 Brand Strategy
Accompanied by Zhao Tiezhu, Lu Yiming came to Qian Hongli's computer store.
"Old Qian, I'm here, why don't you pour the tea?"
Lu Yiming is now Qian Hongli's biggest customer, and Lu Yiming and Qian Hongli have been friends for two lifetimes, so he seems very familiar with him.
Qian Hongli, who was sitting on a cloth stool, looked up at Lu Yiming and said weakly, "The thermos and cups are on the table, pour them yourself."
Lu Yiming was not polite. He poured a glass of water for himself and Zhao Tiezhu, and then asked, "What's wrong with you? Did your wife run away with someone? You look listless?"
"Your wife ran off with someone!"
Qian Hongli rolled his eyes at Lu Yiming, then sighed and said, "It's all because of that damn financial crisis. My business has plummeted and I haven't had any orders for several days. If this continues, I won't be able to afford a meal."
Nowadays, people in China who can afford to buy a computer usually have some spare money at home.
Generally, people who have some spare money will think about investing in stocks.
In fact, before the millennium, many home computers were bought for stock trading.
Then, let’s talk about the recent stock market situation in China…
We can't say it's a mess, we can only say it's widespread misery.
The personal computer business was not doing well, and Qian Hongli was not capable of selling his computers to the company. After all, his last name was Qian, not Liu, so he could only sit here and sigh.
After hearing this, Lu Yiming immediately laughed and said, "I thought you had done something else, but it turns out to be just this trivial matter. How about it? Do you want me to show you a way out?"
When Qian Hongli heard this, he immediately perked up and sat up straight, looking at Lu Yiming: "Tell me about it."
Lu Yiming twitched his eyebrows : "Have you forgotten what I do?"
"Open an Internet cafe."
Lu Yiming nodded: "Yes. The current price of computers is still high, and not many ordinary families can afford them, so it is not easy for you to start a personal computer business."
Qian Hongli nodded slightly, indicating his agreement with this statement.
These days computers are high-tech products that are much more expensive than the three traditional gadgets. Many people use their computers for many years after buying them, so naturally sales cannot be increased.
"Then what?"
Lu Yiming added: "I predict that in the next four or five years, the number of Internet cafes will explode, so if you want to make money, you have to catch this trend. If you stand on the vent of the wind, even pigs can fly."
Qian Hongli looked down at his big belly, which was no less than Zhu Bajie's, and said with a depressed expression: "I feel like you are reflecting my fatness."
After complaining, Qian Hongli asked seriously: "How is your Internet cafe business?"
Lu Yiming gave him a joking look: "Why? Do you want to steal my business?"
Qian Hongli scratched the back of his head and said with a wry smile, "It's not shameful to make money."
Lu Yiming did not hide it and said bluntly: "It is profitable, but it is basically just a passing fad. Are you sure you want to join this industry?"
Qian Hongli frowned slightly: "Why? From what you said, this thing won't last long?"
Lu Yiming smiled and said, "Even countries in this world have cycles of rise and fall, let alone an industry? Internet cafes can make money now because our country is still very poor and most people can't afford computers. When the economy develops in the future, everyone will have spare money. Who wants to surf the Internet will have to go outside?"
Qian Hongli pondered for a moment and found that it was just as Lu Yiming said: "It seems to be the case. According to what you said, I can only make a few years of quick money from this business. This is not a bright future. I'm so young, I still want to give it a try."
Lu Yiming smiled and said, "You have ambition, so do you have any ideas now?"
Qian Hongli said seriously, "To be honest, I have been thinking about this issue very seriously recently."
Lu Yiming was a little surprised and raised his eyebrows: "Oh? Tell me about it."
Qian Hongli immediately expressed his thoughts: "I have been thinking about this for the past few days. The number of computers sold from my store is at least 8,000, if not 10,000. Although I assembled these computers with great effort, they do not leave any mark of mine after I sell them. To be honest, what is the difference between me and the street vendor selling fried dough sticks?"
"so?"
"Your words just now reminded me that I should leave something of my own after coming to this world. So I want to establish my own computer brand. Didn't you say that Internet cafes can still be prosperous for a few more years? I will use this opportunity to put my brand mark on all the computers that leave my shop. What do you think?"
These days, counterfeiting is rampant in China, and most wealthy bosses only think about making money. People who understand the value of brands are rare.
In fact, Qian Hongli only had a vague understanding of this thing. He had been out there for a long time and had a lot of experience. Plus, he was a bit ambitious, so he finally came up with this preliminary entrepreneurial idea.
However, just because Qian Hongli has no foresight and insight doesn’t mean Lu Yiming doesn’t have any.
"In fact, one of the reasons I came to see you is this."
Lu Yiming expressed his thoughts.
"I need to open an Internet cafe to quickly reap the dividends of the times in the past few years. And you, needless to say, you should have noticed that your business has too much uncertainty. Simply put, your risk resistance is extremely low. If the market fluctuates slightly, such as the financial crisis you mentioned, people can't afford to buy computers, and your business will fail."
Qian Hongli found that Lu Yiming's ideas were consistent with his, and seemed to be even more advanced. He slapped his thigh excitedly and said, "That's right."
Lu Yiming then continued, "So, you have to change your business thinking. Create your own computer brand, and then integrate the supply chain - that is, the purchase channels, use the huge purchase volume to lower the cost, and launch high-quality and low-priced brand computers to occupy the market. After achieving a certain level of development, conduct scientific research, reserve technology, take the R&D route, and strive to have the ability to independently develop and produce hardware."
"Young man, your goal is too ambitious."
Qian Hongli had been thinking about it for so long, but he had only thought about establishing his own brand. But as soon as Lu Yiming opened his mouth, he decided to start independent research and development. Could it be that he wanted to produce his own computer chips as well?
Do you want to be the richest man in the world?
Lu Yiming smiled but said nothing.
He has plenty of money now, so if he wants to do it himself, he won't have to worry about funding. However, being able to use a computer and being able to build a computer are two completely different concepts.
Being able to use computers is a skill, but being able to make computers falls into the realm of manufacturing.
What is the most critical thing in manufacturing?
It's the supply chain.
If you can’t manage the supply chain, no matter who comes, you will fail.
The blue giant IBM, a Fortune 500 company, suffered a setback in its supply chain and had to sell its personal computer brand.
Qian Hongli has been in the computer assembly business for more than ten years . Apart from other things, he still has a great advantage over Lu Yiming in terms of purchasing channels and purchasing costs.
Lu Yiming smiled and said, "It's a good thing to have lofty goals. It's better to aim at the sun and finally hit a wild goose than to aim at a wild goose and finally hit a stone."
Qian Hongli applauded and said, "Well said! You made my blood boil. In your opinion, if I want to create my own brand, what should I do first?"
