Chapter 229: Nakajima Heitaro's Melancholy
"Mr. Nakajima, this is our TP-S30, this is Shirakawa Electric's FM-01, and this is Panasonic's RQ-CR25."
Hiroshi Ogawa placed the three models of Walkman in front of Heitaro Nakajima one by one.
"What are the differences? Or their respective characteristics?" Nakajima Heitaro frowned and looked at the several cheap phones in front of him. The more he looked at them, the weirder they seemed.
“Uh,” Ogawa Hiroshi didn’t know how to start, “roughly… the timbre is similar.
Functionally... they are similar, but in appearance... oh, there are some differences in appearance."
After thinking for a long time, Hiroshi Ogawa finally found the differences between the three Walkmans.
Nonsense, it’s already so low-end, what’s the difference?
In terms of functionality, we have basically cut everything that can be cut.
Nowadays, only the music playback function is retained, and there is no need to expect good sound quality.
The only difference is that the exterior designs of each brand are somewhat different. Among similar models, Shirakawa Electric's products are still very good-looking.
The other two models, the Walkman from Aiwa and Panasonic, are both black models.
The design style is the same tough industrial style, and as for the overall appearance, it is hard to describe.
Nakajima Heitaro pinched his brows in annoyance, "What about the price? Do we have an advantage?"
"Price..." Ogawa Hiroshi mumbled, "Our price is the highest."
"What?!" Nakajima Heitaro's tone rose slightly.
“Mr. Nakajima, some of the parts for our Walkman are made by other manufacturers.
Shirakawa Electric and Panasonic can produce all the main parts themselves.
So in terms of cost control, we are at a disadvantage anyway.”
Hiroshi Ogawa also had a bitter look on his face, as he was clearly a digital audio engineer.
But now he was assigned to Aiwa to do some analog audio stuff.
That’s right, Hiroshi Ogawa previously worked at Sony as a CD technology audio engineer.
Later, with Nakajima Heitaro's transfer, he was also sent to Aihua in a confused manner.
Why? Because he is an old subordinate of Nakajima Heitaro.
Less than a month after the former left, he also received a transfer order.
I am good at digital technology, not analog technology! Hiroshi Ogawa yelled in his mind at that time.
However, he took the transfer order with great respect, bowed and promised to complete the task.
Now, who understands the pain?
Not to mention Hiroshi Ogawa who was complaining to himself, Nakajima Heitaro was also extremely depressed at this moment.
Aiwa is going to enter the Walkman market again.
Yes, ever since I was hit hard by Shirakawa Electric last time.
Aiwa also consciously withdrew from the portable player market and has been working hard to maintain its market share in other areas since last year.
For example, microphones, recorders, amplifiers and other products. In order to restore Aiwa's image, Nakajima Heitaro has worked hard over the past six months.
Now, with great difficulty, the last plagiarism incident has gradually been forgotten by the public.
Now he received another order from Sony, asking Aiwa to develop the global Walkman market.
Yes, this is the second time. The first time was a year ago.
However, the last mission was delayed until now by Nakajima Heitaro on the grounds that "Aiwa has not yet recovered from its previous losses and is in poor condition."
Don't think that I, Nakajima Heitaro, don't know who is pushing this behind the scenes.
I guess no one could come up with such a mean idea except that guy named Ozone Kozo.
Aihua just suffered a setback in its home country, and less than half a year later, it wants to take another risk?
In the past six months, the local people’s impression of Aiwa has not faded, not to mention the overseas market .
The license for the Walkman is still in the hands of its old rival, Shirakawa Electric.
Let me talk on my own? Do you think that Baichuan Feng is easy to get along with?
Not to mention whether they will agree or not, even if they agree, it will be a huge ask and it will cost a lot of money.
So how could I, Nakajima Heitaro, accept such a task?
So Nakajima Heitaro used the tactic of "delay" and easily postponed the matter to this year.
After all, Aiwa had just lost 500 million yen to Shirakawa Electric last year, and was unable to develop new portable player technology, let alone expand into overseas markets.
That's a good reason.
If Sony insists on me working for you, I’ll just pay you!
Don’t mention technical support to me. Aiwa not only lacks people, but also raw materials, processing fees, and even more so the licensing fees from Shirakawa Electric.
Sure enough, when Sony heard Nakajima Heitaro asking for money, it immediately stopped sending people to urge the progress of the project.
Are you kidding? Sony only owns a little over 50% of Aiwa’s shares. It’s not a wholly owned subsidiary.
If I give you money, I will lose half of it first, which is absolutely impossible.
So, Nakajima Heitaro kept putting off the matter until today.
But after today, perhaps we can no longer delay it.
Why? The Panasonic Walkman in front of you is the best answer.
In the domestic market, Sony has officially opened up licensing to friendly companies.
Everyone has joined, so there is no reason why you, Sony's godson, shouldn't join Aihua.
Moreover, in the overseas market, it is said that under the joint pressure of everyone, Shirakawa Electric has also shown signs of loosening up.
This means that Aiwa's walkman business has to be restarted, both domestically and overseas.
The cheap version of TP-S30 in front of you is prepared for the local market.
As for the overseas market... Heitaro Nakajima started to have a headache again.
Whenever he thought about doing business with that so-called junior fellow apprentice, Nakajima Heitaro felt a headache.
But we have to talk about it , because this time the mission order from Sony was issued personally by Norio Ohga.
This is the business strategy set by Sony's board of directors for Aiwa. Nakajima Heitaro has no right to refuse or delay it.
Thinking of this, he raised his head and looked at Hiroshi Ogawa who also had a sad face in front of him.
“Go down first. Make a plan for the follow-up development of the Walkman.
We will discuss this at a meeting some other day, and let the marketing department handle the pricing issue."
"Hai" Hiroshi Ogawa left the office with a listless look on his face.
Nakajima Heitaro looked at his back and shook his head.
To be honest, he is not very optimistic about the Walkman business. Relatively speaking, he prefers CDs.
As one of its leading developers, Heitaro Nakajima knew very well that CDs would definitely beat Walkmans in terms of sound quality.
But, I have no choice.
Although he looked helpless, he still picked up the phone and dialed a number he hadn't seen in a long time.
"Moshimoshi?" A familiar voice came from the other side.
"Junior brother, I'm Nakajima."
"It's Senior Brother Nakajima." Shirakawa Kaede, who had just returned to Ota District from SIC, immediately smiled.
"Brother, I miss you so much after not seeing you for ten days. How about we go have some tea together again?"
"Uh" Nakajima Heitaro on the other end of the phone moved his throat twice, but finally held it in.
"Junior brother, forget about tasting tea, how about having a drink together? Senior brother will treat you!"
"It's an honor!" Bai Chuanfeng agreed without hesitation, "As for the location, I'll let you arrange it."
"It's a deal!" Nakajima Heitaro hung up the phone and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, this junior fellow student did not reject me . We can talk about this later.
But you know what, the tea color that my junior brother arranged last time was novel and attractive.
He is worthy of being called the tea tasting master in Roppongi. Everyone who has talked business with him has nothing but praise for him.
…
Baichuan Feng hung up the phone and began to wonder why this senior brother wanted to drink with him.
Last time, under the pretext of making an apology, Shirakawa Kaede took Nakajima Heitaro on a direct tour of Roppongi.
It seems that this senior brother was quite satisfied last time. Could it be that he wants it again this time?
But it doesn’t seem like it. I just rejected it on the phone.
Or maybe... this senior brother is too reserved and is too embarrassed to speak up?
Never mind, let’s wait and see what he is up to when we meet.
Baichuan Feng hung up the phone and looked up at his assistant Xiaosong opposite him.
"Assistant Komatsu, don't rush to make an appointment with Fujitsu. I have other plans tomorrow."
"Hayi~"
Assistant Komatsu's cute voice came crisply.
…
On the evening of the second day, Shirakawa Kaede appeared on time in front of a private tavern in Roppongi.
This izakaya called "Matsumaru" is not open to the public. VIP users can make reservations in advance according to the store's schedule.
As for VIP users, they cannot become VIP users simply by applying. One must be introduced by existing members to become a VIP here.
To put it bluntly, this is a private customized izakaya, and the guests who come here are either rich or noble.
Presidents, entertainers, and even politicians are all guests of honor here.
What attracts so many distinguished people to come here is not only its three-star Michelin rating.
In addition, excellent personal privacy protection is also a major attraction.
And today's guests of "Matsumaru" are undoubtedly Shirakawa Kaede and his senior brother.
Matsumaru operates on a one-customer-a-day policy, meaning it only receives one table of guests a day.
All ingredients for the day are prepared for this table of guests, even if it doesn't know what the guests will eat today.
Therefore, no matter what food material it is, if it is not used on the same day, it will be thrown away after it expires.
Such a high production cost is to ensure that the food retains its freshest taste.
After all, the three Michelin stars are not for nothing, and the guests who come here don’t care how much the meal costs.
Everything is for the most perfect service and experience.
When Shirakawa Kaede entered the pub, the chef and owner came over to greet him.
Then they asked them if they had any food taboos. The service was extremely meticulous.
Shirakawa Kaede directly ordered the "any set meal" and then sat down at the only seat in the izakaya.
The so-called free set meal means what the chef cooks is what they eat.
"Junior brother, I'm really sorry to bother you to come here today." Nakajima Heitaro warmly welcomed Shirakawa Kaede to sit down.
"Brother, you are too polite. You and I are not strangers. There is absolutely no need to be like this."
Baichuan Feng looked so casual, as if the two of them had a very close relationship.
"Uh" Nakajima Heitaro felt that this junior fellow was more enthusiastic than himself, but that was also a good thing, as things would be easier to discuss later.
"Junior brother, you are right. It is you, senior brother, who is being too formal." Nakajima Heitaro picked up the sake on the table and poured a glass for Shirakawa himself.
"To be honest, I am ashamed of myself for being so broad-minded as my junior brother."
Seeing him holding the wine glass and gesturing towards him, Baichuan Feng wondered what was wrong with this senior brother.
But he remained calm on the surface, "Brother, how can you say that? I am not worthy of your broad mind."
“Before, because of Aihua’s matter, Junior Brother not only did not care about it, but he was the first to apologize to me.
This alone is enough to make me feel ashamed." After saying this, Nakajima Heitaro tilted his head back and turned the cup in his hand upside down.
If you give me another 500 million yen, I can apologize again.
Baichuan Feng, who was short of money, secretly complained in his heart.
Besides, he didn't see the other party looking ashamed. However, despite the complaints, Baichuan Feng was still very considerate and drank the wine in his hand.
"Brother, you today..." As the food and wine were served, Baichuan Feng turned the topic to today's drinking party.
