kvmb Chapter 166 Mate 2 Launch, Counterattack
Chapter 166 Mate 2 Launch, Counterattack
"That's right. Qualcomm's yield rate is still ramping up. It can officially supply products, but large-scale market launch is still a bit difficult."
As long as we continue to use MediaTek's chips, we will continue to receive priority supply.
Lei Jun slapped his forehead in exasperation. The Rice 1 Youth Edition was only brought in as a temporary measure. He had initially thought it was just a stopgap measure, but now it seemed like it might be a long-term collaboration.
"Old Lin, it looks like we'll have to trouble General Manager Zhang quite a bit."
"Yes! If it weren't for the chips he provided, our sales wouldn't have exceeded 50 units. We'll probably be the first to break the million mark."
…………
That evening, Lei Jun posted another Weibo message:
"The second batch of rice-themed mobile phones has been officially shipped. This batch totals 5 units, and another 20 units are being prepared in batches."
The Mi Youth Edition has surpassed 50 units in cumulative sales. The supply of chips for the Youth Edition is ample, and there will be no inventory crisis. Interested Mi fans can try it out.
Thank you for your support, Mi Fans. The first batch of Mi Fans will definitely not lose out or be cheated.
There may be even greater benefits in the future.
Mi fans in the comments section were incredibly excited:
"The second batch has finally arrived! I've been missing it so much!"
"Me too, I almost couldn't resist buying the Honor Play."
"The youth version is not as cost-effective as the Honor version."
"Although rice is cheaper, Honor phones have fast charging... which still significantly impacts the user experience?"
"You can't go wrong buying this? Does that mean Lei Jun (Xiaomi's CEO) is going to refund the money for the first batch of Xiaomi phones...?"
"How can you be so greedy? Returning the money? No way!"
Besides those discussing it, some Mi Fans also asked: "Mr. Lei, when will the Mi 2 be released?"
Lei Jun replied: "Early next year."
…………
Guangzhou, Transsion headquarters.
Shen Fei laughed when he saw this Weibo post. It wasn't the content of the post, but the joke that the Xiaomi fans were making about refunds, which he might actually make happen.
According to his recollection, when the DaMi car was later released, Lei Jun actually returned the first-generation DaMi mobile phone.
A voucher worth 1999 yuan can be used to purchase any product.
A batch of purchases generated a marketing effect of over 100 million yuan.
But with MediaTek's involvement this time with the first generation of Xiaomi phones, will Lei Jun still offer a refund, or even be willing to do so?
Looking back, he could recall some classic tactics, and he was thinking about what other solutions he could "learn from".
Feel free to leave a comment and offer some suggestions.
Huang Tianya, standing nearby, asked, "President Shen, what are you thinking about?"
Shen Fei then realized what was happening and handed over the phone: "Lei Jun has finally shipped the phone. I'm wondering if he'll refund the money to the Mi Fans."
"A refund? How is that possible?" Huang Tianya said instinctively. "But for a marketing genius like Lei Jun, it's actually possible. He can manipulate users' psychology with minimal cost..."
"Mr. Shen, are you trying to follow up ahead of schedule...?"
"What are you thinking? Our sales aren't that low. If we really refund, it will cause us serious financial losses."
However, we can also issue some vouchers to reward the first batch of customers.
Huang Tianya nodded in agreement, then said with a sigh, "I really admire Lei Jun more and more."
Why?
Huang Tianya thought for a moment and said, "Because he can be flexible. If the chip supply is insufficient, he will switch to MediaTek; if the screen supply is disrupted, he will go to each supplier to ask for help. If it were anyone else, it would have collapsed long ago."
He hesitated for a moment: "But he pulled through."
Shen Fei nodded: "Lei Jun is essentially a marketing genius. He knows what users need and can achieve the best results with the lowest cost."
Of course, perseverance was also a key factor in his success.
"Then let's..."
Shen Fei waved his hand: "Let's continue to be ourselves. Rice's path is different from ours."
If I ever run into them, I won't be lenient.
After all, emotions are the most taboo thing in business.
…………
Time flew by and it was May 7th when the Mate 2 series launch event at the Guangzhou Concert Hall officially began.
Yu Dazui officially launched the Mate 2 series, which mainly upgrades the processor compared to the Mate.
It switched from MediaTek to the TaiShan 900 (standard version), the battery was upgraded from 3700mAh to 4000mAh, and the screen is the same 720p screen as the Mate S, not a Retina display.
The upgrades weren't particularly impressive, but the price was a pleasant surprise.
After all, it's 2999, the same price as the Mate S.
[Mate S: So, even with upgraded specs, it still can't change its old fate?]
However, what puzzled some Huawei fans was that the Mate 2, which originally had three versions, now only has China Telecom and China Mobile versions. Although Yu Chengdong explained that the China Unicom version was temporarily canceled due to tight chip production capacity, it will be launched later.
But when will it go public? That's the question.
After the press conference, at the Shanghai Chrysanthemum Factory's offline direct-sale store, a salesperson was introducing a sample product to a customer.
"Sir, look."
This is our latest Mate 2 series, equipped with a domestically produced smartphone chip.
"Made in China?"
The word "domestic" made this consumer subconsciously put down the phone.
He hadn't heard of anything else, but he had heard a little about domestic semiconductors.
Backward... extremely backward.
There's a saying that goes, "Only a fool would buy domestically produced semiconductors."
"Sir, please don't worry, things are different now. Domestic semiconductors are the real leaders; this chip is even stronger than Qualcomm, the world's best."
"I see you know a little about it; you've probably heard of Qualcomm, right?"
The customer nodded, and the salesperson continued, "This phone is equipped with a domestically produced chip, which is 1.7 times more powerful than Qualcomm's most advanced chip. Its performance is far ahead of the competition."
"Swipe your card."
After saying that, he decisively handed over a card; he was questioning it, not because it was an old relic.
He's willing to pay for that statement; if the salesperson lies to him, he'll make sure they understand that Old Deng is not someone to mess with.
The sales assistant, beaming with delight, led him to the adjacent lounge to prepare for their transaction...
When he was about to make payment, he told the customer, "This is a China Unicom mobile number. Remember to give me a China Unicom version, don't give me the wrong one."
The sales assistant sighed helplessly: "Sir, I'm very sorry, we don't have the China Unicom version of the Mate 2 in stock this time."
"Your store says it's a flagship store, so how come there's no China Unicom version?"
"It's not that we don't want to get in, it's that headquarters doesn't produce the Unicom version."
"Current production capacity is a bit tight..."
"That……"
The customer stared at the phone, a little hesitant. Based on his previous experience, the phone was indeed a good product.
But... it's an old China Unicom number, and it even has three 6s in it, making it a high-value number, so he's a little hesitant to change it.
The sales assistant noticed his concern and quickly offered a backup plan: "Sir, how about this?"
We'll give you a free telecom SIM card, but this number might not be as good as your previous one.
However, the authorities are discussing piloting number portability, which will be implemented as early as the second half of the year, so there's not much time left.
If you agree, we will subsidize your phone bill at 58 yuan per month.
Change that card to the minimum spending requirement, then apply for number portability, and we'll get you a suitable data plan.
This subsidy was introduced after number portability was implemented. As soon as you are eligible, we will contact you immediately and then help you cancel the card.
What do you think?