165: Chapter 165: Parting on Unhappily, Offline Channels Accelerate

"Negotiations are done. Looks like it's launching soon. Apple fans are ecstatic. [Celebrate]"

"Garbage that can't even use signal or WiFi? Surely no one is actually looking forward to this, right?"

"Real Apple fans use the 3Gs. What kind of trash are you using?"

"I have to say, Apple has finally lowered its arrogant head."

"Sigh, it's a pity for Transsion. They just went public, and China Unicom is already getting back together with Apple. Huawei has hogged all the traffic."

"What a pity..."

"Pity what? The person in charge at China Unicom is just repeatedly testing the edge of danger. Last year's 3Gs almost finished him off, and he still hasn't learned his lesson this year."

"Just wait. They'll crash again this year, and they'll have to beg Transsion for help again. I hope they haven't offended them too badly."

"Once the WiFi issue is fixed, what other problems does Apple have? You haters who haven't even used it, stop talking nonsense."

"The biggest issue, the signal, you're not going to mention that?"

"Apple paired with China Unicom, whoever uses it ends up confused..."

"You..."

May 1st, a conference room at China Unicom headquarters.

People from Huawei's terminal division sat on one side, and representatives from Transsion sat on the other.

Manager Li Teng from China Unicom's marketing department looked at the two companies, feeling a bit conflicted. After all, both were partners and lifesavers.

If it hadn't been for the honor play last year, his boss, Wang Jianzhou, might have already stepped down.

And they wouldn't have escaped the fate of being purged.

But as for how grateful they were, it was more a case of mutual exploitation. China Unicom had also put up real money for subsidies.

Neither side could say the other had done them wrong.

But when the words reached his lips, Manager Li Teng still felt conflicted. These two were the dual titans of China, and they were thick as thieves... If they took action...

"Manager Li, Manager Wang, you are both my old friends. But the situation is special this time."

He hesitated for a moment: "The profit margin offered by Apple is 19%, nearly one-fifth. We must make the right choice."

"So the subsidies for Huawei and Transsion might need to be reduced a bit."

"By how much?"

"30%. However, please don't misunderstand; it's not that the 1000 or 1200 yuan subsidies will be cut. It's that the corresponding plan prices will increase by 30%, making the cost-performance ratio less attractive."

"Users might feel a bit hesitant."

After the other party finished speaking, Li Qing also tried to negotiate, asking them to increase the benefits for Apple phones while keeping the pricing for Transsion and Huawei the same.

This would also create a certain differentiation.

Manager Li Teng kept saying that China Unicom wouldn't mistreat old partners, but he had no intention of adopting the plan Li Qing proposed.

He repeated that although subsidies were reduced, they would increase promotional efforts and prioritize display space in their business halls for Transsion and Huawei.

After all, they were all domestic Chinese companies; how could they actively promote the American Apple phone? That would be asking for people back home to point fingers at their spines.

Manager Li Teng said this with a smiling face, but as far as Li Qing knew, not long after the contract was signed, their display booths had been adjusted.

The display booths for Transsion and Huawei in most business halls had been moved to the sides, while the prime locations were replaced with Apple phones.

Wang Ning from Huawei also released some videos, which completely confirmed Manager Li Teng's lies.

He smiled awkwardly, and after holding back for a long time, finally said that this was the board's plan and he had no authority to change it.

After all, Apple had exclusivity; why engage in a price war like the other manufacturers?

A monopoly is the most profitable.

Seeing that the other party was persistent, Li Qing didn't indulge him. She slapped the table directly and looked at Manager Li Teng, saying:

"Manager Teng, Huawei's support last year was significant, wasn't it? They never held up your inventory."

"If it weren't for them, the gap created by those millions of Apple phones would have been a huge bomb. You should be very clear about the consequences that would have caused."

"Now that the crisis has passed, you start killing the donkey after it's done milling? Isn't that a bit uncalled for?"

Manager Li Teng's expression tightened slightly; he hadn't expected the other party to speak to him like that.

After all, his apology didn't mean he was wrong.

The two sides were essentially using each other. What did she mean by this? Wasn't she afraid that China Unicom would stop selling their products?

"Manager Li, what do you mean by this?"

"I didn't cut the subsidies; the plan fees just went up a little bit. Is it necessary to use such harsh language?"

"Honor did help us a lot, but we also spent real money. We gained users, and you gained revenue."

"Neither of us owes the other anything."

"The way you say that, it's as if I owe you something."

With the exclusive sales contract for Apple, Manager Li Teng's tone became much more aggressive. After all, Apple couldn't possibly crash continuously, right?

This meeting ended on a bad note...

The news reached Guangzhou, where Shen Fei was reviewing documents.

After listening to the report, he casually tossed the document aside.

"Normal. China Unicom is doing business too; they support whoever's products sell well."

"Manager Shen..."

Li Qing wanted to persuade him, but Huang Tianya, who was beside her, grabbed her hand directly.

"Don't worry, our boss isn't that petty. He probably already has it all calculated."

"Huang Tianya," Shen Fei glared at him fiercely, "Don't go around ruining my reputation. Am I that... fond of calculating against people?"

"Am I that fond of calculating against people?"

Huang Tianya covered his mouth and chuckled. He really wasn't that calculating; he only spent 24 hours a day thinking about how to get some good stuff from the United States.

Li Qing also nodded. Manager Huang was right about that.

[Shen Fei: Slander...]

"Manager Shen, should we reduce the production plan for the China Unicom version..."

"Forget it. There's no rush with the negotiations with China Unicom. Since they want to bet on the iphone 4, let them try."

"First, suspend the release of the China Unicom version of the mate series to test the market's reaction, and also to teach China Unicom a lesson."

He casually tossed the report aside: "Our next focus is to increase the construction of offline channels."

It was impossible for Shen Fei not to be angry about China Unicom's backstabbing, but he had never considered them as his foundation.

After all, he was very clear that the future Four Heavenly Kings became the Four Heavenly Kings by relying on carrier channels.

But with a single order, the Four Heavenly Kings went their separate ways...

Carriers can only be used for a while; they can't be used forever. They are unreliable; commissions are the root of sales.

In response to this phenomenon, Transsion had long since launched the "Ten Thousand Stores Plan."

It had been in execution since the beginning of the year. In over four months, adding the stores from last year, it had now been pushed to 800, and that didn't even include Huawei's terminal stores.

Losing China Unicom's channel didn't have that much of an impact, but he certainly remembered this slight.

"Speed up the construction of stores. Also, have Liu Fang go negotiate again. Increasing user consumption is fine, but the phones must be placed on the same counter as the Apple phones."

"China Unicom's user data is still very valuable."

"If they really want to go all the way, then we'll consider turning these users into customers for the other two companies."

"Manager Shen, we understand."

With Liu Fang taking action, Wang Jianzhou finally compromised and agreed to this supplementary agreement.

May 15th

Lei Jun stood in the warehouse watching the first batch of Mi 1 Phones ready for dispatch. His face was full of excitement. It had been three months, and finally, they could ship on a large scale.

But the opponents he had to face were: the already launched transsion s2, the upcoming Huawei Mate 2, the iphone 4s, and the Honor X series.

Lin Bin walked over: "Old Lei, the first batch of 50,000 units is officially released today."

"The second batch of 200,000 units will be shipped one after another this week."

"The next sale date is set for May 17th, at which time Qualcomm will also send over the second batch of chips."

Lei Jun nodded: "Are things stable with the suppliers?"

"Stable, right?" Lin Bin said hesitantly.

"What do you mean?"