281: Chapter 281 8.5% Stake, New Channel?

"When were they ready?"

Lin Bin shook his head; he had only received the news right after Lei Jun stepped onto the stage.

Although he could have informed him via the headset, he decided to hold off for a moment to ensure the effect...

Lei Jun also knew that this was not the place to discuss issues, so he wanted to walk to the lounge area to catch his breath.

However, his mood had already been affected, and his gait changed noticeably; just as he was stepping down the last stair, he suddenly stumbled...

Fortunately, Lin Bin reached out in time, otherwise Lei Jun might have...

By then, tomorrow's headline would likely become: Lei Jun scared into collapsing by a certain competitor.

At 6 PM that day, the initial sales data was released.

Mr. Adebayo looked at the report, a smile appearing on his face.

Transsion Spake, first-day sales reached 203,000 units.

Redmi India version, sales for the same period were 368,000 units.

Although Redmi had 100,000 more units, nearly 200,000, Mr. Adebayo was not panicked at all.

Because he knew that the Redmi India version had been promoted for over half a month, yet the first-day sales were only 368,000 units.

Originally, this figure should have been at least over 500,000; now, Transsion's 200,000 units were essentially snatched from them, specifically from their originally targeted mid-to-high-end customers.

After all, the Transsion Spake was only about $100 more expensive, but Transsion's chip was more powerful and the battery was larger; unless the budget was extremely tight, the answer to how consumers would choose was very clear.

After all, consumers are not fools; they know how to do the math, especially the poor.

...

Meanwhile, on the other side, Lei Jun was looking at this sales report in his office, his sense of unease growing stronger.

"Lin Bin, why are my sales only leading theirs by this much?"

Lin Bin knew that Lei Jun had an answer in his heart, but since he had asked, he could only reply:

"Mr. Lei, Transsion's specifications are better than ours.

As long as the budget isn't strictly capped, as a first smartphone, users will naturally choose them.

Just like in the domestic market, most people's first mobile phone will always be used for a long time."

"What about our channels? What about Reliance's channels?"

"Reliance's channels are heavily promoting it, but Transsion has also reached agreements with other operators.

And..."

"And what?" Lei Jun's sense of unease grew stronger; it seemed he was truly moving to the opponent's rhythm?

"Transsion's channel strategy is different from ours.

They operate on a 'payment before delivery' basis; as long as distributors take the goods, they must pay in full, otherwise, they can forget about it.

We allow credit."

"Payment before delivery? The distributors are willing?"

In a normal business partnership, proposing such a method could only be done under absolute monopoly.

After all, most people are unwilling to shoulder the cost pressure themselves; Transsion must have their reasons for doing this.

Therefore, he did not think this was a foolish method, which made Lei Jun panic instantly.

"They are willing. According to our investigation, most people were originally unwilling, only a small portion were.

But someone intervened; it is said to be..."

Lin Bin did not say the name, but Lei Jun already had an answer in his heart.

Mr. Mukesh! Anil's brother.

But this also made Lei Jun breathe a sigh of relief; although this was bad news, it couldn't be called the worst news.

After all, this meant that both Transsion and he had become pawns. Since they were pawns, the people behind both sides would not want their own side to fail, so this was the best news.

Of course, if Shen Fei were here, he would definitely expose that little thought of Lei Jun's.

This was indeed a chessboard, and there were only two operators, though it was a bit different from the answer Lei Jun gave.

Just then, Lin Bin's phone rang again; it was a call from Anil.

He answered the phone, and the expression on his face became stiff.

"What happened again?"

"It was Anil's call; he said he could help us contact channels for other telecommunications operators.

Like Bharti Airtel and Vodafone. They are currently still wavering between us and Transsion.

But..."

"But what?"

"Anil is demanding an additional 2.5% in equity, and for those two companies to each receive 3% equity."

Lei Jun closed his eyes; Anil had bared his fangs so quickly.

Seven-three split!

This would take away his 8.5% equity; his ambition was truly undisguised.

...

Regarding the issue of new channel cooperation, Lei Jun dragged it out for a few days.

By August 5th, Anil once again arranged to meet Lei Jun at his private club.

This meeting took place in an old villa in the southern part of Mumbai; the decoration was very retro, with classical Indian paintings hanging on the walls and quite a few antique pieces of furniture placed in the corners.

Anil was wearing a white Indian tunic, sitting on the sofa drinking tea.

"Mr. Lei, please sit."

Anil took the initiative to pour him a cup of tea, with a sales report placed next to the teacup.

As Lei Jun increased promotional efforts over the past few days, Redmi's sales had also risen.

In 4 days, sales reached 1.98 million, averaging 500,000 per day; Reliance Communications added 1.18 million new users, and its market share also saw a certain increase.

But Transsion also had 1.08 million; although the gap between the two was large, the quality of users was different, the plans they subscribed to were different, and the operators they partnered with earned more.

This made the dissatisfaction in Anil's heart grow stronger.

He had invested such a large amount of capital, yet he wasn't earning as much as his troublemaking brother; how could there be such logic in the world.

Lei Jun looked at the report and just smiled nonchalantly, taking the initiative to bring up the topic.

"Mr. Anil, regarding the matter you mentioned a few days ago, I have thought about it carefully over the past few days..."

Before Lei Jun could start a long-winded speech, the other party interrupted him.

"Oh? Just tell me the result..."

"A total of 8.5% equity is too much; I can give at most..."

Lei Jun still hadn't said it out loud when Anil put down his teacup and interrupted him, which once again increased the sense of frustration in Lei Jun's heart.

"Mr. Lei, do you know how many cities Bharti Airtel's channels cover?"

"I know. 1,500; I plan for 1,200."

A confident expression appeared on Anil's face again.

"We cover 2,000 cities, and Bharti and Vodafone add up to 2,700. If I help you make the connection, Xiaomi India's channel coverage can expand from 2,000 cities to 3,500.

It would cover almost the entire territory of India.

This is something Transsion hasn't achieved; they only cover developed areas, and they haven't covered some underdeveloped places."

He picked up the teacup on the table again, letting Lei Jun think it over carefully, and then said again.

"5% equity in exchange for these 1,500 city channels, do you think it's expensive?"