October 9th.
Lin Dong from IDG's Xia branch suddenly came to Zerun Technology.
"I have something to discuss with your CEO Li…"
Lin Dong said to the receptionist.
It was not his first time at Zerun Technology, and the receptionist knew him.
"Mr. Lin, our CEO Li is no longer working at Zerun Technology. He's working at Zerun Holding Group on the 37th floor."”
"If you're looking for President Li, you can go directly to Zerun Holding Group on the 37th floor.”
Lin Dong was surprised." Zerun Holding Group?”
"Your CEO Li has already set up a group company?”
"Yeah, it happened a while ago." The receptionist smiled.”
Lin Dong nodded slightly." Alright, then I'll go to the 37th floor to look for your CEO Li…"
Soon, Lin Dong arrived on the 37th floor.
Lin Dong was surprised when he saw that the 37th floor had two signboards that said " Zerun Investment " and " Zerun Holding Group ".
"This CEO Li is not bad. Not only did he set up a group company, but he also set up an investment company!”
Looking at the name on the sign, Lin Dong knew that both companies belonged to Li Ze.
He hadn't paid much attention to Li Ze's situation recently, so he didn't know that Li Ze had already established a group company and registered an investment company.
After a while, Lin Dong walked into Zerun Holding Group on the left.
After revealing his identity to the receptionist, Lin Dong was quickly brought to Li Ze's office...
"Representative Lin, what brings you here?”
Li Ze laughed.
Lin Dong smiled." CEO Li, I haven't seen you for a while. I didn't expect you to have already established a company group. Also, I just saw Zerun Investment Company next door. Are you starting to get involved in the investment business?"”
Li Ze smiled and gestured for Lin Dong to sit down.
"The main purpose of setting up a group company is to facilitate the management of several subsidiary companies. As for the investment company, hehe, it wasn't considered to be specialized in the investment field.”
"It's just that I've encountered some projects and companies that I'm optimistic about, so it's convenient for me to invest in them.”
Li Ze asked,""I'm afraid there's something that you're here for, right?”
Lin Dong nodded." There's something.”
"President Li, do you know about Apple? It was said that Apple would launch an MP3 player, the iPhone, at the end of this month!”
"I feel that this might have a certain impact on the two MP3 products of Zerun Technology in the US market, so I specially came over to mention this to you.”
Li Ze was slightly startled, but he immediately nodded and said,"I've heard about this from CEO Lin, who is in charge of our Zerun Technology's business in the United States.”
"President Lin is also a little worried. "However, I feel that these things are unavoidable. As the saying goes, we'll deal with whatever comes our way. Let's make a good response strategy and deal with each move.”
"No matter what, our Zerun Technology's two products have already been sold in the US market for several months in advance.”
"The ones who should be worried are not us, but the other party.”
"Besides, I'm also confident in our Zerun Technology's products. At most, we'll just compete in the normal market.”
In fact, Li Ze had already heard from his son Li Dong that Apple would launch an MP3 player in the second half of the year.
However, as he said, on the one hand, he was confident in Zerun Technology's two MP3 products. On the other hand, Zerun Technology had already bought the copyrights of the two largest music associations in the United States, ASPAC and BMW.
Moreover, the iMusic platform had been online for some time and had its own music copyright moat. He was not worried about competition from other competitors.
Moreover, Zerun Technology's Z2 and D2 players had already been finalized and were ready for mass production.
These two new generation players were upgraded in all aspects compared to the previous generation.
Including size, weight, appearance, even the display interface, data reading speed, internal hardware, and so on. All aspects were much better than the previous generation.
Especially since the price of memory had dropped a lot, the new generation of D2 models had already used 256M and 512M memory respectively.
As for the price, Li Ze did not plan to change it.
In the US, they would still be sold for 359, 189, and 159 dollars respectively.
In addition, Li Ze also planned to reduce the price and clear the inventory of the previous generation before the two new players were officially launched.
At that time, he could impact, or suppress, the Apple iPhone player that had just been released.
Lin Dong was relieved to hear Li Ze's confident words.
Previously, Zerun Technology's two MP3 players had no real competitors in the US market. It could be said that they had completely monopolized the market.
The performance of these two players in the US market also made IDG's Xia branch very satisfied.
After learning that Apple was going to launch an iPhone player, it was inevitable that they would be worried.
Since Li Ze was so confident, he had nothing to worry about. He still trusted Li Ze's judgment.
The two of them chatted for a while more before Lin Dong stood up and said goodbye.
……
Unknowingly, it was already late October.
On the 23rd.
Li Ze was in his office, using his computer to follow the news of Apple's press conference in the United States.
Although he told Lin Dong that he didn't care much about Apple's competition, Li Ze knew from his son's heart that this company was no ordinary company.
This included the iPhone player that the other party was going to launch this time. From his son's heart, he knew that this would be an MP3 player that would be popular all over the world.
Therefore, it was impossible for Li Ze to not take this competitor seriously.
There was a good saying.
He looked down on the enemy in terms of strategy, but he valued the enemy in terms of tactics!
That was probably what he meant.
As Apple's press conference was held, a lot of information was gradually revealed online.
What Li Ze was most concerned about was undoubtedly the pricing of the other party and the information about the iPhone itself.
"$399…Moreover, looking at the exterior design, including the configuration, it doesn't have any obvious advantage over the Z1. What right do you have to compete with Zerun Technology?”
"Is it because it's a local company in the United States? Based on its company size and market value being higher than Zerun Technology?”
"The Americans are willing to spend an extra 40 dollars to buy an iPhone?”
Li Ze chuckled as he browsed through the information that was revealed online.
The other party was obviously taking the high-end route. Their direct competitor was Zerun Technology's Z1 player. As for the D1, it was a low-end model and did not compete directly with the other party's IPOD.
At this moment, Li Ze suddenly received an overseas call from Lin Yue.
"President Li, did you pay attention to Apple's press conference?”
Lin Yue asked.
"Yes, I'm looking at some information that has been revealed online."”
Lin Yue's voice clearly contained a trace of joy as she said,"President Li, have you seen Apple's iPhone data transmission method?”
Hmm?
"What's wrong?" Li Ze asked. Could it be that Apple's iPhone had some powerful data transmission method?”
Lin Yue immediately replied,"That's not it." It seems that CEO Li is in China and the information updates are slower. I saw that Apple's press conference only mentioned the support of transferring songs from Macs to ipods.”
"There was no mention of Windwos at all!”
"I just took a look and realized that the other party really doesn't support transferring songs from the Windwos system to the iPhone player!”
Lin Yue's voice was filled with joy.
When Li Ze heard this, he was shocked and immediately understood what Lin Yue meant.
"Are you saying that Apple's iPhone player doesn't support transferring songs from a Windwos computer at all? They can only transfer songs from their own Macs?”
Li Ze had some understanding of Apple before, so he knew that Macs were Apple's computer equipment.
"Yes, President Li!"
Lin Yue replied.
"Phew…"
Li Ze let out a long breath and couldn't help but laugh.
"It doesn't support the Windwos system to transmit songs. Hehe, then what right does Apple have to compete with the Z1 and the Z2 that will be released soon?”
"How many people are using the macs? How many computers are using windows?”
"This is simply not an order of magnitude!”
Upon hearing Li Ze's smiling words, Lin Yue, who was on the other side of the ocean, echoed,""Yeah, I was a little worried that our Z1 player would be affected by Apple's iPhone player.”
"But now, it seems that they can't use the windows system to transfer songs. They only support their own macs.”
"Could it be that after consumers buy their IPOD, they will specially buy another one of their computers?”
"If we don't have their computers, we won't be able to use the ipod. Did he even have to specially find a device to transmit the song?”
Li Ze smiled and said," Alright, Mr. Lin. Although Apple's iPhone player is not a concern for the time being, we can't let our guard down."”
"After all, the other party is a large company with a market value of billions of dollars. Moreover, when the other party reacted, they might even release their support for the Windwos system to transmit songs.”
"Therefore, we should still follow the established plan. On November 1st, we will reduce the price of the Z1 and D1 players that are currently on sale and clear the inventory.”
"I plan to officially launch the new generation of Z2 and D2 players on December 1st!”
"Try to reduce the living space of the ipod as much as possible!”
Li Ze had previously discussed with Lin Yue that they would reduce the price of the Z1 and D1 MP3 players after Apple released the iPhone to clear the inventory.
As early as half a month ago, Zerun Technology had already begun mass production of the new generation of Z2 and D2 players.
They were ready to be put on the market at any time.
"Alright, President Li! After the price reduction, our Z1 player can be bought for only 319 USD, and the two versions of D1 can be bought for only 139 and 169 USD respectively.”
"By then, I'll see how many people will still be willing to buy Apple's iPhone!”
Lin Yue said.
After hanging up the call with Lin Yue, Li Ze heaved a sigh of relief.
Li Ze was surprised that the ipod released by Apple didn't support Windwos.
However, Li Ze didn't really ignore this competitor.
Since his son had clearly mentioned in his heart that Apple's ipod player would be popular all over the world, Li Ze could basically conclude that the other party would still support Windwos in the end.
Otherwise, with the number of devices owned by the Macs and the fact that Windwos was the dominant operating system worldwide, it was impossible for the other party's player to be popular all over the world.
"Lin Yue is right. Apple's ipod doesn't support Windwos. They're digging their own graves!”
"Looks like we won't have to worry about the competition until they support Windwos. Zerun Technology's two generations of mp3 players continued to expand their market.”
"Hmm…perhaps, we can also move on to the European market.”
"With the success of the US market, I believe it won't be too difficult to enter the European market..."
"However, we still have to communicate with IDG's head office in the United States to see if their network and connections can cover the European market.”
"Otherwise, it won't be easy for Zerun Technology to enter the European market…"
Thinking of this, Li Ze immediately called Mu Qinglan over.
Then, he called Jason, the global senior vice president of IDG's US head office.
He planned to mention this matter to the other party.
Mu Qinglan had studied at Harvard in the United States, so it was not a problem for her to act as a temporary translator.
When Li Ze told Mu Qinglan about his plan to let Zerun Technology enter the European market, Jason was shocked.
Jason said," Li, if Zerun Technology wants to enter the European market, I suggest that we should introduce one or two global venture capital institutions.”
"For example, Sequoia, goldman sachs…etc.”
"In addition, I think we can wait for the time to introduce other capital. Li, I think you called me today because you saw Apple's press conference, right?”
" Apple's ipod doesn't support windows. I believe it will be difficult for them to compete with Zerun Technology's mp3.”
" However, it's better to let other venture capital institutions see that Zerun Technology's two Mp3 models have defeated Apple's ipod in the US market. It's better to discuss the financing with them.”
"You can get a higher valuation!"
"This is also more beneficial to Zerun Technology! What do you think?"
Idg's American head office was also a shareholder of Zerun Technology, so they naturally wanted to maximize their profits.
Therefore, it was normal for him to remind Li Ze of this and give him advice.
After listening to Mu Qinglan's retelling, Li Ze also felt that it made sense.
" How about this?" Li Ze said after some thought." We'll wait until late December to contact other venture capital institutions to discuss the financing."”
"It just so happens that I'm preparing to launch a new generation of MP3 players on December 1st.”
Jason heard this and could not help but be delighted. He said,""That's naturally better!"
" In addition, I think we should introduce one or two more venture capital institutions. After Zerun Technology successfully enters the European market, we can consider promoting Zerun Technology's listing on the Nasda…"
The purpose of venture capital institutions was to make money.
His usual style was to invest in emerging companies with potential. After a few rounds of financing, he would push them to go public and then cash out to earn a return on investment.
Therefore, Li Ze wasn't too surprised that Jason mentioned promoting Zerun Technology's listing on the US's NASA.
However, Li Ze felt that everything was happening too quickly.
"Mr. Jason, isn't it a little too soon to push Zerun Technology to go public so early?"”
"No, no, no," Jason said. Li, if it was an ordinary company, it would indeed be a little fast. Even if the investment was included, Zerun Technology had only gone through three rounds of financing.”
"However, Zerun Technology's development itself is very good, and it has great potential. It can already be operated to promote the listing.”
"I believe that with Zerun Technology's outstanding performance, its market value can reach billions or even tens of billions of US dollars after it goes public!”
Li Ze muttered to himself.
Suddenly, she recalled some information she had heard from her son's heart.
Previously, Li Ze had made his own judgment based on the information revealed by his son.
MP3 players would only be a trend in the next few years, but they would eventually be replaced by the smartphone that his son mentioned in his heart.
" Perhaps, it might not be a bad choice to push Zerun Technology to go public.'
" On the one hand, we can use the stock market to make money to accelerate the development of Zerun Technology and quickly occupy the market. "In addition, if necessary, I can also sell a portion of my shares after the lock-up period to invest in other fields.'
" As long as I can ensure that I still hold more than 50% of Zerun Technology's shares, it will be enough.'
" When the competition for MP3s becomes more intense, or even after the emergence of smart phones, the market will cool down. Zerun Technology's stock price will probably fall.'
'At that time, I'll just buy back a portion of the shares.'
" Anyway, according to my original plan, I don't plan to get involved in the mobile phone industry for the time being. He had to wait for the smartphone that Xiao Dong mentioned to appear and gradually become popular before he directly entered the smartphone field.'
'Before that, I only need to accumulate some related skills…'
What Li Ze didn't know was that the decline of the MP3 player was actually earlier than the smartphone becoming popular and occupying most of the mobile phone market.
At that time, the music playing function had become the standard feature of most mobile phones.
Naturally, MP3 players were quickly sidelined.
After all, buying a cell phone was equivalent to having both the cell phone itself and the function of an MP3 player.
Under such circumstances, how many people would go out of their way to buy another MP3 player?
However, this did not affect Li Ze's plans much.
After pondering for a while, Li Ze replied to Jason. If the situation was good and the conditions allowed, then it was not impossible to promote Zerun Technology to go public.
After receiving Li Ze's reply, Jason was overjoyed.
He immediately said that he could spread the news on behalf of Zerun Technology and reveal to other venture capital institutions that Zerun Technology planned to introduce new financing…
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]