Chapter 96: Launch Event of a New Product
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Oh, ma.s.s production of the brushless motors has been achieved? Good, you all did well.” Upon receiving the call that delivered the good news, Chen Jin felt very happy and extremely gratified. Within two months, Zhang Dawei completed the debugging and tuning process of the equipment. He achieved the means to ma.s.s produce high-end brushless motors ahead of schedule. This was enough to prove his capability. With the production line working at full speed, about 50,000 units of high-end brushless motors were produced daily. Another production line was added, bringing the total daily output up to 100,000 units.
Chen Jin immediately sent Ling Jundong to Youxi City. With a preferential price of $180 per unit, he made an order of 10 million units. This was enough to keep Youying Motors busy for half a year. The price per unit would be fixed at $280 for compet.i.tors in the cleaning robot industry as well as non-compet.i.tors from other industries. Even if he had a very good relations.h.i.+p with a company, the per unit price would not go lower than $260… A high-end component should be sold at an appropriate price. He would not sell it at a bloodsucking price of $300 and above, but he also would not sell it for peanuts. A price fixed at $260 to $280 would be sufficient to compete against the imports.
“Things are ok now. I don’t have to transport the brushless motors from Haierfa to Earth anymore. Much of the burden has been lessened!” This was possible only with the support from Youying Motors! But what about Bi Long Technologies? What was the progress on the work of ma.s.s producing the mechanical mobile parts?
On the other end, w.a.n.g Quan Long replied with bloodshot eyes, “We’ll still be kept busy for two more months. The workers and technicians at this subsidiary company are working overtime. Two s.h.i.+fts are working alternately from morning to night, but we’re still not fast enough! Besides, I’m also busy with work at the OEM factory. I really want to split myself into two to get more work done. I’m working 16 hours everyday!”
“Alright, President w.a.n.g. Take it easy, and don’t neglect your rest. Don’t work yourself to death. You are a boss, you don’t have to attend to everything personally.”
With an extremely tired voice, w.a.n.g Quan Long said, “I know, I know. The remodeling of the a.s.sembly line at the OEM factory will be completed in two days. After the Wa-wah 1.1 can be a.s.sembled and installed en ma.s.se, I’ll sleep for three days straight!”
Chen Jin nodded and ended the call. Indeed, Chen Jin had wanted to call the second generation upgraded Wa-wah robot “Wa-wah Original 1.0” But, this name would invite a whole host of name-calling. It just did not sound good. It might even cause the consumers to feel ambiguous about the company’s products. “Original 1.0?” Then, was the preceding product a “Fake 1.0?” It was better to call it “Wa-wah 1.1” or “Wa-wah 1S.” Chen Jin had to change his ideas and accept the good advice of others. Hence, the name was changed to “Wa-wah 1.1.”
…
On the 24th of May, the adjustments on the a.s.sembly line in Ling Feng Jing Mi OEM factory were completed. Huge batches of Wa-wah generation 1.1 cleaning robots were produced in an unending stream. 50,000 units were produced daily.
…
On the 25th of May, at 8pm, more than 20,000 people flooded into a stadium in Shang Hai City. The stadium could hold up to 30,000 people. Inside the stadium was a hubbub of voices. It was bustling with noise and an exceptional excitement. The launch event organized by Xing Hai Technologies for its new product was about to begin!
Not a full three months had pa.s.sed since the launch of the first Wa-wah robot and now the upgraded version, Wa-wah cleaning robot 1.1, was launched with a bang. Hosting this event was the CEO of Xing Hai Technologies, Ling Jundong. He looked mature and handsome. With a witty and humorous vibe, he attracted much attention from the women in the audience.
The leader of the technical team, Zhou Kun, wore an ordinary black T-s.h.i.+rt and jeans. Stepping up onto the stage, he explained the performance parameters and the technical details of the Wa-wah cleaning robot 1.1. “As compared to the Wa-wah 1.0, Wa-wah 1.1 is equipped with a smarter algorithm for its cleaning duties. It only requires a small area of the floor that has been cleaned to its most spotless state. After which, it will know how to clean the remaining areas in a way that uses the least amount of time and effort. The charging base of Wa-wah 1.1 employs two standard wireless charging modules of 10W and 20W. The charging process is made safer. The charging base can also be used to charge mobile phones or other electronics that supports wireless charging. We’ve found a third-party to custom-make a brush that is highly absorbent and has a better stain-removing ability. It’s made with bamboo fibers which makes it easier to clean the stubborn stains. It’s also easier to wash and clean when placed inside a roller. The cleanliness index of this robot model is as high as 99.85%. We are one step closer to our ultimate goal.”
Zhou Kun continued, “We’ve added an obsessive mode that the people with OCD may like. Once it has detected traces of rubbish in its scans, the robot will immediately clean it up. It will do a patrol every 30 minutes. It can also be set up to patrol in intervals of one hour, two hours, or even a day-only patrol. Under its social mode, we’ve also added voice packs that express delight, anger, happiness, and more. This is in addition to the original voice packs. The robot can perform, sing, and dance. Furthermore, we’ve launched a custom-made commercial version to satisfy the needs of some commercial clients.”
After which was the announcement of the new product’s price:
Wa-wah 1.1 standard edition for home use: $3,999 (production costs was limited to $1,800 and below).
Wa-wah 1.1 premium edition for home use: $5,999 (production costs was limited to around $2,500)
Wa-wah 1.1 deluxe edition for home use: $9,999 (production costs was limited to around $3,000)
Wa-wah 1.1 custom-made edition for commercial use: $4,999 (production costs was limited to around $2,100)
There were four editions in total.
The main selling point of the standard edition for home use was its value for money! Although it was $300 more expensive than the previous generation, it was made of more solid materials and had much better functions! Even so, it received much cheering from the audience. After all, in exchange for a month’s salary, the consumer would be freed from sweeping and mopping for 10 years. No matter how one looked at it, it was extremely worthwhile.
The main selling point of the premium edition for home use was its stability, reliability, and efficiency. It used a double brushless motor mechanism. In addition, it was equipped with a large battery of 20,000 milliamp hours (mAh) and utilized 20W wireless quick-charging. Its cleaning speed was 30% faster than the standard edition robot, and it also had much better endurance. The company would be providing free repair and maintenance services for up to five years!
The hardware parameters of the deluxe edition was similar to those of the premium edition. However, a lot more effort had gone into designing its appearance. The style of its build was more luxurious, exquisite, and beautiful. From the very first glance, it gave one a cute, pretty, and endearingly silly impression. Instantly, it plucked at the heartstrings of consumers. In this world where people made spending decisions based on visual appeal, there were many who were willing to pay extra for its exquisite form.
According to statistics, 75% of potential users who had the intention to purchase a Wa-wah robot were female. They paid more attention to this launch event and had a greater demand for a beautiful and exquisite aesthetic. When the Wa-wah 1.1 deluxe edition was revealed, many shrieks were immediately heard. Many expressed, “Hubby, I want to buy it!”
“It’s too cute. Let’s just choose the deluxe edition!”
“It’s less than $10,000, we can buy one less Fruit mobile phone.”
A significant portion of the potential female customers planned to buy a Wa-wah 1.1 deluxe edition.
The custom-made commercial edition was a type of low-profit, high-sales volume product. Its hardware configuration was somewhere between the standard and deluxe edition, with high work efficiency. However, the quality of the workmans.h.i.+p was reduced. The charging base utilized contact charging and the quality of the brush material was ordinary. But the company provided three years of warranty… This was highly attractive to commercial users.
When the Wa-wah 1.1 was officially released online on the 28th of May, a total of 200,000 units of ready stock was prepared for the three home-use editions. For the next two months after the official release, 50,000 units would be available for sale daily. For those who were able to get their hands on the product the same day it was made available, it would normally be delivered to their homes within three days. This kind of online sales model was called “Stock available every day, no monkey tricks!”
“Shut up! Old shameless thief. This is called ‘hunger marketing and playing monkey tricks every day’! We want all three million units to be available for sale at once!”
“F**k, only 50,000 units of stock available each day; who knows many days it will take for us to get our hands on one?”
“This is hard evidence that Xing Hai Technologies is playing monkey tricks; I’ve reported them! Law enforcement, come handle this.”
Even though the netizens roasted the limited stock availability of Wa-wah 1.1, they had no basis in reality. Truthfully, 50,000 units released daily was a considerable quant.i.ty. After the fanatic buyers had all gotten their fill in about a month, it was possible that consumers would no longer have to try so hard just to buy one. There would be stock available everyday… After all, the item cost a few thousand dollars. Most people would consider this purchase carefully first. They would not make a blind purchase.
The event very quickly reached its ending. With contented hearts, the live audience and those watching the livestream were expecting the launch event to announce its ending.
During the introduction segment about the partner suppliers, the host, Ling Jundong, suddenly started speaking in a low voice. He revealed a shocking piece of information! He went over the “Quality Control Incident” regarding the Wa-wah robot that had happened some time ago. He revealed the inside story and more details, including the causes and consequences of the incident. The audience broke out in an uproar and started debating fervently!
“That b.a.s.t.a.r.d is really shameless!”
“That ‘anonymous domestic compet.i.tor’ was Rock Technologies, who went bankrupt and collapsed?”
“Shameless traitor! Scheming b.a.s.t.a.r.d! If Youying Motors had not developed the high-end brushless motor in time and broke the monopoly, an outstanding tech company from Z country would have met its end just like that.”
“Good job! We need more domestic enterprises like Youying Motors to stand up. Then, we won’t be controlled by others!”
The next decision announced by Ling Jundong caused the anger that the audience felt to dissipate. At the same time, they experienced a sheer sense of energy and inspiration.
“Xing Hai Technologies hereby announces that we will no longer use j.a.panese imported products in our future production of robots. This goes for the brushless motors, the mechanical mobile parts, and other core components. We will no longer have a business relations.h.i.+p with them. We choose to work only with honest, sincere, and reliable business partners.”
In short, it was lockout tactic against the foreign companies!