Chapter 218

George Brown, who was still nervous just now, was like a different person when he made a report, giving detailed data and well-organized analysis.

"After disassembly and analysis, we can know that the core component of SONY TV, the picture tube, comes from the Dumont laboratory, the main control circuit is its self-developed product, and the shell material is mahogany ......"

"The most worthy part of this product is its control circuit, which has a high technical content in its wiring mode, which can greatly reduce the probability of failure and has high reference value......"

"The performance of this product is not much different from our company's products of the same size, and it may even be better in terms of failure rate, but this conclusion will need time and more data to support it, so it is doubtful for the time being. ”

"After evaluation, I believe that the material cost of this product is between $240 and $260, and the fluctuation part of this is related to its production volume......"

"All in all, I think the product is excellent, it manages to compromise quality and price, and the technology is excellent. ”

"Mr. David, that's my assessment. ”

After the report, George Brown swallowed his saliva and looked at David Sanoff, hoping that he would evaluate his work.

However, George failed to hear what he was thinking from Sanov, and was questioned by one of the attendees.

"George, I heard you right, the cost of materials is $240 to $260, how is that possible?"

The person who asked the question was a middle-aged man with a round face and a big nose, a fat figure, in an air-conditioned conference room, and sweating on his forehead.

George knew this man, he was Brewster, the manager of the marketing department.

Brewster looked at George like a liar and asked, "How could they dare to sell it at $299 when the cost of materials is $260, is this applied physical systems company doing good deeds?"

"Mr. George, are you sure you didn't make a mistake in your assessment?"

George nodded and said, "I don't know if their company does good deeds, but I can be sure of that." ”

"In the cost assessment part, I have communicated with the production department, and even if there is a difference, it will not deviate too much. ”

"Unless ......"

Brewster asked, "Unless what?"

"Unless they're doing a better job of controlling costs than we do, or adopting new technologies that we don't know about," George said. ”

This kind of shadowless thing, saying it is equivalent to not saying it.

Brewster frowned in disgust, and then looked at Sanov: "Sir, you also heard, the price of this SONY TV is so low, it will rob us of the market for our products in the $400 range, we have to do something, otherwise we will have a lot of trouble." ”

"The product at this price point is our highest-selling product, and although the profit margin is not high, this part of the market needs to be preserved. ”

This view is not just Brewster's own, but the consensus of the RCA's top brass. As the company's big boss, Sanov, who was optimistic about the future of TV sets more than a decade ago, also thought the same.

Sanov said calmly: "Brewster, of course the market must be preserved, the question is, what ways and means should we take. ”

Brewster said, "The picture tube is from Dumont, how about saying hello to them? Maybe Philip Reed." ”

Philip Reid is GE's chairman.

RCA has deep roots with GE, which was originally founded in 1919 as a subsidiary of GE after acquiring the assets of Marconi Corporation, which later became the largest radio communications company in the United States. In 1932, RCA and the Ministry of Justice reached an agreement whereby GE gave up its stake in RCA and made RCA an independent entity.

However, even though the two companies have lost that affiliation, and are even competitors in some business, they are still very close to each other.

Philip Reid is one of the people who have worked at RCA for decades and know many people from GE, the former parent company.

The reason why Brewster proposed to call Philip was because he felt that GE could not tolerate the existence of SONY as a spoiler, and with Sanov there, the two sides would have the possibility of joining forces.

Together, RCA and GE put pressure on Dumont to believe that Dumont Laboratories would not go unnoticed. Brewster doesn't ask for an immediate interruption of the CRT supply, just a little trouble. At that point, the company that doesn't know what to do will know how to do it.

It's not impossible to join in and make a living, but you can't mess up the market and make everyone hungry.

Brewster's suggestion, although Sanov felt that it was not atmospheric, had to admit that he was a little moved. However, compared to Brewster, who couldn't wait, Sanov was much more steady, and his profound experience told him that since the other party dared to sell it at that price, he naturally relied on it. Therefore, to be on the safe side, Sanov asked George, who had not yet left: "George, if we also launch a product at the same price as SONY, can we do it? If we can do it, how much time will it take? In addition, how much profit can we maintain?"

As soon as Sanov's question came up, George began to think with all his might, so he couldn't see an executive sitting at the conference table frown unhappily.

That person was the head of R&D.

Sanov should have asked him this question, how did he ask a little senior engineer?

Although I didn't pay much attention to SONY TV before, but ignoring my opinion like this is too much, right?

Just when the head of the R&D department had a gloomy face, George opened his mouth and replied: "Mr. David, of course it can be done by reducing the cost to the same level as SONY, but it will take time. ”

Brewster understood Sanov's intention to ask, and immediately interjected: "This is not good, if the cost is only pressed to about 260 dollars, we will not make a profit ourselves." ”

"Mr. Sanoff, if we also produce products at the price of 299 US dollars, the cost of materials must be reduced to at least around 220 US dollars, so that with the cost of R&D, marketing, and management, we can maintain profitability, and it is still a small profit. ”

For a listed company, a product that does not make money is worthless.

Sanoff understood Brewster's assertions, so he didn't mind his interjection, not to mention that he was right to remind him. However, after thinking about it, he still insisted on his opinion, and instructed the head of the R&D department to set up a project to develop a standard SONY product, and designated George to be responsible.

After the meeting, Sanoff called his old friend Philip Reid.

"What? You want to deal with the company that sells SONY?"

"Of course!"

"Whose bad idea is to let Dumont cut off his confession?"

"David, I think it's better for you to get to know more about them before you deal with them. Otherwise, something will happen. ”

"This is my advice. ”8)