"They want exclusivity?"

Wen Ming, who discussed with Peter every day about the preparations for the release of the iPhone, finally got a good news.

Peter replied, "yes, I think we can give them that right because ATT is the second largest telecom operator in our country, and they have a very large user base and stores all over the United States. ”

The three largest telecom operators in the United States are ATT, Verizon, and Sprint Nexte.

Among them, Verizon was formed by the merger of two companies, which is the largest local telephone company in the United States and the largest unlimited communications company. Sprint Nexte is a global communications company that provides communications services to more than 26 million users in more than 100 countries. Notably, Sprint Nexte has the first nationwide, fully digital fiber optic network in the United States.

ATT is also a domestic communications company in the United States, although it ranks second, but it also has more than 150 million subscribers, of which 85.1 million are wireless subscribers. In 2008, the company's annual turnover reached $124 billion, and the number of employees exceeded 290,000.

Wen Ming is still more inclined to ATT, because Apple in the previous life cooperated with ATT, not only got the help of ATT when developing the iphone, but also gave ATT the exclusive right to sell it for four years.

"Will it affect our experience store?"

Hearing Wen Ming's question, Peter laughed and said, "They have more than 290,000 employees and countless stores, do you think they will care about the 36 Apple Experience Stores?" Boss, don't forget, we call it an experience store, and the concept of an experience store was proposed by you. According to our previous negotiations, as long as the number of our experience stores in China does not exceed 100, it will not affect the exclusive right to sell."

Wen Ming smiled, without any embarrassment at all, and said, "So, what kind of help can they give us?" ”

Peter took out a document and handed it to Wen Ming, introducing: "This is the result of our preliminary negotiations with the three major communication companies. ”

"Aside from ATT, the other two companies are not bold enough to buy our iphones directly, which means that they, like agents in other countries, want to be able to use the restocking payment method."

"ATT is willing to buy 500,000 iphones directly in the first batch, and the price they want to get is $399 a piece."

According to Wenming's pricing for the iphone, the 16G storage capacity of the iphone should be 499 US dollars, excluding the cost of nearly 300 US dollars, Wenming can earn 200 US dollars, of course, this is not a tax issue.

And if he accepts ATT's offer, then he can only earn $100 for an iPhone.

"The pricing is too low."

Wen Ming shook his head and said, "In my opinion, it's their business how much they sell for a piece, but the reserve price that I can accept must not be less than $449." ”

It looks like a $50 difference, but even if you look at the first batch of 500,000 units that ATT is ready to buy, that's a $25 million profit gap.

No one can ignore the $25 million profit, not even ATT, which has an annual turnover of more than $100 billion.

Peter shrugged his shoulders and said, "Boss, of course I would like the price of the iPhone to be higher, so I have rejected their offer, and we are still negotiating." ”

Wen Ming understood what Peter meant, that is, he hoped that Wen Ming could give him other conditions, so that he could negotiate with the people of ATT.

Looking at the information in my hand, almost all of the quotations of other communication companies for the iPhone are below 400 US dollars, because the hardware cost of the iPhone is easy for those communication providers and agents to inquire about.

Trade secrets, and does not include the cost of the product. Those hardware manufacturers and foundries will not be able to help Apple hide it.

And the reason why they are willing to set aside $100 in profits for Apple is because they calculate the cost of iPhone research and development, as well as the taxes and fees that need to be paid, etc.

For them, the lower the price of the iPhone, the greater the profit they can get.

"I can sign up to four years of exclusivity, and even, I can allow them to get a certain amount of after-sales profit. However, regarding the pricing of the iPhone, it is absolutely impossible to give. ”

Peter nodded and said, "Don't worry, boss, I won't let you down." ”

ATT got the iphone at a cost of 449 and then sold it at a price of 299, which seems to be a big loss. But in fact, if you want to get an iPhone for 299, you have to sign a two-year communication contract.

Also, there is a minimum monthly spending on communication costs, which is the same in any country.

In fact, the more mobile phone bills of a single user, the more profit ratio of communication companies, and the money lost by communication companies in hardware will be earned back through phone bills, or even more than before.

For this reason, Peter, the former head of Motorola's Asia region, was confident to convince ATT on Wenming's terms.

Of course, Peter's salary is also very high, up to seven figures.

Wen Ming asked again: "How are the preparations for the press conference?" ”

The launch event was made when the marketing plan for the iPhone was being developed, and Apple's annual conference in another world was always able to attract the attention of the whole world. But for Wen Ming now, he still needs to invite enough people to his press conference.

Peter replied: "I have already contacted a lot of developers, as well as some mobile phone manufacturers and distributors, and they are willing to participate in our launch event. Of course, we provide them with a free communication platform, and solve their accommodation problems, and even transportation costs, which is the main reason why they are willing to participate. ”

"As for the journalists, I believe James should be almost in touch, after all, they can directly get real profits."

While Wen Ming was relieved, he was also a little ashamed.

The Apple company created by Steve Jobs in another world, whether it is the Worldwide Developers Conference or the product launch conference, does not need to spend money on hiring people at all, and many people are even proud to be able to participate in it.

This is the gap between Wenming's apple and Jobs's apple.

Of course, Wen Ming has reason to believe that as long as the iPhone is successful in this world and Apple can launch the iPad, when the time comes, Apple will hold similar activities, and there will be absolutely no need to spend any more money.

"Spending money is actually secondary, and if you don't have your connections, I don't think many people will want to participate even if you spend money."

Wen Ming gave Peter a proper affirmation, although Peter helped him because of the seven-figure annual salary, but it was also because Peter was worth so much money.

Peter laughed, glad to be complimented by Wen Ming.

It stands to reason that he has been in the workplace for decades, and naturally he will not be in awe of the boss like a newcomer. But it is precisely because of his decades of experience that he admires Wen Ming very much.

During the time he entered Apple, he had already established a good relationship with the people in the R&D department, so he clearly knew that the iPhone was developed by Wenming by himself, including the patented technologies that Apple now masters, all of which came from Wenming's brain.

If Wen Ming wasn't his boss, he really wanted to put Wen Ming's head aside to see what was hidden inside, whether it was hiding a development team of hundreds of people.

With more than 20 years of experience in Motorola, he is very aware of the charm of the iPhone, and 10 million iPhones is a very solvable problem for his current subordinates.

However, Peter believes that these 10 million iPhones can definitely be sold, and there is no need to reduce the price.

Of course, if Peter knew that Wen Ming's expectations for the iPhone were 30 million units a year, he would definitely think that Wen Ming was a madman.

"Boss, I want to be worthy of the salary you paid me."