I am a master in India

Chapter 255 Nuclear-Level Pricing

"Mr. Sue, you have not kept your promise!"

"Mr. Oda, please forgive us if our hospitality has been inadequate during this time. Rest assured, we will definitely improve the food and drink!" Ron pretended to be clueless.

When the topic of food came up, Xiao Tian became even more furious. He was alright, though, as he had just arrived in Mumbai.

However, the Japanese colleagues responsible for technical assistance fared much worse; after only two months apart, they had all visibly become thinner.

He came to Mumbai yesterday but did nothing but listen to his colleagues complain about the harsh conditions in India.

The biggest problem is diarrhea. There are still two colleagues in the hotel, lying weakly on the bed moaning.

Xiao Tian even suspected that Suer Electric Appliances might be deliberately skimping on the food, otherwise the probability of diarrhea would be too high.

"We can discuss the food issue later. According to the agreement, you should settle the final payment after NEC's production line is delivered. A month has already passed, why is this matter being delayed again and again?"

"NEC's production line didn't arrive on time either?" Ron shrugged, expressing his helplessness.

"That's a special case; maritime transport conditions don't allow it," Oda said, lowering his voice slightly.

"You see, there are always unexpected things."

"I apologize for the previous delays, and we will make amends in future collaborations. Now, a month has passed, hasn't it?"

"Mr. Oda, according to international practice, delivery includes all services such as installation and commissioning. The user doesn't need to worry about anything else; it can be used at any time. Is the color television production line ready to go into operation now?"

“NEC employees are giving it their all,” Oda explained.

“So there isn’t one. The project progress is entirely in your hands, there’s nothing we can do about it,” Ron said, raising his voice even louder.

"The production line will be adjusted to its optimal state in as little as two weeks."

"Okay, I'll wait for your good news."

Ron nodded and then left.

He walked away with his hands behind his back right in front of Xiaotian.

Wait, that's not right. He's the one who came to confront me.

Xiaotian wanted to say something, but Ron had already gotten into his car and driven away.

What a cunning Indian! But Oda wasn't too angry. He still had a trump card in his hand, and he was sure Ron would come begging to him later.

Ron, sitting in the car, secretly scoffed, thinking to himself that this guy was taking advantage of him.

They're already thinking about money before the production line is even properly set up; what will happen in the future?

Core components, repairs, upgrades... Ron could almost imagine that countless challenges awaited him.

Life is really tough!
If NEC doesn't have some leverage over him, they'll always have him under their thumb.

Yes, the final payment of $120 million is the bargaining chip.

Want to get more money than the deposit? Sorry, India doesn't have that tradition.

Back in the workshop in the north, Ron and Ashish discussed the production plan for the black and white television sets.

Strangely enough, neither Tokyo University nor NEC knew that two television production lines were being built simultaneously within the Suer campus.

According to the agreement with NEC, the land south of the Suer campus will be reserved for Suer-NEC Electric Company.

It's normal for there to be multiple companies inside an industrial park, so Xiaotian and his colleagues didn't think much of it.

At Dongda University, they were even less concerned with things outside their immediate surroundings. They were overly cautious and didn't go anywhere except the workshop in the north during working hours.

Thus, the two were more than a kilometer apart, located in the same industrial park, yet they were unaware of each other's existence.

That's perfect. Ron can make a fortune in silence. There are some things that shouldn't be known to the common folk too early.

After some discussion, Ron decided to stock 10,000 14-inch televisions in the first batch.

This is a rather bold decision, with production costs alone amounting to 1600 million rupees.

When we first decided to produce water-cooled air conditioners, our initial inventory was only one thousand units.

In less than two years, Ron's strides have grown bigger and bigger.

In fact, he wasn't satisfied with 10,000 units. If it weren't for the fact that only this many core components, such as picture tubes, were initially ordered, he would have wanted to order 20,000 units.

Simply put, it's too cheap.

Suer Electric received payment for a 14-inch black and white television set, and Ron plans to price it at 4000 rupees per unit.

In the Indian domestic market, how much do the other two brands of black and white televisions of the same size sell for?
The cheapest one is 8000 rupees, and that's a rebranded product. If it's genuinely imported, the price won't be lower than 12000 rupees.

High import tariffs mean that imported electrical appliances in the Indian market are generally more than twice as expensive as those overseas.

Suer Electric's move is equivalent to cutting the market price in half.

That's insane! You can't play like that.

Taking a cost-effective approach doesn't mean drastically reducing prices.

Ashish and his colleagues suggested setting the retail price at 6000 rupees, which is already 25% cheaper than the market price, and plenty of people would buy it.

No, Ron wasn't after that small profit.

He wants to take over the entire market from two local manufacturers, Onida and Videocon, as well as other imported brands.

Taking things slowly is too slow; a nuclear-level killer weapon is the most useful.

Besides, is there no profit to be made with a price of 4000 rupees?

Ron said he would lose so much money he would become the richest man in the world.

The total cost is only 1600 rupees, and this is just the beginning. It's entirely possible to reduce the cost by another 20%-30% after scaling up.

After deducting the 15% profit left to the distributor, Ron made a net profit of 1800 rupees per television set.

Profit margins exceeding 100% are insane.

Another advantage of lower pricing is that it will expand the market, making people who previously thought televisions were too expensive more interested.

This is a growing market, and Suer Electric will have no competitors for the next few years.

To ensure sufficient supply when the product goes on sale, Ron placed an order for another 20,000 picture tubes with Dongda University.

Unfortunately, when our technological capabilities are insufficient, we have no choice but to rely on imports. If the profits from Suer televisions are sufficient, Ron plans to discuss with Dongda University the introduction of a picture tube production line.

But that's a story for later. Right now, the most important thing is to take people to see Xiao Rizi's color TV production line.

The workers had already finished their shifts, and Xiao Rizi left an hour early.

They spend less than six hours here each day, including the part where they just dawdle.

The workshop was quiet, and once the lights were turned on, the entire scene was laid out before you.

It has to be said that because they were buying brand new products, the color TV workshop looked much more upscale than the black and white workshop.

The group from Southeast University marveled at the brand-new equipment; it was far beyond their expectations.

You said you'd make black and white TVs, but you secretly set up a color TV production line instead.

Judging from this progress, the project is already more than halfway complete.

"Gentlemen, what do you think? Can you produce color picture tubes that match this production line?"

"Is this a production line from Japan?" The experienced technicians from Tokyo University could tell its origin at a glance.

"NEC's assembly line, new stock."

"Not bad, very good."

Even the students at Dongda University are a little envious of this thing.

Their domestic color TV technology also relies heavily on cooperation with Japan.

For example, core components such as chips and color picture tubes were previously almost entirely controlled by the Japanese.

Only in the last two years have local parts manufacturers gradually mastered those technologies.

However, precisely because of this, the University of Tokyo's technology and daily life follow the same path.

“There are no domestic manufacturers that cooperate with NEC, but the technology in Japan is generally similar, and there are at least three picture tube manufacturers that can match the production lines here.”

"Are you sure?" Ron was overjoyed.

"Of course, if you need it, we can contact them on your behalf and have them send someone over to do the technical adaptation."

"Oh, that's wonderful. But there's no rush. Let's wait until the production line is set up."

Ron was secretly pleased that his plans for a comfortable life were about to fall through.

Do you really think that without NEC, Suer Electric can't make a living in the color TV market?
Naive! You have no idea about the bottom line of Indians.

To thank the students from Dongda University for their help, Ron took them out to eat at the Taj Mahal Hotel that evening.

This delighted them; it was a five-star hotel, a level of treatment they couldn't find in China.

After eating and drinking his fill, Ron was about to go back when Ashish stopped him.

"Boss, could you give me your invoice?"

"What, you're not thinking of taking it back for reimbursement, are you?" Ron looked at him amusedly.

"Of course not, I just want to collect it."

"Ok?"

“When I tell people that I’ve eaten at the Taj Mahal Hotel, they simply don’t believe me. They think it’s impossible for a meal to cost tens of thousands of rupees.”

Ashish also temporarily stayed in the Kama compound, which was full of poor people.

The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, a symbol of majesty and power, is something that ordinary Indians can only admire from afar.

Anyone who has eaten there is a symbol of success and self-improvement.

Ashish is ready to show off this time and make sure his neighbors are blown away.

That being said, Ashish didn't actually plan to stay in the Kama compound for long.

He bought a house on Mira Road. It's not far from his sister Laju's apartment and is also close to the Sur Industrial Park.

The house was very cheap; I bought it outright for less than 100,000 rupees.

He could certainly wait for the employee dormitories of Suer Electric Appliances to be completed, but a dormitory is just a dormitory; nothing beats the sense of belonging he feels when he buys his own house.

Ashish also plans to purchase a Sull TV through the internal purchase system, which would make everything perfect.

"By the way, boss, when are we planning to launch our televisions?"

"Starting tomorrow, both production lines will be operating at full capacity, with staff working non-stop and two shifts working to prepare for a month's worth of inventory."

“No problem, we have experience,” Ashish readily agreed.

That's how they did it back when the water-cooled air conditioner production capacity exploded; Suer Electric's system is already quite mature.

"By the way, what about the publicity?"

"We'll start building hype next week; this time we're going to do a really creative ad campaign."

"How so?" Ashish's eyes lit up.

"You'll find out soon enough," Ron said with a mysterious smile.

He has already contacted All India Television, several well-established private television stations, and major newspapers and magazines.

He wanted to flood the screens with advertisements for Suhr TVs, effectively controlling all Indian media for a week.

The most direct and effective way to advertise is through indiscriminate, carpet-bombing, and saturation-style advertising.

No matter what you look like, if you read a newspaper or watch TV, you'll never miss a Suer TV commercial.

Of course, in order to achieve the desired effect, the advertisement must also be eye-catching.

Well, Ron's preparations this time will be simpler.

There's no need to shoot commercials or hire Bollywood stars.

One picture and one sentence are enough.

(End of this chapter)