Tech startup: I really do make mobile phones!

Chapter 110 No Orange in My Eyes
Inside the Orange Technology office, the work area was quiet in the afternoon, with most employees taking a nap at their desks.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps echoed down the corridor—Xiao Zeng, clutching a file, hurried toward the market manager's office and lightly knocked on the door.

Inside the door, Zhao Tiezhu was playing Fruit Ninja with his feet propped up on the desk. Because the Orange 1 phone only supported single-point touch, his score was not going up. He muttered, "I have to mention it to Brother Chen later. The Orange 2 is a dual-point touch phone."

Hearing the knock, he quickly put his legs down, sat up straight, and called out, "Come in!"

Seeing that it was Zeng, Zhao Tiezhu raised an eyebrow: "Million, what's up?"

Xiao Zeng was already used to his direct supervisor's "casualness," and hurriedly stepped forward to say, "General Manager Zhao, the Yingtian Yangjiang Warehouse Center has refused to accept our OEM machines, saying that Nietzsche is in arrears and has stopped operating. The warehousing fees for the previous batch of goods have not been settled, so they refuse to accept new goods."

"Damn it!" Zhao Tiezhu slammed his fist on the table. "That coal boss Lu Laowu can't even come up with three cents? Nietzsche is definitely in big trouble!"

His expression changed drastically. He grabbed his phone and frantically dialed Lu Laowu's number, but only heard a busy signal.

Just as he was about to go and report to Chen Mo, his phone suddenly rang, and the screen showed that it was an unknown number calling from Ying Tian.

"Hello?" Zhao Tiezhu answered, and Lu Laowu's wailing exploded like a broken gong: "President Zhao! For the sake of being half a fellow villager, please beg President Chen to help your brother out!"

Lu Laowu has fallen so low that he has to be on friendly terms with Zhao Tiezhu, who is so much younger than him, which shows that he is also at his wit's end.

"Lu Laowu, pay back the money!"

"Repay us our hard-earned money!"

"Nietzsche is a fraud!"

Amidst the background noise on the phone, Lu Laowu rambled on incoherently, complaining that his secretary, Xiaoli, had conspired with Lao Wang to embezzle funds and had even ordered 200 million units of new machine materials in the company's name. Now, suppliers were blocking the door, banks and legal departments were investigating assets, and Nietzsche was on the verge of bankruptcy.

Zhao Tiezhu clicked his tongue in surprise. Yesterday at the meeting, Brother Chen had just said, "Focus on yourself and wait for your opponents to make mistakes!" and today Nietzsche had already broken down.
However, he immediately suppressed his gloating thoughts and reassured him, "Brother Lu, don't worry. I'll go and beg President Chen on my knees right now. He's always been loyal and will definitely consider it carefully."

Hmph! I'll go tell Brother Chen right now to quickly retrieve that batch of goods from the Yingtian Yangjiang warehouse center. We need to cut Nietzsche's special spare parts and convert the other general spare parts to produce oranges.

After hanging up the phone, Zhao Tiezhu strode towards Chen Mo's general manager's office.

Inside the general manager's office, the intelligent electric dimming floor-to-ceiling windows block out natural light, making the office generally somewhat dim.

Chen Mo, wearing a casual suit jacket, was taking a comfortable afternoon nap on the sofa in the reception area.

Suddenly, a knock sounded on the door.
"Dong Dong Dong~"

Just then, Chen Mo was about to get up when Zhao Tiezhu burst in.

Once someone opens the door, the smart motorized dimming floor-to-ceiling window will automatically switch to office mode, instantly making the room bright and airy.

"Brother Chen!"

At that moment, Chen Mo really wanted to find a secretary to help him stop people; he was still sleeping.

"Ah!" Chen Mo yawned, his lips twitching. "Why don't you take a good nap? Don't complain about being tired this afternoon if you feel sleepy."

Zhao Tiezhu deliberately rolled up his sleeves and gestured with his non-existent biceps.

"Brother Chen! With my physique, I'm a seven-foot man, I'm full of energy!"

"Seven feet?" Chen Mo smiled and looked him up and down. He got up, put on his shoes, and kicked him. "You're just bragging!" Then he went to the coffee table to pour water.

"We'll figure it out tonight and it'll be ready soon!" Zhao Tiezhu winked, making Chen Mo chuckle.

He held his water glass and walked around the office a couple of times to stretch his numb feet.

"Seriously, what are you doing barging in here in the middle of the day?"

Zhao Tiezhu kept everyone in suspense: "One good news, one bad news, Brother Chen, which do you want to hear first?"

Chen Mo raised an eyebrow and pretended to be angry, saying, "Are you asking for trouble? If you have something to say, just say it."

Zhao Tiezhu hurriedly said, "The bad news is that our 'X' machine OEM manufacturing has fallen through!"

Chen Mo frowned and asked, "Did Nietzsche break his promise?"

If that's the case, it means that Nietzsche's own factory must have already made preparations before doing this, which puts Orange Technology in a somewhat passive position.

Zhao Tiezhu couldn't help but smile: "This brings us to the good news. Nietzsche is on his deathbed—his secretary ran away with the money, the cash flow has dried up, the company has come to a standstill, and he can't even pay the storage fees!"

The celadon cup in Chen Mo's hand froze in mid-air. He paused for a moment, then stomped his numb feet, which became even number.
This is actually true!

Last night he was still thinking about the tug-of-war between Orange and Nietzsche in the town, but now his opponent has suddenly collapsed.

Chen Mo pondered to himself, Nietzsche has stopped, but Orange is still operating normally. Does this mean that the rural market will soon become a situation where Orange dominates?

He gazed at the colorful tropical fish swimming in the acrylic aquarium in front of him, suppressing the shock and a hint of joy in his heart.

"Explain in detail"

In the ups and downs of the business world, there is no room for luck. The collapse of a competitor may be an opportunity, but Orange Mobile's path to technological equality must ultimately be taken step by step by itself.

After reporting the details he knew, Zhao Tiezhu suggested severing ties with Nietzsche as soon as possible: "Brother Chen! We need to quickly get back the goods from the warehouse, cancel the 'X' special spare parts order, and switch the existing general parts production to Orange 1 to minimize losses!"

Chen Mo stroked the rim of the celadon cup, pondered for a moment, and asked, "Do you know how much of Nietzsche's final payment is outstanding? What is the value of that batch of goods at the Yingtian Yangjiang warehouse center? How many 'X' machines are still in stock? How much material does the OEM factory Nietzsche have left?"

"Brother Chen, wait a moment!" After saying that, he opened the door to the general manager's office and looked outside. He saw Xiao Zeng standing awkwardly outside.

"Millions! Have you figured it out?"

Xiao Zeng nodded and then shook his head, saying, "Mr. Zhao, you're in too much of a hurry. I only found out the general outline."

Zhao Tiezhu patted him on the shoulder and said, "That's enough. It's enough for you to show off in front of President Chen today. Seize the opportunity and do your best."

Xiao Zeng took a deep breath and said earnestly, "President Zhao! Don't worry! I won't let you down. I'll do my best to perform in front of President Chen!"

Zhao Tiezhu smiled, led Xiao Zeng into the office, and introduced him to Chen Mo: "President Chen! This is Xiao Zeng from our marketing department! Zeng Baifang, he will introduce our business with Nietzsche to you."

Zeng strode in carrying a folder, opened it, and blurted out the data:

未结清尾款：尼采科技截止到7月4日，应收账款余额为328.75万元（其中超90天账期占比35%）。

Yingtian Yangjiang Warehouse Center Inventory: Valued at RMB 562 million (including 28241 unbranded X-machines and their accessories and materials).

The logistics company is holding back goods in Yingtian for transshipment: the goods are valued at 162 million yuan (including 8140 unbranded X machines and their accessories and materials).

Nietzsche Technology's outstanding receivables total RMB 1052.75.

Our current inventory of Model X is: 1285 finished units (including 83 refurbished units) and 420 semi-finished units (out of motherboards).

代工厂物料：核心物料有海丝K3V1芯片2100片、3.2英寸TFT电阻屏3750块，辅料有华T品牌电池模块8200组（含呆滞库存1500组）。    小曾还补充道：“陈总！这些数据基于7月4日的每周盘点，实际可能存在±3%误差。”

"The data is very accurate!" Chen Mo clapped his hands and turned to Zhao Tiezhu: "No wonder your marketing department, with such a large operation, hasn't fallen into chaos. It turns out you have elite troops helping you, General Manager Zhao, to control the overall situation!"

Zhao Tiezhu patted Zeng on the shoulder: "President Chen! This kid is reliable and steady. He's been a great help when things get busy."

Zeng lowered his head and smiled modestly, not taking the liberty of joining the conversation between the two leaders.

Chen Mo felt that Zeng was a promising talent, so he decided to put him to the test.

He asked, "Xiao Zeng! If the company intends to recover Nietzsche's business losses, what do you think should be the most urgent task?"

Zeng had already thought it through and spoke without hesitation.

"We can contact the Yingtian Yangjiang Warehousing Center as soon as possible and retrieve the 28241 unbranded X-machines and their accessories before the bank applies to seize Nietzsche's assets. Even if we have to pay some storage fees, we can still reduce the loss of goods by 562 million yuan in a timely manner."

Chen Mo nodded: "Your thinking is very clear. You can go ahead and get busy!"

After Zeng left, Chen Mo pointed at Zhao Tiezhu and said, "This kid is not bad. How about promoting him to be your deputy in a while?"

Orange Technology is currently in a phase of rapid development, and the need for middle-level managers is extremely urgent.

Given that there were suitable candidates within the company, Chen Mo naturally prioritized internal promotion.

After all, promoting internal employees will result in higher loyalty to the company and a greater familiarity with its business.

“Millionaire has long been my right-hand man!” Zhao Tiezhu grinned and said, “His name sounds like it brings good fortune to others!”

Upon hearing Zhao Tiezhu's explanation, Chen Mo pondered Zeng's name carefully, and then couldn't help but smile knowingly.

"Now that we're talking about Nietzsche, I don't want to kick him when he's down; on the contrary, I want to offer him help."

Seeing that Brother Chen had such "idealistic" ideas again, Zhao Tiezhu quickly advised, "Brother Chen, there are not many traditional counterfeit phones and old stock left in the rural market. Our Orange Phone and Nietzsche Phone are direct competitors. Aren't we raising a tiger to cause trouble?"

Chen Mo walked to his desk, picked up the "Mobile Navigator" magazine, flipped to the headline, and handed it to Zhao Tiezhu.

Preface to the July 2010 issue of "Mobile Navigator" magazine:

Since the release of the Apple 4 in early June, which sparked a smartphone frenzy, a full month has passed. The proportion of smartphone users in China has surged by 14.3%, with Apple dominating the market with 55.1% attention. HYC (10.1%) and Samsung (9.5%) rank second and third respectively.
"See that? Orange and Nietzsche aren't on the list of twenty brands. They think we're not good enough, but we have to prove ourselves. Our real competitors are here!"

Chen Mo pushed the magazine toward Zhao Tiezhu: "When the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact. Now it's not a question of whether we should fight amongst ourselves, but rather that we have no right to fight among ourselves."

He tapped his fingertip on the "Smartphone User Percentage" chart in the magazine:
"Now, domestically produced machines are inherently inferior to foreign companies. In the eyes of authoritative domestic media, we are now 'unknown' and unknown brands."

Even if consumers in rural towns want to buy domestic products, their bargaining power is far less than that of the various dealers in urban electronics markets. Whatever the dealers recommend, that's what the consumers have to buy, while the dealers only push high-profit foreign brands.

Zhao Tiezhu grew anxious: "But in the current rural markets, oranges aren't competing with Pingguo, HYC, or Sanjing, Brother Chen! Now's not the time for sentimentality. We're competing with Nietzsche!"

"Alright!" Chen Mo tapped the table with his fingertips and raised his hand to interrupt him: "You misunderstood me. The company's cash flow has only just started to improve. Naturally, I will not invest too much money to save Nietzsche and put the company in a bad situation."

Having finally found Lei Jun as a "stepmother" to help Yuancheng, Orange Technology recovered its strength in half a month. Naturally, Chen Mo wouldn't let Nietzsche, who was neither a friend nor an enemy, drag him down with him.

"What I want isn't to save Nietzsche, but his offline distribution channels!" Chen Mo tapped the table with his fingertips, emphasizing, "The 1200 offline stores that Nietzsche advertised."

He clenched his fists and slammed them together in front of him, his eyes gleaming.

"The key is that if we can take over this channel, we can both open up direct supply to townships and counterbalance the layers of markups by intermediaries in the strong distribution system in North China."

At that time, Orange Technology will have three distribution channels:

1. Strong distribution channels in North China: Construct a three-tiered chain of “strong distribution channels in Shenzhen and North China – second- and third-tier cities – townships” (although not absolute, many channels can reach townships directly from Shenzhen).

2. Nietzsche Store Direct Supply Channel: By taking over Nietzsche's offline stores, we can directly control intermediaries and deliver the benefits of Orange Mobile's "technology equality" directly to rural users.

3. E-commerce channels. (Let's not even mention it. We spent millions buying traffic, but the monthly sales from e-commerce were less than a fraction of the daily sales from a strong distributor in North China.)
Zhao Tiezhu suddenly realized what was going on and said he understood. He immediately took out his phone and made a call.

"Brother Lu? Our CEO Chen is the most loyal person. After my persistent pleading, he's willing to lend you a hand, but on one condition."

Chen Mo stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, sunlight brushing across his profile. The golden tang in the fish tank swam towards the depths of the light and shadow canyon created by the distant mountain landscape, as if foreshadowing the start of a fierce battle for control of the channel.

Chen Mo believed that he was definitely not the only one coveting Nietzsche's 1200 offline stores.

The office of Mr. He, the general manager of Duowei Company, is located in the Duomei Group Industrial Park, opposite Longgang Yuancheng New Energy.

Wang Kai from the market research department walked in with a serious expression, stood in front of the desk, and said respectfully, "Mr. He, I'd like to report to you on the situation of Nietzsche mobile phones, which suddenly rose to prominence last month. It hasn't been long, and now it's suddenly on the verge of collapse."

Mr. He was looking at the promotional materials for the Duowei D1 when he heard this. He stopped what he was doing, his eyes lit up, and he leaned forward slightly.

He asked with great interest, "Oh! It's failing so quickly? What's the situation with its 1200 stores now?"

Wang Kai replied, "There is no definite news yet about how they will handle the store channels, but it seems that they are unable to continue operating."

Mr. He stroked his chin, a slight smile appearing on his lips.

"This is indeed a good opportunity. Keep a close eye on the movements of these 1200 stores and let me know as soon as you have any news!"

Domi Group's main business is similar to that of Huawei, both focusing on the mobile communications field.

Although it doesn't possess the same strong technological capabilities as Huawei, it has its own unique strengths and has managed to carve out a share of the telecommunications market.

The Duowei smartphone business line represents Duomei Group's first attempt to expand into the terminal business, so they are quite interested in Nietzsche's 1200 offline store channels.

With so many store channels, even if you have ample funds, it will inevitably take a lot of time and resources to select and build them according to normal business logic.

The office of Mr. Cheng, the boss of Green Factory Company.

A subordinate from the marketing department rushed in and said anxiously, "President Cheng, I heard from our colleagues in Yingtian that Nietzsche Mobile is suddenly going bankrupt. Their 1200 offline stores have become highly sought after, and many competitors have their eyes on them."

President Cheng leaned back in his chair, looking calm, and waved his hand, saying, "We have enough offline stores for Bubu Gao. Nietzsche's 1200 offline stores are just icing on the cake for us!"

On July 10th, OPPO's first smartphone will be officially launched at the Shenzhen Grand Theatre. They've even invited celebrities from Hong Kong to attend. This time, they absolutely have to make sure everything goes smoothly.

"There are only 3 days left until the launch of our Green X8. Let's not create any unnecessary trouble and focus all our energy on launching our first smartphone."

The subordinate hesitated for a moment, then asked, "So, we don't need to worry about that orange phone that Nietzsche fought to the death with in the rural market last month either?"

Mr. Cheng chuckled lightly and said nonchalantly, "We all know what kind of Nietzsche phone it is, having taken it apart before. How powerful can its competitors be?"

"From now on, pay more attention to the movements of foreign manufacturers and ZTE. As for those other no-name brands, don't report them to me."

Brands like Orange Mobile, which operate in rural markets, are often categorized as "other" by smaller, well-connected companies backed by large corporations.

(End of this chapter)