King of Technology: A Fresh Start in 1983

Early in the morning of September 4th, Zhang Wei stood in front of one of the most important distributors at the T-junction of Zhongguancun, holding a mobile phone in his hand.

Eye-catching banners, colorful flags fluttering, balloons dancing in the air, loudspeakers, and bulletin boards are all in place.

As soon as the door opened, several parents who looked like middle school students came in and circled around the Tiangong Computer demo unit.

Then, people went on to test the machine, pack it up, and make payments.

Seeing this momentum, Zhang Wei asked the distributor manager, "What's your estimate for today's sales?"

The distributor manager held up five fingers and waved them: "I guarantee you'll get fifty units!"

Zhang Wei patted him on the shoulder: "Have all the girls and boys in your company go out on the street and solicit customers."

"If we sell more than fifty units today, I'll give one to each of you for free!"

The manager was overjoyed and patted his chest to assure him there would be no problem.

Zhang Wei continued, "It's a weekday today, so some customers might come after get off work. Could you please stay open two hours later to close up shop?"

The manager patted his chest again and said, "No problem, as long as there's money to be made, everyone is willing to work overtime."

Next, Zhang Wei visited several other dealer stores in Zhongguancun, and the sales situation was similar to that of the first store.

Only then did he feel relieved and return to the temporary operational headquarters set up in the Friendship Hotel.

They called the commanders on the front lines to inquire about sales data from local distributors and the reactions of other domestic brands in the area.

At noon, Chen Jianghe brought two meals specially prepared by the Friendship Hotel restaurant to Zhang Wei's room.

As soon as I walked in, I asked, "How's it going? Any moves from those domestic brands?"

Zhang Wei said, "When I was at several stores this morning, I saw their people come in, take a look around, and then leave."

"They've definitely noticed our actions. However, they might not react today, because they also want to see how well we perform on the first day."

Chen Jianghe asked, both nervous and expectant, "How are you feeling? Will we be able to sell 800 units nationwide today?"

Zhang Wei chuckled: "I'm keeping a close eye on things and will report to you at any time."

By 3 p.m., Zhang Wei was already extremely busy.

He had long forgotten his promise to report to Chen Jianghe at any time.

At six o'clock in the evening, Chen Jianghe hurriedly walked into Zhang Wei's temporary combat headquarters.

Staring at the computer screen, his face grim, he asked, "What's wrong, Xiao Zhang? Is the situation not good? Haven't the final data come out yet?"

Zhang Wei slapped his forehead: "Oh, I'm so sorry, Mr. Chen, I've been so busy I forgot to tell you that we've already broken through the 800 mark."

"The final data from all channels across the country is still being compiled."

"Moreover, our sales team and every distributor are working overtime, and we estimate that accurate data will not be available until 8 p.m. tonight."

"But I expect that the total number of units sold today should be no less than 1,500."

"What? Fifteen hundred units?"

Chen Jianghe jumped up excitedly, "Great! This salvo has finally been fired!"

He then chuckled and complained, "Hey Xiao Zhang, why don't you look happy at all?"

Zhang Wei immediately gave a wry smile: "How could I be happy?"

"Logistics and transportation have run into problems in several places. The goods might not arrive tomorrow. I'm busy urging them to hurry up."

Chen Jianghe paced back and forth in the room, unable to contain himself, repeatedly saying, "I never expected this! A reward! A generous reward is warranted!"

"Tonight, have the commanders from all regions organize a big feast for all participating personnel to reward them for their contributions!"

"No, Mr. Chen, now is not the time to celebrate."

Zhang Wei said urgently, "You'd better go back to Pengcheng tonight and personally oversee the production line."

"The machines we prepared beforehand are definitely not enough to sell, so they have to work overtime overnight to install and test the machines."

"Otherwise, at this rate of production, we'll sell out on the third day."

"If we can't keep up with demand, all this market enthusiasm will ultimately benefit just a few companies."

...

On Monday, September 6th, as soon as Zhan Yiling arrived at work, she knocked on her boss's office door: "Boss, have you seen the news?"

The boss was taken aback: "The marketing department's report shouldn't be out yet, right?"

Zhan Yiling couldn't help but feel secretly annoyed:

Expecting the marketing department to understand the market?

Can't you watch TV or read newspapers yourself?

She tried to remain calm as she said, "Tiangong launched the [Xuanyuan 486] computer last Saturday, priced at 17,800 RMB."

"This price is far beyond everyone's expectations."

"According to relevant statistics, they sold more than 3,000 units nationwide in just two days."

"What's more serious is that several Chinese brands, including Lenovo, Great Wall, and Inspur, also started to follow suit yesterday, lowering their prices one after another."

"Boss, this is a price war! We need to figure out a way to deal with it immediately."

After a moment's thought, the boss said, "Linda, this situation is very important. Write me a briefing immediately, and I'll forward it to headquarters."

"At the same time, keep a close eye on AST, CPQ, and HP. If they also lower their prices, then things will be really serious."

Zhan Yiling composed herself and reminded him, "It's Sunday night in the UK right now, and they have another day off tomorrow."

"By the time we get their reply, it will probably be too late."

"But we can't act on our own! It's company policy!"

After emphasizing this point, the boss continued, "We must have confidence not only in the IBM brand, but also in our customers in China."

"I believe they won't just focus on price and ignore performance and quality."

Hearing what the boss said, Zhan Yiling looked helpless.

Back at my seat, I began to bury myself in writing the report.

At this moment, Feng Wei placed a cup of coffee on her desk: "Senior, here's your coffee. Wishing you a good week."

Zhan Yiling shook her head bitterly: "Where did I get a good mood? I was hit over the head and couldn't even fight back."

Feng Wei joked, "Who beat you up, senior? I'll go and give him a good beating for you."

"Not just me, but you too."

Zhan Yiling couldn't help but laugh, "IBM got a surprise attack, and I bet there are still a few more blows on the way."

Then, Zhan Yiling gave a brief account of the situation.

Feng Wei frowned: "It feels like this is more than just a sudden blow; it's a blatant declaration of war against us."

"Yeah, even you can see that, but our company still looks like it hasn't woken up yet."

"You can imagine, this sudden price war must have completely overturned the customers' mindset."

"They suddenly realized: such a sacred and precious thing as a computer can be bought for just over ten thousand yuan."

"From now on, just you wait and see, this market will be played in a completely different way."

"If IBM continues to rely solely on its so-called quality and brand, maintaining an unapproachable and aloof attitude, it will ultimately be abandoned by the market."