Chapter 219 Seizing the Opportunity



After Thomas Jr. took over IBM from his father, he completed an amazing R&D plan.

With US$500 million in research and development funding, US$1 billion in investment in production equipment, plus US$3.5 billion in marketing expenses, Forbes magazine exclaimed that this was a real gamble.

Of course, the bet was won.

Starting from the mid-1960s, the 360 ​​series of computers, which included six models of large, medium and small computers and 44 new types of supporting equipment, sold a total of more than 32,000 units throughout the 1960s, not only creating a miracle in computer sales, but also becoming people's favorite computer.

In 1966 alone, IBM's annual revenue exceeded 4 billion US dollars, and its net profit reached 10 billion US dollars, making it one of the top ten companies in the United States, thus establishing its world dominance in the computer market and being called the Blue Giant.

One of the mainframes, model 360-71, was sold to Intel to assist in product development.

In this era when the third generation of computers was absolutely dominant, fourth generation computers such as the HP 3300 and Wang Laboratories' Wang-2200 were just like children playing house. They failed one after another without making a mark.

Therefore, Han Chudong realized that the time was not yet ripe, and for the time being he would rather work in industries such as home appliance retail and the beauty market.

When you arrive at the fourth floor of Intel, you can see a huge gray machine placed in a room. Some women in white coats are using it.

There are more female programmers than male programmers, which is a feature of this era. The reason is that women do not need much creativity, and they are more patient, just like typists, and are more capable of operating computers.

Looking closely, you can see words like "IBM" and "360" written on it, light bulbs are flashing, there are buttons everywhere, and the numbers show that it was manufactured four years ago.

By the way, Intel actually also launched a microcomputer. The MCS4, which was launched in 1971, was also a failed product.

Han Chudong didn't get the hang of it. After asking some simple questions, he took Helena Bergman and others away with great interest.

Mr. Moore thought that he and he were not of the same kind, so he had no intention of talking. Han Chudong also did not want to leak the news that the fourth generation would be popular too early, so he really just came here to take a look today...

The barren Silicon Valley area hides a vibrant life.

Han Chudong took a few deep breaths before getting in the car. When Helena saw him, she asked him, "What's wrong? Do you feel uncomfortable with your nose?"

"No, don't you smell the scent of money and success? It's really fascinating. Next time I come, I will bring at least 100 million US dollars to invest."

Helena didn't take it seriously, and even had the urge to roll her eyes. She muttered, "Last year was so good, and suddenly I went crazy..."

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Now that we have arrived in Silicon Valley, continue walking north and it will take more than an hour to reach San Francisco.

The news that Rainbow Beauty Company was auctioning the purchase rights of facial mask papers was released last week. The auction was scheduled for two days later at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.

The scale is not too large, with a total of nine manufacturers confirmed to participate. Only a few of them are likely to get the cooperation rights, including Christian Dior, Estee Lauder, Maybelline, Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, etc. Japan's Shiseido has also come to join in the fun.

It is not clear who will win in the end, but it is foreseeable that the scene will be tragic. The reason is that Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble, two major daily necessities giants, have joined in and have contacted Han Chudong privately one after another. Their bids have exceeded 50 million US dollars, hoping to get the same agreement as the L'Oreal Group.

It seems that Han Chudong still suffered a loss by selling the company to the L'Oreal Group in advance.

He underestimated these companies' interest in the soft facial mask market. Now, he can earn hundreds of millions of dollars just by nodding his head. With the subsequent supply of facial mask papers, he is expected to make a lot of money with a profit margin of more than 1,000%.

Based on this analysis, the valuations given by several rating companies are still far lower than the actual value of Rainbow Beauty.

The importance of this company in Han Chudong's heart was raised again. According to the rules he set, in the next two years or so, there will only be four facial mask brands in the European and American markets, and who can capture how much market share depends entirely on their strength.

I've earned a lot, but who doesn't want to earn more?

Recently, we are promoting the sales channels of the Ex-Boyfriend series of facial masks. Within two months, more than 100 direct-operated stores will be opened in Europe, the United States and Japan. The company is recruiting people like crazy and all departments are very busy.

Funds quickly became tight, and even subsequent plans to invest in Intel were temporarily shelved.

The list of cooperating shopping malls has expanded from Macy's to more than a dozen companies including Harrods, Marks & Spencer, United Department Store, Japan's Shin Kong Department Store, Japan's Matsuzakaya, etc. When selecting store display cabinets, they choose from several or even dozens of stores.

Rainbow Beauty was short of staff and even temporarily transferred employees from Mango Toys and Baofeng Electric to help. The human resources director personally interviewed hundreds of people every day and recruited them back for internships if he thought they were good enough.

Although the company is so busy, Han Chudong is still relatively relaxed.

There is no wrong version in the 1619 book forum!

This shows that the management system has begun to improve, and managers of various departments are able to handle their tasks well. It is much more sound compared to last year.

Arrived at the San Francisco branch of Mason Labs and met Ron again.

Han Chudong didn't waste any time and told him directly: "Take out all the finished products that have been developed recently, including the new facial mask paper. Bring a friend over to try it out. There is still a chance to make adjustments before the official mass production."

"If I remember correctly, the lipstick has already started production, right?"

"It will be on the market early next month, but the current production is insufficient. The company I acquired in New York only has one production line, and the workers are reluctant to work overtime. We stockpile two to three thousand units a day. What's the point?"

The last time Han Chudong took Mochizuki Kiko to New York, he spent two million US dollars to acquire a company. After the patented formula was handed over to the laboratory for modification, the packaging was redesigned and small-scale production began.

Mason Laboratory's battery R&D department is in name only, but the toy R&D department is still in operation. As for the beauty product R&D department, it has grown to more than 80 people and is divided into the New York headquarters and San Francisco headquarters.

The expansion speed was too fast, with things changing every day. Han Chudong didn’t even know where the New York laboratory was, and the company had a dedicated person in charge.

In the past two months, we have acquired a number of patented formulas and completed the research and development of new products through improvements. The toner raw materials have been handed over to skin care product raw material manufacturers to start mass production, and the production lines are also being customized.

"I think they are all pretty good. I have asked someone to test them. It may be a bit troublesome for you to change the formula now." Ron was worried that Han Chudong would change his mind again and overturn the completed R&D project.

While speaking, he waved to the employees and asked them to help bring all the finalized samples.

There is no way, after all, Han Chudong is the boss...


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