This is a problem that not only Jiao Enfan doesn't understand, but many people in the industry don't understand either. Jiafeng Electronics needs a lot of money to get started, and it will be facing a market where competition is about to reach a fever pitch. Distributing goods will burn money!
The next day, Jiang Xiaoyan took Duoduo to kindergarten, while Lu Feng went to Jiafeng's R&D department. Currently, Jiafeng Electronics does not have its own R&D lab and has expanded its original office by cooperating with several R&D units.
Now, the entire floor of the office building belongs to Jiafeng's R&D office. When Lu Feng arrived downstairs at 8:30, there were already quite a few people standing there. Most of them were wearing glasses and staring straight at Lu Feng. Some of them were even wearing plaid shirts.
"This is the boss, President Lu!" Liu Cheng said.
No one spoke; everyone was exchanging glances with Lu Feng. Some smiled and said in a voice they could hear, "Hello, President Lu."
Although most of them were circuit engineers, Lu Feng felt that they were more like coders. He understood people who did research and development and technology. These people just kept their heads down and did their own thing. They talked a lot when they came to things in the industry, but they were really bad at interpersonal communication.
"Hello everyone, don't be shy, I just came to visit." Lu Feng waved his hand, making him feel slightly embarrassed.
If it were a normal situation, everyone would have gathered around, their faces beaming with excitement, shaking Lu Feng's hands, showering him with flattery, pleasantries, and concern. But everyone present stood there dumbfounded, looking at Liu Cheng as if asking, "Can we go back now? There are still so many things to take care of."
"Thank you all for your hard work. Let's go upstairs and take a walk." Lu Feng led the way and said, "Research and development is the core of an enterprise. If you have any difficulties, just tell me, and I will definitely do my best to help you with anything I can."
"Can we buy a logic analyzer?" a man in his thirties wearing a plaid shirt asked.
Lu Feng, filled with questions, looked at Liu Cheng and asked, "What is that thing?"
"It's for testing, and it's quite expensive. We don't have a complete set of testing equipment yet. After the New Year, we'll be renting instruments from research institutes for testing. Fortunately, this technology is very mature, and we only need to make some minor adjustments," Liu Cheng explained.
"How much would the complete set cost?"
Liu Cheng looked troubled and gave Lu Feng a wry smile, saying, "If we use international connections and pay some intermediary fees, we can probably buy the entire laboratory equipment for 30 to 50 million US dollars, but it will be used!"
"Spending so much money, and buying a used one, plus paying agency fees and asking for favors?" Lu Feng stopped and exclaimed.
“Many experimental equipment are prohibited from export. They have a blockade against us. They won’t sell them for any price. Even for old equipment, they’ll sell you a single screw for thousands of dollars. If there’s a problem, it’s like bringing in a bunch of people to repair it,” Liu Cheng said helplessly.
"Fuck it!" Lu Feng cursed as he entered the elevator.
"Sigh... it's no use cursing anyone's mother!" Liu Cheng sighed as he entered the elevator.
China lags far behind foreign countries in the electronics industry. Televisions can only be considered basic electronic devices. All slightly more advanced equipment is imported. The extent of the blockade on mid-range industrial manufacturing is astonishing.
The difference lies in materials, electronic conduction, testing equipment, and overall machine tools. Foreign products are far superior to domestic ones in terms of durability and quality. For example, Lu Feng bought a Motorola pager, while Jiang Xiaoyan got a domestic one. After less than a year, it stopped displaying even the words.
Throughout the 1990s, China was frantically catching up amidst blockades, and it was also during this decade that domestically produced goods left a bad impression, with the only exception being home appliances.
Lu Feng wandered around the office. The atmosphere was indeed rather stiff. Everyone had their own desk and were drawing silently.
This sense of focus and the enjoyment found in one's profession are joys that Lu Feng cannot experience.
Lu Feng couldn't offer any guidance on such highly specialized matters. He had originally intended to say a few words to encourage everyone, but seeing that no one wanted to talk to him, he decided not to make a fool of himself. He turned to Liu Cheng and told him to prepare for a meeting and to bring out the products he had prepared.
A dozen minutes later, seven or eight tables were pushed together in the office, with a 1.2-meter-long and 50-meter-wide blueprint on it, and several people were whispering among themselves.
"Mr. Lu, please have a seat. We have three options. Based on the prices offered by the suppliers, the lowest we can offer is this one: a 29-inch large-screen TV in gray with two rows of vertical stripes on the sides and speakers inside, which makes the TV appear larger. The cost is estimated to be around 2,200 yuan. The screen is quite basic, and the picture quality is slightly blurry."
Lu Feng frowned as he looked at the drawings and asked, "The image quality isn't important, as long as it's in color. The cost is 2,200. Does that include the venue fee, utilities, and labor?"
Liu Cheng shook his head repeatedly. As an engineer, he was only estimating the price of the assembled parts on the market.
Lu Feng silently calculated in his mind that if he didn't make a single penny, the price would have reached 3,100 yuan if he pushed the products to towns deep in the inland. If he made 200 yuan per unit, that would be 3,300 yuan, including the pass rate, transportation damage, after-sales service, etc.
A group of people were calculating on paper with pens in hand when Liu Cheng spoke up: "I think the profit margin should not be less than 20%, and the price should be set at 3,800 to 4,000 yuan."
Lu Feng picked up the water glass next to him, took a sip, and shook his head repeatedly, saying, "It's not competitive at all. Isn't this the main price range for domestic TVs right now? If you go above five thousand, people will either buy smuggled or assembled TVs or imported ones."
“Then let’s go with the second one, the 27-inch one. The cost price is 1,900 yuan. It’s a bit smaller than the previous one, and some of the components are even lower-end than the previous one. If we can’t reduce the cost, it’s really impossible to set the market price of a TV terminal below 3,000 yuan.” Liu Cheng said with difficulty.
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