Reborn since 1993

Chapter 373 Things have changed

"The price of Torch Group's lighters is too low. Once the price is announced, other domestic lighter companies will have no place to stand in the domestic market. They can only make a living abroad!"

Although Xinhai Company has joined Torch Group, Huang Guangze actually has some complaints about Torch Group.

Companies including Xinhai are all active abroad. It is true that they sell lighters overseas, but they have not thought about completely abandoning the domestic lighter market.

Before Torch Group launched its lighters, even Huang Xinhai, Huang Guangze and others had a hunch that Torch Group’s large-scale mass production might bring down the price of lighters, but they did not expect that Torch Group could launch an injection-molded lighter for one dollar!

The high-temperature resistant plastic lighters launched by Torch Group almost completely crush metal lighters in terms of cost. If we only compare the prices, there is no comparison between the two.

Huang Guangze looked at Huang Xinhai and said, "Brother, this time many lighter manufacturers that we are familiar with want to unite to boycott Torch Group.

What I am most afraid of is that Torch Group is not satisfied with occupying the domestic lighter market and will enter the overseas market, and then we will have no chance to survive!"

Suddenly, there were voices against Torch Group. The concern was not just about Torch Group's skyrocketing shipment volume. Now Torch Group was actually activating the demand in the domestic lighter market.

What the lighter manufacturers fear the most is that the Torch Group will start exporting one day. That will be a nightmare for domestic lighter manufacturers!

Domestic lighter manufacturers now seem to sell lighters for only a dozen or dozens of yuan, but overseas, they actually also adopt a low-price lighter strategy and win by quantity.

Previously, domestic lighters had to pay tariffs when exported, and a large portion of the profits had to be shared with local agents, plus shipping costs, the materials used to produce metal lighters, and the production model, which was mainly based on family workshops and small companies, was not very efficient. As a result, the cost of metal lighters exported from China to overseas was actually not low, and the profits were not as high as imagined.

If Torch Group goes overseas, even if it goes overseas, a lighter that costs one RMB can be sold for one dollar or even two dollars locally. The price has much more cost advantages than other metal lighters!

Seeing the booming sales of Torch Group, many domestic lighter manufacturers, especially several giant lighter manufacturers, are really beginning to worry. If Torch Group goes overseas one day, will they still have a way to survive? !

After hearing Huang Guangze's words, Huang Xinhai hesitated for a moment, then shook his head, looked at Huang Guangze, and said seriously, "Do you think that with the current scale of Torch Group and the support of so many units and leaders for Torch Group, will Torch Group stop production just because of the boycott of companies like us?"

Huang Guangze was speechless when asked how much money has been invested in Torch Group and Torch Industrial Park. It is said that the investment is 1 billion RMB. Even if the current investment scale is not that large, judging from the scale of Torch Group, which has built a huge building from the ground up, and the rumored establishment of several large laboratories, there is no doubt that 700 to 800 million yuan has been invested.

Furthermore, how many people have been promoted in their careers because of the Torch Group? If the Torch Group stops production, wouldn’t that negate their contributions?
“In the future, in the mass consumer lighter market, I am afraid that not only domestic lighter manufacturers, but even overseas manufacturers will not be able to compete with Torch Group.

No matter which lighter manufacturer, I am afraid that they can't beat Torch Group in this respect. The mass-market lighter market in China and abroad will probably belong to Torch Group!"

Huang Xinhai has been in this business for so many years and he still has some vision. With a one-dollar lighter, not only can it sweep the domestic lighter market, but it can also grab a large market share abroad. He is not going to compete with Torch Group in this regard because he can't beat them at all!
"Then what should we do?" Huang Guangze asked anxiously when he heard that Huang Xinhai seemed to be planning to give up competing with Torch Group.

“Transform!”

“Enter the market of mid-range or high-end lighters, retro lighters, etc.”

Huang Xinhai picked up the metal lighter on the table and said to Huang Guangze, "In the low-end lighter market, the price war is too fierce and the profit is too low!

This year, I went to America, old Europe and other places for investigation. There, retro-looking lighters and high-end lighter markets are emerging. Although the scale of this market is still small, the profit is much higher than that of low-end lighters.

I plan to establish a foreign brand of lighters in France, and use this brand to enter the high-end and retro lighter market! "

Huang Xinhai was really tired of fighting the price war. After the emergence of Torch Group, he knew that Xinhai could no longer sustain the business and decided to transform.

As for establishing a foreign brand overseas, this is a trick that many companies are using now. In the future, this trick may be considered a shortcut, but now, many people still fall for it and think that foreign brands are superior.

Not only in the domestic market, but also in overseas markets, if a brand is from old Europe or America, it may also be more popular. The prejudice of foreign countries against domestic products will not disappear in a short time.

"The Torch Industrial Park has a complete lighter industry chain. We will put the production here, which can greatly reduce the cost. As long as we are responsible for the appearance design and the brand can be established, the profit will definitely be much higher than before!"

Looking at Huang Xinhai who was full of confidence, Huang Guang was hesitant to speak. He wanted to say, is it that easy to build a brand? But thinking, it seems that there is really no other choice now. Torch Group is like a bulldozer, rushing and ramming other lighter manufacturers. They have to transform. Of course, they can also choose to go head-to-head with Torch Group. It depends on whether they will be crushed into slag by Torch Group.

The lighter industry has reached a point where there are more people like Huang Xinhai who want to transform. It is the emergence of Torch Group that has catalyzed this scenario.

Just as Huang Xinhai was preparing to open a new factory in the Torch Industrial Park and recruit designers and R&D personnel to develop a new type of lighter, he was startled by a sudden piece of news.

"Recently, five Yanjing departments, including the Economic and Trade Commission, Development and Reform Commission, Foreign Exchange Commission, Industry and Commerce Commission, and Customs Administration, have planned to support domestic lighter manufacturers, establish a national lighter import and export association, and formulate detailed rules for the lighter industry in order to better develop the domestic lighter industry..."

Huang Xinhai was filled with doubt and surprise when he saw the rumors in the newspaper. The Lighter Import and Export Association, just by hearing the name, one could vaguely understand what this association was used for.

As for people in the industry, when they saw the news in the newspaper, they immediately thought that this was a rumor and that within a few days, the Lighter Import and Export Association would emerge.

"What exactly does Torch Group want to do?" Huang Guangze asked Huang Xinhai in surprise and doubt.

Take a look at the major departments mentioned in the newspaper, and think about which lighter manufacturer they support, and you will understand which company this news is for. If the Lighter Import and Export Association is really established, it will not unexpectedly be formed with the Torch Group as the main body. This is something that anyone with a discerning eye can see.

“The lighter industry is really going to... change!”

As he put down the newspaper, Huang Xinhai muttered to himself that he was sure that as long as the Lighter Import and Export Association was established, the entire domestic lighter industry would basically change, and even the global lighter industry would be affected.

Compared to Huang Xinhai's shock at the news, for some lighter manufacturers who mainly rely on exports, this news was like a bolt from the blue.

……

"This is just nonsense!"

"What is Torch Group trying to do? Do they want to ride on our heads and shit and piss on us?"

"We had no idea about the establishment of the Lighter Import and Export Association. Whose opinion did they seek?"

"This is too biased. Instead of helping Torch Group to rise to power, it would be better to just shut us down!"

Inside a teahouse box, all kinds of cursing, joking, and mocking voices could be heard. Those gathered here today were all from companies in the lighter industry.

In the past, these lighter manufacturers competed with each other and engaged in countless intrigues. They would often fight tooth and nail for a contract manufacturing order from a Japanese lighter manufacturer, and would not give up the order even if it meant losing money.

After going overseas, they also started fighting each other and price wars were fierce, and in the end they made less and less profit.

Moreover, there were no constraints and rules in the lighter industry before, which led to these lighter manufacturers having completely different quality and standards for lighters sold overseas and domestically!
In the past, when the lighter industry faced anti-dumping lawsuits overseas, it had no choice but to switch from exports to domestic sales, and began selling lighters that were originally sold overseas domestically. It was then that domestic users realized that there were actually two standards for lighters!
Before that, lighters exported overseas were of the best quality, with top-notch safety performance, durability and workmanship.

Among the lighters sold to domestic users, there are too many that spontaneously ignite, explode, have poor workmanship, and have rough casings. There have even been cases of lighters exploding when placed in trouser pockets or in cars. There is no shortage of accidents caused by lighters.

It was not until that batch of lighters originally intended for export were sold to domestic users that people in China realized that the safety performance of lighters can be guaranteed. After they became difficult to sell abroad, many lighter manufacturers focused on the domestic market, which gradually improved the quality of domestic lighters!
"enough!"

Listening to the noisy, noisy and cursing in the box, Gu Ming slammed the teacup in his hand heavily on the table.

As soon as Gu Ming opened his mouth, the box suddenly became quiet, which shows his prestige among the crowd. This comes from his lighter company, which has been ranked first in the domestic lighter export list for several consecutive years, producing more than 50 million lighters a year, and is considered a giant company in the industry.

Of course, this was in the past. Now, a certain company’s monthly lighter production capacity exceeds Gu Ming’s company’s annual lighter production…

(End of this chapter)