1988: Back to the human world for a few years

Chapter 538: Funnel Engine (2)

In fact, there are far more people than just Mr. Zhao and Gao Qingfeng who are paying attention to Dezhou and want to personally see something from this "super-hot" state that is totally inappropriate for a newly promoted prefecture-level city.

Thanks to their status as representatives of patriotic overseas Chinese families, Chen Bingyi and Lin Keran, under Yang Mo's attitude of "nothing can be hidden from others", were given a wide berth in almost all projects, except for those involving strategically important industries. As long as they wanted to observe and understand, there would be absolutely no restrictions on them.
Therefore, over the past half month, they knew much more about the situation of Dahua Company and Urban Development Fund Company than ordinary people.

But the more they understood, the more frightened they became, and the more confused they became;
Therefore, the two people who should have returned the favor and taken the initiative to negotiate with Zhuo Mali about the investment of the "Texas Overseas Chinese Water Amusement City" which had already taken shape a long time ago, but now they still spend most of the day wandering around the commercial demonstration area every day without fail.

………………

Commercial demonstration area, commodity trading center; a "preferred commodity display area" that was only allocated half a month ago.

Looking at the dozen or so simple mini bikes on the Yiyu display stand, and the small accessories on the details of the bikes that are full of texture and coolness; even though I know that quite a few of these small accessories are actually useless on weekdays, the texture of the bikes is not because of the use of any advanced materials, but purely the credit of the designers and spray painters;

But Chen Bingyi still feels that if he really has a child, he will definitely buy him such a cool bicycle.

Lin Keran was carefully observing the children's bicycles that were only separated from the mini bicycles by a wall.

Although she has no feelings for children and has not even planned to have children, she still believes that as long as mothers see these strollers, at least half of them will be unable to move their feet, and if their financial conditions allow, they will definitely buy such a stroller for their children.

It's just that these strollers look so comfortable.

The designer seems to know how to grasp people's hearts. No matter whether it is a child stroller or a baby walker, the shape has borrowed the thickened soft cloth + ergonomics + dual sitting and reclining postures + four-belt protection design that has just become popular in Europe, and then slightly changed the details; removable sunshade, wheel brake device, bottom storage compartment and other facilities are also available, which can be said to be extremely practical.

In addition, like the children's/youth bicycles next to them, these children's bicycles pay great attention to visual impact, whether it is the aluminum frame with textured matte fine lines after anodizing, or the chariot-like double-row six-wheel structure, anyone who sees it will feel absolutely safe.

Coupled with the main color of dark goose yellow or cherry blossom pink, which is obviously carefully blended, I believe that many women, even if they don’t have children, would think of buying one to serve as a shopping trolley to show off their fashion.

Thinking of this, Lin Keran and Chen Bingyi looked at each other.

Even though I have seen a lot of good things in the commercial demonstration zone during this period, I still can't help but sigh every time I come here to inspect.

Dahua is probably the company in mainland China that understands packaging best and is best at grasping consumer needs.

It is just a pile of ordinary materials, but under their guidance, they can be transformed into fashionable products with great visual impact.

This is completely different from the domestic companies that their parents had come into contact with before!
Thinking of this, the two looked at the large group of out-of-town bosses and corporate representatives who were surrounding the staff... Obviously, even the most brainless person could see the market potential of these bicycles and children's cars through the two sets of price tags, especially the overseas market potential; presumably, in order to compete for the cooperation rights and agency rights, there will be another fierce competition today.

"Are these bicycles and baby bikes really assembled from spare parts supplied from that small county town in Pingxiang, Hebei Province?"

Lin Keran thought of the information about this cross-domain cooperation project and couldn't help but wonder if there was something wrong with his memory.

As an undisputed bicycle power, almost every province in China had its own bicycle industry in the 1970s and 1980s. Among them, the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta and Tianjin regions had the largest production scale and the highest popularity.

Therefore, when Lin Keran and Chen Bingyi saw in the plan that the project chose Pingxiang, Hebei Province, a small county they had never heard of, as the procurement location for major components, they almost thought that the plan in their hands had been tampered with.

Fortunately, Zhuomali explained to them patiently that Dahua Company did this mainly to build its own locational advantages and create an economic ecosystem centered on Texas through industrial interconnection. She finally believed it... Dahua Company has extremely comprehensive industrial categories and foundations in Qilu, and still has a large number of projects in cooperation with Hebei and Henan provinces. She couldn't help but believe that Yang Mo had his own considerations.

But when she actually saw the real thing, she couldn't help but doubt it again... She also looked up information about Pingxiang County afterwards. Although that small county, which currently has a population of only a few hundred thousand, has gradually become a distribution center for bicycle repair, spare parts production and vehicle assembly since the early 1980s, the technical foundation is there after all. She didn't believe that such cool bicycles and children's cars could be assembled there.

Ok……

That’s right, in fact, these children/youth bicycles and strollers are of the same approach as the previous car modification factory projects. To put it bluntly, they intend to use the form of “market first, factory later”, through modification + large-scale procurement of core components, and directly assemble them into a new product.

After Chen Bingyi pondered for a while, he shook his head: "Yes, but probably not."

As he said this, he glanced at his companions and said, "You should have also seen the industrial data of Pingxiang County, Hebei Province. They still focus on the traditional 28-bar assembly business to produce related bicycle parts;"

"So if you look closely at the children's bicycles on the display stand, it should not be difficult to guess that the main components such as tires, pedals, brakes, chains, etc. are basically produced by them according to Dahua's requirements and size specifications... Although these components are the main components, except for the brake system, which will be flexible according to demand, the other components are actually not high-tech and are completely within the industrial manufacturing capabilities of Pingxiang County."

"However, things like anodized aluminum frames, flywheels, rear axles, and specially designed handlebars, kickstands, mini lights, and body parts require either special industrial processing steps or specialized standardized production molds and the use of appropriate materials, which is not something Pingxiang County can produce today... At least before getting a large order, Pingxiang County is unlikely to spend so much effort and money on such a loss-making business."

"So, if things go as expected, these parts that require certain technical content or special customized accessories should be produced by township enterprises in Dezhou... Dahua Company has been promoting the sinking of industries in the past one or two years. With the industrial foundation of Qilu, as long as the business resources are well connected, it is not difficult for township enterprises to produce these accessories with certain technical content. Moreover, due to some well-known reasons, their quality control work can be done better."

At this point, Chen Bingyi's eyes showed a strange look: "And if I guess correctly, these spare parts are not even produced by a township enterprise, but are divided into several enterprises for production, and then handed over to another enterprise for assembly."

Lin Keran looked at him incredulously: "With just this little stuff, why do we have to divide it among several companies to produce it separately? Isn't Dahua Company afraid that these companies will starve to death?"

Chen Bingyi shook his head: "Ms. Lin, your Lin family didn't do business before, so it's normal that you know too much about some things... Let me ask you, do you think these children's/youth bicycles we see now have market potential?"

Lin Keran glanced at him with some dissatisfaction, then thought for a moment: "It's hard to say about the domestic market. Probably only a small wave of sales can be achieved in those first-tier cities. The market is probably limited, but if the export qualification is authorized, then the market potential is still quite large... After all, cycling is very popular in Europe and the United States, and children's/youth bicycles are a somewhat neglected market segment."

Chen Bingyi nodded. "That's right. Focusing on the children's/youth market segment will not only help Dahua avoid a lot of unnecessary trouble in China, but also bring in profits far exceeding those of mainstream adult bicycles. The future market potential is also very significant... Those businessmen saw this, so they gathered together so frantically to grab the cooperation and agency rights."

Lin Keran curled his lips and said, "You mean because the market capacity is large, once the market opens up, those township enterprises won't starve to death even if they only produce one or two kinds of accessories?"

"I think you're taking it for granted. When other people in the country discover this piece of cake, won't they come to grab it? Just take this group of people in front of me as an example. Even though they are all like possessed people now, believe it or not, once the situation is opened up and the sales channels are in their hands, these people will immediately start a new business in private!"

Chen Bingyi smiled and shook his head: "No, you are wrong. You are still looking at the market with the mentality of the underworld. This will cause you to suffer a great loss!" Then, he glanced at Lin Keran, whose expression began to look bad, and sighed: "These children's/youth bicycles are not individual parts, but a commodity, a complete commodity delivered to the consumer, so you can't look at it with the market rules of spare parts!"

"For products like this that deal directly with consumers, first-mover advantage is very important. Once consumers think your products are good, they will often only recognize your brand."

After a slight pause, Chen Bingyi lowered his voice a little: "So, once these bicycles in front of you can prove that they can open up the market, the most valuable thing is not their novel and fashionable design, nor the new materials or modification technology used in them, but... their brand!"

brand?

Lin Keran reacted immediately.

Chen Bingyi smiled and said, "So you see, Dahua is not afraid that these businessmen will start a new business after the cooperation, because the main market for this kind of goods is in Europe and the United States. Even if you assemble an identical bicycle, it will still be difficult to sell... Because Dahua has already taken the lead, and people in Europe and the United States, when the market has already improved, are unlikely to be willing to take this kind of sinking risk."

"In fact, I think Dahua Company is hoping that these businessmen can start a new business driven by profit, and then use all kinds of means. In this way, the parts manufacturers in Texas will receive more orders, and their goal will be achieved... Don't forget that Dahua Company is an asset management company, and it is also a central enterprise. You can't look at them from the perspective of a brand manufacturer."

Do you wish these people could start a new business?

Will there be more orders from those township enterprises?
What is this and what?
Why don’t I quite understand?
Looking at Lin Keran's confused expression, Chen Bingyi sighed: "Ms. Lin, you have to know that if my previous guess is true, and Dahua Company gives the aluminum frame, flywheel, rear axle and other parts to the local township enterprises in DZ City during the business distribution process, then my previous judgment will definitely come true!"

Lin Keran was completely confused: "Why is this?"

Chen Bingyi spread his hands: "Because even though these parts don't seem to have very high technical content, in fact, to make them well, they also need a relatively complete industrial system to cooperate and provide technical support... Whether it's materials, processing machines, process procedures, precision control, ergonomics, there are a series of complex disciplines involved behind them. Under the current social rules in China, this is simply not something that a private enterprise with few resources can handle."

"So, the fact that these children's/youth bicycle samples can appear in front of us in such a short time can only prove one thing... Mr. Yang is using his influence to tilt local industrial technology resources towards these township enterprises."

Lin Keran shook his head: "I still don't understand."

Chen Bingyi was somewhat helpless: "Under a reasonable incentive and spurring mechanism, the phrase 'one step faster, every step faster' can be applied to almost every industry. With the inclination of DZ City's industrial technology resources and the financial returns brought by the market, do you think those township enterprises will still stand still in terms of technology level and manufacturing process?"

"Even if they want to, do you think Mr. Yang's style of doing things will allow them to stay where they are?"

"At least a 3-5 year lead is enough for technology iteration. Even if it fails, these companies can still leave latecomers far behind in terms of manufacturing costs and quality stability through process improvements, increased proficiency, and optimized yield rates!"

"If the cost is low, the price can be lowered!"

“What is business pursuing?”

“It’s profit!”

"With such a group of spare parts suppliers with reliable product quality, guaranteed production capacity and lower prices, no matter who wants to enter the field of children's/youth bicycles in the future, the first thing they think of is to find them to customize spare parts!"

"It's the same with bicycles, and it's the same with those kids' bikes you just saw!"

"The greatest support Mr. Yang gives to these companies is not the current orders, but giving them an opportunity to lead the industry!"

"Oh, don't underestimate these small parts..."

At this point, Chen Bingyi paused, his expression becoming a little complicated again: "Ms. Lin, have you heard of the term [hidden champion enterprise]?"

Hidden champion company?

Is this the hidden champion company that Germany is so proud of and is the key to becoming Europe's first industrial power and a major exporter of industrial products?

Lin Keran understood it all at once, and then took a breath: "Mr. Chen, you mean... Dahua Company, no, Mr. Yang, has been making plans to incubate hidden champion companies during this period?"

Chen Bingyi nodded: "Perhaps Mr. Yang has other plans, but he must want to incubate a large number of local hidden champion companies. Otherwise, he would not have made so many radical moves as the general manager of the Urban Real Estate Fund Company."

When he thought that this plan might have started three years ago, and the other party was even a young man who was a year younger than him, Chen Bingyi couldn't help but sigh.

After sighing, Chen Bingyi put away his complicated emotions and looked seriously at the beautiful woman in front of him, who in his opinion could not be called a qualified work partner: "So, Miss Lin, I personally think that our investment plan for this trip may need to be slightly adjusted."

Since they are transferring assets and they also want to make friends with Yang Mo, then with the decades of heritage of the Lin and Chen families, it is naturally impossible for them to come to Texas and just invest in an "Overseas Chinese Water Park" and be done with it. After all, the current labor costs and material costs in the country are pitifully low, which makes them feel the pain of "having money but not being able to spend it".

Lin Keran thought about it, and nodded in agreement: "Since the clan wants to be friends with Mr. Yang for a long time, then of course we can't just keep investing money in insignificant projects. We have to try our best to tickle Mr. Yang's itch, and then try our best to keep pace with him... Mr. Chen, do you have any good ideas?"

Chen Bingyi shook his head. "There's no rush for this. It seems that the Urban Real Estate Fund Company hasn't run out of money yet... Let's go around and see. My uncle has emphasized that friends should share money. If we rush to decide on the project, we will end up standing by and staring blankly when Mr. Yang is in urgent need of funds. That would be bad."

Lin Keran understood immediately and nodded: "I agree. Good steel should be spent on the blade. Timing is the most important... The booth over there seems to be a furniture booth. This seems to be a popular track. Let's go to the front and take a look!"

Chen Bingyi nodded, looked around the "preferred product display area" which was at least 1000 square meters in size, and inexplicably felt a sense of awe in his heart, then slowly walked forward...

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(End of this chapter)