Rebirth Tokyo 1986

Chapter 42 Patent Rights

Big retailers should pay attention to it, and agents should not be ignored. After seeing off giants such as JCPenney and Walmart, Masato Takeshita immediately received Michael in his office.

"Thank you for this time."

"No, it was just a coincidence."

Michael was very humble and hoped that Masato Takeshita would give him more discounts or more territory in recognition of his help in making the connection.

"One of my life philosophies is that merit must be rewarded. How about this, from now on, all these places will be handed over to you for agency."

Masato Takeshita took out a map of the United States and directly assigned the agency rights of 10 western states, including California and Washington, to Michael. In the future, he will fully represent Matsumoto Manufacturing and manage the suitcase market in these 10 states.

Of course, this is excluding large listed retailers.

Giant retailers, led by Sears and Walmart, will be directly managed by Matsumoto Manufacturing.

"Really? Thank you!"

Although Michael had a feeling that he would definitely gain a lot from this trip and thought that he might get the agency rights for the western region, he was still very excited when he actually heard the news.

"This is what you deserve."

"Well, don't worry, I will definitely manage this area well."

In addition to handing over the agency rights of the 10 western states to Michael, the two signed a new contract. Matsumoto Manufacturing invested 2 million yen in the United Luggage Company that Michael had just established and took away 30% of the shares.

In the future, Matsumoto Manufacturing will refer to United Luggage in other regions and control 30% of the shares. The advantage of this is that it binds the two parties together without worrying about backstabbing.

However, unlike Michael, Matsumoto Manufacturing will no longer select amateurs for other regions, but will look for agents with certain qualifications, and the two parties will jointly establish a joint venture.

This is more convenient and there is no need to build channels bit by bit.

……

Matsumoto Manufacturing has received a series of high-value orders from major American retailers, which has made Japanese luggage manufacturers completely uneasy.

They began to act in groups, frequently going in and out of congressmen's houses and large and small trading companies. Soon, Industrial Bank could no longer bear the overt and covert admonitions from all sides and chose to bow to the general trend.

"Let's go and publish the patent conditions we have formulated."

Masato Takeshita was mentally prepared and made frequent plans. Since even Industrial Bank couldn't stop him this time, Matsumoto, who had small arms and legs, could only choose to obey.

However, open patents are allowed, but the money cannot be small.

"200 yen + 10% sales commission, this is too expensive."

“Yes, this is too expensive.”

"With such a high commission, wouldn't we become a contract manufacturer?"

"Yes, that is."

All major luggage manufacturers are very dissatisfied and protest against Matsumoto's unfair terms.

"Isn't this a tiered system? For annual sales of more than 400 million units, we only charge 100 yen + 5% of the patent fee."

The earliest patent scheme of Matsumoto Manufacturing was a one-size-fits-all approach, with a fixed commission of 200+10%. Later, after careful consideration, a step-by-step scheme was developed.

年销售量不超过50万件的，统一收取200+10%提成；50万到100万件，200+9%提成。

And so on, for the final orders above 400 million pieces, all of them will receive a commission of 200+5%.

"More than 400 million pieces, is that possible? It's simply not realistic."

"Yes, 400 million is too many."

"It's better to charge a fixed licensing fee, which is convenient for both companies." "Yeah, sales commission is too troublesome."

Every company has a heart for growth, and everyone would rather buy out rather than pay patent fees continuously.

"Four million pieces is not a lot. Our current annual output is over five million, and demand is outstripping supply."

Matsumoto Manufacturing has been expanding and recruiting people continuously, and has now grown into a small giant with 5000 employees. I believe that with the passage of time, it is not a dream to have 2 employees.

Although it is not yet possible to easily manipulate the Ota Ward election, and it is not possible to determine who will become a councilor, if the gap between the two sides is not big, Matsumoto Manufacturing can become a decisive force.

This is also the status of industrial factories, providing stable employment and stable votes.

As she spoke, Yuriko Kagawa, at the suggestion of Masato Takeshita, showed all the relevant data about the company's trolley suitcases in recent months to all major luggage manufacturers.

"There is a complete lack of trolley suitcases in the market right now. Our company can sell every one we produce, and demand simply cannot keep up with supply. According to current data, the global suitcase market is estimated to be at least hundreds of millions of pieces per year."

"Matsumoto Manufacturing alone cannot consume it all, and even Matsumoto Manufacturing can only consume a small part of it."

Masato Takeshita kept making promises to the luggage companies, hoping that they would agree to Matsumoto Manufacturing's conditions. If these luggage companies insisted on buying out, Masato Takeshita would eventually have no choice but to agree.

As a company, don't think about going against the entire industry.

"Okay, we agreed. I hope what you said is true."

"Don't worry, it's absolutely true." Masato Takeshita looked at the excited president of the luggage company and assured him by patting his chest.

After everyone left, Takeshita Masato slumped in his chair. Seeing this, Kagawa Yuriko chuckled and asked, "President, you are lying, right?"

"No, everything I said is true, but some of it cannot be realized."

If you want to hide something, then you must tell the whole truth.

Is the global market for trolley suitcases worth over 100 million?

indeed!

But this period may be extended to more than ten years, by which time Matsumoto's patent will be about to expire.

More importantly, the vast majority of the hundreds of millions of suitcases will be produced in developing countries. Highly developed economies like Japan can only occupy a part of the high-end market.

Eventually, Japan will be able to produce tens of millions, which will be an incredible number.

Suitcases are so simple to make that even a workshop can make them. Japanese-made trolley suitcases are destined to compete only in developed countries.

Because for developing countries, the prices of Japanese products are too expensive and they simply cannot afford them.

The Nintendo FC game console is also similar.

Is this thing good?

very good.

Not to mention anything else, in mainland China alone, the sales of game consoles such as Subor, which were later imitated from Nintendo FC, reached hundreds of millions.

But this thing is too expensive for most Chinese people. Except for a very small number of people who have the money to buy it, most people can't afford it.

This is even more true for cassettes, as not many people can afford genuine cassettes.

Matsumoto Manufacturing must not make the same mistake as Nintendo and misjudge the market situation in developing countries such as China.

Yuriko Kagawa thought about it carefully and soon found the real answer: "Global sales of over 100 million should be counted among those underdeveloped countries."

Masato Takeshita praised her generously: "Yes, Yuriko is indeed smart."

(End of this chapter)