April 19th, Tuesday.

Outu Technology.

In the conference room, Chang You was excitedly telling Outu Technology’s core employees about the fruitful results achieved after the OTTO E1 phone launch.

Pei Qian was also present, though his expression wasn’t particularly pleasant.

Because he felt like he was being flogged…

Since the OTTO phone launch event went viral, the brand has become a very peculiar one.

Here, “peculiar” was a neutral term.

The phone’s shortcomings were obvious.

It was too heavy and had no proprietary technology—everything was supply chain technology and manufacturer outsourcing. Its various parameters could only be described as relatively balanced and average, without any eye-catching cutting-edge technology.

Including the phone’s operating system, which was closer to the native Android ecosystem—clean and refreshing for some people, but overly simplistic and inconvenient for others.

However, the phone’s highlights were also prominent enough to make it unforgettable after just one glance.

It had high brand recognition. The cool logo on the back had appeared in “Beautiful Tomorrow,” and many people would recognize it as that phone selling for over 8,000 yuan as soon as it was pulled out.

At the same time, Chang You’s performance at the launch event added considerable value to the phone. Combined with the various benefits and added value the phone contained, it seemed to have become a unique existence in its price range.

For many wealthy people living in Jingzhou or heavily reliant on Tenda’s other industries, this phone was currently a choice that they might not necessarily be able to afford, but was irreplaceable.

To date, OTTO phone sales had reached 160,000 units, ending the previous out-of-stock status and achieving ready stock supply. Sales were still growing slowly, but there wouldn’t be the explosive sales situation like before.

This performance was undoubtedly still in the “others” category in the domestic market. The sales of the new phone from Chang You’s previous company, Hongcheng Technology, were about the same number.

In terms of domestic market share, it was probably less than half a percent.

But the amazing thing was that Hongcheng Technology quickly went bankrupt, selling that many phones, while Outu Technology was thriving with these sales figures.

With the same low profit margin, the higher the phone’s price, the more money they made.

If selling a thousand-yuan phone maintained a 5% profit, they would earn only thirty or forty yuan per phone. Selling 100,000 units would earn just three to four million yuan, not even enough to fill the supply chain’s gaps.

But selling at the 8,000 yuan price point with a 5% profit meant earning 400 yuan per phone. Selling 100,000 units would earn 40 million yuan.

So, even if Outu Technology gave back all the concessions from other industries and only retained a 5% profit, they would still earn quite a bit!

This created a virtuous cycle.

Pei Qian never expected that this high price would end up hurting him.

Of course, looking at it calmly, these sales figures weren’t completely unacceptable to Pei Qian.

After all, the mobile phone market was now considered a red ocean. Those major brand manufacturers would only increase their market share, and even manufacturers ranking third or fourth would have a hard time, let alone Outu Technology, which ranked outside the top ten.

Being able to sell these 160,000 units was already a miracle.

And the most magical part was that, although it was an “others” phone, the OTTO E1 was an internet celebrity device with quite high online visibility, though most people wouldn’t spend money to buy it.

Chang You spoke with pride.

After all, as a new brand, Outu Technology had already taken a successful first step. And because the demand wasn’t large, they had solved the supply problem. People would continue to buy it later, allowing for long-term profitability.

Pei Qian listened with some depression and coughed lightly: “Doesn’t the Outu phone have any problems at all now?”

Chang You immediately smiled: “Don’t worry, Mr. Pei, I’m about to get to that!”

Chang You was well-prepared for this.

He knew very clearly that Mr. Pei was someone who didn’t like to hear about achievements but preferred to find problems. So when preparing for this meeting, he had already arranged to analyze the problems and determine future development direction after introducing the results.

Pei Qian had thought his question would pour cold water on Chang You, but Chang You was already prepared.

This left Pei Qian speechless, feeling that his employees seemed to be developing stronger resistance and becoming harder to subdue…

After introducing the results, Chang You began to talk about the phone’s shortcomings.

“A major problem with our phone currently is inventory.”

“Inventory is a difficult problem for small manufacturers to solve, ultimately because of money. To stock large quantities, you need to give the supply chain enough money while also holding a lot of stock in warehouses.”

“Holding stock is a dangerous thing. If a phone sells for 2,000 yuan and earns 100 yuan, it means that for each phone in stock, you need to sell 20 phones to earn it back—that’s a frightening number.”

“But not having stock also creates a problem: consumers’ impulse to buy can’t be satisfied immediately. After they cool down because of no stock, they might go buy other brands’ phones.”

“This is a very thorny issue for a company of our size.”

“In addition, our phone’s attention to detail is far from enough, and as a high-end phone, these details are essential…”

“…In short, our goal for the next stage should be steady progress, using the reputation and buzz we’ve already established to better integrate the supply chain. We should strive to launch an improved version of the E1 phone in the second half of this year, ensuring stock availability from the beginning of sales, taking it to the next level!”

Pei Qian remained silent.

He seemed to have discovered a paradox.

In many cases, when he guided, things would undergo some inexplicable changes, ultimately making the project profitable.

But if he didn’t guide and let things be, the project would still be profitable.

Take this time for example: Chang You had set a steady progress path for the OTTO phone, so should Pei Qian intervene or not?

After Chang You finished speaking, he instinctively observed Mr. Pei’s reaction.

However, Mr. Pei was now frowning slightly, deep in thought.

Chang You couldn’t help feeling a bit nervous.

What was Mr. Pei thinking?

Did he think there was a problem with my plan and was considering a better one?

That didn’t seem right. Mr. Pei should be far-sighted and already have a better plan. He wouldn’t just start thinking now.

Or was Mr. Pei suddenly thinking of something else, deciding to overturn his already-conceived plan and take it to another level?

Was what Mr. Pei thinking about two levels above what I could comprehend?

What could it be?

Forget it, I shouldn’t try to guess. This isn’t a level I can reach. I should just wait patiently for Mr. Pei to think it through.

Chang You waited patiently.

Everyone else waited patiently, too.

Pei Qian struggled for two minutes, then noticed the silence in the room. He looked up and around, only to find everyone looking at him with expectant eyes.

Pei Qian realized why the scene was so quiet—everyone was waiting for him to speak…

This was awkward. He had to say something now.

He couldn’t let everyone wait for so long only to say “I have no opinion,” could he?

That would probably trigger even deeper speculation from everyone.

Mr. Pei had considered for so long, why did he say “no opinion”? Did he have a better plan but didn’t speak it out? What kind of plan was it? And why didn’t he say it? What considerations led to this?

Pei Qian thought that everyone’s speculation might be even more frightening.

He might as well point them in the wrong direction. Even if the final result was still a profit, earning less would be fine!

With this in mind, Pei Qian spoke: “Don’t make new phones anymore. Just sell the existing stock casually, and don’t continue with marketing.”

Chang You nodded: “Yes, alright, Mr. Pei. And then?”

Pei Qian: “…”

What did this mean? Were they not surprised at all now?

They should at least show a surprised expression to confirm that my plan was unreliable!

But looking at the others in the conference room, they all had serious expressions, earnestly waiting for Pei Qian to continue.

Pei Qian sighed silently in his heart and had to continue.

“Extend the next goal, stretch it to 10 months to a year.”

“Set up a software laboratory to make some useful apps, improve the phone system, optimize image algorithms, and the like.”

“We promised customers before that we would launch two versions of the phone system, supporting one-click switching. Now we only have the simplified version, not the feature-rich version.”

“What we’ve promised must be fulfilled.”

Chang You quietly reminded: “Mr. Pei, the feature-rich version was originally planned to be developed simultaneously with the new phone, as discussed before.”

Pei Qian was taken aback.

Had they discussed this?

Oh, it seemed they had indeed.

But Pei Qian still maintained a serious expression: “R&D resources are limited. We must concentrate our efforts on big matters. With the same R&D effort but different investments, the results will naturally be worlds apart.”

“Don’t think you can just casually develop a feature-rich version of Otto OS to fool consumers. If we’re going to do it, we must do it perfectly, understand?”

Chang You felt somewhat ashamed and quickly nodded: “Yes, Mr. Pei.”

Pei Qian was considering that after entering this cycle, there could be another project delayed to the next cycle for settlement.

Currently, Outu Technology seems to be a good choice.

For Pei Qian, delayed projects needed to have three characteristics: first, currently causing enormous harm; second, the project itself must be able to invest substantial resources, serving as a blitz spending purpose; third, it must be completed or produce products promptly in the next cycle.

Outu’s phone met all of these.

Pei Qian emphasized that it must be a software laboratory, not a hardware laboratory.

Although a hardware laboratory seemed to burn more money, it could also easily burn half the time without producing results.

Because hardware wasn’t easy to fudge—what you made either worked or didn’t, with no ambiguous options.

What if they didn’t produce anything usable before the settlement? Wouldn’t that be the end?

A software laboratory could also burn a lot of money, but it was easier to produce results, with less chance of missing the settlement.

Even if they only optimized one version of the system, launched a decent app, or optimized the phone’s imaging system algorithm, it would still count as results. They could somehow find some profit points, which should be enough to muddle through in the system.

Chang You carefully noted down Mr. Pei’s requirements without raising any questions.

From market positioning to brand marketing, the OTTO E1 phone was all handled by Mr. Pei, which had completely won over Chang You.

Now Chang You’s principle was to fully accomplish Mr. Pei’s requirements when he had them, and to decide the direction himself when Mr. Pei had no requirements.

Chang You did think Mr. Pei’s goal was a bit too small. In a period of 10 months to a year, just optimizing the phone system, making a few apps, and then researching imaging algorithms?

It was like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

But since Mr. Pei had required it, he didn’t dare to be careless, after all, Mr. Pei’s requirement had always been perfection.

Seeing everyone seriously taking notes, Pei Qian suddenly felt that life was as lonely as snow.

He didn’t know how everyone would interpret his words.

Ah, being misinterpreted was the fate of the one who expresses!