Mediterranean hegemon

"But Master, today I have contacted some business friends. They think that the price of the deluxe version can actually be higher. Now the deluxe version is only 1,000 liras more expensive than the standard version. Most people will bite the bullet and buy the deluxe version, which does not reflect the characteristics and status. Come." Antonio thought for a long time and finally decided to say this.

"You mean I set the price too low?"

The other party did not express his position, only said: "Orders are basically for the deluxe version, and there are almost no standard versions..."

Contini smiled and shook his head: "I did it on purpose."

"Deliberately?" Antonio thought for a while, but didn't understand what it meant.

"There are two kinds of beer in the bar, one is a large beer, and the other is a super large beer. The price is only a little more expensive, but there are a lot of things. Which one would the average person choose?"

"Extra large cup, looks like a better deal."

"Actually, I just wanted to sell you a super large cup. The large cup is deliberately placed for you to compare and balance your mentality. For normal people, drinking a large cup is enough. I choose the extra large cup simply because I am greedy for cheap. "

"I rarely have it, but in reality there are quite a few such situations."

"This is one, and the other is to lower the price of the deluxe version. I don't want the deluxe version to be too high-minded and become a toy only for the rich. All my business goals are aimed at the middle class group, such as newspapers and radios, and motorcycles." The same is true for cars, and it will be the same for cars in the future," Contini explained. "The annual salary of skilled industrial workers in Italy is only 10,000 lire. They must not be able to afford a luxury version of 4,999 lire, and it is probably difficult for them to afford 3,999 lire. , but the middle class can afford 4999. The significant difference between the product positioning between the middle class and the wealthy class is that the sales gap between them may be more than 10 times. Mercedes-Benz cars are much more expensive and more profitable than Ford Model T cars, but Which one sells better?”

"Are you going to adopt a strategy of small profits but quick turnover?"

"It's not just small profits but quick turnover, there are other considerations..." Contini gave an example. "With the same profit of 1 million liras, do you want to sell 100 units or 10,000 units?"

"100 units will give our products more identity and status, less pressure on subsequent maintenance, and less difficulty in management."

Contini shook his head: "My choice is exactly the opposite of yours. I chose to sell 10,000 units. Even if I can sell 10,000 units, I can accept only making 900,000 or even 800,000 lire in the early stage."

"Why?"

"Follow-up supporting services. 10,000 units means that there will be a steady stream of accessories and modified parts for later secondary sales. 100 units will not be sold much. I promise a 3-year warranty, but normal wear and tear and man-made damage will be required. Customers pay for it themselves, and this is a long-term business," Contini said with a smile, "I hope to form a motorcycle culture with Italian characteristics within a certain period of time. If there are only 100 units of luxury goods, it will not form a practical culture at all. A culture of admiration - this is not what I need. Making money is the purpose, but it is not the only purpose. I have greater ideals. Uncle Antonio, do you know how big the company would be if it produced 10,000 motorcycles per year? Where are the Wan vehicles?”

"It's very big and requires a lot of people." Antonio has never managed an industrial enterprise before, but he is very aware of Fiat's scale.

"This way I can train the Italian working class and engineers, and then in the future I can follow the same ideas and model to build cars and aircraft, and also switch to armored vehicles and tanks..." Contini blinked, "You Say, if I focus on being an industrial tycoon, what do I need with so many industrial workers and engineers? The improvement of the Italian industrial system and the expansion of its scale have nothing to do with me. I hope that the fewer competitors, the better. But if I break out of this rut, Looking further ahead, do you think it won’t be my turn to be the prime minister and leader of Italy in 10 years? Will it not be my turn in 20 years? If I don’t strive for this ambitious goal, I will have so many airplanes and so many people. What are the elite guards doing?”

Antonio was speechless. This was the first time that Contini showed his determination and "spoken arrogantly" in front of him. At this moment, he instantly understood the ambition surging under the young master's calm face! This kind of ambition is much stronger than the master!

Seeing him in a daze, Contini felt that he was speaking too loudly, and said quickly: "I'm sorry, I drank too much. Don't take the nonsense to heart."

Drunk people always say that they are not drunk, and only those who are not drunk say that they have drunk too much. Of course Antonio understands this. He now understood more deeply why the young master would rather lose money and give away money to sell the radio. This would not only quickly open up the market, form a group of electrical engineers and industrial workers, and allow United Radio to occupy a monopoly, but it would also To make the influence and role of the Italian National Radio even more profound - why are two girls who admire the young master and are constantly getting close to them used as the pillars, and why a group of young people are selected to work at the radio station? The superficial reasons are of course innovation and rejuvenation. The route may not be without the intention of firmly controlling the entire radio station. Who can the 20-year-old young master control and influence? Of course only members of the Youth League and employees of the United Group. So the bigger the better!

Other radio companies have no chance to follow suit even if they want to, because the more products they give out, the more benefits the Italian National Radio will get. This kind of divine assist is impossible for a shrewd businessman. Didn't Marconi give up selling its own products in Italy and switch to providing accessories? Even if other tycoons want to copy Contini's successful ideas, there is a ban on "no new radio stations within three years". Three years later, they will follow this set of rules to set up radio stations and give away radios? It's too late!

With newspapers, magazines, and radio stations, the public opinion position is in their hands; with air bases and aircraft all over the country, with strength and financial resources involving various industrial fields, there are a wide range of interest groups, plus the "Roman Warrior" club and elite guards carefully built by the young master, and the increasingly prosperous Youth League, Antonio can figure out what he can do in the future with his toes - if he continues along this path step by step, it seems unreasonable not to be a leader in the future, because Mussolini will eventually get old!

The biggest constraint of this model is capital. Only a steady flow of capital can drive the entire business logic and then obtain political benefits after the scale and industrialization. In other words, as long as the capital chain is continuous, whether there is profit or not is secondary. Why is the price of United Motorcycle higher than the ordinary products in the market but the profit margin is still low? It is because too much one-time investment has been amortized. As long as the output increases, these amortizations can be recovered. And this process does not have to pay income tax due to continuous losses, which is a good thing.

Based on the above logic, Antonio made up his mind and was determined to push the loan demand of 90 million to more than 100 million, in order to ensure the effective operation of the United Group.

Back at the base, all engineers, pilots and other personnel were having a party. Although the conditions of the base were far worse than those in Milan, the atmosphere was very lively. Poti, Vivian and Adriana hosted the event together on the stage. Everyone was entertaining themselves and celebrating the success of today's press conference and the success of the product. The number of orders received has exceeded everyone's most optimistic expectations at the beginning, and also exceeded the factory inventory. Everyone is very happy.

Even the engineers and technicians from Germany were very happy. They greeted each other in their half-baked Italian, hoping to integrate into the group as soon as possible. Contini was very satisfied with the company's team atmosphere and applauded enthusiastically from the audience.

"Galai is here..." Botti caught a glimpse of Contini in the crowd and quickly invited him to come up and say a few words to everyone. Contini also expressed his gratitude to Botti for coming to help uninvited today. While taking the microphone, he couldn't help but pat his shoulder to encourage him - you are a good kid.

Contini walked to the center of the stage and said from the bottom of his heart: "The successful launch of United Motor Company and its products perfectly demonstrates everyone's efforts. The company's management will reward you according to your merits and commend your hard work since the preparation period. We have created an unprecedented joint speed. I have always been proud of you! I hope that we can work together to achieve greater results in the future. Thank you!"

Contini has a good eloquence, but now that the scene has entered a lively period, it would be a bit inappropriate to make a long speech. A thank you is enough to represent everything.

Everyone knows what the United Speed ​​means: since the preparations began in November, in just over four months, United Motorcycle has not only built a new plant, purchased equipment, mastered the relevant design drawings, but also produced nearly 200 qualified products. All this was achieved under the circumstances of desperate rushing. The company, from the general manager to the employees, worked two days a day, comparable to other companies, but the results were three or four days. Everyone rushed like a fully wound machine, which gave rise to the term "United Speed", which is almost unimaginable in Italy.

He was responded with warm applause!