The good days for personal computers were coming to an end. The three memory factories of Japan were nearing their countdown, and naturally, they needed to find a way to reclaim their investment.
"Weren't you the one saying we were dumping?"
"Alright, because the exchange rate rose, wages went up significantly, and land prices skyrocketed too, we've decided to increase memory prices."
"Hmph, you think you can raise prices? You think we don't have factories?"
A group of PC big shots eagerly began searching for other suppliers.
"What? Stopping production?"
"I know Intel is out, but what about Texas Instruments? And Motorola? Can't you find a few more suppliers?"
The answer was no; these three giants were out of the game, and Micron couldn't handle the extra capacity either. Besides, they were even more expensive than Japan.
"Damn, we've been played by the Japanese folks. They're deliberately destroying our IT industry, and this has to be sanctioned."
Listening to Filson talk about this mess, William White felt utterly speechless. "Can we at least maintain some dignity?"
"I've never seen anything like this. You were the ones saying not to let them produce, claiming dumping prices, and now it's all what you said. What do you want now?"
"Sir, a lot of people are asking about our stance."
"What stance is there? They enjoyed interfering before, now they have to deal with the mess they created."
"Cough, sir, that response might not be good."
"Let me tell you, Filson, I've never seen anything like this. You can raise taxes, you can fine, sanctions are all fine, but how can you name specific companies to shut down three factories? I'm starting to think these people are complete fools."
Hearing the boss vent, Filson felt exasperated; they had opposed this bill from the start.
What was the result? Their words were truly harsh.
Now they must feel foolish, right? Can't find memory anywhere, can they?
This industry was unique, highly concentrated in capital; rather than saying they made memory, it was more like they were making US dollars.
But the investment was high, and without national capital's support, you couldn't even think about it. Didn't the three major American companies all have conglomerates backing them?
Ironically, all that money was being pulled out to speculate on yen.
Memory factories faced severe uncertainty, and the reasoning was clear: Korea was working on this, and so was Taiwan. This phase could only be seen as a transitional period.
William White didn't care if America was responsible; he had no problems on his hands -- just focused on eating and drinking.
...
"Sir, wait a minute. William White uses a lot of memory too. Even if there's some stock, he shouldn't just be indifferent about it."
"The impact of OEM isn't significant, right? The licensed ones are even less significant; that guy is just a feather in the wind."
"He sells his own brand in America; the Japanese brand doesn't hold much advantage."
"Okay, check it out."
Legendary World was a publicly traded company; it was simple to find out, just had to call the secretary.
Though some details were unclear, the general message was straightforward: they'd ordered a lot of goods and wouldn't worry about sales for a while.
Damn, we can't play like this. If this news gets out, wouldn't it make everyone look foolish?
After getting the gist of the news, Compaq's CEO felt a bit disgruntled.
Actually, William White believed this guy was just lucky. If he had also produced personal PCs, he would have been swept away in the wave.
Price increases, no matter how many excuses you have, consumers wouldn't buy into it. A significant drop in sales would be the only result.
However, many hadn't noticed that a guy named Dell was already beginning to rise.
The lost orders didn't mean customers had no demand, just that they were sensitive to prices.
"Hey, this configuration looks good, about the same as the Compaq I want."
"Is it really this cheap?"
"Should I check it out?"
They say circumstances create heroes, and this saying still holds true. The rise of Compaq and Dell was, in some sense, inevitable.
The difference was that they were prepared, so they succeeded. Many were caught off guard, missing out on one opportunity after another, and ended up struggling at the starting line.
...
Bill Gates was anxious; if it weren't for this upheaval, he could easily achieve one hundred million in revenue this year.
Never underestimate that number; it was a watershed moment. Once you crossed that line, you would be greeted by boundless opportunities.
"What? Bill, calm down. Aside from the two in Asia, Europe also has memory factories. They just ran into some technical problems temporarily; it's nothing serious."
"Are you sure?"
"Don't worry, within a year, prices might plummet."
"Pfft, a year? Are you kidding? In a year, it'll be all over; I estimate Compaq won't last more than six months."
"How could it be? There's a company called Dell in Texas; go see how they're doing. Don't tell me he doesn't buy your software."
"Dell? What company is that?"
"Fire your sales manager; that guy is useless. You better go ask yourself." William White had no obligation to be a secretary; he'd known about that company long ago, and you still dared to be oblivious? Unbelievable.
Dell, huh? Texas?
Can't you talk nicely?
"Damn it, can someone tell me what this company is all about? Didn't you all notice? Only this company's sales are increasing. Who's in charge of these clients?"
"What? They don't have a storefront; they sell directly to end-users."
"Cough, tell me what you know."
After hearing his subordinate's report, Bill Gates felt a little dizzy; it was the first time he'd heard of such a sales model. Of course, he believed there were more things at play; it couldn't be as superficial as what his subordinate described.
The reasoning was simple: a guy under twenty with just a thousand bucks registered as capital. If this guy didn't have some skills, how could William White ever notice him?
If it were a pretty girl, there might be other explanations.
A dentist?
William White must be bored out of his mind.
What infuriated him the most was that William White had been in California while Texas was his territory.
In fact, William White gave him another piece of information. Memory prices were skyrocketing but hadn't affected the overall situation.
The savings Dell managed was just the commission fee that electronics stores took. For such a small company, they couldn't get parts at too low a price either.
Having figured all this out, Bill Gates couldn't help but sigh. It wasn't that his guys were lacking; they just didn't have the same information.
His crew of useless people -- sigh, better to fire them sooner than later.
*****
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