[Chapter 690: Reallocating the Pie]
When Motorola released its three new phones, companies that had been doing just fine recently were hit hard and left speechless.
The prices of the new phones were quite amusing; the plain model, the 268, was under five hundred bucks, and the top-tier 288 was just a bit over six hundred. With the carriers offering subsidies, the phones truly didn't seem expensive.
"Is there no shortage? How many phones did he actually order?"
"The most expensive model is pretty tight on stock, which is part of the dealer's issue. As for the other models, they can be had anytime."
The head of Morgan Stanley was baffled; it wasn't even time for the annual report. Unless something unusual cropped up, the numbers wouldn't be shared with him.
"Five hundred thousand units? A million units? How are sales in Asia and elsewhere?"
"Supply is abundant, except there's a bit of a shortage in China. Ahem, they don't even have dedicated phone stores yet."
"Have they quantified it? How many units have been shipped?"
"Sir, that figure absolutely exceeds a million. Many analysts project they'll sell at least ten million units of this series."
"Analysis? Ha! I've lost interest in their analysis. The most there could possibly be is a million users, and that's what these morons were saying. Do you know how William White assessed things at the Motorola board meeting? A bunch of broken-legged frogs were sitting at the bottom of a well discussing this year's elections. It used to be a choice between two; now there are three, so don't expect them to guess right."
"That jerk, still so sharp-tongued."
"Being sharp-tongued doesn't matter, as long as there's money to be made. I just can't make sense of why he's involving Japan and South Korea."
The most expensive fashion model was produced by Japan, and the cheapest plain model was as well. South Korea and the U.S. made the flip-style phones. Out-of-order orders were no big deal; the U.S. simply couldn't produce them.
Now, many people figured out that William White wasn't really selling phones at all; he was selling a trend. As long as he could keep coming out with attractive products, sales wouldn't be an issue.
How many people on the streets still used big brick phones? After just a few years, they had already been tossed into the trash.
...
"Sir, aren't you attending this impromptu board meeting?"
"Go ahead, Filson; the old folks probably wouldn't want to see me. I'm just too fond of speaking the truth, and my retorts are running low. If they want to enjoy a stand-up comedy show, they'll need to buy tickets."
Filson shrugged off the boss's comments. William White rarely attended board meetings for companies he didn't directly oversee; if he had to be there, it certainly meant something was off.
It clearly wasn't the case this time; why were the old folks worried?
The reasoning was simple. If you really could sell ten million phones, that was billions of dollars in revenue, and that wasn't a joke.
Companies with over a hundred million dollars in sales a year were considered big across the globe. You were talking about billions now. Adding equipment costs could lead to the subsidiary gobbling up the parent company.
Then came the issue: there weren't enough publicly traded shares. Either raise capital, or you would need to sell some of your own stock. Making money was fine, but you couldn't make too much on your own.
In the end, everyone contributed to that mobile communications figure. We underestimated, and now we're in a bad spot. However, you couldn't hog all the profits; let's have a talk.
Funny, isn't it?
Dammit, why should I give up my interests? If you were capable, you would buy shares from the secondary market.
Ha! The so-called conglomerates in the U.S. were all like this. As the individual stakes of founders grew, the shareholding ratio had to go down as the company continued to expand.
You say I'm not willing; if it were possible, I'd privatize and delist, avoiding dealing with all you bloodsuckers.
It could be possible; however, you would face significant resistance. Many U.S. laws were designed to prevent any single entity from monopolizing.
Morgan Stanley aside, Rockefeller and others, who claimed to have all the power, still needed to break apart.
...
"Filson, did your tycoon boss not show up?"
"Hi, Mr. Haig. The boss is busy filming an ad. Our advertising department is terrible; several ads just didn't turn out well."
As one of Goldman Sachs's top men, Haig was on friendly terms with William White. Hearing that, he could only smile ruefully. Sure, Motorola was big, but it didn't seem like they could afford to have him in their ads.
"Well, it sounds like this ad will be quite the spectacle."
"I can't give away too many details, but it'll be impressive for sure. Those that got shot down were actually pretty good; you know the boss can be a little obsessive."
"Ha! Being obsessive is great; only the obsessive can create miracles. May I ask how many units you plan to sell in this series?"
"Ten million is definitely achievable. As for how many users there will be globally, it won't be less than thirty million; that's the consensus among our think tank."
Though the board meeting hadn't even started, quite a few people were already seated in the conference room. As soon as Filson's words left his mouth, the old men's eyes turned red.
"Thirty million? What does Mr. White say?"
"Ha! He thinks we're short-sighted."
"Well then, let's make a plan to play some golf together."
The room went eerily quiet after this exchange. It felt like the old geezers were bringing out their pacemakers.
Thirty million? Think that's short-sighted? The heads of Goldman Sachs and the other old men exchanged looks, seemingly having no choice but to shake their heads and laugh bitterly.
Damn it, there's no need to slap faces like this. Last time it was mentioned how frogs were, and thankfully William White didn't come this time; this kid's becoming sneakier with his words.
A few sly old foxes shared brief glances and arrived at a similar conclusion. William White didn't intend to hoard everything for himself, but they shouldn't push it too far.
Mobile communications was big business; William White didn't have that big an appetite. If you all wanted a piece of the pie, that was fine, but you had to pay the corresponding price.
Unbeknownst to them, William White once again gained the upper hand.
...
While the big shots held a meeting, things weren't too stable in Downing Street either. In just a week, they had purchased two hundred billion pounds. Even so, it still hadn't stopped the crazy international speculators.
"Gordon, if you want to stop this disaster, I'll need at least five hundred billion."
"Well, then go ask William White if selling me can get some cash back."
The boss was seething, so his underlings didn't dare to say much. This had nothing to do with William White anymore; the damned Soros was a tough one to deal with too.
"Tell those bastards in Hong Kong to stop causing me trouble."
A group of flunkies remained speechless. This was truly nonsensical. You were the one who brought in your own people to sabotage others' licenses; that was your knee-jerk decision. Now that there was trouble, you appeared to want to clear your name.
Ahem, could we have a little dignity?
"Tell the Germans that we can't hold out anymore. Tomorrow before the markets open, we'll announce our withdrawal. If anybody has an objection, now's the time to voice it."
Well, as soon as the boss's words were out, everyone let out a collective sigh of relief but also cursed quietly.
Damn, I've seen unreliable leaders, but not like this. William White was tough to deal with, and we warned you long ago.
When stubbornness was strong, it felt impressive; now that you're being shoved down, you expect us to be the ones to take a hit too?
Well, well, you're the boss; it's all up to you.
*****
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