dtnovels Chapter 471 Breakthrough in Europe
Chapter 471 Breakthrough in Europe
London Heathrow Airport, 4 p.m.
When Ling Yun walked out of the arrival hall, a heavy winter rain was falling in London. Zhao Hu took a black folding umbrella out of his bag, opened it, and the two got into a black Jaguar. The car was well-heated, and the driver, a bald Englishman, didn't say a word as he drove straight into the city.
Vodafone's headquarters are in Newbury, an hour and a half drive from London. The meeting was scheduled for 10 a.m. the next day. Ling Yun reviewed the proposal again in his hotel room. Several key points of the negotiation sent by Chen Zhongming were circled in red pen, and some parts were smudged with water stains, which he had accidentally spilled while drinking coffee.
The next morning, at Vodafone headquarters. The conference room had glass walls on all four sides, with a neatly manicured lawn outside. Five people were seated at Vodafone's side, with the purchasing director in the middle, and a middle-aged man named Richard, whose hair was meticulously combed and whose smile had only one corner of his mouth turned up.
"Mr. Ling, we are very interested in StarPhone." Richard held the prototype that Ling Yun had brought in his hands, examining it from all angles. "But there are a few conditions."
"you say."
"First, an exclusive partnership. StarPhone can only be sold in Europe through Vodafone channels for three years. Second, the wholesale price will be reduced by 20% from your quoted price. Third, all StarPhone sold in Europe must come pre-installed with Vodafone's app store and portal; they cannot just have Starfire's."
Ling Yun picked up the coffee in front of her and took a sip. The coffee was cold and bitter.
"Richard, I can negotiate the first condition—you'll have exclusive rights in the UK market, but not in Germany and France. The second condition, 20% is too high; 8% is acceptable. The third—" He put down his coffee cup, "the app store is off-limits. StarPhone's user experience is a unified whole; separating it makes it a different thing."
Richard's smile faded. "Mr. Ling, Vodafone has over 20 million users in Europe. By partnering with us, you can gain direct access to the mainstream European market."
"I know," Ling Yun stood up, "but StarPhone isn't a product that survives on distribution channels. It survives on the product itself. If you're interested, I can have my team stay to discuss the details. If the terms aren't flexible, then we'll leave now."
Richard didn't stand up, but tapped his fingers twice on the table. "Do you have any other options?"
Ling Yun walked to the door, turned around, and said, "Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefónica—I made appointments with them before I came. Richard, Vodafone isn't the only operator in Europe."
That afternoon, Ling Yunfei flew to Berlin.
The meeting with Deutsche Telekom headquarters was scheduled for the following morning. They sent a vice president named Klaus, a man in his fifties with a heavy Bavarian accent, but fluent in English. The meeting room had no lawn, and outside the window was a highway with constant traffic.
Klaus took the StarPhone, opened the camera to take a picture, and then opened a map to search for an address. He put the phone on the table, took off his glasses, and said, "Mr. Ling, this thing of yours is at least two years ahead of any other phone I've ever seen."
"Thanks."
"Nokia engineers came here to demonstrate their Symbian system. Compared to yours—" he shook his head, "it's not even from the same era."
The negotiations lasted a full four hours. Klaus was just as meticulous about the wholesale price as Vodafone, but he didn't dwell on the app store issue. He only made one condition: StarPhone's GG advertising in Europe must include the label "Recommended for use with Deutsche Telekom network."
Ling Yun agreed.
From Berlin, they flew to Paris. The meeting at Orange headquarters was even shorter; their CEO came in person, a Frenchman named Michel, his tie loosely draped around his neck, gesturing frequently as he spoke. "Mr. Ling, the French appreciate beautiful things. Your phone is very beautiful." He held up the StarPhone to the light, the screen's reflection illuminating his face. "But the French are also discerning. Could you add a French voice assistant to the system?"
"Technically, this is not a problem, but it will take time. We can start by localizing the French interface and input method."
Michelle shrugged. "Let's start with localization."
Finally, there was Madrid. Telefónica was the most eager, as their market share was being eroded by France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom, and they desperately needed an attractive exclusive product to attract users. Their negotiators barely haggled over price, only demanding that StarPhone be exclusively supplied to Telefónica in the Spanish market for the first three months.
Ling Yun didn't make a decision on the spot. He asked Chen Zhongming to compile the conditions of the four operators into a table, saying he would give a reply within a week. On the way back to the hotel, Zhao Hu, driving, glanced at him in the rearview mirror and asked, "Mr. Ling, which of the four should we choose?"
"Deutsche Telekom is the first to go. France Telecom and Telefónica are in the second batch. Vodafone—" Ling Yun leaned back in his seat, watching the streetlights of Madrid recede one by one outside the window. "Let them wait. Once the first batch of users give us feedback, they will come to us on their own."
Zhao Hu hummed in agreement.
At that moment, Lingyun's phone vibrated. A name popped up on the screen: Khalid Al Thani.
"Ling! Where are you?" Khalid's voice boomed from the receiver, accompanied by a noisy background, as if someone was playing Arabic music.
Madrid.
"Madrid? You're so close and you didn't tell me? You need to come right now, something terrible has happened in Doha!"
"What's the big deal?"
"Your Xinghuo Internet Cafe is now seeing lines stretching out onto the street every day. The Qatari royal family's order I mentioned last time—their purchasing department called me today to say they've added two thousand units. And the UAE is following suit; Saudi Arabia's are here too." Khalid's voice was tinged with laughter. "I told them you're my friend, and they asked if they could meet you."
Ling Yun switched the phone to his other ear. "Khalid, my negotiations in Europe aren't over yet—"
"Promise me you'll fly to Doha next month. Is next month okay?"
"OK."
"Okay, I'll go tell them right now that President Ling is coming next month." Khalid seemed to turn around on the other end of the phone, and in the background, you could hear him and the person next to him speaking Arabic, sounding very excited.
After hanging up the phone, Zhao Hu asked, "Khalid?"
"Yes. He said the oil tycoons in the Middle East have gone crazy. There are lines of people waiting to try out StarPhone in internet cafes in Doha every day. Their royal family bought two thousand units and it still wasn't enough; several neighboring countries followed suit and placed orders."
Zhao Hu chuckled, "The oil tycoons saved our overseas business."
Lingyun leaned back in his chair, recalling the opening day of the first Spark Internet Cafe in Doha in 1998. Khalid stood at the entrance, loudly introducing it in Arabic to the local young people who came to experience it, saying that he believed this was the future.
The future has truly arrived.
Back at the hotel, Ling Yun turned on his computer and sent an email to Chen Zhongming, summarizing the terms from the four European operators and adding a line at the end: Deutsche Telekom will give him priority, with an initial shipment of 50,000 units, to be delivered before Christmas. Then he sent Khalid a short message: See you in Doha next month. Take me to try your roasted lamb chops.