The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 311



Only Noblemtl

311. Recombination (5)

What is the scale of the oil rich?

I listened closely to Governor Abdulaziz’s words as he tried to talk about the scale of investment in electric vehicle infrastructure.

“Aramco will support half the cost of charging stations built in Korea through Taewoo Refinery. And we will install charging stations in major American cities through major gas stations and oil companies operating in the United States.”

“Are you even supporting America’s infrastructure? Thank you so much.”

Of course, you will have to hand over half of the share of the charging station.

It was a beneficial condition for us because we produce all the equipment that goes into the charging station.

This level of achievement alone was worth the trip to Saudi Arabia.

But Governor Abdulaziz’s words are not over yet.

“And we will make the entire Riyadh a city of electric vehicles. We will install chargers in all buildings at the discretion of the governor, and we will cover all costs of electric vehicle charging stations at key locations along with a subsidy policy for electric vehicles.”

“A proper electric car hasn’t even come out yet. Are you okay with that?”

“This is a business that we trust in you. I have wanted to run a proper business with Taewo Group for a long time. If I miss this opportunity, when will we work together again?”

It was Governor Abdulaziz, who would ascend to the position of crown prince within a few years.

There was no reason to refuse when such a person said he would provide full support.

“We will make Riyadh the world’s first electric vehicle city.”

“And if you have any good business in the future, please let me know. You like working with Wall Street. Saudi Arabia can be a better business partner than Wall Street.”

“I will keep this in mind. If there is a good business item in the future, we will discuss it with Saudi Arabia first.”

“If you think the lines of communication are complicated, you can contact me through Muhammad.”

Bin Salman’s eyes lit up as he listened to the story next to him.

It was the time when I was most motivated after graduating from college, so it made sense.

“Then I will communicate with Muhammad about that.”

“Young people, let’s give it a try. I’ll just leave.”

Governor Abdulaziz stood up and went outside.

Only then did bin Salman take a deep breath and politely say hello.

“How have you been? I couldn’t talk like before because it was in front of my father.”

“Of course we got along well. You know that well. You probably know my situation better than the executives at my company.”

I spoke to bin Salman on the phone at least once a month.

It was for network management, and there was no harm in gaining points in advance with the person who would become the ruler of Saudi Arabia in the future.

“But do you really think the electric car paradigm will come? Just like smartphones.”

“It will come in a different way than smartphones. It won’t be explosive growth, but it will gradually take over the pie from internal combustion engines.”

“Do you think the electric vehicle market pie can grow to a certain level?”

“It will account for 60% of the automobile market within 20 years. So if you invest now, at least you won’t lose money.”

Bin Salman opens his mouth.

It seemed difficult to believe that they would not stop at taking the internal combustion engine car’s pie and go beyond it.

“Even if it’s only half of what you expect, it will change the paradigm of the automobile market.”

“But it also takes 20 years. To shorten the time, we need to build infrastructure in as many countries and cities as possible.”

“I will talk to my father and convince him to build mass electric vehicle charging stations in Europe as well.”

“Now that we have reached a certain level of discussion with the U.S. and European governments, we may be able to receive support for some of the costs of electric vehicle charging stations.”

“If you can get money from the government, there’s no reason to hesitate!”

Bin Salman was more proactive than me.

It seemed like he even had thoughts of taking the lead in the electric vehicle charging station business.

“Let’s stop talking about work here and talk about something else. Are you still obsessed with soccer these days?”

“Because I have so much to do, I can’t watch as much as I used to. But I still watch important games. Just wait a little longer. If I move to a major position, I will buy an EPL team!”

If someone else had told me this, I would have laughed it off.

It was the person who would become the Crown Prince’s son within 5 years, and the person who would become the Crown Prince within 10 years was Bin Salman.

If he were to become crown prince, it would not be a task for him to purchase an EPL team.

“Okay, grow up quickly and become an EPL team owner.”

“If I become the owner of a club, will my brother also buy a club?”

“That’s what I saw at the time. If the Taewo Group grows twice as much as it is now, there’s no way I won’t be able to become the owner of an EPL team.”

We spent time talking about various things.

Since the conversation was aimed at forming a bond with Bin Salman, the conversation continued with his favorite topics.

Isn’t this also part of business?

It was an investment that must be made for the future, and it was also an investment that could be made with one’s mouth without spending a single penny.

* * *

After completing my trip to Saudi Arabia, I returned to Korea.

It was a short trip of 3 days and 2 nights, but a lot of things happened during that time.

“The new flu mutation project team developed a treatment for the mutant virus that occurred in Mexico. We named it Tamiflu-M and decided to undergo FDA review within this week.”

“Have we already succeeded in developing a cure?”

“It is said that this mutant virus was not very different in structure from the new flu, so it was easy to create.”

They say they made it easier said than done.

It was close to impossible to create a treatment for the mutant virus so quickly.

If it were easy, the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies would have created it a long time ago.

“The artificial intelligence team has accomplished something big.”

“However, the number of people infected with the mutant virus is so small that it has almost no commercial value. And even if Tamiflu is prescribed, improvement occurs only late, so Centrian is said to be considering whether to release Tamiflu-M.”

As the planning director said, it didn’t seem to have much commercial potential.

There are many viruses in the world, but treatments for diseases that do not make money are bound to not be developed.

Pharmaceutical companies are, after all, companies.

A company existed to make money.

However, in the case of Centrian, it was a new company, so sales were important, but raising awareness was also important.

“Tell them to launch it. Just getting FDA approval will greatly increase Centrian’s corporate value. And if we launch it even in small quantities, we can be recognized as a true pharmaceutical company rather than a generic drug company or a subcontractor.”

“Then, I will order the production of Tamiflu-M even if it means taking losses.”

“Considering the sales volume of Tamiflu, it wouldn’t be a big loss. It’s a business worth taking.”

Didn’t the report end here?

The planning director continued by presenting a new report.

“Rocket, an internet commerce site, is ready for launch. We have secured large warehouses in the metropolitan area and metropolitan cities, and have already filled them with all the products.”

“Preparations were completed faster than expected. But is the warehouse already full?”

“With the help of Amazon, Team Leader Cheon Min-jeong analyzed big data from the Internet, SNS, and large supermarkets to create and apply an algorithm that updates the items and quantities of frequently used items on a periodic basis. Thanks to this, we can now decide which items to store in the warehouse. I was able to.”

Distribution was ultimately a battle over inventory.

Bad inventory not only caused a decline in sales, but also took up space, preventing the arrival of new products.

That’s why distribution companies always pay attention to inventory management.

However, Minjeong Cheon and the artificial intelligence team created an algorithm that takes care of inventory management.

Of course, it was also an algorithm that was possible to produce thanks to the help of Amazon.

“If it’s an algorithm created by Team Leader Minjeong Cheon’s team, we can trust it. How do you plan to promote it?”

“We have used all possible promotional methods, including TV advertisements, portal sites, and social media. We are even preparing a large-scale opening discount event.”

The e-commerce market was ultimately a game of chicken.

If you push hard from the beginning, the other side will respond actively, and only then will you be able to step on it properly.

“Are you well prepared for membership?”

“When you sign up, the first 3 months are free, and a fee of 8,900 won will be charged from the 4th month onwards.”

“Hmm, 8,900 won is not a small amount of money. There must be a variety of benefits to encourage membership.”

“We have prepared a variety of coupons for membership subscribers only.”

Can I have a coupon?

In the case of membership services where money is paid periodically, the barrier to entry was high.

In order to lower the barrier, subscribers had to determine that it would benefit them, and to do so, very aggressive benefits were needed.

“Please provide discounts on music sites and OTT and Taewoo Telecommunications rates only for Rocket membership subscribers.”

“Then we suffer huge losses. The structure is such that as the number of membership subscribers increases, the deficit accumulates.”

“It’s about sharing the risks. If the risks are shared between Taewo Communications, Taewo IT, and OTT, the benefits can be increased and Rocket’s deficit can be reduced.”

It was a game of chicken that only the Taewo Group could do.

What e-commerce company would engage in fierce competition by mobilizing music, OTT, and even telecommunication companies?

From the customer’s perspective, there was no reason not to sign up because they could receive benefits worth more than 8,900 won if they signed up for membership.

“If you maintain your current advantage by winning the game of chicken, Rocket will be permanently at a loss.”

“If you win the game of chicken, you will naturally have to reduce benefits and raise prices. If you reduce benefits little by little so that it is not noticeable, customers will not protest too much. They will already be addicted to same-day delivery.”

“In that case, it seems better to end the game of chicken early, even if it means risking more blood loss.”

It was the planning director who I could finally understand.

If cut-throat competition prolongs, customers will benefit, but e-commerce companies will dry up.

So, for their sake, it would have been better to kill them with a single blow.

“It would be a good idea to add Taewoo Electronics’ home appliances to the membership benefits. If you sign up for membership, we will allow you to purchase home appliances at a cheaper price, and we will also take steps to ensure that you can purchase games at a cheaper price on the gaming platform.”

“Just because there are many benefits is not the end. We can only have a monopoly if we provide superior products and faster delivery than other e-commerce companies.”

“I will keep this in mind. Amazon has created a system for product delivery, so there will be no major problems, but the planning office will continue to monitor and manage it.”

Amazon has already taken over the US market.

It was a rocket that brought their know-how from start to finish.

Although a perfect system had already been applied, intensive management was still necessary as unexpected problems could arise.

“Are there any other problems?”

“I have some good news. Taewo and Kai Automotive have completed the Apple Car. We are starting to prepare for mass production, and the factory can be operational by the end of the year.”

“Now that the product is complete, all we have to do is promote it well.”

All preparations for Apple Car’s promotion had already been completed.

As with all products, promotion had to target the target customer base.

Therefore, we had to target customers who were likely to purchase electric vehicles, and we had already coordinated with the events that those customers were most interested in.