I'm a Master in India

Chapter 233: Showing Dominance

Sur Electrical Appliances is already somewhat famous in India, it's just that the product range isn't rich enough.

Strictly speaking, evaporative coolers and electric fans belong to the same category of home appliances, and they are clearly affected by seasons.

If the rainy season or winter arrives, Sur Electrical Appliances' market presence will drop sharply.

Therefore, televisions are Ron's next main core project; they are an important opportunity for Sur Electrical Appliances to enter thousands of households.

As early as the end of last year, he had people contact overseas manufacturers, and Ashish was responsible for technical follow-up.

"Have there been any gains in the past few months?" Ron asked.

"Boss, this is the fax they replied with," Ashish handed over the documents.

Ron took it and casually glanced over it, then frowned.

"They are all Asian companies?"

"European and American brand manufacturers are not interested in our inquiries at all," Ashish was also helpless.

"These guys must have been scared away," Ron muttered.

With Coca-Cola as a cautionary tale, Western foreign capital is very suspicious of India's business environment.

As early as the 1950s, Coca-Cola rose on the Indian subcontinent.

However, with the signing of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, it almost withdrew from the Indian market overnight.

The act stipulated that any foreign-funded company wanting to operate in India could not have a shareholding ratio exceeding 40%, meaning Coca-Cola Company had to give up 60% of its shares.

That wasn't all; the Indian Government simultaneously demanded that Coca-Cola disclose its formula and share technology with local companies.

It was simply like a joke; Coca-Cola Company didn't even pack a bucket and directly ran away.

It wasn't until policies opened up last year that it announced its return to India.

It's just that because the time is too short, other European and American foreign investors are currently in a wait-and-see state.

When a small, transparent company like Sur Electrical Appliances took the initiative to approach them, the other party didn't even look at them properly.

The scale is too small to be counted.

On the other hand, Asian television manufacturers were very active, sending faxes back and forth and chatting enthusiastically.

At the top was the Korean company Le Jin, Ron glanced at the English and realized it was the famous LG.

It's just that the Koreans' conditions were very harsh.

"They want to sell LG televisions in India, but we don't get a share?"

"The other party agreed to help us introduce an assembly production line, on the condition that Sur Electrical Appliances cannot produce its own televisions."

"An OEM factory," Ron smiled.

Although India has lowered tariffs on electronic products in the past two years, the tax rate is still as high as around 50% out of consideration for protecting local industries.

LG is coveting the Indian market but is unwilling to pay high tariffs.

So what to do? Break down the whole machine into parts.

LG's televisions will be shipped to India in a semi-knocked-down form, and Sur Electrical Appliances will be responsible for assembly.

The introduced assembly production line needs to be paid for, quoted at 2 million dollar.

From branding, pricing, to sales, the televisions produced have nothing to do with Sur Electrical Appliances.

It's definitely an OEM factory, and the lowest-end assembly OEM factory.

"How much profit do we make from producing one of their televisions?"

"Converted, it's about 1.5 dollar per unit."

"Damn it, are the Koreans sending off beggars?" Ron cursed angrily.

This is not the worst part; that assembly production line has extremely low technical content.

All parts are produced in Korea and are already in a semi-finished state upon arrival in India.

Ron doesn't need 2 million dollar; he can get this done with 2 million rupee.

Earning 1.5 dollar for OEMing one television means Sur Electrical Appliances needs to OEM 1.4 million televisions to break even.

Damn it, the Koreans are really bad.

Actually, if the OEM factory was profitable, Ron wouldn't be unable to consider it.

Just treat it as training workers and stealing some technology along the way.

As a result, the other party also required Sur Electrical Appliances to explicitly sign a contract stating they could not launch their own brand of televisions within three years.

What is he after? Isn't making his own evaporative coolers better?

Even the low-end model of an evaporative cooler has a profit of around one hundred rupee, which is more than double that of OEMing televisions.

"Ask them if they are willing to provide a higher-end production line; the price is negotiable," Suddenly, Ron was no longer angry, and his eyes became exceptionally bright instead.

"Boss?" Ashish was puzzled.

"Let's trick them in first," Ron waved his hand.

"What?"

"What we lack is a production line with technical content; assembly isn't enough and will be eliminated in a few years."

"That cost might be higher than 2 million dollar," Ashish felt a bit pained.

"Hmph!" Ron sneered.

2 million dollar? The Koreans know nothing about the magical India.

Casually tossing LG's documents aside, Ron continued to look at the conditions of other manufacturers.

Those willing to quote were all Korean and Japanese companies; these two are currently in fierce competition and are competing everywhere in the world.

Samsung has its own factories and disdains letting others OEM for them. If it takes a fancy to the Indian market, it will likely come directly to invest, so there was no quote.

On the other hand, Japan's Fujitsu, NEC, Panasonic, Hitachi, and Sanyo all replied, expressing willingness to further discuss cooperation issues.

Among them, NEC's conditions were the most attractive to Ron; they immediately offered to provide a complete set of CRT television production lines, and in color.

As for their demands, they were also very simple: both parties establish a joint venture company to jointly develop the Indian market.

It sounds good, at least they aren't openly robbing like the Koreans.

"Invite them to Mumbai for detailed talks," Ron immediately made the decision.

"Boss, NEC requires the joint venture company to inject at least 10 million dollar, which is over 300 million rupee," Ashish blinked.

It is clear that Sur Electrical Appliances doesn't have that much money; all their funds have been invested in the construction of Sur Industrial Park.

"Negotiating is like buying vegetables; you can haggle," Ron wasn't flustered at all.

"Then I'll contact them."

"Arrange it at The Taj Mahal Hotel, let these little guys experience the indian style."

"Okay, great!" Ashish nodded happily.

The Taj Mahal Hotel, he wanted to go too. It was a symbol of status for successful people, the ultimate goal for many Slum residents.

Perhaps NEC was genuinely interested in the Indian market; after Sur Electrical Appliances sent the invitation, the other party finalized the itinerary within a week.

The leader was named Oda, and as soon as they met, he kept bowing to Ron, making it seem like Ron was the financial backer.

How did Ron respond to him? Of course, with the indian style of head-shaking.

It was a bit comical, but the scene was still friendly.

Ron led them up the white marble steps of The Taj Mahal Hotel, pointing at the India Gate along the way.

Being a tour guide was his old profession, and he could casually bring up many secret stories, leaving the group of japanese people constantly amazed.

They booked a private room in the Shamiana Restaurant on the first floor, and the waiter led them to sit at the long table.

There were high windows nearby, offering a view of the sparkling sea.

The tourist ferry traveling back and forth to Elephanta Island Caves climbed onto the small waves with a confident and skilled ballet step, then slid back down.

Hundreds of smaller boats suddenly lowered their hulls in the shallow water, rocking up and down, like birds preening their feathers with their mouths.

The huge cargo ship anchored at the horizon stood motionless like a sea island on the calm surface where the sea and the bay meet.

On the street not far away, swaggering tourists, weaving through the tall stone-built corridor of the India Gate, formed colorful garlands.

The japanese were quite satisfied with Ron's arrangements; they liked such scenery and also praised the hotel's food highly.

Ron originally wanted to take them to visit nearby attractions, but Oda politely declined.

"Mr. Sur, is it convenient to visit your company's workshop?"

"Of course," Ron stood up with a calm expression.

Ashish and the others looked at each other; they hadn't dealt with japanese people before. According to the indian custom of doing business, they would definitely eat, drink, and have fun for a few days first.

Exciting programs like The Palace should be arranged, and after these steps are completed, the business deal is almost concluded.

The japanese are really strange; they don't understand enjoyment at all.

Ron first took them to Sur Industrial Park, where there was a scene of bustling activity.

The yellow tower crane was extremely eye-catching; clouds of dust rose from the construction site below it, and scaffolding was rising from the ground.

Busy workers swarmed around it like ants, and the large mouth of the cement mixer kept turning.

Stones, rebar, and cement were piled up like small mountains nearby. The freshly poured concrete columns had already formed the load-bearing framework of the building.

"This area, two hundred acres, is all within the planning of Sur Industrial Park," Ron said proudly.

"Amazing," The japanese were indeed surprised by such a large construction site.

In a small place like Japan, it is difficult to allocate such a large plot of land for factory construction.

"That building over there is the future headquarters of Sur Electrical Appliances, and high-standard factory buildings are being constructed simultaneously, which is where we have reserved space for the television production line," Ron introduced the construction site one by one.

"Your company's strong capabilities are truly astonishing," It must be said that after seeing the scene at the construction site, Oda felt much more reassured.

Being able to obtain such a large industrial land in a metropolis like Mumbai requires both political and financial backing.

Putting everything else aside, this at least made NEC feel largely at ease about Sur Electrical Appliances; this was not a trick of pulling wool over their eyes.

"I heard your company also produces a magical electric fan, is it convenient to go and see it?" Oda was still thinking about Sur Electrical Appliances' workshop.

"Please follow me," Ron led them around to the south side.

As for the workshop, there's nothing to hide. Evaporative coolers aren't high-tech, so there's no fear of being seen.

Moreover, at the level of the japanese, they wouldn't look down on such things; air conditioners have long been widely popularized in Japan.

Unexpectedly, upon reaching the workshop, the japanese changed their previously pleasant demeanor.

They criticized Sur Electrical Appliances' workshop as completely worthless, calling it a disaster from production management, equipment, and environment to employees.

Their distressed appearance was as if their wives were being publicly humiliated.

Ashish couldn't stand it and wanted to retort angrily. Sur Electrical Appliances was clearly the company with the highest workshop quality in all of Mumbai, yet they described it like a garbage dump.

Ron stopped him; NEC wasn't a competitor of Sur Electrical Appliances. Why panic? Let him say whatever he wants.

"Mr. Oda, there are only a handful of manufacturers in India with workshops more advanced than Sur Electrical Appliances; this is absolutely not me speaking carelessly."

"Advanced?" Oda seemed to have heard a joke, "Let me show you what advanced is!"

He reached out and took a colorful brochure from his assistant; it was an introduction to NEC's workshop.

Ron opened it, and Ashish beside him immediately became silent.

From an indian perspective, NEC's production workshop was like a science fiction movie.

Seeing that Sur Electrical Appliances was stunned, Oda felt increasingly smug.

If they didn't first launch a technological dimension reduction attack, how could they gain the initiative later?

Ron, however, remained expressionless; these were all small scenes.

"NEC's workshop is very advanced, but it's not suitable for India, and we don't need it."

"What?" Oda thought he had heard incorrectly.

"Gentlemen, it's time to sit down and talk," Ron extended his hand in invitation, calm and confident.