After receiving the microphone handed over by Bill Olson, Eric did not sit on that chair. This detail arrangement was completely beyond his expectations. Can stay on stage for a while.
Like Bill Olsen, he patted on the back of the simple folding armchair, Eric looked down the stage, and looked at the shining characters in the first few rows, whether in the past life or in this life, at this moment They all raised their heads slightly and looked up at themselves. Thinking of the scenes of the years of rebirth, Eric felt an unprecedented complacency in his heart, and those inexplicable emotions in recent days were suddenly swept away.
When the audience was completely quiet, Eric held the back of the chair with one hand and said, "I think, when everyone sees a chair, the first reaction may be to sit down, especially when you realize that this chair is in your place. However, for the next few minutes, I must restrain myself from the thought of sitting down, and I hope that I will be able to resist all similar thoughts consistently in the days to come. Because once we sit down, we Often you will start to pursue comfort and lose the motivation to move forward."
Many people in the arena didn't understand why Eric said these words suddenly. Some media reporters even regarded the scene in front of them as a specially arranged show. Therefore, it was not too much for Eric's voice to fall, but only for a while in the arena. Enthusiastic applause.
The smile on Eric's face didn't change at all, and he continued: "Many people definitely don't understand why I said this suddenly, and I haven't reached the age where I can instill the philosophy of life to everyone. In fact, this is just a sudden feeling However, the chair in front of me should not have appeared on this stage, just like the original plan, I should not be standing here now. All these changes were made hastily two hours ago. What happened? What, I think the hundreds of media reporters present here will be able to dig out the inside story of everything before the sun goes down today. The reason why everyone is gathered here today shows that you will definitely be able to see Fireflyer and Yahoo Music Store’s support for the entire record Disruptive change in the industry, but it’s clear that those who have built their chairs and started enjoying the comforts don’t want that change, so they almost instinctively look for ways to delay or even prevent it.”
After Eric's words fell, there was a buzz of discussion in the banquet hall, and the crazy spotlight was turned on again, and some eager reporters even started dialing their mobile phones.
Eric clearly disclosed what happened a few hours ago, except that the media crusade will cause some blockage to the other party, and it will not have any substantial impact on Sony, but this is just a small and innocuous counterattack. He quickly continued: "Actually, in this era of technological explosion, all business managers should have a realization that instead of being replaced by others, it is better to replace themselves. I admit that traditional portable music players are very good. They also bring too much fun to our life. However, this cannot be a reason for refusing to change. Technological innovation and technological progress are the general trend of the entire era. Now I can proudly say that Fireflyer is a subversive However, I still look forward to the appearance of products that can replace Fireflyer, and I hope that companies within the Firefly system will create such products. As for those who stick to their own 'chairs' and stand still, I I will definitely not persuade or even beg you to make changes, I will remove all your 'chairs', and smash all the bottles and jars around you, leaving you with nothing!"
Eric's last sharp and public declaration caused everyone in the venue to fall into a brief shock and silence. Immediately, the most enthusiastic applause and cheers during the entire press conference sounded in the banquet hall. Westerners generally advocate freedom and publicity, and look forward to breaking the authority. Eric’s words just hit the excitement of many people. The applause and cheers lasted for more than a minute before Eric was able to continue to the next session .
After the Fireflyer press conference, starting from the evening paper of that day, in the next few days, a photo of Eric standing next to the folding chair with the backrest appeared on the eye-catching pages of the media in North America and even around the world, about dismantling the 'chair' Words have also become the most exciting declaration in this press conference.
However, although the media and the public generally have strong expectations for Fireflyer, it is not that no one is throwing cold water.
As Eric said, the media found information that Celine Dion was temporarily pressured by Sony Records to cancel her performance at the Fireflyer conference on the day after the press conference.
Howard Stringer, CEO of Sony America Branch, who was chased by reporters, said that Fireflyer relied too much on the CD drive and USB interface on PC hardware. Although the sales volume of personal computers in North America in 1996 reached an astonishing 26 million units, It even exceeds the annual sales of traditional household appliances such as color TVs. However, because CD drives and USB ports have only been introduced in the last two years, many PCs don't even have these two ports. Of the 26 million new PCs sold last year, the number of devices with both CD-ROM drives and USB ports is still small. Less than 5 million. Even now, more than half of the mainstream personal computer models on the market do not include CD drives and USB ports. Although Fireflyer’s $299 price is very affordable, it is impossible for most families to buy a music player. Updating thousands of dollars worth of personal computers, therefore, Fireflyer can only be regarded as a niche product for a long time, and it is impossible to compare with mainstream players such as Walkman, CD player, and MD Walkman.
Of course, Eric is also aware of what Howard Stringer said. Firefly Electronics has compiled detailed relevant information in the preliminary market research.
However, considering last year's PC sales plus this year, North America will have at least 10 million personal computers that support Fireflyer connections. Eric is still very optimistic about Fireflyer sales. Bill Olson also predicts that in the rest of this year Within nine months, Firefly Electronics should be able to achieve 1 million Fireflyer sales.
Historically, MP3 players first appeared in Japan and South Korea, and used flash memory storage media with a very low capacity at that time. Not only was it expensive, but the number of songs stored was even lower than that of a traditional tape, far from being able to compete with Micro Compared with hard drives, it will not be popular for a long time. The iPod made by Apple using micro-hard drives was also not popular due to the initial closed platform strategy of Jobs. It was not until 2005, when Jobs, under the persuasion of all Apple executives, that the iPod was compatible with the Windows system, and the MP3 player was completely realized. It counterattacked and achieved sales of more than 22 million units that year, which is more than twice the sales volume of all iPods under Apple's closed platform in the previous few years.
In Eric's view, when the iPod opened its platform in 2005, it actually missed the golden age of MP3 players. As more and more mobile devices began to support music playback, MP3 players were quickly eliminated. At this time, Fireflyer can be said to be in place in one step. It uses a large-capacity micro-hard disk storage medium and supports the Windows platform from the beginning. Even if the capacity and functions and personal computer support are not as rich and convenient as later, Eric Still very optimistic about the prospects of Fireflyer.
However, it turns out that Eric and the management of Firefly Electronics are still far from optimistic about Fireflyer's sales of 1 million units this year.
After the press conference on April 2, Fireflyer officially started selling on North American Best Buy chain stores and Amazon and other platforms on April 5. On the first day of the sale, it achieved a sales volume of 25,000 units. It is not a coincidence of this number, but Because there are only 25,000 units in stock on the major sales platforms, and before four o’clock that afternoon, retail outlets across the United States have announced that they are sold out, and the 5,000 units of Fireflyer in the Amazon online store were also swept away before the evening of the same day null.
Fortunately, considering the pre-sales boom that Fireflyer may usher in after more than a month of publicity, Firefly Electronics has stockpiled 100,000 players in advance, and in the evening, quickly replenished them from warehouses located on the east and west coasts of the United States. In the major chain stores, Firefly Electronics' Fireflyer assembly plant in San Francisco has also begun to release all production capacity, increasing the monthly output to the limit of 150,000 units.
Although many media regard the hot sale of Fireflyer on the first day of sale as a temporary phenomenon caused by advertisements and topical effects, the cumulative sales of Fireflyer on the fourth day of sale exceeded 100,000 units, and the single-day sales did not decrease at all. At the time of the trend, everyone changed their views and looked at Fireflyer with admiration. Some retailers have even started to increase the sales price of Fireflyer.
In four days, 100,000 units were sold, and the single-day sales volume reached 25,000 units. According to this trend, even after a period of time, consumers' novelty of Fireflyer will cool down, but the total sales volume of Fireflyer in 1997 will definitely not be only 1 million units.
As a result, traditional portable player manufacturers such as Sony began to be completely uneasy. After all, even the best-selling Walkman currently sells only 15 million units per year, with an average daily sales volume of less than 50,000 units. Moreover, this figure is the highest in the world. The total sales of major consumer markets, if only the North American market is counted, Walkman's single-day sales volume has no advantage at all in the face of the terrifying sales momentum of Fireflyer in recent days.
Therefore, on the day when Fireflyer’s sales data exceeded 100,000 units on April 8, Sony Records couldn’t wait to announce that it would file a lawsuit in the San Francisco Federal Court, requesting that the Fireflyer player be banned on the grounds that Fireflyer will promote the spread of online pirated music. production and sales.
The next day, April 9, a Gulfstream V-type commercial airliner landed at a small private airport on the outskirts of East Hampton, Long Island. Firefly Electronics CEO Victor McNally and President Bill Olson got off the plane. Climb aboard a black Bentley to greet them.
In just a few days, the two of them can be described as busy and crazy, but the success came too fast and violently, and the two of them were also in a strong sense of excitement. Fireflyer achieved sales of 30 million US dollars in four days Well, even if for some time in the future, as consumers' enthusiasm cools down and various data are halved, the sales volume of Fireflyer this year will not be less than 3 million units, which means annual sales of 1 billion US dollars.
1 billion US dollars is simply a miracle for a company that has just started, and the two will also receive very generous bonuses and option awards. Of course, the basis of all this is that Firefly Electronics must expand its production capacity as soon as possible. After all, Firefly Electronics’ current San Francisco factory has a monthly output of only 150,000 units, which cannot meet market demand at all.
In order to discuss various new cooperation agreements with parts suppliers distributed all over the world, Victor McNairy and Bill Olson had already packed their schedules for the coming week. However, Eric suddenly called them in the morning and asked them to fly to New York to meet him, and even sent a plane under the Firefly banner to pick them up. Although Victor McNairy and Bill Olson hoped that something could be resolved through a conference call, Eric's attitude was very firm, and the two had no choice but to board the plane and rush over.
The Bentley car drove into the urban area of East Hampton, Victor McNairy was still not satisfied with Eric's arrangement, and whispered: "Eric may want to discuss the upcoming lawsuit from Sony Records with us, I think this kind of worry is completely unnecessary, after all, according to the similar lawsuit against Sony's video recorder, the federal court is very likely to directly dismiss the lawsuit of Sony Records, and will not file the case at all."
There is a system of case law in American law, which is based on the judgments of previous courts to form the basis for judging subsequent similar cases.
At that time, Sony's video recorder was subject to a ten-year film and television copyright infringement lawsuit by Disney and Universal, and finally ended in Sony's victory. This time, the lawsuit that Fireflyer may face is almost exactly the same as the case of Sony VCR. According to the principles of case law, the federal court will basically directly reject the lawsuit against Sony Records. I just don't know how Sony's executives will feel when they realize that the basis for the dismissal of this lawsuit is precisely the power that their company has spent ten years "fighting" for.
Bill Olsen looked at the driver in the front seat. He was far more sophisticated than Victor McNairy, who focused on technology research and development, so he didn't complain along with the other party, but just laughed along with him. Laughing, looking at the neighborhood outside the car window, he suddenly remembered something, and said to the driver: "Mr. Moen, is there any good gift shop nearby?"
Carter Moen glanced at Bill Olson through the rearview mirror, and said, "Of course, it's not far ahead."
Bill Olson said: "Then please stop for a while."
"No problem," Carter Moen nodded with a smile.
Victor McNairy asked suspiciously, "What are we doing in the gift shop?"
Bill Olsen was a little helpless towards this straightforward but slightly low EQ partner, so he raised his foot and kicked him on the leg, signaling him to shut up with a wink. When Eric was in San Francisco a few days ago, he accidentally mentioned that he would come to East Hampton to celebrate the birthdays of his two children. Eric did not shy away from the fact that he already had children, which showed that he was very serious about The two children are still very close. Although I don't know whether the birthdays of the two children have passed, but since they rushed here, it is always impolite to be empty-handed.
Carter Moen soon parked the car outside a boutique in downtown East Hampton, and Bill Olson pulled Victor McNally out of the car to pick out two nice birthday presents before the car drove away Ask Eric the Seaside Manor purchased in East Hampton.
The car drove into the manor, and Victor McNairy and Bill Olson entered the villa together with Virginia who greeted them. They quickly discovered the fact that there were two mistresses in this manor, because the helpers It was Joanna Pakula who played the heroine in "Tornado" who served them coffee.
Eric was wearing a homely light-colored sweater and casual trousers, and took two four-year-old children to play with Lego blocks in the corner of the living room. There was a bit of inexplicable harmony in the weird style of painting. Watching the two walk in, Eric came forward with the little boy in his arms. Victor McNairy and Bill Olsen pretended not to be aware of this and gave gifts. Eric thanked him. After that, he introduced to the two with a smile: "This is my son, Kevin, and this is Xia Xia, my daughter."
Eric didn't introduce the two women too formally, and Victor McNairy and Bill Olson felt a little more relaxed because of this, and then smiled and greeted the two little guys like two strange uncles, the little boy Somewhat shyly, she turned her head to her father's shoulder, but the little girl with beautiful big eyes looked at the two of them curiously, and also did not respond to their greetings, which made Victor McNally and Bill Olson Somewhat embarrassing.
Everyone exchanged a few casual greetings, and Eric got up to take the two of them to the study to discuss things.
Virginia came over and wanted to take Kevin over, but Eric just shook his head and said to her: "I'll do it, besides, Jeff Bezos will come over later, you let him Wait a moment."
After speaking, Eric held Kevin and walked towards the stairs, seeing a small figure behind them also walking up with them, Eric said with a smile: "Honey, you can't follow."
Hawaii looked at Kevin who was still in his father's arms, blinked, and said, "Dad is partial."
Although this sentence was a complaint, Victor McNairy and Bill Olson always felt that the little girl's tone was a bit strange. If it was described in literary terms, it seemed that the feelings were not full enough, and there was too much daughter-in-law. The emotions that a father should have when he is acting like a baby.
But they didn't dare to delve into it. They looked at each other and followed Eric quietly.
Eric didn't seem to hear his daughter's complaint, but just smiled and said: "Stay in the living room obediently, don't make trouble."
Amidst the light laughter of Joanna and Virginia, the little girl saw that her words had no effect, so she obediently stopped and watched her father lead the two guests up the stairs. (To be continued.)