It is precisely because of this mentality of consumers that Apple’s temporary rescue strategy has brought itself an extremely embarrassing situation:
All users who meet the 15-day subsidy policy must return the product!
Users who do not meet the 15-day subsidy policy, let alone the 14-day return policy, come to protest and ask Apple to return the goods or provide subsidies...
Apple's hastily released rescue strategy did not anticipate such an embarrassing situation. From a so-called gentleman's perspective, they calculated the global sales of iPod3 in the past 15 days. In the past 15 days, the global sales of iPod3 were approximately 200,000 units. Around 130,000 units are in the United States, accounting for more than half.
In their view, there are only 200,000 iPod3 units in the world that meet the subsidy requirements. If each unit is subsidized at US$50, the total is US$10 million. An expenditure of US$10 million can allow Apple to highlight its sense of responsibility in front of the public. This It's still a good deal.
After all, not many companies will provide price protection to users who have already purchased their products when their prices suddenly drop...
Apple originally planned to spend $10 million to enhance its sense of responsibility in front of consumers, but they made a huge mistake. Consumers are far less "gentleman" than they thought!
At present, Apple has received 80,000 return requests that meet the requirements. The remaining tens of thousands of units may be returned to stores today and tomorrow. Users who are within the reasonable return period and will not choose to return may be very few.
In addition, more than 400,000 consumers who had purchased iPod3 for more than 15 days flocked to the dealers and angrily made two demands: either we should be compensated 10% or we should return the product!
Of course, these users are looking forward to returning the product because they all want to wait for Mango-ME2 to be launched.
At present, Apple's subsidy policy is of no use to consumers who purchased it within 15 days. The return of hundreds of thousands of units will undoubtedly make Apple's already plummeting market value worse. This means that it will not only cut off future profits, but also To recoup the swallowed profits and increase the inventory of hundreds of thousands of units, the comprehensive loss will be very large;
And this stupid rescue strategy has attracted a large number of users to protest for more than 15 days, which will have a huge impact on Apple's dealers and reputation. If these users are not compensated and they are not allowed to return products, Apple is afraid It will cost tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation. If the compensation is not paid and consumers continue to make trouble like this, all of Apple's offline stores may close down, and its reputation among consumer groups will plummet to the extreme.
This is equivalent to Apple completely shooting itself in the foot! If I had known this, it would be better not to issue any rescue strategy. In that case, Apple would only have to face normal and reasonable returns. Now it is better...
The entire board of directors almost went berserk, and Jobs was livid and speechless.
The chairman of the board of directors only said one sentence for a long time: "Steve, you must take full responsibility for your stupid behavior!"
Jobs expected such an experience, so he nodded and said dejectedly: "I formally proposed to the board of directors to resign as CEO."
Pressure from competitors, pressure from the capital market, pressure from the consumer level, and pressure from the internal board of directors, Jobs felt like he was in a drop of water 500 meters deep. Huge pressure was everywhere. collapse.
No matter how powerful a person is, he has his own carrying limit.
In his previous life, Jobs did not reach the bottom of this load-bearing limit, so even if he was quietly frustrated, he could move forward with his head held high and create a huge market for Apple. However, in this life, Li Mu accurately grasped his seven inches and launched A precise but violent attack, and within a few days, Jobs' will had collapsed.
Before this catastrophe came, Jobs believed that he was omnipotent and that no matter how great the difficulty was, it was impossible to stop him. However, after this catastrophe came, he finally understood that his power was far from being arrogant. When the absolute power crushes him, he is like a small boat in a tsunami, overturning in an instant.
No one can solve Apple's current crisis. Every one of Apple's R&D departments is a super gold-eating beast, and its revenue line has basically collapsed. Now it has even begun to bite back. The collapse of the stock price will trigger a series of compensating losses. When no one If you continue to have any hope for Apple and sell Apple's stock price crazily, Apple's market value will continue to shrink and shrink again. In the end, the stock price will definitely fall below the net assets and become a net-breaking stock...
By that time, Apple's market value may only be a few hundred million dollars. The company's capital chain is broken. If it wants to realize cash, it can only sell its net assets. It may sell MacOS to Microsoft, or to a subsidiary controlled by Microsoft implicitly through overseas relationships. Company, at that time, Microsoft will completely cripple MacOS and turn it into a human pig with only one breath left, because as long as MacOS still has one breath, Microsoft Windows will have enough reasons and basis to avoid the punishment of antitrust laws.
Perhaps the iPod and iTunes divisions will be separated and sold, to whom? In the face of Makino Technology's Manbo-ME2 and YYtunes, I'm afraid no one will want this mess. Perhaps selling to Makino Technology is the last option. As long as the price is right, Makino Technology should be willing to buy this almost dead competitor, and then Then tear it up with your own hands and avoid future troubles. This kind of thing is not uncommon in the capital field.
As for Apple's other technology patents, they may be sold to other companies, or they may be retained. At that time, Apple's board of directors may carry out large-scale layoffs at Apple, retain the patents, and rely on patent licensing fees to continue their lives in the future.
However, no matter how you operate, one thing is unavoidable, that is, everyone who invests in Apple will lose everything. Of course, saying that they lose everything is a bit exaggerated. It is basically equivalent to investing a thousand kilograms of wheat seeds. , preparing to welcome the next year's harvest, but natural and man-made disasters came, and a thousand kilograms of seeds were thrown in, but only two kilograms of wheat were recovered...
After Jobs submitted his resignation, he stood up dejectedly and said to the board members and corporate executives sitting here: "Everyone, I want to be quiet for a while and go back first. If the board of directors makes any decision, please inform me in time."
The chairman of the board of directors did not expect that Jobs would give up his job all of a sudden. He became angry and said angrily: "Jobs! The board of directors will definitely consider your resignation application very seriously, but now is a critical moment for our survival. You must join us." Find a way to save the company instead of walking away now! You are extremely lacking in professionalism!"
Jobs looked at his angry eyes and asked dejectedly: "How?"
One word can make everyone fall into silence.
Yes, how to save it? What to save? Li Mu triggered a series of chain reactions. The heavily loaded Apple truck was on an endless downhill road. Not only was the vehicle severely overloaded, but the engine was also broken, the fuel tank was empty, and the tires were worn to the point of bursting. Even the braking system was completely broken. Everyone sitting in the car could only do two things: either jump out of the car or wait for the car to completely collapse.
Save it? nonexistent…
The chairman of the board of directors was speechless when faced with Jobs's single-word question. Jobs waited for him for thirty seconds. During the thirty seconds, he watched the chairman of the board of directors' expression change from angry to depressed to confused and helpless. Jobs knew that he answered Can't solve your own problems.
So, Jobs left. Before leaving, he said to everyone: "If you have any decisions, please call me."
After saying that, Jobs left Apple with a hunched and frustrated look on his face.
As everyone knows, Steve Jobs gave up completely...
A person who Never-Give-Up eventually gives-Up...
Apple's board of directors and senior executives all know that he is not wrong. No one at Apple made a mistake in this matter, but the opponent is too powerful. Whether you make a mistake or not, you cannot change the outcome...
Resistance is no longer possible, and where to go has become the only issue Apple needs to consider right now...
Apple investors are still waiting for Apple to launch an announcement that will bring confidence to the market, but unfortunately, Apple seems to have gone silent all of a sudden. All Apple executives have not accepted interviews or released anything to the outside world. It seems Come on, they've all given up.
The news media and social media are still unwilling to let Apple go.
News reported that outside Apple stores across the country, users were swarming in to return products, as well as the scenes where users requested returns were extremely chaotic.
Consumers are angry and tough, while staff are humble and helpless.
The reporter interviewed those users who came to ask for returns or subsidies even though it had been more than 15 days.
Their remarks may seem unreasonable, but on some levels, they are understandable.
They said that we spent hundreds of dollars to buy such a product. A few hundred dollars is not a small sum for ordinary Americans. As a result, Apple cut the price in the blink of an eye, and such strong competitors appeared on the market. No one can accept it, right
They also asked reporters why Mango-ME2 is better than iPod3 in all aspects, but the price is so much cheaper than iPod3? Doesn't this also illustrate from the side that Apple has made huge profits on iPod3? So have the relevant departments investigated whether the price of iPod3 is too high and whether there is any behavior to deceive consumers
Many Apple-operated Apple-Stores and dealers that represent Apple were unable to close their doors until nine o'clock in the evening, US time, because they could not provide those users with a reasonable solution.
At this time, social media is also full of badmouthing Apple.
Users are angrily protesting against Apple's irresponsible practices. They are angrily protesting against the fact that Apple has made a lot of profits from iPod in the past two years, but it is unwilling to be responsible to its consumers at this time;
Netizens are also making their own speculations about Apple's future. 99% of netizens believe that Apple will die soon;
Among them, of course, Zhao Kang's navy is adding fuel to the flames.
All in all, on this night in the United States, Apple felt that it was surrounded by enemies on all sides...
(End of chapter)