Jang Gwangchul looked remorseful. Before launching Blue S, Woosung suggested expanding the existing factory in Silicone Valley or hire another factory in China because he expected the phone to be a hit. However, Jang Gwangchul rejected the idea because he felt they were expanding too fast.
Now, it seemed like Woosung was right. Woosung looked at Jang Gwangchul with furrowed eyebrows.
“I thought about pushing harder for it, but I didn’t want to sound like a dictator. That’s why I took your advice.”
“I…I know.”
“I always feel like I am being too pushy with my ideas because you and others always think I’m going too fast. It seems I should have trusted my gut instincts instead.”
While Jang Gwangchul looked at Woosung with guilt, Logan approached them with a smile.
“This is awesome! Everyone wants our phone, both online and offline. Our factory is running at its max, but we still can’t meet the demand.”
Woosung murmured.
“…If we had 500,000 phones ready, we could’ve made 100 million dollars because each product gives us a profit of 200 dollars. Instead, we just made only 20 million dollars.”
Jang Gwangchul groaned loudly.
Woosung said to Logan. “The maximum number of phones we can currently manufacture per day is 5000, so in a month, we can only make 150,000.”
“Well realistically, it would be more like 130,000.”
Finally, Jang Gwangchul apologized loudly. “Fine, fine! It’s all my fault! I admit it, but in my defense, you always want to do things that are too risky! I know you have been doing very well in everything you’ve tried, but I wanted you and this company to be on the safe side.”
“I know why you did it, and I don’t blame you for it, but there are things that I will do despite your opinion because it’s necessary.”
Jang Gwangchul could guess what Woosung was referring to. “Are you talking about the mobile carrier business?”
Woosung nodded firmly. Jang Gwangchul groaned again. “Hmm…Fine! I won’t stop you.”
“How about other things?”
“Well…. Depends.”
Woosung glared at him. “Are you saying you’ll continue to reject my ideas?”
“I…I will try my best to restrain myself.”
Woosung smiled. “Haha, that’s all I wanted to hear. Now, let’s enjoy our moment of triumph! Our phone is a success, and all we have to do now is to make more.”
The entire office was in a mood to party.
Because of the death of an ex-President, the entire nation of Korea was in a state of mourning. Despite Blue S’s incredible success abroad, its news was barely mentioned in Korea.
However, Daeyang and other smartphone companies in Korea were well-aware of its victory. A hardware department employee at Daeyang checked the international IT review website and murmured.
“So Blue S is sold out?”
Blue S was the phone his boss was keeping an eye on. He printed the news and included in the daily report.
After checking the news, the secretary general bit his lips.
“10,000 phones are sold out. The factory is running at its max capacity.”
It hasn’t even been released in Korea. This was a problem.
Becoming popular in the US meant that it’s easy for it to become a worldwide success.
“Blue S… Blue S…I hate that name.”
He called the development lab and asked them to purchase the phone for study.
With a Blue S in hand, the Secretary-General visited the Vice-Chairman’s room.
“This is the phone.”
“Blue S. An android-based smartphone.”
“They appear to be working with Google closely. We will delay their release in Korea as long as possible, but we have no control over them overseas.”
Choi Taemin looked at the phone with interest. “Its specs are comparable to iPhones?”
“That’s right, and this fact has been proven by various review sites as well as our own lab.”
“So they have the technology to pull this off?”
“The only thing they seem to lack right now is a mass manufacturing ability. Once that’s fixed, they will grow fast.”
“So it wasn’t a bluff that they could become a close competitor to iPhone.”
“KND is also known for their development team. The developers there get treated very well. Their salaries are very competitive.”
“Well, all we can do for now is delay its release in Korea as long as possible. If they are having difficulty with mass production, we’ll have to try to win by overwhelming the market with our phone’s availability.”
“We can’t have our price lower than theirs or else our phone may be perceived as an inferior product.”
Choi Taemin frowned. “See if they impinged on any of our patents at all. Let’s see if we can have any kind of legal ground against them.” Choi Taemin added. “Make sure to destroy them at all cost.”
“Yes, sir.”
The factory was running full-time, but the demand was too great.
Every day, they would receive an order of over 30,000 phones.
The office was filled with excitement. Woosung approved the factory expansion and bought more lands. He invested the entire 20 million dollars earned from selling the first batch with his land endeavors.
Jang Gwangchul asked Woosung. “Are you sure you don’t want to outsource the manufacturing to a Chinese OEM? We’ll have a better profit margin that way.”
“Apple will be doing that and make a huge profit, so I did consider it.”
“Then why did you change your mind all of a sudden?”
“When GM couldn’t handle the financial crisis last December, the American government went into great lengths to save it. I wondered then, would they have done the same for Apple?”
Jang Gwangchul answered without hesitation. “I don’t think so.”
“That’s probably why many of the tech companies in Silicone Valley went bankrupt and disappeared during that time.”
“So you want…power more than money?”
“Even in Korea, Daeyang insists on having all manufacturing done in Korea rather than outsourcing it to China where the cost would be lower.”
“…”
“That is how they maintain their presence and power in Korea.”
“I get it. Daeyang is called the company that supports all of Korea. If it went bankrupt, huge portion, if not all, of Korea will be affected.”
“They have the power over politics and media.”
“So are you planning to become the next Daeyang?”
“We’ll become like Daeyang in America. In Korea…”
In Korea, KND will become so big that it destroys Daeyang. Woosung didn’t finish his thoughts out loud.
Jang Gwangchul warned him. “I understand your dream, but Daeyang probably already know everything about our smartphone. They will soon make a similar phone with better specs and cheaper price.”
“I know.”
“They will catch up to us, no doubt about that. It’s only a matter of time before they destroy us.”
“That is why we have disclosed our smartphone blueprint to the public and create an environment that attracts talented developers.”
“What if Daeyang does the same thing?”
“We are the original. It is hard to beat that.” Woosung looked at Jang Gwangchul and continued. “We can do this. Our phone will be the original smartphone. Whatever Daeyang makes after will always be considered a copycat.”
Jang Gwangchul sighed. “When you first mentioned manufacturing a smartphone, I was excited. I thought that once we make it, that will be it! It seems like it’s only the beginning. Now, whenever you come up with the next plan…” Woosung looked at him silently. Jang Gwangchul continued. “It seems like it is never-ending.”
“Business is never easy.”
“I know that.”
“We have so much to do. We have to find new developers and businessmen for our mobile carrier business. We need to hire more people for the factory here. And…”
As Woosung listed the things they had to do, Jang Gwangchul shook his head. “Fine, fine. We have a lot of work to do. Let me know the first thing that needs to be done.”
“Now that our phone is a success, the next is the app.”
“You mean Coconut Talk?”
“That’s right. We have to upload the app to the Apple App Store so that iPhone users can experience how great our service is.”
“Fine. I will talk to Soobum.”
“Please ask him to upload it ASAP.”
