The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 148



Only Krnovel

Episode 148 rebound (2)

Two months have passed since the iPhone was released.

The iPhone supply issue has stabilized, but the explosive response continues.

Maybe that’s why smiles were prevalent on the faces of Taewoo Electronics CEO Woo Seong-il and Taewoo Telecommunications CEO Lee Joo-young.

“Taewoo Electronics’ stock price has returned to where it was before the dot-com bubble! “The iPhone is driving Taewoo Electronics’ stock.”

“It’s only natural that Taewoo Electronics owns a 10% stake in Apple and supplies a variety of components, including semiconductors.”

Taewoo Electronics has at best recovered to the situation it was in before the dot-com bubble.

On the other hand, in the case of Apple, its stock price had already surpassed its pre-dot-com bubble price.

“Taewoo Telecom’s market share in Korea has finally surpassed 60%. The gap with second place KS Telecom has widened by more than 25%.”

“Now, there will be no need to come down from first place.”

“And operating profits have also increased significantly. “In order to use the iPhone smoothly, we had to use an expensive plan, so our operating profit increased.”

These were iPhone customers who were hooked on wireless Internet.

However, since wireless Internet is not available everywhere, I had no choice but to use an expensive plan.

“Now, if Taewo Semiconductor is stabilized, all problems will be solved.”

“For the first time, the yield exceeded 70%. “We are still in the red, but we have a structure that allows us to turn into a surplus at any time if semiconductor prices rise just a little bit.”

Semiconductor prices were rising little by little.

This was possible thanks to the enormous sales volume of the iPhone.

Compared to feature phones, the iPhone used more semiconductors, and in particular, the price of NAND flash semiconductors, which are used as core storage devices, rose by more than 10%.

“Korean components account for more than 30% of the iPhone’s manufacturing cost. Among them, it accounts for 40% of Taewo Semiconductor. “As iPhone sales increase, semiconductor prices will naturally rise, and Taewo Semiconductor will be able to turn into a surplus.”

“And since iPhones can be purchased at Taewoo Electronics product stores, sales of other home appliances have also increased.”

“It looks like you are buying other electronic products while purchasing the iPhone.”

I didn’t invest a lot of time in Apple for nothing.

The effort was put in because the entire Taewo Group could benefit if Apple was properly pinned.

“Inquiries about wireless Internet subscription are coming in from many places. “We know that there are customers who come to Starbox to use free wireless Internet, so we are inquiring about wireless Internet subscriptions at cafes and restaurants.”

“Sell wireless internet as a bundled product. You can use wireless Internet anyway with a router, so don’t charge extra for it. “We are still making a lot of operating profit, but if we become more greedy, customers may turn away.”

“I’ll keep that in mind!”

Finally, most things have stabilized.

Now that the long iPhone launch has come to an end, we can move on to the next step.

“I will be going on a business trip to the United States starting tomorrow. In the meantime, you two, please pay close attention.”

“We will do our best to avoid any problems!”

***

two days later.

I arrived at the California airport.

David, who had already been to the United States, drove his car to meet us.

“boss! “Did you know that there are more than a dozen calls to SAVE Investment Company every day these days?”

“Could this be a call from a Wall Street investment firm?”

“With Apple’s stock price on the rise again, the wolves on Wall Street are said to be clamoring to share.”

How much will your stomach hurt?

They handed over Apple’s shares to us at a cheap price, and suddenly Apple’s stock price began to rebound.

It wasn’t just a rebound; Apple’s stock price rose more than five times from the lower limit.

But it was just the beginning.

It is said that Apple’s stock price rose more than five times with the launch of the iPhone, but its current stock price was only $5.

This was because the aftereffects of the dot-com bubble remained.

Apple’s stock was still undervalued, and its stock price was expected to rise more than 30 times, not 5 times.

“Just tell them to ignore it. “If they had a conscience, they wouldn’t be able to come out stronger.”

“I guess the boss thinks the wolves of Wall Street have a conscience.”

“Even if you don’t have a conscience, you probably have at least a sense of shame. “We have given and taken away shares of Apple several times, so we will not be able to come out stronger.”

While we talked, we headed to Apple headquarters.

Perhaps because of the long flight, I was exhausted, and I fell asleep, leaving David behind the wheel.

“boss! “I arrived at Apple headquarters.”

“I dozed off for a while. “You had a hard time driving.”

“Do you know how much my salary is? “Boss hired the most expensive driver in the world today.”

We entered Apple headquarters while joking around.

David went to meet the treasurer, and I met Steve.

Perhaps thanks to the huge success of the iPhone, his complexion looked much better than before.

“Are you getting some sleep these days? “Your complexion has improved a bit.”

“I started meditating. “After I started meditating, my body and mind became considerably lighter.”

“I see you have time to meditate. “I understand that we are close to entering Europe.”

“Preparations are already complete. “I’m betting the iPhone will be released in earnest in the European market starting next month.”

Another very good news has arrived.

Since the iPhone was popular in the US and Korea, there was a very high chance that it would also be popular in the European market.

If that happens, iPhone sales will increase, and it was good news for Taewo Electronics and Taewoong Semiconductor.

“Is China next for Europe?”

“Preparations for entering China have already been completed. “We will be able to sell the iPhone in China within this year at the latest.”

The Chinese market was important.

In particular, the Chinese market was a bonanza for the iPhone.

Even before the regression, as soon as the country with the largest iPhone sales volume entered the Chinese market, sales volume would increase several times.

“If you have any difficulties entering China, please contact us at any time. “I have some connections in China.”

“I’ve already received help from David a few times. “I may need your help, but if something like that happens, I will contact you.”

The conversation continued in a friendly atmosphere.

It would be nice if this atmosphere continued, but in order to take another leap forward, negative stories had to be brought out.

“How is the development of the second generation iPhone going?”

“… … The development team is working on it. “We are planning to release the second generation iPhone next year, but we have not yet added any features that can be considered innovative compared to the first generation.”

“The iPhone has been such a huge success that when the second generation is released, sales will increase even if it lacks innovative features.”

“That’s why I’m even more worried. “I am afraid that the innovation that symbolizes Apple will disappear.”

The iPhone was a huge success because of innovation.

However, innovation literally meant radical change, and such innovation could not be achieved every time.

“I think I can give you some help.”

“Really! “I am always ready to accept your advice!”

“You can make calls and take photos and videos through your iPhone.”

“You are stating the obvious.”

“Then of course you can make video calls, right? Additionally, if you use wireless Internet, you can make video calls for free without paying any phone charges.”

Face time.

I brought out the free video call that was developed several years later.

Since the technology related to video calls had already been developed, incorporating it into the iPhone was not that difficult.

I just needed a change in thinking.

“That’s a very good idea. Customers would love it if they could make video calls for free. However, calling it innovation is a bit lacking. “Please quickly take out more of what you have hidden.”

“What about adding navigation features? “The iPhone already has a map function, so wouldn’t it be possible to use it for navigation?”

“It will be difficult with the current iPhone performance, but as the performance of semiconductors is improving, it will be sufficient to use it in the second generation.”

I gave two pieces of advice.

But Steve wasn’t satisfied at all, and he had an expression on his face telling him to give more quickly.

“Hmm, how about adding a credit card function to your phone?”

“When it comes to e-commerce, payment is already possible through the iPhone.”

“That’s not it, you just put your credit card in your iPhone. “It’s not about e-commerce, it’s about going to a regular supermarket or restaurant and allowing you to pay with the credit card in your iPhone.”

I took out Apple Pay.

It was a technology that was only possible with short-range wireless communication technology, and that technology had already been developed.

“Cell phones are even replacing credit cards. That’s a very good idea. “If we could include all the features you mentioned in the second generation iPhone, we could avoid being criticized for lack of innovation.”

“They say they will solve it that way for the second generation, but what do you plan to do for the third and fourth generations?”

“That’s why I started meditating. “I think every day about how I can make the iPhone a more innovative product.”

I need to ease Steve’s worries.

Because I already knew what innovation he wanted.

“I think the future direction for iPhone is artificial intelligence. We are developing artificial intelligence that can use all the functions of the iPhone using just your voice without using your fingers. “What could be more innovative than this?”

“A.I! It’s not like I haven’t thought about that either. However, developing such artificial intelligence requires a lot of money and time, so we put it off for a while.”

“Apple doesn’t have to bear the burden alone. Taewoo Electronics will share manpower and funds. “I want to develop artificial intelligence together!”

Artificial intelligence wasn’t just for the iPhone.

If you could play music through voice and use various home appliances such as TVs, computers, and air conditioners, Taewoo Electronics could grow into a world-class company.

“Developing artificial intelligence will be more difficult than you think. “It could cost an astronomical amount of money, so is that okay?”

“My grandfather told me not to be afraid to invest in order to keep up with the times.”

“That’s a very nice thing to say. Then, let’s make it together. But are you going to take 50% of the shares this time too?”

“Taewoo Electronics will cover more than 50% of the investment. So, please give up 50% of the shares.”

“It’s unfortunate, but there’s nothing we can do.”

Apple still lacked financial power.

There will be no need for support from Taewoo Electronics as they will be able to make a lot of money from iPhone sales in just a few years.

But things were different now.

Taewoo Electronics was able to jump into artificial intelligence development only with its manpower and financial power.

In fact, it could have been a loss-making business for Taewoo Electronics.

Taewoo Electronics could have developed artificial intelligence on its own without necessarily joining hands with Apple.

Nevertheless, the reason we joined hands with Apple was because we wanted to get something different from Apple.