Lei Jun's three-hour talk: I don't have time to worry

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Every once in a while, this star entrepreneur will come out for a small-scale media interview, which usually lasts three hours. He allows the media to ask any questions and answers each one seriously.

Lei Jun has never been a man with a rich vocabulary. When describing his products, he always repeatedly uses "very good", "excellent", "very good", "super satisfied", "seriously exceeded expectations" to express his emotions. When he wants to state something that is very important to him, he will directly tell you "Now I want to say something solemnly", this time he said that the new 10,000 mAh Xiaomi power bank is 20% smaller. When he was interrupted by the media, he was a little unhappy, "Every time I want to talk about the product, you just want me to talk about marketing."

An hour into the interview, he went to the bathroom and came back to say, "I just had someone touch my new power supply, and you know what? It's great."

This is a man who is immersed in his own world, partly because of his passion for the product and partly because of his growing and pervasive self-confidence - you can feel this in the interview I recorded below.

He even used a series of words to praise himself for the first time in a relatively public occasion: a tenacious and unyielding steel warrior. "I have been in this industry for 26 years, and no one is more persistent and idealistic than me." When someone asked him what mistakes Xiaomi had made, he said that he reviewed the Xiaomi model and found it to be ten times more successful than he had imagined.

"Mr. Lei, what do you think of Lao Zhou making mobile phones?" Of course, Lei Jun will not talk about any competitors publicly, but if you insist, he will make you a joke. For example, his answer to this question is: Someone told me that he (Zhou Hongyi) mentioned "Lei Jun" 20 times at the press conference, and I thank him.

Okay, let’s get back to the topic. In this three-hour interview with Lei Jun, I have left out some of the answers that I think are interesting. Here you can see that Lei Jun is becoming more and more confident, and where his confidence comes from.

The following is my shorthand version of the scene, there may be minor errors.

Why choose such a rustic name as "Android King"?

I always emphasize speaking human language and using fewer adjectives. In the past year, we were criticized the most for not being enthusiast-friendly. If we use ordinary craftsmanship and appearance, we will be sorry for Mi fans and "first release", and we don't have the courage and confidence. We want to show our courage and confidence to enthusiasts from the name, so that the entire phone is top-notch and we can stand at the commanding heights again.

A mobile phone brand manufacturer that promotes sentimentality said that the beauty camera is a very low-end function. What does Xiaomi think about it?

Now people say that beauty filters are low-end, probably because Apple does not have a beauty filter. If Apple had one, people would say it is not low-end. Look at Fu Sheng, he just loves taking selfies and loves life. Don’t you think taking selfies and using beauty filters are also expressions of loving life?

Are you satisfied with the sales of the top-end version of Xiaomi Note yesterday?

I am so excited that I don't know what to say. The sales are beyond my imagination. Yesterday I shook hands with a Mi fan who was waiting in line, and I found that his hands were cold. He had been waiting in line for a long time. Now domestic mobile phone manufacturers are collectively rushing to the 3,000 yuan range, but the cost of our mobile phone is the highest among all mass-produced mobile phones. This is the first time that Xiaomi has entered the high-end market. The sales volume is not as expected, but as long as the users are satisfied, it is a success.

Xiaomi Note is a high-performance machine with high quality, high user experience, high performance and super cost-effectiveness. It is really great, and the memory will be much faster than before. (Some deletions here)

Why was the release delayed two months than expected?

First of all, 3D curved glass is a technology that is difficult to mass produce, and the curved glass is manually ground. It took us six months from the press conference to the official launch to make the 810 chip, and we spent another four months to solve the mass production of glass. At that time, we could produce 100,000 units a month, but we were not satisfied and hoped to expand production.

We used to fight to be the first to launch, but now we feel comfortable using it ourselves and we don’t want to rush into a global launch. This reflects that we are becoming more confident.

Why was the price reduced from the original 3000+ to 2999?

We decided on this price on the last day. I thought about it for an hour and couldn't decide. I also called my colleagues six times. In the end, we came to the conclusion that Xiaomi is a pragmatic company.

What we care about is not this one dollar, which has no practical significance, but it is a matter of face and a matter of position. What we hope is that we can express our position and determination through pricing, and express our determination to insist on high quality and cost-effectiveness.

What do you think about the growth bottleneck facing the domestic smartphone market this year?

Indeed, smartphones have reached a bottleneck period, but this is not a bad thing. This is the only way for us to grasp the pain points and really pay attention to the details. For example, the battery capacity is not large enough, the photo quality is not good enough, these are all pain points. In the case of no market growth, improving the cost performance is an opportunity.

Xiaomi is a company that doesn’t tell stories, and its public relations strength is far behind its peers. You often see articles that criticize us online, but we never criticize others. In such a situation, if we do everything, we will definitely collapse. So this year Xiaomi must stabilize its position, consolidate its foundation, and turn the myth in everyone’s eyes into a real industry. This year is a process of sorting out and standing firm, but we will stick to Xiaomi’s concept of high quality and high cost performance no matter what. We want to return to the concept of enthusiasts and serve enthusiasts.

Since it is said that the entire Chinese smartphone market will no longer grow in 2015, can we still impress users with cost-effectiveness?

Cost-effectiveness is Xiaomi's DNA, so we repeat it over and over again, hoping that it will be implanted in people's hearts. High quality and high cost-effectiveness are the king in any era. On the other hand, today's very high-end companies all took the cost-effective route in their early growth stages, such as Uniqlo, Muji, and Samsung in the 1980s and 1990s. Costco has also always maintained a low profit margin, and each of its products has been used by the boss himself. People don't have to think twice when buying Costco products, just take them away. I hope that in the future, you can also buy Xiaomi products without thinking twice, which is also a trust in me, Lei Jun.

In the past, Xiaomi was considered a company that only had cost-effectiveness but lacked passion, but now many competitors use passion and curiosity as selling points. Do you think users will pay for passion and curiosity?

Don’t you think that those Mi fans who queue up all night also have an identity and sentimental appeal to Xiaomi? Of course, each manufacturer has a different core positioning, and they also hope to find their own loyal users. The emotional connotation of Xiaomi is technology, geeks and fever, and we have achieved it.

Yesterday it was said that Xiaomi’s sales in the first quarter were 15 million units, so Xiaomi’s annual sales of mobile phones would be 60 million units, which is about the same as last year.

It is not calculated that way. The first quarter includes the Spring Festival holiday, and the annual sales volume should be six times that of the first quarter. In this way, our annual sales volume is about 90 million units, and the target we set at the beginning of the year was 80 million to 100 million units.

What is the most promising way to monetize?

For example, Internet finance. Also, last year, Mi Bunny sold 1.97 million units, and mobile phone themes sold millions of RMB a month. Can you imagine that a company's mascot can sell such a large volume? From these two small details, we can see Xiaomi's profit potential.

Which company in Xiaomi's ecosystem is currently doing the best? Why is it this one? Which one is not doing well enough?

At present, we have completed or are in the process of completing 39 ecological chain products. I think they have all exceeded expectations and are all good, but it will take time to verify. I think they are all 90 points, 95 points, and 99.99 points. Our smart home sector, from bracelets to air purifiers, is a hit. For example, 5 million air purifiers were sold nationwide last year, and Xiaomi's monthly shipments of air purifiers now account for 20% of the national market share, and this year it is expected to grow by 30%.

90 points, 95 points, 99.99 points, does that mean that no company has reached your standard of 100 points?

That's not the case.

Some people say that the ecosystem companies you invest in are all under the halo of you and Xiaomi, and may lack some self-esteem. What do you think?

Our principle for the ecosystem is no control, no teaming, no exclusivity, and full openness. Some companies in Xiaomi's ecosystem grow fast, which may cause them to feel dizzy. This is their adaptation period to the spotlight.

How far can you go on your own?

I have always been a tenacious and unyielding steel warrior. I have been in this industry for 26 years, and no one is more persistent and idealistic than me. My proposal of the "wind outlet" theory is a great sublimation of my life. It solves the integration of man and nature, allowing us to crush others like tanks. Going with the flow is a great opportunity for people like us who are tenacious. For me, small persistence should be given up, so that I can reach the peak of my life.

After Xiaomi's continued success, would you consider changing careers?

The last thing I did in my life was to start Xiaomi.

Which ecosystem is better, Xiaomi or LeTV?

I will not comment on my competitors. If I want to be a platform manufacturer, the key to success is the ecological chain. I am very satisfied with the progress, ideas, strategic integrity, timetable, and business perfection of our ecological chain. In addition, let's look at the other three factors in the ecosystem: the most important thing behind mobile phones is Internet services; the most important thing behind TVs is content; and the most important thing behind games is content providers. At present, we are the first in smart home, big data, and ecological chain, and the third in e-commerce scale. If a company does not have an e-commerce platform, can it do smart home?

Uber’s latest round of financing will value it at more than 50 billion US dollars. You are no longer the world’s most valuable technology company. What do you think?

But we are the technology company that represents the future the most, and the coolest company.

Are you still anxious now?

There is no time to worry. To be honest, the 45 billion valuation did put pressure on us. There are a lot of expectations behind it, investors and users have expectations of us, and we have more friends, more competitors, and more people who criticize us. So we don’t care when Uber announces a 50 billion valuation. We immediately announced that we are the second most valuable Internet company in the world, and let everyone surpass Uber.