Liu Jiangfeng jokes that he is in danger. Can the new S1 change the world's view of Coolpad?

Just three years ago, "China Cool Union" was still synonymous with domestic mobile phones, competing with well-known foreign brands Samsung and Apple for the domestic market. However, time flies, and now in the mobile phone sales rankings, in addition to Huawei's stronger position, blue, green, Apple, and Xiaomi have quietly squeezed in, while ZTE, Lenovo, and Coolpad have gradually faded out of consumers' sight.

However, the fates of the three companies in the “Zhongku Lian” are not the same, which is in line with the old saying, “Every unfortunate person has his own misfortune.” ZTE’s only sub-brand Nubia has some popularity in the market, while Lenovo was called the “King of Garbage” after its mistaken acquisition of Motorola and has made no achievements in the mobile phone field. Coolpad’s situation is even more dramatic. After successfully joining hands with LeTV amid the envy of everyone, it has gradually been marginalized in the mobile phone market.

On December 15, at the end of 2016, Coolpad released a new phone, the S1. From this product, we can see Coolpad's desire for change when it was about to reach a dead end.

Coolpad's Lost

In fact, it can be said that the decline of ZTE, Lenovo and Coolpad all originated from the disappearance of the driving force of cooperation with operators. But in the face of difficulties, Coolpad made a different choice. Last year, the story of Coolpad's secret collusion with LeTV after joining hands with 360 became a hot topic of news. Coolpad's capital operation skills are so sophisticated that it seems to have become the biggest winner.

However, Coolpad, which was controlled by LeEco, gradually lost its positioning for the company and its products. Under the price-performance ratio of Xiaomi, Meizu and other brands of mobile phones, a large number of mobile phone manufacturers were killed and the profits of domestic mobile phones plummeted. Among them, Coolpad was also a victim, but with more than 20 years of operating history, Coolpad still survived by relying on large group purchase orders for mid-to-high-end models despite heavy casualties in the mid-to-low-end product lines, but it was difficult to avoid the fate of becoming increasingly niche.

LeEco, which looks good and powerful, is not the savior of Coolpad. Since LeEco took control of Coolpad, the brands of LeEco and Coolpad have been trying to merge, but they have not been successful. Coolpad, LeEco, ivvi and even the last attempt at LeCool, LeEco has said more than once that Coolpad and ivvi are part of the LeEco ecosystem and enjoy all the same resources of LeEco. However, the result is that Coolpad's Internet transformation has not been smooth, and the operational reforms have achieved little effect.

To make matters worse, as the LeEco supply chain debt issue continued to ferment, the share price of Coolpad Group (02369, HK), whose chairman is Jia Yueting, also plunged since November, and its market value shrank. Coolpad has hit a wall and must turn back and make changes.

Compared to the new machine, the new CEO is the protagonist

  On the 15th, Coolpad officially announced the S1, the game changer. At the launch event held in Shanghai, Coolpad Group CEO Liu Jiangfeng was the absolute protagonist. At the launch event, Liu Jiangfeng publicly admitted that Coolpad was in danger and change was imperative. "Maybe we can't change the world, but at least we can change our attitude towards the world," Liu Jiangfeng said.

  Coolpad has indeed changed its attitude towards the market.

Coolpad's new phone, the Changer S1 adopts the mainstream flagship configuration on the market, with a Snapdragon 821 processor, a main frequency of 2.35GHz and an Adreno 530 GPU, large system memory, a 4070mAh large battery and fast charging technology, plus AKG headphones personally tuned by the Harman Kardon Golden Ear team, and substantial optimization for games. The low price of 2499 represents that this is a flagship phone for young and fashionable people, which is very different from the stereotype of Coolpad before. It is indeed a sincere product that has made great changes.

  Here we have to mention the new CEO of Coolpad Group, Liu Jiangfeng. Liu Jiangfeng officially joined LeEco in August this year and served as the CEO of Coolpad Group. It has been only a little over 100 days. However, the Changer S1 has been deeply branded with Liu Jiangfeng's personal label. Because Liu Jiangfeng was the president of Honor, a sub-brand of Huawei's e-commerce for young people, more than two years ago. It can be said that LeEco's acceptance of Liu Jiangfeng has already released a signal that it wants to make changes.

  Coolpad still has a lot to offer

With a series of unfavorable factors such as the extreme convergence of smartphones, the exhaustion of the domestic demographic dividend, and the peak of penetration, it is becoming increasingly difficult to establish a brand. The former "China Cool Alliance" is facing the same problem, and Huawei's breakthrough is worth thinking about for other mobile phone industries.

In fact, the homogeneity and peak penetration of smartphones are not a problem for one group: young people.

For them, the homogeneity of mobile phones is more appealing to their desire to express their individuality. At the same time, their pursuit of novelty and performance also makes them the group that changes mobile phones most frequently in society. "He who wins the young people wins the world" is not an exaggeration at all. Huawei's ability to gain a foothold in the new market environment is also due to the unexpected success of its sub-brand Honor.

In addition to its top-level configuration, the Coolpad Changer S1 also offers many "world firsts" in sound, photography, gaming and other aspects that are more popular among young audiences. Its battery life and appearance are also top-tier, so it is sure to be sought after by young and fashionable groups.

Not only that, well-known mobile phone retailers such as Leyu Communication, Hengbo, and D.Phone also attended the press conference on the 15th. Coolpad Changer S1 will be available for purchase on various e-commerce and retail platforms. With the help of LeTV's Internet attributes and Coolpad's offline channel layout as a traditional mobile phone manufacturer for many years, this may be the ultimate killer of Coolpad Changer S1. It seems that there will be another dark horse with explosive combat power in the mobile phone market next year.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.