Pigs are still in the spotlight: Why can't Gree make mobile phones?

“Good air conditioner, made by Gree.”

With such a good slogan and overwhelming advertising, not many people understand why Gree air conditioners are better than Hisense and Haier. But a bet made the post-90s generation in China know Dong Mingzhu, because of Lei Jun and Xiaomi.

Therefore, when Gree and mobile phone are tied together, Xiaomi and Gree are also tied together. The natural and pure free dissemination on the Internet has become the cheapest and most powerful propaganda weapon for Gree mobile phones before they are launched on the market.

Facing social media, Gree seems to have come to its senses. Moreover, pigs are still in the limelight, so why can't Gree make mobile phones?

1. Xiaomi has it, does Gree have it?

What does Xiaomi have? What is the reason for Xiaomi's success? This is a question that many mobile phone manufacturers are thinking about.

First, Xiaomi took advantage of the situation. From the perspective of the system, IOS was facing challenges from Android, while Samsung, the mainstream Android manufacturer at the time, was busy creating high-end products and was determined to compete with Apple in the high-end market. Mid-to-low-end and Android were the keywords that Xiaomi had in its early days.

Gree didn't have such a time! In the current situation, Apple firmly occupies the high-end market. Samsung, with its powerful terminals and brand effects, can only retreat step by step. In the mid- and low-end market, apart from Xiaomi, there are many brands such as Huawei, Lenovo, ZTE, and VIVO. There is not much room left for Gree.

Secondly, MIUI and the Xiaomi community played an important role in Xiaomi's early success. In the early days of mobile Internet, hardware and software manufacturers were clearly divided. Although Xiaomi was a new hardware company, MIUI brought many unexpected benefits. In the early days, Xiaomi was also a brand that made extreme products, and MIUI also brought a large number of fans. Xiaomi can be said to be the first mobile phone brand to engage in fan economy.

But now, with the development of social media, fan economy has become a "commonplace" prop. The various mobile Internet applications that should become killers are almost irreplaceable, and it is difficult to find a soft breakthrough point. Xiaomi has it, but Gree really doesn't.

But don’t forget that Gree has money and strong cash flow. Will a miracle happen?

2. Will the brand have an extension effect?

This is definitely a good question. Gree has a good reputation in the field of air conditioners. Gree is also influential. Although Aunt Dong is not a godfather, she is also a leader in the hearts of young people.

So, will Gree’s brand have an extension effect in the mobile phone field?

At this point, let me remind you whether you have forgotten Haier mobile phones? Haier has also launched mobile phones, and some are even sold on the market now, but almost no one remembers them. How does Haier's Zhang Ruimin compare to Dong Mingzhu? How is Haier's brand effect accumulated in China and even in the international market? How does Haier's scale compare to Gree?

Can Gree do what Haier failed to do?

Of course, this simple comparison doesn't really explain anything, after all, the resources invested by Haier and Gree are not equal. However, one thing is clear: Gree's brand effect is difficult to extend to the mobile phone field. Different industries are like different mountains. The truth taught by our ancestors has been valid for thousands of years.

Of course, in addition to reminding everyone of Haier, we also want to remind everyone that TCL also produced mobile phones, but do you still remember? At least, at present, there are few successful examples of home appliance companies entering the mobile phone market. Will Gree be an exception?

3. Pigs are still in the spotlight, and Gree still has a chance

I have summarized the difficulties above, so let’s start from the beginning. Does Gree have a chance? My answer is yes!

Compared with the chaos of PC ten years ago, the chaos of mobile phones today is actually exactly the same. Who still remembers how many PC brands there were in China ten years ago? I can tell you that there were more than 20 in Zhongguancun, Beijing alone.

Why? Because the high homogeneity and integration of products and the high maturity of the foundry process have transformed the PC industry, which was originally a technological competition, into a competition of scale. There is no mystery at all.

For example, if we make the same PC and choose the same Intel CPU, will the price be the same if we order 10 million pieces and 500,000 pieces at a time? Similarly, the price of Hyundai memory sticks, Asus motherboards, and even Foxconn's order volume all decreases with the order volume.

In this way, the outcome is clear at a glance. Whoever has a larger scale and more cash flow will have a greater chance. If the cost of each component is one cent lower, the price of a whole machine will be much lower. The cost game is only played by the big sharks, and small manufacturers can only be eliminated.

This is obviously the trend in today's mobile phone industry. At least the Android system is cloning the PC industry of the past. Crazy English's Li Yang can make a mobile phone, and the cute little celebrities can also make a mobile phone. Why can't Gree make a mobile phone?

They are all tied to Qualcomm, choose similar camera and screen suppliers, and find OEM factories in Guangdong for assembly. It is a simple process, and even some Taobao shop owners are doing their own brands.

Therefore, the mobile phone industry is clearly taking a path of highly standardized and process-oriented industrialization. On this path, the only thing that can bring about qualitative change is the product upgrades of Google and Qualcomm, and on the manufacturing side, it will evolve into an industrial chain game, a scale and cost game. Going back to the end of the first chapter, I answered my own question. Don't forget that Gree has money and a strong cash flow. If the resources invested are large enough, how can it not create miracles?

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.