Chapter 340: Electric Fans and Hair Dryers
Qin Zhiye said, "Yes, by the middle of 1964, Hong Kong will have an additional free wireless television station. Anyone with a TV will be able to receive programming."
"Mm. One more goal achieved." Yang Wendong smiled. "We should start searching for the right people to manage the station."
Though a television station wouldn't be extremely profitable—TVB's valuation in the 1990s was barely over HKD 1 billion, less than a small property in Central—its impact far outweighed its monetary value. It was destined to become one of the cornerstones of Yang Wendong's future influence.
With enough capital, he planned to use it as a cultural export machine for Hong Kong, targeting Asia. He didn't expect to rival Hollywood or the U.S., but reaching the heights of the Korean Wave's peak would be enough.
Qin Zhiye added, "Yang Sheng, there's one more issue—TV prices. Can the television manufacturing base at Glory Electronics begin mass production by this time next year?"
"According to the current timeline, yes." Yang Wendong replied. "The equipment from the U.S. has arrived and is being installed and calibrated. Let's go take a look."
"Great," Qin Zhiye said, then called to the driver, "Xiao Li, to the Glory Electronics television factory in North Point."
"Right away, Qin Sheng," Xiao Li replied.
The convoy turned a corner and headed toward North Point.
About 20 minutes later, they arrived at the gate. Since there had been no prior notice, no one was waiting for them. The security guards, seeing a fleet of Mercedes-Benz vehicles arrive, quickly came forward.
After a short conversation, they were allowed in.
As the cars came to a stop, Glory Electronics' General Manager Wang Zhiqun walked out of the administrative building to greet them.
"Yang Sheng, Qin Sheng," Wang Zhiqun said with a smile.
Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Old Wang, I've got some good news. Just now, we secured the license for Hong Kong's first wireless television station."
"That's fantastic!" Wang Zhiqun replied. "With our own TV station, many things will become much easier moving forward."
Among Changxing Group's industrial subsidiaries, the two core arms were Changxing Industrial and Glory Electronics. Both heavily relied on overseas markets.
But there was a key difference: Changxing Industrial's products were mostly innovative new concepts, which made it easy to open up demand. In fact, demand often outpaced supply. Glory Electronics, on the other hand, also had creative products but lacked strong immediate demand. It needed the support of advertising power.
Though Hong Kong's market was small, it was the perfect place for trial runs: consumer feedback could be evaluated, and product quality tested. If three million Hong Kongers gave a thumbs up, it would be time to expand globally.
A stronger media presence in Hong Kong was thus crucial to Glory Electronics.
"Mm," Yang Wendong said. "Now that we have the TV station, we need our own televisions too. How's progress on your end?"
Wang Zhiqun replied, "The assembly lines purchased from the U.S. arrived a week ago and have been fully installed. The first batch of imported materials is also here. We'll begin trial assembly next week."
"Kind of like CKD in the car industry?" Yang Wendong asked.
"Exactly," Wang Zhiqun said. "At this stage, all the raw materials for the televisions, down to the screws, come from RCA in the U.S. Later, we'll start sourcing based on blueprints and gradually localize each component."
Yang Wendong chuckled. "So this setup is actually more expensive than directly importing finished TVs?"
"Yes," Qin Zhiye interjected. "In some countries, this model is profitable due to high import tariffs on finished goods. But Hong Kong doesn't have those tariffs. Still, to master TV manufacturing and build a supply chain, we have to go through this stage."
The technical complexity of television manufacturing far exceeded what Hong Kong's industry could handle at the time. To start, the only option was to import all parts and assemble them locally—this would allow them to master the process before gradually localizing component production.
"Mm, I support that. Any real investment has to start by burning some cash," Yang Wendong said. "Alright, let's go take a look at the production line."
"This way, please." Wang Zhiqun pointed toward the workshop.
They walked into the factory and saw long rows of conveyor belts. Each station along the lines had metal workbenches, equipped with different jigs and tools.
Above the assembly lines, steel air pipes crisscrossed, feeding into the stations below.
"These machines look pretty simple," Yang Wendong commented after walking around.
"They look simple," Wang Zhiqun agreed, "but setting the right jigs, synchronizing line speeds, and optimizing efficiency takes a lot of time and experimentation."
"Yeah," Qin Zhiye chimed in. "I've toured a lot of factories. Sometimes the most 'simple' processes take years of R&D to optimize."
"Mm." Yang Wendong nodded.
"But strictly from a technical point of view, you're right, Yang Sheng," Wang Zhiqun continued. "Assembly itself doesn't require advanced skills. The real challenge is boosting efficiency. Since we've purchased the equipment and process data, we've skipped the hardest parts."
"What about CRTs?" Yang Wendong asked.
"The cathode ray tubes are still produced in the U.S.," Wang Zhiqun replied. "Two months ago, we sent thirty people there to learn the process. They're scheduled to train for six months. After that, we'll ship the production line to Hong Kong. By then, our assembly team will be fully up to speed."
"So full-scale production won't happen until early next year?" Yang Wendong asked.
"Yes. This year, we'll be assembling CKD sets. Some parts will begin local production. But we won't launch commercially right away—we'll test internally first.
When the CRT line is installed in October, we'll test for another few months. If everything goes well, we'll do a soft launch in late December," Wang Zhiqun said.
"How will you handle internal testing?" Yang Wendong asked.
"We'll test in-house, but our capabilities are limited," Wang Zhiqun said. "So I plan to collaborate with Wei Sheng and Zheng Sheng to find employees across the group who want a TV. We'll give them one for free—as long as they cover cable costs.
That gives us a broad testing base and saves electricity. Employees get a free TV, and if something goes wrong, we'll recall and analyze the unit."
"Smart approach." Yang Wendong smiled. "In the future, roll out every new product through internal trials. Freebies benefit everyone."
"Got it." Wang Zhiqun nodded.
Yang Wendong then turned to Qin Zhiye. "Televisions aren't like our earlier electronics. They're big-ticket items. That means stricter safety and quality standards, and we can't rush. Even after launch, we won't solve Hong Kong's TV shortage overnight.
So don't count on Glory Electronics too much. Run the TV station normally. Even if we don't have our own TVs, we'll still make it work."
"Understood," Qin Zhiye said.
"Alright, you can head back first. I have a few things to wrap up here," Yang Wendong said.
"I'll take my leave then, Yang Sheng." Qin Zhiye turned to Wang Zhiqun. "Wang Sheng, I'll be going."
"Take care," Wang Zhiqun replied.
"Let's head up to the office," Yang Wendong said.
They went to a meeting room in the administrative building.
Yang Wendong asked, "How are our rice cooker and electric kettle exports doing?"
"Very well," Wang Zhiqun said. "The latest figures just came in. Last month, we exported 39,000 rice cookers and 114,000 electric kettles—mainly to Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam."
"Not bad," Yang Wendong smiled. "We found the distributors ourselves, right?"
"Yes," Wang Zhiqun confirmed. "Initially, Changxing Trading found suitable dealers. Then we took over negotiations. They place orders via air courier; we ship via sea freight.
At first, they paid in full before shipment. Now, after a few deals, we've switched to deposits and final payments."
"Good. Keep refining those channels," Yang Wendong said. "We'll need them for our TVs and future products. Hong Kong's too small to sustain us."
"Understood, Yang Sheng," Wang Zhiqun replied. "Electric mosquito swatter exports have dropped in the past six months. Seasonal demand is a factor, and it's not exactly a necessity. I'll monitor it again when summer comes."
"Alright," Yang Wendong nodded. "Our R&D teams should be free now, right?"
"Yes. I've assigned them to develop electric fans. The competition is fierce, but it shouldn't be too hard to enter the market," Wang Zhiqun said.
"Electric fans? What about motors? Still importing?" Yang Wendong asked.
"Yes, for now. Once the market expands and demand rises, we'll start manufacturing them ourselves," Wang Zhiqun replied.
"Fair enough. That's the usual path." Yang Wendong nodded. "And it's just as well. I've got another product for you to develop. It'll also use motors."
"What is it?" Wang Zhiqun asked.
"I want to try making hair dryers," Yang Wendong said with a grin.
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