How long does it take to get from a cash cow to a nightmare?

It may take only half a year to get from a cash cow to a nightmare.

Yesterday, there is news that the domestic mobile phone manufacturers cool to start layoffs plan, the proportion of about 10%. The cool faction in the reply to the "First financial daily" reporter, the adjustment is indeed in progress, the main impact of the number of about 10%, hundreds of people around. "Staff adjustment is mainly cool in the strategic structure adjustment, 10% of the staff will be adjusted to the new joint venture, for part of the reluctance to go to the joint venture staff, the cool faction will be in accordance with the provisions of national law to compensate and deal with." "Cool Vice president Cao told reporters.

Operators have been one of the most heavily relied on by the cool faction, with China Mobile, such as reducing the amount of subsidy, the cool faction faces big channel changes.

Adjustment involves 10% employees

Cool insiders told reporters that the layoffs involved most of the cool, in the layoffs, each system sector involved in the number of about 10%. In addition to the "structural adjustment" that the cool official said, insiders told reporters there are also "elimination of the bottom" and other factors.

Cool Send parent company Cool Group (02369.HK) is a listed company of Hong Kong stocks. The first half of 2014 results announced that the company's operating income for the period of HK $14.934 billion, an increase of 54.8% per cent, to achieve net profit of about 412 million Hong Kong dollar, the year-on-year growth of 94%.

Since the second half of last year, the cool faction that appeared as "4G Reggie" has been running faster in the 4G transition. Cao earlier in an interview that the Chinese 4G license issued, in other manufacturers are hesitant, the cool faction ahead of the internal mobilization, from last December began to transition 4G, including research and development and the corresponding training of sales links, but also in advance with the main supplier communication. And this year's plan is to sell mobile phone 60 million, of which 4G mobile phones to reach 40 million.

"Layoffs" news an industry outcry. In response, the cool faction said that the personnel adjustment is mainly caused by the environment, the company has launched a channel reform mechanism, the joint channel to invest 1 billion yuan to establish a joint venture, and the current project has begun to start.

"The joint venture will take on the cool regional market management and promotional staff resource management functions, will be cool sent around 10% staff to the new joint venture, and focus on the cool pie in high-end products distribution." "Cool faction said, the current channel pattern is taking place a major change, operators to reduce subsidies, operators bundled market capacity reduction, electric business channels and social open channels of the role of increasingly large."

In other words, some employees in the future will be "adjusted" to the joint venture company, responsible for high-end product distribution, the specific work has not changed, but the identity has changed. And for the cool faction, such "thin body" to a certain extent, reduce the main company's operating risk.

"Of course, you can choose not to go to the new company, but to accept the N compensation scheme and leave." The cool faction says. The so-called n, refers to foreign companies commonly used redundancy compensation scheme, that is, the working life of N, by the company to give "N month" of the salary compensation.

Before that, the cool faction has already made the adjustment to the electric business. According to the reporter understands, this channel adjusts, the cool faction will set up three big brand, respectively is the "dragon" brand which faces the operator channel, the "Cool faction" brand which faces the social channel, as well as has announced the independent operation Electricity Commodity card "the Big God".

An analyst who does not want to be named said that 2014 is the operator, the electricity market dominated the year, operators set up and purchase prices on the market impact increased, step is not allowed to beat will be eliminated, and the electric business more and more brutal, price benchmarking ruler became the magic weapon of the electric business. The cool faction is making this adjustment in the hope of staying "light" in the future competition.

Channel change

Domestic mobile phones in the second half of the profit pressure is still huge. Ranked in the first echelon of "China cool", most still face is the status of meager profit.

Force 4G makes cool pie 4G operating income of 5.361 billion Hong Kong dollars, accounting for the overall sales revenue of 35.9%, year-on-year growth of 1729.2% in the first half of 2013, but net profit margin of about 2.76%, achieve net profit of about 412 million Hong Kong dollars.

In the previous interviews, the cool faction is not shy of the status quo of meager profit, and frankly adhere to the "first after the rodeo to make money," the market law, have the opportunity in the next competition to seize the initiative.

But it may not be possible to predict that changes in operator policy will come so quickly. A mobile phone industry said that the 4G first year of the beginning of China Mobile to throw a huge pie, over billion orders look plump temptation. But with the two quarter 3G subsidy suddenly canceled many mobile phone manufacturers have suffered.

"In the two quarter, the market was the cheapest, and many retailers had inventories of more than seven weeks, which were worse than in previous years." "The mobile phone industry said that the two-quarter 3G product clearance, many manufacturers to stop bleeding, and to the three quarter, operators announced the reduction of subsidies, mobile phone manufacturers are facing the risk of inventory loss, but also led to a strong wait-and-see sentiment of 4G products.

On the change of subsidy policy, China Mobile's Chairman Xi a few days ago in Taiwan to interview the reporter admits that this year does reduce the amount of subsidy, but there will be subsidies, but is to subsidize users rather than subsidizing mobile phones, the future will sell bare metal.

"In the past, mobile phone sales are sent out, not sold out." The operator concentrates on doing what he has to do, no longer subsidizing, meaning that sales depend on you. Nubia general manager Kufei told reporters.

And for the cool pie, even after the operator's policy has been closely followed, this year also announced the reduction of the number of carrier product models, cut off about 30% of low-end products, the resources more inclined to high-end products. "Part of the staff adjustment is the elimination of the lowest, while the other part is to mobilize some of the staff enthusiasm, expand the public channels of society." "Cool-pie insiders told reporters.

Cao told reporters that in the history of cool, cool faction in the enterprise transformation and channel Change has experienced three of life and death War: first, cool from the paging equipment into the intelligent terminal research and development field, relying on cooperation with the intelligent machine, dual standby cooperation, change success, ushered in the development of vitality. The second is the 2008 "Telecommunications business Restructuring", for the single channel model of cool, this pain is the pain of life and death, until 2009 cool faction and the three operators at the same time to win the development opportunity.

"And this time, in the face of the changes in China's mobile phone market, the cool faction needs to plough deeper into the social channels, and the previous strategy is different, this time to take the form of bundled interests Alliance, more closely than the simple business cooperation, forming a community of interests." Cao told reporters.

It's not just the cool one that's making the adjustment.

Earlier this year, ZTE Mobile phone business leader Zeng Xuzhong to reporters, exerting power over the Internet channel, Big electric dealer, and cut off 50% mobile phone models. and Huawei Consumer BG business in early August to the newspaper reporter said, the second half of the number of Huawei mobile phone models will be reduced by more than 80%, the second half of a few mobile phones, the original plan is fifty or sixty. Huawei will be more focused on the number of boutique mobile phones in the future, for some operators channel ultra-low-end products gradually abandoned.