The worries of the Lei Empire

Who spent the most money in 2014? When it belongs to Lei. Less than two months, he spent nearly 7.4 billion, a succession of investment, mergers and acquisitions, see people dazzling.

"Mobile is the center of the World", in order to strengthen this center, millet set up the chip company Pine Cone Electronics, further reduce the cost of mobile phones, expect in 2015 to let mobile phone shipments exceeded 100 million.

Around this center, millet not only launched its own based on the MIUI system router, TV, set-top box, its Hua-mi, smart meters are still producing intelligent hand ring, air purifier. Lei released the figures: he invested in 23 of the domestic hardware start-up companies. And the recent big stakes in the United States, millet will be in the Miui family to add more home appliances facilities. There is even news that Millet will invest in the production of cars based on MIUI systems.

On the other side, lei from Sina dug to Chen, prepare 1 billion dollar giant let Chen to be responsible for content operation, has already shot Tens dollar investment Youku potato, 300 million U.S. dollar shares Archie art. In addition to the investment of Ihealth, Kay, huayi movies, work together, play more, see more, Lei investment has covered online medical, map, film and television, medical, games, reading. At the same time, Millet announced to become the country's fourth largest hand tour channel.

Lei even also shares the century interconnection, plus Jinshan, one is IaaS, one is SaaS, through the cloud platform. It can be said that a MIUI system as a link to the closed hardware cloud Empire, has been three-dimensional surface.

Of course, according to Lei plan, millet in the future must also invest in large data areas. His ultimate goal is to build a hardware empire based on the MIUI system, on which to start content management, and to tap into the large data values that could emerge over the next 2-3 years.

"Millet has come out of a different way. "Gartner Mobile Equipment chief analyst Lu Junquan that over the past few years, the rapid development of intelligent terminals so that too many terminal enterprises addicted to the hardware of the competitive thinking, are limited to hardware, price competition, and Lei choice can let millet jump out of this rule.

In this respect, some doubt, millet now do, Samsung and HTC have tried, but did not succeed. Also have a discerning eye, millet practices quite like Apple, from hardware to application store, operating system and cloud, integration, simply ridicule its "low-end apple."

"Millet do things Apple is doing, most of the layout of millet is like follow Apple." "Lu Junquan laughs," perhaps within a few years, millet may not be able to get rid of this hat. ”

The trend that has to be turned

In any case, the transformation is necessary for millet.

4 years ago, Lei set up millet into the mobile phone industry. 2013, the main internet low-cost mobile phone's millet shipments reached 16.5 million units, quickly occupy a place in this industry. Into the 2014, Millet shipments of explosive form, only the first half of the shipments on more than 26.5 million. In the third quarter of IDC Survey report, Millet in the third quarter of 2014 to 17.3 million units of shipments accounted for 5.3% of the global share, ranked third. Lei also predicted that the annual sales of millet in 2014 can reach 60 million.

However, in the low price model, the rapid growth of shipments did not bring a matching profit for millet. According to the latest notice millet, millet 2013-year income 26.547 billion, net profit of 347 million, profit margin of only 1.3%. In November this year, the Wall Street Journal also reported that Millet's 2013-year income was close to 27 billion, with 94% of its income coming from mobile phones.

In this calculation, 2013 the whole year, the average price of millet mobile phone about 1500 yuan. Moreover, there are few products over 2000 yuan. 2014, the Millet launched the mobile phone also failed to break the price.

Low price positioning not only limited the profits of millet, but also make Millet had to consider the user's consumption ability to improve the loss of the problem.

"Millet's user base is mainly low consumption ability of young users." "Lu Junquan analysis, this is actually the addition of millet, because in the eyes of overseas investors, young users are very valuable, but this is the biggest challenge millet."

"Users will grow, the ability to consume will certainly gradually increase, millet needs to consider what to increase the user stickiness, to retain them." Lu Junquan points out that China's smartphone penetration rate is close to 90%. "has shifted from an incremental market to a machine-switching market. Incremental market can attract users by price, but the competition of the machine market must rely on the brand. ”

All along, millet with "internet thinking", MIUI iterative development and other means of close interaction with users, and investment in reading, games to enrich the application of MIUI system business, which makes the users of millet more viscous than similar mobile phones. Lu Junquan told reporters: "According to our survey, in China Mobile phone users, Apple's viscosity is the highest, followed by millet." ”

In addition, millet can also rely on home Internet, with the help of hand ring, television, routers, air-conditioning, automobiles and other product portfolio "kidnapping" users. General mobile phone machine cycle of about 1-2 years, but routers, set-top boxes for more than 2 years, and television, air-conditioning and other household equipment has a longer life cycle. If Millet can turn all the devices into peripheral phones, in the cycle of these products, millet users will almost not change other brands of mobile phones.

Content, a combination of multiple hardware, can also help millet mining more users outside the mobile phone more demand, generate more revenue. Jian Jianmeng, a senior analyst at IDC, said that Millet set up the cone electronic layout chip, the future of these chips will certainly not only for mobile phones, routers, televisions, home appliances can be used, which will help millet to reduce the cost of all products, improve profits.

Low-end Apple

"The current terminal market competition pattern is changing, from simple hardware, price, marketing to the hardware and software, services, content as one of the integrated competition." "ZTE Terminal Business Division CEO Zeng Xuzhong told reporters," This situation changes, urging us these terminal enterprises to build their own comprehensive competitiveness. ”

"Previously, Samsung, HTC, BlackBerry, actually spent some money, want to complete this transformation." Lu Junquan told reporters, "but unfortunately, HTC, BlackBerry money wasted, and Samsung's layout is hard to say what results." They have never been able to jump out of the game with the core of hardware competition. ”

Samsung has planned to build its own Bada system, but has not been determined to move from Android to Bada, today, Bada has basically declared premature death. The powerful industrial chain has concealed the short board on Samsung's system, which for a long time has used its own brand in chip manufacturing, panel supply and global supply chain systems to support its own brands, creating a higher premium for the product.

However, this year, because of the global industrial chain maturity, Samsung industry chain advantage is reduced, Samsung difficult to support such a high premium, the share gradually lost. Samsung lost its first seat in China and India in the second quarter of this year, with Samsung smartphone global market share reduced by 1.7%, 7.1% and 8.7% respectively in the first three quarters.

This year, Samsung has tried to unite the Samsung television division to launch a multi-screen interactive smart television business, and even acquired the smart home Platform SmartThings Smart Home, the introduction of smart watches, but these attempts have not been successful. "In China, Samsung has nearly 70 million users, but there is no content to operate, which is a shame," Lu Junquan said. ”

Unlike Samsung, the location of millet itself is an internet company, and never stopped innovation in content. Although MIUI is also based on Android development, but it is a closed-circuit millet, millet can also in this closed ecological operation of their own content, access to more hardware.

It's more like an apple. In Apple's operating strategy, terminals and content are always one. And all of Apple's products are based on iOS, after Apple has launched routers, Apple TV and other products, and released the HomeKit smart Home platform. This October, Apple unveiled 17 HomeKit partners, including Bo Tong, Philips, Honeywell, Belkin, Withings and Marvell. Some partners have unveiled smart bulbs, smart locks, smart fans, intelligent thermostat, garage doors and power sockets that can be used with Siri.

In addition, Apple's watch this year is seen as a lifesaver for the entire wearable equipment industry, which is expected to deliver up to 30 million shipments next year. In addition, recently Apple and IBM jointly released a large data strategy, in-depth mining enterprise-level market.

Millet is following the Apple, which also allows millet to be brought to the "low-end apple" hat. Lu Junquan said: "From the sales strategy, this may have some benefits, but it may not be a commendatory." It may be a long time before millet can take off this hat. ”

At present, the MIUI system already has more than 80 million users, and LEI plans to increase the amount of millet shipments to more than 100 million next year, further strengthen the foundation and stabilize its closed systems.

Compete with bat?

But will imitation Apple succeed? There is no conclusion.

December 17, Huawei Consumer BG CEO Yu again shelled millet. He argues that it is not in the open principle to build a closed system in a capital-related way, and then to have an application built into his or her own interests on the phone. He said Huawei would not use this approach to maximize its openness to cooperation, for example, in the smart home sector, the visible brands in the market are in contact with Huawei, will not only bundle one.

Regardless of the ecosystem of millet is closed or open, but one thing is certain, this is based on the future of the internet era of hardware to build the ecological circle, and bat, and even Google and other giants.

Millet hopes to use mobile phone to connect everything, and Tencent wants micro-letter into all the entrance. As early as last year, the micro-letter and Haier Smart fridge began to cooperate. Through the "Haier Intelligent refrigerator" micro-letter public account, the user in the micro-letter remote control refrigerator, to achieve detection, regulate the basic function of temperature, but also according to the refrigerator food automatically retrieve recipes.

This July, the micro-letter to Third-party hardware manufacturers to open the service number, smart wrist watch ihealth, thump, le Heart and Huawei Glory hand ring to become the first access to hardware products. Use the micro-credit service number instead of the smart hardware app for data management and force the introduction of a social system. It is worth mentioning that Millet has just invested in ihealth this September.

Baidu has its own development of Baidu eyes, plump hand ring, and plans to develop intelligent automotive products, and Alibaba, with its Aliyun platform, and home appliances business cooperation in the layout of smart home. This October, Alibaba signed an agreement with Royal Dutch Philips to promote cloud computing and the use of large data technologies in the Internet of things. and Philips-controlled air purifier is its first to carry Ali Cloud computing intelligent Interconnection products.

When the intelligent hardware industry matures, when the Internet of things opened, no one can predict. Like millet, bat even 360 has played a accordant spirit, various investment, layout, lest miss this great era of control. Of course, the difference is that the bat account has a lot of cash, and millet is still burning investors money.

In the territory of the Lei Empire, there is perhaps still a large amount of data left to fill. However, Apple is also a recent joint IBM launch of large data services for corporate customers, the ability to target ordinary consumers of large data services may only Apple Watch health applications.

In addition, the current large data domain information collection, data trading, talent reserves and other aspects of maturity is far from enough to form a market.

Lei should be vaguely aware of the risks, he said in an interview with the media, "if we can not use large data technology to convert value, then our company will continue to be really bankrupt ... Now I carry to live, next year I also carry to live, I also can carry to live in the two or three days, after the great value, then I will be bankrupt. ”