The reason Tianxing 5 sold out so quickly was twofold. Firstly, the Tianxing 5 had completely surpassed its era; it was undeniably powerful, and anyone who saw it couldn't resist it, assuming they could afford the price.
Secondly, and more importantly, half of the Tianxing 5 units were sent to the United States. Versailles and Hao Jianguo had been managing their operations in the US well. Hao Jianguo was truly capable, and Versailles commanded enough respect to prevent any trouble from local rivals. This led to a rapid surge in the US blind box market, with hundreds of branches opening in cities across the country.
A large portion of the blind box products in the US were sourced locally. It wasn't a matter of Boss Huang being unpatriotic; food items like flour, wheat, and meat were actually cheaper in the US than in China, making local procurement very cost-effective. Boss Huang saw no reason to go out of his way.
Furthermore, China's domestic market had a greater demand for imported goods, and its grain didn't need to be exported. However, industrial products like electronics and clothing were consistently imported from China, using the same supply chain as the Chinese blind boxes, which naturally included the Tianxing 5 smartphone.
When the Tianxing 5 was released, a total of 40,000 units were available. Considering that many Tianxing phones sold less than 100,000 units in a year, with a monthly sales volume of at most around 12,000 units, Boss Huang readily agreed to send half of the Tianxing 5 phones to the US market. This resulted in only 20,000 units of the first batch being available in China, significantly fewer than before, leading to an immediate shortage.
However, what was even more unexpected was that the shortage in the US market occurred even faster than in China.
To be fair, even in 2022, a phone costing 8,000 yuan was a sky-high price, with a limited number of users who could afford it. This was even more true in 2004. But in the US, the acquisition cost of a Tianxing phone was around 2,000 US dollars. Although 2,000 US dollars was more than double the price of 8,000 yuan, the issue was that 2,000 US dollars was merely an average monthly wage for Americans. It was a price they could afford with some effort, as long as the product was truly cool.
The design philosophy and concept of the Tianxing 5 were undoubtedly the most advanced, wildest, most fashionable, and most unimaginable phones of 2004. Therefore, as soon as the Tianxing 5 was introduced into the blind box stores, the US exploded.
Some might wonder why, given that the main customers of blind box stores are Black people, how could they afford such a phone? And could they even operate such an advanced device?
This is where you'd be mistaken. In the US, the most trendy and cutting-edge trends are not set by white people, but by Black people. This is because, to be honest, Black people possess immense talent in music. Furthermore, Black people often pursue hedonism, living for the moment, and are drawn to the most trendy, fashionable, and fun things. Otherwise, why the zero-dollar shopping sprees, street graffiti, drug use, and rap music, all of which are associated with Black culture?
If you look at the classic American cultural exports over the years, you'll be surprised to find that many of them originated from Black culture. To some extent, American culture is built upon Black culture; Black people are the foundation of the United States. Given this, how could a nation built on Black culture end up discriminating against them, inevitably leading to bizarre occurrences?
Another contributing factor was Little Swift. He was among the first batch of Tianxing 5 users in the US and genuinely loved the phone. It was the first phone that allowed him to play games horizontally, much like the Nintendo DS. Consequently, he was almost always seen playing games on his Tianxing 5 at any event he attended, and reporters frequently captured these moments. When asked why he always had the phone with him, Little Swift, unable to admit he was gaming, claimed he needed it to "stay informed about market changes and expand his thinking and intelligence."
This news caused an uproar among Black Americans. Little Swift had already become the undisputed Black idol and representative in the US, especially as the second phase of the Western Mustang Fund had also been settled. Thanks to massive profits in the soybean and oil markets, the second phase of the Western Mustang Fund, while not achieving the staggering 800% return rate of the first, still delivered over 200% profit. After profit sharing, the assets of all investors in the Western Mustang Fund doubled, with 1,000 US dollars becoming 2,052.25 US dollars, once again astonishing the entire nation.
If the first success was attributed to chance, the second success could not be described as mere coincidence. Those who had profited from the Western Mustang Fund immediately began to lavish praise on Little Swift online. The topic "Little Swift is Our God" became the hottest Black-related trending topic on US Weibo, making Little Swift the idol of almost all Black people.
When they discovered their idol was using such a stylish, cool phone that could slide open like a computer, the explosion in popularity of the Tianxing 5 became inevitable. Consequently, the Tianxing 5 was out of stock in both the Chinese and US markets. However, due to a delay in market feedback from the US, it took a few days for Boss Huang to receive the report that the Tianxing 5 in the US was already being resold by scalpers for $5,000 a unit. Yes, every country has scalpers, and even more so in the US.
In response, Boss Huang was thrilled and instructed that the production of the Tianxing 5 remain unchanged, with the output equally divided between China and the US. He was determined to push the "hunger marketing" strategy to the limit.
Huang He's strategy from the outset was not to consider the Tianxing 5 as a primary development direction for Jiangnan Group. He was well aware that the Tianxing 5 was a product destined to leave the market, and he saw no need to expend excessive effort on it. However, in this world, many things happen beyond human intention. Just as Boss Huang wished for a quiet life, troublesome individuals always found their way to him.
This troublemaker was not another US phone manufacturer. In fact, with only 20,000 units sold in the entire US, the Tianxing 5 didn't even qualify to be on the competitor list of US mobile companies; they wouldn't have paid it any mind. The trouble came from US telecommunications companies, or rather, the issues within the entire US telecom system.
In 2022, users are accustomed to purchasing any phone and freely using SIM cards from any carrier, a concept known as "all-network compatibility." However, if we rewind a decade, many customers had to consider their preferred communication company when buying a phone and then select a phone version compatible with their carrier. Phones were often available as "Unicom versions," "Mobile versions," or "Telecom versions," tied to specific communication operators for market competition. Many communication companies vied to partner with excellent mobile brands, making them exclusive to their networks. Otherwise, the phones would become useless bricks. The most famous example of this was Unicom's partnership with the iPhone 4.
Despite the current popularity of the iPhone series, models like the iPhone 1 to iPhone 3GS had very low traction in China. They were hardly sought after. Not only were they outshone by industry leaders like Nokia and Motorola, but even Gionee phones were considered superior to the iPhone. This continued until a perfect storm of opportunity arose.
In 2010, Apple launched the iPhone 4, a truly revolutionary phone. It was revolutionary because it perfectly solved display issues, greatly improved the touch experience, and made App usage extremely smooth, eliminating the frequent lagging and freezing of previous generations. It can be said that phones before the iPhone 4 were immature, while the iPhone 4 and its successors had finally come of age.
In the same year, China began a full-scale rollout of 3G networks. To achieve the optimal user experience with the iPhone 4, it required compatibility with the 3G network. The sluggish speeds of the 2G network simply couldn't showcase the iPhone 4's capabilities, which was the opportune timing the iPhone 4 needed. At that time, faced with the 3G network, China's two main telecom operators, China Mobile and China Unicom, adopted vastly different strategies.
China Mobile, the dominant industry leader, viewed the construction of 3G base stations across the country as a profoundly unprofitable endeavor. This was because 2G base stations could not be converted into 3G base stations, requiring entirely new infrastructure. The required investment was astronomical, easily in the hundreds of billions of yuan. Furthermore, China Mobile believed that the market didn't need 3G networks. For phones, they felt that making calls, sending texts, receiving multimedia messages, and occasionally accessing the "China Mobile DreamNet" to read novels was sufficient. More complex network functions on a phone were considered a waste; why not experience them on a computer? Therefore, despite obtaining a 3G network license in the first batch, China Mobile only established 3G networks in major cities, showing little interest in broader urban coverage.
China Unicom, on the other hand, adopted a diametrically opposite strategy, largely because it was facing a precarious situation of near bankruptcy at the time.