At that moment, it was just after 【Won Computer】 had expanded.
When Lee Hyun-woo visited the factory, he saw Kim Yoon-soo sweating and directing the work.
Soon, Kim Yoon-soo spotted Lee Hyun-woo and approached him with a bright smile.
“Oh, you’re here?”
“Yes, as I mentioned last time, I wanted to show you that I visit frequently.”
“Haha… I’m a bit embarrassed. It feels like I was whining to someone much younger. But you don’t have to worry.”
“Yes, you don’t seem anxious anymore.”
“Anxious? When was I ever anxious?”
Seeing Kim Yoon-soo deny it while waving his hand, Lee Hyun-woo laughed.
He must have forgotten about mentioning how 【Sejun Computer Land】’s supply recently experienced ups and downs.
‘I can’t let this guy get too relaxed.’
Anxiety is a kind of tension.
It shouldn’t be completely absent, but it shouldn’t be too intense either.
To maintain that tension, I think I need to give some advice.
“When someone is doing well, there will always be people who are envious and jealous around them.”
“Well, that’s true…”
“With 5 billion won in monthly sales and soon expanding the factory to aim for 10 billion won in sales, if I were someone else, I would follow the path you’ve paved, President Kim.”
Kim Yoon-soo’s eyes widened slightly at my words.
He was well aware of it too.
In a world where showing a successful model leads to many imitators.
However, he didn’t show any signs of anxiety like last time.
Instead, he accepted it calmly.
“That makes sense. Some might even build factories like mine and produce one or two main computers with lower specifications. It’s a society where knowing about computers is becoming essential.”
“You’re definitely more confident now.”
“Well… From next month, we will supply 3,000 units to 【Sejun Computer Land】.”
“I didn’t know the specifics, but they’re buying as many as 3,000 units.”
I had deliberately turned a blind eye to avoid making Kim Yoon-soo more dependent by interfering with various things.
So, I only found out the details now.
“If the business expansion goes well, they plan to increase that too.”
This man was gradually showing his capabilities.
Should I call this growth as well?
‘Well, his father was a man who made a lot of money, whether it was through loans or whatever, so if it’s in his blood, he might bloom late.’
Thinking this, I continued to listen to what Kim Yoon-soo had to say.
“Just in case you ask, Mr. Lee, I insisted on cash transactions instead of promissory notes. I adjusted the price a bit in return.”
“Really? By how much?”
“80,000 won per unit.”
“What? Isn’t that too cheap? The cost is 600,000 won, right?”
“Recently, 【Guseong Electronics】 announced the mass production of 32MB. Naturally, the price of 16MB will drop significantly. The current price of over 100,000 won will drop to 70,000 to 80,000 won. What about 8MB? The price drop rate for components two steps below is several times faster. It’ll drop straight to 30,000 to 40,000 won.”
“Oh… I didn’t know that.”
“The same goes for hard disks and CD-ROMs. 【Guseong Electronics】 and 【GB Electronics】 have started producing higher specifications. There’s enough reason for prices to drop.”
So, the cost will drop to around 500,000 won?
Maybe the reason for the price drop in computer components like memory is due to the recent widespread distribution of computers.
Economies of scale are best understood and first adopted by large corporations.
‘【Won Computer】 will grow without issues for now.’
Instead of problems, with annual sales close to 100 billion won and coupled with the drop in component prices, the profit margin should improve further.
Calculating for a year, 【Won Computer】 no longer feels like a small company.
A company with annual sales of 100 billion won can’t be called small.
From another perspective, as Lee Hyun-woo mentioned earlier, it’s also possible to expect competitors to emerge.
‘I hope they can overcome it well.’
However, before 【Won Computer】’s competitors appeared, a competitor for 【Jungle】 emerged.
A few days later, on the day the free email beta service started, Jang Yoo-chul pointed at the computer with a serious expression and said,
“CEO, we have a big problem.”
“Hmm?”
“We finally have a rival.”
“Oh? Really?”
Jang Yoo-chul felt awkward since Lee Hyun-woo didn’t seem surprised at all.
Even the voice of Lee Hyun-woo, who was sitting in front of the computer checking the website, was filled with disappointment,
“This isn’t online shopping, it’s an auction.”
Seeing Lee Hyun-woo speak so nonchalantly, Jang Yoo-chul wanted to instill a sense of urgency.
“Could it be that they are modeling after us?”
His brother, Lee Jung-woo, quickly joined the conversation.
“I think the same. We also started with an auction site and then expanded to online shopping.”
“That’s true.”
“Then there’s no reason they can’t do the same, right?”
Humans always seem to feel anxious when things are going well.
Not long ago, Kim Yoon-soo felt the same way, and now the subordinate employees are showing the same symptoms.
So what about Lee Hyun-woo?
“There’s no reason they can’t, but it’s still difficult for them to do so. To catch up with us, who have already captured the market, they need an extraordinary bait. For example, lower prices or free shipping.”
With a bright smile, he declared confidently.
Interestingly, when the leader showed composure, the company’s atmosphere quickly stabilized.
“Now that I see, they just copied our auction website.”
“Free shipping wouldn’t be easy. It would require a massive investment.”
“In short, they have the technology, but lack the capital and new innovative ideas.”
“Then that’s fortunate for us, isn’t it?”
Hearing the developers’ conversation, Lee Hyun-woo let out a chuckle.
Then he said,
“On the other hand, with the start of the free email beta service today, existing PC communication service providers will start to see us as a rival.”
Lee Hyun-woo was confident that like the company’s name, he would push the four major PC communication services into the 【Jungle】.
‘If you don’t stay sharp, you’ll lose all your users to us.’
Even if they stay sharp, users will move over here.
This was the flow of IT history in his past life.
It seems that with Lee Hyun-woo’s intervention, this flow will accelerate.
Unfortunately for them.
PC communication service providers were already paying attention to 【Jungle】.
After the announcement through 【Jungle】’s notice about providing email service, people were posting related news daily on forums like Netizen Plaza.
Particularly, Song Gil-ho, the planning manager of 【Hi】, one of the four major PC communications, was sensitive to this.
“【Jungle】 is also doing email? What exactly is the identity of this site?”
His voice, filled with negative tones, flowed out as the morning meeting was about to end.
It wasn’t because he didn’t know that 【Jungle】’s identity was internet shopping.
He wanted to question why they kept encroaching on this side’s territory, but since the target wasn’t in front of him, he vented his frustration in front of his employees.
With that irritating look, he instructed an employee.
“From today, keep monitoring the number of users.”
“Yes, sir.”
By users, he meant paying members who paid a monthly fee of 9,900 won.
In fact, with the recent surge in computer distribution, the number of paid users of 【Hi】 had skyrocketed in recent months.
He was thinking that they could achieve a 10 billion won profit if things continued like this, but then they hit a snag.
‘No, what snag. Who would move just because of an email?’
However, a few days later, there came an opportunity to confirm what 【Jungle】 intended to do with ‘email’.
“An official document regarding business cooperation has come from 【Jungle】.”
“Business cooperation?”
“Yes, they want to enable mutual communication between 【Jungle】’s email and 【Hi】’s electronic mail.”
“What?”
Already not in the mood, did they think he would approve this?
Of course not.
“Decline it.”
“Understood.”
“And check other communication companies. Although it’s unlikely, there might be a place willing to cooperate.”
“Understood.”
After the reporting employee left, Song Gil-ho frowned.
‘Do they want to connect a free site with a paid site?’
While it might seem like a closed-minded approach, it was something that should never be done.
He figured other communication companies like 【Cheonri】, 【Now】, and 【Uni】 would have the same perspective.
As expected, through subsequent reports, he learned that the other three companies also refused to allow email exchanges.
‘What a cheeky move.’
He resolved not to give 【Jungle】 any leeway.
Then came another unwelcome piece of news.
“The increase in user numbers has slowed compared to the previous month.”
“What? What about other companies?”
“The same goes for other communication companies.”
“Then what about 【Jungle】?”
“It’s hard to determine if it’s due to the email service. However, the growth rate is explosive…”
“Damn it.”
Song Gil-ho cut off the report and muttered a curse, feeling a pang of jealousy.
‘【Jungle】, I have a bad feeling about this.’
The information and communication industry was a place where new waves rose every day.
Among them, the recently most talked-about 【Jungle】 came to mind.
He couldn’t explain why, but he had a feeling it would deal a significant blow to the PC communication industry.
Especially since similar sites to 【Jungle】 were emerging.
‘Is the trend shifting that way?’
The PC communication industry was undoubtedly at its peak.
However, the peak is always the precursor to a decline, and this sense of unease was gnawing at Song Gil-ho’s mood.
“As expected, the usage of emails is increasing, especially among corporate clients.”
At the same time, Jang Yoo-chul was reporting to Lee Hyun-woo.
“How’s the speed?”
“Initially, it was gradual, but then it became explosive.”
“Then soon it will be uncontrollable.”
“Probably.”
“Good thing we expanded the servers.”
“It feels like we’re spending all the money we earn on buying servers.”
“That’s an exaggeration, but don’t worry. We have plans for the expanded servers later.”
“Worry? Working with you, CEO, I’ve never had a reason to worry. But now I’m curious. What will we use the servers for?”
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
Lee Hyun-woo smiled meaningfully.
‘If we absorb all the PC communication users, the current servers will still be insufficient.’
The scale of his dream was enormous.
To achieve his goal, he planned to gradually take over all the services provided by PC communications.
Of course, he was planning a platform in the form of a portal service.
Naturally, he intended to take it easy.
‘If you rush, you’ll end up overworked.’
In this field, competition was a given.
However, for the person in the winner’s position, this competition seemed very easy.
The most superior person here was, of course, Lee Hyun-woo.
He was leisurely preparing for the war.
Currently, he was just throwing small jabs, but eventually, he would deliver a knockout punch!
He intended to end the PC communication ecosystem early.
‘That way, the talented and experienced people in that sector will come out into the job market, right?’
