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　　Meizu said there were indeed layoffs, which belonged to the "last elimination"; experts said that Meizu did not find suitable space in the high-end market

　　In the spring of 2018, the domestic mobile phone industry was really lively, with representative companies such as Xiaomi and Huawei chasing after each other to compete for the market. However, a once-brilliant mobile phone manufacturer has fallen out of people’s sight – Meizu. At its most glorious time, Meizu could be called the most cost-effective "machine emperor" in China, but now Meizu is not what it used to be, and the problem it needs to consider is likely to be how to "change and survive".

　　Recently, there is news that Meizu will usher in a round of layoffs, and the number of layoffs will exceed 1,000. On March 30, Meizu said that layoffs do exist, but they belong to the "last elimination" mechanism, and the news of layoffs of 1,000 people is seriously inconsistent with the facts. Not only that, at the end of last year and the beginning of this year, the market reported the closure of Meizu stores.

　　Some industry insiders said that layoffs and store closures are just the beginning for Meizu, which is "left behind" in the competition of mobile phone manufacturers. In today’s increasingly oligopolistic market, Meizu is running out of time.

　　Three consecutive years of layoffs, several personnel adjustments in a short period of time

　　In fact, this is Meizu’s third consecutive year of layoffs. In early 2016, after Meizu founder, chairperson and CEO Huang Zhang put forward the goal of "stabilizing growth, generating profits, and advancing to the IPO", Meizu launched the annual elimination plan, and the scale of layoffs increased from the original 5% to 10%. In early 2017, Meizu also reported layoffs. It was reported that the layoff rate reached 25%, involving thousands of people, but Meizu responded that it was still around 10%.

　　In addition to layoffs, Meizu has also made several structural and personnel adjustments in the short term. Following the independent split of Meizu, Meizu, and Flyme in June 2017, Meizu released a notice on the adjustment of the company’s central-level organizational structure and personnel appointments at the end of last year. A new overseas business unit was established to be responsible for the overseas business of the company’s products. Guo Wanxi was appointed vice president of Meizu’s business unit and also served as president of the overseas business unit. He was responsible for the related business and team management of the overseas business unit and reported to Chairperson and CEO Huang Zhang. According to reports, the overseas business unit was originally subordinate to Meizu’s business unit, and its independence largely indicates Meizu’s determination to fight overseas.

　　The domestic mobile phone market has been divided up by several major manufacturers, and it is no longer news that domestic mobile phones are going overseas to seek new growth opportunities. Third-party research firm Kantar
According to a report released by Worldpanel, as of the end of October last year, Huawei, Xiaomi, Apple, Vivo and OPPO, the top five mobile phone manufacturers in China, accounted for 91% of the total market share. Last year, this figure was still 79%. In other words, the advantage of the above five mobile phone manufacturers over ZTE, Meizu and other companies has been further expanded in the past year.

　　It is understood that Meizu sold 2 million mobile phones in the overseas market in 2016, and performed well in South East Asia and Eastern Europe. It hopes to further develop in the Western European market. IDC data shows that Chinese mobile phone manufacturers have a share of more than 50% in the Indian smartphone market.

　　Meizu released the Indian version of the MX5 mobile phone in 2015, but it has not made much progress since then. In addition, the overseas business of Xiaomi, Huawei, OPPO, vivo and other successful mobile phone brands in China is also advancing steadily. After Meizu goes overseas, it still has to compete head-to-head with these old competitors.

　　Meizu set up the accessories division at the end of last year, responsible for the company’s accessories product research and development, marketing activities and sales. Industry insiders believe that Meizu’s move is also to seek more profit margins.

　　Market research firm CCS
Insight mentioned in a report that as the profits of the mobile phone business gradually decrease, at least three of the top ten mobile phone manufacturers will have higher profits in the accessories business than in the mobile phone business, and the main manufacturers will focus on the development of branded accessories and connected device products like Xiaomi, which can bring higher profits.

　　The store was closed, and the clerk complained that the product was not selling well.

　　Meizu’s offline channels have encountered some trouble. Earlier this year, it was reported that Meizu’s previous 2,500 or so stores had closed more than 500.

　　Regarding rumors of store closures, Meizu told the Beijing News: "There are not as many as 500 store closures. There are store closures and openings every day. Agents in each region only know the local situation. They don’t know the specific situation in other regions. They can’t determine the current situation of the entire Meizu based on the words of one company."

　　A Beijing News reporter recently visited some Meizu stores in Beijing. A Meizu staff member who has been engaged in sales in Beijing for two years told the reporter that she did hear that some stores were closed, but the reason was that some employees’ residences changed, resulting in a shortage of manpower, which has little to do with business. But at the same time, she also complained that "compared with the previous two years, mobile phones are not easy to sell now." She believes that this is mainly affected by the overall weakness of offline stores.

　　When the reporter visited Meizu stores located in Wudaokou and Qinghe earlier this year, he saw that the stores were all located on the side of the entrance and exit of the supermarket, and the flow of people in front of the door was not small, but no one entered the store within 20 minutes of the reporter’s observation.

　　Meizu said that store closures and openings are optimization actions carried out through the performance and standards of specialty stores, closing stores that do not meet the requirements, and re-locating to open new stores. This optimization is relatively intensive during this time. "Last year, Meizu only had one PRO.
"7 flagship products, and Meizu’s dream machine will only appear this year. At this stage, it is Meizu’s intermission time. During this time, Meizu will adjust its state and situation to better prepare for the second half, which is this year’s product."

　　"The market competition has become more intense, and Meizu’s hardware and advertising marketing have not kept up," an internal Meizu employee told reporters. Since 2015, Meizu has dominated sales with high cost performance, design and system experience. "At that time, Meizu’s cost performance has the momentum to catch up with Xiaomi." But more and more brands are deploying cost-effective smartphones. By 2016, Meizu’s cost-effective advantage is no longer obvious. "Sales can be maintained solely by the system and word of mouth."

　　Meizu, which values offline channels and user word-of-mouth, is never stingy with the commission of sales personnel. A Meizu mobile phone salesperson told reporters, "Take the flagship as an example, Xiaomi sells a unit for ten yuan, and Meizu can raise 100 yuan." This is also the reason why he chose to sell Meizu mobile phones two years ago. But now, he is not satisfied with the income. "The year before, Double Eleven took more than 10,000 yuan, and last year it was only 6,000 or 7,000 yuan."

　　In 2017, the word-of-mouth that Meizu relies on for survival was in crisis, and public opinion such as "delayed full-screen", "insufficient innovation", and "configuration can’t keep up" made it difficult for Meizu’s sales to break through. The above-mentioned employee said, "Although the hardware and marketing are temporarily lagging behind, Meizu’s advantages are still many, and there may be breakthroughs in 2018."

　　Expert: Meizu misses the extended product line window

　　For the mobile phone industry, 2017 was a watershed year. According to IDC data, the Chinese smartphone market contracted for the first time in nearly a decade in 2017, contracting by 4.9% year-on-year. Affected by the Chinese market, the global smartphone market shipments also decreased by 0.1% year-on-year.

　　"With the overall market shrinking and industry competition intensifying, Meizu has clearly lost its footing," said Fu Liang, a telecom analyst. Meizu once had a loyal customer base that could support Meizu’s high price points, but as competitors have launched competitive products, Meizu’s products have become less attractive to users.

　　Full screen is undoubtedly the keyword of the mobile phone industry last year, especially iPhone
After the release of X, domestic mobile phone manufacturers came together to release full-screen products, and Gionee released 8 full-screen products in one go. In this full-screen mobile phone battle, Meizu was slow to enter the market and became one of the few manufacturers that did not release full-screen mobile phones in time.

　　The Pro 7 released by Meizu in July last year obviously failed to carry the banner of the flagship machine. Pro positioned for high-end machines
7 was priced at 2,880 yuan when it was released, and by mid-November the price had been reduced by more than 300 yuan. It was jokingly called the "diving king" of smartphones last year by netizens. The reporter saw on Taobao that some stores sold Pro.
7 contract machines, the minimum price is 1250 yuan.

　　Meizu Pro
7 The biggest attraction is the large and small dual-screen design, which adds a small screen on the back. When users take selfies with dual cameras on the back, they can see themselves from the small screen. When the user flips the phone, the screen will light up, and the date, time, weather and other content can be displayed on it.

　　The differentiated users of the Pro 7 do not seem to buy it. Sun Yanbiao of First Mobile World told reporters, "Meizu is one of the top ten mainstream brands in China, but it does not have a flagship product, Pro
The 7 can’t carry its banner. Everyone doesn’t feel much about the dual screen, and there is no trend. Everyone is unwilling to pay, and the Pro 7 is in stock. "

　　Sun Yanbiao pointed out that one of the key reasons for Meizu’s previous offline strength is the diversion of online to offline. When placing an order online, if the user cannot grab the order, the user’s order may be directed to the offline store near the place of residence. "Meizu’s offline channels have been going up since last year. Last year, it was obvious that the situation was not as good as last year. The lack of flagship phones, brand differentiation, and changes in senior management led to today’s situation."

　　At a time when domestic manufacturers are launching higher-priced products, Meilan cannot find a suitable market space, and high-end products face weaker user stickiness, Fu Liang pointed out. "Meizu should focus its energy and resources now to find a breakthrough point," Fu Liang said, Meizu has missed the time window to extend the entire product line.

　　Beijing News reporters, Ma Jing and Yang Li

The TV drama "Flowers" directed by Wong Kar-wai and starring Hu Ge is being broadcast on Jiangsu Satellite TV and other platforms. Hu Ge plays the male lead A Bao in the drama. Recently, Hu Ge said in an interview with the media that he has been exposed to the works of Wang Kar-wei since middle school, and never thought that he would have the opportunity to meet him, let alone appear in his works. "This time filming’Flowers’ is like a dream."

Hu Ge said that filming "Flowers" this time was like a dream.

In 2017, I contacted Wong Kar-wai and imagined one person playing the triangle

In 2017, Hu Ge met Wang Jiawei for the first time. Recalling the scene at that time, Hu Ge said that he received a phone call saying that the director Wang Jiawei wanted to meet him. "When I arrived at the appointed place, I saw Director Wang wearing the trademark sunglasses. To be honest, I was very nervous at the time because I liked watching Director Wang’s works since middle school, and he was my idol."

That day, Wang Jiawei and Hu Ge talked a lot, talking about their views on the novel "Flowers" and Hu Ge’s own growth experience. "Director Wang first considered letting me play A Bao, and then at one point, he wanted me to play the triangle and play Hu Sheng, Xiao Mao and A Bao at the same time. Because someone saw my play" A Dream "and felt that they saw many faces of me on the stage, Director Wang thought of this plan."

The idea of one person playing the triangle was just a "flash in the pan". In the end, Wong Kar-wai cut down the complexity and only chose Ah Bao as the core character. In order to play this role well, Hu Ge and the entire crew made full preparations. "Before we officially entered the group, we had a three-year preparation period. Under the leadership of Director Wang, we collected a lot of information about that era, and invited stock experts, ‘old mages’ from foreign trade companies, etc., as’mental responsibility ‘, to guide the crew at any time. Before the start of the game, the actors also entered the scene in advance and immersed themselves in the atmosphere of the 1990s."

The actors are fully immersed in the atmosphere of the 1990s.

The atmosphere of the times created by Wang Jiawei also evoked Hu Ge’s childhood memories. For example, the 1:1 reconstruction of the Yellow River Road in the play made Hu Ge quite emotional: "Although I didn’t eat on the Yellow River Road, I passed through the Yellow River Road on the way. The Yellow River Road in my impression is just like what is presented in the play.

Working with Wong Kar Wai is like falling in love, always providing emotional value

This is Hu Ge’s first collaboration with Wang Jiawei. To Hu Ge, this collaboration is more like a relationship. "At the beginning, I will be very nervous and nervous, and I will always be between confidence and lack of confidence. Gradually, I will find that as long as he is around, you will be very at ease, much like in love."

"Flowers" was filmed for three years, and the long cycle also affected the mood of the actors, while Wong Kar-wai provided stable emotional comfort. "After filming, everyone was on the verge of collapse, and there was a lot of pressure in all aspects. But looking at Director Wang, who was energetic and meticulous, watching him go back to meetings and write scripts after filming every day, all the tiredness was suddenly eliminated, and I felt that I could do it again."

In the play, Bao and Reiko (played by Ma Yili), Miss Wang (played by Tang Yan), and Li Li (played by Xin Zhilei) all have a lot of rivalry. In Hu Ge’s opinion, Reiko and Bao are the relationship between Sun Wukong and Pigsy. "Bao is Pigsy, Reiko is Sun Wukong, always in front of Pigsy to cut through thorns and let Pigsy sit back and enjoy."

In Hu Ge’s opinion, Reiko and Bao are the relationship between Sun Wukong and Pigsy.

Bao (left) and Miss Wang (right).

Miss Wang and Bao are the relationship between the second hand and the minute hand: "Do you think the second hand and the minute hand meet every 60 seconds? Wrong. It’s 61 seconds. Because when the second hand turns around, the minute hand has already run forward. But in fact it’s not 61 seconds, it’s a little more than 61 seconds, because when the second hand goes another second, the minute hand moves forward a little bit. So this intersection between the two of them is always a little farther than everyone thinks."

Hu Ge believes that Bao and Li Li are like the sky and the sea, mirroring each other.

As for Bao and Li Li, Hu Ge believes that they are like the sky and the sea, mirrored by each other and full of mystery. "The sky and the sea are far away, but when you watch the sunrise and sunset, you find that the two are connected, like a distant."

"Flowers" is a interpretation of the story of the fathers, and I have been interested in it since I was a child

For Hu Ge, "Flowering Flowers" is a search for the memory of my parents, and it is also a supplement to the imagination of the past years. "" Flowering Flowers "tells the story of my parents’ generation. I have been interested in my parents’ upbringing since I was a child, but every time I try to understand them, I always feel that there are some things they don’t want to say or even remember. So when I saw" Flowering Flowers ", I was immediately attracted, and I felt that I knew the past of my parents in another way."

"Flowers" for Hu Ge is a pursuit of the memory of his parents.

"Flowers" tells the story of the 1990s, when Hu Ge was in elementary school. "It’s very limited to see the changing times from a child’s perspective. But I later recalled that adults at that time were very busy. Like my dad, he was also doing business with a group of friends and trying to change his life through his own efforts, and he had very little time at home. Sometimes I would hear my parents talking about someone who got rich overnight. As the narrator in our show said, some people got rich overnight, and some people got zero in half a day."

Hu Ge played the lead character Li Xiaoyao in the TV series "Legend of Immortals and Swords".

Wang Jiawei once mentioned Hu Ge, and when he played Bao, he had the feeling of Li Xiaoyao: "I believe that in that era, there were many young people like Bao, who wanted to seize the opportunity in the tide of the times and change their destiny and life through their own efforts. But after experiencing ups and downs, they will find that the most important thing is love and righteousness."

Editor, Wu Longzhen

Proofreading, Lucie