"We must secure this order from Jiangnan Group!" the Chairman declared during an internal company meeting.
"Everyone, the markets for four-wheel aircraft in the US, Europe, and the Middle East are already saturated. It's unrealistic to seize more market share. The largest untapped market for private jets that we can currently identify is the China market."
"According to our market research, there will be a demand for over 1,000 private jets in China in the future. At an average price of $10 million per private jet, that's a massive market worth $10 billion! If our Gulfstream company can capture this market, we will become the king of the private jet market!"
"And the key to capturing the China market lies in securing Jiangnan Group. Currently, Jiangnan Group is the most renowned private enterprise globally, and its owner, Huang He, is also certified by Forbes as China's richest man, wielding immense influence in the entire Chinese business world!"
"Let me give you an example to illustrate. Their Chairman, Huang He, likes to wear Hanfu. As a result, almost all Chinese business figures now wear Hanfu instead of Western suits at various domestic events. This has also led to tremendous growth in the Hanfu business operated by Jiangnan Group's luxury brands, making it an emerging luxury brand with annual sales exceeding $1 billion!"
"Therefore, if we can secure Jiangnan Group, secure Huang He, and have Huang He fly on our Gulfstream private jet, then all wealthy individuals in China will flock to choose Gulfstream, and we will be able to capture the entire China market!"
This speaker was, naturally, Gulfstream's Chairman, Schubert, and the reason for his intense focus was precisely this order from Boss Huang.
About a week ago, Jiangnan Group had sent letters to major private jet manufacturers worldwide, expressing their interest in learning about the information of their various private jets and subsequently selecting and purchasing three private jets to serve as Jiangnan Group's corporate transportation.
That's right, Boss Huang wasn't buying just one, but three at once.
In Boss Huang's words, he shouldn't enjoy the luxury alone; other company executives should also have the convenience of flying by private jet for rapid work. Thus, three private jets were purchased at once in the name of the group.
This order itself was significant, let alone the entire China market behind it. Therefore, Gulfstream attached great importance to it, with Chairman Schubert personally rallying the troops.
Subsequently, Gulfstream's Vice President would lead a team to China to conduct procurement negotiations with Jiangnan Group.
However, when the Vice President, Hulk, arrived at the hotel arranged by Jiangnan Group headquarters with his imposing team of over a dozen people, he immediately spotted an old acquaintance named Sam.
Hulk was very familiar with Sam. They were old rivals in the market. Hulk was the Vice President of Gulfstream, while Sam was the Business Director of Bombardier.
Although Hulk's position seemed higher on paper, Bombardier was the largest private jet enterprise in the industry, with twice the output of Gulfstream. Therefore, Sam's status was not lower than Hulk's, and at times, he even had an edge over Hulk.
However, this encounter was within Hulk's expectations. Bombardier, as a colossal entity, had no reason to abandon the Chinese private jet market, and they were bound to be present. Hulk had already spent a considerable amount of time strategizing how to defeat Bombardier.
And it wasn't just Bombardier; Beechcraft, Cessna, Dassault, and others were also renowned private jet companies in the industry. The leadership of these companies, as long as they had any foresight, should be here, competing for this massive Chinese market.
Therefore, this undertaking was quite challenging, but Hulk felt he had made thorough preparations and was thus quite confident.
As expected, Jiangnan Group was rather unconventional. During the negotiations, they directly invited all companies hoping to win the order into a large conference room.
Hulk glanced around and noticed that thirteen companies were present, all familiar faces. Almost every company of note in the industry had arrived, clearly indicating that no one wished to miss out on Jiangnan Group's order and the Chinese market behind it.
"Brother, it seems Bombardier must win today!" Sam, who had a rather good personal relationship with Hulk, said straightforwardly upon seeing this.
"Yes, all the industry giants are here. Whoever secures this order will, in effect, defeat all other industry giants and plant a definitive impression in the minds of all future Chinese entrepreneurs. It will be very difficult to break this impression later!" Hulk said with a serious expression.
This statement was quite accurate. The selection of one company out of thirteen would signify that this company was considered the strongest by China's richest man. In the eyes of all future Chinese entrepreneurs, this company would also be considered the strongest. Consequently, when they chose private jets, they would opt for this company's brand, and the highest-end market would be completely seized by this enterprise. This was their imperative reason to win.
On the other side, Jiangnan Group also demonstrated the importance they placed on this private jet purchase. Chairman Huang He himself appeared at the conference. He glanced at everyone present and then asked with a smile, "Let's dispense with pleasantries and get straight to the point. I will tell you the standards for the aircraft I require!"
"Please!" Everyone nodded, and then Jiangnan Group handed them a demand list, approximately twenty pages thick.
However, despite the impressive thickness of this list, much of it consisted of technical data that held little significance. The truly important content was limited to the following points.
Firstly, this aircraft must be large, not a small or medium-sized aircraft, but a large one.
According to industry standards, large aircraft have a takeoff weight of 100 tons. However, Boss Huang also required the cabin area to be no less than 300 square meters, which is larger than the cabin area of most large aircraft. Ordinary large aircraft would not suffice; only "large aircraft within large aircraft" would do.
Secondly, the aircraft's safety must be high, requiring a complete set of flight safety systems. The document specified a particular requirement: unless the aircraft was directly exploding without any reaction time, Boss Huang must survive, and there should be no danger to his life!
For instance, an ejection seat system similar to that on fighter jets could be installed.
Finally, regarding performance requirements, this aircraft must have a minimum range of 10,000 kilometers, the same requirement as Air Force One.
Furthermore, it must be equipped with aerial refueling capabilities and the ability to land at any airport in the world.
These conditions left the representatives of all the companies present in stunned silence, their mouths agape. They had never imagined that Huang He's requirements would be so exaggerated. No, not exaggerated, but utterly preposterous.
"Very well. Since everyone has studied the requirements, companies that can meet my demands may stay. Those who cannot, you may leave directly!" Huang He said with a smile, which immediately caused a stir in the venue, with many people whispering. However, to Boss Huang's pleasant surprise, no company chose to leave.
"So, everyone can meet my requirements!" Boss Huang said joyfully.
"This... Mr. Huang, if you'll permit me to speak frankly, none of the companies present can likely meet your requirements!" A representative from one company stood up after a moment of hesitation.
"Is that so?" Boss Huang's expression changed slightly as he scanned the room and saw everyone nodding in agreement. Clearly, they all shared the same opinion.
"No way, my requirements are reasonable, and they are all achievable with modern technology. How can it be impossible to fulfill them?" Boss Huang asked, quite displeased.
"Mr. Huang, you might not be very familiar with the private jet industry. Firstly, private jets are generally small and medium-sized aircraft. None of the companies present actually have the capability to produce large private jets. Only Airbus, Boeing, and McDonnell Douglas have the capacity to produce large aircraft, but these three companies only cater to the commercial aircraft market and do not enter the private jet sector!" the person explained.
"I know that!" Huang He nodded. "But I also know that you have aircraft modification services. You can directly purchase large airliners from Airbus or Boeing and modify them. That should be no problem, right?"
"Yes... we can indeed modify them, but if we are to modify them according to your requirement of a cabin area no less than 300 square meters, then the cost of purchasing the aircraft alone would exceed $300 million. This is truly..."
"I have money! And I can afford it!" Huang He said calmly, leaving the representative momentarily speechless.
"But Mr. Huang, we do not doubt your purchasing power. However, with regards to your specific requirements, there are still some that we cannot fulfill. For example, your requirement for water landing capability is something that no current large aircraft technology can achieve!" another representative stated.
"But I recall real-world cases where large aircraft have landed directly on water!"
"Those are extremely rare cases. For every successful landing, there are over ten failed attempts. It's a matter of sheer luck!"
"But I only have one life, and I must ensure my absolute safety. Since large aircraft are capable of landing on water, then find out the factors behind these successful landings and incorporate all of them into the design of this new aircraft!" Boss Huang said unequivocally, finally adding, "I have money, and I'm not afraid to spend it. You don't need to help me save costs!"
"Then, sir, you also require the capability for passengers to parachute out, which is also impossible to achieve. Large aircraft generally fly at altitudes above 15,000 meters, at which humans cannot bail out. The extreme cold at such altitudes would directly kill everyone, not to mention the risk of being sucked into the engines."
"No civilian commercial aircraft in the world has ever been designed with a passenger parachute function. This is also unachievable!"
"Also, sir, this aircraft must be able to land at all airports, which is also unrealistic. The characteristic of large aircraft is that they require exceptionally long runways; otherwise, they cannot decelerate properly. If the airport runway is particularly short, they can only overshoot the runway. Therefore, sir, even if we design the aircraft to the standards of Air Force One, this is still impossible to achieve!"