The journey starts from the Titanic

Just do it, and it didn't take much time for Situ Nan to design a fine lighter.

However, the technicians in the factory shook their heads at first sight, saying that it is impossible to produce such products with current technology.

It turns out that Situ Nan painted a later version of Zippo, which was only produced by Zippo after World War II.

The design is very delicate and the technical requirements are also high.

At first, Situ Nan didn't give up, but at his request, the engineer still made samples.

Situ Nan looked at it and looked a bit similar in appearance, but it was not very reliable to use.Either there is a problem here or there is a problem.

After many revisions, the result is not satisfactory.Originally, Situ Nan thought: Although he did not achieve his ideal goal, it is better than the previous "stupid, big and thick", so choose this one!

However, the supervisor in charge of production poured cold water on Situ Nan. It turned out that even the simplified version of zippo would cost four or five times higher than similar products. Such a product is estimated to have no advantage in the market.

Also, the price difference is several times, and most consumers estimate that they will still choose the "silly and big" rather than the expensive zippo.

As a last resort, Situ Nan had to compromise. In order to reduce the cost, some fancy designs had to be abandoned, and the materials were also ordinary materials, and finally formed a castrated version of zippo.

But objectively speaking, it is still a very classic lighter in this era, and its practicality and appreciation are much better than the rough lighters on the market.

Nowadays, most manufacturers don't pay attention to the appearance of the product. They think that the lighter is strong and effective.

This idea is also the idea of ​​most people now. When the production output does not meet the needs of the society, the first thing to solve is whether there is any problem, not whether it is good or not.

However, the invention and application of lighters are not short. In the 19th century, oil was used by humans, and part of kerosene was consumed through lighters.

Now people are getting tired of the old-fashioned lighters on the market, and they are eager to get a better lighter.

Therefore, the emergence of zippo is believed to be a truly epoch-making product in the history of lighters.

At the insistence of Situ Nan, the technicians had to engrave exquisite patterns on the zippo shell, which is also the zippo logo.

The factory is located in a county around Los Angeles, and all investments are made by Situ Nan alone.

At the beginning, the scale was small, and only two products were produced, the collector's edition and the regular edition.

The first batch of Zippo Collector's Zippo lighters were used for advertising, so the materials are exquisite and they are exquisitely manufactured.

The number is small, the first batch of only 500 were produced, and Zippo sold it to British American Tobacco at cost.

British American Tobacco liked this exquisite lighter very much and accepted Zippo's suggestion.They bundled these lighters with tobacco and sold them with good results.

Of course, the first batch of people who got zippo were rich people, and they had enough financial resources to enjoy abundant material.

With a loud metal "ding" when a wealthy person was at a party, the zippo lighter was lit, and the crisp sound, unique design, and extraordinary quality were immediately conquered. Their critical eyes.

People began to be attracted by the freshly released zippo. Everyone has the heart to compare, especially the concept of the zippo collector's edition, which caters to their vanity.They wanted to have such a delicate lighter, so they asked where to buy such a lighter.

One pass ten, ten pass a hundred...

Coupled with Situ Nan's meticulously planned publicity advertisements, all of a sudden, advertisements about zippo were spread all over newspapers.

The reputation of Zippo was spread out in this way, and from the wealthy circle to ordinary people. Even non-smokers want to get an exquisite zippo instead of the unreliable "stupid" in their hands.

Some even buy tobacco for the zippo lighter. They see from the advertisement that the way to light a cigarette with zippo is very handsome and they are hooked on smoking.

Through the cooperation with the tobacco company, and the advertising promotion of the zippo brand has started!

The tobacco company even placed a large order for 10,000 collector's edition zippo lighters at one time, but Situ Nan rejected it.

He only agreed to produce 2000 collections of zippo lighters, of which only half would be provided to tobacco companies, and the remaining Zippo would sell them themselves.

Most of the lighters that Zippo later provided to tobacco companies were of ordinary type. Most of these high-quality and inexpensive zippo lighters were sold through the tobacco company's channels, and an advertisement was virtually made for Zippo.

The zippo lighters on the market are in short supply. The factory is working overtime to produce, but it still cannot meet the market demand.

Some anxious suppliers are blocked at the entrance of the factory, waving checks, as long as the factory asks him to take away the newly packed zippo lighters.

Some of them came from the east. The appearance of zippo surprised businessmen from the east. They didn't expect that the western part of the impression that only farms and cowboys could produce such exquisite lighters.

If I didn't see it with my own eyes, I thought it was Chicago, Detroit and other cities with developed manufacturing industries in the east!

They were right. The manufacturing industry in the Great Lakes Industrial Zone in the east of the United States is more developed than in the west and south. For a long time, the west and south have produced agricultural products in addition to minerals.

After the gold rush ebb, the development of the west was a little bit colder, but because the railway was built to the west, local products can be transported to all parts of the country by rail, so the industrial development in the west is also fast.

Although it has not reached the eastern level, the gap has been shortened, and in some respects it is even better than the southern agricultural states.

From this zippo purchase, some savvy businesses began to realize the rise of the west, and they also began to invest in the industry and commerce in the west.

Situ Nan kept a batch of zippos, but most of them were given away later, but he kept the remaining ones, and no one was allowed to move them.

From the west to the east, and from the east back to the west, zippo fever is sweeping the United States, and its market share is expanding.

As for the price, a regular Zippo lighter costs 30 cents, a bit higher than similar lighters.

However, it is value for money, and ordinary working-class people are also willing to spend a little more money to buy a more exquisite and practical zippo lighter, but still keep the original ugly and medium lighter.

Situ Nan also heard that because of the outstanding performance of zippo, the American match business has been affected, and more and more people have begun to choose zippo lighters.

The collector's version of zippo lighters started at US$2 each, and then gradually rose to US$5, US$20, and finally there was no market.

Due to limited production, the collector's edition zippo lighter has become a prop to show off.Many people want to get a high-quality zippo lighter, but some speculators with a good sense of smell take the opportunity to get a super high price of zippo.

This is what Situ Nan likes to see, and the hype has a good effect on zippo's brand promotion.

Some factory management wanted to increase the output of the refined version of zippo, but Situ Nan refused.

He warned the management of zippo company that the exquisite version of zippo is actually a boo head for publicity, the smaller the quantity, the more precious it is.

The factory must focus more on producing the regular version of zippo instead of turning the cart before the horse.

No matter how beautiful a lighter is, it is always a daily necessities, and it is a successful product only if it is used by the general public.Its collection shows off the vanity that is only suitable for young people, and the blind flooding will only make the collector's edition no longer treasured.

Although the price of a 30-cent ordinary lighter is not as high as the exquisite version, the sales volume is 1,000 times, 10,000 times, or even more than the exquisite version... To provide society with a large number of high-quality and inexpensive lighters is the basis of zippo.

In just half a year, Zippo has sold more than 1 million ordinary version of zippo lighters, with a sales income of 300,000 US dollars and a profit of more than 100,000 US dollars. In less than half a year, the investment not only recovered the cost, but also doubled several times. Situ Nan smiled blankly.

Situ Nan, who had tasted the sweetness, decided to invest more and opened Zippo's factory to the eastern region, where it was the biggest market.

As a result, Zippo continuously merged a number of lighter factories in Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston and other places, and its production capacity suddenly expanded, and a few years later it almost monopolized the American lighter market.

Through equity swaps, other original lighter manufacturers became shareholders of Zippo, and Situ Nan’s shares were also reduced to 40%. However, he is still the majority shareholder of Zippo and the chairman of Zippo, and he firmly controls this. It looks very small but very creative company.

This is the first monopoly company operated by Situ Nan. From the development of zippo, Situ Nan's ability has been tempered and laid the foundation for him to manage a broader business in the future.

A year later, Zippo's production capacity reached 5 million pieces per year, and sales revenue exceeded 150 million US dollars, but it still maintained a high level of profitability.