From the past decade of mobile phones, let's take a look at the journey of electronic cigarettes going global.
The Chinese e-cigarette industry is in a stage of rapid development, but it also faces some challenges and risks. In order to ensure the healthy and sustainable export and foreign exchange earnings of the e-cigarette industry, we need to establish a comprehensive perspective, starting from aspects such as brand, channels, patents, compliance, etc., to avoid repeating the mistakes of the mobile phone industry.
In the mobile phone industry, brand is a very important part. Apple once took away two-thirds of the net profit from the mobile phone industry, while other manufacturers could only share the remaining one-third. Therefore, e-cigarette companies should focus on brand building, cultivate internationally popular e-cigarette brands, and establish their own sales channels. In this way, when facing various sanctions and risks, brands and channels have good risk resistance.
Patents are also an important issue in the mobile phone industry. In the issue of patent highway fees charged by Qualcomm to domestic mobile phone manufacturers, small-scale manufacturers are often forced to accept Qualcomm's requirements, resulting in high patent fees. Therefore, electronic cigarette companies should pay attention to patent layout to avoid being sued by overseas companies.
Channel is also a challenge in the mobile phone industry. The main orders of most mobile phone manufacturers come from overseas network operators, with meager profits, and even some manufacturers have to bear losses. Therefore, electronic cigarette companies should pay attention to self-control channels and firmly grasp the channels in their own hands.
Export earnings are one of the main sources of profit for Chinese mobile phone manufacturers. The large total export volume and high unit price factors have made the mobile phone industry one of the main forces for domestic export earnings. Therefore, e-cigarette companies should also focus on exporting and earning foreign exchange, take the path of compliance, and avoid giving people the leverage to trigger sanctions.
Export tax rebate is an important profit control link in the mobile phone industry. Almost all mobile phone manufacturers will apply for export tax rebates, making the invoices and taxes of upstream and downstream manufacturers in the entire mobile phone industry chain more standardized. Therefore, electronic cigarette companies should also pay attention to export tax refunds, and invoice issuance and tax payment should be more standardized.
While ensuring the healthy and sustainable export and foreign exchange earnings of the electronic cigarette industry, we also need to ensure the healthy growth of young people and domestic tobacco profits and taxes. Protecting minors is a mainstream value in modern countries, and the regulation of electronic cigarettes in various countries places great emphasis on the protection of minors. Therefore, e-cigarette companies should avoid minors using e-cigarettes from aspects such as technology, design, and channels, and should not knowingly violate them, causing overseas public opinion incidents and sanctions. At the same time, we also need to ensure domestic tobacco profits and taxes, view the electronic cigarette industry as a whole, and take a healthy and sustainable path to generate foreign exchange for the country's exports.
In short, the development of the electronic cigarette industry will not be smooth sailing. Electronic cigarette companies should look around and remember the experience and lessons of the mobile phone and other industries going abroad, establish a broad perspective, ensure the compliance of the electronic cigarette industry, avoid giving people a handle and triggering sanctions, and strive to become one of the main forces of the country's export earnings, contributing their due strength to the country's strength.