The Tyrant Billionaire

Currently, Lockheed is not yet the future Lockheed Martin, the world's number one arms dealer. Although it received quite a few orders during the war, there was still a considerable gap compared to Boeing.

During World War II, Lockheed indeed made a lot of money, producing nearly 20,000 aircraft for the military, including the famous P-38 "Lightning" twin engine fighter.

After World War II, the US military downsized significantly and cut war funding. A large number of aircraft were retired, and Lockheed's military orders plummeted. They tried to profit from civilian aircraft, producing the 'Constellation' series of planes.

The Constellation series performed well, but they faced stronger competitors, Boeing's B-377 Stratocruiser and Douglas's DC-6B. Over the past two years, Douglas received over a hundred   orders for the DC-6B, while Lockheed's Constellation only got 17 orders.

To expand their market share in the brutal competition, Lockheed recently adopted aggressive sales tactics, allowing salespeople to use 10% to 20% of an aircraft's total price as a "fee" to secure orders.

But they still couldn't sell.

Robert Gross was very anxious. Seeing Hardy today, knowing he had an airline, he proactively asked Hardy if he wanted to buy planes.

Hardy's philosophy for running an airline had long been established: only the cheapest planes, nothing too complicated. If he were to buy, he would only buy from Douglas, which was relatively cheaper, more robust, and durable.

Lockheed's products, on the other hand, adhered to the philosophy of being good, expensive, and precise but not rugged. Their products were indeed good, but too delicate, with high maintenance costs.

Each aircraft cost nearly a million dollars, and it might take over a decade to earn back the investment, making it a pointless investment.

Historically, due to poor performance in the civilian aircraft business, Lockheed abandoned the civilian aircraft market entirely a few years later and turned to developing military aircraft.

Hardy thought to himself, he didn't want the planes, but if Robert was willing to sell stocks, he could consider it. However, he was in no hurry about it. Lockheed still had a long period of decline ahead, and it wouldn't be too late to acquire them after a few years when the opportunity was right.

Robert Gross chatted with Hardy for a few more minutes before moving on to talk with others.

As the time came for everyone to leave, Pepsi's Chairman and CEO Walter Mack approached Hardy, "Mr. Hardy, when can we discuss Pepsi's development?"

"How about we find a place to chat now?" Hardy suggested.

"Sure."

Walter Mack got into Hardy's car directly. Mack had his own estate in San Francisco and invited Hardy and Andy to visit it.

On the way, Hardy saw billboards for both Coca Cola and Pepsi. He asked the convoy to stop.

Pointing at the signs, Hardy asked Walter Mack, "Do you see any problem here?"

Walter glanced at the billboards and said, "These are advertisements made by professional advertising companies. I don't see any issue."

Hardy shook his head.

"From these two billboards, I don't see any unique features. Pepsi has always modeled itself after Coca Cola, striving to catch up. But for so many years, it has been far behind. Don't you think there's a problem with your guiding philosophy?"

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Walter thought for a moment and said, "To be honest, Mr. Hardy, we had a strategy of imitating Coca Cola as closely as possible. Coca Cola's market share is high, and by creating the illusion that Pepsi is competing with Coca Cola, we could significantly increase Pepsi's brand awareness."

Hardy understood.

In simple terms, it's a theory of commercial hitch-hiking.

Some brands have used this method in later years, but Hardy considered it a lazy approach. It may work wonders in some cases while it may fail miserably in some other cases, especially in the long run, it would negatively impact the brand.

"I think Pepsi needs to forge its own path and conduct differentiated marketing from Coca Cola," Hardy suggested.

"But Pepsi and Coca Cola taste almost the same, and their markets overlap completely," Walter said.

"Then segment the market. Emphasize that this is a drink for young people. Drinking Pepsi makes you feel young, happy, free, and soaring."

In later years, Pepsi indeed rose by promoting the concept of youth.

Listening to Hardy, Walter seemed deep in thought.

Hardy told Henry, "Find a grocery store and buy two cases of Pepsi."

Henry quickly went with his team, and soon returned with the drinks, and the convoy continued to Walter's estate.

Upon arriving at the estate, the hostess greeted Hardy politely and served tea while Hardy and Walter continued their conversation.

"President Mack, the advertising differentiation strategy I just mentioned, repositioning Pepsi is a long term plan that may take years. Now, let me share two methods that can increase Pepsi's sales in the short term."

Walter Mack's eyes lit up, eagerly asking, "What methods, Mr. Hardy?"

"The first method: the pull tab can."

"A pull tab can? What is that?" Walter was puzzled.

Hardy asked for paper and pen, quickly drawing a simple pull tab can design, then pointed to the tab, "This can be made of aluminum, and the key feature is a pull tab on the lid. Just a light pull opens the can, making it convenient to drink anywhere."

Walter found the design novel, "Where can we buy this filling equipment?"

Hardy shook his head, "It doesn't exist yet. This can be a future development direction for Pepsi to research on its own. Once developed, you can apply for a patent. I believe Coca Cola will beg us for usage rights."

"But we can't use it now," Walter said.

Hardy took a bottle of Pepsi from the case, handed it to Walter, and said, "Please open it for me."

Walter, without a bottle opener, quickly called for one, and after a while, the butler brought one from the kitchen to open the bottle for Hardy.

"Do you see the problem? Without a bottle opener, it's inconvenient to open the bottle. We can design a pull tab cap that opens easily with a light pull. Isn't that much more convenient?" Hardy said.