NOVEL WEB Chapter 528: Chapter 478: Meet Philips
Monday, 24 March 1994
Zaboru was working diligently in his office, eyes scanning over paperwork, when he suddenly called his secretary over. "Yumi-san, please contact the people from Philips Japan and tell them I'd like to meet them," he said calmly but firmly. Yumi nodded without hesitation and quickly got to work, dialing contacts and organizing logistics with practiced precision.
Zaboru leaned back in his chair, contemplating. In this world, Philips held a curious position. Just like in his previous world, Philips had experienced a notable decline. Although they maintained a variety of collaborations with Sonaya and continued to manufacture a broad range of electronic appliances, their presence in the consumer audio space had dwindled. The CD market was booming, yet Philips had been practically left behind. Sonaya had abandoned them in that race, and while Sonaya's CD players were becoming dominant, Philips' models were barely even recognized.
Still, Philips was a massive global company with deep roots and influence. ZAGE, his company, was powerful in its own right but didn't yet have the capital or market share to consider acquiring a titan like Philips. That said, a collaboration was a different matter altogether. Philips remained dominant in Japan and Europe, though they had recently pulled their operations out of the United States after repeated failures to gain a foothold.
"Heh, let's hope Philips is open to working with ZAGE," Zaboru muttered. "Maybe I could even buy a small chunk of their shares. If I recall correctly, their value is pretty low right now… though still expensive by most standards." He tapped his pen against the table, already thinking several moves ahead. Then he returned to work, awaiting Yumi's update.
Late in the afternoon, Yumi entered his office with a bright expression. She had succeeded in securing a meeting with Jan Timmer, the current CEO of Philips. That in itself was impressive. ZAGE's influence in the tech world had grown so vast that not even legacy corporations like Philips could ignore a direct request from Zaboru Renkonan. The meeting was set for the following morning, to be held in one of the upscale hotels often used by Philips' executive teams during business travel.
Zaboru couldn't help but chuckle. "Yumi-san, you are incredible. I can't believe you managed to arrange a meeting with the Philips CEO so quickly. I bet he had to cancel a pile of other meetings just to fit me in."
Yumi smiled modestly. "Thank you, boss. But honestly, it's your reputation. When the Philips team heard that you personally wanted this meeting, they didn't hesitate."
Zaboru smiled warmly. "As always, thank you, Yumi-san. Expect a nice bonus on payday."
Yumi beamed. "That's what I like to hear, boss." She gave a slight bow and exited the room, leaving Zaboru to his thoughts and preparations.
Tuesday, 25 March 1994 – Morning
Dressed sharply and carrying himself with casual confidence, Zaboru arrived five minutes early to the hotel's elegant French-European restaurant in Tokyo. The setting was classy, with pristine table linens and quiet music drifting through the air. He was led to the reserved table by the staff, who instantly recognized him. They treated him with the kind of deference usually reserved for dignitaries.
As he sat down, he scanned the menu with mild amusement. "Honestly, I can't understand how restaurants like this are so expensive. Even if I ordered everything on the menu, it wouldn't satisfy even 10% of my appetite," he mused internally. Despite his wealth, he still found these types of establishments more perplexing than enjoyable.
He ordered a simple steak and orange juice, opting for substance over showmanship. Moments later, Jan Timmer arrived precisely on time, extending a hand as he approached.
"Mr. Renkonan, apologies if I kept you waiting," Jan said with a friendly smile.
Zaboru chuckled and stood. "You're right on time, Mr. Timmer. And please, just call me Zaboru."
The two men shook hands firmly.
"Well then, Zaboru," Jan replied, "feel free to call me Jan."
They both took their seats and got straight to business.
"So... what does ZAGE want with Philips?" Jan asked bluntly.
Zaboru didn't miss a beat. "Let's talk about collaboration. You and Sonaya both hold patents related to CD technology, right? But it seems Sonaya has been running the show lately, while Philips struggles to keep up." Zaboru ask while chomping on his expensive sirloin steak.
Jan sighed, clearly aware of the truth. "You're right. Sonaya's sidelined us in that space. But we're not giving up—we're still investing in innovation."
Zaboru nodded. "I know. And that's why I want to propose something bigger. You're aware that CD-Rs are growing in popularity—people use them to store music or images. But they're practically useless for movies. At best, they hold 700 megabytes. Most decent movies are well over that size."
Jan leaned forward, curious. "Go on." What Zaboru said was undeniably true—many tech companies were actively seeking solutions to this very problem.
"What if I told you that ZAGE could help Philips break through that limitation?" Zaboru asked. "It might sound unbelievable, but I'm serious. Together, we could create the next evolution—a 'huge CD' with far greater capacity. ZAGE would bring the concept, and Philips could develop it."
Jan tilted his head, intrigued. If anyone else had said this, he would've brushed it off immediately. But Zaboru Renkonan wasn't anyone else. He was known for turning outlandish ideas into revolutionary products. Philips still held key CD patents, but it was Sonaya that reaped all the glory. Perhaps this was the opportunity to turn things around. He had heard only good things about ZAGE. Though it wasn't yet a titan in the industry, the company had been steadily growing by acquiring many small or struggling firms and turning them around with remarkable efficiency.
Jan nodded slowly. "It's possible. But if we're doing this, Philips wants major involvement in this 'Huge CD Project' you're proposing." Jan didn't want to repeat the same mistakes made with Sonaya. Although both companies had jointly developed CD technology, Sonaya had moved ahead independently when it came to releasing CD player-related products, effectively leaving Philips behind and sidelined in the market.
"Of course," Zaboru said without hesitation. "Philips will take full charge of development. ZAGE will provide the core idea, the design direction, and support. It's a fair split."
Jan grinned. If what Zaboru said was true, Philips would play a major role in the project—which made Jan genuinely excited. "You're not short on ambition. I'm curious now. I'll agree—for now. But we need to discuss this in detail. Let's set another meeting."
"Next month," Zaboru agreed. "We'll be swamped this month with the ZEPS 2 release."
Jan nodded. "Understood." They shook hands again before finishing their meal. Zaboru insisted on paying the bill.
Back at the office, Zaboru returned to his desk, his mind buzzing. The "huge CD" project he'd teased to Philips was, of course, a stepping stone toward introducing DVD technology—something that had become ubiquitous in his original world by the late 1990s. He had only a partial technical understanding of it, but that was enough to steer Philips in the right direction.
He leaned back in his chair and smirked. "Let's hope this works out."
Then he picked up the phone and called Kudou, his lead legal advisor. With ZEPS 2 about to launch, negotiations would need to begin soon. The Philips deal was just the beginning—ZAGE's next-gen consoles were coming, and this was only the start of something far bigger.
To be continued
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