The birth of the Hong Kong Island family

A New Year Begins (1978)

After New Year's Day, Lin Zhichao came to Raffles City Plaza, accompanied by Uniqlo President Cheng Xixian and Vice President Gao Zhinian.

The original president Zhao Mingyi and vice president Hong Yunpei both retired with honor and had a worry-free retirement life. After all, when UNIQLO went public, they received bonuses (buying stocks at low prices), and finally cashed out at a high point and made millions of Hong Kong dollars; plus With his high salary and investment properties over the years, his net worth is more than 5 million.

They managed Uniqlo into a company with a market value of hundreds of millions for Lin Zhichao, and they also gained millions of wealth themselves. This just confirms what Lin Zhichaochang said to his subordinates - if I make 100 million, I also like you to make 1 million.

Cheng Xixian is a 'returnee' with working experience in a large clothing company. After returning to Hong Kong, he joined UNIQLO as a senior executive for three years before successfully succeeding Zhao Mingyi; Gao Zhinian is a talent cultivated within UNIQLO. Compared with Cheng Xixian, he is more capable Be familiar with your boss’s thinking.

As for why Cheng Xixian can serve as president, Lin Zhichao likes his international vision, which also proves that UNIQLO will develop overseas.

Lin Zhichao's goal today is very clear. After arriving at Raffles City, he immediately walked into a Uniqlo clothing store.

Raffles City is full of boutiques, with many big-name European and American brands. Uniqlo, a casual clothing retail brand, has joined the store and is leasing a store of more than 1,600 square feet. People can’t help but suspect that Lin Zhichao is preparing to upgrade the quality of Uniqlo clothing.

However, it is not!

"Welcome," the clerk greeted politely.

But she didn't do anything else but arrange her clothes.

Lin Zhichao and others were not surprised. A man who looked like a manager saw a few people and was about to come up to greet them, but Cheng Xixian told them to keep quiet.

The style of this Uniqlo store has obviously changed a lot, and it has tended to the decoration, placement, stacking and other modes of later Uniqlo; especially the baskets are placed, fully considering the intention of some people to purchase for the whole family.

Store clerks are very busy. They need to sort clothes and answer customers' questions all the time.

However, it obviously gives people a self-service shopping model. After customers come in, they can browse and try on clothes at will. There will be no expressions or impatience from the clerk. Even if you place the clothes you are trying on in a random position, the clerk will not have any problems.

good!

Lin Zhichao plans to use this store as a Uniqlo clothing brand to develop into a "Fast Retail" model and begin to expand aggressively. It aims to open 80 stores in Asia within ten years.

The Uniqlo clothing brand has been established for so many years and currently only has seven stores. It is still in an exploratory stage and a process of changing Hong Kong's concept of clothing.

Now, clearly the time has come.

"Business looks good!" Lin Zhichao said.

There are many people shopping in the store. They seem to be very relaxed. If they don’t understand something, they can call immediately and they can go to the fitting room to try something on.

Cheng Xixian said: "Well, this Uniqlo store is a new service model, which gives people a refreshing feeling. People who come to Raffles City are not necessarily rich and wealthy, but also white-collar and blue-collar workers. For them, good quality at a good price Cheap casual clothes, very tempting.”

Lin Zhichao said: "You are right, I just plan to create a new clothing concept and model based on this store. I will propose it to you at the meeting and strive to form a systematic model this year."

Cheng Xixian was immediately refreshed. Working with legendary businessmen, he always felt that he had strong innovation ability. The chief planner of this store is the boss.

Afterwards, everyone headed back to the Crocodile Shirt Building to prepare for a high-level meeting.

At present, UNIQLO clothing company has five major businesses and brands: crocodile shirt brand (mid-to-high-end clothing), traveler trolley suitcases, clothing production and OEM (overseas mid-to-high-end clothing and brand clothing OEM), UNIQLO clothing brand (to be The casual clothing brand was transformed into a Fast Retailing brand), and the property department (crocodile shirt building, factory building, a large number of street-facing shops and office rooms).

When it was first listed, almost 50 million Hong Kong dollars were spent to acquire Lin Zhichao's personal properties, including half of the street-facing shops on Paterson Street. The market value of this part of the property is expected to be 200 million by the early 1980s. At the same time, part of it will be released for cash out, which will be used for Uniqlo's overseas expansion. This is also a high-point cash-out deal.

Back at the Crocodile Shirt Building, the senior executives were already in place, almost a dozen people.

After sitting down, Lin Zhichao immediately entered the topic: "The crocodile shirt brand must begin to expand in Asia, especially the Japanese market, which is the focus of the expansion of crocodile shirts. This task is responsible for the general manager of crocodile shirts, the group general manager and senior management To engage and mentor.”

Fang Huarun, the general manager of Crocodile Shirts, immediately said: "Okay, boss. Crocodile Shirts currently has great influence and popularity in Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Singapore, and Southeast Asia. The annual profits have grown steadily and can support the entry into the Japanese market."

Lin Zhichao said: "Crocodile shirts only use their own profits, and their development in the Japanese market is still too slow. They can be supported from the group account. This brand has been carefully cultivated by us for so many years and has become as representative as Bauhinia in Hong Kong. This time When you land in Japan, you must take it seriously."

"No problem!" Several people replied confidently at the same time.

The crocodile shirt brand has become a perfect clothing brand, a quality brand that pursues comfort and good after-sales service. It is already an industry leader in shirts, leather goods and other fields. Many wealthy people in Hong Kong often wear crocodile shirt brand, which shows that this brand is still very successful.

Next, is the second content.

Lin Zhichao said: "The Uniqlo brand store in Raffles City is actually a clothing model conceived by me. I call it the 'Fast Retailing' brand."

Everyone listened intently, for fear of missing a word.

Even though the boss may only appear once every half a month, everyone knows that the ‘God of Management’ is not a wasted reputation, not to mention that the boss is also an extremely innovative and creative entrepreneur. So every time the boss shows up, he can always understand UNIQLO's business and come up with some constructive ideas.

Uniqlo has actually formed a ‘professional manager’ model. The president and senior executives are eligible to enjoy bonuses, of course not every year, and their performance must meet the board’s expected goals. The so-called ‘bonus’ actually gives senior executives the ‘opportunity to buy stocks at low prices’.

If they want the stock price in their hands to appreciate, they will naturally work harder.

"You should first talk about this model based on what you know about Uniqlo and the term 'Fast Retailing'!" Lin Zhichao said.

Afterwards, everyone spoke enthusiastically.

Group President Cheng Xixian: "News, of course, means quickly. In other words, we must quickly absorb European and American popular elements and clothing, make changes as soon as possible and then release new clothing."

Group Vice President Gao Zhinian nodded, and then said: "Fast Retailing's pursuit of 'high quality and low price' and 'diversified styles' does not mean that it is the cheapest clothing on the market. On the contrary, it must have quality assurance, so we need to maintain 'Good quality and low price' means we have to reduce costs, so we adopt the chain expansion model."

Uniqlo clothing brand president Xu Jiachi also made a relatively good supplement, and soon everyone gave a rough idea.

Lin Zhichao said: "It is not difficult to realize this. What is difficult is to become a system, and this system must be constantly improved. Then in the next year, we will complete the concept of Fast Retailing clothing and form an internal document. "

"Yes, boss!" Everyone said with high spirits.

Next, Lin Zhichao expressed his views:

"Here, I still want to give some descriptions of Fast Retailing. You can refer to them later for reference."

"First of all, Fast Retailing clothing brands must capture European and American popular elements as soon as possible, form a team of young designers, and let them watch shows and magazines in Paris and Milan to pick out popular styles as soon as possible. Carry out secondary design. Of course, the design drafts and samples must be sent back to Hong Kong as quickly as possible, so modern equipment and transportation must be used to achieve this."

"Secondly, there is the production system. After the clothing samples come out, we need to quickly dye, finish, and cut one-stop services. Of course, this point is very important for Hong Kong, which is second only to Italy in garment exports (Hong Kong's US$3 billion, Italy's US$3.02 billion) , the gap is very small), there is no problem at all. This is called the supply chain, and of course it can change later. The supply chain always needs to make the best adjustment according to the specific situation, so I won’t say more about it for now.”

"Last, of course, is the sales system you see in Raffles City. Generally speaking, it is best for Fast Retailing clothing stores to be opened in shopping malls."

"To sum up, Fast Retailing clothing products are a kind of 'fast food culture in the clothing industry', which will make rapid changes according to the development of science and technology. What we have talked about today is actually just a direction for the future, which is currently fully implemented. It’s unrealistic. At least we don’t have enough stores to support this system. But because of this, we have to go in this direction and accelerate the development of UNIQLO stores. I hope that in the next ten years, there will be 100 stores in Asia. store.”

In the previous life, Uniqlo expanded 100 stores from 1984 to 1994, but that was a huge market in Japan. Hong Kong obviously cannot support it, so Lin Zhichao sets his sights on Hong Kong, Taiwan, Austria, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea. By the late 1990s, we could enter the mainland market.

This meeting finally determined the development direction of the UNIQLO brand and crocodile shirt brand. In the short term, it will be enough for UNIQLO to reach a higher level.

At present, Uniqlo has a market value of around HK$250 million and an annual profit of around HK$30 million. It is definitely considered a high-quality enterprise. The key is that its property assets are rich and the rent collected every year is high.

After the meeting.

Not long after Lin Zhichao was sitting in his office, a beautiful "female employee" walked into his office.

"Chairman"

"Call daddy"

The smile on Lin Zhichao's face couldn't tell lies. He loved his daughter very much.

Lin Wanzhu walked towards Lin Zhichao's office and said, "I heard from my brothers that they will call you your company title in the company!"

Lin Zhichao said: "They are them, you are you, not to mention the two of us now, how ugly it is to call us chairman."

Lin Wanzhu said with a "hehe" smile: "Yes, my dearest father!"

Then, she came behind Lin Zhichao and massaged her father's shoulders.

Although this eldest daughter is born to Xu Caiying, she actually has Tang Caiyun's character, and is more stable than her younger sister, while her younger sister Lin Huizhu is more lively. Of course, both daughters are Lin Zhichao's darlings and are equally important.

No, she is also carefully cultivating her daughter's business skills. She may not be able to sit at the helm of the Uniqlo Group in the future and rise to the top based on her ability.

Of course, the equity may not be fully given. For example, Uniqlo will give up to one-third of its shares, and the remaining shares will be placed in the family office.

In fact, the third generation must be succeeded by members surnamed Lin.

As for the hotel group, that is unlikely. After all, it symbolizes the Lin family.

In fact, ‘little princess’ Lin Huizhu studied to be a lawyer. She may be the only member of the second generation of the Lin family who does not know how to do business. Of course, the dowry may also be shares of Uniqlo Group in the future.

"How is work?"

"It's very good. I feel very happy at work and my colleagues are also very enthusiastic."

"How can you not be enthusiastic? After all, you are my daughter. Haha!"

"No way! We all get along well with each other, and they didn't behave abnormally just because I am your daughter. Dad, when my brothers go to the company, do they all reveal their identities from the beginning?"

"Although it was not made public, everyone knew it very quickly, and we had no intention of hiding it. If that were the case, I think it would be unnecessary."

Lin Zhichao doesn't do things that are 'obvious' and make people laugh behind their backs.

Later, Lin Zhichao asked: "Are there any young people chasing you in the company?"

Lin Wanzhu said: "No! I don't know why?"

Later, she joked generously.

Lin Zhichao said with a smile: "I'm afraid I won't be able to catch up!"

Lin Wanzhu said mischievously: "I am easy to chase, but my father is very sad at this stage, isn't he?"

Lin Zhichao smiled, he indeed had more demands on his daughter's other half and interfered more than his son. As a result, even if Lin Wanzhu has a crush on a boy at school, she will evaluate the other person's conditions and whether she can obtain her father's consent.

In this way, she didn't really have a relationship in the end. At most, she had a good male friend. In the end, she didn't continue it because she returned to Hong Kong.

"Don't worry, don't be anxious! You have so many brothers, they will always introduce you to suitable Hong Kong people."

"I'm not in a hurry, I don't want to talk about it!"

"Silly girl, you must not imitate your aunt! But, she graduated from college at the age of 25."

"You can't speak ill of your aunt!"

"You child, my relationship with your aunt is that of elder brothers like father. I am not speaking ill of her, I am just a little bit sorry. Of course, now it seems that she met your uncle, which means everything is lucky. Fortunately, There’s no rush!”

In recent years, Lin Benfeng has entered Lin Zhichao's inner circle and is deeply trusted and reused by him. Naturally, he also liked his brother-in-law even more.

I chatted about work with my eldest daughter for a while. Lin Wanzhu is currently working in marketing at Uniqlo. She has no privileges and just starts from the bottom. Of course, due to her educational level, she is naturally not an ordinary employee.

"My dear daughter, do your best in this business, and I will give you a chance to develop your brand independently later."

"real!"

Lin Wanzhu stood in front of Lin Zhichao and looked at her father with serious hope. She always knew some things about the family and knew that her father had many creative ideas in business, which allowed her brothers to show their talents and gain great influence. .

"Well, as long as you do a good job, I'll leave it to you."

"Thank you dad"

"Thank you, you are my child too."

Lin Wanzhu left the office happily. She enjoyed her work and was eager to learn from her brothers and help develop the family business.

Lin Zhichao in the office watched his daughter leave with satisfaction.

This daughter joined Uniqlo and has been working at the bottom level for half a year and has performed well in all aspects. If she can be promoted to mid-level within two years, Lin Zhichao plans to put her in charge of one thing - to build a clothing retail chain, specializing in the young people market.

Just one day later, Lin Zhichao came to the Media Building to inspect the work and communicated with the senior executives one by one.

Among the three major businesses of Media Tower:

There are people like Zou Wenhuai in the film industry, so Lin Zhichao does not need to worry about it at all. He only needs to tie Zou Wenhuai to this chariot. Currently, Zou Wenhuai holds 5% of the shares of Jiahe Film and will receive a bonus within two years, so he is also a shareholder. As for leaving Golden Harvest Films, Zou Wenhuai is not willing to take a gamble at the moment - firstly, the boss's vision is too vicious, and he feels that he may not be an opponent; secondly, Golden Harvest Films has formed a huge theater chain and distribution system, and Hong Kong has only Shaw Brothers He and Jiahe have the most comprehensive theater chain. He offended both sides and is obviously seeking death. Thirdly, Jiahe's main personnel, including directors and starring actors, are interested in Jiahe's 'satellite model', where everyone can make money together. So I definitely won't follow him.

In the media industry, "Oriental Daily" remains unparalleled, with sales reaching 350,000 copies and being distributed in seven overseas cities. The second place is "Asia Daily", this newspaper also follows the popular newspaper route, with sales of 200,000 copies. In the field of popular newspapers, the previous "Tian Tian Daily" and "Cheng Pao" were relatively miserable. With only tens of thousands of copies sold, the market was completely occupied by the top two.

In terms of animation toys, Oriental Publishing House already has a complete talent training system. It recruits painting graduates from Hong Kong schools and undergoes a three-year training to become assistant painters. The entire Oriental Publishing House currently has more than 100 painters and editors. , the lineup is very large.

Lin Zhichao handed a manuscript to Li Ziduo and said: "This is a Hong Kong comic outline that has been 'revised' based on the Chinese mythology Journey to the West. Later you will form a powerful team to create it."

Li Ziduo couldn't help but start flipping through it immediately. The three manuscripts currently collected by his boss - "Sports Club", "Fist of the North Star", and "Mobile Suit Gundam" spanned three themes (sports, martial arts, science fiction). Oriental Publishing House has set a textbook example. Therefore, he is very much looking forward to the fourth part.

""Dragon Balls", it is said that there are seven balls called Dragon Balls scattered everywhere in the world. As long as you collect the seven Dragon Balls and recite the incantation, you can summon the dragon, and any wish can be fulfilled for the person who makes the wish."

Lin Zhichao smiled. It was not difficult for him to plagiarize these works. After all, he knew what they were about as long as he had read them in his previous life. He didn't need to write a detailed outline anyway. He could just describe the overall story direction, character characteristics, and embodied spirit. It's enough to plagiarize a lot. As for the character image, he will read the manuscript, and the image of the protagonist and important supporting characters has always been left to him for review.

"This story is a very innovative work. Once serialized perfectly, it will bring a very good demonstration effect to Hong Kong comics." Li Ziduo said excitedly.

Currently, Oriental Publishing House accounts for more than 80% of its local revenue. The remaining less than 20% is the market for Huang Yulang and Shangguan Xiaobao.

The most important market for Oriental Publishing House is overseas. Its revenue is already much higher than that in Hong Kong. Many of its works have been distributed around the world.

Therefore, Hong Kong now also has the reputation of being the capital of comics.

"How much profit did Oriental Publishing House make last year?"

"35 million Hong Kong dollars, and the overseas market alone is as high as just over 20 million Hong Kong dollars. These are just my profits."

Lin Zhichao is very satisfied with this result. Compared with the leading Japanese comics, this profit is not much different.

The development of Hong Kong's comic industry can also drive the development of Hong Kong's tourism industry and increase Hong Kong's popularity. This is what Lin Zhichao has always pursued. And of course, it can weaken the development of the Japanese manga industry.

"Next, the comic industry will develop greatly. You should pay attention to this "Dragon Ball". Like "Mobile Suit Gundam", its IP value will be very high in the future."

"Okay, I will definitely select an elite team to complete it."