The birth of the Hong Kong Island family

In the first half of 1982, international gold has been in a state of violent fluctuations. It was at 390 US dollars per ounce at the beginning of the year, and then fell all the way; it was as low as 315 US dollars per ounce in March, rose to 360 US dollars per ounce in April, and fell again to 325 US dollars in May. per ounce.

In June, international gold continued to decline, and there was a strong trend that it would fall below US$300 per ounce.

This situation attracted the attention of Lin Zhichao, a "speculator", and he immediately came to the UNIQLO corporate headquarters office in the "Crocodile Shirt Building".

Lin Zhichao was sitting in the office, thinking very calmly.

International gold fell to just over 300 US dollars per ounce, which is obviously an opportunity. Lin Zhichao does not know the specific trend of gold, but he also knows that the price dropped to 300 US dollars per ounce at this time, which is obviously a low point.

Except for the years of the Asian financial crisis, when gold fell below $300 per ounce, there will be no lower moment in the next 40 years.

This is like stock trading. Lin Zhichao knows the "bottom" and can buy it at the bottom and make a lot of money.

What's more, according to Lin Zhichao's understanding, the century-old Xie Liyuan Gold Shop collapsed suddenly during this gold speculation!

"Boss, it's time for the meeting."

"Okay, I'll be there soon!"

After the clerk came in and reminded him, Lin Zhichao recovered his thoughts and walked towards the conference room.

Uniqlo Enterprises is a large listed company and one of the blue chip stocks in Hong Kong. In fact, the listed companies controlled by Lin Zhichao can be described as terrifying.

Take the end of last year (1981) as an example:

Market capitalization of Hong Kong listed companies:

The first place is Cheung Kong Group, with a market value of HK$26 billion.

The second place is HSBC, with a market capitalization of HK$24 billion.

The third place is Hang Seng Bank, with a market capitalization of HK$19.5 billion.

The fourth place is Land Corporation, with a market value of HK$15 billion.

The fifth place is Hutchison Whampoa, with a market value of HK$10 billion.

The sixth place is Wharf Group, with a market value of HK$9 billion.

The seventh place is Jardine Matheson, with a market value of HK$7 billion.

The eighth place is China Power, with a market value of HK$6.3 billion.

The ninth place is Sun Hung Kai Properties, with a market value of HK$5.6 billion.

The tenth place is Hong Kong Electric Lighting Company, with a market value of HK$5 billion.

In the entire top ten list, Lin Zhichao controls three listed companies, with a combined market value of 45 billion, exceeding the total market value of the two HSBC banks of 43.5 billion.

However, Lin Zhichao also controls Uniqlo (market value of 1.5 billion, ranking in the 30s) and Golden Harvest Films (market value of more than 900 million, ranking in the 50s); moreover, these are only directly controlled listed companies, such as Hutchison Whampoa. There are also four listed companies.

Go into the conference room.

Uniqlo's senior executives are looking at their bosses. Lin Zhichao's eldest daughter Lin Wanzhu is also among the senior executives. She is the CEO of I.T Fashion Clothing Retail.

After Lin Zhichao sat down, he asked directly: "Who can report on the progress of Uniqlo and crocodile shirts in Japan?"

Starting from the 1980s, both Crocodile and Uniqlo began to enter Japan. In order to cope with the huge capital expenditure, in early 1981, Uniqlo also took advantage of the peak of Hong Kong real estate and sold off properties worth 200 million.

Of course, not all the money has been spent. Uniqlo's current cash flow is still quite sufficient.

CEO Cheng Xixian immediately said: "As the first clothing brand to enter the Japanese market, Crocodile Shirts currently has 20 stores in Japan. Uniqlo followed closely and opened 10 stores in a year and a half. .The two brands are currently operating well.”

Listening to the report, Lin Zhichao felt very proud.

Japan is also a major clothing exporter, and it is also a relatively fashionable place in Asia. Crocodile shirts and Uniqlo can achieve good business results in Japan, which is obviously very good.

It is easier for crocodile shirts to enter the Japanese market because it represents the top brand of Hong Kong clothing and even has a certain popularity in Asia. In addition, mid-to-high-end brand positioning and comfortable fabrics are all points of purchase.

Uniqlo can open the Japanese market because of its excellent business system, a model that is twenty years ahead of this era, and the successful experience of Japan's Uniqlo in its previous life. These are all reasons why it can open the Japanese market.

In itself, starting from the 1980s, it was the explosive period of Hong Kong brand clothing. In previous lives, Giordano, Jeanswest, Bossard, etc. emerged. Today, Crocodile and Uniqlo are among the leading apparel brands in Asia.

"Well, I have inspected our stores in Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. I recently had an idea, which is to strengthen our store staff talent plan. I think an excellent service system is one of the elements for the long-term development of the brand, so We must treat our employees as a family, especially store clerks. If we want these clerks to have a sense of belonging to this company, it is nothing more than salary and promotion channels. I believe that to achieve these, every clerk will be serious and responsible. In addition, how much paid training time should be achieved per month for each employee, and how much training time should be achieved per year. I also hope that your management will study this, experiment and improve it in UNIQLO, and finally incorporate it into in the system.”

To put it bluntly, I just copied the homework from Uniqlo in my previous life. Of course, in the 1990s, Giordano Hong Kong also did a very good job in this regard.

The reason why Giordano did not develop was because it did not follow the path of fast selling. It was just a casual clothing brand. This kind of brand was ultimately defeated by the Internet economy.

Only Uniqlo survives and is getting stronger. As a customer in his previous life, Lin Zhichao naturally had a very clear understanding of Uniqlo, plus he had done research, so the overall model was not a problem.

A group of senior executives seemed to have foreseen the light and took pens to write it down.

In fact, it’s not that they have poor skills, but that they are not the top decision-makers and have certain cognitive flaws in the company’s development outline.

Cheng Xixian said: "The boss's understanding of the supply chain and talent system really made us all suddenly enlightened."

Gao Zhinian said: "Uniqlo's development in Japan depends entirely on its overall business philosophy. How can a low-end clothing brand develop so smoothly in Japan?"

Everyone nodded. It was expected that crocodile shirts would develop smoothly in Japan. It was a bit unexpected that Uniqlo clothing would develop smoothly in Japan. After all, there is no shortage of "high-quality and affordable" clothing brands in Japan.

After communicating with everyone about the three major flagship businesses (UNIQLO, crocodile shirts, and I.T), Lin Zhichao continued: "Manager Wang, how is the cash flow of UNIQLO?"

Finance Department Manager Wang Shanqiang immediately said: "Currently, UNIQLO's cash flow is HK$210 million, which is very sufficient. The total debt is HK$36 million, and the debt ratio is low!"

Yes, UNIQLO has developed to this day. Not only is the clothing brand well-run, but also the investment properties have received a lot of goods. It is the best time to go public to raise funds.

In the late 1980s, the crocodile shirts in the previous life were sold for more than 1 billion Hong Kong dollars; in this life, Uniqlo (currently focusing on crocodile shirts) is worth at least three times more.

Lin Zhichao said: "Yeah"

After the meeting.

Chief Executive Officer Cheng Xixian, Vice President Gao Zhinian, and Financial Manager Wang Shanqiang all came to Lin Zhichao's office again.

"Convert as much of Uniqlo's corporate cash flow into U.S. dollars as possible and deposit it into a U.S. dollar account."

The three of them had some questions, but Wang Shanqiang immediately said: "Okay!"

As a financial person, he understood that his boss felt that the dollar was appreciating. However, he did not expect that the Hong Kong dollar would depreciate crazily.

Later, Lin Zhichao said: "How is the situation of Xie Liyuan Gold Shop I asked you to investigate?"

Wang Shanqiang immediately said: "In 1867 AD, the sixth year of the Tongzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty, a "Xie Liyuan Gold Shop" was born in Macau. By 1982, it was already a veritable century-old shop and was also developing in full swing in Hong Kong. About ten years ago Hong Kong's Xie Liyuan transformed into gold finance and launched the "Thousands of Gold Accumulation Plan". As long as the public purchases physical gold weighing one cent, they can open a gold trading account and speculate in gold according to the gold price of the day. It is said that they absorbed 20 million Hong Kong dollars. funds above”

Lin Zhichao said: "Take out 10 million Hong Kong dollars, go to Xie Liyuan Gold Shop in Hong Kong to buy gold and open a gold account."

Wang Shanqiang was taken aback and said: "Boss, gold has fallen sharply in the first half of this year, and recently it has only exceeded US$300."

Lin Zhichao said: "It doesn't matter, it's just 10 million Hong Kong dollars. If we can win the bet, we will win the 'Hong Kong Xie Liyuan' company, which will be an opportunity for us to enter the jewelry industry."

He did not fancy the ‘Tse Li Yuan’ brand, but the management system and experience of the ten gold shops of Tse Li Yuan in Hong Kong.

The three management teams were a little stunned and didn’t understand what it meant!

Lin Zhichao smiled and said: "Don't worry too much, just do as I say! In short, contact Xie Zhichao, the owner of Xie Liyuan Gold Shop in Hong Kong, and ask him to use our 10 million Hong Kong dollars to buy gold. There is no need to worry about anything else. It doesn't matter whether he buys gold or not." .”

Now, the three of them understood!

"Okay, boss, I understand!"

After the three people left, Lin Zhichao smiled.

This time gold plummeted, and he had to make a fortune again. At this time, Hong Kong gold futures/spots are very developed, and there are many channels for investing in gold. He can make a fortune in a short period of time.

Originally, he was not very sure whether he could make a huge profit immediately by buying gold at US$300 per ounce. But he suddenly remembered that the closure of Xie Liyuan Gold Shop in Hong Kong in his previous life this year was the reason for the sudden surge in gold!

Therefore, he is sure that gold will rise sharply in the second half of the year!

Next, Lin Zhichao planned to arrange for Cheung Kong Group, Wharf Group, and Victoria Harbor Investment to each spend HK$300 million to invest in gold; plus the total of 225 million that Zhao Yazhi, Lin Qingxia, and Guan Jiahui cashed out from Hong Kong Electric last time, a total of 11 More than 100 million Hong Kong dollars operate gold futures from the London and Hong Kong markets respectively.

As gold soared in the 1970s, Hong Kong's channels for investing in gold became very large, and the market capacity was also very large, so there was no problem with 1 billion Hong Kong dollars.

Hong Kong Xie Liyuan Gold Shop has a total of ten stores. It was founded by Xie Zhichao, the third generation eldest son of the Xie family, and is independently operated from Macau Xie Liyuan Gold Shop.

The Xie family founded Xie Liyuan Gold Shop in 1867 (Tongzhi of the Qing Dynasty), which has a history of 115 years, and the family has multiplied to the fifth generation.

Xie Zhichao’s eldest son, Xie Jialiang, is also the eldest son and grandson of the fourth generation of the Xie family. When he grew up, he studied in the UK and studied computers at the University of Leith. He also worked in the British central government and was the only Chinese civil servant in the department at that time. . As his father expanded his business in Hong Kong and opened ten "Tse Liyuan" gold shops in Hong Kong, Kowloon and the New Territories, the eldest son, Tse Ka-liang, returned to Hong Kong to manage the group's four garment manufacturing factories.

On this day, Xie Zhichao welcomed a big customer, Cheng Xixian, CEO of UNIQLO, and Wang Shanqiang, financial manager.

Cheng Xixian didn't hide it, and said straight to the point: "We at Uniqlo want to purchase 10 million Hong Kong dollars in gold as investment from your bank. I wonder if your bank can accept this transaction?"

Like the boss said, do it openly, not covertly.

Xie Zhichao was pleasantly surprised. He was sure that gold would only continue to depreciate, so if he accepted 10 million Hong Kong dollars at this time, he could not buy gold at all and just settle with Uniqlo directly. Anyway, of the 10 million Hong Kong dollars, there will only be a few million left by then.

Moreover, these 10 million Hong Kong dollars can be used for investment, which is a two-way profit.

However, he still asked cautiously: "Is this investment Sir Lin's intention?"

Cheng Xixian smiled and said: "I am the CEO, so I can still make the final decision on this small investment."

Xie Zhichao suddenly realized that Sir Lin owned many listed companies, and not every company personally served as the general manager/chief executive. Although this Uniqlo listed company had a market value as high as 1.5 billion, it has always been a 'professional manager' system, that is to say This Cheng Xixian is a person with great power.

"I'm sorry! Thanks to Sheng Sheng and Wang Sheng for their trust. We can definitely afford this deal. Do you want gold in person or deposit it into a gold account?" After saying this, Xie Zhichao looked at the two of them.

Of course he wants two people to deposit into the gold account. If he wants spot money, he can earn some handling fees; if it is a gold account, he can make a lot of wealth.

"Of course it's a gold account! Many gold shops in Hong Kong have this kind of business. Xie Liyuan Gold Shop is a century-old brand, so we feel reassured!"

"no problem!"

When things were settled and Cheng Xixian and Wang Shanqiang left, Xie Zhichao showed a proud smile.

"Buy gold and it's going up, you have no place to put it! I'm afraid it will be rare for your bosses to trouble you in the future!"

On this day, Lin Zhichao took Tang Caiyun to Wanchai Pier, looking for a dumpling shop.

He also had an impromptu idea, and suddenly thought of eating dumplings, which reminded him of whether there was a woman named Zang who opened a dumpling shop at Wan Chai Pier. As a result, I sent someone to investigate and found that this was indeed the case.

Under the leadership of the bodyguard, Lin Zhichao and his wife walked into a small shop and found a seat to sit down.

"Boy, what kind of dumplings do you want to eat?"

“One of every flavor!”

"We have a lot of flavors here."

"It doesn't matter, just come on!"

The waiter left confused.

Tang Caiyun said curiously: "If you want to eat dumplings, just let the family make them. Why do you suddenly think of eating here? Is this place famous?"

She didn't mind the crowd here. After all, the couple went out for a walk today, and she was very happy.

Lin Zhichao smiled and said: "I heard from people that Wan Chai Pier is very famous here and has been in the newspaper. I heard that some people come here specifically to see it. Let's give it a try today!"

Tang Caiyun said: "Hong Kong is so big and there are so many newspapers. It is normal for this kind of shop to be in the newspaper! But since it is here, I have to give it a try."

"Linsheng"

"It's really Lin Sheng, Mrs. Lin"

After a while, the diners all recognized Lin Zhichao and greeted him one after another.

After all, Lin Zhichao has been reported to the police more times in the past few years, and he has gradually become well-known to Hong Kong people. Even if he puts on casual clothes and dresses up a little, the probability of being recognized is very high.

"Hello everyone, I heard that the taste here is very good. Let's try it as a couple!" Lin Zhichao greeted politely.

He can't keep a low profile even if he wants to!

An old man said: "Lin Sheng, you've come to the right place. The boss here is known as the 'Dumpling Queen'. No, she is the one!"

The old man pointed at a fat, neatly dressed woman and introduced her.

Then he said enthusiastically: "Queen of Dumplings, you have a distinguished guest in your shop today. This is Mr. Lin Zhichao, our God of Wealth in Hong Kong!"

Zang Jianhe may not know Lin Zhichao very well, but she has heard of Lin Zhichao's name. After her face was shocked, she quickly said: "Mr. Lin, Mrs. Lin, hello!"

Lin Zhichao smiled and said: "Don't be polite, I'm just here to have a meal. Being polite is just a courtesy!"

A nurse said: "Queen of Dumplings, don't worry, Lin Sheng is very friendly to the people!"

Lin Zhichao replied: "This is not called being close to the people. I am a Hong Kong citizen. How can I say that I am close to the people?"

"Ha ha"

The twenty or thirty diners in the entire small shop burst into laughter.

Later, Lin Zhichao and everyone, including Zang Jianhe, chatted and mingled. Tang Caiyun did not show any weakness at all. She was very 'people-friendly', without the pretentiousness of ordinary rich wives, and was very well-educated.

From chatting with everyone, I learned about Zang Jianhe’s life experience. She was originally a mainland woman, married a Thai Chinese who donated to China, and gave birth to two daughters. After that, her husband flew back to Thailand and promised to pick her up.

As a result, I flew to Thailand and found that my husband had remarried and gave birth to a son. Her mother-in-law told her that polygamy was allowed in Thailand and that if she stayed in Thailand, she would have a worry-free life. Zang Jianhe disagreed, so he prepared to return to China, but flew to Hong Kong and stayed here again.

As a result, I cooked a bowl of dumplings for a friend. At the friend's suggestion, I started selling dumplings at a mobile stall on the pier. Then the business was very good, so I opened this store. The business is divided into two, selling both frozen dumplings and cooked dumplings, and the business is pretty good.

Obviously, Zang Jianhe is the founder of ‘Wanchai Pier’ that Lin Zhichao is looking for.

After a while, in everyone's surprise, the waiter brought several plates of dumplings.

Lin Zhichao first selected a part and asked the waiter to pack it for his bodyguard to eat, so that there was no waste.

Lin Zhichao and Tang Caiyun tasted it, especially Lin Zhichao, tasting the taste carefully.

"Very good!" Soon, Lin Zhichao said with praise.

Although it cannot be said to be delicacies from mountains and seas, it is still very tempting.

After eating, Lin Zhichao asked for Zang Jianhe's business card and left with Tang Caiyun.

Many diners saw this scene.

"Queen of Dumplings, you are going to be prosperous. It seems that Mr. Lin is looking for cooperation with you!"

"It doesn't have to be a collaboration, maybe the Dumpling Queen will be a personal chef, haha!"

Zang Jianhe didn't know what to do for a while, so he could only greet these old customers and the God of Wealth with a smile.

Just now, she felt that Lin Zhichao must have come with some purpose, so her heart was beating fast. After all, he is such a big shot.

But she's definitely not interested in a personal chef.

Although this shop is small, it should be better than a private chef, right?

If it's cooperation, does Mr. Lin like this kind of business?

For a moment, she felt a little uneasy.

During these years of running a stall in Wan Chai, some associations were able to easily manipulate her and pay her regular monthly protection fees. After finally renting a storefront, and with the improvement of public security in Hong Kong, there was finally no trouble.

Now that a big shot came, he ate his dumplings and asked for his business card before leaving, which made her think for a while.

If it is cooperation, is it a good thing or a bad thing?

According to people, Sir Lin is a 'business gentleman' and a decent man, not to mention a high status.

So, that should be a good thing, right?