The birth of the Hong Kong Island family

Three days later, Lin Shaodong, the head of retail under the Yangtze River Industrial Group, met with Zang Jianhe.

Since Cheung Kong Group sold RT-Mart Supermarket to Watsons' Parknshop Supermarket, Cheung Kong's retail division only has subsidiaries of '7~11 Convenience Stores' and the associated company 'Café Restaurant Group'.

7~11 convenience store business is very large, with more than 160 convenience stores in Hong Kong, spread across Hong Kong and Kowloon; it is more than 90 stores more than the second-place OK convenience store.

More importantly, 7~11 convenience stores are more profitable than OK convenience stores as a single store, and they have more of their own products - including Western-style fast food (double-decker beef burgers, Tycoon burgers, bento boxes, etc.).

As for Café de Coral Restaurant Group, he also plays an important position. After all, he is the major shareholder. Of course, the specific management rights are in the hands of Lin Zhichao's three cousins.

Lin Shaodong said kindly: "Miss Zang, I have heard your story, and I admire you as a strong woman who is constantly striving for self-improvement!"

Zang Jianhe was flattered and said: "Manager Lin is so grateful. I am also forced by life. Fortunately, I have a craft to support myself."

At this time, she finally decided that it was cooperation and not letting her work as a personal chef at Lin Zhichao's house.

Lin Shaodong then said: "Then I will directly explain my purpose of coming! After our boss tasted your dumplings, he was full of praise and thought it had great potential for development. Therefore, he hopes that I will come and talk about cooperation with you!"

Zang Jianhe became serious and when talking about her career, she seemed to be a different person, a strong woman. Over the years, she not only had to raise her two daughters, but also had to run for a living. She has experienced everything, including being blackmailed by associations, being chased by the police (mobile vendors), and having all kinds of customers. These experiences have made her tough. character.

"How to cooperate?"

Lin Shaodong took out a piece of information and did not hand it to Zang Jianhe. Instead, he said: "To register the 'Wan Chai Wharf' dumpling brand, we will invest 5 million Hong Kong dollars and obtain 50% of the equity. We will operate it jointly. The business will be divided into There are two parts, the first part is cooked food, and the second part is frozen. The cooked food part is based on the model of opening a brand chain store, and the frozen part is produced with modern factory equipment, and then we will let these products be sold in our PARKnSHOP supermarkets of the Cheung Kong Group , 7~11 convenience stores are being rolled out across the board.”

To be honest, this condition is very good!

Just selling frozen dumplings from Wan Chai Pier in Hong Kong’s largest supermarket and convenience store brand is a ‘good thing from heaven’!

Therefore, after listening to this, Zang Jianhe couldn't believe that there was such a good thing in the world.

Equivalently, his dumplings are now worth HK$5 million!

But she quickly calmed down and said, "If we cooperate, then our business will be based on water in the future?"

Lin Shaodong said: "We are the main business, because we have management experience in large companies, such as planning marketing and you are also responsible for the quality and taste of the products, and you can also join the chain store management team. In short, we are here to cooperate, not to ask for help. Your formula. Because we are so sincere, as soon as the cooperative company is established, we will immediately inject 5 million Hong Kong dollars in real money."

Zang Jianhe asked curiously: "Is this what Sir Lin meant?"

Lin Shaodong said: "It's our boss's intention. After all, if it were me, I would definitely not give such good conditions."

Zang Jianhe was determined. She heard people say that Lin Zhichao was a kind businessman with impeccable character. For example, just because he admired the generals of the Anti-Japanese War, he took Yu Chengwan to make a fortune together, and eventually became a general of a listed company.

"I want to think about it for a day, okay?"

Lin Shaodong smiled and said, "Of course! This is a plan we have prepared. I can show it to you."

"Ah, aren't you afraid that I won't cooperate?"

"Haha, you can copy the plan at will, but the key is that only we have the ability to do it well."

Only then did Zang Jianhe take over the plan. She also understood that if she didn't cooperate, maybe the retail departments of Changshi Group would find another company to cooperate with. Although she has confidence in her "Wan Chai Pier", if a large company takes a fancy to this industry, it will definitely have a way to develop similar flavors.

This is her point of view!

In fact, Lin Zhichao also considered treating his 5 million as venture capital. The important thing is that this venture investment is not risky.

Zang Jianhe not only has the recipe for dumplings, but also has successful experience.

So it is completely reasonable to only take 50% of the shares.

Lin Zhichao is also interested in the potential of Wan Chai Terminal to enter the mainland market in the future, and even develop in Southeast Asia.

Causeway Bay.

The first flagship store of 'BreadTalk' under the Café de Coral Restaurant Group opened grandly in the 'Xintiandi Shopping Center' in the bustling area of ​​Paterson Street.

The preparation of this brand took more than two years, during which time it went through a series of tasks such as experimenting with new bread recipes, adjusting decoration plans, product positioning, and marketing planning.

Now, the first store has finally been opened.

Because this is a brand chain, product positioning is very important.

After the cutting ceremony.

Brother and sister Lin Zhihao and Lin Caier were looking around at the door, obviously waiting for the distinguished guest to come and receive it.

After a while, their cousin finally arrived "belatedly".

Lin Zhichao came to the door of 'Bread Talk' and found many people queuing up to buy. Looking from the door, the entire store was clean, tidy and bright.

He smiled and said, "I told you, I'm just here to take a look, you don't have to wait for me at the door!"

Lin Zhihao said: "It just so happens that we don't need the two of us for things in the store, so I'll wait for you at the door."

Lin Zhichao nodded. When a customer recognized him, he smiled and said hello, and then walked in with his cousins.

On the glass counter, there are new varieties of bread that have never been seen in this world, making people dazzled and eager to buy.

As the person in charge of 'Bread Talk', Lin Caier introduced to Lin Zhichao: "Brother Chao, we have more than fifty flavors of new bread, incorporating dried fruits, fruits, ham, etc., and using new baking technology."

In general, these are the instructions given by Lin Zhichao. Of course, the details are all slowly tried out by the baker team.

This is a brand new baking technology. This baking technology in the previous life should have been in the 1990s. ‘BreadTalk’ was originally Singapore’s ‘national brand’ and has always been one of the top ten famous brands that symbolize Singapore.

After Lin Zhichao selected a few to try, he said: "The taste is good! We must encourage bakers to innovate and form a technical hierarchy internally. When developing overseas in the future, we need to innovate according to local tastes. In short, new bread As a brand, Yu is constantly catering to the young market, including marketing."

Lin Cai'er said with admiration: "Well, we have been practicing for more than two years in order to one day spread 'Bread Word' all over the world."

Lin Zhichao said with a smile: "It's a good thing to be ambitious, but you have to conquer the stomachs of Hong Kong people first. After all, Hong Kong is the capital of gourmet food."

Lin Caier nodded seriously!

When her cousin and brother gave her this task, she had already chosen to focus on her career and do this well. Now, it's finally time to test the results.

In fact, she also understood that having her cousin's guidance would be like a beacon of light.

Later, Lin Zhichao left with satisfaction and asked Lin Zhihao to accompany him for a walk in Causeway Bay and chat about Café de Coral.

Recently, Lin Zhichao gained a "Wanchai Pier" brand and gained more strength in the catering and food field.

Lin Zhichao is now in a 'semi-retired' state. The actual management of the company is left to the senior management and his sons. He only needs to sit in the center. When encountering high-quality assets, direct your subordinates to acquire them and provide guidance on their management.

Walking on the street, Lin Zhichao asked: "Has the Café de Coral Group made any new breakthroughs recently?"

Lin Zhihao was shocked. What his cousin said in the market was 'breakthrough and development', which meant that companies should not just focus on the current business, but should develop other businesses if they have financial strength.

Café de Coral Catering Group currently has four core assets: Café de Coral fast food, high-end restaurants (mostly Cantonese style), seafood restaurants, and BreadTalk. In addition, some high-quality properties have also been purchased, mainly shops, mostly used for Café de Coral fast food stores.

"Brother Chao, Maxim's Group opened a lot of 'provincial restaurants' and 'Japanese cuisine' in the 1970s and 1980s, so I want to introduce Italian food as well. In addition, BreadTalk has great development potential, and the group We plan to focus on cultivating them.”

“Italian food?”

"Well. For Italian food in Hong Kong, of course I have to say Pink House Restaurant, which is a chain brand."

Lin Zhichao nodded, thought for a while, and said: "I think it can be done! However, since it is Italian food, I suggest you invite an Italian chef team and an Italian restaurant management team. This is called authentic Italian food. In order to reduce costs , you can make it a chain of Italian high-end restaurants and form a brand. I think, let’s call it Mario, after the video game that is very popular in Japan recently.”

With just a few understatement words, Lin Zhihao seemed to have encountered a bright light and boosted his confidence.

"Well, we will develop this brand seriously!"

In terms of catering business, Lin Zhichao is definitely not as good as this cousin, but in terms of knowledge and vision, he is definitely not as good as Lin Zhichao.

Later, Lin Zhichao said: "Since Café de Coral Restaurant Group has sufficient financial strength, it can also try to acquire it. Hong Kong people like 'Ah Er Soup', let's see if there is a chance to win it."

Lin Zhihao's eyes lit up and he said, "Well, I will remember this."

Lin Zhichao patted his cousin on the shoulder and said: "Do it well. If the mainland is truly open in the future, when Café de Coral Restaurant Group goes to the mainland market, it will be like taking a gun to fight a group of catering peers with knives. The market will be promising."

Lin Zhihao said excitedly: "Okay"

The equity structure of Café de Coral Restaurant Group currently has Cheung Kong Group holding 40% of the shares, and the three brothers and sisters of Lin Zhihao hold 30% of the shares (Lin Zhihao holds 60%, Lin Zhiyi holds 25%, and Lin Caier holds 15%), and the remaining The lower ones are public shares.

Another catering group, in which Jardine Matheson and the Wu family each hold 50%, has not been listed.

Lin Zhichao also attaches great importance to the field of food. The United States is a "food desert" country. In the past, food companies actually dominated the world. Pepsi-Cola, Tyson Foods, Nestlé, JBS America, Kraft Heinz, General Mills, and Budweiser emerged. InBev, Smithfield, Coca-Cola, etc. Among them, General Mills ranks sixth, with annual revenue of US$17 billion.

At present, Lin Zhichao also owns a series of food and food products under Watsons' brands, Red Bull, Doll Noodles, Café de Coral, Wan Chai Pier, etc. After future integration, a huge food and beverage company will be formed.

I believe that after the integration, the group will also hope to be ranked among the top 500 companies in the world. Of course, there will be brands in the future.

Wu Shuqing from Maxim’s Group came to the ‘BreadTalk’ store to ‘spy on the enemy’.

This year, Maxim's Group has opened a number of Maxim's bakery branches at various stations along the Hong Kong MTR, which is the first of its kind in the entrepreneurial industry.

Unexpectedly, the recent opening of ‘BreadTalk’ has caused a great sensation in Hong Kong, with many media reporting on such a small incident.

Because it is a brand launched by the 'Café Restaurant Group' and belongs to the 'cake industry', Maxim's Group also attaches great importance to it.

"Want to queue up?" Wu Shuqing said in surprise.

"Yes, Manager Wu, I heard that it has been like this every day since it has been open for a week." The accompanying staff said.

I saw that the 'BreadTalk' store has a diversion wire, and people queuing use it to enter the store, and then use baskets and trays to buy their own bread. In addition to bread, the store also offers coffee and milk tea.

When Wu Shuqing walked into the store, the first thing she was surprised about was that she never thought that bread technology could be used in so many ways. Many breads are appetizing at first sight.

Oops, this will become a strong competitor for Maxim's Group's cake business, this was Wu Shuqing's first thought.

Wu Shuqing purchased some varieties and planned to take them home to try. Just after the payment was completed, she met her 'good friend' Lin Cai'er.

As the 'princesses' of two major catering groups in Hong Kong, the two naturally have a lot of interactions and can be considered friends.

"Sister Shuqing, you want to change your taste, come to my house to buy so much bread!" Lin Caier said with a smile.

But her smile was obviously not that comfortable.

After all, Wu Shuqing is more than 10 years older than Lin Cai'er, but she is not married, so we are all sisters.

She was not embarrassed, but said: "Everyone who comes is a guest! Miss Lin, you won't be unwelcome, right?"

Lin Cai'er said quickly: "Of course you are welcome, especially when a cake connoisseur like Shuqing comes to the store. How about we go and sit over there, I will ask someone to bring some bread, and Sister Shuqing will give it to me. Give me your opinion.”

Wu Shuqing said: "That's no need. Looking at the queue and the scene in the store, it goes without saying that the taste must be good. I didn't expect that Miss Lin actually came up with such a good brand after studying in seclusion for three years. I admire it."

In the past three years, she knew that Lin Caier often went abroad to study Western catering, but she did not expect that she would end up in the Western cake (bread) industry.

Lin Caier said modestly: "Compared with Maxim's Boulevard, we are still elementary school students."

This girl is very arrogant! Wu Shuqing commented in her heart.

Of course, she also understood at this time that ‘BreadTalk’ was a bakery business launched by Café de Coral Restaurant Group, and it might be competing with Maxim’s Group.

After chatting for a few more words, Wu Shuqing left with the staff.

She felt a little embarrassed now, because she brought the staff with her, obviously just to inspect the shop.

However, although Lin Cai'er knew about it, she still took Wu Shuqing to visit the store.

A very powerful opponent, Wu Shuqing commented.

The other side.

Lin Cai'er also concluded that she seemed a little unsteady just now. She always regarded her cousin as an idol, but in fact she was far from his cousin's always confident and domineering demeanor.

Be humble and don't let your brothers down!

In fact, BreadTalk has become a key development business of Café de Coral Restaurant Group, and Lin Zhihao also attaches great importance to it. Although it is managed and developed by his sister, he has always intervened.

Even his cousin Lin Zhichao will pay attention to the development of this brand. With this sharp-eyed management god, he can often find out any problems quickly and will not go further and further.