The Industrial Giant Reborn

Chapter 142 The Future of Watsons - Retail Empire

"Then wait a little longer. If it doesn't work, go and look for other British capital. Wheelock should have similar land." Chen Zhiwen thought for a while and said, Hutchison and Whampoa have a lot of land, but they are located in the core of Hong Kong Island. The main reason is that it was developed and sold by Qi Dezun before, and then used to buy it everywhere. Fortunately, the land in Hung Hom was blocked by the "industrial transfer business", otherwise it would not be able to keep it. Chen Zhiwen has it in his hand.

"Wheelock? I know that they have two buildings located in Central, which should be rented out. I need to check the other lands." Zhou Jiayang replied after thinking about it.

"The Federal and International Building has a good location, but there are too few floors, and it probably won't be sold now." Chen Zhiwen said.

The Commonwealth and International Buildings are two well-known properties owned by Wheelock, both of which have less than 30 floors. They are famous because in 1978, a few years later, Wheelock intended to sell them. In the same way as He Huang, he established a joint venture company with Wheelock, and then bought the two buildings for HK$1.1 billion.

Two years later, property prices in Hong Kong soared. Li Jiacheng sold the two buildings for 2.2 billion, not counting the interest. Nice investment.

"One more thing. The Hong Kong government is planning to develop the fifth berth of the Kwai Chung Wharf. The Hong Kong government has sent us a note. Do we want to participate?" Zhou Jiayang continued to ask.

"Berth No. 5? With Hutchison's current funds, it is impossible to develop this port berth." Chen Zhiwen said with a frown. The berths of the port can be said to be lying down to make money, but the current Hutchison really has no funds to develop this one. pier.

"But outsiders don't know about our situation. After we have continuously privatized Hutchison, Whampoa, and Watsons during this period, the outside world's speculation on us has become more and more exaggerated. I think we can use this opportunity to give Swire certainty. As far as I know, Swire is bound to win this pier," Zhou Jiayang said.

"Apart from Taikoo, which other companies will also participate in this auction?" Chen Zhiwen asked.

"Jardine's Wharf, Wheelock, and several consortiums in Japan and Europe have all signed up, but overseas consortiums generally don't succeed, and Jardine, I heard that they have financial problems recently, and there are rumors in the market, the most It may be successful, but it is too ancient." Zhou Jiayang said.

"Then give it a try, first let the market know that there is Bank of America behind us, we must get this berth, let's see how Swire reacts." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile. Anyway, there is no loss, so let's put some pressure on Taikoo.

"Okay." Zhou Jiayang said with a smile and agreed.

"These are trivial matters. It doesn't matter if the headquarters building is a bit late. I'm here today mainly for Watsons." Chen Zhiwen said again: "Watsons owns a Baijia supermarket. I plan to invest a certain amount of money. First let it Become the largest supermarket in Hong Kong and monopolize the daily retail market in Hong Kong."

With the super platform of Hutchison, many things are much more convenient. In the past, even if you have money, it is impossible to build a chain supermarket in Hong Kong in a few years, but with enough foundation, talents and resources, You only need to invest funds, and you can basically wait for the flowers to bloom, unless the industry has been occupied by other giants and you need to spend money to grab the market.

"The largest supermarket in Hong Kong?" Zhou Jiayang's eyes lit up. This is a very good industry. Although compared with real estate, supermarkets are small businesses, but as long as they are the largest in Hong Kong, the scale will not be small.

"Yes, you also said before that we have cheap procurement resources from Galaxy Trading, which is more or less an advantage for supermarkets in Hong Kong. We will build up the scale first, and then use cost-effectiveness to unify the retail market in Hong Kong. "Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.

The difference between the supermarkets in Hong Kong and the supermarkets in the United States is like the comparison between the larger Unilever supermarket in the mainland and RT-Mart in later generations. In terms of goods, the former is more inclined to daily necessities, mainly to meet the basic living needs of the nearby people. The huge purchase volume of Galaxy Trading, It can reduce the cost of many commodities to an extremely low level, but there are some differences because the habits of Hong Kong and the United States are completely different in many aspects, but overall, it still has a certain effect. In the retail field, procurement costs will be reduced. 1% is a huge advantage.

"Other supermarkets are not a problem. What I am most worried about is Wellcome Supermarket. Wellcome used to be a subsidiary of Dairy Milk International. Its development was not good, but it was not bad. Later, Landmark acquired Milk and invested in Wellcome. A lot of money, and in the past few years, Wellcome has been expanding." Zhou Jiayang said, under the background of Xinghe trade, he naturally thought of developing his own advantages, and also created the main opponent of Baijia after researching. Others are basically not in scale, and the main potential is Wellcome Supermarket under Hongkong Land.

"Landmark is indeed a formidable opponent, but even if we expand together with Wellcome, there will be no competition, at least in recent years. In Hong Kong, supermarkets have just begun." Chen Zhiwen thought for a while and said.

Although supermarkets appeared in the 1930s, they really became popular in Europe and the United States in the 1960s, when Walton started his business. In Hong Kong, although they existed a long time ago, they were not on a large scale. Before the 1960s, Hong Kong was still a lifestyle composed of department stores, vegetable markets and small street shops.

The popularity of supermarkets also began to grow in scale at the end of the 1960s. Chain retail supermarkets appeared, and many large capitals began to end. , Completed the monopoly of Hong Kong's retail industry in the 1980s, but Wellcome still dominated in terms of scale, at least in the 1980s.

Now that Chen Zhiwen has acquired Hutchison, and because of the Xinghe trade, he will naturally support Baijia. If possible, it is best to kill Wellcome or acquire it. But no matter what happens, it has to be after the attack on Wharf. The best time should be around 1983.

In the later 21st century, the retail sales of Hong Kong supermarkets are almost tens of billions of Hong Kong dollars a year, which is not very big, but it is not small. Moreover, as a local consortium in Hong Kong, although it is not rare to make money from supermarkets, it is still in hand. better one.

"Then let's clean up those traditional department stores first, and then fight with Landmark." Zhou Jiayang said with a smile.

"However, I have another request. When recruiting, Baijia can consider those employees who are slightly disabled or have inconvenient people at home, and arrange some part-time jobs to take care of those who cannot come to work at a stable time." Chen Zhiwen continued Said.

The characteristic of the supermarket is that it can directly drive a large number of jobs, and many of them are easy-to-use varieties that anyone can do. In this way, it is very suitable for helping those who think that they lack certain abilities and cannot find a job. Well, a small percentage of people with disabilities will not affect the company's daily operations.

"No problem." Knowing the boss's purpose, Zhou Jiayang said, "Hehuang can also recruit some such people appropriately in this regard, which will also help us improve our own image."

"Okay, as long as you understand what I mean." Chen Zhiwen smiled and said, "Apart from ParknShop and the distilled water business I handed over to Red Bull before, the rest of Watsons is the pharmacy. I will not close this field. But I wouldn’t invest in it any more.”

"Is it because you don't like traditional Chinese medicine?" Zhou Jiayang asked after thinking about it.

"That's not true." Chen Zhiwen shook his head and said, "The market is too small. Unlike other products, drugs can be exported at will. The control of drugs in various countries is very strict. Let alone us, it is the drugs between Europe and the United States. Exporting is very troublesome, not to mention, the ingredients of our traditional Chinese medicine, even we can't explain clearly, and the most important thing is that the real Chinese medicine has a hundred people and a hundred prescriptions, which are powerful, but they are not in line with modern business, at least Given the situation in Hong Kong, there is no way to develop the Chinese medicine industry on a large scale.”

If there is a mainland market and a huge reserve of Chinese medicine talents in the mainland, the Chinese patent medicine market still has a future, but it is clear that Hong Kong is far from meeting the requirements. This is the same as the automobile industry. Neither reserves nor markets are sufficient to develop such an industry.

Even if the mainland is reopened, the Chinese patent medicine industry will not be able to develop on a large scale. It will only be possible after the 21st century, and the scale will not be very large. The most important thing is that in this field, his prophetic gold finger is useless, so It's better to develop in other industries. In the future, when we have more funds, we can support \u0026 invest in this industry in the Mainland.

"Actually, that's right. Watsons has developed for hundreds of years, but it has only opened dozens of pharmacies, and it can't develop anymore." Zhou Jiayang nodded and said.

"Although the development is slow, it is still good for the people of Hong Kong. At least there are some diseases, and it is much more convenient to see a doctor." Chen Zhiwen said.

Which is better, Chinese and Western medicine? This topic has been arguing for decades in later generations in China, but he feels that there is no need to argue about this kind of thing. The best way is to use it together and choose the right method. However, Chinese medicine has many technologies and cannot The effect of the explanation is very favorable to ordinary people, and it is also very cheap.

It is said that ten years later, a heavyweight in Hong Kong was diagnosed with cancer. This person went to major hospitals and medical centers in Europe and the United States, and invited many experts to see a doctor, but was told that it was too late, and then he went to the mainland. Yanjing, relying on the powerful combination of traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine, insisted on living for more than 20 years.

From this point of view, Chen Zhiwen will definitely support the development of the domestic Chinese medicine industry in the future, and it may be useful in the future. As for playing by himself, there is no need for it. There is no advantage at all. Just be the backer.

"The core of Watsons' future is retail supermarkets." Zhou Jiayang nodded and said, apart from these industries, Watsons really has no other investments, except for some small properties.

"Retail is right, but it's not just supermarkets." Chen Zhiwen continued: "I hope Watsons will enter a brand new market—the cosmetics retail industry."

"The cosmetics retail industry?" Zhou Jiayang was stunned for a moment, and said, "We don't seem to have any experience in this field."

"It doesn't matter, just learn it. This kind of industry itself is heavy capital investment, and ordinary people can't get in. In the future, there will be a very huge market in this area." Chen Zhiwen said: "The difference from pharmaceuticals is that cosmetics retail The procedures of the store in various countries are very simple, basically an ordinary store, which is very suitable for our global expansion, and the cosmetics themselves do not need us to worry about, we just need to attract traffic for our own stores. "

No matter which country, the process of pharmacies is more troublesome, but the trouble is troublesome, and it is not impossible to solve. The key problem is that pharmacies are too biased towards local forces, because things that can cure diseases and save lives are huge profits, and anyone will fall in love with them?

Qianglong may not be able to suppress the local snake, even if it is suppressed, it is not worthwhile. Drugstores often don’t need advertisements. Therefore, big brands often don’t necessarily have much competitive advantage. At most, there may be some discounts for joint purchases, but generally, people who buy medicines don’t care too much about the price of medicines. This is a low-frequency consumption in itself, but it has to be spent. Basically, most people go to buy medicines. As long as they see that they are available, they will buy them.

Relatively speaking, cosmetics are much simpler. Cosmetics need to be driven by traffic, and cosmetic stores also need to be driven by traffic. Although cosmetics themselves are low-frequency consumption, the demand is much larger. The net profit is no less than that of pharmaceuticals. Especially in countries with a good economy, many people spend 10% of their salary on cosmetics.

In Europe and the United States, there are giants in the cosmetics retail industry, but in Asia, except for developed countries such as Japan, there are blue ocean markets with huge potential. Later generations of Watsons, also relying on the cosmetics chain business, have become thousands of dollars in market value. Billion Hong Kong dollars, a giant with an annual turnover of more than 20 billion US dollars.

"Cosmetics are luxury goods. If we want to open a store, we have to be in the most prime location in Hong Kong. This investment is not small, and tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars may not be enough." Zhou Jiayang thought for a while and said: "Based on the current and Will Huang's situation affect other businesses?"

"Tens of millions may not be enough, but this is a matter for the future. What you have to do now is to do market research first, open a few stores to test the water, it doesn't matter if you win or lose, sum up experience, and slowly If the development goes well, in a few years, I will increase investment and strive to achieve the world's top level in this field." Chen Zhiwen said: "As for other businesses, don't worry too much. I have already said that the future of Hutchison Huang , will only do a few cutting-edge fields, and other messy businesses, if they are not big enough, they can all be disposed of. The cosmetics retail business is an important business in my plan for Hutchison in the future."

Diversification is the inevitable route for a traditional company like Hutchison. However, the closed-eyed expansion model of Qi Dezun’s era is just stupid. The real diversification should choose the correct route, work hard, and then develop and grow. Even under normal logic, these diversified industries are related to each other, so that the benefits can be maximized.

There are too many Hutchison businesses, and Chen Zhiwen just chooses a few better ones, mainly the line of the later Li Jiacheng. In this regard, it is impossible for Chen Zhiwen to ignore the several industries that have been successful for decades. , to do cosmetics retail, the reason is from this.

At the same time, in terms of capital, at least in the 1980s, his capital far surpassed that of Li Jiacheng. As long as the development goes smoothly, and when the funds are sufficient in the 1980s, investing heavily in Watsons will surely create a future that is even bigger than the future generations. Watsons.

"Understood, Chen Sheng." Zhou Jiayang nodded and agreed. He already knew that his boss's main investment directions for acquisitions and post-records were real estate, ports, and infrastructure, but he didn't expect that there was also a cosmetics retail industry.

"You also know that I have a lot of money to invest in the retail industry in the United States, but it's just an investment. In the future, Costco will still be managed by an American team. In Asia, we also need to seize the retail industry. You can also rely on the influence and profits here. We all know that Watsons has experience in related fields, as long as we provide funds and find the right direction, we will definitely become one of the largest retail companies in Asia in the future." Chen Zhiwen smiled and said: "Remember, our goal , is in Asia, not a small Hong Kong, and in the future, it has to become global."

Watson's cosmetics retail industry, as long as it follows the original history and uses large capital to continuously acquire in Europe and the United States, and then integrate resources, it is not difficult to succeed. The European and American governments will not intervene in this industry at all, as long as the acquirer does not engage in a large number of As long as people are unemployed, anyone who buys them is welcome, even if it is a country that is hostile to a certain extent.

In the past, Li Jiacheng made his efforts in the 1990s, but he himself will start in the 1980s, and the first-mover advantage will be more obvious.

The same is true for the supermarket retail industry. Many countries in Asia do not have large supermarkets. As long as they select local forces for cooperation, plus cheap Xinghe trade products, they will also have a great first-mover advantage. The focus is on the release of supermarket control in the 90s inland.

As long as large capital is invested, before the rise of e-commerce, it is enough to build large supermarkets in a large number of cities in China, and they will all be in prime locations in the cities. As long as there is no rent trouble, then the price of goods in domestic supermarkets is completely cheaper than that of e-commerce. , maybe in the mainland in the future, it should not be difficult to reach the level of Carrefour and Auchan, not to mention the level of Wal-Mart.

The chain supermarkets mainly in the mainland, supplemented by many Asian countries, and the Watsons cosmetics chain stores in Europe, America, Japan, South Korea and China are Chen Zhiwen's expectations for Watsons, a huge retail empire with a scale no less than Costco.

However, all the premise is that in the 1980s and 1990s, various golden opportunities were seized to obtain massive development funds.

...

PS: Why do so many people speak backstage and ask me to write a movie? When I wrote Hong Kong Entertainment in my last book, few people read it, and the results are much worse than this one!

As can be seen from the name of this book, the main body is business, with industry as the mainstay, retail as a supplement, and financial real estate as the source of funds. I just want to write a rational business development process, in line with ZZ logic and business logic, starting with several businesses, and gradually developing and expanding.

At least up to now, no one has commented on a business development that is unreasonable (maybe the initial capital is a bit complained about), which is very rare in terms of the starting point.

It is my pursuit to conform to reality. Although it is impossible to do it in novels, try my best!

As for the entertainment stars you want to watch, there will be more in the future. In the early 1970s, I really didn’t find any suitable ones. Personally, I feel that many Hong Kong sisters are not good. You can go to Baidu to have a look. Maybe I have a problem with my vision? (As far as I know, it was only after Ms. Hong Kong joined the rich family in 1977 that countless beauties were attracted to participate in the activities. This may have also triggered the improvement of Ms. Hong Kong’s quality.)

As for the familiar Zhao surname, as an old reader who has read countless Hong Kong texts, I don’t want to write about it. In terms of aesthetics, maybe she is not my favorite. Relatively speaking, the ones in the 1980s may look much better. ?

And if readers who have read this book in the early days may have seen it, a few pages before the book was opened, but they drove a lot of cars, but they were blocked, so they had to delete it.

In fact, the main business entity industry of this book has not yet begun to formally scale up? It will officially start after the opening, and now everything is preparing for the layout.

In this way, I hope everyone will support a lot, start and click to support the genuine version, and don't keep books. The subscription has been increasing, so I have the motivation to update, and I can stay up all night!

Thanks.