The Industrial Giant Reborn

"Asia, Mr. Chen said Hong Kong?" Pierce asked.

"Yes, at least clothing and bedding products with weak brands can be purchased from Hong Kong, which can reduce costs on a large scale." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.

In human history, the emergence of one thing has changed the global shipping market and accelerated globalization, and that is the container.

Before containers, the transportation of non-public goods (oil, grain, minerals, etc.) was very troublesome. The size of each company’s commodity packaging was different, and a large number of people were needed to load and unload goods at ports, such as New York City, In the 1930s, 1/3 of the people in the whole city were directly or indirectly working for the port. Also in the old days of Hong Kong, the docks were where all the wealth gathered. Old TV dramas also played history, and a large number of rich people controlled Along the pier, his subordinates are also attached to countless gangs.

Under such high-cost ocean transportation, most of the manufacturing industry was kept in the country. Before the 1970s, the manufacturing industry in the entire United States was very developed, and the categories were also very complete. Local supermarkets naturally purchased products from the country.

Also in the non-container era, many small countries were unable to develop industries. At most, they played with industries such as the textile industry with relatively low transportation costs. Therefore, before the 1970s, except for RB, which had a well-developed local market, other countries’ industries in Asia Non-light industries are all in a barbaric era.

In the 1960s and 1970s, containers became popular, and shipping costs were greatly reduced. The huge European and American markets opened to Asia, and Asian industries also developed accordingly. For example, South Korea’s Samsung is about to become the world’s largest TV export company. Counties also benefit from it, but no matter how fast these companies develop, they are still in their infancy, and the procurement chain in the United States is relatively mature. Under normal circumstances, it will take a long time for European and American buyers to start purchasing Asian products. goods.

And this is a new opportunity. Acquiring a supermarket chain with great potential in the United States, providing a certain amount of funds for expansion, and matching it with cheap and medium-quality (cost-effective) products will definitely accelerate the development of the supermarket, both in terms of profit and scale.

Of course, this is only suitable for some products. For other daily chemical products and electrical appliances, brands are still very important. There is no way to quickly replace this, but it can be replaced slowly. The most direct one is Midea’s own products, at least in the United States. When its own supermarket develops rapidly, it will also be of great help to the development of Midea.

"We have thought about purchasing goods from Asia before, but we don't have enough contact channels. If Mr. Chen can purchase this part for us in Hong Kong, it is indeed a good way to reduce costs." Pierce also agreed.

"No problem, it's a trivial matter for me." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile. In the 1970s when communication could only be done by telephone, and with the time difference of about 12 hours, the cost of trade between the United States and Asia was indeed very high in terms of efficiency. , poor information is wealth, and for those who do not know poor information, it is a real huge cost.

Pierce was silent for a while, drinking coffee, Chen Zhiwen also stopped for a while and said: "Mr. If it is agreed, we will hire lawyers from both parties to conduct in-depth exchanges on the transaction price and our future cooperation model.”

"OK, nice to meet you." Pierce also needed time to think about it.

"Okay, I'll buy the coffee." After Chen Zhiwen left 20 dollars in cash, he got up and bid farewell to leave.

Ron had been waiting outside, and when he saw Chen Zhiwen coming out, he quickly greeted him and asked, "Mr. Chen, how did the talk go?"

"I've said everything that needs to be said. It depends on whether he agrees or not. Maybe it's time for you to act." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile. I will look for him again when I borrow money to start a new business, but the only variable is that after he meets me, will the history be different?

"Even if he doesn't agree, we will try our best to get him to agree, or should we find a way from the stock market?" Ron asked.

"Forget it in the stock market, there is no point in forced acquisition." Chen Zhiwen didn't explain much, and directly vetoed it. What he wanted was Pierce to serve him, not his current company.

Besides, he is familiar with Costco's business model in the future. If Pierce really disagrees, that's okay. He can just find professional managers to operate in his own way. Inviting the original team is just to increase the success rate and reduce my energy consumption. Without them, with my prophet and the help of a large amount of funds in the future, the results may not be worse than the original good thing.

"OK, I understand." Ron nodded and said, and got into the car with Chen Zhiwen at the same time.

Although Pierce had already planned to sell his company, it would not take a few days to make a decision. After returning to Los Angeles, Chen Zhiwen took his company's people to New York again, relying on his account with tens of millions of dollars in Citibank , Chen Zhiwen is naturally also a senior VIP customer of Citigroup.

"Mr. Chen, hello." Joey, the investment manager of Citibank, had been waiting in the lobby for a long time. Knowing that a VIP client came to discuss investment business, Joey took it very seriously.

"Mister Geller, hello." Chen Zhiwen also said politely.

"Just call me Joey." Joey smiled and said, "Mr. Chen, please follow me."

"Okay, you guys just wait outside." Chen Zhiwen said to everyone except his assistant An Qi.

The two followed Joey to the 46th floor in the elevator. After the three of them entered a separate office, a white assistant came to make coffee immediately.

Joey smiled and said, "Mr. Chen, this coffee is natural alpine coffee imported from Colombia, and only the most distinguished guests can enjoy it."

"Then I want to try it." Chen Zhiwen smiled, and An Qi who was beside him didn't speak, but she was also very interested.

"Not bad." After taking two sips, Chen Zhiwen nodded and said, "Very fragrant."

As a Chinese, Chen Zhiwen is actually not interested in coffee. In his previous life, he would drink a little occasionally when he often stayed up late. After traveling to Hong Kong, he often imitated King Zhou, drinking and drinking, and had no shortage of time to sleep. Naturally, he didn’t drink coffee. The coffee tastes really smooth and silky.

"If Mr. Chen likes it, I'll ask someone to prepare it, and you can take it home and enjoy it slowly." Joey said with a smile.

"Okay, thank you very much." Chen Zhiwen was not polite, he is also a big customer of the bank, so it is normal to accept some gifts.

Joey then asked: "Mr. Chen, you said on the phone earlier that you wanted us, Citibank, to invest on your behalf. I wonder what you choose to invest in?"

"I want to buy the stock of a company." Chen Zhiwen took another sip of coffee and said, "The name of this company is Wal-Mart."