The Industrial Giant Reborn

After leaving the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, Li Iacocca and George York returned to their Dodge SUVs. In the modified Dodge, once the partition behind the driver's seat is closed, no sound from the rear can be heard, which is enough to ensure that the people behind Confidentiality of conversation.

"What do you think?" George York asked.

Li Iacocca said: "Maybe he is interested, maybe he is not interested. All his requirements are to cooperate with the acquisition of AMC. It is clear that he wants to use our strength to help him acquire AMC, but he really After the acquisition is completed, it is really hard to say whether it will turn us aside and throw us aside."

"I don't think he would do this." George York said with a smile: "Our group has long had a certain understanding of Chen Zhiwen's business methods. Except for a few small companies acquired in Hong Kong, other companies It’s all a routine, first develop the sales terminal, and then slowly drive his own industry. When his company was not very large, he acquired the former FEDMAERT, and then established Costco with the help of the original team. You should also know the potential of supermarkets. Later, he invested heavily in Wal-Mart and became a shareholder of Wal-Mart. His beverage, home appliance and trading companies all started off relying on these two supermarkets, and later developed to a global level.

Chen Zhiwen is now entering the automobile industry. His previous advantages are useless in this field. He will definitely be interested in Chrysler's retail outlets. "

"I hope so. Too many people are not optimistic about the future of Chrysler. I think it will be difficult to raise funds. I can only rely on selling some assets. If Chen Zhiwen is an American, I would even give him the tank factory in North Carolina. .” Li Iacocca shook his head and said.

"Haha, although that factory is not Chrysler's main business, you also know that the military's business is highly profitable. If you can keep it, you should keep it." George York said with a smile.

"Of course I know this, but I really have no choice, so I can only sell it." Li Iacocca said: "Actually, AMC's Jeep is still very good. When I was still at Ford, I intended to buy this company." .”

"I have another idea." George York said: "Chen Zhiwen's acquisition of AMC should not be a big problem. In fact, this company does not have any very powerful cutting-edge technology, but military jeeps are a relatively sensitive place. This may be the reason for this. One of the most troublesome problems in this acquisition.

Chen Zhiwen also wants to use us to help him solve the problem of acquiring AMC. It would be better to let Chrysler win the order of military jeeps. "

"Wouldn't it be necessary to invest in a production line?" Li Aikeka asked with a frown.

"It can be changed a little bit, Chrysler has a lot of empty production lines now." George York said.

"This can be regarded as a method. AMC acquired by the Chinese is unlikely to be able to get the order of the military jeep. Even if he does not sell it, the military will replace it with other off-road vehicles." Li Aikeka nodded and asked again : "Then why didn't you just say it?"

"When we meet for the first time, we can't talk too much, otherwise it will appear that we are too demanding of each other. Let's talk about it after Chen Zhiwen sends people to investigate those car sales outlets." George York said.

"That's right, it's true that I was too anxious." Li Iacocca nodded and said, although he has never done financial mergers and acquisitions on Wall Street, he guarantees that Iacocca is also an elite who has spent his whole life at Ford, from an ordinary salesman to later Ford II Handle, the shopping mall is extremely experienced, but it is really a Chrysler stall, which is too bad, so he has to be anxious.

"Don't think too much. In a few days, let's meet with some wealthy people from the Middle East. These people have been desperately buying buildings in the United States recently. There is absolutely no shortage of money in their hands. It depends on whether your eloquence can convince them. ’” George York continued.

"Do my best." Li Iacocca nodded and said, in order to obtain funds, he did not know how many wealthy people or institutions in the country he met this year, but very few succeeded.

Shortly after Iacocca and George York left, another person rushed over.

"Sit." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.

"Thank you, Mr. Chen." The visitor said politely.

"Old Gu, how is the negotiation with the AMC union going?" Chen Zhiwen asked. The person in front of him was named Gu Dehua, a Chinese-American, who had been working for General Motors for a long time and was the vice president of GM's Asian company.

As early as last year, that is, in 1979, when Chen Zhiwen was sure that his investment in gold futures would have a big return, he entrusted an American headhunting company to find outstanding Chinese management personnel among the three major auto giants.

After half a year, it was confirmed that Gu Dehua would become the person in charge of Chen Zhiwen in the automotive field in the future. Although the negotiation with AMC was led by Morgan Stanley, Gu Dehua was still in charge of specific technical and regulatory issues.

"Basically, it's almost the same. Now AMC is suffering a serious loss, and the salary will not be paid any longer. We guarantee that there will be no layoffs within 2 years after the acquisition, which is far better than Renault." Gu Dehua said.

"Well, it's good to be stable for two years, this guild is really a headache." Chen Zhiwen shook his head and said.

"Actually, Europe and the United States are the same, except that the media in the United States is more developed and the riots are more lively. The trade unions in Germany, France and the UK are actually the same. The British auto industry is now dying. In addition to its poor quality and poor technology, the trade unions are also one of the reasons. Even if the British government nationalizes Leyland Motors, it won’t work, and the French auto industry is having a hard time. German trade unions are actually stronger than those in the United States, but high-end brands such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi have high profit margins and can withstand trade unions. Pressure." Gu Dehua said with a smile.

"That's right. As long as you make cars, you have to face the trade unions." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said that in the developed countries of Europe and America, many manufacturing industries are being fought to the death by trade unions. One of the reasons why European and American industries will continue to be hollowed out in the future is these trade unions. up.

"The U.S. government is still under review. There are no major problems with the materials we submitted. Some minor problems are still being rectified and new materials are being provided. In addition, AMC and the labor union themselves agree that there are basically no major problems. , the rest will have to wait, and it may take several months." Gu Dehua said.

"A few months are not too long. There is one more thing I want to discuss with you. I just met with Chrysler's Li Iacocca." Chen Zhiwen then briefly explained what happened in the morning.

"The current auto market in the United States is indeed sluggish. The sales of some companies in the United States have basically halved, only half of last year's level, and the life of terminal retail stores is not easy, but as long as the oil crisis is over, the investment will definitely not be lost. With more than 300 self-operated stores in good locations, the sales of AMC brand cars will be much more convenient in the future, which can be said to make up for a serious shortcoming." Gu Dehua analyzed after listening.

In the United States, except for the stores owned by the three auto giants, most of the car sales are independently operated, and most of them are also chain brands. For big brands, they can still wrestle with these chain brands, but For many small car companies, how can they have this ability, they can only be slaughtered, just like ordinary household items, wanting to be put on the shelves of big supermarkets.

With your own self-operated store, you can't say that you can break away from others, at least you can ease it a lot.

"This really gave me an idea. If I have the opportunity in the future, I will also acquire some other car chain stores to help AMC, but it still depends on whether you can make good cars yourself." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.

The car sales model in the United States is mixed. There are not only the 4S store model in the mainland of later generations, but also the car city model, that is, a variety of brands are sold. When consumers come, they can choose different brands at will. The former has more commissions, while the latter A little less, but more free.

In addition, new and used cars are sold together. The used car market in the United States is actually larger than new cars. Although this field does not have a bright future, it is always worth it. With so much money in the United States, It is always necessary to invest, and it is not bad to choose this industry.

Of course, limited by the US anti-monopoly law, the scale of this investment will not be very large. After all, even the three giants of China Unicom and General Motors dare not touch this brow. He only needs to invest appropriately, mainly to assist his own car brand develop.

"That's good, it will be much more convenient in the future." Gu Dehua said: "Then I will arrange for someone to investigate these chain stores of Chrysler. If there is a chance, I will meet with them again and talk."

"Okay, I'll leave this matter to you, and let me know the result as soon as possible." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.

He is not very clear about the affairs of the automobile industry. He entrusts these experts to do these matters, but he also has two-handed preparations. The relevant finances are independently reviewed and approved by a third party, although it also needs to pay millions of dollars. But at least it can guarantee that these professional managers will not make any big troubles. As for the small ones, as long as they are not too much, they will turn a blind eye and close one eye.

"Understood." Gu Dehua agreed.