The Industrial Giant Reborn

In the past, Costco was unable to expand rapidly. Apart from the lack of capital at that time, the most important factor was that there was no one and a lack of relevant talents. But now it is different. I have sufficient funds in my hand and can borrow banks to develop. In terms of personnel, Costco itself has a large number of talents. Although retailing of daily necessities is a bit different from retailing of home appliances, it will be much more convenient to train.

Moreover, Best Buy's operating model is actually more similar to the department store model. Many intermediate stores are leased to various brands, and only some small items are directly sold by Best Buy itself. This reduces the need for manpower on a large scale. Just solve it yourself.

This provides Best Buy with a foundation for rapid expansion.

"Eric, you are really resolute. In this way, when it is about the same time, I will go to Hong Kong and have a face-to-face talk with you. In addition, Citibank is also preparing to enter the mainland appropriately. I heard that you invest in the mainland. After several large-scale projects, there may be room for cooperation." Ron said with a smile.

"That's fine. We'll see when the time comes. If Citigroup is interested in investing in the mainland, as long as the price is right, you can participate." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.

In the past few years, his relationship with HSBC has not been good. However, when the Jingjintang Expressway with a total investment of more than 1 billion US dollars was finalized, HSBC still expressed through Hu Yingxiang that it wanted to participate in this project, and Chen Zhiwen did not refuse.

Contradictions are contradictions, but money still has to be earned. Besides, there are not many in Hong Kong that can provide such a large amount of funds, but they are all provided to HSBC, and they are afraid of being cheated at any time. Therefore, Chen Zhiwen has always wanted to The introduction of some banks in Japan and Southeast Asia is only due to the oil crisis and global foreign exchange fluctuations these years. There has been no agreement on which country's exchange rate to use. However, the expressway in the mainland is not in a hurry, and it will not be built every few years. good.

If Citigroup takes the initiative and is interested, we can still talk about it. After all, being active and being passive are two different things.

"Then I will report this matter to the headquarters together, and I also hope that we can cooperate in many fields." Ron said.

"Yes, in the future, my company, Hutchison Huang, intends to invest in large-scale domestic infrastructure, overseas port investment and mining exploration, all of which require funds." Chen Zhiwen released another big fish. As long as the fish is big enough, he will take the bait Naturally, they are more willing to cooperate.

Of course, Citigroup will not be the only one. In the future, domestic infrastructure construction alone may require tens of billions of dollars, and it is impossible for a single bank to pay so much. After all, most of the infrastructure investment must use loans. For the expressway, as long as the loan is used, plus the joint venture requirements, he only needs to pay 50 million US dollars.

"Eric, you are giving me more and more surprises." Ron said with a smile. He knew how popular Chen Zhiwen's industry is now. Although there are certain risks in investing in infrastructure, but with so many industries, Even if the infrastructure investment loses money, it is not a last resort, and it will not be a breach of contract. This is the best financing for banks.

"I hope we can reach a strategic cooperation soon." Chen Zhiwen nodded.

After staying in Los Angeles for a few days, Chen Zhiwen went to a new Home Depot that just opened, and learned that although there are only 5 stores on the west coast, but because of the extremely cheap cost, there are so many customers here, and it has already formed. In order to make a profit, however, future expansion still needs funds, so Home Depot is already preparing for the next round of financing.

Because of the previous agreement, Chen Zhiwen will participate in this financing, but he will not participate in a lot. After all, if he invests heavily after 30% of the shares, he may surpass the founder, which will hit the founder Enthusiasm, causing adverse effects. Although investors in Silicon Valley are very greedy, they still understand this truth, and generally they will not go too far unless the invested company has no value.

After staying in Los Angeles for a few days, Chen Zhiwen and Pierce discussed the development of Costco. At present, Costco has more than 70 retail stores in the United States, and there are more than a dozen under construction. One of the most promising giants in the United States.

"Eric, two companies have recently proposed a comprehensive acquisition request for us. They bid 1.5 billion US dollars and 1.65 billion US dollars respectively. I didn't agree, but I didn't refuse either." Pierce said.

"Which two?" Chen Zhiwen asked.

"One is Celtic, they bid 1.5 billion US dollars, and the other is a joint venture fund formed by three investment companies, and they bid 1.65 billion US dollars." Pierce replied.

"Why did they suddenly issue an acquisition to us?" Chen Zhiwen asked.

"According to my understanding, it is because many retail giants have begun to enter warehouse supermarkets, and the market thinks that it has given us a certain amount of pressure." Pierce said.

"But it's also possible that they found that warehouse supermarkets are not so easy to do." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.

"It's also possible, but now that so much money has entered the industry, they even want to acquire us, which has also led to the current situation, which is completely different from before." Pierce said.

"What do other people in the company think?" Chen Zhiwen asked. One of the reasons for the smooth development of the previous Costco is that this is a new market and a new way of playing. , quickly occupied many big cities, and now, other brands are participating. Although Chen Zhiwen is not afraid of them, it is true that it is not suitable for the needs to fight alone.

"Our internal opinion is that there is no need to sell, but we need to introduce other capital appropriately, otherwise these capitals interested in the retail industry will only invest in other competitors in turn, and the investment of these capitals is not only for money, but also for Providing certain resources is also beneficial to our development, and considering that if we go public in the future, we will also need to introduce other capital.” Pierce said.

"Okay, then release the news that Costco is about to prepare for financing. What do you think is the first amount?" Chen Zhiwen nodded and agreed.

If you want to make a company that is completely dependent on the United States bigger in the United States, it is courting death to eat alone. Before when it was small, you could play like this. After all, no one cares, but Costco has to raise funds when it reaches its current scale. Besides, in order to acquire Pierce's team and let them fight for Costco, they were also given some shares. If they want to cash out, they naturally need to wait for the company to go public.

"I think 10% is enough for the first time. First attract the first batch of people to enter the venue and see how they can help us." Pierce said.

"Well, let's do this first. Now that we're ready to raise money, don't be too polite. Then go to the bank for a loan, add the money for financing, and expand as quickly as possible. With so many retail giants entering the market, we really need to quickly suppress them. It will do." Chen Zhiwen said.

Now, many of his industries have grown and attracted the attention of other international giants. For example, in terms of beverages, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Nestle, and Danone have launched their own energy drinks one after another. Retail giants have entered warehouse-style supermarkets, and many IT giants have entered field of game development.

Fortunately, the game field is safer. Many of the current giants can’t beat it at all, but with the improvement of chip technology, more people enter the field, and there may be games that have never appeared in the previous life, but the probability is not high. Besides, even if there is, in this rapidly expanding incremental market, multiple games may be compatible. After all, as players become more and more picky, one game can no longer satisfy them.

But the retail and beverage industries are under a bit of pressure, and the introduction of international capital is also a normal operation.

"Okay, then I'm going to spread the news." Pierce nodded.