The Industrial Giant Reborn

Best Buy is an important step for Chen Zhiwen to lay out the electronics industry in Europe and the United States. However, no matter how powerful the retail terminal is, it is impossible to control even a small half of the market. If you want to develop your own home appliance business, you still have to rely on technology and quality control, but saturation The market is difficult without a technological revolution. Acquiring a big brand is indeed the fastest way.

At present, the home appliance industry is still a sunrise industry. It may take a lot of time to find medium-to-high-scale companies that are willing to sell. However, Chen Zhiwen already has a goal in mind, but he still needs to wait. The time has not yet come.

In the next few days, Chen Zhiwen went to Los Angeles again to meet with Costco's senior management to understand the situation. The current Costco is basically mature, and after obtaining financing, it also received some hidden help , when the funds are used up, Costco's first goal: to build supermarkets in all large cities across the United States is about to be completed.

These megacities are the core areas of the American economy and the most populous areas. If more than half of these cities are captured, it will almost determine the absolute leadership of Costco in warehouse supermarkets in the future.

But to turn "almost" into "definitely", that is the second goal: take these large cities as the core, and gradually spread to the surrounding medium-sized cities. At the same time, if this megacity has a strong economy and a large population, then it needs Build a second Costco, both in New York and Los Angeles.

As a supporting package, there are also a large number of new distribution centers to be established, and investment in logistics and transportation to ensure the lowest transportation costs. In the future, this will require the cooperation of satellites, but not many people in Costco know about this plan, and even more shareholders I don’t know, this is also to prevent a group of shareholders who don’t understand anything from standing up against the satellite project. After all, in this era, the cost of a satellite going to the sky is a few hundred million dollars. There are internal conflicts in financing, which will have an impact on the company's development and future listing.

The current Costco has a great brand reputation in the United States, and a large number of senior talents have joined, which has also reduced the pressure on the original team such as Pierce. These elites are enough to solve the problems that Costco encountered during its rapid expansion. Chen Zhiwen Boss, what needs to be done is to provide enough funds and credit support for Costco. With funds and talents, the expansion will naturally be much faster.

And the biggest advantage is that Pierce's team is actually time to gradually delegate power. Fortunately, they are old, especially Pierce, who should be released will still be released. In the next few years, countless talents will also be released. In the process, select a team that can gradually take over.

Of course, no matter what, such a large company will definitely have a lot of internal struggles when it comes to handing over power, which is inevitable. But as long as he controls the absolute controlling stake, everyone will be unable to make waves.

The other two investments in the United States, Home Depot, are developing normally and are still in the early stages. Chen Zhiwen doesn't care too much about it, but another company, Nike, is also planning to go public next month.

Although this giant has unlimited potential in the future, looking at it now, its market value is only 100 to 200 million U.S. dollars. Chen Zhiwen, who owned 30% of Nike shares at the beginning, only has 21% left after two rounds of financing. This listing will dilute it a bit .

But this is not important. The Anta factory in Hong Kong has become Nike's largest supplier. In Nike's supplier system, the price is the cheapest and the quality is the best. The root cause of this is naturally the Chinese are diligent and studious. By the way, Anta also began to supply Adidas and other brands, and developed together multilaterally.

Nike's listing is far less important than Apple's, and Chen Zhiwen is not prepared to participate. After arranging the affairs of various American subsidiaries, Chen Zhiwen boarded his private jet again and left the United States.

However, instead of returning to Hong Kong, he went to Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, which is Guo Henian's site.

Outside the airport, Guo Henian came to pick him up in person. Fortunately, as special VIPs, all of them went through the VIP channel, and there were not too many people disturbing them. However, other VIP customers, some of whom knew Guo Henian, for a person who let him Even the young people who came to greet them in person could not guess their identities.

For Chen Zhiwen's arrival, Guo Henian was naturally very saving face. The arrangement for Chen Zhiwen was not his Shangri-La Hotel, but a most conspicuous villa located in a luxury residential area in Kuala Lumpur.

"Chen Sheng, this is a house I bought two years ago. No one has ever lived in it. For the past two days, you will live here. If you like it, I will give you this house." Guo Henian smiled Said. The current cooperation between him and Chen Zhiwen is quite a lot, both in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong, and they have also gained a lot of benefits. In the future, as long as there are no accidents, there will definitely be more and more cooperation. It doesn't matter if you give away ten houses like this .

"That's unnecessary, Guo Sheng." Chen Zhiwen shook his head with a smile and said, "I don't know how to live here, and I may not come here once in the next few years. Giving me the house is too wasteful."

A house is actually nothing to Guo Henian or Chen Zhiwen, but he does not come to Malaysia often, and there is no point in wasting it. If you take this multi-million dollar property today, you may forget it in two years. He didn't know how many villas there are in Hong Kong. These are basically taken care of by his subordinates, but in Malaysia, he doesn't have such people.

"Alright, let's put it here. It doesn't matter if Chen Sheng comes here once every few years. As long as you like it, I will keep it for you." Guo Henian said with a smile without being pretentious.

"It's up to you." Chen Zhiwen didn't care. He sat down with Guo Henian in a pavilion outside the house and said, "Guo Sheng, I came to Malaysia this time because I need to cooperate with you on a project."

"What project?" Guo Henian immediately became interested. From Chen Zhiwen's perspective, a project worthy of his presence must have great potential and a large scale.

"I need to establish a chain store in the automobile industry in Southeast Asia, which is dedicated to selling imported cars from overseas, but I can't do it by myself. I need to cooperate with local people. At present, in Southeast Asia, the only person I know is Guo Students meet this requirement, so I plan to start from Malaysia." Chen Zhiwen said.

"Sales cars?" Guo Henian was stunned for a moment and asked, "Chen Sheng invested in this field because of the car acquisition in the United States?"

"Your news channel is quite good." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.

"There are no channels. It has already spread in Hong Kong. It is the first time for Hong Kong capital to enter the automotive industry. This is big news." Guo Henian said with a smile.

"So that's the case. You're right. One of my goals is for my car brand in the United States, but there must be great opportunities in this industry." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.

Although AMC's scale is like a child compared to the Big Three in the United States, it is still the fourth largest car brand in the United States. It will definitely be a big news in Hong Kong if it is acquired by Hong Kong people. It's easier to keep track of the news. It's not that not many people in the United States know about it, but Hong Kong's media generally don't take the initiative to pay attention to the American auto industry.

And once it is acquired, AMC is a listed company and needs to be announced. The same is true for the US Department of Commerce. Hong Kong media will still pay attention to the information released by the US Department of Commerce, which is naturally known.

"The economy of Southeast Asia has indeed been developing at a high speed in recent years. In theory, the import volume of automobiles in the future will definitely be large. This business is indeed good, but we also need to undertake other automobiles?" Guo Henian asked.

"Of course, my car also has some priority recommendation rights, so I won't do exclusive business." Chen Zhiwen shook his head and said.

Above the shopping malls, the most taboo thing is to go against the sky. This day is the market.

Chen Zhiwen also thinks that his car sells very well in Southeast Asia, but it depends on the quality in the end. If he can’t beat the Japanese in the United States, the probability is the same in other places. The only thing that can beat the market is the policy. Obviously, Chen Zhiwen does not have this resource, and even the local overlord Guo Henian may not be able to.

In the layout of automobile terminals in Southeast Asia, the biggest limit that can be done for AMC is to give more exposure, good positions, or guide consumers. Others will still be left to consumers to choose, so that the terminal retail industry can develop normally. .

"In that case, we still follow the logic of cooperating with ParknShop, investing in several large car stores in Malaysia now, and then depending on the situation, whether to expand to other places." Guo Henian thought for a while and said.

"Okay, let's open a few to test the water first, and then decide on the future situation." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.

Even Costco, which is confident, has to expand step by step, and the investment in Southeast Asia is naturally the same. Besides, some countries in Southeast Asia may have a much better economy in the future, but it still doesn't work now, and there may only be a few Only a big city is worth investing in. Adding all these together, the investment will not be very large. If it is not for the role of helping AMC, he would not like this kind of investment at all. No matter how high the income is, it is still an ordinary industry.

"Chen Sheng, the investment I'm talking about is not opening it yourself, but just buying a ready-made one." Guo Henian said with a smile.

"It's better this way." Chen Zhiwen thought for a while and said, this really saves time, and there will be corresponding talents.

"Then how to distribute the cooperation shares?" Guo Henian asked.

"How about 73 points, I'm 7 and you are 3." Chen Zhiwen asked.

"Okay, I don't know how big this kind of business will be in the future, but now, maybe tens of millions of dollars is enough, we will distribute it according to the proportion, if it is not enough in the future, how about making up for it?" Guo Henian said indifferently. It is reasonable to care too much about this kind of company, that is, Chen Zhiwen needs to be his supplement in the end of the automobile industry. It is reasonable for him to participate.

"Yes, as long as it really grows bigger, the future scale will not be small." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile. He actually knew that Guo Henian might have underestimated the future market.

Some parts of Southeast Asia are indeed a little poor, but with this population base, there are still many rich people. Just like the future curry country, how many people have nothing to eat, but the total economy is still among the top in the world.

The potential of Southeast Asia as a whole exceeds that of Curry Country, but because there are so many countries, it is indeed difficult for any industry to gain an advantage in these countries, but as long as you grasp a few core ones, you will be fine.

In the original history, the future Jardine Group controlled 60% of the sales of automobiles and motorcycles in Indonesia through its long-term layout in Southeast Asia. Although the profit margin of this sales company is a little low, its total turnover is more than 100%. 100 million US dollars, this is just an Indonesian, Malaysian market, but it is no less than Indonesian.

However, even Jardine is cooperating with Indonesian local giants, and Chen Zhiwen will naturally not rely on it. It is necessary to cooperate with local rich people. Otherwise, the benefits will be great, and monopoly will definitely be targeted. It is the European and American consortia. When making money in Africa, they will give some broth to the locals, and Chen Zhiwen naturally knows this truth.

Of course, in the short term, what Chen Zhiwen needs more is that his capital investment here can open up new markets for AMC. As long as he can continue to give some orders to the United States, survive the oil crisis, and invest in China, then His layout in the automobile industry can be regarded as a small closed loop.

"Then I hope to borrow Chen Sheng's auspicious words." Guo Henian nodded. This kind of business is not a large-scale investment. It needs to gradually increase capital investment through development. In fact, there is no economic pressure at all. If the business is good, it is naturally worth it. Investment, or you can get a loan from the bank. If the business is not good, reducing investment or closing down the business, it will not have much impact.

But if it really gets bigger, it will be a surprise.

"Okay, Guo Sheng will first look for targets that can be acquired. For a joint venture company, the funds will be in place after confirmation by the legal side." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said, although the scale is not large, the contract still needs to be cautious.

"No problem, I will draft the contract together in Cantonese, English, and Malay so that we all understand." Guo Henian nodded and said.

"OK, then I will stay in Malaysia for a few days and leave after this matter is over. If there is a chance, I would like to visit a local car retail store." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile, the investment may not be large at present, But the importance is very high, he still wants to serve snacks.

After all, Southeast Asia can be said to be the only region where it is possible for him to arrange car terminals. Other places are unlikely. The markets in America, Europe, and Oceania are basically mature, and Africa is too poor. Only Asia has just developed, and the future will It has been in the stage of economic rise, and the automobile market will also rise rapidly. Jardine seized this opportunity and gradually monopolized the Indonesian market in the 1990s, and gradually spread to other parts of Southeast Asia.

Chen Zhiwen just wanted to copy Jardine's model in advance, but because of Guo Henian's existence, he started from Malaysia.

And the most important thing is that the market competition here is not big at present, and Japanese cars are very strong, but now Japan's main energy is still to conquer the big market of the United States. Even if it succeeds, it will be followed by Europe. For Japanese cars, the European and American markets with extremely strong purchasing power, if they occupy part of the market, the profits will far exceed those in Southeast Asia or the mainland. In addition, the demand in the United States is high. Japanese brands have not yet built factories in the United States, and their own local production capacity is insufficient. It is estimated that It will not give priority to supplying the Southeast Asian market.

By using capital and contacts to explore the Southeast Asian market, it can also be said that I can bypass the opponents that even the Big Three in the United States are afraid of. Even if the Southeast Asian market is relatively small, as long as it can provide a certain market, it will not be a problem for the small-scale AMC. It is enough, and as long as you work hard for a long time, in the future, if you really control a part of the terminal market in Southeast Asia, it will be very useful.

Of course, the biggest opportunity is still in the mainland. However, the situation in the mainland does not conflict with Southeast Asia, and its own capital is sufficient. Of course, both sides are deployed together.