On the third day after the charity gala, Chen Zhiwen went to HSBC Bank to visit Shen Bi. The two reached an oral agreement again on local industrial investment. Chen Zhiwen once again purchased industrial land or buildings. HSBC would provide sufficient support. However, due to Considering the risk, the interest rate will be slightly higher.
Chen Zhiwen naturally doesn't care. With the benefit of doubling land prices in the future, it doesn't matter if there is a little more interest. Besides, Shen Bi is willing to agree because he also feels that the real estate market is almost at its end and there is little possibility of risks in the future. In addition, Red Bull is in the United States The popularity of the book also made Shen Bi think that Chen Zhiwen's ability to resist risks has further improved a lot.
With enough capital, Chen Zhiwen once again started to acquire industrial land and office buildings in Hung Hom and Yuen Long areas. Although real estate tycoons believe that land prices have almost reached the bottom, in fact, the entire mainstream market is still wailing. A large number of Funds would rather sit idle than invest, let alone ordinary people.
Whether the land price is at the top or the low end, there is a huge time difference between investment big guys and ordinary investors and ordinary people who follow the trend. This is also the fundamental reason why the big guys sell high and buy low, and Chen Zhiwen can also make a fortune from it.
Purchasing land is relatively simple. There are already many real estate talents within Galaxy Real Estate. Finding the most cost-effective one is not a problem. And his father, Chen Tianfu, will also put forward his own opinions. Chen Zhiwen doesn’t understand anything. Real estate novices who knew about Hong Kong Island houses before basically didn't participate much. They came to learn about it occasionally, but that's enough. The real estate investment now is just to make a quick buck, and what's more important is naturally other things. Investment in industries, such as the retail industry.
...
"Sheng Chen, regarding Hilton, we have found a suitable partner." One afternoon, Lin Yanming came to Chen Zhiwen's office and said.
"Oh, tell me. Let me listen." Chen Zhiwen put down the newspaper in his hand and became a little interested. The last time Hilton called for payment, he didn't pay. As a result, a court leaflet came out half a month later. Now the two sides are still arguing. .
"Large hotels have a large number of towels, bath towels, bed sheets, etc. that need to be cleaned every day. Due to the cost of land in the city center, it is impossible to clean these in the hotel, so they are basically outsourced. The same is true for Hilton. Their cleaning business The whole package was given to a cleaning company called Yuele. I hired a professional investigator and contacted an accountant from Yuele Cleaning Company. Judging from the data she provided, the price Hilton Hotel provided to Yuele Company was It’s far higher than the market price because their boss has a good relationship with Hilton’s top management,” Lin Yanming said with a smile.
"Is this accountant willing to work for us?" Chen Zhiwen asked.
"She was unwilling to report it, but I spent some money and learned from her that Yuele's boss would withdraw a sum of cash from the bank every month, usually about 10,000, and then he would make an appointment with a vice president of Hilton Go out and enjoy the mountains and rivers." Lin Yanming said with a smile.
"It's too low-level, but it's normal." Chen Zhiwen smiled. Business wars in novels are all about using various genius ideas to deal with opponents under legal circumstances, but in reality they are so low-level, and the more benefits they are willing to give, the more benefits they are willing to give. Just got a big order.
Lin Yanming said: "I have hired a professional private detective to follow them to see if I can take photos of evidence of their transactions. As long as we have such photos, the Independent Commission Against Corruption can open a case, and the follow-up will be much simpler. "
"Okay, get this done quickly. The people at Hilton are bugging me every day." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said, "I'm going to the United States soon. When I come back, I hope you have got the evidence."
"Don't worry, Mr. Chen, I will do my best." Lin Yanming promised.
...
Although the Hilton incident was a little annoying, it was just a sideshow. The main business in all aspects was the most important. A week later, Chen Zhiwen once again boarded a plane to the United States. After half a year of preparation, Costco’s first branch was about to open. The door is open.
As the most important part of Chen Zhiwen's business layout and the most important retail channel for future industrial terminals, Chen Zhiwen attaches great importance to Costco. Even if it is investment in real estate in Hong Kong or Wal-Mart in the United States, he can easily earn dozens of times in the future. Despite the profit, he still spent 5 million US dollars to open this first new store.
After a day and night of flying, Chen Zhiwen did not go directly to the hotel to rest. Instead, under the leadership of Pierce, he went directly to Costco's first store.
The location of the storefront is located in the southeastern suburbs of Los Angeles, about 3km from the edge of downtown Los Angeles, which is not too far. After half an hour of driving, Chen Zhiwen also saw his first Costco supermarket.
At first glance, it seems that this is a large industrial warehouse built of green iron. If it weren't for the huge Costco sign above the front door, no one would have thought that this would be a large retail supermarket.
"The parking lot is quite big." Chen Zhiwen glanced around and saw that the huge parking lot was located on the left and right sides of the supermarket and in the first three directions. The ground was a simple cement floor, and each parking space was strictly marked with lines.
"Mr. Chen, there were originally two small warehouses here. I bought them together. Then they were demolished and a parking lot was built. There was also a warehouse behind, which was also acquired and used as our warehouse." Pierce introduced . Although warehouse-type supermarkets are called warehouse-type supermarkets, they don’t really need their own warehouses. There are too many items and it’s impossible to put them all in non-exhibition areas.
"It's pretty good. Such a big piece of land and such a big house only cost 800,000 US dollars. It's a good deal." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.
As the boss behind it, although Costco is in Hong Kong, Costco will still ask for authorization for important expenses. Therefore, he knows that these warehouses cost a total of 800,000 US dollars to build, but there is no way to help what the warehouse looks like. Pierce arranged People took photos and then sent them by air to Hong Kong. However, photos of this era can only take close-up photos. Distant photos are too blurry. Chen Zhiwen knew the general shape, but it was still not as clear as seeing it in person at the scene.
The American industry has been greatly impacted over the years. In the 1950s, the textile industry and clothing industry were completely beaten by RB. In the 1960s, the steel industry could not defeat the small RB. Now and in the future in a few years, the automobile industry will also be beaten. If we fight hard, even if Congress introduces protective policies, it will only allow American cars to survive.
As the industry ceased to exist, a large number of industrial warehouses were naturally abandoned. Therefore, Pierce was able to buy such a cheap warehouse close to downtown Los Angeles. If he had built it himself, it would have been impossible for less than two to three million US dollars.
However, the warehouse was an industrial site and it took a lot of effort from Pierce's legal team to convert it into a commercial site.
Costco had not yet opened. Accompanied by several of their subordinates, Chen Zhiwen and Pierce walked into the supermarket together.
The outside is a cement floor, and the inside is also a cement floor. The road surface is smoother and not as rough as the outside. This is actually Chen Zhiwen's request. Adding floor tiles actually costs nothing, but it is very unnecessary. The purpose of Costco's existence is to Reduce costs, everything is to reduce costs, so as to give consumers the best price, so that we can have an absolute advantage in future competition.
When you open the door and go in, the first thing you see is kitchen supplies. There are all kinds of pots and pans, and there are also many specialized small kitchen appliances. In the United States, although their food is not very good and very simple, the various types of food are not interchangeable. Different heating tools are required, unlike in China where one pot can be used to make different dishes.
Barbecue grills, ovens, and toasters are necessary. At the same time, because you don’t want to do housework and for hygiene reasons, there are also dishwashers, tableware drying boxes, disinfection cabinets, water purifiers, etc., but also because these are basically the same ones that have been in the same family for many years. It only needs to be purchased once, and the supermarket does not invest a large area in this area.
Further back, there are hardware supplies. Labor is expensive in the United States. Sewer workers may earn more than white-collar workers in banks. Ordinary families cannot afford professionals. Many things can only be done by yourself. At one time, you can get all kinds of wrenches and screwdrivers. , pliers and other tools, basically every household needs them, and considering that these things are easy to lose and break, the demand is also very large. In the United States, every supermarket has an area to place various hardware tools.
Then there are daily necessities, such as the most commonly used toilet paper, which takes up a large area. Because Americans are not used to using cloth, everything in the house is wiped with paper towels. It is normal for a family to use several rolls a day. Therefore, when any crisis occurs, they will grab toilet paper.
Good things should be placed at the back. This is the most basic logic of operating shopping malls and supermarkets, because if good things are at the door, customers will just walk around the door and then go out.
After the daily necessities, there is the food area, which is currently empty. In the future, all kinds of fresh ingredients will be available here. They will be purchased individually from nearby farms to ensure freshness and the lowest cost. Of course, you still need to ask a professional for meat. company purchases.
According to Chen Zhiwen's request, there is a large fast food restaurant where customers can eat food similar to McDonald's at a preferential price. There are also several large ovens specially used to make roast chicken for $0.99. This roast chicken comes separately. Said it was a loss.
The multinational food area is the food area. There are all kinds of snacks, potato chips, drinks, beer, bread, etc., and the more you buy, the cheaper the price.
Then there are all kinds of cheap clothing, the prices are very cheap, the biggest discount is socks, which is also the largest quantity of goods purchased from Hong Kong. Costco is not prepared to make money from it and sells it to customers at cost price.
In the United States, socks are consumed very quickly. Not to mention that they are worn out. Many people are too lazy to wash and just wear a pair and throw away a pair. This is extremely wasteful, but it also creates a huge demand market. Other clothing is also purchased from Hong Kong, including The profit/price ratio is still very high.
"This is the area for daily necessities for cars," Pierce continued.
PS: There is only one chapter left today, I will be very busy before the Chinese New Year. Please read and vote!
