"The supermarket is true. I did not deceive Mr. Chaikens." Chen Zhiwen looked at Chaikens on the side and continued: "Similarly, it is true that I said I wanted to support Hong Kong's clothing industry. Maybe there is One day, I will also make direct investment in this industry, but the current development situation of Hong Kong's garment factories is not good. Although the quantity is large, the quality is not good. Although there are many other reasons, many middle and high-end raw materials need to be imported. It’s a big problem. If Mr. Buffett invests, he can solve this problem very well. At the same time, Berkshire Hathaway can also profit from it. It can be said that it kills two birds with one stone.”
Only Chen Zhiwen in the entire world knows the future performance of Costco. Even Pierce, who is building this huge business empire, cannot imagine how big a supermarket chain he will create.
The same is naturally true for Buffett. He thinks Wal-Mart is good, but it is only good. It may not meet the requirements that he can invest in. As for Costco, he may not understand this business model at all, and maybe he will find it novel. , will also feel that there will be a certain market after a certain understanding, but it is impossible to imagine the final scale. This is not that he is not smart, but that the new business model has not developed to the end. Who will know its scale?
When Sam Walton wanted to develop Wal-Mart into a supermarket chain with small profits but quick turnover, he never imagined that his supermarket would become the future hegemon of the global retail industry with a turnover of hundreds of billions of dollars. Bill Gates also never imagined when he started his business. He will become the richest man in the world in the future. When Comrade Xiao Ma created QQ, he did not expect future achievements. Without standing on the shoulders of giants, who can know how tall the giants will be?
In fact, as long as Costco develops in the same way as later generations in ten years, plus Chen Zhiwen's financial support and larger expansion plans, its scale will be much larger than that of later generations, and Costco of later generations will be in business. Ten years later, the number of chain stores exceeded 60, and the turnover exceeded one billion US dollars.
One billion U.S. dollars in the 1980s was an astonishing figure, and clothing is a major category that plays an important role in supermarkets. Especially since Chen Zhiwen plans to use clothing as a marketing tool for Costco, he will definitely need a lower-cost clothing industry. In the future, The demand from Costco alone accounts for a large proportion of Hong Kong's clothing export industry, not to mention that the greater goal of Hong Kong's Galaxy Trading is to open up the markets of Wal-Mart and future retail giants in Europe. The same goes for the clothing industry. A door opening brick.
Of course, another reason is that maybe in the future, he will enter the capital-heavy industry of clothing terminals, but definitely not now.
"Actually, I don't expect the textile industry to bring me much profit. Even if I move to Hong Kong, how much money can I make? At most, I will be slightly profitable from bankruptcy." Buffett said without caring at all. : “The reason why I keep the textile factory is to keep the employment of thousands of people. I don’t want these people who have worked in the factory all their lives to lose their jobs and the income to support their families. When they retire, the factory will naturally close. "
"That's right. The profits of factories are far less than those of finance, let alone a sunset industry like textiles." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said. Buffett made huge profits in the stock market a long time ago, using other people's capital investments to get dividends. , when he was less than 30 years old, Buffett already had an annual income of one million US dollars. Now he is worth more than hundreds of millions of dollars and controls billions of dollars in assets. How can he care about this outdated textile industry? Even if he moves to He can earn millions of dollars a year in Hong Kong or other Asian countries, but it is just a drop in the bucket for him.
A few people drank coffee quietly, and Buffett continued: "Mr. Chen, I'm curious, what would you do if I didn't agree to invest in Hong Kong, or if I didn't join a joint venture with you and invest as a sole proprietor?"
"It doesn't matter if you don't join a joint venture with me, I don't care." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile: "If Berkshire Hathaway doesn't invest in Hong Kong, maybe I will visit other European and American textile companies. There are so many companies, and there will always be one that agrees. .”
"If that's the case, Mr. Chen, you are a very strange person. I can't understand your thoughts from a business perspective." Buffett laughed and said, "But although there is no profit, I am very interested in Mr. Chen. This investment It’s settled, as for the investment ratio, I want it to exceed 70%, and everything else can be discussed.”
"No problem, I don't care." Chen Zhiwen shrugged and said. His purpose was just to let Buffett move some textile factories to Hong Kong. As for the number of shares in the joint venture, he really didn't care. If you have more shares, you will have to spend more money. Really. At this time, it is not cost-effective to invest too much cash.
Besides, it is definitely impossible for Berkshire Hathaway to actually invest. The most likely possibility is to relocate a factory in the United States. The equipment and other equipment are all old. As for the value, Buffett has not said it. Calculate.
"There is another problem. The cost of land in Hong Kong is too high. I have a rough understanding. The cost of industrial land is at least three times that of the United States. I also know that Mr. Chen has certain resources in Hong Kong, so this is a suitable piece of land. , Mr. Chen needs to help the joint venture company solve this problem." Buffett continued.
"Land?" Chen Zhiwen thought for a while and said, "That's no problem. I'll take care of this matter. For such a large investment project, the Hong Kong government will definitely give the greatest discount in terms of price."
We all know that the real estate market in Hong Kong has plummeted in the past two years, and the same is true for industrial land. However, due to various reasons in Hong Kong, even if a real estate crisis occurs, the price of land is still much higher than that in other places. Needless to say, industrial land, other areas or The country allocates a large area outside the city as an industrial zone, and then except for the infrastructure cost of leveling the land, other costs are basically gone. However, Hong Kong's industrial zones are all near residential areas. No matter how remote the location is, it is still a residential area. , although the Hong Kong government has defined preferential policies for industrial land, the price is still much higher than that of other countries or regions.
The vitality of Hong Kong's industry lies in the layer-by-layer industrial office buildings that reduce the average cost per unit area. However, office buildings are only suitable for very basic assembly industries, and the same is true for Hong Kong's mainstream industries.
The environment creates living things, and real estate prices determine industry. If Hong Kong's industry cannot develop, land price is the most important factor.
Although the textile industry is also a light industry, large textile equipment can only be placed on the ground, and Berkshire's obviously falls into this category.
PS: Today is New Year’s Eve. I wish everyone a happy Spring Festival!
(End of chapter)
