"It's hard to say, maybe a few days, maybe about half a month. I'm going to Portland, Oregon, in two days, and I might stay there for a while." Chen Zhiwen said.
"Portland?" Pierce recalled the information about this city, but he didn't expect why his boss wanted to go.
"You do your thing. If I don't finish it before I return to Hong Kong, you can send the information to me by air or fax later. If you have any questions, you can also call me." Chen Zhiwen thought for a while and said.
In this era, although there is no e-mail, there is still fax, but this thing is different from the scanning of later generations. It requires people to enter the words one by one. It is more advanced than the telegraph and inferior to the text message. It is in between the two. between.
Because it requires typing, it may be more time-consuming when there are a lot of words. In addition, it is easy to make mistakes and is difficult to detect. Therefore, when there is a lot of content, the speed of delivering the file may not be as fast as sending the file by air.
"Okay, then I will communicate with you after the preliminary training plan and cost estimate are completed." Pierce nodded and said.
While talking, the two walked to the dining area. The dishes sold here are cooked dishes, which are different from the cooked dishes in later generations in China. They mainly sell roast chicken, sausages, cooked beef, etc. In order to facilitate the shopping crowd, Costco Supermarket also sells cooked foods in the cooked food area. A restaurant has been opened inside, with more than 20 tables arranged in several rows. Customers can drink coffee, have snacks or have a meal here. In addition to cooked food, there are also burgers, sandwiches, cakes, ice cream and other foods. The variety is more than Even McDonald's doesn't give in at all. It can not only prevent people from worrying about whether they need to go to the supermarket after eating, but also increase profits for the supermarket itself.
"Let's eat here at noon." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile. He was used to eating in five-star hotels, so it would be good to eat an ordinary fast food, just like in his previous life. Occasionally, he would also eat Shaxian snacks, which tasted delicious. Not bad.
The boss delivered the goods, so everyone else had no problem. Everyone found a seat and sat down. The waiter knew that the person coming was a senior executive of the company, so he hurried over to entertain him.
After a while, everyone's lunch was served. Chen Zhiwen ordered a glass of iced Coke, a small roast chicken, and a small hamburger.
"This roast chicken tastes good." Chen Zhiwen took a bite and praised it. It was no worse than the later Orleans roast chicken.
"I know this. All our fast food chefs at Costco are poached from big chain stores, mainly the more famous ones like McDonald's and Burger King. Their techniques are better," Pierce said with a smile.
"Won't it infringe on patents? Do these chain fast food restaurants have many patents on food condiments?" Chen Zhiwen asked.
"No, we don't use their unique seasoning. In fact, if we just change the ratio of a few ingredients, there will be no legal problems. The taste is actually the same. If everyone goes to McDonald's to eat, it is a brand issue. Other stores want to do the same. The taste is not difficult, but there is also the issue of cost. The fast food industry is similar to our supermarkets, with misaligned competition and different positioning. It is never the difference in taste," Pierce said with a smile.
"You know a lot about it, don't you?" Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.
"Of course. In fact, last year I was planning to sell FedMart and start a fast food restaurant business. I have studied this industry." Pierce said after eating the salad: "Now it is better to open a fast food restaurant in Costco. It can be regarded as satisfying my retirement ideal.”
"Are you planning to join McDonald's?" Chen Zhiwen asked.
"No, it's a fast food restaurant called KFC. I know the founder of this store, but unfortunately he's older than me. He couldn't sell the entire company a few years ago. Otherwise, KFC's future would definitely be great." Pierce said with some regret.
"KFC, I've heard of it." Chen Zhiwen's face was surprised for a moment, and then returned to normal. He naturally knew the name of KFC. If he had extra funds in the future, he could buy it and run it for fun, but now, he has no idea. , this kind of industry has little influence, medium earning power, and market size is far less than that of many normal industries. It belongs to the dispensable category.
"The taste of KFC is pretty good, but it developed much later than McDonald's. It's too difficult to catch up now. The buyer of KFC is a well-known liquor company. KFC has actually developed well in recent years and competes with McDonald's in many places. But we are very short of funds, and every year a little profit is taken away by the head office to maintain the liquor business, let alone normal expansion." Pierce shook his head and sighed.
Chen Zhiwen asked: "Can't KFC choose to join?"
"You also need to invest your own money to join. The franchise itself needs advertising, otherwise no one will know the KFC brand. Besides, every investor who invests in KFC must examine the market. The head office does not spend money on marketing. How many people will invest in advertising?" Pierce said with a smile: "As far as I know, McDonald's annual advertising expenses exceed 50 million US dollars, and KFC does not even have a fraction of that."
"There is no chance. McDonald's has basically covered most of the United States and has the highest reputation. If other brands do not compete, they will have no chance at all. The cost of success may be 2-3 times the cost of McDonald's. Any Capitalists are not fools." Chen Zhiwen smiled and said, "The wine-making company may not be fools either."
The first-mover advantage not only exists in the high-tech or Internet industries, but also in the physical industry. If a brand has succeeded and does not make a big mistake, other brands will have to pay several times the cost if they want to catch up. No capitalist will Do this.
"That's true, KFC really has no chance." Pierce nodded and said.
"Unless KFC can enter a very large new market that McDonald's has not yet entered, it will have to change its products and take other channels." Chen Zhiwen said that in the future, KFC will be able to turn around in the mainland, although the final scale is still larger than It’s not in McDonald’s, but if there was no domestic market, it might have become unknown long ago.
"That's impossible. McDonald's has already entered the Asian and European markets. KFC has no chance." Pierce said.
"So, you should also understand why I am rushing to expand Costco on a large scale. Things like supermarkets can be entered with capital. We must first build scale before others can react. When they find out, even if they can enter again, they will have to pay a higher price." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.
(End of chapter)
