"Yes, our cooperation will definitely create a new Nike company comparable to Adidas." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.
Adidas, now a giant in the sports shoe brand industry, including the founder of Nike, would not have known that Nike would double its growth rate in the next few years, eventually surpassing Adidas in the early 1980s. market share in the United States, and by the 1990s, Nike's global market share will beat Adidas.
Such a fast-growing enterprise will bring massive orders to relevant suppliers, and will also greatly improve the suppliers' technical and cost control capabilities. This is what Chen Zhiwen needs.
As long as he locks in Nike's orders, he can easily turn Hong Kong into the world's largest shoe production base. After the mainland reopens, it can easily create hundreds of thousands of jobs. At the same time, from the perspective of the foundry, As long as Nike sneakers can be mass-produced, other brands will naturally not be a problem, such as Adidas!
Of course, the ultimate goal is to build your own brand, but this is a matter for the future.
"My goal is to defeat Adidas." Phil Knight said: "Eric, you are not an American, so you may not feel this way. The largest sports shoe brand in the United States is actually a German company. This is too disappointing. People are unhappy.”
"???" Chen Zhiwen was silent for a moment, but decided not to say anything. In the mainland before he traveled, car brands were controlled by countless countries. Isn't he unhappy? But what can be done?
But this must also make Wang Chuanfu very unhappy!
"Then don't waste time. Christmas is coming soon. Immediately arrange for a professional relocation company to dismantle the factory and prepare the equipment. Customs also needs to communicate in advance." Chen Zhiwen continued.
"The factory in Hong Kong hasn't been built yet? Is it possible?" Phil Knight asked.
"There's no need to worry. Over in Hong Kong, I can build the factory within a month." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.
"A month? How is this possible?" Phil Knight said in surprise.
"Phil, believe me, this may be difficult in the United States, but in Hong Kong, it is nothing." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.
The shoemaking industry itself is a low-end industry, and the manufacturing of high-end sports shoes is the same. At most, the materials are better, the environment is better, and the management and control are better, but the essence is the same, light industry plus assembly.
There are also many footwear factories in Hong Kong, which operate directly in industrial office buildings without any problems.
As for this simplest industrial factory, if Party A provides money, it can definitely be completed in one month, unless it is really built very high, such as more than ten floors, but Chen Zhiwen also dislikes this kind of industrial office building that is too high. , it’s too depressing, and the fire hazards are relatively high. The most important thing is that he is planning to use this opportunity to obtain enough land. Even if it is industrial land, the bigger the better.
"It's incredible, but since you asked so, I will do it." Phil Knight agreed.
"If we go quickly, maybe in March next year, our new factory in Hong Kong can start trial production. Nike engineers can go to Hong Kong after the year. I will also arrange human resources to recruit a lot of people, maybe in half a year. After a while, we can supply goods normally." Chen Zhiwen thought for a while and said.
"The speed of doing things in Hong Kong is indeed very fast." Phil Knight still said with a surprised expression. You must know that their previous factory took more than two years of hard work before it started production. In his opinion, it can One year is already pretty good.
"Because Hong Kong is poor enough." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.
Poverty is the root cause of all efficiency. If we don't improve efficiency, how can we compete with other peers? How to compete with other regions?
The culture of East Asia is actually rolled to the extreme. They are also developed countries, and people in Europe and the United States have long begun to live a leisurely and comfortable life. However, after Japan and South Korea became developed countries, they were still that rolled up, not to mention that they have always been developing countries. Mainland.
But it is because of this kind of "volume" that it has developed and snatched a large amount of market wealth from Western countries. Latecomers can only rely on hard work to survive.
"Okay, then I'm looking forward to seeing sports shoes produced in Hong Kong in half a year." Phil Knight nodded.
An hour later, Chen Zhiwen walked out of Nike headquarters with Angel and Ron. After returning to his car, Chen Zhiwen said to Ron: "Ron, you should know all the major shareholders of Nike. Alright?"
"I know, I just saw it." Ron nodded and said, probably guessing Chen Zhiwen's purpose.
Chen Zhiwen said: "After locking in these people, you then slowly arrange for people to try to contact them. I want to acquire their shares."
"If it's just an acquisition, it's not a problem. It's just that the contract we just signed has restrictions on your equity acquisition?" Ron said.
"That's just a restriction on voting rights. As long as I don't want voting rights, isn't it okay? I will register some mutual holding companies and then make purchases in the names of these companies. This is just pure investment. I There is no need to obtain any voting rights," said Chen Zhiwen.
Nike's board of directors and Phil Knight are not fools. After knowing Chen Zhiwen's net worth in Hong Kong, they will naturally be wary of whether the person brought in is a hungry bear who will annex the entire Nike company in the future. .
Therefore, the signed contract also included restrictions on Chen Zhiwen's continued acquisition of Nike stock. However, this kind of contract is easy to bypass, but the voting rights can be determined directly.
Chen Zhiwen is naturally willing to acquire as much stock as possible for stocks with incredible future returns, but there is always a balance in everything. He cannot be so stupid as to acquire Nike. Who will run the company after the acquisition?
Costco was able to acquire Costco because Pierce was already very old. In the original history, he wanted to merge his company with other large retail companies so that it could develop more smoothly. Chen Zhiwen seized this point and let This capable man uses it for himself.
As for other entrepreneurial geniuses who can leave their names in history, no one will work for anyone else. If you forcefully acquire his company, he will immediately turn around and leave to start another business. All he needs to do is acquire some shares appropriately. Others can be acquired. Some stocks do not require voting rights but only need to have a rate of return.
But Phil Knight didn't know this, and it was normal for him to be wary of Chen Zhiwen. Therefore, Chen Zhiwen also agreed to sign restrictions on voting rights, because if he didn't agree, wouldn't that be Sima Zhao's intention?
"If you just want to invest, that's no problem. But I don't know what your goal is, Eric?" Ron asked.
"The more the better, try to acquire as much as possible." Chen Zhiwen said: "Control the noise and try not to be discovered. In addition, don't come forward. Just entrust an out-of-town investment bank. Don't go to Citigroup."
The reason why they did not approach Citigroup is because the people at Nike knew that they had a very good relationship with Citigroup. No one could guarantee that they would not be discovered if they sent people to acquire Nike's shares. After all, if the shareholders who contacted them decided to tell Phil Knight , no one can predict or prevent it. In this case, Nike executives cannot be allowed to discover the potential connection with themselves.
"Okay, I understand." Ron nodded and said.
"Then go back, I've finally finished everything." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.
The main purpose of coming to the United States this time was to invest in Apple and Nike. Apple was a simple company. It was a newly established company and he spent 500,000 US dollars on it. Jobs was grateful and immediately donated 33.3% of the shares. Nike was different. It is a company that has been developing for more than ten years and has achieved certain results. I want to invest in it, especially to control a certain production capacity of the other party. There are many things involved, and it took a long time to talk about it before settling on it.
As for Costco's logistics center and arcade development, he only learned about it incidentally. These things were going on normally, and he just stopped by to take a look.
"Eric, one more thing, do you remember the black man we met in the elevator when we went to meet Henry Morgan a few days ago?" Ron said.
"Remember, do you know who he is?" Chen Zhiwen asked.
Ron said: "Yes, his name is Michael Jackson. He debuted a few years ago, has a small band, and recently signed a long-term contract with Columbia."
"Well, then you have to do one more thing for me. I want to sign this person, preferably a ten or twenty-year contract, and let him endorse my products in the future." Chen Zhiwen said with a chuckle. Naturally, he knows the identity of Michael Jackson, who will be the world's top singer in the future. Now that he has been locked in, it will be much easier to promote his products in the future.
"Signed? What endorsement? Red Bull?" Ron asked a little strangely. According to the information he found, the black man had just released a few albums and was not well-known at all.
"It's not Red Bull. He's not a sports star. He should be endorsing beauty." Chen Zhiwen actually didn't think about it himself, but he signed it first. In the future, Michael Jackson will be even more popular than Jordan. After all, not everyone likes it. Basketball, but basically everyone loves music.
"Is 20 years necessary?" Ron then asked.
"It's necessary." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said, "For such a small role, it doesn't cost much to sign a long-term contract. Just do as I ask."
"Okay, then I'll contact Columbia Company." Ron agreed. Although it was a bit strange, considering Chen Zhiwen's worth, an ordinary contract signing wouldn't cost much. This kind of thing is just a trivial matter, so there's no need to ask too much. too much.
"I'm going back to Hong Kong. Please inform me at any time if there is any progress on these matters." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.
Naturally, it is impossible for him to go to meet Michael Jackson, who is not yet famous, and even invite him personally. That is incomprehensible behavior. If Michael Jackson is famous ten years later, it will still be possible.
"Okay, no problem," Ron said.
PS: The progress will be accelerated later.
(End of chapter)
