The happy time is always short-lived. I floated on the sea for ten days, starting from Hong Kong and arriving at the Sea of Japan. Then I went to the Korean waters for a circle, and then returned to Hong Kong again.
In early September, the temperature in Hong Kong was a little more comfortable than during the hottest period of summer, but it would still be so uncomfortable if there was a strong typhoon. Even Chen Zhiwen, who didn't need to go out, wasn't in a good mood when he looked at the heavy rain pouring outside the building. good.
The typhoon was so severe that many projects of Hutchison Whampoa, Galaxy, and Dad's Hengyi Real Estate were suspended. Even on the day of the strongest rainstorm, Midea's industrial park was severely affected, and many workers asked for leave.
"Dong dong dong" There was a knock on the door. Chen Zhiwen looked back and saw that it was Zhou Jiayang.
"Sheng Chen, Parknshop recently acquired 11 new stores, which cost almost HK$27 million, of which we paid 7 million ourselves and the remaining 20 million were loans from HSBC." Yang Hui of Zhou Family reported .
"Okay, continue the acquisition. You won't lose money no matter what." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said. If Parknshop can choose the location for its new store, it will basically be good. Even if it is not a commercial center, it will be a place where residents can live. center of.
Moreover, once these stores are acquired, they will be where Parknshop Supermarkets are located, which can continuously provide the company with a large amount of revenue and the largest cash flow in the supermarket industry.
"The acquisition is still going on, but Bao Fuda wanted to meet with you two days ago. Because you were on vacation before, I delayed it for a few days." Zhou Jiayang continued.
"What's the use of meeting Bao Fuda? Tell him and let Niubijian come over in person, otherwise he won't be able to make the decision." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.
The chief executive of Landmark is Pau Fuda, but this is also nominal. There are three giants in the entire Jardines family. Jardine is the boss, and Landmark and Wharf are the two wings. However, the chief executives of Landmark and Wharf are only responsible for daily management, and they are not responsible for any larger matters. , basically it is Jardine Taipan who has the final say.
"Okay, I'll talk to Bao Fuda on the phone later." Zhou Jiayang nodded and said, "Landmark came to us this time, probably because he wanted to discuss the matter of Parknshop and Wellcome."
"It's expected." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.
Over the years, Chen Zhiwen's business expansion has mainly focused on overseas markets, without any conflicts with local companies in Hong Kong. In the past few years, he acquired industrial real estate or properties, which were also land properties that no one wanted during the real estate crisis.
Even after the acquisition of Hutchison Whampoa, a large number of businesses were sold, and the only real estate business was to develop its own land properties, or to acquire a few pieces of land from Swire, without competing with anyone, but this time PARKnSHOP's expansion is an exception.
Jardine Matheson’s previous support for Wellcome clearly meant that it wanted to control Hong Kong’s retail supermarket market. Chen Zhiwen also knew this. However, there were more important things to do in 1975, so he naturally put the supermarket aside first. Stabilizing Hutchison was the most important moment last year.
But now that funds are abundant, it is natural to enter the market. Costco, a future global supermarket giant, cannot have its retail market in Hong Kong, where its boss is located, controlled by others.
Costco’s model is not suitable for Hong Kong, but Hong Kong’s model is suitable for Asia and the mainland in the future. Hong Kong’s local market is not very important, but it is a starting point and preparation for the retail layout in Asia. After Hong Kong obtains a monopoly, Further external expansion is Chen Zhiwen's request for PARKnSHOP Supermarket. It is not difficult to enter Southeast Asian countries, but different cultures will make operations more difficult. Therefore, a stable rear is inevitably needed.
In this case, it is only a matter of time to confront Jardine Matheson. If Chen Zhiwen planned Wharf in the past two years, he was still cautious about the two giants Jardine Matheson and Land, and was unwilling to confront them head-on. Now, both parties are at a capital level. It's almost at the same level. Although the Jardines are still not to be underestimated, they definitely can't be said to be very worrying.
"How is the Wharf acquisition going?" Chen Zhiwen asked again.
"During this period, we acquired another 0.7% of the stock, which is just shy of reaching 20%. It is estimated that it will be reached by October. In October, Wharf will increase its share capital again, and we can get at least another 3%. of additional shares." Zhou Jiayang replied.
"Okay, continue to maintain this speed, don't be impatient, and don't cause Wharf's stock price to rise sharply." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said. When he takes Wharf away from Jardine Matheson, it is estimated that the mentality of the entire British capital in Hong Kong will explode. Come on.
However, at today's level, it is normal to have competition and conflicts with British capital or Jardine Matheson. Unless Chen Zhiwen really devotes himself to developing overseas markets and abandons Hong Kong, it is obviously impossible.
Just say now, if anyone wants to sell a building in Central, at this stage when housing prices are just starting, Chen Zhiwen will not give up no matter what. The same is naturally true for real estate. Interest is the root of all cooperation or conflict.
Moreover, if history does not change because of him, another major event will happen in Hong Kong soon.
Hong Le Building:
"Chen Zhiwen wants to see me directly?" Niubijian asked with a frown.
"Yes, news came from his subordinates that Chen Zhiwen needs to talk to him with someone who can directly make decisions on the spot." Bao Fuda looked a little ugly, and Chen Zhiwen's words directly hit his fragile heart.
Although he is the nominal chief executive of Land Company, the entire Land Group is controlled by Jardine Matheson, as well as the chief executive of Wharf. The entire Jardine Department is under the control of Newbikin, and he is just a puppet.
But you can't blame him. The entire Jardine family has been like this for a hundred years. When the Keswick family dominated Jardine, the chief executives of Land and Wharf were just puppets. They had no real power and were only responsible for management and all major matters. , all decided by the Keswick family.
"Yes, although on the surface it is just some small supermarket property investment, which may be less than 100 million Hong Kong dollars, behind this is the beginning of a long-term confrontation between our two companies." Newbijian nodded and said: "This It’s also good news. It shows that Chen Zhiwen is not willing to confront us head-on. Even if he doesn’t give in, maybe we can find a way to reconcile.”
"Then let's meet. They made an appointment at the Hilton Hotel three days later." Bao Fuda said.
"Okay, reply to the message and we will arrive on time." Newbijian said.
Three days later, the typhoon ended and the heavy rain passed. There was still a lot of rain on the streets. Many people still wore rain boots to avoid the puddles.
Several Mercedes-Benz cars arrived downstairs at the Hilton Hotel. Unexpectedly, they happened to run into Niubijian and his group who also came.
Although they had never communicated formally, before Chen Zhiwen acquired Hutchison, Chen Zhiwen had met Niubijian at a charity banquet of HSBC. However, Niubijian at that time did not look down on an unknown Chinese. .
And now Niubijian naturally knows Chen Zhiwen. Although Chen Zhiwen has been using strong capital power to control the print media not to have his photos appear, and he can do it, but for Niubijian, he wants to get Chen Zhiwen's photos. It's certainly not difficult either.
"Hello, Mr. Chen." Niubijian greeted in very fluent Cantonese.
"Mr. Niubijian, I have admired him for a long time." Chen Zhiwen smiled and shook hands and said that before the public acquisition of Wharf, there was no need for him to go against Jardine Matheson. Even the expansion of Parknshop Supermarket could be discussed.
"My reputation is far inferior to that of Mr. Chen." Niubijian smiled and said, "I am just a wage earner. Mr. Chen is a powerful figure in Hong Kong's business community."
"It doesn't make any difference. Shen Bi also works part-time." Chen Zhiwen said lightly.
A person's influence mainly depends on how many resources he has, rather than how many assets he has. In Western companies, especially companies with dispersed shares, the leaders of such companies are these part-time workers, and they can mobilize a large amount of funds with just one sentence. , such as Cook in later generations of Apple.
It would be too inaccurate to look at these people in terms of their net worth. Net worth is only suitable for the wealth benchmark of the first generation of entrepreneurs, such as Li Jiacheng, Pao Yugang, Chen Zhiwen, etc. Let’s just say Pao Yugang, who was dismissed in 1974. The American media calls him the richest Chinese in Asia, but the real big names in Hong Kong are HSBC and Jardine Matheson, and Pao Yugang is far behind.
"Sheng Chen was joking, HSBC, but Hong Kong's central bank, is still different." Newbijian said with a smile.
"With the current scale of Jardine, we may one day surpass HSBC." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile. This is actually true. Like Qi Dezun, Niubijian has always hoped to make Jardine bigger and surpass the size of HSBC. It's just that the mess he inherited from the Keswick family is a bit big, and the oil crisis in 1973 caused Jardine to suffer heavy losses. Over the years, Newbijian has been working hard to control Jardine's overseas investments without causing major problems.
It turns out that in history, Li Jiacheng and Pao Yugang fought back and forth, and slapped Yihe twice through the Wharf, and finally quenched Niubijian's ambition.
In fact, this was also a deliberate act by HSBC. Niubijian was too arrogant, and Pao Yugang was HSBC's weapon. Otherwise, if HSBC did not borrow money, it would be impossible for Pao Yugang to forcibly acquire Wharf.
"Then let's borrow some good advice from Chen Sheng." Niubijian smiled, then looked at Chen Zhiwen's car and said: "Chen Sheng, as the most successful person in Hong Kong, you seem to be a little too ordinary to drive this Mercedes-Benz. Click, this way, I’ll give you a Rolls-Royce.”
"Thank you, but that's no need. I still like Mercedes-Benz." Chen Zhiwen shook his head and said.
In fact, an ordinary Rolls-Royce costs one million Hong Kong dollars, which is just a drop in the bucket for Chen Zhiwen or Yihe. Chen Zhiwen can buy it easily. At this time, accepting Newbikin's "gift" will not be beneficial later. of negotiations.
And the reason why I chose Mercedes-Benz is because it is a specific bulletproof car.
"Okay, then please." Niubijian nodded and said. He didn't worry about the gift. In fact, it was just a good intention. He naturally knew that Chen Zhiwen would not accept it.
Several people went through the special elevator and arrived at a conference room above the Hilton Hotel.
"Chen Sheng, let me tell you straight. A few years ago, Jardine Matheson Group decided to make the retail supermarket industry one of Jardine He's main businesses. As far as I know, Chen Sheng also has his own supermarket in the United States. The scale is not small, so why waste money on a small market like Hong Kong?" Niubijian said directly.
"Supermarkets in the United States are supermarkets in the United States and have nothing to do with Hong Kong. Besides, with Jardine Matheson's assets and scale, if we really pay attention to the retail industry, we can easily open hundreds of stores in Hong Kong in the past few years." There is a new Wellcome Supermarket, but there is no such thing now." Chen Zhiwen said calmly.
Costco has become famous in the US retail industry recently, especially after starting a new journey on the East Coast, which has attracted the attention of many media and retail giants. Chen Zhiwen, the boss behind it, has naturally been poached. It is not a matter of equity. , Costco is a non-listed company and does not need to disclose shareholders. However, Chen Zhiwen went to Costco many times, and there were naturally many people around him who knew the actual situation. Under the investigation of the media, as long as one person revealed the information, it would be impossible to hide it.
And Chen Zhiwen didn't want to keep it a secret. The scale of a supermarket was getting bigger and bigger, and it was not a pure investment. It involved the employment of tens of thousands of people, so it definitely couldn't be hidden.
In Hong Kong, under Chen Zhiwen's strong media control, ordinary people do not know about this matter, but Newbijian and other owners of foreign banks or Chinese real estate companies still know about it. This is why Niubijian is also willing to discuss with Chen Zhiwen in a friendly manner, because these people in Hong Kong have no idea how many trump cards Chen Zhiwen has overseas.
"We were not in a hurry to develop," Newbijian said.
"Then what do you want? I have invested in dozens of new stores, so I can't invest it in vain, right?" Chen Zhiwen said.
"This is not a problem. I can purchase these shops at a high price." Newbijian said boldly.
"This is impossible. The retail industry is the strategic development direction I have set for Hutchison Whampoa, and I will not give up. I think Mr. Newbijian can consider selling Wellcome to me, and the price can be negotiated. "Chen Zhiwen said with a slight smile.
If Jardine Matheson really considers selling Wellcome, Chen Zhiwen is still willing to bid for it. After removing a competitor, it will only take a year or two to truly unify the retail supermarket industry in Hong Kong. Once successful, in Under the control of your own capital, others will never have the chance.
"The retail industry is also the designated development direction of Jardine." Newbijian said.
"Then it depends on each's ability." Chen Zhiwen shrugged and said, "We each do our own thing."
"But Hong Kong is not that big. We will inevitably meet again in the long run. By then, we have invested in hundreds of supermarkets and hundreds of millions of Hong Kong dollars. It will be impossible to stop at that time. We will inevitably face a fierce price war. It's not good for you or me, so I hope we can discuss what to do before we all turn against each other?" Newbijian said sincerely.
"What do you think of Mr. Newbijian?" Chen Zhiwen asked.
"We have demarcated the territory, and then each will do his own thing in the future, just like China Electric Power and Hong Kong Electric. But I don't mean to distinguish Hong Kong Island and Kowloon like they do. As for how to allocate it, it depends on the future." New York Bi Jian smiled and said, "What do Chen Sheng think of this idea?"
"It sounds good, but in reality it is very difficult to do. Moreover, Parknshop Supermarket was originally planning to quickly occupy the market. As for this distribution agreement, it may not be out until Parknshop opens all over Hong Kong." Chen Zhiwen shook his head and said.
(End of chapter)
