Outside a large retail store in the western suburbs of Los Angeles, a stretched Lincoln stopped at the gate, attracting curious looks from people around because ordinary people were not allowed to park here.
Three white people and an Asian man came out of the car, and the Lincoln drove away after a while.
"Eric, your Best Buy supermarket is really big. It's not smaller than Costco, right?" the middle-aged white man asked after looking around. He was wearing a hat and looked a little a little shy. It's neither fish nor fowl, but there's nothing you can do about it. A hat is better than a bald head.
"The area is indeed no smaller than Costco, and it has three floors." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile: "Ron, this will be Best Buy's flagship store in the United States and even the world, so the area is relatively large, and this is Los Angeles, the United States The core area of the semiconductor industry has the largest demand for electronic products in the world. It is worthy of a flagship store like this, and the interior decoration is very good. This will also be the location of our advertising in the future."
At the beginning of the year, Chen Zhiwen decided to take advantage of the exponential growth rate of electronic products in the future to build a large-scale electronic product supermarket chain, which is Best Buy.
The current electronic product market still mainly relies on some small franchise stores and some large supermarkets. Large supermarkets such as Wal-Mart, Costco, Sears, and Celtic also have electronic products. However, the exponential growth model of electronic products has The existing sales system will gradually become unbearable. In addition, electronic products are very professional and require salespeople who understand technology and professional after-sales service. Therefore, centralized large-scale electronic supermarkets will inevitably appear.
Although Best Buy is also a supermarket, its operating logic is different from Costco or Wal-Mart. Daily necessities retail supermarkets focus on cheap, high-quality products at low prices, while electronic product supermarkets do not need to be the cheapest, but have good quality products. quality and stable after-sales service.
As long as the service is good, then the profits will naturally be high. Electronic products themselves are huge profits, and the same goes for retail stores that can control the terminals. And in the case of high profits, the facade of the terminals naturally cannot adopt the minimalist model like Costco. Appropriate luxury is still needed, and a luxurious shopping environment can also increase consumers' interest in shopping.
"It looks very impressive outside." Ron nodded and said.
"It will be more luxurious inside." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.
Just after these few words, several white men came from a short distance away. Pierce beside him said with a smile: "Boss, Mr. Ron, this is John, the person in charge of the Best Buy store in Los Angeles. He used to be a Costco The most powerful management team in the world.”
"Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Pierce. Hello, Mr. Chen." John said with a smile.
"Hello, this is Mr. Ron, the vice president of Citibank." Chen Zhiwen also introduced.
"Hello." John smiled and shook hands, and then after introducing each other to several people around him, they walked into the supermarket.
Inside Best Buy, the lights are all light orange, which makes people feel very bright, but not dazzling. May in Los Angeles is not very hot, but the internal air conditioner has been turned on, and the cool breeze makes people feel refreshed. , comfortable temperature and humidity will always make people feel in a better mood.
The first thing you see when you enter the door is Apple's new computer, the Apple 3. The high price of US$2,899 makes most people prohibitive, but there are also cheap personal computers. A small American company produces a simple computer for only US$699, although it has poor functions. It’s a bit off, but the price/performance ratio is still very high.
On the other side is a small shop, selling Midea's handheld game boy. After all, it is just a small thing, only slightly larger than later generations of mobile phones, and does not require a large area. Next to it are various small radios, music players, and Atari game consoles.
Going further inside, there are some kitchen appliances, various brands and models. Because the area is large enough, it is much more comprehensive than ordinary supermarkets. At the same time, because summer is coming, all kinds of electric fans are also available. The location The most conspicuous nature is still beautiful.
The second floor is a place for various large household appliances, such as color TVs, refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners, washing machines, water heaters, radiators, etc. There are also many brands.
The third floor is currently half empty, with the other small portion being used for offices.
After several people arrived in a conference room, Ron asked: "Eric, does this Best Buy specialize in household appliances?"
"For now, that's the case." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said, "But in the future, the main thing will be various electronic products. Apple, which was just listed on NASDAQ a few days ago, Ron, you should know, right?"
Electronic products are indeed the future, but in 1980, the product line was still too small. Chen Zhiwen hoped that Best Buy could deploy it earlier. Otherwise, it would really wait until the sales of electronic products began to explode at an exponential rate before building a new store. It’s a bit too late, and now, the only place left is with more commonly used household appliances.
"Of course I know, Mr. Chen is also one of Apple's major shareholders. I have to say that Mr. Chen's investment vision is really amazing." Ron said with a smile.
Citibank is also well aware of Chen Zhiwen's several major investments in the United States. Wal-Mart's investment was handled through Citigroup. Citibank also knows about Nike's investment. Nike has also been developing rapidly in the United States in recent years and is expected to dominate the sports shoe market. Trend, while Apple only found out about it when Citigroup announced the list of shareholders when Apple went public.
With the success of many investments, as well as in other fields, Citigroup naturally attaches great importance to Chen Zhiwen. This time, it sent him, the vice president, to Los Angeles because there may be greater cooperation.
"Apple's turnover last year was actually only about 100 million US dollars, and its net profit was somewhat more than 20 million US dollars. If it were a normal industry, it would be incredible for such a company to have a market value of 300 million US dollars when it goes public. But Apple's market value It has exceeded 2 billion US dollars and is still rising. The reason why this is possible is because of the future trend. Many people believe that one day in the future, everyone in the United States will have one or even several computers at home, and all companies will All clerical jobs will also be assisted by computers. This market is huge, and the current terminal channel business model will simply not be able to meet the massive consumer demand in the future. That’s why I am planning to open Best Buy stores in major cities across the United States. Build big or several cities, and small cities, so that everyone in the United States can buy the computers or other new electronic products they need at Best Buy." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.
"So, Best Buy is the electronic product channel of the future?" Ron understood.
"Yes, whether you can invest in a company like Apple depends entirely on luck, but no matter what technology company, as long as they are doing civilian products, they need terminal retail. As long as they control part of the terminal retail, they can then provide services. Well, if you form a certain monopoly advantage, you can share some of the achievements in the high-tech field. Even if it is far less than the companies themselves, the advantage is that there is no risk, and everyone can cooperate, and we will support whichever one is strong." Chen Zhiwen continued.
Although he did not participate much in the development of American technology companies throughout the 1970s, theoretically, even if American technology companies will change due to the butterfly effect, those giants should not be affected. However, this is not absolute. If true, The changes have been drastic, so the golden finger of the prophet is useless, but now that he has enough capital, it is a good choice to control terminal retail, whether it is computers, game consoles, music machines, etc. You need to rely on supermarkets for sales. It doesn't matter which brand is bigger, Best Buy doesn't care.
Besides, the Best Buy business itself is a good investment.
"Mr. Chen's idea is indeed very smart. Others are thinking about investing in technology companies, but you are thinking about doing terminal retail first. I admire you. This reminds me of the story I read when I was a child. A hundred years ago, mining was popular in the United States. At that time, most people went to the mountains to mine, but the really smart ones were building roads, because the mines also had to be transported out." Ron said with a smile.
"This is equivalent to the highway of the electronics industry, so I need to open Best Buy supermarkets to every place in the United States in the shortest possible time. This requires a lot of funds. Therefore, I need to cooperate with Citigroup to carry out the large-scale expansion of Best Buy supermarkets." Expansion." Chen Zhiwen continued.
Although I have a lot of money in my hands, there are still many places to use it. There is no need to invest too much in Best Buy. The main source of funds is loans, and there is a lot of money involved. After all, Best Buy needs to open a store in a good location. , which results in the cost being higher than Costco.
The money from the bank does not need to be wasted. Not only Citigroup, but other banks in the United States will also cooperate in the future. Only when the money owed to the bank is more, the risk will be more stable. Of course, this type of enterprise purely based in the United States, Investors will also be introduced and listed in the future.
"If this is the case, I need the financial status of this Best Buy. Our bank will use this information to determine the future loan limit." Ron thought for a while and said.
"Okay, then I will wait for the good news from Citibank. However, Ron, for the sake of many years of cooperation, I can tell you that Citibank is not the only bank communicating with us. I hope you can make a decision as soon as possible." Chen Zhiwen said with a slight smile.
"No problem, I will promote this matter as quickly as possible. If you are in urgent need of funds, I can first authorize the transfer of 100 million US dollars to Best Buy. Anyway, your expansion cannot build hundreds of stores at once, right?" Ron said with a smile.
"It's not enough to have hundreds of companies at one time, but dozens are still okay." Chen Zhiwen said.
PS: It’s the end of the month, please vote for me
(End of chapter)
