Chapter 301 Famous Hong Kong and New Layout
The next day, Yang Wendong called Qin Zhiye and informed him of his idea of "all people participating in drought relief".
Qin Zhiye’s eyes lit up after hearing this and he said: “Yang Sheng, this is a very good idea. Many people are actually willing to do charity and help others, but they don’t know how to operate. Sometimes They are also relatively lazy.
And if they can know that they are participating in charity activities when they buy things, they will definitely be very satisfied."
Yang Wendong nodded and said. Well, regarding this matter, you need to increase your publicity later so that the whole of Hong Kong knows that spending money at Carrefour or buying Watsons drinks is equivalent to donating a sum of money to buy water in the mainland, thereby easing the pressure on Hong Kong. ”
"Okay, I'll ask the editor to polish the article." Qin Zhiye said: "Such publicity will definitely increase the sales of Carrefour and Watsons."
"I hope so." Yang Wendong smiled. .
Some bad business marketing strategies in previous lives may still be very impactful in this era.
In this era, the Chinese people still have a strong desire to help each other. For example, when people on the Shuiwutong Mountain side have no food to eat, many people climb mountains and wading rivers to deliver food.
Besides, even if the effect is average, if this card is played, it will bring the enterprise and responsibility together, and the reputation will greatly increase.
On October 6, Hong Kong China Daily and Oriental Daily launched the slogan "Together we will overcome the difficulties and fight the drought together".
"Work together to overcome the difficulties and fight the drought?" After seeing the title of Oriental Daily, a man bought it directly and then started reading.
The first part of the article is about the current drought situation in Hong Kong. The tap water in many places has been cut off. Even on Hong Kong Island, it is intermittent. Many people are forced to take leave to go out to find water.
The second part is about the impact of the drought on Hong Kong's economy. Many industries require water. Although water shortage will not cause work to stop, it will seriously affect production efficiency, and every factory needs electricity. Due to water shortage, even two power plants in Hong Kong have begun to reduce power generation. This has a significant impact on Hong Kong's economy.
When there are problems in the economy, a large number of factories are operating less, which has a greater impact on ordinary workers. In this case, factories will either reduce wages or lay off employees, which will make ordinary people's lives even harder.
The third part introduces the current methods of the Hong Kong government and society to deal with droughts. Because of the severe drought in South China, there is not much water that can be transferred from the East Guangdong Reservoir to Hong Kong. The Hong Kong government has to entrust major shipping companies to transport water from the East China region of the Mainland. Carry water.
It’s just that many shipping companies have limited additional carrying capacity and are not very involved. Nowadays, the one that transports the most water is the Changxing Shipping Group. More than 20 cargo ships run back and forth in the mainland of Hong Kong, and there are an additional 5 large oil tankers. The water efficiency is so high that almost one million tons of water can be transported back in a month.
The fourth part describes the investment of some social forces in this matter in addition to the Hong Kong government. Among them, the one with the highest investment is naturally the Changxing Charity Foundation, as well as some wealthy Chinese and British people. The capital side is basically not involved, and they are not short of water.
The fifth part is the focus of the article, describing the joint effort between Carrefour and Watsons to launch the "Together to Fight the Difficulties" project. Anyone who spends money at Carrefour will have 0.2% going to the Changxing Charity Foundation, and When buying Watsons drinks, 0.5% will be used. These funds will be used to buy water in the mainland.
The sixth part is to appeal to more people to participate. They can donate to the Changxing Charity Foundation, some organizations of the Hong Kong government, etc.
"You can also do charity by buying things? It's interesting." The man looked at the blazing sun in the sky, then walked to the newsstand and asked: "Do you have Watsons drinks here?"
"Yes, Jiang Would you like a tea drink to relieve the heat and refresh you?" the newsstand owner said with a smile.
The man nodded and said, "Okay, I'll buy a bottle."
In an office building in Central, Huo Yingdong read the newspaper, then handed it to the person in front and said: " Ding Sheng, Yang Wendong has played a new trick this time, take a look."
"New trick?" Ding Kejian, the head of China Resources, was a little surprised after hearing this. After reading it for a while, Said: "It is indeed interesting. It can not only promote my own business, but also help many Hong Kong people solve the problem of water shortage."
Huo Yingdong smiled and said: "I would say that Yang Sheng is a born business wizard. He can come up with such a method."
Ding Kejian also said: "Yes, this drought is indeed too difficult. Well, although the mainland can also earn some foreign exchange from Hong Kong, the losses in South China are also huge."
Huo Yingdong asked: "South China is very large and has many big rivers, which is bigger than Hong Kong. Much better, right? "
Ding Kejian replied: "Just looking at the drought, Hong Kong is naturally more serious, but the economy in Hong Kong is much stronger. If there is a drought, you can still buy water by boat;
But inside If there is no water in the depths of the mainland, it is impossible to transport water by truck, right? We have to find ways to find underground water, and even if people can find water, what should they do in Hong Kong? "
"Oh, yes." Huo Yingdong also frowned: "There is nothing we can do about this kind of thing."
Ding Kejian added: "There is nothing we can do, but if we can purchase overseas grain, we must first ensure that people have it. Just eat it."
"Hmm." Huo Yingdong said again: "What's going on with the Hong Kong government and the mainland about the water from the East River entering Hong Kong?"
Ding Kejian said: "Also? It hasn’t been determined yet. I don’t know the specific situation. I heard that there are a lot of disputes.”
Huo Yingdong frowned: “That means the drought in Hong Kong still cannot be solved in a short time. .”
Ding Kejian said: "Even if an agreement is signed today and an agreement is reached, such a water diversion project will probably take about a year. In the short term, Hong Kong's drought problem will still have to rely on large ships to transport water."
< br>Huo Yingdong nodded: "Yes, it seems that Yang Sheng was a big The large-scale purchase of second-hand ships and the layout today are really foresight, otherwise Hong Kong would be even worse today."
"Yeah, I just don't know how he dared to gamble. If there is no drought in South China, then he will. All this is in vain." Ding Kejian was also a little confused.
Huo Yingdong said with a smile: "If he loses the bet, he will actually make less money. He bought so many second-hand cargo ships. Even if he doesn't transport water, he still has other businesses. In recent years, Hong Kong's shipping has had an impact on ships. The demand is getting higher and higher, so you won’t lose money.”
“Yes, Yang Sheng, as you said, he pursues a win-win situation in everything he does.” Ding Kejian nodded.
"Not necessarily, there is one exception." Huo Yingdong thought for a while and said: "I have inquired about the five large second-hand oil tankers he bought. They are almost useless ships and cannot be used to transport oil at all.
< br>He can only buy these boats to transport water, otherwise he will definitely lose money, but he shouldn’t lose much.”
Ding Kejian agreed: “That’s right, this may be the real high price. I would rather lose money than bet that the drought will continue. In this way, the efficiency of five large tankers in transporting water will be much higher than that of normal cargo ships."
"Yes. "Huo Yingdong smiled, his eyes full of appreciation.
Ding Kejian added: "I am also going to report this matter to the central government so that the central government can see what Yang Wendong has done and ignore his ZZQX in the future. This at least shows that he is a big entrepreneur who is righteous and loves the people. .”
Huo Yingdong smiled and said: "That would be better, but I estimate that if it were the 1930s and 1940s, he would definitely be an entrepreneur willing to help the country."
"Yes." Ding Kejian nodded and said, "Yes, if there had been such successful entrepreneurs at that time, many things would have been much better."
Huo Yingdong smiled and said, "It's a pity that history has no ifs."
In a simple office in Admiralty, after reading the newspaper, Bao Yugang said with emotion: "It's really interesting."
Huang Xiuying followed up and said: "Yes. Ah, in this way, we can bring many people in Hong Kong to do good deeds, and it will also make Carrefour more popular. I guess Yihe's new supermarket may not be able to compete with Carrefour," Pao Yugang said with a smile. That would be even better, our Chinese capital will always have to surpass British capital in one field.”
"Yes." Huang Xiuying asked again: "Can your ship be searched and used to transport water?"
Bao Yugang shook his head and said, "I think so too, but I All the ships have already been contracted. If they are rented to others, they cannot be taken back unless I buy another ship now." Huang Xiuying frowned and said: "That probably won't work, now HSBC is already. Although the major shareholder of our company does not have veto power, we cannot harm its interests."
"Yes, so there is no other way." Bao Yugang nodded, and then said: "I will donate 20. 10,000 Hong Kong dollars, that’s my idea. In the future, I’ll buy all the supplies I need on board from Carrefour, and I can also buy some Watsons drinks.”
As a shareholder of a large bank, the advantage is that it has sufficient support, but the disadvantage is that it is no longer as free as before, which is even greater than the restrictions on listing.
"That's fine." Huang Xiuying nodded.
Can you participate in charity by buying what you need?
When many people knew about this incident, everyone thought it was very interesting. Anyway, they themselves need to buy these things themselves, and this incident did not lead to an increase in commodity prices. Everything remained the same as before. Therefore, more people are more willing to go to Carrefour.
As for Watsons drinks, many people also want to try them. They are planning to buy drinks anyway. However, there are indeed many people who don’t like the taste of ginger drinks.
On October 10, Yang Wendong once again came to the Carrefour supermarket downstairs.
After Liu Huayu arrived, he smiled and said: "Yang Sheng, during this period, the number of people entering our store has increased by almost 10%, and the order volume has also increased by 8%."
"Well, not bad. It seems that the 0.2% charitable donation not only did not lose money, but made more money." Yang Wendong said with a smile.
Liu Huayu nodded and said: "Yes, but it is mainly due to the publicity effect of Oriental Daily and Hong Kong China Daily. They reported it together with the drought, and even the advertising fees were saved."
< br>“This is much more effective than direct advertising.” Yang Wendong added: “In the future, whether it is domestic or foreign, whether it is your own media or other people’s, soft advertising must be considered when doing publicity, and it must be included in some interesting content, or In some hot news, the effect will be better.”
The concept of soft advertising is still rare in this era, even in Hollywood and in the American television field.
"Okay." Liu Huayu nodded and said.
Yang Wendong asked again: "Is Yihe's Yifeng Supermarket planning to open a new store?"
"Yes, this is their biggest advantage, and they must devote all their energy to it." " Liu Huayu nodded and said.
Yang Wendong nodded and said: "Well, you can discuss it with Zheng Zhijie and ask him to hurry up on the property purchase or leasing."
Liu Huayu paused and said, "Okay, but during this period, Hong Kong's housing prices and rents have become more and more expensive, causing our costs to continue to increase. Especially now that Land has also joined in, competition has also led to an increase in rental prices. .”
Yang Wendong fell. There was no surprise, and he said: "You ask Zheng Zhijie to come over too."
Now in the second half of 1962, housing and land prices in Hong Kong have become very high. The bidding for land in places like Central and Causeway Bay has exceeded 1,000 Hong Kong dollars per foot (11,000 square meters).
When housing prices soar, rents will inevitably rise as well. Especially nowadays, too many people are blindly optimistic about Hong Kong's future real estate and economy.
“Okay.” After Liu Huayu agreed, he quickly called someone,
After a while, Zheng Zhijie also arrived: "Yang Sheng, Liu Sheng."
Yang Wendong asked: "Lao Liu just told me about the housing prices and rents, please explain in detail."
“Okay, that’s it.” Zheng Zhijie replied: “In recent months, due to the sharp rise in housing prices, our rents have also begun to rise sharply, and it has also become very difficult to purchase properties. Many owners simply cannot I don't want to sell, and occasionally the real estate agent will do it. Come to compete, so Carrefour's opening costs have increased significantly."
Yang Wendong asked: "Does Land own a lot of high-quality properties?"
Zheng Zhijie replied: " It is true that they have many properties, but they are mainly in places like Admiralty in Central. Although there are also properties in other places, they may not be suitable for opening supermarkets, so many of them have to be rented or bought directly.
But the current situation in Hong Kong is that even if they want to buy land, some owners are unwilling to sell it. Many people hope to support three generations in one house. "
"Well, it's normal. Chinese people just prefer real estate and houses. Yang Wendong shook his head and smiled.
In ancient times, the Chinese loved land. One of the main reasons for the collapse of most dynasties was that land annexation was too serious.
In industrial society, they began to fall in love with houses. Well, real estate in Hong Kong and the mainland in the future is very hot most of the time. It is for this reason that problems will not arise until the population finally becomes smaller and smaller.
Zheng Zhijie added: "But in the past two years, I have purchased a lot of suitable properties here, in total. There are 41 locations, all of which are currently open or under renovation, covering many densely populated areas.
What needs to be considered now is whether to increase efforts and continue to acquire or lease properties. "
Yang Wendong said: "Yes, Carrefour's expansion cannot stop. Even if housing prices are higher, just find ways to reduce costs. We cannot give up on the development of the retail industry just because real estate prices are higher. ”
Although real estate will have problems in a few years, the development of the retail industry cannot stop. If Jardine takes advantage, it may cost more to compete in the future.
< br>Besides, the housing prices in 1962/63 are still not as good as those in 1964/65. Even if the property tax is appropriately reduced, we have to wait another two years.
Zheng Zhijie agreed: "Okay, I will continue. When purchasing a suitable property, the price will also be negotiated with Liu Sheng and Yang Sheng in advance. ”
"Okay." Yang Wendong nodded.
He also knew that Zheng Zhijie also meant well to remind him. After all, he did not know the future, and normal service-oriented companies should be cautious at this time.
Liu Huayu said: "Actually, there is another way, but the investment will be higher, but in the long run, it is more cost-effective."
"Tell me about it." Yang Wendong asked.
Liu Huayu said: “We bought the old building ourselves and then demolished it to build a supermarket. The disadvantage of this is that the cost is very high because it is equivalent to buying land directly.
But the advantage is that one can avoid the head-to-head confrontation with Land. There are many old buildings and it is impossible for them to compete with us for all the positions. The other is to consider long-term real estate income. ”
(End of this chapter)