Chapter 302 Convenience Store Chain and Wolf Pack Tactics
Yang Wendong thought for a while and said: "The method seems to be OK, but even if it is to acquire an old building, there must be location requirements, right?"
Liu Huayu replied: "Yes, supermarkets must have location requirements, but Hong Kong Island is only so big, and with the ones that have not yet opened, we now have more than a dozen supermarkets that can be said to be in core locations.
As for others, there is no need to crowd together. It is also possible to open in some edge areas of Central, Admiralty, and Causeway Bay. There are many old buildings in these places. We originally had to choose a house for a long time, so what's the point? It is better to just buy the old building and then demolish it and build it."
Yang Wendong nodded and said: "The idea is that the early investment is larger, but it is more cost-effective in the long run."
Liu Huayu added: "Yes, in fact, I am planning to do this on the Kowloon Peninsula, but over there you can just buy old buildings directly in the town center, but not here on Hong Kong Island. There are few old buildings in the center, and there are many." It's hard to buy."
Yang Wendong looked at Zheng Zhijie again and asked, "What do you think?"
"This is a good idea, although the investment is a bit larger," Zheng Zhijie said. : “But after buying the old building and demolishing it, you can also build a few more floors, such as a cinema on the bottom floor, a supermarket on the middle floors, and a dining area or other businesses on the upper floors. This can also form a small building. "It's a good business district."
"This is a good idea. Cinemas and supermarkets can be considered mutually reinforcing."
For a commercial district to be formed, it needs a variety of different businesses, including entertainment, shopping, dining, etc. The Wanda Plaza in the previous life was essentially like this, at most it was larger in area.
Zheng Zhijie added: "Then my internal real estate company needs to change some budgets and investment directions."
Yang Wendong said: "I remember that the real estate company has been acquiring properties in Kowloon recently, right?"
"Yes." Zheng Zhijie said.
Yang Wendong thought for a while and said: "Except for some of the things we are talking about, we will stop now. Later, we will focus our funds on supporting Carrefour. Just follow your previous ideas and build a small commercial district. Show me the plan.”
The previous expansion was semi-disorganized because Yang Wendong knew that the real estate growth rate in the Kowloon area was higher, so he focused on purchasing properties and land there. It will need to be disposed of after land prices reach their peak.
Now the time has arrived in the second half of 1962. Although the real estate crisis is still more than two years away, it is time to control the expansion of the real estate market a little. It is more appropriate to invest funds in long-term businesses, that is, small commercial buildings, and It can help its own cinema industry and supermarket industry.
Zheng Zhijie agreed: "Okay, if we just do this, the expansion speed will definitely not be as fast as the previous rental properties everywhere."
"With competitors, there is no need to rush. "Yang Wendong shook his head and said: "We are operating steadily. That’s it. Build a good brand and serve Hong Kong consumers seriously. This will definitely be a long-term battle.”
From the first day he opened Carrefour, Yang Wendong never thought about others. They will all be blind, watching themselves make a lot of money and then monopolize the Hong Kong retail market.
When the supermarket business reaches a certain scale, it will inevitably attract the entry of a lot of capital. For example, Wal-Mart in the United States was not the first supermarket, but it later relied on extreme cost control and service to finally win. of.
Now that Jardine has entered the market, although I am not afraid, it is still inferior to it in terms of its own funds and the resources that can be mobilized. So it is meaningless to grab properties when housing prices are high. It is better to develop with peace of mind. Take care of your own supermarket and make a long-term plan.
And there will be a real estate crisis in Hong Kong in the future. You can seize this opportunity and counterattack.
Liu Huayu agreed: "Okay."
Zheng Zhijie also said: "I will fully cooperate with Liu Sheng."
"Yeah" Yang Wendong said again Said: "However, if Yihe's supermarkets don't care about the cost expansion, we also need to target them."
Liu Huayu asked: "Are you going to have a price war?"
"The price war is one aspect. You can control the vegetable prices to attract more people, but you won't be able to take away their stores nearby. "People's business." Yang Wendong said: "My idea is to open a small retail store near their store."
"Small retail store?" Liu Huayu thought for a while and asked. "In a grocery store?"
Yang Wendong nodded and said: "Yes, but the grade should be higher. It should contain things that many people need daily. In this way, as long as the quantity is large, you can also grab the surrounding stores. Supermarket business.”
At this time, Zheng Zhijie asked confusedly: “But I remember, it should be the big supermarkets that will steal the business of the surrounding grocery stores, right?”
Yang Wendong smiled and said: "You are right, but do you know why? The prices in grocery stores are more expensive than in large supermarkets?"
Zheng Zhijie replied: "Because their purchasing costs are higher?"
Yang Wendong said: “Yes, large supermarkets can reduce purchasing and operating costs because they have unified purchasing and publicity, so more people come, but small stores are definitely not feasible;
But What if there are many small stores that rely on our Carrefour? They can ship goods directly from our warehouse, and even transport them by the way. This can significantly reduce various costs.”
Liu Huayu next to him also nodded and said: "Yang Sheng is right. If the store can get the goods directly from our warehouse, all kinds of costs will be reduced sharply."
"I see." Zheng Zhijie asked again: "But it shouldn't be the same cost as a big supermarket, right? Especially some stores with good locations."
Liu Huayu explained: "Yes, but why? How about comparing it to big supermarkets? As long as the price is not very expensive, that's enough. Don't forget its convenience. You can just go in and buy it, especially if the quantity is large.
< br>Just imagine, if you are not going to go shopping and buy two small things, do you want to buy them at a nearby store that is slightly more expensive, or do you want to go to a large supermarket a mile away, walk back and forth for half an hour, and then need to go Queuing up to check out?"
Zheng Zhijie said, "Even if the items in this store are more expensive, I won't go to the supermarket."
"Yes," Yang Wendong nodded. This is my new idea, the wolf pack strategy, to open enough small stores in Yifeng or many places in Hong Kong, and use the low-cost purchasing advantage of Carrefour supermarkets to support these stores
These small shops cannot threaten the life and death of Yi Feng Supermarket, but they can still affect them. "
Zheng Zhijie nodded and said: "I understand, then I will arrange for people to visit around Yifeng Supermarket to find a suitable location and then buy it. "
"Well, this matter is not urgent. "Yang Wendong added: "Now Land is our competitor, so don't rush to open it immediately, buy some properties first. "
"Okay. "Zheng Zhijie agreed. Yang Wendong added: "Old Liu, you should send people to Japan, the United States or Europe to investigate how these small supermarket chains operate in these countries. You don't want to copy them, but at least refer to them. ”
"Understood." Liu Huayu nodded, and then said: "I also knew some about these small chain supermarkets when I was in the United States. Although I don't know much about them, I have a question;
American supermarkets These chain companies are not responsible for their own operations. Generally, they adopt franchise methods. model, but the head office is responsible for the procurement and transportation of materials and door-to-door delivery. So in Hong Kong, should we operate it ourselves or adopt this franchise model?”
“I have also considered this,” Yang Wendong said: "Direct operation and franchising are two opposing models, but they are not incapable of coexistence. I I think we can adopt a mixed model, with both direct operation and franchise. We will see which model develops better later and then decide what to do.”
The two models of large enterprises in the service industry have their own advantages. Disadvantages: Direct operation means you manage everything by yourself. You can control everything in your own hands. Control the quality and service well, but the disadvantage is that the investment cost is too high;
Franchising means that you not only don’t have to invest, but you can make money from the franchise store, which facilitates the rapid expansion of the corporate brand. The disadvantage is that the management is difficult. If the franchisee If the problem is solved, it will affect the entire brand.
You also need to look at the industry. Large supermarkets must be directly operated, while small stores tend to be franchised, otherwise they cannot be managed at all.
It’s just that the situation in Hong Kong is a bit special. In such a small place, direct operation is not absolutely impossible.
Zheng Zhijie said: "Liu Sheng, no matter what happens in the future, you will definitely want to operate directly in the early stage. Only by making achievements and building a brand can you attract more people to join?"< br>
"Zheng Sheng is right." Liu Huayu said with a smile.
Yang Wendong nodded and said: "Then let's do this first. Find a suitable location first and then buy it. In the future, we can run it ourselves or rent it out. It doesn't matter. We need to occupy the suitable location first. ”
In the service industry, the most important thing is rent. If you own your own property, you basically have an inherent advantage, especially in Hong Kong.
In the past, Parknshop and Wellcome were considered leaders in the supermarket industry in Hong Kong, but they eventually lost to big capital and were acquired. It is estimated that the high rent cost is also one of the reasons, because you don’t care If you rent a house to do business, once you make a lot of money, the landlord will be jealous and raise the price
Zheng Zhijie agreed: "No problem, I have been acquiring street shops before, and some of them can also be invested in grocery stores like this , I will choose to buy it in some better locations later.”
“Don’t call it a grocery store, and don’t call it a small supermarket.” Yang Wendong said, “In the future, it will be called a convenience store, chain convenience store, no matter what. Should we operate it ourselves or adopt a franchise model? "
"The name is good," Liu Huayu asked again, "What is our brand called? Or is it the same brand as Carrefour?"
"We need to change the name." Yang Wendong thought for a while and said, "I haven't decided yet. Anyway, it will take some time to open. Let's wait."
There were so many convenience store brands in the previous life, he My favorite name is 711, which has a simple meaning. From 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., it can be understood directly and is also convenient for driving to various countries.
It’s just that this brand already exists in the United States and has been registered in the Commonwealth. He cannot use it unless he obtains authorization or reversely acquires the brand.
But he also checked that 711 currently belongs to the Southern Ice Manufacturing Company of the United States. This company's main business is ice production, but its profits have been greatly reduced due to the popularity of refrigerators. Lin Youjing in the United States also tried to contact them , wants to acquire 711 or obtain authorization, but there has been no progress yet.
Liu Huayu said: "Then I will also try to come up with some names and let you take a look at that time."
"Okay." Yang Wendong nodded.
If you can’t get the 711 brand, you have to name it yourself.
Business itself is inherently competitive, otherwise there would be monopolies everywhere.
It is normal that there are new players in the supermarket industry, and they are coming fiercely. Hong Kong is so big, and there are so many Chinese and British consortiums competing for food internally, so competition is good.
Only by defeating your opponents through commercial means in your own territory will you be qualified to go out and compete with overseas competitors.
In other industries, Yang Wendong is also an attacker, such as real estate and shipping. However, these markets are very large, so it cannot be seen clearly. But one day when his scale reaches the level of Jardine and Swire, he will once again compete with these large British companies. Conflict among consortia is inevitable for economic development. New consortiums can only rise by stepping on the corpses of old consortiums.
However, now that the British control Hong Kong, it is still inconvenient for Chinese capital to confront British consortiums like Jardine Matheson. Moreover, the time is not suitable, and their financial resources have not yet reached that level.
Fortunately, in order for Hong Kong British to manage Hong Kong stably, the Chinese capital is relatively better than before. At least on the surface, they need to maintain "fairness", and Yang Wendong also borrowed some Opportunity, and the relationship with Hong Kong Governor Bai Liji was not bad.
On October 15, at the invitation of the Hong Kong Governor's Office, Yang Wendong met Bai Liji again.
"Hello, Mr. Governor of Hong Kong." Yang Wendong said with a smile and shook hands.
"Yang Sheng, I'm very happy to meet you." Hong Kong Governor Bai Liji also said with a smile: "After your five oil tankers were put into use to transport water, Hong Kong's water shortage problem has been much better."
"This is what I should do." Yang Wendong added: "It's just a pity that the acquisition of this kind of tanker is not easy. I have only locked in one recently."
Hong Kong is short of water It is a long-term problem that had no solution before 1965, so the acquisition of second-hand ships continued during this period. This was also the best way to expand the fleet before the Middle East crisis.
It’s just that cargo ships are easy to acquire, but oil tankers are difficult to acquire. There are not many of these ships, especially the super-large tonnage ones. Most of them were built in the 1950s, and many of them have not yet been eliminated.
Boliji nodded and said: "It's good to have it. I also know the situation of the shipping company. It is difficult to increase the shipping capacity in a short time. Yang Sheng also tried his best."
"Yes." Yang Wendong nodded and asked: "Mr. Hong Kong Governor, did you call me here this time to deal with the drought?"
Now that Hong Kong is fighting drought, many of Yang Wendong's companies are already the largest. A civil force.
Unlike the Hong Kong government or other charitable funds, the support model of Changxing Group is beneficial to itself. Even if the profit is not high, it can still gain a lot of fame. In the long run, it can also Profitable.
Only when positive benefits are formed can it be recycled and developed, thus solving the drought problem in some areas.
"No, Yang Sheng has done a lot to solve the problem of water shortage." Bai Liji said: "I called you here this time because the Hong Kong government has agreed to your request for a museum."< br>
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(End of this chapter)