Chapter 304 Retail Cooperation and Re-booking of New Ships
Ding Kejian said: "Yang Sheng also knows that with three express trains opening this year, we at China Resources can invest more food into Hong Kong, especially meat and vegetables. , so we will sell it to Carrefour at a preferential price, but there is a condition."
"What condition?" Yang Wendong asked with a smile.
Ding Kejian said: "We will give you discounts on goods from the mainland, especially meat, but Carrefour will need to give priority to purchasing meat from the mainland in the future. The same can be said for other materials."
“This matter is only I can say that I have an intention and how to cooperate, but I can’t agree now.” Yang Wendong paused and said, “Long-term cooperation must have a time limit. It’s impossible to just say [in the future]. Generally speaking, it’s a one-year negotiation. One time is more reasonable.”
Ding Kejian also agreed: "Yang Sheng is right. I came here today just to reach this verbal agreement with you. There are many things involved in the follow-up that need to be discussed in detail."
"Okay, I can agree to it." Yang Wendong said: "As long as your price is better than the market, then it is okay to cooperate in large quantities. This is also normal business logic."
In fact, food in Hong Kong does not only come from the mainland. , can only say a large part.
There are many reasons for this. Transportation is a big problem. Although the mainland is closer to Hong Kong, the internal transportation is poor. Although Southeast Asia is far away, if we can use sea transportation, the cost can be controlled.
In the early days, before the 1950s, when Hong Kong had a small population, an underdeveloped economy, and low consumption power, the materials supplied to Hong Kong from the mainland were obtained from the nearby eastern Guangdong Province. Even if they were transported by land, they would be cheaper than Southeast Asia is cost-effective, so the main source is the mainland. Daily consumption in Hong Kong is also one of the main ways for the mainland to earn foreign exchange. .
However, as the economy develops, Hong Kong's population increases and its economy becomes stronger, the demand exceeds the food production capacity in the eastern Guangdong Province near Hong Kong. To this end, the mainland must mobilize supplies from other big cities, such as Shanghai, Hankou, etc. This has led to skyrocketing transportation costs. Coupled with the lack of refrigeration capacity, the cost of food loss along the way is also very high.
On the other hand, the cost of shipping has gradually decreased with the development of Hong Kong's shipping industry, and a large amount of food from Southeast Asia has begun to enter the Hong Kong market, especially meat and staple foods.
The British Hong Kong government is even more happy to see this happen. They do not want the entire food source of Hong Kong to be controlled by the mainland. Therefore, they have entered a state of competition among all parties.
In order to earn foreign exchange, the mainland has launched three express train projects to quickly transport materials to Hong Kong through trains. However, even so, the cost is about the same as that in Southeast Asia, and each has its own advantages.
At this time, it is probably necessary to fight for channels.
Huo Yingdong said with a smile: "Haha, actually this is something that benefits both sides. Yang Sheng, your supermarket also needs cheap meat, and China Resources also needs more stable and high-demand customers."
< br>"Yes." Yang Wendong nodded.
Being a supermarket, what matters is actually price. Although service is also very important, the final service level of most supermarkets is not bad. After all, they are in the service industry.
Even if some new supermarkets cannot change the arrogant rhythm of previous shopping malls, they will be gradually forced by the market to reform or be eliminated.
Ding Kejian also said: "The sales department of China Resources will visit Carrefour tomorrow and let them negotiate the specific details."
"Okay." Yang Wendong agreed: "I will let the people at Carrefour finalize this matter as soon as possible."
Huo Yingdong and Ding Kejian left after talking about the matter.
After arriving in his car, Huo Yingdong said: "Ding Sheng, this cooperation must be grasped tightly. I estimate that Yang Wendong must have ambitions to use Carrefour to control Hong Kong's retail industry. , if he succeeds, then many of China Resources' future products will be very convenient to sell in Hong Kong."
Ding Kejian asked: "Isn't it the same with Yihe. Have you built a supermarket? With Yihe’s capital, do you think Yang Wendong will definitely win?”
“I dare not say 100%, but 80% will definitely win.” Huo Yingdong said with a smile. Although Jardine has stronger funds, how much power does it have? Over the years, its financial reports have seemed to be getting better and better, but in fact it is just relying on the wealth of its ancestors.
If you study carefully, you will find that in industries that need to be focused on operations, Jardine is actually not good at it. Of course, it is not just it. Other British-funded companies are similar. They all rely on the property wealth or monopoly business accumulated by their ancestors. Relying on the development of Hong Kong and the global economy, we have maintained wealth growth. "
Ding Kejian thought for a moment and said, "You are right to say that. "
Huo Yingdong added: "Look at Yang Sheng again. In just a few years, he has gone from nothing to a leader in many industries. This supermarket is the first one he built in Hong Kong. , Yihe’s group of people, I don’t think highly of them. "
"Huo Sheng's evaluation of Yang Sheng is really high. "Ding Kejian smiled: "But Yihe Land and Wharf have a large amount of high-quality land. This alone is an absolute advantage.
At the beginning, China Resources also wanted to open a store to sell its own products, but it stopped at the property level. In the end, it could only open a joint venture with a local consortium to open a domestic store, and it had to avoid those bustling business districts, otherwise the cost would be basically Can't come down. ”
Few people know that the mainland's domestic stores in Hong Kong are actually joint ventures. The rent is too expensive, and China Resources cannot build so many retail outlets, so it can only cooperate with local consortiums.
Huo Yingdong continued: "This is also the only advantage of Yihe, otherwise it will 100% lose, but don't forget, in terms of capital, Yang Wendong also has some, and the business he is interested in, It’s impossible to give up easily;
Besides, there are many factions within Jardine. It’s hard to say how much resources they will have to support their new supermarket.”
“Yes.” Ding Kejian nodded, and then said: "However, even if Yang Wendong can win in the end, I'm afraid it will take a long time. It has nothing to do with it now. This competition may last for many years."
"Yes." Huo Yingdong said: "So China Resources needs to cooperate with him more. If you give him more favorable goods, then he will have a greater advantage and procurement demand will increase."
Ding Kejian also said: "Yes, Yi Feng Supermarket in Yihe, a lot of their meat is purchased from Southeast Asia, but they just don't want to cooperate with us."
"British capital, that's normal." Huo Yingdong shook his head and said: "Not to mention that the prices between the two sides are almost the same now. Even if the ones in Southeast Asia are more expensive, they will cooperate with them."
"Well, and many people in Hong Kong also like to buy foreign goods, even if the price It’s more expensive than the ones in the mainland,” Ding Kejian said with a sigh.
Huo Yingdong said: "This is actually also a channel issue. Many British-owned shopping malls also deliberately sell only foreign goods, or encourage customers to buy. In fact, consumers often have no choice."
Ding Kejian said: "So we still have to wait for Chinese investors like Yang Sheng to control the retail channels. This will be more beneficial to us at China Resources."
"Yes." Huo Yingdong nodded: "In Hong Kong or overseas, channels are generally the most important thing. This is the opposite of the mainland."
"Channels? That's true." Ding Kejian agreed. .
After Huo and Ding left, Yang Wendong also called Liu Huayu and informed him of what had just happened.
Liu Huayu was overjoyed after hearing this and said: "If our meat can be very cheap, we can also partially participate in the price war."
Yang Wendong agreed: "Well, meat Categories are the most in-demand commodities for people with better economic conditions in Hong Kong, and the average household’s consumption of them is not low;
If we can control this price, it will indeed be a very big advantage. "
"Yes. "Liu Huayu said: "Three express trains can deliver thousands of live animals every day. The amount put into the mainland has increased significantly. Then it will be no problem to increase the number of our stores several times in the future. "
Yang Wendong nodded and said: "Okay, you organize the relevant team, contact people from China Resources, finalize a cooperation agreement as soon as possible, and then reduce the price of meat in our supermarket, especially pork and chicken. "These two things are always in rigid demand and are also one of the core products of supermarkets.
Even, if the demand is really high in the future, then our own group It's possible to do this in Hong Kong, because Hong Kong's milk companies also raise cattle in Hong Kong, so it's also possible to raise other cows.
The business itself may not be profitable, but it can take the opportunity to hoard land, even if it is some land in an average location
"Understood." Liu Huayu assured.
Sunday, October 28:
Yang Wendong came to the dock at Zuizui Bay, Kwai Chung. Zheng Yuhua, the person in charge of Changxing Shipping, and several senior executives also came here.
"Yang Sheng, our new ship has entered Victoria Harbor. It will arrive at our side in 15 minutes." After Zheng Yuhua answered another call, he came over and said happily.
"Okay." Yang Wendong nodded, with a smile on his face.
This is his first new cargo ship, which came to Hong Kong after it was built in Japan, so there will be a celebration, and his boss naturally needs to come.
After a while, a new green and white ship appeared in the distance. Zheng Yuhua said: "Yang Sheng, that is the Zhongan, our first new ship."< br>
"Okay, do all kinds of shooting." Yang Wendong also said to the people around him.
"Yes." Several people with cameras and cameras quickly started preparations.
"Du~~" The ship gradually docked and made an amazing roar. Zheng Yuhua said again: "Yang Sheng, let's get on the ship for a visit."
"Okay." Yang Wendong nodded.
Then, the group of people got on the ship, and under the leadership of the captain, they walked around the entire freighter.
Yang Wendong asked: "Captain Xu, what is the focus of our first sea mission?"
Captain Xu said: "It is Brazil in South America. There are many industries in Japan. The products will be exported to South America, and a large amount of local light industrial products will also need to be brought back from South America on the return trip.”
"That's quite far." Yang Wendong nodded.
Captain Xu replied: "Yes, it will take more than two months to go back and forth."
Yang Wendong said again: "Okay, thank you for your hard work. We can have more supplies. As long as it is not wasteful and not too extravagant, it will be fine.”
The profits of shipping are very high, otherwise the shipping king’s development speed would not be so fast, especially in Hong Kong, the wages of its own workers would not be as good. High, even only 1/10 of European and American crews.
But in this case, many shipowners still like to deduct some sailing supplies that don’t cost much. For some people, the workers’ life is slightly better than losing money themselves. Uncomfortable
Captain Xu smiled and said: "Okay, thank you Yang Sheng."
He is new to Changxing Shipping, and he has long heard that the boss of Changxing Group is very good to his employees. What he said today is even more... Let him make sure that changing his job is the right choice.
Yang Wendong said again: "Well, okay, let's go down then, Captain Xu, thank you very much."
"You're welcome, Yang Sheng." Captain Xu was immediately flattered.
After getting off the ship, Yang Wendong asked: "When will our shipyard get the annual maintenance qualification?"
Ships in Hong Kong need to be inspected once a year. This is not a government intervention in the market, but a mandatory requirement for safety. It is the same in other countries and regions. Otherwise, without mandatory government inspection, the global passage of ships will be restricted.
However, neither Hong Kong nor other governments can do this themselves. They usually authorize some large shipyards within their own territory to take responsibility.
Zheng Yuhua replied: "I am still applying. This involves the security of international maritime areas. The ships subject to forced inspection by Hong Kong are also mutually recognized by other countries. Therefore, the Hong Kong government also conducts a rigorous review and cannot tolerate any problems. It’s also difficult to get involved in this matter.”
“ It doesn’t matter, we just have to pass the inspection one by one.” Yang Wendong said: “This qualification is for our own convenience, but we must also have this ability.”
When it comes to safety, that is. Factors that are more important than quality should not be neglected at all.
Zheng Yuhua said: "Understood, I have also hired many engineers from Wanwan and Japan. It is just because the shipyard is new and many aspects are not yet perfect. In terms of technology alone, if we cultivate it for a while, it should be fine. "
"Well, okay, continue to train talents in all aspects. This field mainly relies on technology to make a living." Yang Wendong nodded, and then asked: "There are four freighters in Japan, what about them. The time will come."
Zheng Yuhua replied: "The next four ships will be delivered almost once a month, and the last one will be delivered in February next year."
Yang Wendong nodded and said: "Okay, that's basically done. Next, I'm going to buy the next batch of new ships. This time, I'm going to order large oil tankers and bulk carriers."
Zheng Yuhua's expression changed after hearing this. Delighted, he asked: "How much tonnage is it?"
Yang Wendong said: "The 50,000 to 100,000-ton level depends on the needs of our future leasing customers."
The size of the ship mainly depends on demand. Ultra-large ships have strong oil transportation capabilities and high efficiency, but they cannot pass The most important Panama Canal is also inaccessible to many seaports.
Smaller ones offer more flexibility, but the unit price and freight are higher.
Just like large, medium and small trucks in normal land transportation, there is no absolute cost-effectiveness, it just depends on the demand.
“Okay, I will negotiate with the lessor to see what their needs are.” Zheng Yuhua asked again: ‘What’s the quantity? ’
Yang Wendong replied: "This also depends on the needs of the lessor and the loan limits of several banks to me."
The lessor will value experience. Changxing Group does not have an advantage in this regard, and the banks also have to control Risks, you also need to consider capital investment, so you can't expand however you want.
Everything still needs to be negotiated by all parties before it can be finalized.
PS: Please give me a monthly ticket
My son is suffering from inflammation of the flat conductor and will have to stay on the water for a few days. He will return to normal after he recovers.
(End of this chapter)