The very simple addition and the imminent answer made Zou Guodong excited again. He could not remain calm at all.
"Oh my god! According to your calculation, Salia's gross profit must be at least 60%!"
"Isn't it scary?"
"But...how is this possible? The gross profit of this restaurant is almost more than that of our Maxim's restaurant! Just relying on such cheap food?"
"How is it impossible! Their cost It's all reasonable and legal. It doesn't require high-quality imported ingredients like Maxim's, nor does it require skilled chefs or waiters who understand foreign languages. Everything strives to be simple, even the quality of the staff. The employees hired by Asia can be put on the job after a simple training. I didn’t see that even ordering is done by the customer now, and then the waiter comes to confirm. So the employees here only need to be able to order food, serve plates, and clean for the public. It’s enough to do simple tasks like hygiene. This is called simplicity.”
"Still simple? You really have words. I just feel terrible. Everything in front of me tells me that Salia's Japanese boss is so powerful that he can make such a good plan. His restaurant The cost of the food produced is actually lower than that of ordinary people living at home. Does this make other colleagues miserable? Fortunately, the Japanese are so smart that they don't look down on our country's market and don't bother with it in the capital. Ah. Otherwise, the catering industry in Beijing would be in chaos. At least the Western food industry would be in trouble. I can’t imagine how serious the impact would be..."
< br>The more Zou Guodong thought about it, the more scared he became, and his heart felt so cold.
However, Ning Weimin knew that he was suddenly frightened and had no time to think about it carefully.
So he took the initiative to correct the omissions and addendums, and offered kind words to comfort him.
“Overthinking, overthinking. Mr. Zou, it’s actually not that serious. You see, Japan’s Western food industry has not messed up Salia. After all, people have multiple needs. The high-end market for business banquets , Salia will definitely not get a share of the profits. Real foreigners will also sneer at this kind of unauthentic Western food. If we want to entertain customers, we can't bring them to eat this kind of Western food, right? , Salia’s ability to save costs is also due to the location. If this restaurant goes to our capital, there will be many things that only local households like us can do.”
"Besides, just because it's useless, we still have to find a way to control it. Didn't I bring you here? What did our ancestors say? Learn from the barbarians and use them to defeat the barbarians! In fact, this trick is nothing. It's just a layer of paper. As long as we learn it first and do it domestically, we will have the initiative and the first-mover advantage. This will only leave other companies with no way out in the future if they want to rely on low prices. There is no chance of competing with us. Even if Salia wants to take root in our domestic market in the future, it will not be easy for us to let the common people take the lead.”
These words worked. Zou Guodong heard what was going on. He sighed and nodded.
Ning Weimin toasted again at the right time, but what he said afterwards was a bit heartbreaking.
"Mr. Zou, don't blame me for exposing scars. Compared with Salia's simplicity and down-to-earth attitude, our Menimus seem flashy. French simple meal? Where do you think Jane is? That's not to say that it's just a simple meal if you eliminate the high-end dishes from the French cuisine and only sell some of the cheap dishes from Maxim's Restaurant. Even so, the prices of the dishes in Menimos still make ordinary people want to run away, and people who don’t know how to eat Western food will still feel intimidated and troubled in Menimos.”
“By the way, I don’t. I know if you have noticed. Anyway, every time I go to Menims, I find that the restaurant is so quiet that there is no one there. This is not because of the high quality of our customers, but because all the customers feel restrained in Menims. Si is careful when dining and is embarrassed to speak loudly. Think about it, how can a restaurant that makes people uncomfortable and a restaurant that makes guests unable to feel relaxed can prosper? So, this leads to the success of our company? The two restaurants that both sell French food have obvious differences in their operating conditions. Although Maxim's restaurant is expensive, high-end people have already recognized it. It is full every day and the business is very good. High-end people don't like it, and ordinary people can't afford it. If things go on like this, Menimus will soon lose money. …”
There is no doubt that by saying this, we have touched upon the core essence of today’s meal.
That is whether to follow Salia's model and change Menimus' business model.
Zou Guodong pondered for a while. Because the foreshadowing was sufficient and Salia, who had witnessed it with his own eyes, was in front of him, he did not feel that Ning Weimin was trying to squeeze him.
But this decision is not easy to make. He has to carefully consider and weigh many issues.
"Weimin, I understand what you mean. I admit that what you said makes sense. And today I also witnessed Salia's business conditions with my own eyes. It is a miracle in the mall and I have benefited a lot. Shallow. But the problem is that Maxim Restaurant and Menimus Restaurant are two brothers. The two restaurants have achieved success in many countries, not to mention the success of this model. When the restaurant was first opened, it was just a matter of capital preservation, and it took almost half a year for it to succeed. So maybe you are a little too pessimistic. Maybe if you wait for a while, Menimus' situation will improve. of..."
"Mr. Zou, I'm afraid it's not that I'm pessimistic, but that you're too optimistic."
Facing Zou Guodong's unrealistic expectations, Ning Weimin sighed and shook his head, and then argued back with reason.
“The ‘many countries that have achieved success’ you mentioned are all Western countries, right? You need to understand that the gap between Europe and the United States and us is not only economic, but also cultural. Mus's main focus is coffee culture, which even we have not fully understood and cannot fully adapt to. Can you expect the people in the capital to quickly adopt this kind of dining habit? Impossible? "
"With all due respect, although China and France are the two countries that know the best about food, in my opinion, they both made a fatal mistake in the promotion of food. Let’s start with high-end food. What a complicated food culture China and France have. I’m from the capital, and I only barely know the eight major cuisines of Sichuan, Shandong and Cantonese. How much can foreigners know? We always want the best. There are cultural thresholds for appreciating these things for others to see. You said, if others are not good enough and don’t know how to appreciate it, how can they enjoy it?”
“The opposite example is also obvious. American fast food like Kentucky, McDonald's, and this Salia are very good, intuitive, simple, and have obvious cultural symbols, but the taste is rich and straightforward, and the people like it. It's monotonous, but people who have never been exposed to it can understand it at a glance, so these things spread quickly like a virus and can open up situations wherever they go. It can be said that Americans got involved unintentionally. There is no light of culture. If we want to achieve this effect, we must simplify complex things, just like teaching children, so that customers are interested in simple and understandable products first, and then introduce more complex ones. Something more pure has to be done step by step.”
"Yes! You are right, everything you said is right. To be honest, I think so too."
Zou Guodong did listen to Ning Weimin's words. It can even be said that he was almost Convinced.
If it weren’t for the fact that some objective problems that are difficult to solve still exist.
"But I'm worried that Mr. Song will have an easy time, but our big boss will have a hard time. Think about Mr. Caton's temper. Even though the old man is usually easy to talk to, he also has a tyrant side at work. The key points have never changed. Maxim and Menimus are both masters of French cuisine and pursue style. You know, the big boss made it clear when the restaurant was opened. . If you are not afraid of losing money and would rather lose money than reduce the price, how can you change the dishes to popular Western food like Saria? What will Salia's simplistic transformation look like? Will Mr. Caton think that we are ruining the French food culture? The old man will definitely be furious..."
Zou Guodong's concerns cannot be said to be wrong. , Ning Weimin is actually very understanding.
What's more, if you think about it from his perspective, he himself hated the Panda Restaurant in the United States that sold fake Chinese food in his previous life.
I can’t wait to spit on those bad guys who only care about making money and are completely charming.
He could fully imagine how the master himself felt, and it was only human nature to express opposition and disgust to his ideas.
So he thought about it and came up with an alternative idea.
"Otherwise, we won't use Menimus to transform it. We will simply abandon Gemini completely and simply launch a brand new Western food brand independently owned by our Huaxia Company. For example, call it 'Big "Eiffel Tower", or "Crécole", etc., as long as the customers can associate it with the French style of Pierre Cardin, but it is not completely the same. In this case, the recipes do not need to be limited to French representative foods. Article. Then you can base yourself on the world and have complete freedom of choice. And if you do this, it won’t affect the style and brand image of Maxim and Menimus. Mr. Caton won’t mind, right?” br>
Zou Guodong's eyes lit up when he heard this, and then he slapped his hand again.
"That's fine. As long as you don't touch Menimus, I don't think Mr. Caton will object. Don't mention it, these two names you gave casually, as the brands of the chain store, are also It's quite tasty. If this were to happen, Maxim would be high-end and Menimus would be positioned in the mid-range, and our own brand would occupy the low-end market, which would completely cover all the customer groups in Beijing. Ah. And the key is that the low-end market has the largest consumption power, I think. As long as we can lower the price of Western food to an average consumption of eight yuan per person, it will be enough to make Yili Fast Food dumbfounded and Lao Mo and Xin. The excitement has attracted young people from all over the capital to come here to try something new. But... the question is, where does this money come from?"
As he spoke, he became happy. Zou Guodong was very open and frowned.
“This is not a small number. According to Salia’s method of playing, what is expected is small profits but quick turnover. While reducing costs, we must also pursue timeliness. Of course, the more stores, the better. Like The rent in our country is low, and the competitive environment for Western food is not difficult. So it is suitable to open a store in downtown areas such as Qianmen, Xidan, Dongdan, Gulou, and Wangfujing, right? Otherwise, the district government will not look good. Do you have to fight for the airport and train station? "How many of them are there?" "In addition, the central kitchen must be a very large place, and transportation requires cars with refrigerated carriages. . Semi-finished catering tableware and cups must be customized. A large number of heating and refrigeration equipment are also needed. The key is to ensure the supply of food raw materials. It is impossible to rely on the greenhouses in Tiantan, and then it is not possible to sign with the Beijing supply outlet. It will be a small order. Let's make a conservative estimate. Based on the minimum basic numbers of six stores, a central kitchen with a capacity of 100 people, two refrigerated trucks, and two ordinary transportation trucks, I think this matter, We can’t do it without five million. This is equivalent to creating a large catering company out of thin air.”
"This does not include the cost of hiring and training employees, as well as future maintenance costs. You also know our company's revenue situation. It is developing well now and we have money, but currently it is all converted into Japanese yen. I and I Lao Xiong thinks all day about how to pay off foreign debts, how to pay others late, and how to pay interest to the bank on time. Now the company only relies on the cash income from our store's sales every month to maintain the balance. There is also the matter of mass production of your trolley suitcase, which also requires funds. Mr. Song also asked Lao Xiong to promise to invest at least one million in production, so within a year, there is really no extra financial resources. Under the current circumstances, if you still ask us to allocate five million to do this, it will conflict with our plan to build the building. If we insist on doing it, it will not be cost-effective in the end. , I'm really not sure..."
Zou Guodong's difficulties are obvious. You really can't blame him. The financial problem is still quite real.
He can see this and think of practical difficulties in advance. This is a good thing and shows that he is not a fool.
Business is often like this sometimes. Although it is a good opportunity, if it is not coincidental, it can also make people confused.
At this time, you have to face a choice. As the saying goes, you can't have your cake and eat it too.
But what Zou Guodong didn't expect was that Ning Weimin was more thoughtful than him and had already thought of a solution to the financial difficulties.
As soon as he finished complaining, he immediately gave him a surprise.
"Oh, what are you talking about? It's just money. This is easy to handle, I have already thought of it for you."
"What? You are bragging here, five million for you You can change it by saying it?”
“What am I bragging about! Let me remind you, what is the purpose of your trip to Japan?”
"I...didn't I cooperate with you to sign a contract with the Japanese side?"
"Come on! After signing the contract, the Japanese will have to give us money. I have been working with Ishikawa, who is in charge of the financial affairs of the Japanese company. As agreed, he promised to remit at least 500 million yen to us first. As long as the contract is successfully signed, the next payment will be 500 million yen, as long as the industrial land for the factory is approved. Just remit it. Isn't it trivial to pay five million yuan..."
Zou Guodong, who originally didn't believe Ning Weimin's big words, frowned even more at this time.
"No, no, since the money is used to build a factory, how can it be used for other purposes? You don't want to think like this, it will lead to financial crimes!"
However, Ning Weimin He laughed, and then finally explained the matter with some words.
"Oh, I know the law too. I didn't let you misappropriate it. Besides, I'm not stupid. That's Japanese yen. If we keep it in the country for one more year, we can exchange it for double the renminbi. Why are you giving up?" You can make more money from the exchange rate than from opening a restaurant. Even the benefits I promised to these guys, Ishikawa and Takada, have to come from the exchange rate. I mean, with this money, you have actually used the five hundred. After a year, even if we lose money on this restaurant, we will have already earned the money through the exchange rate, so we will be in an invincible position.”
"As for opening a restaurant, under such a premise, there is no need to delay. Anyway, this matter will definitely not cause any holes. What are you afraid of? If you are like this, you can find Zhang Shihui from Tan Palace, the director of Tiantan , and Qiao Wanlin from the service bureau will help with the financing. They will definitely be happy to borrow it with an annual interest rate of 30%. Their business is now on track, and the business is booming. "
"Although I took them to stock up on Japanese yen before I left, it will be half a year after the Spring Festival. Their piggy banks will definitely be full. I will tell them again later, I’m sure it’s no problem. We can also establish a joint venture with the Polar Bear Factory. All cold drinks will be sold by them, and your payment will be much easier..."
Hearing that Ning Weimin is With this arrangement, Zou Guodong suddenly became enlightened.
When he thought about it, it seemed to work.
It's really clear and logical, everything is taken care of, and there really is no obstacle.
So he was no longer ambiguous, raised the cup and greeted Ning Weimin in return.
"Okay, that's it! After drinking this glass of wine, I'm going to board this pirate ship with you!"
Ning Weimin was also happy, A reciprocal response.
"Okay, have fun! Mr. Zou, it's because of your trust. I'll give you another show after this meal. Let's go to Kabukicho Street in a while..."
But this sentence was obviously well-intentioned, but it frightened Zou Guodong so much that he choked on his wine.
He coughed for a while before regaining his ability to speak, but his face was still pale and he kept waving his hands.
"No, no, no! If you don't go, don't go! I have a wife and children, so don't cheat on me!"
"What's the point!"
< br>Ning Weimin was surprised that Zou Guodong was so nervous and fearful.
"Have you misunderstood? I don't want to take you there for anything. It's just to see the feasting side of capitalism! It's a rather special tourist area there, and there are song and dance performances. Let's watch the performances!"
< br>"Don't go there either! Don't think I don't know where that place is! I also prepared lessons before I went abroad."
Zou Guodong sighed sincerely.
"I'm not like you. I've been out of acting for a long time. Young man. How good you are. No one is looking after you, no one is watching, and no one is checking. Before I went abroad, my wife gave me a lot of help. When it comes to ideological education, I've been told that I can make any mistakes, but I can't do that. I'll have to call her to report the situation later. Okay, I'll go back later. , I have to record what I saw today, so as not to forget..."
Ning Weimin naturally couldn't force himself, and could only laugh secretly in his heart.
lead! You can’t blame me for not making arrangements for you!