Chapter 223 Self-built supermarket: Carrefour

Chapter 223 Self-built supermarket: Carrefour

Chapter 223 Self-built supermarket: Carrefour
Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Okay, I've already prepared the funds. As long as you agree, I'll give it to you immediately.

But I have a suggestion. In the future, Wal-Mart supermarkets should better build their own properties. In fact, they can just find a piece of vacant land and build a house, or buy a large warehouse. In the long run, this is more cost-effective. Otherwise, there will be more problems when the rent expires in a dozen years. "

In the past, many supermarkets in mainland China were cheated by their property management.

In the past, RT-Mart half-owned and half-leased its properties in the early days of its business. However, after the lease expired, it was difficult to replace the properties because of long-term business difficulties, and as a result, the landlord sucked its blood out of it.

Others such as Wal-Mart, Carrefour and Auchan, because they are foreign-funded, also leased their properties in the early days. As a result, they were cheated after the expiration of the lease and had to close down. A large part of the reason why foreign-funded supermarkets failed in the mainland was because of rent.
On the contrary, Metro, which insisted on building its own supermarkets, has been living a relatively comfortable life, although its scale has grown very slowly.

Although it is a little different in the United States, the capital characteristics are the same. If you don’t build your own property, you will lose a large number of regular customers if you move out after the lease expires. If you don’t move out, you will still be sucked dry by the landlord.

Sam Walton nodded and said, "Well, I understand the pros and cons, but I really can't build properties in the early stage. If our cooperation is successful later, I will seriously consider this issue."

"That's fine, I'm just making a suggestion." Yang Wendong smiled.

He plans to open a supermarket in Hong Kong, or in Asia in the future or even in the mainland after the reform and opening up. His greatest confidence does not come from his knowledge of the future or his understanding of the future retail industry. This does not play a big role in current supermarket operations.

It was because he started very early and had sufficient funds, so he was able to hold the properties himself. As long as he owned enough properties in Hong Kong or other cities in Asia, it would be difficult for him to make a loss when he ran a supermarket or other service industry in the future.

The current housing prices, even in Tokyo and Hong Kong, are still very low compared to their future.

This is the biggest advantage of time travelers in retail business;

Of course, other aspects cannot be too bad either, so in terms of management, he will invite experienced talents from within Walmart and combine them with his own vision and capital.

After a brief greeting, Yang Wendong left Walmart. It seemed that the purpose of his visit to the United States was basically the same.

European and American companies do not reject external capital investment, especially small companies like this, which are not large technology companies, and the US government will not interfere in such matters.

However, the only thing that needs to be paid attention to is whether this company will cheat investors in the future. This kind of case is very common in the business world. It is normal for investors and entrepreneurs to cheat each other.

The next day, three mid-level executives from Walmart came to the hotel where Yang Wendong was staying:

"Mr. Liu, Philen, Barney, I'm very happy to meet you." Since they were poaching people, Yang Wendong naturally knew their names a long time ago and welcomed their arrival.

Among them was a Chinese American who surprised Yang Wendong a little. His name was Liu Huayu, and he also started a business with Walton in the early and middle stages.

"Hello, Eric." The three of them were quite polite.

"Please sit down." After Yang Wendong gestured, several people sat down next to the swimming pool downstairs in the hotel, and waiters brought drinks to them.

After chatting casually for a while, Yang Wendong asked: "Since you three are able to come here, I think you are at least willing to go to Hong Kong. Then it's just a matter of price. I can pay you according to the cost of sending personnel overseas by ordinary large American companies.

In Hong Kong, I will prepare a house for you to live in, a car, etc., but you have to be more careful with the car because the road rules are different."

The only Chinese, Liu Huayu, said, "Mr. Yang, we have some other requirements, such as accommodation and round-trip time."

Yang Wendong was also listening to some conditions, which were normal. In fact, if he didn't see the future of the supermarket industry, he wouldn't need to negotiate on such a small matter.

In the end, Yang Wendong agreed to these not-too-excessive conditions, and then said: "Mr. Liu, you are also Chinese, so it will be more convenient for us to communicate in the future. I am planning to open a chain supermarket similar to Walmart in Hong Kong.

The first store was in a large shopping mall; it was located in.”

Yang Wendong also gave a general account of the situation of Changxing Square.

After listening to this, Liu Huayu said: "This location is indeed good, with a large flow of people and many wealthy people around. If the supermarket opens, the business will definitely be good."

"I never worry about the flow of people in the supermarket," Yang Wendong said. "But for a supermarket alone, how to purchase enough supplies is the biggest problem."

Supply chain is needed in any industry, not just manufacturing but also retail.

If there are already other supermarkets in a place, then you can roughly build a retail system by following their example. But as the first one, it is a bit difficult because you need to develop the supply sources of all goods yourself.

Liu Huayu said: "I am not very familiar with Hong Kong, but it is a city that can operate normally and can meet the needs of millions of people there, so supermarkets can just buy these supplies.

The more troublesome thing is that it is difficult to lower the price of many products because the purchase volume is relatively low. In addition, the individual transportation will also be very costly. "

"I know a trader in Hong Kong who does local business. He can help." Yang Wendong added, "But it is impossible to cover all the products that supermarkets need. You still have to go to the site to understand how to operate in the future."

Liu Huayu said: "It would be much more convenient if there were local traders to help. Even if he couldn't buy it, at least he would know where to buy it conveniently."

"Well, I'll introduce him to you when you arrive in Hong Kong." Yang Wendong nodded and said.

Zhao Chengguang is now Changxing Industrial's partner in Hong Kong. For example, he is the only distributor of post-it notes, sticky hooks, mouse traps, trolley cases, etc. This can be regarded as Yang Wendong's reward to his early partners.

Zhao Chengguang himself had good resources. Before he met Yang Wendong, his main business was to supply various goods to many grocery stores and small supermarkets, which was somewhat in line with the needs of his future supermarket.

"Okay, Mr. Yang." Liu Huayu said.

Yang Wendong added: “There is another special situation in Hong Kong, that is, the domestic product stores, which specialize in importing cheap domestic goods and then selling them to locals;
You should also know something about the situation in the mainland. The main purpose of these stores is to earn foreign exchange, so many times, they would rather sell at a loss."

"Selling at a loss?" This was the first time Liu Huayu had heard of such a thing. After thinking for a while, he asked, "Are there many supermarkets here? Are the products in them very complete?"

Yang Wendong replied: "There are quite a few, but the rent in the area where our first batch of supermarkets are located is relatively expensive, and there are not many domestic supermarkets. As for the goods, we have both light industrial products and agricultural products."

My initial supermarket development plan was to be in some economically developed areas of Hong Kong Island;
One is that these places have strong consumption power and large population; the other is that they can take the opportunity to invest in real estate, which will yield high returns and reduce the rental costs of supermarkets;

The third reason is to avoid domestic stores as much as possible; I don’t want to compete viciously with them, and it is also difficult to compete with similar products.

Liu Huayu asked again: "Can we purchase goods from the mainland?"

"It should be possible." Yang Wendong said: "Behind the National Supermarket is China Resources Group, but China Resources wants to maximize its profits and earn foreign exchange, so it cannot rely solely on its own channels. Their products are also sold to many stores across Hong Kong, including food, vegetables and light industrial products.

How we will cooperate in the future will depend on you going to Hong Kong and discussing it with China Resources.”

When he was preparing to open a supermarket, he asked Zhao Chengguang and learned that many of Zhao Chengguang’s goods were imported from China Resources.

Moreover, China Resources cannot cover all daily necessities, because not everything can be produced domestically, and factors such as transportation costs must also be considered. Otherwise, so many import trading companies would not be doing so well.

"Okay." Liu Huayu agreed.

Yang Wendong asked again: "When can you go to Hong Kong?" Liu Huayu said: "It will take about a month. Not only do we work at Walmart, we also have families in the United States. If we suddenly go on a long business trip to Hong Kong, we also need some buffer time."

"I understand." Yang Wendong said, "Then you guys go to Hong Kong in a month. I will go back earlier and try to buy a property nearby. If we can buy one, we can open several stores at the same time. This way, the procurement and logistics costs will be much more evenly distributed."

The expansion of a supermarket must not be scattered here and there, but it needs to start from one point and slowly radiate to the surrounding areas. This is how Walmart developed.

The location around Changxing Building is very expensive. It may not be possible to succeed in a short period of time to acquire a large property nearby to build a supermarket.

Liu Huayu said: "Okay, I will try my best to make some preliminary preparations and summarize some of my experience and information."

"Okay, that's it." Yang Wendong said, "I hope that next time we meet in Hong Kong, we can make preparations together and do a good job in this business."

Liu Huayu asked again: "By the way, Mr. Yang, what is the name of our new supermarket?"

Yang Wendong said with a smile: "I plan to name it Carrefour, which means family happiness and well-being. It means that our supermarket can provide all customers with all the things and services that a family needs."

The word Carrefour is actually the name transliterated by the French company Carrefour when it invested in China in the 90s. I have to say that this name is quite good, much better than Auchan, RT-Mart, and Metro.

It's a pity that due to its poor management capabilities, it eventually withdrew from the mainland market. Before Yang Wendong traveled through time, almost no one mentioned this name.

"Carrefour? This name is indeed a good one." Liu Huayu also praised.

Yang Wendong took out another business card and said, "This person is Lin Youqing, the person in charge of my business in the United States. You can contact him if you have any questions.

Including your air tickets to Hong Kong in a month, the most basic subsidy funds will be taken care of by him. "

"Okay, thank you Mr. Yang, we'll take our leave first." After Liu Huayu took the business card, he left with the two American guys.

Another three days passed, and news finally came from Sam Walton. He agreed to Yang Wendong's request to invest 15% of the shares, but he also required Yang Wendong to lend 30 US dollars to Walmart supermarket at a low interest rate for future expansion.

Yang Wendong naturally agreed. This investment was not as much as the cost of acquiring China-Pakistan, but the future returns would be so high that it would definitely dazzle all other investors, including Buffett.

Witnessed by lawyers from both sides, Yang Wendong signed his name on the contract and took a photo shaking hands with Walton. This will be a good historical memory in the future.

After signing the contract, each party will keep one copy, and the other copy will be sent to the local business agency for filing.

Yang Wendong said, "Sam, the funds will be transferred to the company account before tomorrow afternoon. I think you will be able to make a big splash in the American retail industry soon."

"Haha, Eric, you are joking." Sam Walton said, "I am very happy to be able to achieve some results in Arkansas."

"I believe that capable people will not be satisfied with just a small place." Yang Wendong laughed.

Today, Walton would not even dare to dream that he could become the richest man in the United States in the future and that his supermarket could monopolize the entire country.

This is actually very normal. When the world's super-rich started their businesses in the early stages, few could see their future clearly. They could only take one step at a time.

But maybe you caught the opportunity, and then everything went smoothly and you couldn't stop even if you wanted to.

Walton didn't care and said, "Then I'll borrow your good words."

"You're welcome." Yang Wendong added, "Sam, don't forget that this contract requires an annual audit."

This is a friendly reminder and also Yang Wendong’s way of protecting his own rights and interests.

These entrepreneurs, such as Walton, Wang Yongqing, etc., who were invested in by him in every possible way, were all extremely capable.

But the more this is the case, the more Yang Wendong needs to protect his own rights and interests while investing.

Walton was also a smart man, so he said, "Don't worry, I understand. I will definitely do a good job on the accounting matters, and I am willing to let you check at any time."

"Okay." Yang Wendong nodded and said.

……

One day later, a total of $47.64 was transferred into Walmart's bank account. With the inflow of funds, the contract officially came into effect, and Yang Wendong also owned 15% of the shares of Walmart Supermarket.

At the same time, the joint venture of Walmart Supermarket also owed Yang Wendong, the second largest shareholder, US$30.

After everything was settled, Yang Wendong stayed with everyone and once again contracted a Pan American business jet to return to Hong Kong.

On the plane:

Bai Yushan asked in confusion: "Brother Dong, I think Walmart is in great need of money. If you really think highly of them, why don't you ask for more shares? Why only ask for 15%? And you even lend them money."

Yang Wendong said with a smile: “In many cases, the more shares the better. There is also a possibility that if you want too many shares, the founder will be wary of you or will be unwilling to work for you.

When you are short of money, everything is easy to say, but after you have gone through the difficult period, it may not be the case. Many times, you need to find an appropriate way to do things. "

"I know that." Bai Yushan asked, "But you only asked for 15%. I think 25% shouldn't be a big problem."

"Maybe." Yang Wendong didn't care too much and said, "If you want to get more shares in the future, there will be plenty of opportunities. You don't have to get them all at once now."

Although he didn't know how Walmart became successful in its early days, the fact that the Walton family still owned more than 50% of the shares decades after starting the business was enough to show that they attached great importance to equity.

Having a major shareholder with too many shares would be bad for Yang Wendong, whether it caused confrontation in the future or Walton would find a way to transfer assets.

Rather than taking such a risk, it is better to invest less and wait for opportunities in the future, such as after Walmart goes public, and then acquire the shares, or you can ask other shareholders to acquire them later.

The advantage of doing this is that it can keep its identity low-key and avoid attracting the attention of US business regulators when Walmart becomes too big.

"Yeah, that's right. American companies still like to go public." Bai Yushan nodded.

Yang Wendong smiled and said, "Don't think too much. This time when I came to the United States, all my expectations have been fulfilled. Come, let's celebrate. It's a double happiness."

“This is on the plane…”

PS: Please give me a monthly ticket
(End of this chapter)