Chapter 258: Carrefour Supermarket Expansion
Chapter 258: Carrefour Supermarket Expansion
[A revolutionary product: plastic bags]
This was the headline on the front page of Oriental Daily this morning.
Below the title is a colorful picture of an old man holding a plastic bag with many different vegetables in it.
Next to a newsstand in Admiralty:
“The cover of Oriental Daily today is in color. Is Oriental Daily also going to make a color newspaper?” a young woman said curiously.
"It shouldn't be." A man next to him said, "Both Oriental Daily and Hong Kong Chinese Daily belong to Yang Wendong, the sticky note king. I guess they just borrowed the color equipment internally."
"Oh." The woman nodded and said, "Have you seen this plastic bag?"
"Yes, a friend of mine went to Carrefour yesterday." The man replied, "He also brought back a plastic bag. I tried it and it was really strong. Even two people couldn't tear it apart.
And it won't leak when you pour water into it, it's very light, and can be folded into your pocket. I wanted to borrow it, but my friend wouldn't give it to me."
"He treats her like a treasure." The woman said with a smile.
The man nodded: "Yes, this bag is very convenient to use when you go to the vegetable market to buy vegetables. You don't have to bring a basket from home, which saves you a lot of trouble. Others don't know you are going to buy vegetables."
"Well, this function is similar to what was described in the newspaper." The woman thought for a moment and said, "It's still early, why don't we go to Carrefour and buy some things and get a plastic bag."
"Okay." The man agreed and said, "Then I'll go ride my bike and take you there later."
"Yeah." The woman nodded.
Afterwards, the two rode their bikes together and came to Cheung Hing Plaza on Des Voeux Road in Central.
"There are so many people today? Is it a festival?" After getting off the bus, the woman saw that there were obviously more people at the entrance of Changxing Square than before.
"No, although it's almost Chinese New Year, this is obviously abnormal." The man thought for a moment and said, "I guess they are just like us. They saw the plastic bags mentioned in the newspaper and came here."
"With so many people, there will be even more people at the entrance of Carrefour supermarket later." The woman said with some worry.
"Everyone wants plastic bags, so we'll just have to squeeze in." The man smiled and said, "Let's go in and take a look."
"Ah."
……
Just as the two had expected, the entrance to the Carrefour supermarket was already crowded with people, much more than normal.
They followed the crowd in, bought some daily necessities, and lined up at the door...
An hour later, the two men came out with two plastic bags in their hands.
"It's amazing that something so transparent can be so strong." The woman shook the plastic bag containing the goods in her hand.
The man said: "It's probably similar to duct tape. Duct tape is also very strong."
"That's true." The woman nodded and said, "It's a pity that Carrefour Supermarket is unwilling to sell more. Otherwise, I could buy a few more and bring them back for other people to use."
"I guess there will be more and more in the future." The man paused and said, "It was also mentioned in the Oriental Daily that there are still some problems with the supply now. Scarcity makes things more valuable, so Carrefour does not supply them to the public.
When we can produce them in large quantities in the future, I think everyone will have one.”
"We won't be so rare then." The woman smiled.
She found that there were many people around, who, like them, began to study the plastic bag after getting it. It was estimated that the purpose of coming here was for this bag...
……
In a room inside the Carrefour supermarket, Yang Wendong could see the crowded crowd outside through the window.
"Yes, the news that Oriental Daily News and Hong Kong Chinese Daily News were jointly selling the newspaper has indeed attracted a lot of people to the supermarket." Yang Wendong nodded and said.
The key factors for news to be effective are: one is that there must be enough traffic for publicity, and the other is that the product or service being promoted must be of high quality.
Today, Oriental Daily and Hong Kong Chinese Daily have a combined daily sales of over 2 copies, and newspapers are not only read by the people who buy them, but are often bought by multiple people.
In this way, if the message is placed in such a prime position as the homepage, it is estimated that 10 people will be able to see it.
The plastic bag itself is a high-quality product. After hearing the introduction, people who have time may come and take a look.
Liu Huayu, who was following behind him, said with a smile: "The rule set by Mr. Yang before is still the best. Plastic bags cannot be sold alone. They can only be sold with goods."
"Even if I don't tell you, you will do this sooner or later." Yang Wendong smiled and said, "How does the flow of people today compare to when the store opened last year?"
"It's still a little worse." Liu Huayu thought for a while and said, "Before the opening, we invested a lot of money, hired a lot of newspapers to advertise, and also hired TV stations, plus discounts and the traffic of Changxing Plaza itself."
"Yeah." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "It doesn't matter if we can't compare. The main thing is that we now have the magic tool of plastic bags, and people's shopping experience will be further improved.
Later you can put up some ads to attract more people.”
"I understand." Liu Huayu agreed.
Yang Wendong asked again: "Are the supermarkets in Admiralty and Causeway Bay ready for opening?"
In the second half of last year, Yang Wendong asked Changxing Real Estate to acquire suitable properties for opening supermarkets. However, it was difficult to find one in Central, but he found some in Admiralty and Causeway Bay. Therefore, after acquiring the properties, he immediately renovated them and prepared for the opening.
By the end of the year, the decoration was almost completed, and then we were ready to open.
Liu Huayu replied: "It's ready. We're just waiting for the opening in three days, just in time for the Chinese New Year."
"Well, during the Chinese New Year, we can get more people used to shopping in supermarkets all at once, which is also the biggest advantage." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Plastic bags should also be prepared. In addition, we should negotiate with China Bus to arrange more buses. Good transportation is the basis of commercial services."
"Okay, I will contact Mr. Huang." Liu Huayu agreed.
In the few months since he came to Hong Kong, he has deeply felt that there is often great help between the various businesses within Changxing Group.
When you open your own supermarket, you don’t have to worry about property rental issues. Changxing Real Estate is already prepared. The speed of buying real estate is even much faster than the speed of opening a store.
The supermarket is about to open and needs publicity and advertising. Our own group also has newspapers and radio stations. If that is not enough, we can also contact other newspapers or even TV stations.
Now even public transportation can cooperate. With such resources, it is hard for supermarkets not to succeed.
At noon, Yang Wendong also had lunch at the Changxing Shopping Mall above Carrefour.
Just as he was about to leave, he saw a woman approaching, and the bodyguards immediately surrounded her like lightning.
This movement naturally attracted Yang Wendong's attention. Looking at the frightened woman who was frisked by the female bodyguard and didn't know what to do, Yang Wendong stepped forward and asked, "What do you want to talk to me about?"
"Hmm~" The woman came back to her senses and pointed at the plastic bag in Yang Wendong's pocket and said, "I want to ask you, do you want to sell the plastic bag in your pocket?"
"Buy my plastic bag?" Yang Wendong also looked into his pocket and took out the bag.
Just now downstairs, he picked up a few bags, thinking that they would be useful when he took them home. However, because the bags were large and the material was not very good, they were very noticeable when he folded them and put them in his pocket.
"Yes." The woman nodded.
Yang Wendong asked: "How much do you want for a bag?" "1 cents?" the girl said.
Yang Wendong asked again: "Do you want to send the bags to other places to sell?"
Good things, good businessmen, can see their value at a glance;
For many small businessmen, information gap is the most profitable. Now, there must be information gap in plastic bags as well.
"Yes." The woman nodded: "My boss is going to buy more plastic bags and send them to Kowloon Peninsula to sell."
"Okay, go ahead." Yang Wendong didn't ask any more questions.
The fact that the plastic bags we launched were noticed by these people was enough to prove that they had great market potential.
Of course he disdains to make such small money, but this can also stimulate Carrefour's business, which is also a good thing.
……
Three days later, Causeway Bay.
Yang Wendong brought Su Yiyi and his son to the busiest road here.
"It feels like there are more people in Causeway Bay than in Central!" Su Yiyi said as she walked.
They were surrounded by bodyguards, so there was some space, but the others were very close to each other.
Yang Wendong said with a smile: "That's normal, Causeway Bay is the best place for shopping right now.
Although there are many businesses in Central, the focus is still on commercial offices.”
"Yes, this place is more suitable for ordinary people." Su Yiyi nodded and said, "Wouldn't it be better if the new Carrefour store opened here?"
"It shouldn't be bad." Yang Wendong smiled and said, "This Carrefour in Causeway Bay has two floors and an area of more than 30,000 square feet. It's bigger than the main store in Central."
In a place like Central where every inch of land is valuable, the area for opening a supermarket is severely restricted. Even if it is one’s own shopping mall, it is impossible to consider only supermarkets.
In other places, the situation is much better. Although the land prices in Admiralty and Causeway Bay are not cheap, there are still options. Therefore, when purchasing properties, Changxing Real Estate took the area issue into consideration and decided to buy a big one.
Even if we want to open a store in Kowloon Peninsula in the future, we can just buy a piece of land with an area of 100,000 square feet and open a store there.
However, the expansion of supermarkets also needs to consider many factors and should not be done too hastily.
"That's great." Su Yiyi said with a smile, "From now on, my Yiranzhijia can follow me."
Yang Wendong said: "Old Zheng has already bought you dozens of the shops you want. There is no need to follow Carrefour."
"That won't work. It's next to Carrefour and there's a lot of traffic." Su Yiyi said with a smile.
"Okay." Yang Wendong nodded.
They soon arrived in front of an 8-story building. Although it was small, it had a large area.
At this time, Zheng Zhijie next to him said: "Mr. Yang, I wanted to buy the entire building, but the landlord disagreed, so I could only buy the bottom two floors."
"No one wants to sell this location. It's good enough that you can buy the second floor." Yang Wendong said with a smile.
The housing prices in Hong Kong in 1962 were already considered very high. Commercial land in Central had exceeded HK$1000 per square foot, 58 times that of 2.5, and was still rising.
Real estate speculation has reached a crazy level. Under such circumstances, many properties in good locations are basically not for sale.
"Then should we go in?" Zheng Zhijie asked again.
"No need, it's the same inside." Yang Wendong waved his hand and said, "Just watch it here."
"Okay." Zheng Zhijie agreed.
……
It was soon 9 o'clock in the morning. After the store manager cut the ribbon, a large number of balloons flew into the sky and the door was officially opened.
A large number of onlookers also poured in.
“It seems that our supermarket is already very well-known in Hong Kong.” Yang Wendong said with a faint smile.
Zheng Zhijie nodded and said, “Yes, the shopping experience of Carrefour supermarket has been deeply rooted in people’s hearts, and those who have never been there also want to go and have a look.
Plus, there was a 95% discount and plastic bag promotion on the first day, and once the newspapers advertised it, people nearby would definitely come over.”
"Well, let's go in and take a look around." Yang Wendong said again.
Although he doesn’t understand the profession, the boss can also serve as a service experiencer, especially since he has a lot of experience from his previous life.
……
The crowd in the Carrefour supermarket in Causeway Bay was no less crowded than that in Central. Even though people had been prepared, there was still a long queue at the checkout.
"Good, I will continue to buy properties like this in the future." Yang Wendong said with great satisfaction.
"Okay." Zheng Zhijie said.
Liu Huayu next to him also said: "Don't worry, Mr. Yang, as long as the staff are in place, I will open a new store as quickly as possible."
"Okay." Yang Wendong said, "Old Liu, the supermarket is almost through its initial stage, so we need to focus on expanding the business.
We need to form scale advantages as quickly as possible and then integrate the procurement chain. Only in this way can we be considered truly successful.”
In the original history, supermarkets in Hong Kong appeared in the late 60s and early 70s, and developed very slowly, so it took a long time to attract the attention of big capital.
If we set up the supermarket now and invest without any reservation in the next few years, it is possible that big capital will be attracted in advance.
Although there is no need to worry too much, you still need to prepare early.
As long as you occupy a lot of positions as quickly as possible and can reduce costs after expanding your scale, even if other people enter the market, they will inevitably be unable to compete with the successful pioneers.
"I understand." Liu Huayu nodded and said, "This year, I plan to open ten new supermarkets. In addition, I will train a large number of skilled workers to prepare for next year and beyond."
"Okay, then I'll leave this one to you." Yang Wendong nodded.
As a time traveler, he knows that the future of retail is supermarkets and can provide some suggestions, but the specific operations require professionals.
This is true for many of the industries under its umbrella.
……
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(End of this chapter)