Chapter 701 Investing in Nike

Chapter 701 Investing in Nike

Chapter 701 Investing in Nike
Yang Wendong said: "Second-hand equipment is cheap. Even my factory in Hong Kong uses second-hand equipment from the United States. In terms of production, the efficiency is actually similar.

The only downside is that equipment damage may be more likely to occur or additional maintenance manpower may be required, and the cost investment in this regard will be a little higher, but overall, it is still very cost-effective.

Now the textile industry in the United States has been crushed by the textile industry in Asia. There are many cheap production lines. Pick some of the better quality ones, such as those that have been used for two or three years. After the equipment has been run-in, it is not much different from new equipment. "

"This." Director Dai was undecided for a moment and said, "I can't make the decision on this matter. I need to discuss it internally after I go back."

"Okay, this is just a suggestion." Yang Wendong said with a smile: "Whether it is new or second-hand, I will ask someone and then you can choose it yourself."

Director Dai quickly said, "Thank you, Mr. Yang."

"You're welcome. I'm also very happy to do something for the people in the mainland." Yang Wendong replied;

In the past, mainlanders, especially those born after 00, lived in an era of abundant material resources and had almost no concept of the word "poverty".
In the mainland at that time, many people may not even have clothes. Clothes and quilts are treasures in the family. There was once a report that a family had several children, but only one child could go out every day because there was only one pair of pants.
After the oil industry developed, snakeskin bags became a relatively cheap commodity, and some families cut open the snakeskin bags and sealed them up to make clothes and pants, which they then wore.
"Patches" were also very common in the 80s and 90s.

After the two left, Yang Wendong called Wei Zetao and told him the matter. The joint venture with Berkshire was Changxing Industry. Although he did not interfere much in the joint venture factory, Wei Zetao still had some connection with the other party.

After listening to this, Wei Zetao asked, "Mr. Yang wants to sell some of Berkshire's old equipment in the US factory to the mainland?"

"I have this idea. Some factories in the United States are about to close down. These equipments can't be sold at all. We might as well buy them back at a bargain price and then transfer them to the mainland." Yang Wendong added: "Anyway, we in Hong Kong don't need these outdated equipments. The mainland just needs them."

Even though Buffett is very capable and really wants to keep Berkshire's factories in the United States, this is going against the development of the times and is impossible to succeed. Therefore, the lower the end of the industry, the easier it is to be eliminated, while high-end industries can relatively last for a while.

The joint venture factory between Berkshire Hathaway and Changxing Industries in Hong Kong mainly focuses on mid-to-high-end textile industry, as the low-end textile industry has existed in Hong Kong for a long time, and there is no need for Changxing Group to compete with them, as this market itself has already been squeezed to the point of having little profit.

But the mainland needs these outdated equipment. For them, too complicated and advanced equipment is not good. First, they are not good at using them. Second, the more complicated the equipment is, the easier it is to break. Third, the country needs to solve the problem of "whether there is equipment" first, rather than how good the textiles are.

Wei Zetao nodded and said, "That's fine, but Berkshire Hathaway must not know about this. If they knew the target was the mainland, they might take the opportunity to ask for a high price."

"Yes, let's keep this a secret for now. Just say we need these equipments," Yang Wendong agreed. "Also, we don't need to focus on Berkshire alone. Many textile factories in the United States are not doing well. Some have closed down, some have relocated. As long as there are any that meet our requirements, we can ask them."

The last time the mainland needed sugar, although it seemed that Guo Henian and he did it together, the main credit was definitely Guo Henian, and he only participated moderately;

Now, he is the main force in this matter. If he can find production line equipment with sufficient capacity and low price for the country, he can make a small profit. What is more important is that once this relationship is established, after the reform and opening up, this relationship will have rich returns.

Looking back at history from the past, all the Hong Kong tycoons who helped China before and after the reform and opening up have basically received rich rewards in China, such as several people who built universities in China in the early days.

Wei Zetao agreed: "Okay, then I will contact my colleagues in the United States and check the relevant information first."

"Well, OK, but ask about new equipment as well. It is possible that the country does not want second-hand ones, so we have to be prepared for both situations." Yang Wendong added;

From an economic perspective, second-hand items are obviously more cost-effective, but sometimes other factors may also come into play, so you can’t just do things according to your own feelings. After all, it’s just a consultation, so just spend some time on it.

Time quickly came to July. Historically, it was also this month that Li Xiaolong passed away.

However, by the end of the month, Yang Wendong knew that Li Xiaolong's new Hong Kong movie had been completed and nothing happened, so he felt relieved;
With the completion of the film, Li Xiaolong is preparing to leave Hong Kong and return to the United States to prepare for the filming of a new Hollywood movie. After all, in terms of influence and profits, even though Hong Kong films today are already quite famous in Asia, they are still several orders of magnitude behind Hollywood.

It just so happened that Yang Wendong was also planning to go to the United States, so they took a private plane to Los Angeles together;
After arriving in Los Angeles, Li Xiaolong was ready to go directly to Hollywood. Yang Wendong asked, "Have you thought about the content of your next movie?"

Li Xiaolong shook his head and said, "No, this time it was the screenwriter from Paramount who compiled a movie based on my situation. According to the rules between us, the plot of this collaborative movie is mainly the responsibility of Paramount. However, it is not a matter of principle and can be negotiated."

"Okay, you guys decide these things by yourselves." Yang Wendong didn't ask any more questions;
In the early days, he was more involved in the entertainment industry because he needed to use his own capital to lay a solid foundation for the entertainment industry, such as the expansion of theaters in Asia, the training of Li Xiaolong, and the cooperation with American Hollywood film companies;

After these strategic matters were completed, he basically did not intervene, allowing various capable people in the market to display their abilities, whether it was Li Xiaolong, Xu Guanwen or other talents that had never appeared in his previous life, just let them display their abilities.

As long as the market can give these people rewards, they will certainly try their best to make money. As the largest entertainment group in Hong Kong, they will naturally get the biggest share, and they deserve it. After all, it is because of the early investment of Changxing Group that the Hong Kong film, TV series and music market is what it is today; even in the future, Hong Kong's entertainment industry may not necessarily decline.

Yang Wendong came to the Beverly Hills five-star hotel in the center of Los Angeles. Lin Youqing, who was in charge of many businesses in the United States, also came and said with a smile: "Mr. Yang, our Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles has been topped out and is ready to start decoration. It will be open for business in another six months."

"Another half a year? This speed is a bit slow?" Yang Wendong said after recalling the past.

Lin Youqi explained: "Mr. Yang, the speed of the American construction industry cannot compare with that of Hong Kong. Even though there are various auxiliary equipment, the efficiency of labor is too poor;

In fact, it is not just the United States. The Four Seasons Hotel in the UK is the same. In addition, there have been occasional strikes recently. Even if it is not a strike by construction workers, the strikes of various public utilities have a great impact on transportation. " "Well, there is really nothing we can do." Yang Wendong said helplessly;
Not to mention that he is a foreign capitalist, even the big capitalists in the United States are helpless against the unions. If they can't beat you, they will run away, so a large number of factories moved overseas;

Only a few industries could not leave, such as construction workers in the service industry, dock workers, or the automobile industry which could not leave because its market was in the United States. The result was the gradual weakening of the American automobile industry. Due to the strength of the labor unions, most American automobile companies were exhausted and did not develop well on the technical level, and were eventually beaten by Japanese cars.

It can be said that the unions account for half of the credit for the decline of the American auto industry.

Lin Youqi continued, "But our business is contracted to a local company. They will find a way to solve the problem."

"Okay, never mind." Yang Wendong asked again, "How are the two things I asked you to investigate?"

Lin Youqi replied: "I have visited many textile factories in the United States. They are also interested in selling their second-hand equipment. However, this is not our business after all. We cannot decide what equipment to buy."

"I know. First, take enough photos, then organize the information and send it back to Hong Kong. Hong Kong will give it to China Resources. As for the rest, we just have to wait for the mainland to decide." Yang Wendong nodded and said.

He will participate in this matter, but he will not interfere in this kind of decision-making, nor will he make suggestions;
This is an important point in how to behave in society. It is like a normal person should not give advice to his relatives and friends on major matters, such as buying a car or a house. If you buy the right one, people will not be grateful to you, but if you buy the wrong one, they will only blame you.

"Okay." Lin Youqi continued, "Another thing, I have found a company called Nike, located in Beaverton, Oregon."

"Haha, okay, let's go to Beaverton." Yang Wendong said with a smile.

The Fortune 500 in the past, which were born in the recent era, are basically some electronic technology companies, or supermarket chains. Those that can be invested in have already invested, and some uncertain ones need to wait and see;

There are some special ones, such as Nike, the future global shoe king, which was also born in the early 70s. Therefore, he arranged for Lin Youqing to look for it in the United States some time ago;
However, in that era, there was no Internet and Nike was a small company, so it took Lin Youqiang some time to find it. Before that, he even found a company with the same name, but it was subsequently rejected by Yang Wendong.

Lin Youqi said: "Okay, I'll arrange the itinerary."

Beaverton is also in the western United States, located in the north of California, but the distance is still too far, more than 1000 kilometers, so everyone took a plane to go there;

One day later, Yang Wendong came to a large store. Looking at the store in front of him, Yang Wendong asked, "Is this Nike?"

Lin Youqi explained: "Yes, this is Nike. Nike is not a manufacturing factory, but a retail store. In the early days, they were the agent for Onitsuka Tiger, a Japanese shoe brand.

Later, due to some conflicts in cooperation, they separated, and then Nike was established last year. Its founders were Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman. "

"Focusing on sales is indeed more in line with the modern economic model." Yang Wendong nodded and asked, "Where are their shoes produced?"

Lin Youqi replied: "From what I know, it should still be Japan, because the two of them had deep cooperation with Japanese companies before, and now they have established a new company, it is likely to be the same. Although there are shoe factories in the United States, like the textile industry, they are not doing well, and the cost is high."

"Well, let's go in and take a look." Yang Wendong nodded.

The textile industry and some low-end industries in the United States have been severely impacted by their Japanese counterparts, which has forced the United States to transform towards local service industries. Therefore, in the future, the new American giant companies, apart from electronic technology, will be various local service brands, and there will be almost no new traditional manufacturing industries.

After entering, an American guy who looked about the same age as Yang Wendong came over, shook hands with Lin Youqing and said, "Mr. Lin, we meet again."

"Hello, Mr. Knight." Lin Youcheng also shook hands and said, "Mr. Knight, this is my boss, Mr. Yang Wendong, and this is Phil Knight, the founder of Nike."

"Hello, Mr. Knight." Yang Wendong immediately shook hands and said with a smile.

Yang Wendong also admires from the bottom of his heart those who can start from scratch and build a Fortune 500 company with their own strength;

Although these people may not be as successful as him in the future, his achievements are due to his "prophetic" advantage. Otherwise, let alone Nike's level, ordinary people can buy a few houses in Hong Kong, which means they have no worries about food and clothing, better than more than 99% of people in the world.

Phil Knight said, "Hello, Mr. Yang. When I communicated with Mr. Lin before, I also looked up your information. I admire you very much for being able to succeed from scratch in the environment of Hong Kong. It's really amazing."

Everyone admires those who start from scratch, especially those like Yang Wendong who have no family support.

Yang Wendong smiled and said, “It’s the same with Mr. Knight, who is also starting a business now. I hope you can also succeed in the future;
It’s just that starting a business is very difficult, and I also needed help from others to succeed, so I also hope to invest in Nike so that we can make Nike bigger together.”

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(End of this chapter)