Chapter 702 News Tycoon: Murdoch

Chapter 702 News Tycoon: Murdoch

Chapter 702 News Tycoon: Murdoch
Phil Knight was not surprised by Yang Wendong's request, because during the previous communication with Lin Youqing, although the other party did not directly explain it, he could still feel it. He just didn't know why, so he asked: "It's not that the investment matter cannot be discussed, but I'm curious, with Mr. Yang's status, why would he care about a small business like mine?"

Although he was in the United States and didn't know much about overseas situations, he had been in the business world for more than a decade. In particular, he had previously worked with Japanese companies and had visited Japan many times. He had some understanding of some of the situations in Asia and also knew some friends like journalists.

He didn't know Yang Wendong before, but he did some research recently and found out that he was a wealthy man in Hong Kong, a city in Asia, with a net worth of "hundreds of millions". Although such an identity was nothing compared to the top financial groups in the United States, it was far behind his small company.

But in fact, he didn't know much about Yang Wendong, otherwise he would have discovered that his worth and influence were far beyond what he knew now.

Yang Wendong was prepared for this, so he replied, "Bruce Lee, do you know this person?"

"Bruce? Of course I know, I like his movies very much." Phil Knight seemed to have hit on his favorite thing and quickly replied happily.

Yang Wendong continued: "Bruce is my friend. When I was chatting with him one time, he said that your shoes were very comfortable, so I bought a pair and they felt pretty good.
It just so happens that I also have a textile business in Hong Kong and am planning to enter the footwear business. I did a simple investigation of your company and found that your operating model is very good and your founder is very capable, but you just lack the funds for rapid expansion. So I thought about taking a look and maybe investing to achieve a win-win situation for both of us.”

With his status, it was a bit unusual for him to directly invest in a company the size of Nike, so he had thought of a reason before coming, and Li Xiaolong was the most suitable person;

In order to avoid the two of them accidentally talking about this matter in the future, he actually bought Li Xiaolong a pair of Nike shoes. Li Xiaolong's feedback was also quite good. After all, it is a shoe brand that can become the world's number one in the future, so it must have some value.

"Really, is that what Bruce said?" Phil Knight's eyes lit up.

Yang Wendong saw through his thoughts at a glance and reminded him, "Mr. Knight, Bruce really said that, but this is just a conversation between friends. You can't use this incident to promote your brand."

"I understand." Phil Knight smiled somewhat disappointedly. He also knew that this kind of thing was absolutely illegal.

Yang Wendong continued, "But if we cooperate, I can let Bruce endorse the Nike brand. What do you think?"

Having a world-class star under your command definitely doesn’t mean you have an extra cash cow;

There are so many money trees that in many cases, just buying some stocks is enough, but top stars can play a strategic role in many cases;
In fact, there are some Internet companies similar to those in the previous life. Some software or APPs themselves do not have any profit model, but they have a large number of users. As long as they can stabilize the users, even if it is difficult to monetize directly in the future, they can still attract traffic. Just like QQ, they were almost ready to charge fees in the early days, but later they attracted traffic to games, and Fujitsu immediately made a lot of money.

Before the Internet, celebrities were just traffic. As long as many people around the world knew and liked him, then the products he endorsed would definitely be of great help as long as the quality and cost-effectiveness were not too bad. These brands would certainly hope to obtain such celebrity endorsements because such resources are extremely rare.

"Really?" Phil Knight was immediately moved and asked, "There are so many shoe brands in the world, but Bruce Lee chose our company?"

Celebrity endorsements are also subject to legal restrictions. Any celebrity can only endorse one brand of a product. For example, if they endorse Coca-Cola, they cannot endorse Pepsi, and if they endorse KFC, they cannot endorse McDonald's.

Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Yes, Bruce is my friend and he also works in my entertainment company. I still have some say in this matter. It's not just an advertising endorsement. In the movies he shoots in the future, if it's a modern plot, he can also wear your shoes.

This can also increase exposure, but no matter what the endorsement is, the fees must still follow the rules and the fees should be paid."

"This..." Phil Knight suddenly felt troubled and said, "Mr. Yang, I also want Bruce to endorse me, but the endorsement fee is too expensive for a small company like ours."

The endorsements of top Hollywood stars usually cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Bruce, who is also very famous, is simply not something a small company like Nike can afford, especially since his own abilities tend to be in the "sports" direction. If he endorses shoes, the fee would inevitably be higher.

Yang Wendong smiled and said, "It doesn't matter. As long as you can accept my investment, I can advance the money first, and then pay me back when Nike's scale expands."

Given the scale of Nike today, even if he invests, he won't need to invest much, and it is simply not enough to cover Li Xiaolong's endorsement fee. He can only lend this money to the joint venture first. When Nike rises in the future, this money will be nothing.

"Mr. Yang, you seem to be a little too optimistic about my company. Do you have any other conditions?" Phil Knight was a little wary of this pie in the sky.

He has capital investment and has invited the world's top celebrities to endorse his small company. This doesn't look like a normal investment at all, and his company is not a high-tech company.

Yang Wendong smiled and said, "There are some conditions. The first is that I want 40% of Nike's shares. The second is that I need to take over Nike's production orders, which means producing Nike shoes in Hong Kong or other places in Asia."

"40%?" Phil Knight frowned and shook his head. "This ratio is too high. Nike itself does not belong to me alone. If I give you 40% of the shares, the company will become yours."

"Then how many shares can you give up?" Yang Wendong asked;
Asking for 4% of the price is indeed a bit too much, but that's how business works. You ask for a high price first, and then give the other party room to bargain.

Generally speaking, it is not appropriate to ask for too many shares when investing in such enterprises, because asking for too many shares will change the identity of the entrepreneur, that is, from starting his own business to working for others. Once this mentality is formed, the enterprise is basically finished.

Therefore, a suitable investor, whether it is a traditional enterprise or a future technology enterprise, will not take too many shares. Win-win is the goal. "I can give you 20%? How about that?" Phil Knight replied.

Yang Wendong thought for a moment and said, "We will slowly negotiate the issue of shares later. It will probably be between 2% and 4%, and other conditions will also need to be added."

"Okay, we'll discuss it later." Phil Knight also knew that this kind of thing couldn't be decided immediately, so he asked again: "Mr. Yang, you said you want to take over all of Nike's production orders. Are you planning to invest in a shoe factory?"

Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Yes, in the United States, investing in a shoe factory is bound to be a bloody loss, but in Hong Kong, there is no problem. There is a rich textile industry chain there. Berkshire also has a factory there. There are also shoe companies there, but there are not many mid- to high-end ones. There is no problem for me to build one there."

Investing in Nike can certainly bring rich returns, and this industry, like Walmart, will not be interfered with by the government, unlike Intel and some future technology companies. When these technology giants grow up and gradually have the influence to affect the world, the US government will inevitably restrict foreign investment, and they will have to find ways to transfer their own shares. Other types of companies will not be interfered with in this regard.

Another important purpose is to control the production of these companies through investment. For American companies themselves, this kind of production is very troublesome. If Yang Wendong travels through the United States, various production will also be outsourced;

But since it is in Hong Kong and will invest in the mainland in the future, these cumbersome labor-intensive industries can be a huge weapon to increase influence. No matter whether it is clothing or shoes, as long as the scale is large enough, a factory can directly drive the employment of tens of thousands of people, and even more indirectly. It can be said that after the reform and opening up of the mainland, any city with such a factory means that half of the people are basically wealthy.

Phil Knight said: "This is not acceptable. If we choose one supplier for everything, and there are quality or delivery problems, we can't change it. This is disastrous for brand operations."

“As for quality and supply issues, we naturally follow certain rules, and everything can be restricted by customized contracts.” Yang Wendong said frankly.

He doesn't want to fleece Nike, but he really wants to build a shoemaking industry chain in Hong Kong and in the future in the Mainland. Naturally, he will strictly control the quality and even take on other businesses besides Nike in the future.
However, if you want to build a factory out of nothing, you must first have stable orders. For this, you can only rely on Nike, which has not yet started. For well-known brands like Adidas, even if the factory is built, they may not be interested in it.

After thinking for a moment, Phil Knight said, "If there is no problem with your factory, I can give you a certain amount of orders, but it is impossible for me to produce all of them for you. The risk is too great."

“Haha, that’s just like shares, it can also be negotiated.” Yang Wendong smiled.

As a manufacturing giant in Hong Kong, he naturally understood that if the supplier was locked in, it would cause huge problems, and this should not happen under any circumstances;

For example, in the past, the chips, LCD screens and various core components of the mainland mobile phone industry were often restricted by overseas companies. There was no choice, which caused a lot of trouble for many mainland mobile phone companies. To put it in an exaggerated way, they were working for Qualcomm.

When there is control, no one will let others control them, not even shareholders.

Phil Knight nodded and said, "Okay, I'll call a meeting here first. Mr. Yang, how long will you stay here?"

Yang Wendong smiled and said, "I won't stay in Beaverton for long, but I will go to other cities in the United States. I will also leave a few people behind. You can negotiate with them, and they will report the process and results to me. If the conditions are almost right, I will authorize them to sign a contract with you."

Nike will certainly be one of the world's top 500 companies in the future, but now it is just a small company. If it were not for his "prophetic" ability, he would generally not even take a second look at such a company, let alone personally participate in it. Even if his subordinates invested in such a small company, it might not appear in his monthly report every month.

Investing in Nike is not the only thing he needs to do during this trip to the United States.

"Okay, I'll discuss it with you as soon as possible." Phil Knight nodded and said;

It is no exaggeration to say that for a small company, being able to obtain strong financial support and the endorsement of an international superstar like Bruce is a turning point in its destiny.
As for relocating production capacity to Hong Kong, it is not a big problem. Hong Kong is a well-known OEM site in the world, and the local textile industry chain is not bad. With the capital of the other party, it is not difficult to operate this matter. As long as the finished products with good quality and reasonable price can be produced, it will be a good thing for Nike.
However, capital is greedy in nature. They want to obtain 4% of the shares and a large number of production orders, which will threaten the normal operation of Nike in the future. Once they agree, Nike will change its name, which is unacceptable to entrepreneurs like him.
One's own shares can be reduced, which is an inevitable development, but the most suitable model is to introduce multiple different investments rather than just one, otherwise there may be a risk of losing control of the company.

"Okay, I hope to get good news from you as soon as possible." Yang Wendong said with a smile.

After discussing the Nike matter, Yang Wendong did not stay in the city, but went directly to the city that never sleeps in the United States: New York City;

Here, he has also made an appointment with another tycoon-level figure who will be very well-known in the future;

"Hello, Mr. Murdoch." Yang Wendong looked at the white man in his 40s in front of him, smiled and shook hands with him.

This person is Murdoch, the world's most famous news tycoon in the future. Relying on the development of the traditional era from the 70s to the 90s, he controls most of the world's top newspapers, TV stations and other media channels. To a certain extent, he is also part of the hegemony of the old United States.

If it weren't for the subsequent rise of the Internet, and the existence of the network diverted traffic from traditional fields, Murdoch's News Corporation would definitely have continued to dominate the media field.

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(End of this chapter)