Chapter 743 The Emergence of Barcodes

Chapter 743 The Emergence of Barcodes

Chapter 743 The Emergence of Barcodes
"Okay, I'll arrange it right away." Lin Youcheng then added: "Based on the current market value of Disney, if we want to acquire about 10% of the shares, it will cost us about 5000 million US dollars;

We can indeed take out such a large amount of cash, but if we take it all out by ourselves, it will affect the liquidity of my existing funds, unless we inform a bank and ask them to keep it confidential. "

Yang Wendong said, "Let's go to Citibank. They are capable of keeping things confidential. We are just investing, and there won't be any big moves later. It doesn't involve any acquisitions. It won't be good for Citibank to leak the information."

Whether it is Squid or Angsa, or even any capital, the essence is to seek profit, so it is impossible to expect them to strictly keep secrets according to the rules. If there is any benefit, they are likely to leak the secrets and then push away the responsibility;

But if there is no benefit in leaking the information, then they will naturally keep it confidential in order to protect their "reputation" and their customers;

Just like Swiss banks, sometimes neutral, sometimes not neutral~
Lin Youqi said: "Okay, then in this case, Disney's shares will also need to be mortgaged to Citibank. But I'm not sure whether Disney's shares will continue to fall in the future."

"Maybe, but the total market value is only $5 million now. It can't fall much further. They have basic value in themselves." Yang Wendong smiled indifferently;

Disney's development will still be difficult in the next few years, but the dividends they have earned in the past are so great that they still have a certain revenue capacity, especially in cooperation with Japan to develop Disney Tokyo Park;

Although Disney did not participate in the investment due to its cautious management, but only received a share, after the Tokyo Park became popular, Disney was still able to receive tens of millions of dollars in shares a year. It was also with this money that the two major Disney parks in the United States could be maintained.
At the same time, because of the popularity of Japan's Disneyland, other countries suddenly became interested in introducing Disneyland. For example, Europe was scrambling for it. Although the European theme park will lose money in the future, no one knows it yet. This is reflected in the stock price, which means that there is still some hope, which has caused Disney's stock price to rise a bit.

These are all things to be said later. What I value most here is that after the technology of Hollywood blockbusters matures, Disney will be able to get a piece of the pie. In this way, on the one hand, it can ensure that Hong Kong films may also get a piece of the pie. On the other hand, if it really doesn't work, I can also indirectly get some benefits from Hollywood. The return on this investment will be enough to build more theaters in the mainland and Asia, thereby feeding back to Hong Kong or mainland films.

In short, the return on this investment is still very considerable. Even if history changes, Mickey Mouse, who represents the American cultural spirit, will not decline much.

Lin Youqi smiled and said, "That's right, there's no need for us to buy at the lowest point."

A truly smart investor will not wait for the lowest point to buy at the bottom or the highest point to sell at the top, but will feel that it is almost time and that it is a good deal for him to exit at this time, so there is no need to hesitate;

If you always think about making the last penny, you will end up losing every penny you have.

Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Well, go ahead. There's no need to rush this matter. Just take your time. It's okay to spend a year or two to slowly acquire it."

This is a simple investment, and since Disney is unlikely to make any major progress in the next few years, there is no need to rush. Unlike Hong Kong, where they have to be prepared for a takeover war at all times, just take it slow.

In the 70s, the scenery of New York was still pretty good. Yang Wendong also spent a few days in this city and bought a luxurious large flat with an area of ​​about 4300 square feet opposite the Central Park. As far as the eye can see, you can see the square Central Park, the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, the Twin Towers and half of New York. It is very beautiful.

As his business expanded, he would come to the United States frequently. New York, Los Angeles and other cities were also places where he often lived, so he also needed to buy his own apartment or villa.

A few days later, Yang Wendong took his private plane to Arkansas, where Walmart's headquarters is located;

Sam Walton welcomed Yang Wendong's arrival and personally greeted him. He took Yang Wendong around the Walmart supermarket in his city and asked, "Eric, do you think there is anything that can be improved in my supermarket?"

Yang Wendong smiled and said, "Sam, Walmart is now developing at the fastest speed in the United States. This also shows that your current business model is very good. I am not an insider in the industry, so I can't provide any advice."

Although he had visited many supermarkets in his previous life and had some experience, he was not a professional after all, and it was difficult for him to give many opinions. Besides, even if he had any good ideas, wouldn't it be better to give them to his own Carrefour?
Sam shook his head and said, "Learning is endless. Last time I went to a small supermarket, I found that they like to put chewing gum at the checkout. I asked and found out that many people have nothing to do while waiting in line, so they think about chewing gum.

They also allowed customers to chew the gum first and pay later, which resulted in a tenfold increase in gum sales.”

"That's good, but it probably won't be of much help to the entire supermarket." Yang Wendong asked back;
A small item like chewing gum is just a drop in the bucket for the entire supermarket. No matter how much the sales volume increases, the impact will not be significant.

Sam nodded and said, "It's not big, but it also shows that the placement of goods will have an impact on customers' purchases. If the entire supermarket can achieve this effect, even if it is only a few percent, it will be a very successful result, not to mention a ten-fold increase."

"A few percent is a big deal." Yang Wendong's mind moved, and he asked, "Is Wal-Mart planning to conduct research in this area?"

In the past, some mainland Internet users may know that the placement of goods in supermarkets is often intentional, just to attract users' desire to buy, such as putting a lot of toys on the bottom floor to attract children;
But in this era, merchants and operators have not fully considered this point, and goods are generally classified by type.

Sam said: "Yes, I have this idea. I am currently arranging people to conduct research on it."

"It is theoretically possible." Yang Wendong asked calmly, "Sam, why did you tell me such a thing?"

Sam smiled and said, "Because you and I are not competitors. Although we both run supermarkets, you are in Asia and I am in America. From the supply chain perspective, you are also my supplier. You are also a shareholder of Walmart. There is no harm in telling you about this good news.

You can also conduct this kind of research in supermarkets in Asia. This kind of research consumes too much time and energy, and also requires luck, so if we study together, the speed will definitely be faster. At that time, we will share the results with each other. " "Haha, okay." Yang Wendong smiled and said, "I will also summarize the relevant experience when I go back."

In fact, he had conducted research in this area in Hong Kong a long time ago and had achieved certain results, but it was still far from perfect.
There are tens of thousands of products in supermarkets, so there are many choices when testing. After choosing a model, it will take at least a month to observe it, and there may not be any results.

The displays in the New Century Supermarket in the previous life were the result of countless years of countless supermarkets. With the development of network information, a certain level was gradually achieved. As a time traveler, Yang Wendong could not possibly know about such things. Even if he knew, he would not waste his energy to participate. It was not worth it.

"That's good. I will also moderately increase the purchase of materials from Hong Kong. As you know, the American industry has been in a very bad state recently." Sam Walton added.

Yang Wendong nodded and said, "No problem, I will definitely do my best to meet your needs."

Not only Wal-Mart, Changxing Trading Company has now successfully reached cooperation with other American supermarkets by virtue of its years of specialization in supermarket products, and gradually supplied these companies with high-quality and low-priced Hong Kong or other Southeast Asian products.

As long as it keeps pace with the development of the American supermarket industry, Changxing Trading Company will sooner or later become the largest trading company in Hong Kong and even in Asia. The scale of the so-called British trading companies is nothing but a joke in the face of the demand from European and American supermarkets.

Sam Walton continued, "But there is one thing I want to tell you. Maybe you in Hong Kong will do this in the future. Look here."

Sam took a bag of snacks, handed it to Yang Wendong, and pointed to the lower right corner of the back of the snack bag.

"Is this a barcode?" Yang Wendong said in surprise after seeing it.

"You actually know that. That makes it much easier. Walmart is already preparing to gradually let suppliers use this barcode to facilitate statistics." Sam Walton said with a smile: "In the future, Walmart's purchasing department will give your Hong Kong company a different barcode. You need to print the barcode on the product packaging, usually in the lower right corner or nearby."

"Okay, printing is not a problem." Yang Wendong paused and asked, "But how do you use barcodes for statistics? Do you have special barcode scanning equipment to work with computers?"

In fact, Yang Wendong had thought about making barcodes to control supermarkets a long time ago, but this thing involves patents, which will not expire until the early 70s. In addition, scanning codes and data storage require strong electronic research capabilities. Hong Kong even has difficulty making electronic games, so it really does not have the ability;
Besides, even if it is made, it is very difficult to popularize this thing, and it is not certain that much benefit can be obtained. After all, after the barcode patent expires, others can also make their own, and the barcode scanning gun cannot become an exclusive patent, so others can just bypass the technology;

Similarly, Yang Wendong was not sure when barcodes became popular in supermarkets, so he did not invest a lot of resources in such a project with low returns.

Unexpectedly, Walmart started using barcodes this year. This is also good for them because it can quickly reduce many operating costs of the supermarket, but the investment in hardware is estimated to be not small.

Sam nodded and said, "Yes, this naturally requires code scanning equipment and computers, which is not a low investment. A supermarket will need at least $15. But I think it is still very cost-effective, because the manpower saved alone is about 10, plus the data is more accurate."

“If we look at it from a labor perspective, it’s not cost-effective for me to set up this system in Asia. These devices are also from American companies, right? It’s very costly to ask them for maintenance, repairs, and even early installation.” Yang Wendong suddenly felt that he was losing out by going through so much trouble in Hong Kong.

American supermarkets use American workers. Even if the wages in supermarkets are not high, one person earns more than 10 US dollars a year, and 15 people earn about US dollars.

However, the labor cost in Hong Kong is only a few tenths of that in the United States today, which can be completely ignored. However, the entire system is shipped from thousands of miles away to Hong Kong. Any extra cost here may exceed the budget. Even $15 alone is a loss.
Sam Walton nodded and said, "Yes, American computers are indeed too expensive. I also felt the pain when I bought them, but whether it is IBM or HP, they are all this expensive."

"Yes, that's true." Yang Wendong nodded and said;
Before personal computers became popular, industrial or commercial computers were extremely expensive. The computers IBM made for some large companies cost millions of dollars, which is why IBM became the world's largest company by market value in the 60s.

It was not until the development of Moore's Law that the cost of the electronics industry became lower and lower, reaching a watershed that civilian computers could afford. The market suddenly expanded by more than ten thousand times, which in turn infinitely spread the R&D costs.

Only after the emergence of personal computers can the electronics industry usher in a new boom and also serve other industries.

Sam continued, "But I still think barcodes will be the future. Eric, please think about it seriously."

"Well, okay, I will seriously consider it." Yang Wendong nodded.

After parting with Sam Walton, Yang Wendong called Huang An, the head of Honor Electronics in the United States, and said, "Go check the situation of barcode-related equipment, including patents, hardware costs, software development difficulties, etc. If possible, see if it can be produced in Hong Kong."

Buying directly from IBM would be so expensive that Yang Wendong would be heartbroken. Even top giants like Boeing and General Motors were reluctant to cooperate with IBM every time, which is why Wang Laboratories and other companies were able to get a piece of the pie.
It is difficult to get Hong Kong to develop a set of equipment, but if we can obtain the technology, production will be much easier.

More importantly, once this type of industry exists, we will have relevant experience in producing personal computers, game consoles, etc. in the future, which will be much more convenient.

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