While Lee was in a meeting at Wheelock, Henry Keswick was in talks with Victor Beale, Carrefour's president of Asian affairs, at the Mandarin Oriental.

Although Jardine Matheson Group was about to withdraw from the Hong Kong retail market, Henry Keswick still wanted to find some trouble for the Lee consortium, and after some screening, Carrefour Group became the target he was looking for.

At this time, Henry Keswick did not go to manage the French company of Carrefour, as long as he could draw in to distract the attention of the Lee consortium.

And the reason why he is looking for Carrefour Group and preparing to transfer Wellcome Supermarket to them is mainly that Carrefour's opening up of the Asian market is not going well.

In Japan, Carrefour is facing the joint exclusion of the two major groups of Hengyu Supermarket and Ito-Yokado, making it quite difficult for them to develop there.

The tentative opening of a supermarket in the treasure island area was immediately suppressed by Hengyu Supermarket and Uni-President Group, which made Victor Beale quite uncomfortable as the president of Asian affairs.

As the largest retail supermarket group in Western Europe, Victor Beale was ambitious when he first became president of Asian affairs, and he did not think that there would be a supermarket group in Asia comparable to Carrefour.

In the eyes of Carrefour's top management, they have only one opponent, that is, the Wal-Mart Group in the United States, and other supermarket retail groups are not regarded by them at all.

But when it entered the Japanese market, the first stop in Asia, Carrefour supermarket ushered in the first blow. In the face of Hengyu Supermarket Group and Ito-Yokado, Victor Beale found that their Carrefour did not have any advantages.

In the past six months, Carrefour has opened five branches in Tokyo, Daban and other places, but so far has not achieved the effect he expected, in the face of Hengyu Supermarket Group and Ito-Yokado two sieges, Carrefour supermarkets can not get any profit at all.

The one that Baodao opened in the first two months was even worse, facing discounted sales from Hengyu Supermarket Group and Uni-President Group around this supermarket, which did not attract much popularity at all.

Victor Bill didn't dare to fight such a price war with them, he himself had some understanding of what happened in Xiangjiang, and Victor Bill felt a deep chill for Hengyu Supermarket Group's extreme approach.

Their Carrefour is here to open up the market and make money, not to lose money and make money.

This time he had come to meet Henry Keswick with no intention of buying Wellcome, and he himself did not have such power.

He just communicated with him this time and sorted out the situation here, especially after understanding some information about Hengyu Supermarket and the Li consortium behind it, he reported to the headquarters.

And Henry Keswick, as the chairman of the Jardine Matheson Group, has been fighting with the Lee consortium for many years, and Victor Beale believes that this insider knows more about the Hengyu Supermarket Group and the Lee consortium than he knows himself.

Carrefour's growth in Western Europe is almost at its peak, and if the group wants to continue to grow, it must open up new markets. Don't think about it in North America, Walmart is not so easy to deal with.

At present, the Asian economy is in a period of rapid development, the living standards of citizens in many countries and regions have been significantly improved, and there is a population far exceeding that of Western Europe, Carrefour is absolutely unwilling to give up the Asian market easily.

As the president of Asia affairs, Victor Beale knows who his biggest opponent is, and if he can't climb this mountain, it will be very difficult for Carrefour to gain a foothold in Asia.

This time, he came to Hong Kong, not only to discuss Wellcome with Henry Keswick, but also to place Carrefour's Asian headquarters here, and he will also be based in Hong Kong in the future to lead Carrefour's expansion in various regions of Asia.

After listening to Henry Keswick's explanation of the situation of the Lee Foundation, especially the relationship between the Lee Consortium in Hong Kong, Victor Beale was full of worries about whether Carrefour could gain a foothold in Asia in the future.

Carrefour is no longer facing competition from just a supermarket group this time, but also involves the behemoth of the Li consortium, and there are also related interest groups around the Li consortium.

At least in Xiangjiang, he can't see that Carrefour has any capital to compete with Hengyu Supermarket Group, which also leads to their Carrefour basically missing out on the Xiangjiang market.

Victor Beale said: "Keswick, I can't make a decision about the acquisition of Wellcome, I will report the situation here to the headquarters truthfully and ask them to make a decision on this." But don't have too much hope for your comparison, I think the headquarters is not willing to set off a price war in Xiangjiang and Hengyu Supermarket Group at this time, which is not of much benefit to Carrefour. ”

Henry Keswick said: "Bill, you Carrefour don't want to go home like this, your group is gradually saturated in the market in Western Europe. And the Asian market will be your new growth class, and your market in Japan and Treasure Island is not too ideal, and the main problem is the Lee consortium. As long as you are evenly divided between the Heung Kong and the Lee consortium, the markets in other regions will no longer be a problem. ”

Victor Bill is not stupid, this matter is simple, but it is too difficult to tie with the Li consortium on the Xiangjiang side, unless Carrefour does not care about losing hundreds of millions of Hong Kong dollars every month and consuming it with the Li consortium.

But this is obviously impossible, their Carrefour is not Hengyu Supermarket Group, they need to be responsible for the interests of various shareholders, Li Guangyu can not care about such a loss, their Carrefour can not do it.

Victor Beale said: "Keswick, you yourself know the current situation in the retail market in Xiangjiang, your Wellcome is basically in a state of closure now, Hengyu Supermarket Group and Watsons have formed a monopoly on this, our Carrefour will only lose troops when it comes in, it doesn't make much sense at all, at this time, our Carrefour might as well compete with the Li consortium in some emerging markets." ”

Henry Keswick also knew that it would be difficult to find someone to take over Wellcome, but he still had to give it a try.

If someone takes over, not only can he make trouble for the Li consortium, but he can also make a profit. These supermarket stores all belong to Jardine Land, and so many stores are vacant at this time, which is also a huge loss to Jardine Matheson.

Henry Keswick said: "Bill, you must know that the main reason why so many international companies are now headquartered in Xiangjiang is to use it as a springboard to enter the mainland market, and you must know that there are 1.2 billion people there, and you Carrefour will not be moved by this." If you don't have any influence in Xiangjiang, it won't be so easy to enter the mainland in the future. ”

The reason why Victor Bill put his Asian headquarters in Xiangjiang this time is to prepare for entering the mainland market, and their Carrefour will not turn a blind eye to such a huge market.

In particular, since the reform and opening up of the mainland, the economy there has been in rapid development, and he believes that with the deepening of the reform and opening up, Carrefour will be able to enter the mainland market. Gaining a foothold in Xiangjiang in advance can provide better help for Carrefour to enter the mainland in the future.

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