Chapter Ninety-Three: The Acquisition from CareFour (Part II)

"Second, the price of real estate in Japan is so high, even higher than our prices in Europe, that the cost of renting a store is a huge expense every year, enough to wipe out the little profit we make. On the one hand, the purchase of a store goes against our style of leasing a storefront, and on the other hand, it has to be said that it is also a huge cost, and I am afraid it will take many years to recover. In contrast, in Huaxia, which is across the sea from them, the rental cost of today's store can be said to be surprisingly cheap. It is based on these two considerations that we believe that the Japanese market is not the right time to intervene. ”

In the 90s, when Japan's land prices were at their peak, the price of a square mile of land under the square, another landmark in Tokyo, was higher than the land value of the whole of California, and the land price of one Tokyo was equivalent to the price of land in the whole of the United States. Japan is immersed in the myth that "land prices do not fall".

"If you sell all the land in Tokyo, you can buy the U.S. and then lease the U.S. land to Americans. This is a topic that many Japanese people talk about.

At the same time, Japanese capitalists are also attacking from all sides, buying real estate in other countries everywhere. In 19**, in Hawaii, only one of the valleys where golf courses could be built was still in the hands of the Americans, and all the others were bought by the Japanese. The most exponential – sexuality – is Tokyo billionaire Hideki Yokoi, who buys Tyme Park outside London, Jubbit Hill in the south of England, and Glenep Castle, a prestigious symbol of Scottish sex, and Firguera Palace on the outskirts of Barcelona, Spain. Later, the Empire State Building, which is regarded as the heart and soul of New York, was acquired for $40 million.

As you can imagine, land prices in Japan were crazy at that time. None of the directors present can deny this. Although the Japanese still believe that their land price myth can continue, many foreign experts have expressed concern about this.

"After nearly a year of research and investigation, our personnel believe that in the East Asian market, the current Chinese market should be the market that we attach the most importance to, whether it is the population, or its future development prospects, it is quite bright, it can be said that it has great potential for development. In time, I think Huaxia will become a huge market that is not inferior to the Japanese market, the American market and the European market. Even if we can only take half of its market share......"

"Nicholas, Huaxia is an important sales market for our group in the future, and I have no objection to this. But I would like to ask, is it too early to get involved?" another director interrupted him by raising his hand, "As far as I know, China's per capita GDP is probably less than 1,000 US dollars, and their national income can support the consumption power we expected?"

Nicholas smiled confidently and said, "Director Pierre, we have also taken into account the point you mentioned. For this, I can responsibly tell you that this is not a problem. Second, although China's per capita GDP is only a few hundred dollars, the unfair distribution of social resources and other reasons show that the per capita GDP of China's regions varies greatly, and the southeast coastal areas can be several times higher than those in the northwest inland areas, while in the cities along the southeast coast, the income of urban residents is several times that of rural residents. In other words, the gap between the rich and the poor in China is huge. A few people hold most of the wealth. According to our estimates, the total population of this part should be in the tens of millions. And they are concentrated in the major cities of China. For example, Beijing and Shanghai. These have been explained in great detail in the folder in front of you, so I will not list them all here. All in all, I believe that the future of our group into the Chinese market is bright, and it will become an important profit growth point for our group in the coming decades!"

"Tens of millions!" Although this part of the population, in the total population of China, may account for less than 10 percent, but in absolute terms, it has exceeded the vast majority of European countries, such a huge population, to support the early investment of carefour, is not a problem at all. And with the passage of time, with the economic development of China and the urbanization of the population, there will be more and more consumers in supermarkets!

……………

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is a proposal from our zuihou at this meeting. It is about the unification of my carefour's Chinese title after we entered the Chinese market. Nicholas asked Chinese Americans in Europe for their opinions, and among the many names they offered, the name Carrefour was the most favored by Nicholas. Chinese people, in their lives, are very particular about signs, if the name is not good, then cause them not to associate with it, it will cause them to resist or reject a certain person or something. I believe that this is understandable to everyone, after all, we ourselves like our daughter's name to be an angel rather than a witch. Isn't it?" said Chairman Henry Blank, who drew a smile on the faces of the directors present.

"Henry, can you explain to us what these three Chinese characters mean?" said Director Gabriel, pointing to Carrefour.

Well, according to those Chinese Americans, these three words, home, is family, happiness, which can be understood as joy, and happiness, which is naturally happiness. The meaning of the whole can be understood as that everything we do will bring joy and happiness to their families. Personally, I think this is very good, as a retail chain, this is exactly what we should express to the people, a kind of corporate image. Moreover, the Chinese pronunciation of these three words is very similar to the pronunciation of our carefour, so Nicholas listed this name as their first choice. Personally, I think this translation should be comparable to the one that Coca-Cola had when it entered China!" said Henry. The directors also nodded in agreement with Henry's words.

"But now there is a problem, Nicholas they have investigated in Huaxia, and this name has been registered by the Huaxia people. The company is also a supermarket chain. Henry said with regret on his face. The directors couldn't help but look at each other, a trademark that has been registered, why is Henry still so praised in front of everyone?

"This Huaxia enterprise is not large, and it is a private enterprise, and it currently occupies a certain market share in Qinxi Province of China. Nicholas offered that either we buy the business or we buy the trademark from them. Henry smiled at the crowd, "I just wanted to ask for everyone's opinions here, and it's worth it for the sake of this name." ”

"Nicholas, can you tell us where this Qinxi Province is in China, and what are the current assets of this enterprise?" someone asked.

"Qinxi Province, located in the northwest inland region of China, maybe you don't have any concept of this, but believe me to tell you that its capital is the famous Chang'an in history, the east of the ancient Silk Road, and the terracotta warriors and horses of Qin Shi Huang who shocked Shijie out of the land, everyone will understand. With Nicholas's explanation, many directors showed a sudden realization. "The company's current assets, the exact figures, have not yet been obtained, but I think they should not exceed 200 million yuan, probably less than 30 million US dollars. ”

"Oh......" the directors looked disappreciative. Such a small asset, compared to carefour, it is indeed nothing!

For less than $30 million in assets, and the chairman who obviously has a soft spot for the company's Chinese name, it is really impossible to make a mistake. Therefore, the directors passed the proposal without objection, and Carefour will send someone to Qinxi Province in China in the near future to discuss the transfer of the trademark with the company.

Although the company's board of directors decided to buy the trademark first, but Nicholas did not think so, although the information in his hand for the situation of the enterprise is not detailed, but Nicholas can see that this is only two or three years of birth of Chinese private enterprises, its development speed is still considerable, starting from a small county, in such a short period of time, the store has spread all over the province, which shows that the controller of this enterprise still has a very strong management ability.

Nicholas knows that before the reform and opening up in China, the implementation of the jihua economy, unlike Western countries, has a deep understanding of the meaning of trademarks, so many enterprises and companies do not have the awareness of protecting the registration of commercial bills, and the purchase of their trademarks does not even cost a few dollars, but he does not know weishenme, he always has a feeling that the owner of this enterprise may not be so ignorant.

"It's also a good idea to buy the whole business. Nicholas thought to himself as he tapped lightly on his desk. Although Qinxi Province is located in the interior of China, and there is a big gap between the economy and the coastal areas, it is located in the middle of the northern territory of China.

He pressed the button on the phone and said to his secretary, "Let Mr. Frank come to my office." ”