A penny stumped the hero, Naohide returned to Edo and made a check, when he left the Kumamoto Domain, there were a total of three hundred taels of gold tickets and thirty small judgments, but on the way back, Naohide paid a book deposit of eighty taels of gold to Nagasaki Nakamurata, Murata Yongmin got off the boat at Shimonoseki, and Naohide gave Cheng Yi ten taels of gold, the boat fare was forty-one gold, plus various gifts for relatives and friends, Naohide only had one hundred and thirty taels of gold left in his hand, and the study tour after the New Year was at least four hundred taels, what a headache.

Lack of money to find profits, this is already a habit of Zhixiu. Li Ba bought the exclusive authorization of the washboard, small grinding sesame oil and mahjong from Zhixiu, Zhixiu made a small head, Li Ba made a big head, and the two worked together quite happily.

Kii Kuniya Rihachi has been very happy recently, he really didn't expect that he had today, thinking of this, he stuck himself again, lest all this in front of him be a dream.

Four years ago, because of the murderous work of Tenbo, he couldn't eat, and Rihachi gritted his teeth and fled from his hometown of Dewa Kunisho, and the road was full of hardships, and most of his companions starved to death halfway, and he relied on his youth to survive to Edo. I didn't expect my luck to improve as soon as I arrived in Edo.

First of all, the owner of the dried fish "Wenwu" (wholesale shop) couldn't stand his bitter begging and took him in. When it was heard that three-tenths of the population of Edo had been flooded into Edo due to famine, the government issued a decree announcing that "all displaced people should return to their hometowns, except for those who are regular businessmen and those with wives."

Then luck steamed upwards like a cloud on Sakagami.,Inexplicably and strangely favored by the big body flag of the Oguri family.,I turned around and became a servant of the Oguri family.,Serving the young master to study loyally and go out.,Originally, I was very satisfied.,But good luck came again.,The rich merchant who runs Kii Kuniya actually took a fancy to him.,Want to recruit yourself to inherit his family business.,And the Oguri family actually agreed.。

After entering the business, his business opinions were not taken seriously, and after thinking about it for three days and three nights, he finally came up with a good idea to make exquisite packaging for the dim sum.

I always want to develop a new business, my wife said that she is a puppy looking at the stars and dreaming, but suddenly a samurai named Hori Naohide broke into the door, starting with the washboard, and then a small grinding sesame oil and mahjong, through their own first stockpiling and then selling in one fell swoop to occupy the market, Kinokuniya has become very famous in the circle of the townspeople, and even the owner of the Mitsui Wufu store greeted him with a smile, which was really happy.

Twenty-four-year-old Toshihachi couldn't help but laugh out loud when he thought of the happy place, the ceramic mahjong he dedicated to the Oguri family was said to have been sent to Oku in Edo Castle, and it would be great if the public pattern could give the Aoji sword.

"There's a samurai from the Hori family coming to visit," interrupts his daylight dreams with a respectful report from Teyo (the second rank of the merchant's apprentice, the small chief) who came in.

"Please come in", after saying that, he changed his mind again, and it was better to go out to greet him, this little samurai is his own Ebisu God (God of Wealth).

Naoxiu and Rihachi both had a strong copper smell, and after sitting down and drinking tea, the rustiness that had not been seen for a few months quickly disappeared without a trace.

Naohide asked how Rihachi's mahjong and small sesame oil business was recently, and Rihachi smiled and complained that it was actually showing off, saying, "Naohide-sama, you know, we townspeople, we are all collecting accounts during the Obon Festival and the New Year, and the hand-holders have gone out to collect money, and we are very busy."

"Can't you use the Mitsui Wufu store's method? No two prices are not credited, things are popular, everyone can accept them, right? ”

"That's Mitsui, Kino Kuniya can't compare, can't compare", Rihachi shook his head with a wry smile, the business tradition of most shops in the Edo period was: if it is an old store and a regular customer, then it is all on credit, and the better the relationship, the longer the account period, at most it can be delayed for half a year, and the payment will not be paid until Obon or the end of the year. Fortunately, the first is that the purchase can also be paid on credit, and the second is that the half-year account period is all honored customers such as old stores and samurai, and the general transaction is still paid in cash or on a monthly basis. In short, since there is this tradition, it must be able to run it, otherwise with the shrewdness of a businessman, this tradition would have been abolished long ago.

The two talked back and forth for a while, and finally turned the topic back to business.

"Lord Naoxiu, I haven't received any news from your return from your study tour, and I'm going to visit you after the New Year."

"It's okay, it's really busy before the New Year, I know it", Naoxiu knew in his heart that the first phase of the technical authorization of the 400 small judgment had already been paid, and the second phase of the 300 small judgment would not wait until the Obon Festival of the following year.

"When Zhixiu was studying abroad, I listened to others talk about the situation of Lanxue's trading, and I thought it made sense", whoever spoke first would suffer, although Zhixiu prepared new things to ensure that Li Ba could take out the money at first sight, but then he would fall into disadvantage.

Naohide gave Rihachi the concept of Amway's "lucky bag" and "chain store".

Lucky bags are a big killer in Fuso's retail industry in the future, and merchants are embarrassed to open without lucky bags in the New Year. Later generations of Fuso merchants put a number of goods into exquisite cloth bags or cartons around the New Year for sale, and in the early days, mascots such as bats were printed on the packaging, so this kind of bag or carton was called "lucky bag". There are a lot of goods in the lucky bag, and the merchant will not tell people what is inside when buying the lucky bag, so the customer will feel like a lottery.

Fuso Fukubukuro is said to have originated from department stores at the end of the Meiji period, and Fuso department stores sell Fukubukuro around the time of the Spring Festival or on auspicious days when stores open. The price of lucky bags is generally not high, and in the early days, some stores used to deceive customers by putting overstocked goods in lucky bags, but such merchants quickly disappeared. The price of the goods in the general lucky bag is half to 10% off the usual, and the price is very affordable, and there are also expensive gifts carefully prepared by the merchants in the individual lucky bags, so many customers give generously in order to try their luck, so the business of "lucky bags" is always very good.

Kii Kuniya, where Rihachi is located, has gradually transformed into a wholesale house, but there are still some stores that face customers directly, and he feels that the "lucky bag" is a good gimmick to further consolidate the reputation of Kii Kuniya, as for the current packaging, continue to use paper or mata (straw bales), although the time is pressing, but add some decoration on it or simply write the word "Fuku" with a pen, there are more ways than difficulties.

The idea of the lucky bag made Rihachi very happy, which was very much in line with his unexpected market philosophy. Thinking of this, he hurriedly asked what a "chain store" was.

There were three revolutions in the retail business: the birth of department stores, the creation of chain stores, and the birth of supermarkets.

The first revolution in retail commerce was the birth of department stores in the modern sense.

The innovation of department stores is mainly reflected in: the implementation of the principle of customers entering and leaving the store freely; The implementation of clear pricing has improved the transparency of transactions; The business has a complete range of goods, a wide variety, and pays attention to commodity display; implementation of over-the-counter sales; Implement a return system; Implement the principle of "small profits but quick turnover"; In terms of organization and management, the system of commodity department is implemented.

The chain store is another revolution in the retail business after the emergence of department stores.

The third revolution in retail commerce was the creation of supermarkets.

The emergence of supermarkets was not until the early 20th century. In September 1916, the first self-service store, Piggly Wiggly, opened in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Its operator is Clarence. Sanders. He invented the retail store business model in which consumers pick up items on the shelves and finally check out, which is the prototype of the supermarket.

A truly complete supermarket appeared in New York, the United States in August 1930. Michael. Coulomb established the Coulomb United Store, adopted a low-price strategy in operation, pioneered the pricing method of commodity varieties, established a sales system to ensure a large number of purchases, and also adopted a self-service sales method, and customers settled at the counter at one time.

To put it simply, the pricing method by commodity variety is to sell goods with high price sensitivity or high demand for goods, such as vegetables and fruits, staple and sideline foods, at a lower gross profit margin markup, or even lower than the purchase price to attract customers.

Considering the poor transportation capacity, production capacity and other factors at this time, the supermarket is not to think about it, or the chain store is reliable.

Since 1683, the merchant family Mitsui has opened a wide range of branches in eight major cities, including Edo, Kyoto, Osaka, and Nagasaki, attracting a large number of merchants to exchange money for "Mitsuiza" (gold and silver bills) in other places, and even the shogunate relied on Mitsui's two houses to transfer funds.

At the same time, Mitsui's "Wufu Store" branches also opened all over these cities.

Chain stores have their own unique advantages: scattered outlets and chain operations, breaking through the restrictions of a single store's business district; The branch has a high degree of unity, which is easy to expand its influence and improve its popularity; The implementation of the system of separation of procurement and sales is easy to reduce the cost of purchase and save circulation costs; The head office is responsible for formulating development plans and business strategies, which is conducive to the rational allocation of resources, the formation of overall advantages, and the acquisition of economies of scale; The branch specializes in sales and carries out standardized operations, which is conducive to controlling service quality and improving sales efficiency and service level.

Lihachi knows the branches (chain stores) very clearly, and he thinks that Naohide will not be so shallow, and sure enough, Naohide said that Mitsui's current branches are all directly operated chain stores, which are directly invested and managed by the head office. And there is a kind of "franchise chain store" in Lanxue, which Fuso does not have a deep understanding of now.

In the Edo period, the career advancement paths for merchants were "choji" (small man), "teyo" (small chief), "bantou" (shopkeeper), and "dominator" (manager). The veteran and dominant talents who have served for many years are allowed to open independent stores by the commercial guild at this time. However, if a merchant who opens an independent store uses the signboard of the original business name, it will become a branch, and he will maintain a family-like relationship with the head office, and will not be able to disobey the will of the head office.

The branches produced by this approach are similar to directly operated chain stores, and the head office often intervenes in or controls the operation, personnel and finances of the branches.

Franchise chains, on the other hand, are much more flexible. The franchise chain store has obtained the privilege license of the "alliance owner" to grant the franchisee the trademarks, trade names, products, patents, know-how, and business models owned by the alliance owner in the form of a franchise contract.

There are three advantages of franchise chain stores, one is that the property rights of the branch still belong to the original owner of the branch; Second, there can be a time limit, and the branch can be separated from the main store when it expires to avoid long-term bundling; Third, the operation is flexible, which can integrate the agency management system of later generations and authorize special products, which not only covers the market scope, but also avoids excessive competition.

Rihachi will be known as the "ancestor of Mitsui Zhongxing" in the future, and his vision and skill are not ordinary, and after listening to it, he felt that there was a lot to be done, but the risks were not fully thought through, and he pondered for a while.

Naohide sat on the side and drank tea unhurriedly, and Rihachi didn't understand it for a while, so he continued to test Naohide, "Naohide-kun, Kinokuniya's specialties are still too few, and the attraction of this franchise chain is not enough."

The two little foxes looked at each other and laughed. Rihachi knew that Naohide must need money, and Naohide also knew that Rihachi had long known his intentions, a merchant and a samurai could sit together, and they would definitely talk about money in the end.

Zhixiu took out the rice-style windmill, the low-end version of thirteen spices and five-spice powder, and the specialty can attract people, and the bulk commodity can stick to customers more than the specialty.

The price of flour is very high nowadays, and ordinary people rarely enjoy it, and the most they can eat is a bowl of soba noodles, a tang fruit, or some noodles. The main reason for the high price was the difficulty of flour grinding, but with the rice-style windmill, the peasant meal, which was mainly based on wheat rice or wheat porridge, would become noodles or other noodles.

And the thirteen incense was taken out by Naoxiu for Liba's fame. Fuso's current food seasoning similar to thirteen spices is the seven-flavor Tang Xinzi, which was invented by the pharmaceutical merchant Nakajima Tokuemon, the main ingredient is Tang Xinzi (Chinese chili), and the side ingredients are mountain pepper, tangerine peel, black sesame, mustard seed, flax, perilla, etc., which was first used as a Chinese medicine to treat wind and cold, and later became a medicinal diet because of the "homology of medicine and food", and finally added seaweed, ginger and rapeseed and other spices to become food seasonings.

Thirteen spices can be called "thirteen flavors of Tang Xinzi", and the five-spice powder can be renamed "five-flavor Tang Xinzi", and if you attack up and down, outflank left and right, you will definitely be able to win over the seven-flavor Tang Xinzi, and you can drop it properly.

The Fuso diet is now generally vegetarian, but the fish is still eaten, and the nobles are not too restricted by vegetarianism, and the five treasured "three birds and two fish" - cranes, larks, oribes (black water chicken), sea bream, and anglerfish are quite happy to eat. At the same time, Satsuma black pork meat is also selling well in Edo. The lord of the Mito domain, Tokugawa Saiaki, was known for his frugality, but he also ate no less black pork, and he later passed on to the son of the Hitotsubashi family, who liked the Ichibashi style of pork, and the future last shogun, Tokugawa Yoshiki, and had the nickname "pig-like".

However, Naohide told Rihachi that the thirteen incense and five-spice powder had been given to the samurai friends of the Satsuma Shimazu family, and they could not make them in large quantities and sell them, but the Shimazu family's old tune office Hirogo was a guy who had to grab the oil from the sand, and in case he was optimistic about it and then snatched it, Kinokuniya might face competition from the Satsuma clan in the future.

Rihaha laughed, behind him was the big body of 2,500 stone to serve the Oguri family, and the 250-year repayment incident of the Satsuma Domain had already offended the big merchants of Edo and Osaka, so he was not afraid of any competition from the Satsuma Domain.

Although Liba is very satisfied with what Naohide took out this time, he still complained that the funds have been tight recently, Naohide said that he understands, Naohide just needs a start-up capital to study abroad, and he can't count on Liba with the background of the Oguri family for a long time, he is now small and frail, and the reason for the benefits of Liba is that he is optimistic about Liba, the second is to please the Oguri family, and the third is to sincerely improve the economy of Fuso, so it is very easy to speak.

The agreement reached this time was a small judgment of 200 gold for the technology of the rice-style windmill, and a small judgment of 200 gold for the discount of thirteen incense and five-spice powder, which was paid off at one time after the holiday, and both of them felt that they had taken a big advantage, so the guests and hosts dispersed happily.

Naoxiu is busy with all the things that should be busy outside, so he calms down and prepares for the New Year, at the beginning of the new year, Vientiane is renewed, and Naoxiu is full of expectations for this New Year.