Winners in life: starting from the street writer

Chapter 158
Visiting the Geneva Museum of Patek Philippe, Shen Hao selected several representative limited-edition watches, and asked Lu Da to customize an ultra-rare watch unique in the world for him by the way.

Prior to this, Patek Philippe successfully broke the circle by selling a wristwatch at a sky-high price of more than [-] million yuan at a charity auction.

Many people may think that charity auctions are not convincing, after all, everyone is offering love and eyeballs.

Take Phillips, which is currently the most powerful in auctioning watches and clocks, as an example. At the end of last year, it gave a list of the top ten auction data.

No.1 is Patek Philippe, the auction price is about 2400 million.

Among the top ten, 1, 2, 6, 8, and 10 are all Patek Philippe.

Another point that can best illustrate the brand power of Patek Philippe is the brand's modern regular models, which also have a very impressive performance in the auction market, and there are not a few million-level models.

This is very rare.

Because watch brands have a history of hundreds of years, it is not difficult to find one or two rare and famous ones, and fetch a sky-high price of tens of millions.

But Patek Philippe is so powerful. Upwards, it can always have such historical models with sky-high prices. Downwards, the performance of modern models is not broken at all.

Moreover, the price is adjusted every year, one is to ensure profitability, and the other is to promote the continuous rise of prices in the second-hand market.

Buying up but not buying down, the role played by hype and brand value output cannot be underestimated.

The higher the price in the second-hand market, the easier it is to stimulate everyone to chase after it.

Like Rolex, the release price and the second-hand market price tend to double.

Good value preservation rate + brand value and stunning design have created Rolex's sales that have dominated the list year after year.

In this regard, Patek Philippe really has to learn from Rolex.

However, the two cannot be compared side by side.

After all, the price of Patek Philippe is a bit higher, which is also a point sought after and recognized by many Patek Philippe customers.

It may not be a good thing if it falls to the rank of Rolex.

However, increasing production capacity is not a bad thing after all.

Many Swiss watchmakers do not use machines in the production of their watches.

One is that labor is more affordable and cost-effective, and the other is that their output is far less than that of Rolex.

The annual output of Patek Philippe is less than a fraction of that of Rolex, which shows that it is also a staunch supporter of artificial production.

But the problem is that Shen Hao wants to see Patek Philippe's production capacity increase.

Otherwise, if the price can't go down and the production capacity can't keep up, what's the point of him buying Patek Philippe?
Under Shen Hao's conception, Patek Philippe's new factory in the suburbs of Geneva will be equipped with intelligent robots to complete some repetitive tasks.

A watchmaker who needs parts only needs to place an order in the system, and the transmission system will deliver the parts to him in 6-8 minutes.

At that time, robot arms will be spread all over Patek Philippe's factories, the initial polishing of parts will be done by robots, and the final finishing and polishing will be done by watchmakers by hand.

In this way, production efficiency can be greatly improved, the workload of watchmakers can be reduced, and their unit output can be increased.

But it does not mean that all the production is handed over to robots, and the role of labor in the watchmaking process is still very important.

They need to conduct strict and careful inspections to ensure that every Patek Philippe watch fails before leaving the factory.

After the movement is installed in the case, it will be worn by the watchmakers first, and it will take a certain number of days to test their accuracy and durability, and will be sent to the dealer after passing the inspection.

Like diving performance tests, the watch needs to be placed in a small chamber filled with air. If the pressure changes, it means that air has penetrated into the case.

Subsequently, the watchmaker on Patek Philippe's side will test with actual water pressure to ensure that each diving watch is water resistant.

In addition to testing diving performance, Shen Hao also put forward new requirements for the previous Patek Philippe gem procurement department.

If a watch wants to sell at a high price, diamonds are absolutely indispensable decorations.

It is difficult to determine the authenticity of diamonds, and some brands even buy fake diamonds in order to save costs.

However, for a brand like Patek Philippe, if there are fake diamonds, it will definitely lose the trust of high-net-worth clients.

Shen Hao clearly pointed out that in the future, Patek Philippe watches will only use diamonds with a clear IF grade and a color of DG. Every diamond or gemstone inlaid on the watch must be hand-picked and hand-set!
Such a demanding requirement is almost the same as that of top jewelry brands.

After Shen Hao promised a salary increase, everyone did not have much resistance to the new boss's request.

What's more, the new boss promised to increase investment and introduce more intelligent robots to share their production pressure. It's too late for them to thank them.

Among them, Hayek, the head of Patek Philippe's gemstone department, couldn't help but wiped his cold sweat.

He understood that the new boss was beating him, and quickly stated that he would definitely raise the review standards and have zero tolerance for fake diamonds.

Shen Hao is not worried about Hayek's obedience, he has already placed people in Patek Philippe, and someone will watch him specially.

Shen Hao has always been short of top talents.

But Shen Hao doesn't have such a shortage of expert-level talents.

In addition to placing watchmakers in Patek Philippe, the administrative department also deployed some staff.

Among them, Shen Hao specially entrusted the position of CEO to his absolute confidant Maiano.

He is also the behind-the-scenes driving force behind Rolex's glory, which cost Shen Hao a top talent recruitment ticket.

Thanks to Patek Philippe's unique model that does not talk about performance and does not expose the company's operations.

Maiano can completely ignore the outside world's finger pointing, as long as Shen Hao is satisfied.

As a professional manager who was born as a banker, Maiano is very sensitive to numbers and can completely help Shen Hao manage the basic market of Patek Philippe.

However, when Maiano took office, Shen Hao faced a problem.

Maiano hopes that Shen Hao can make an additional investment in Patek Philippe, or seek a loan simply as Patek Philippe.

Prior to this, he had been in charge of Rolex for many years, and he particularly admired Rolex's self-contained production model.

In this regard, Patek Philippe, like Rolex, is self-sufficient in everything from case and strap production to gem-set dials and movement assembly.

But the problem is that Patek Philippe had limited production before. In order to achieve the annual output of 20 pieces required by Shen Hao, the original small workshop-style case and dial production factory also needs to be expanded.

Maiano believes that the expansion of the factory for making cases and straps, as well as factories for making gemstones and dials, can save time in the production process that is outsourced and received.

It can also start from the source of the supply chain and control all production links to ensure the quality of the product.

For a watch brand like Patek Philippe, any small mistake is fatal.

For Maiano, a confidant, Shen Hao naturally strongly supports him.

The previously completed loan of 30 billion US dollars was used to buy three shops on Bond Street in London. It cost 7 million US dollars, and there is still 23 billion US dollars.

The expansion budget given by Maiano is as high as 10 billion Swiss francs!
And Patek Philippe spent 6 million Swiss francs for this new factory before, almost emptying out its family fortune, and even the Stern family was a little bit unable to support it.

This shows the difficulty of operating independently.

But it is different to have a big company as the backer, 10 billion Swiss francs?
That is 10 billion U.S. dollars, and the exchange ratio between the two is almost 1:1.

Not much.

Patek Philippe previously had an annual production capacity of around 6 pieces, sales of 15 billion Swiss francs, and an average price of a single watch of 2.5 Swiss francs.

If the annual production target of 20 pieces set by Shen Hao can be achieved, the price will be slightly lowered to 2 Swiss francs, and the sales will directly double!

In the industry, Rolex's net profit is about 15%, and Patek Philippe's is not much higher.

But even if calculated at 15%, if the annual sales are 40 billion US dollars, it will be 6 million US dollars.

Compared with the current half-dead state, this money is definitely worth the money.

Thinking of this, Shen Hao directly gave instructions, agreeing to Maiano's expansion plan.

Isn't that 10 billion Swiss francs?

We can afford it!

Maiano came back out of the rivers and lakes and also wanted to do a big job, and he was already very experienced in working for these family-owned companies.

As Maiano began to rectify Patek Philippe, one after another big money emerged one after another, adding an additional 10 billion Swiss francs to expand the production capacity of factories such as watch cases and straps, which is obviously the rhythm of expanding production capacity.

Immediately, Dufour, CEO of Rolex, hurriedly convened a board meeting.

It is said that it is the board of directors, but it is actually an internal meeting of members of the Wilsdorf family.

As a professional manager, Dufour respectfully reported to the head of the Wilsdorf family, Grant Wilsdorf, who was sitting in the main seat.

Grant is over [-] years old and his hair is already a little gray, but he is in charge of the Rolex Group that even the former richest man in the world and the head of LVMH Arnault coveted.

"Patek Philippe, you still have to be more vigilant. We considered buying Patek Philippe earlier, but we didn't expect Summit Group to move so fast."

Grant rubbed the space between his brows, feeling a bad premonition in his heart.

The Stern family, which was in charge of Patek Philippe before, is not a concern, especially the lack of attention to the Chinese market is also a key factor for Rolex to overtake on a detour.

But now that Patek Philippe has changed to a Chinese boss, Patek Philippe is bound to increase its emphasis on the Chinese market in the future.

Dufour still respected this wise man who was over half a century old, and he got up and replied: "According to the information we have received, Patek Philippe is expected to open no less than four authorized sales centers in mainland China, and we are in Bond Street. They also chose to withdraw the lease, and will soon move to a shop previously bought by Summit Group.”

Grant nodded slightly, "These are not important, if the price of Patek Philippe drops, what do you think we should do?"

"I think we should control production capacity, artificially stimulate the activity of the secondary trading market, and maintain the competitiveness of our brand."

Dufour finished speaking carefully, waiting for Grant's reply.

After all, the sales of Rolex had been rising steadily before, and the Wilsdorf family's dividends alone were as high as more than one billion US dollars.

In view of the outstanding performance, the Wilsdorf family wanted to continue to expand the production capacity of Rolex.

But looking at it now, it would be nice to be able to keep their market share.

The low price of Rolex is also the source of the hot secondary market.

Believe it or not, if you set the release price of Rolex at the level of Patek Philippe, which can cost 40 to [-] yuan, there are still so many people speculating.

Grant frowned slightly. As the head of the family, he also had to consider the interests of other family members.

Originally, a resolution to expand production capacity was passed at the previous meeting, but now the cancellation of the plan to expand production capacity will undoubtedly dissatisfy some family members.

But in the face of such a powerful opponent as Patek Philippe, Grant did not hesitate to choose to support Dufour.

Compared with the brand value of Patek Philippe, Grant was more worried about that old friend.

Previously, Rolex was able to become the leader of the Swiss watch industry, thanks to Maiano.

It's a pity that Maiano retired, politely rejected the contract extension offered by the Wilsdorf family, and left gracefully.

Originally, this should be a good story.

But now, Patek Philippe invited this great god out of the mountain, which caused Grant a headache.

It's not that he doesn't trust Dufour. Compared with Maiano, Dufour is still too young.

Conservation is more than enough, but progress is not enough.

Thinking about those useless people in the family who only know how to drink and eat and wait to die, Grant, who is getting older, is also a little weak.

Having no successor is the most worrying and headache for all families.

Even, in order to stimulate the birth of excellent offspring.

Grant even offered a bonus, as long as a family member gave birth to a boy, the family would reward him with 1000 million euros.

If one doesn’t work, then mass-produce and cultivate in a unified way, and there will always be offspring who can provoke the mainstay of the family.

Just like Nikki Hilton who married into the Rothschild family, she worked hard to give birth to a boy, not to inherit the wealth of the Rothschild family.

For top families, male offspring are the foundation of inheritance.

In this regard, wealthy families abroad have the same thinking as our Chinese.

It is okay to have a daughter, and give her a life of luxury and wealth, but she will never be allowed to inherit the family property.

In this regard, Shen Hao was not too worried.

In terms of future generations, if he wants, he can have as many as he wants.

A perfect physique that can freely control the vitality in the body is a bug in this respect.

Of course, boys and girls still depends on luck.

When flying to Switzerland this time, Shen Hao didn't bring the women in the family with him, especially Shang Lin and Yu Miao, both of whom are due to give birth, which is what they look like in these two days.

After he attended the celebration reception for Patek Philippe's factory expansion in the suburbs of Geneva, he received a call from Qin Manwen when he returned to the hotel.

Shang Lin and Yu Miao gave birth almost at the same time, and both gave birth to boys, and the mother and child were safe.

Shen Hao's heart that he was carrying at first was also let go as if he had relieved a heavy burden.

But after thinking about it for a moment, there are two more brats, and I need to save more money for my family.

To be reasonable, having a father who is the richest man in the country is nothing to be proud of.

Having a father who is the richest man in the world is a real bull!
(End of this chapter)