The Birth of the Hong Kong Island Family.

Chapter 116 [Arrogance]

In early February, in an 2-square-foot office building in Central Hong Kong, "Uniqlo Clothing Company" was hung. This is the parent company of Lin Zhichao's plan to be a clothing brand.Of course, Uniqlo Clothing Company is also affiliated to Cheung Kong Industrial Co., Ltd. and is a subsidiary company.

When the time is right, Lin Zhichao will set up "Cheung Kong Industrial Holdings Group" to control all the companies under it, but not including global shipping; in the future, he will use "Cheung Kong" and "Global" as signs to form two major business networks.

"Boss" a few employees greeted one after another.

"Well, the new company has a new atmosphere, everyone should be positive!" Lin Zhichao commented.

"Okay, boss!" Everyone responded energetically.

Immediately, Lin Zhichao held a meeting in the office lobby.

"The first thing for Uniqlo Clothing Company is to inquire about the 'Crocodile Shirt' brand that was confiscated by the Hong Kong government, and then prepare to take over the operation as a mid-to-high-end clothing brand. Manager Zhao, you will take the lead in this matter. What's the matter? Report the situation to me."

Although Uniqlo is the parent company of clothing, it will not be a brand name for the time being. It will become a famous brand after casual wear becomes popular. Today, shirts, shirts, trousers, and leather shoes are the wardrobe of wealthy people in this era, so it is natural to give priority to development' The era' clothing.

At the same time, Uniqlo Clothing Company can also represent overseas clothing brands in the future to form a clothing group.

"Okay, I'll remember it!" Zhao Mingyi immediately said energetically.

He is a management talent, coupled with his familiarity with the field of ready-made garments, that's why Lin Zhichao took a fancy to him.As for Lin Zhichao's name, he has naturally heard of it, and he is naturally very happy to follow such a pioneering businessman.

"Every post in the company needs to be completed, including design and sales. I think so. If we take down the crocodile shirts, we will use high-end fabrics imported from Europe and the United States to make mid-to-high-end clothing in Hong Kong—crocodile shirts. Specializing in the production of shirts, shirts, trousers, leather shoes, belts and other products. We must highlight good quality, good style, good after-sales service, high-quality fabrics, high-quality production, and excellent design.”

After the lecture, someone asked: "What about after-sales?"

In this era, I have not heard of after-sales!

Lin Zhichao said with a smile: "Considering that the cuffs and collars of clothes are the easiest to wear and tear, in order to adapt to the Hong Kong people's mentality of saving face and saving money, we will launch the service of changing collars and cuffs in stores. In the same way, Trousers can also be trimmed and zipper replaced. In short, it is to sincerely serve customers, which is after-sales service.”

Zhao Mingyi's eyes lit up, and he said immediately: "This innovative and considerate service can immediately win the trust of customers and help us open up the market."

Everyone showed expressions of admiration. The boss really has many ways of doing business.

And Lin Zhichao looked at this start-up team. Although he knew the limitations of the times, the abilities of these people may not be high; however, he was willing to cultivate them carefully until their potential was exhausted. Then naturally they would either be eliminated or stay where they were.

To be honest, he is currently engaged in so many industries that he has a very full schedule every day, because he is also learning and improving.

For example, to build the crocodile shirt brand, Lin Zhichao has to participate from the beginning. Although the industry is small, he knows that this represents an entry into the industry.

At present, Lin Zhichao's energy is on shipping, zippers, plastics, clothing, and real estate. If plastics and clothing are on the right track, he can get out soon.Although he did not do real estate projects, Lin Zhichao still insisted on learning, especially paying attention to the development of European and American architecture, that is, the development of high-rise buildings.

After chatting for a while, Lin Zhichao handed over the matter to Zhao Mingyi. After all, he doesn't even know which department the crocodile shirt is in.Only after Zhao Mingyi clarified the message and he needed to take action, he would participate.

At the dock in Hong Kong, Lin Zhichao led the management of Global Shipping, watched the Jin An leave the port, and headed for Tokyo.

Another ship, the Jinshan, also left Hong Kong two days ago and headed for Southeast Asia.

Both cargo ships were only loaded with one-third of the cargo, about 3000 tons, which is the price of entering the industry for the first time.

Fortunately, Lin Zhichao didn't care.

"Boss, we are strengthening our business capabilities, and we will gradually increase the cargo capacity!" Gao Qiqiang, the business manager of Global Shipping, issued a military order.

He is from Guangdong Province, he has been hanging out in Hong Kong for many years, and now he finally meets Ming Zhu, so he is naturally eager to prove himself.

Lin Zhichao nodded and said, "It's understandable, after all, everything is difficult at the beginning!"

All the senior executives breathed a sigh of relief, and the boss could hold his breath.

You know, according to the current cargo capacity, it will take at least two and a half to three years for a ship to pay back the money for the purchase of the ship.This is already a manifestation of poor management in shipping.

After all, after World War II, the world shipping situation is still very good.What's more, the boat is still a second-hand boat!

Lin Zhichao himself understands that shipping is based on opportunities. When the market is good, the price can be tripled or quadrupled. It is also appropriate to double the price of the peninsula campaign. Not only the price is doubled, but the business volume is also doubled. times.

In the best shipping situation, an old ship can earn a new ship a year, which is the money printing machine at sea.

"What do you think is the most important thing in shipping?" Lin Zhichao asked several senior executives.

"Information is the most important!" Everyone said at the same time.

This is pretty much the consensus!
Later, Feng Yongfa said: "The reason why the information is the most important is because it is related to the issue of maritime safety. In case of bad weather, we must seek a safe haven as soon as possible."

Lin Zhichao nodded and said: "So, we need to build our own direct circuit (wireless wave), and in the future, ships from all over the world can use this circuit to report various problems encountered in time, such as time delays caused by accidents, and unfortunate accidents of sailors. , machine failure, lack of berths at the dock, and other natural and man-made disasters, the headquarters of Universal in Hong Kong can be notified of these situations at the first time. This matter, Manager Feng, you can handle it in detail, first take out a report and give it to me. "

Lin Zhichao believes that the purpose of doing this is to analyze the various problems encountered, take remedial measures in time, and accumulate experience for the future purchase of new ships. If there is a problem with the ship, the company can accurately know the position of the ship and dispatch People fly to the port closest to the ship for processing.

After more than a year of study, although Lin Zhichao is not as good as Lao Xingzun in shipping, he is definitely a good hand.After the Jinan and Jinshan arrived at the port this time, he immediately invited engineers to drill the cabin, upper deck, climb the gangway, and carefully observe the structure of the ship and the operation of the machinery, etc., while he followed along and studied.

Feng Yongfa immediately said: "Okay, I'll make preparations right away!"

Lin Zhichao said again: "Manager Wang, the Global Maritime Academy will recruit another batch of 80 students, which is the same as the previous requirements."

Wang Dechong, who is in charge of the personnel department, immediately said: "Okay, I will prepare as soon as possible!"

At this time, several managers understood that the boss still wanted to buy a ship.For a moment, they were a little unbelievable. Why is the boss so rich?

Feng Yongfa suggested: "Boss, why not consider the next step of development after operating for a period of time."

He believes that no matter how rich the boss is, it may be the limit to buy two more cargo ships, so it is very important to be safe.

Lin Zhichao said with a smile: "It's okay! Even buying a ship is a matter of May and June. I believe everyone is already familiar with it."

This is also putting pressure on.

Sure enough, everyone became more serious, and Lin Zhichao also made up his mind to run around in recent months, and even went to Japan directly to investigate.

After all, it will still be very difficult to operate four 2-ton ships.Of course, for three to five months at most, Lin Zhichao will rent out 3 to [-] captains.

Lin Zhichao came to the Hong Kong Club Building, which does not accept Chinese members. In his previous life, he knew that in the 80s, he only accepted a female politician K who married a British guy, that is Deng Lianru trained by Swire Group.

Of course, he did not come here for no reason, but someone invited him to meet here, and the person who invited him made him a little baffled, because he had no contact with Mr. Madden, the chairman of Wheelock.

But since he was invited, Lin Zhichao is naturally right. He is also a new Chinese businessman with deep roots in Hong Kong. Could it be that he dare not even have a meal?

It was this appointment that baffled him a bit.

After explaining his purpose, the waiter didn't make any trouble, it seems that old Madden had given instructions.

After Lin Zhichao came to the restaurant called 'Blue Hall', he met the owner, Ma Deng.

Madden was tall and strong, with a dignified and domineering air, just like a Prussian.

Seeing Lin Zhichao's arrival, he didn't even think about standing up.

"Mr. Lin, please sit down!"

Lin Zhichao also has a figure of 1.7 meters [-]. Standing in front of the old Madden, there is also a kind of pressure; therefore, the old Madden immediately invited Lin Zhichao to sit down.

"I don't know if Chairman Madden invited you. What's the matter?" Lin Zhichao asked immediately after sitting down.

If there is no agreement, there is no need to drink this coffee.

Ma Deng immediately said in a bossy tone: "I heard that Global Shipping intends to develop shipping and bought two free ships, but now they can't get much cargo. So, why don't you hand over your two ships to us? Defeng will manage it, so that your income will be much more than the current one."

Lin Zhichao was already swearing in his heart.

However, he just said calmly: "I'm sorry! I'm a student of shipping, not a rent collector, so I won't agree to Chairman Madden's proposal."

Seeing Lin Zhichao's direct refusal, Madden said in a lecturing tone: "Young man, as you Chinese people often say, sailing and racing are three-point risky. If you fail, you will lose the last shirt. If the Orientals don't get With the support of Westerners, don’t expect to get a share of the ocean shipping industry! Look, you Chinese have never had a ship king, and many of them have disappeared in the dust of history. If you want to learn shipping, you can first hand over the ship to Let's manage it, and make plans when the wings are full!"

When he learned that Global Shipping had two [-]-ton freighters, Madden also had some experience. In his understanding, Chinese ships were mostly hundreds of tons, and those with thousands of tons were already great ship owners.Even Xu Aizhou's ships are mostly thousands of tons of ships, if not for the large number, how could they have such a great reputation.

He also heard that Global Shipping is a newly established shipping company, and Lin Zhichao is a novice in the shipping industry, and he thinks this plan is to support Lin Zhichao.

This kind of cooperation is very normal in shipping, Madden thinks so.

Lin Zhichao didn't take it seriously. Even if he couldn't pull a ton of cargo, he would not hand over the ship to others; what's more, he was extremely confident in his shipping business, super confident.

"Mr. Marden, no matter what you think about our Chinese shipowners, my opinion is that global shipping will surpass Wheelock Shipping within ten years. In my eyes, Wheelock Shipping is not invincible .”

"Ha ha"

Madden laughed wantonly, as if he heard a big joke.

Lin Zhichao also laughed, as if he was laughing at Madden's arrogance and arrogance.

After a long time, Madden stopped laughing, and then said contemptuously: "You are different from the Chinese I have seen, and your bragging ability is incredible."

Lin Zhichao responded: "Since Mr. Madden holds such prejudices, then I also leave."

Afterwards, the two parted ways.

After Lin Zhichao left, Ma Deng sneered and said:

"I thought it was worth supporting, but I didn't expect to be so arrogant. This kind of person will only lose the last shirt."

In his opinion, Lin Zhichao's words were simply impossible.

First of all, Asia Shipping, a subsidiary of Wheelock Shipping, is a listed company that purchased a considerable number of ships through fundraising in December 1948.

Secondly, apart from going public and raising funds by itself, shipping has no other funding channels, that is to say, banks do not grant loans to shipping.

In the end, a ship often needs millions of Hong Kong dollars (for old ships), or even tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars (for new ships), which is simply a waste of money.

So Madden didn't even think about Lin Zhichao's bold words and ambitions, let alone take them to heart.

the other side.

After Lin Zhichao returned to the company, he also left behind the unpleasant meeting with Madden today.He has a complete plan for the development of shipping.

Of course, the core part is to obtain the support of HSBC.

If this link is not achieved, he will be in some trouble, and may have to open his own bank to seek broader funding channels.

To gain the trust of HSBC, the most important thing is to let them see the credibility and stability of global shipping.

These need to be implemented slowly!

Uniqlo clothing company bought the trademark rights of the "crocodile" brand from the Hong Kong government at a price of 3 Hong Kong dollars; the crocodile clothing was founded in 1911 by the Germans in Hong Kong, and was naturally confiscated by the Hong Kong government after the war. Put this intangible asset in your hands.

Now that someone wants it, the Hong Kong government is naturally willing to sell it.And to Lin Zhichao's surprise, this brand is called 'crocodile' brand, not 'crocodile shirt'.

Fortunately, the general manager Zhao Mingyi responded quickly, saying that since the boss said it was called "crocodile shirt", he simply changed the name to "crocodile shirt", because this name sounds better than "crocodile".

Lin Zhichao naturally thought so too!
After acquiring the brand, Lin Zhichao is not in a hurry to open a store. Before that, he needs to strengthen the founding team, redesign and register the crocodile logo.

At the same time, Crocodile's initial plan is to open two stores, one flagship store in Hong Kong Island and one in Kowloon. At least the third store will not be opened in the next five years, because Hong Kong's purchasing power is here.

Too much work needs to be prepared, such as fabric selection, shirt proofing, store selection and decoration, training of service personnel, etc.; therefore, Lin Zhichao simply slowed down and planned slowly, not rushing to market the crocodile shirts.

In a blink of an eye, it was another Spring Festival (1950).

At Lantian Yayuan's home, the Lin family was celebrating the Spring Festival. Thinking about how many people were sleeping on the road outside, Lin Zhichao felt—fortunately, he went ashore.

Of course, you can change your mind: Don’t look at these people sleeping on the road now, they will be envied by others in a few decades; Risking their lives, they came to this paradise.

So thinking about it this way, Lin Zhichao will not be too sympathetic to the poor people in Hong Kong in this era. They at least have hope in this life.

Once Hong Kong's industrialization starts, these people will at least have something to eat!
On the dining table, there was a sumptuous dinner, surrounded by a family of five, including half-year-old Lin Ruihuan, who was also hugged by her grandma and couldn't put it down.

As for the nanny Axia, she has already gone home after receiving the bonus, which is considered a holiday.

Lin Zhichao picked up the wine glass and said happily: "Come on, let me toast to everyone. I wish my mother live a younger life, I wish Caiyun more beautiful, I wish Xiner a good university entrance exam, and I wish Ruihuan a healthy growth."

The three women picked up their drinks or red wine one after another, and looked at Lin Zhichao happily. As the head of the family, everything in the family was created by Lin Zhichao, and their backbone was naturally also Lin Zhichao.

"I wish my son all the best!"

"I wish my husband all wishes come true!"

"I wish my brother all the best!"

"Boom" the four cups collided.

Lin Ruihuan watched curiously, and danced happily.

Lin Zhichao took a sip of the fine wine and said, "In the new year, it's no problem to live in a single-family house in the middle of the mountain. Although this house is not bad, it's just too small, and the nanny doesn't even have a place to live. And it's not soundproof. !"

Lin Xiner blushed, her elder brother and sister-in-law did such things a lot, and sometimes it was enough to torture her.

Tang Caiyun also felt that this was a problem. Her husband had outstanding abilities and liked to torture people.So she is very supportive of buying a house in the middle of the mountain. After all, that little money is nothing to Lin.

"Have property prices fallen?" Tang Caiyun asked curiously.

"It's a drop, it can only be said to be a slight drop, generally in the range of 25 to 35 Hong Kong dollars, and the price of 40 Hong Kong dollars per square meter can no longer be sold."

Compared with the previous life, this price is already much higher.

You know, the price of Sifang Street in the previous life was only 20-25 Hong Kong dollars per square foot (1954).

Tang Caiyun nodded, and stopped asking. She is now gradually getting involved in the family business, mainly because her husband took the initiative to tell her about the company. She didn't go to the company, so it was considered a remote understanding.

The next day, the Lin family and the Tang family met to go out shopping, shopping, and eating. In this era, only the Central Ring Road can be regarded as a real commercial prosperity, and there are all kinds of goods from all over the world.

"Brother-in-law, remember to pay for me later, just say you gave it to me!" Tang Caiying quietly came to Lin Zhichao's side and preached.

The Tang family lived in poverty, probably because Tang Zhongyuan had a lot of debts, so he developed the habit of learning from others; on the contrary, Lin Zhichao can spend money and make money.

"Well, just find your sister! So, do you want to marry in early?" Lin Zhichao joked in a low voice.

"Wonderful thinking!" Tang Caiying blushed a little this time, and then walked away gently, leaving Lin Zhichao with a beautiful back.

Naturally, the small actions of the two cannot be hidden from other people, and everyone turned a blind eye.

(End of this chapter)