The Industrial Giant Reborn.

Chapter 430 Plot of 711 retail chain store

"You mean, a small store like 711?" Chen Zhiwen asked.

At present, the retail market in the United States is basically monopolized by large supermarkets, such as Wal-Mart, Auchan, Carrefour, Celtic and other large supermarkets. Especially Wal-Mart, wherever it goes, other local retail industries basically collapse. The costs of mom-and-pop stores can’t compare to Walmart.Costco is an exception because it has fewer varieties and larger purchases, its costs are lower than Wal-Mart, and it has locked in a large number of middle-class people through membership payments, forming an independent means of competition.

But there is another type of supermarket that still survives, and that is the chain of small retail stores such as 711.Ordinary mom-and-pop stores cannot compete with Wal-Mart because a small store cannot purchase materials independently and can only be exploited by multiple dealers, resulting in high costs. However, 711 is a large chain store that purchases and delivers goods in one place. Although the cost is still not as good as Wal-Mart, the gap is much smaller.

Moreover, the competitive advantage of this kind of small stores is not in cost, but in convenience. After all, not everyone is willing to go to Wal-Mart or Costco a few kilometers away to buy a few small things, especially for shopping. When it comes to one or two little things.

Of course, no matter what, costs still need to be controlled, but it doesn’t have to be as extreme as Wal-Mart. With different positioning, you can live a happy life.

711, just such a company, is also the most famous existence in this industry. It was established as early as the 20s. Today, it has related businesses in many countries.

"Yes, it's similar to 711." Wu Weibing said: "I have been to many countries in Southeast Asia during this period. There are many other supermarkets there, but limited by the local traffic environment, not everyone can easily go to several There are supermarkets kilometers away, so many people will choose small supermarkets unless it is a one-time big purchase.

In fact, we can also see this in Hong Kong now. Even though PARKnSHOP has monopolized the retail sales of medium-sized supermarkets in Hong Kong, many 711 stores are still operating very well. This is the logic of different market positioning. Supermarkets like PARKnSHOP or RT-Mart have no influence on 711. Such enterprises have little impact unless they are very close, but our medium and large supermarkets cannot be built too densely. "

"This is indeed a new market." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said, Hong Kong also has 711, but it used to be an agent of Milk Group, and now it also belongs to Landmark.

"Our idea is that if a city already has ParknShop or RT-Mart, then adding stores similar to 711 can share procurement channels and transportation costs, so the cost will be lower." Wu Weibing added .

"The combination of large, medium and small supermarkets? This is a good way, and the transportation cost is evenly distributed to the extreme?" Chen Zhiwen said with a smile. It seems that no retail giant has tried this model, and most large supermarkets do not. It may be that a small store specializing in this kind of business is looked down upon, but in fact the market is really quite big.

It’s just that most companies consume too much money, energy and resources when developing their main business, and have no time to do other related industries, such as Wal-Mart. In fact, they have long seen the potential of Costco’s member supermarkets, but But I can't invest too much, because Wal-Mart Supermarket itself is also developing at a high speed. Before defeating the traditional giant Celtic, Wal-Mart Group cannot have the energy to open up another route, not to mention, it has grown in Costco. When they get up, if they enter in a large scale, both sides will be attacked.

Only companies that are not short of money can move forward in multiple directions at the same time. Large investment funds like those can make large-scale investments in multiple fields. However, the same problem is that they cast a wide net and are not professional enough. There are only a few companies in the world that can do everything well.

"Yes, but due to the light operation model of the management model, this kind of small store still needs to adopt the franchise model. We will just provide the supply directly. The cheap supply will definitely make this kind of supermarket develop very quickly. It is enough to achieve the purpose of controlling the market, so that we can not only earn franchise fees, but also obtain a large number of new orders for materials." Wu Weibing explained.Just managing medium and large supermarkets is already very laborious, and Watsons is fully aware of this. Fortunately, supermarkets in Malaysia or future Southeast Asian supermarkets are managed by local people and people dispatched by Watsons. Maybe the power is divided. A little bit, but it also tied everyone in the same boat and also reduced the pressure on Watsons' management. Relatively speaking, Watsons mainly focuses on supervision of supermarkets in Southeast Asia. As long as the local management does not go too far, the company has Enough profit, that's it.

After all, for Southeast Asian supermarkets, the biggest profit for the group lies in the massive industrial orders with Galaxy Trading, which is the bulk.

"Okay, let's join the franchise?" Chen Zhiwen nodded. It would be no problem to run a large supermarket or a neutral supermarket like Parknshop by yourself, but it would be impossible to run tens of thousands of small supermarkets by yourself. , otherwise the management costs can go up to the sky, and no one can manage it. The best model is to join in with technology. The store owner is responsible for himself, and the franchisee charges fees and provides cheap supplies. The same is true for 711.

"In that case, I'm going to register a brand like this." Wu Weibing said with a smile. "Wait a minute, it's too laborious for us to build such a brand ourselves. After all, its potential is still not as good as that of RT-Mart or PARKnSHOP. Let's just buy a ready-made one on the market, such as 711 in the United States. I heard that behind it The parent company is not doing very well either." Chen Zhiwen thought for a while and said, it is not a new technology company. In this traditional industry, the fastest development model is mergers and acquisitions. For example, Hutchison was acquired because of the acquisition of With the help of Hutchison's platform, as well as its own funds, resources and vision, Watsons has developed today's Watsons. It has a large number of supermarket chains in several countries and its annual turnover has exceeded HK$30 billion. At one point, it could become one of the top 20 large companies in Hong Kong.

If you start from scratch and build a company similar to 711, the money spent is a trivial matter, but the time and energy required are troublesome. At present, Watsons’ main focus is on the expansion of RT-Mart and Parknshop in Southeast Asia, and then on such small chain stores. It’s not worth wasting energy on. Although 711 is large in scale, it is mainly franchised, and the brands in the Japanese market have been bought out. They are also average in other places, and the total price is not worth much. .

The American company behind 711 is a traditional ice-making company called Southern Continental Ice-making Company. This business was very popular more than 50 years ago. Dairy companies, Swire Group, Toshitaka and his family have all done this business, and the scales are all different. Small, the same is true in the United States, but when the economy continues to develop and air conditioners and refrigerators gradually become popular, this business will be useless and eliminated by the times. In a few years, the entire company will be swallowed up by Japan's Huateng Trading Co., Ltd. , 711 has become a Japanese company.

Rather than cheapening Japan, it is better to cheapen yourself now. This kind of small store will still have its own market even in the Internet retail era decades later, and the impact will not be great.It can even assist Internet shopping platforms in reverse, such as JD.com stores.

"Acquiring Southern Company in the United States?" Wu Weibing asked.

"If you can acquire 711 alone, then acquire 711. If not, acquire [-] together. The ice-making business has no future. Just close it after acquisition. However, there will be a lot of trouble. You first send people to the United States to make contact. Let’s see, you decide for yourself what the specific situation is, and if you have any funding issues, just discuss it with Zhou Jiayang,” Chen Zhiwen said.

Historically, under the management of Japan's Huateng Trading Company, 711 has become a major force in the global retail industry in the 21st century. However, this is mainly due to Japan. The Southern Company of the United States does not have this ability and has developed for 50 years. In [-], we were able to do well in the United States. In other countries, we sold brand licenses to earn some licensing fees.

Chen Zhiwen doesn't know how much it will cost yet, but it shouldn't be a lot. Otherwise, the entire Southern Ice Manufacturing Company will not be acquired by a small Japanese company in a few years. Chen Zhiwen will not concentrate on such a small acquisition. To participate, just let his subordinates do it by themselves. He only needs to make this decision, and then his subordinates can execute it.

"Okay." Wu Weibing said again: "But if we acquire 711, the 711 in Hong Kong is controlled by Land and Land. If we acquire [-], what will happen to the [-] in Hong Kong?"

"You don't need to worry about it. I will come forward to solve this matter." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile. He was ready to take action in many aspects. Taking advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime economic crisis, failure to succeed would be a shame for the opportunities given by the times. However, very few people within the entire group knew about this matter. Wu Weibing was in charge of retail sales, so naturally he didn't know about it. As for outsiders, there were speculations about it, but it was just chatting after dinner.

"Okay." Wu Weibing nodded in agreement.

"Wait, if you go to the United States, first find Costco and buy the retail industry in the United States. Maybe it's better for them to come forward. If the acquisition is successful, Costco will take over the business in the United States, and you will take over the business in other places, so that the resources will be the largest. It would be more reasonable to use it." Chen Zhiwen thought for a while and then said.

"Well, we at Watsons really have no foundation in the United States and Europe, so we might as well give it to Costco, which has already been successful." Wu Weibing said.

"Okay, then go ahead and tell me if you have any news." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.

"Then Mr. Chen, I'll take my leave." Wu Weibing said goodbye and left.

(End of this chapter)