Rebirth of England.

Chapter 786 BAE Systems
Of course, Barron is naturally more interested in BAE Systems. After all, as the world's second largest military industrial enterprise, its product range covers amphibious weapon systems for land, sea and air. It has a leading advantage in the research and development and construction of ground weapons such as fighter jets and tanks, as well as nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers.

At the same time, it is also one of the main military suppliers to Britain, the United States and other countries. BAE Systems' more well-known products include the Challenger 2 main battle tank, the Harrier series of short- and vertical-takeoff and vertical-takeoff fighters, the Lightning fighter, the Typhoon fighter, the Type 45 destroyer, the Astute-class nuclear submarine, and Britain's only current strategic nuclear deterrent force - the Vanguard-class strategic nuclear submarine.

In addition, BAE Systems is also one of the main manufacturers of the British Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier.

From this long list of heavyweight weapons and equipment, we can see the position of BAE Systems in British military industrial enterprises.

BAE Systems is currently listed on the London Stock Exchange with a market value of around 90 billion pounds (equivalent to 139.5 billion US dollars).

Its market value does not seem high, but it is not easy to control or even acquire this company - it can even be said to be very difficult, more difficult than all the companies Barron has acquired before.

After all, it is conceivable that with the mergers of BAE Systems from the earliest Hawker (Hawker and Scottish Airways merged to form British Aerospace in 1960) to the current BAE Systems, plus the subsequent mergers, BAE Systems' shares are very dispersed...

And because of the special industry nature of BAE Systems, the identities of this company's shareholders are also very special.

Because BAE Systems' main revenue comes from military procurement orders from many countries including Britain and the United States, its shareholders can often provide considerable help in these processes.

Therefore, it is impossible for Barron to completely acquire it like other companies, or even to have absolute control. The most he can do is to become the company's most influential shareholder, which requires careful planning to achieve.

This is destined to be a long process, and he has already begun to make arrangements, starting with acquiring shares of BAE Systems through the secondary market.

"In addition, I need you to analyze the list of BAE Systems shareholders and first identify the individuals or institutions most likely to sell the company's shares, and get as many shares as possible."

"It is not easy to find the true owners of some of BAE Systems' shareholders through public channels, but we will do our best..."

This is why Barron needs a professional intelligence agency.

If I remember correctly, Baron knew that BAE Systems' market value had reached 400 billion US dollars before his rebirth, so the purchase of shares in this company was a good deal, even if it was just from an economic point of view...

……

Although the world had experienced an economic recession due to the subprime mortgage crisis, this did not have much impact on high-end shopping malls such as Harrods.

According to the performance report submitted by Harrods to Barron's, Harrods' turnover has maintained a steady growth trend from 2008 to the present.

This time, accompanied by Julia Moore, Barron came to Harrods again.

As Christmas approaches, Harrods has also decorated its interior to create a festive atmosphere. After all, in Europe and the United States, the period around Christmas is the most important sales period of the year, and all businesses will do their best to welcome the shopping spree.

However, unlike before, Cather did not appear in this department store - before this, Cather worked as a purchasing manager at Harrods, but after she got engaged to Prince William, she officially resigned from her position at Harrods.

After all, next year, Cather will marry Prince William and become a member of the royal family. It will definitely be impossible for her to continue to hold a position in the business company.

"Two months ago, we held a limited-time exclusive membership event for Harrods in Shanghai. This event was very successful, and it also shows that Shanghai, China, has great consumption potential..."

The CEO of Harrods told Barron’s:
"Next, we plan to hold similar events in Shanghai every year. If this situation continues, we can consider making this exclusive membership club a regular format."

In Barron's previous life, Harrods was not going to establish a fixed exclusive membership club in Shanghai until 2020.

However, Harrods' interest in the Chinese market began at an earlier time.

"Although there are less than ten days until New Year's Day, according to our statistics, this year's spending by Chinese customers at our Harrods department store has increased by 125% year-on-year. This year, Chinese tourists' spending here is already three times that of Americans!"

Barron heard the CEO excitedly say:
"These signals reveal the direction of future wealth flows, and China is one of the luxury markets with the greatest growth potential."

In fact, in Barron's previous life, after Harrods was acquired by the Gulf country's sovereign wealth fund "Qatar Holding" in 2010, Harrods' parent company, Harrods Group, launched an expansion plan. That year, they told the media that the company was considering opening the world's second Harrods in China's Magic City.

However, due to various reasons, this plan was not implemented.

However, Barron understands the potential of China's luxury goods market, so he is very supportive of Harrods' entry into the Chinese market.

You should know that the SKP shopping mall in Future Yanjing once became the shopping mall with the highest sales in the world, with the highest daily sales exceeding 10 billion!
Therefore, facing such a huge market, it is definitely better to enter as early as possible, especially now that China's purchasing power has begun to show...

"It is necessary to test the waters first, but I am also very optimistic about the market growth in China, so we can speed up. This is one of the most important markets in the world in the future. I also think that the second store of Harrods in Shanghai is a very wise choice."

At present, it seems that the cooperation between Argos Retail Group and Tianhe Real Estate in Shanghai is very successful. Costco's Shanghai store continues to be popular, and the surrounding business districts have also benefited a lot.

Next, Harrods can also cooperate with Tianhe Real Estate in this way to gain a firm foothold in Shanghai, the most economically dynamic city in China.

(End of this chapter)