Rebirth: Starting from the Cafeteria

At this point, [Shuxianglou] had no power to fight back at all.

They are already pursuing maximum performance, and given the company's recent decline in performance, they simply don't dare to run such profit-sharing promotions.

This industry still has considerable technical barriers, and the problem of insufficient talent reserves has become increasingly prominent, further exacerbating the downward trend in performance.

In addition, the company's major shareholders held a firm stance and all these factors combined, ultimately leading to the collapse of Shuxianglou's stock price.

The continuous decline made investors completely disappointed, and they began to leave the market one after another, causing the stock price to fall below the important technical threshold of 10 yuan in one breath, entering a long bear market.

This result was expected by Du Shaojie. He just couldn't understand what Shuxianglou, as a banner in the Sichuan cuisine world, was trying to achieve.
Is it just to defeat [Xichuan Restaurant]?
Yin Qiang and others invested in [Shuxianglou] to make quick money, and on the other hand to make things difficult for Du Shaojie. Everything these major shareholders did was to make a profit and leave, leaving [Shuxianglou] shivering in the cold wind.

This matter itself is illogical.

Of course, this was just Du Shaojie's private thoughts, and he didn't say it out loud. Now, no matter what the other party did, defeating them and seizing the market was the most important thing to do.

"Mr. Du, the Shuxianglou Group has not put all its restaurants into the listed company. It still has about 60 stores. These stores are their core business, while most of the stores in the listed company are new stores."

Luo Qin and Wang Yongli jointly conducted an investigation and discovered some information about Shuxianglou.

The Shuxianglou Group is the largest shareholder of the listed company Shuxianglou, and the Shuxianglou brand belongs to the group company. The group company authorizes the use of this signboard to the listed company and charges a certain licensing fee.

The group company is not just an empty shell, it has dozens of restaurants and stores under its umbrella.

Most of these restaurants have a long history and are deeply rooted in the local area. Strictly speaking, these restaurant stores are the real high-quality assets.

"It's hidden quite deeply!"

Du Shaojie understood that these stores were people's retreat and were not easy to be completely defeated.

In addition, the supply of raw materials for listed companies is basically monopolized by the group companies. It is hard to say whether there is a problem of interest transfer here, but it definitely brings a steady stream of profits to the group companies.

No wonder it is said that the purpose of going public is to make money. The methods may be different and ingenious, but the essence will not change.

After discussion, Du Shaojie, Yu Jianxin and others decided to expand the Sichuan snack business step by step. They did not pursue speed, but only tried to lay a solid foundation and never do anything fancy.

Afterwards, Du Shaojie went to Hong Kong for vacation.

After this all-out confrontation with Shuxianglou, Xichuan Restaurant demonstrated its strong vitality and thus secured its position as the leader of Sichuan cuisine. It will be difficult for it to encounter a decent challenge again in the next few years.

This is also the reason why he can go on vacation with peace of mind. As long as the brand of [Xichuan Restaurant] remains intact, his catering empire will not be at risk of disintegration.

During his stay in Hong Kong, he happened to catch up with the company's half-year report cycle.

The semi-annual report of [Shuxianglou] shows that the performance did not meet expectations, and the performance decline trend is obvious. The company explained that the unstable performance problem occurred due to the intensified competition and the incomplete industrial layout.

Anyone with a discerning eye will know what the term "broken jade" means.

But the next move of Shuxianglou is a little confusing. After issuing the half-year performance forecast, Shuxianglou decided to sell 40 of its restaurants.

The buyer was [Shuxianglou Group]. This was definitely a related transaction, but the transaction price was fair, so it was quickly approved.

The listed company had an additional non-operating income, and the group company added 40 restaurants. On the surface, there was nothing wrong, but Du Shaojie soon discovered the mystery.

These 40 restaurant stores are almost the best stores of the listed company, with good locations and operating performance.

"Shuxianglou sold its best assets. Are they planning to stop making ends meet?"

That day, Du Shaojie went to Dingxin International for a meeting, and after the meeting he talked about this matter with everyone.

Winnie found it hard to understand and couldn't figure out why the other party [Shuxianglou] did this.

"This is an alternative way for them to hollow out a listed company. The listed company takes risks for the largest shareholder, and then the largest shareholder takes away the best assets. They never planned to go ahead anyway."

Fan Shilun was quite familiar with this kind of covert method and immediately exposed the other party's true colors.

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment, and then they suddenly realized that there was such a way.

"Let them do whatever they want. We can't do anything about it anyway. I plan to ask General Yu to start a promotion for Sichuan snacks where customers can deposit money to get a gift, so that we can squeeze the other party out on price."

Du Shaojie nodded, and he understood the operation of Shuxianglou.

Now it was his turn to take action, and he had to defeat the Sichuan snacks of Shuxianglou.

He then called Yu Jianxin and asked him to start a gift-giving activity for top-up. This is a disguised preferential measure, which is very attractive to frequent customers.

Facts have proved that [Shuxianglou] is not someone who can be easily controlled, and they have already thought of a countermeasure.

three days later.

[Shuweixiang] announced that it would adjust its business strategy and change its Sichuan snacks to a franchise chain model. This is equivalent to selling all its Sichuan snacks stores and then collecting franchise fees. At the same time, the other party can also make a profit from the supply.

Although the Sichuan snacks store is gone, no one can say anything. Can you say it is not a catering company? It has changed its business model, but it is still a legitimate catering management company.

The change in business seemed abrupt, but the subsequent results were good.

It is not easy to start a business at any time, and there are not many people willing to take over Sichuan snack shops. As a result, [Shuxianglou] easily transferred this piece of non-performing assets.

As for the franchise chain, they are responsible for their own profits and losses, and it has nothing to do with [Shuxianglou].

“So, if a person has no shame, he is invincible. [Shuweixiang] transferred the risk to others. It can attack or defend, and it has not failed.”

Du Shaojie sighed deeply. It was not that he did not understand this model, but he did not expect that the other party would dare to harm ordinary people without any scruples.

However, perhaps in order to sell as quickly as possible, [Shuxianglou] charges a relatively low franchise fee. As long as these small bosses run the business seriously, they can still make it.

The biggest advantage of self-employed individuals is cost advantage. These people are both bosses and employees. They work from dawn to dusk, so a large amount of labor costs alone can be saved.

They can survive as long as they have a small profit, and Du Shaojie really can't do anything about these people.

Perhaps the great waves will slowly eliminate many people, but the pattern of the past few years has been formed and it is difficult to shake it.

"This Shuxianglou still has capable people. This move was very beautiful. It not only saved face but also saved the substance."

Du Shaojie is not a person who likes to dwell on things. The offensive and defensive battles between the two sides have come to an end for the time being, and it is unknown how many years it will take for the next round to come.

He put the matter aside, gave the top executives of Bailian Catering Management Company and Dingxin International a long vacation, and went on a trip to Australia with them.

After coming back, I started the next step.

[Northwest Noodle House] Co., Ltd. issued an announcement that it will acquire the equity of Sichuan snacks owned by [Bailian Catering Management Company].

There is a reason why Du Shaojie gave a piece of money to the listed company. This is the experience he learned from the operation of [Shuxianglou].

For listed companies, successful acquisition cases can indeed quickly improve the company's performance and thus bring confidence to investors.

The Sichuan snacks project is a joint venture project. The partners agreed to the share swap plan and the acquisition was completed smoothly.

Next, [Northwest Noodle House] released a refinancing plan.

“Mr. Du, you see, the stock market is like this. You must tell your story well and maintain the stock price so that you can carry out round after round of financing.

With the money, we can invest in new projects or make acquisitions, and then there will be the next story, right? "

Fan Shilun told the truth in front of Du Shaojie. The core was the comparison between the pros and cons of going public and not going public.

This question is difficult to explain clearly as it is a matter of opinion.

"Don't do those empty things. You need to cooperate more with [Northwest Noodle House] and make sure that this additional issuance can proceed smoothly."

Du Shaojie smiled and handed over the task of coordinating the listed company's refinancing to Fan Shilun.

Fan Shilun is a good guy in every way except that he is a bit cynical, so we must keep him busy, otherwise he will cause trouble when he is idle.

Today's listed company has three core businesses, including Northwest noodle restaurants, fast food chains and Sichuan snacks.

The company has good profitability, so its stock is also popular among investors.

However, it is a traditional industry after all, and valuations are generally low, but it does not affect the company's ability to make money.

Time flies.

[Northwest Noodle House] successfully completed its additional issuance, raising HK$23 billion, and its ability to attract capital ranks among the best in the market.

If calculated based on valuation, the valuation of the entire [Bailian Catering] is not as high as the other party.

Du Shaojie would not put core assets into listed companies from the beginning. So what are the core assets in his mind?

The core asset in his mind is commercial real estate. Real estate is either in Du Shaojie's personal name or in the name of the catering company, and listed companies can only rent it.

The rent follows the market, which is fair.

In addition, [Bailian Catering Management Company] has also become the raw material supplier of [Northwest Noodle House]. With the help of the company's several major raw material supply bases and mature supply channels, this option is almost irreplaceable.

Du Shaojie feels that one should be good at learning from others’ strengths. Some of the changes he made were brought about by his experience in learning from Shuxianglou. (End of this chapter)