National Tide 1980

Chapter 1187 The giant is coming

"What? Uncle, you sold your shares! Are you talking about Jinmen... the Orchid Flower Express Restaurant that you founded?"

Zhao Hanyu asked.

"No way! Who did you sell it to? Why? Could it be...that something went wrong with the fast food restaurant's operation?"

Mi Xiaoran also asked.

Wang Dadong's words stunned Mi Xiaoran and his wife. They never expected to hear such news from Wang Dadong's mouth.

They still remember the scene when they accompanied Wang Dadong to Tianjin for a field trip.

Although they were not able to come to the scene to congratulate their uncle when the fast food restaurant opened, because they had already gone to the United States at that time.

But Wang Dadong was extremely excited and made a special international long distance call to them, and promptly shared with them the grand occasion of the customer queue 300 meters away in front of the store during the opening.

And the news they have been receiving since then is that the restaurant is doing very well and is far more popular than expected.

It seems that after only one year of operation, Wang Dadong recovered all his personal investment and opened a branch.

Therefore, in their impression, this Orchid Flower Fast Food Restaurant not only took a lot of Wang Dadong's hard work, but it was also like a golden chicken that kept laying eggs!

What do they think, and they don’t understand why Wang Dadong is willing to sell it? And why sell?

If the business is not in good condition, there is no such thing as a quick fix.

However, what was even more strange was that Wang Dadong actually laughed quite proudly when he heard them ask this.

It was as if he was expecting them to ask him about this question.

It seems that this is something he deserves to show off and be proud of.

"Looking at your looks, you must be scared. But don't think too much. Let me tell you, the reason why I sold the shares is not because there is a problem with the restaurant's operation, nor is there a problem with my head. It's Because I have a better business opportunity. An opportunity to truly expand my ambitions and quickly expand the fast food industry that I am optimistic about."

Wang Dadong finally revealed the answer to the mystery for the two of them. This is what love means.

Because of the great success of Orchid Flower Fast Food Restaurant in Tianjin, Wang Dadong became the first foreigner to open a fast food restaurant in mainland China.

Not only did it become famous in Tianjin, bringing him both fame and fortune, but more importantly, the news was even noticed by American reporters through the propaganda of mainland official media.

Then through this American reporter’s report, the news spread to the American fast food industry.

It also caused a huge sensation afterwards.

To be honest, as the country with the most developed fast food industry in the world, the American business community does not lack people with strategic vision.

Wang Dadong is by no means the only person who can see the unlimited potential and huge consumer market of the Republic.

In fact, as early as 1975, PepsiCo President Jane Doyle determined the investment strategy to expand the mainland market of the Republic.

At that time, Gendall had a good relationship with George Bush, who was then the representative of the U.S. Office in Beijing, and knew that there was no cheese for sale in the Republic.

Before coming here, out of concern for his friends, he specially ordered a large piece of cheese from the United States and planned to bring it to them. Unexpectedly, the customs of the Republic mistakenly thought that he was selling cheese.

By 1985, Pepsi's soda products had successfully entered the Republic of China market after Coca-Cola Company.

PepsiCo has achieved initial success in its Chinese bottling plant.

So we just acquired PepsiCo in Kentucky, and in order to further develop the mainland market, we also started the fast food business.

Jane Doyle ordered the establishment of Kentucky's Far East regional headquarters in the port city.

In 1986, Jan Doyle also led all directors of PepsiCo to visit the Republic. Not only did he get to know great people, but he also participated in the establishment of the US-China Chamber of Commerce, which was unprecedented among foreign-funded enterprises at the time.

The purpose is to use the port city as a bridgehead, and after establishing a firm foothold, gradually advance to the inland.

However, what I never expected was that Kentucky suffered a disastrous failure in the Hong Kong market. Americans' pure fast food model was not appreciated by the Chinese nation, and it was quite difficult to get started.

So far, despite all the efforts, Kentucky has only opened three stores in the port city.

And almost all of it was a loss, which was completely out of place.

Therefore, since the market in Hong Kong City has not yet been successful, let alone the mainland market.

The cruel reality made Jian Daoer understand that it is not that easy to successfully launch a fast food business in China.

Since the cultures and life styles of the East and the West are very different, if American fast food wants to successfully establish and flourish in China, it must have someone who understands the characteristics of Chinese culture and market.

It was precisely at this time that news of Wang Dadong's success in the mainland and his first pot of gold through fast food spread to the United States.

You know, in 1979, Wang Dadong, who was still working in Kentucky at the time, was sent to Southern California by the Kentucky headquarters in the United States to serve as a regional manager. He had served as a middle-level manager in Kentucky.

Therefore, Wang Dadong's success in the mainland is equivalent to playing a bright card for Jian Daoer.

Jan Doyle was overjoyed when he learned that Wang Dadong was once an old employee of Kentucky.

Someone immediately found a way to contact Wang Dadong, who was far away in Tianjin, and invited Wang Dadong to return to the company on behalf of Kentucky and serve as the president of the Far East region of Kentucky. His main goal and task was to develop the mainland market across the country.

The conditions offered were very generous, not only giving him a high salary and partner treatment, but also guaranteeing that they would not interfere with his business decisions at all, which fully demonstrated Jian Daoer's sincerity in seeking talents.

So Wang Dadong was tempted.

He knew very well that the Republic was a huge market as large as the United States itself.

Kentucky has a complete system, supply chain, and absolute expansion capabilities and operations.

If he agrees to this condition, with his knowledge of the mainland market and successful experience, he may be able to open dozens or even hundreds of Kentucky branches in the Republic in a few years or ten years.

Compared with such a grand undertaking, the Orchid Flower fast food restaurant he founded is not so popular.

In this way, after thinking over and over again, he felt that the time was ripe to do this, and he was certain.

Just make two demands for Jane Doyle.

"It's okay for me to give up my career and agree to be the president of Kentucky's Far East. But after I take office, one is to move the headquarters of Kentucky's Far East region from Hong Kong City to Singapore. The other is to buy back all the shares of Kentucky in Singapore. From then on, End the licensing business model and stop authorizing others to operate. Can you agree to this?"

Regarding this, Jian Daoer was very curious and said, "To develop the mainland market, moving the headquarters from Hong Kong City to Singapore will not make it farther away from the mainland? What's more, if you move the headquarters, what will happen to the stores in Hong Kong City? I don't agree. , but I hope you can have a reasonable explanation."

Unexpectedly, Wang Dadong’s reason was actually quite sufficient. “You may not know, but in fact, Kentucky did not enter China only in the 1980s. What I learned when I was working in Kentucky was that Kentucky had been there as early as 1970 and 1971. Hong Kong City developed, but then fell into serious losses, and more than a dozen stores were forced to close. After 1985, we made a comeback and entered again, but only opened three stores, which was not successful. In such a market, we repeatedly hit the wall, and there was no good solution for the time being. , it is better to ignore it for the time being and reduce consumption as much as possible. Moreover, most Hong Kong people do not speak Mandarin, so there are no human resources in Hong Kong City, which is not helpful to our operations in the mainland. Singapore is different, and the Chinese there speak Mandarin. . Once we get to the mainland, we will be able to communicate, which will help us develop in the mainland. In this case, on the surface, we are moving far away, but in fact, we are closer. I can directly move the Singapore model to the capital and open the first store. When the time comes, just make some improvements. As the Chinese say, the one closest to the water and the tower gets the moon first."

Wang Dadong said categorically, "If you don't agree to these two affairs, then I will not come back."

The final result was that Jian Daoer was convinced and decided to follow Wang Dadong's opinions unconditionally.

It will not hesitate to spend millions of dollars to recover all the shares of Singapore Kentucky.

In other words, there has been no real progress on the mainland, and Jian Daoer will start spending a lot of money in order to satisfy Wang Dadong.

This undoubtedly fully demonstrates Jane Doyle's determination and trust in Wang Dadong.

So Wang Dadong no longer had any worries and quickly went to negotiate with the government departments in Tianjin.

In order not to affect the operation and corporate nature of Hu Jihua Restaurant, he introduced another Chinese-American to take over.

This man's name is Qi Junfu, and he is also his old friend. He has been doing business abroad for more than 30 years and has rich management experience in the catering industry.

In this case, with the approval of the Tianjin government, Wang Dadong transferred his shares to Qi Junfu for US$600,000 and retired.

Then he returned to his old club and became the president of Kentucky's Far East region.

He is currently working on clearing up various relationships for Kentucky in the capital.

He plans to open his first Kentucky store in the capital...

After finally listening to Wang Dadong's story, Zhao Hanyu and Mi Xiaoran understood the reason why Wang Dadong made such a choice.

It should be said that Wang Dadong's exit in this way was the best.

Don't look at the fact that he left the restaurant he founded with a financial return that doubled his profit in two years. This is amazing enough.

But if you take into account the ratio of RMB to US dollar in the black market at this time, he actually made four or five times the profit in two years.

That was really a lot of money.

However, it is precisely because of this that when ordinary people hear it, they will inevitably feel sad for Wang Dadong and have reservations about whether the choice he made is wise.

"Uncle, you founded Orchid Flower Restaurant with your own hands, and you can make so much money every year. Don't you think it's a pity to give up like this? Although the conditions Kentucky gave you are very good, in the final analysis, it is for Others are working. Do you have the dignity of being your own boss? If it were me, I wouldn't be as free and easy as you, leaving as soon as you say, so neatly. Faced with your situation, I'm afraid I will be very troubled and don't know what to do. What should I do..."

Like Mi Xiaoran.

She expressed her views tactfully, and her thoughts made Wang Dadong couldn't help but laugh again.

He turned his head and glanced at Zhao Hanyu, and asked deliberately, "Hanyu, what do you think? Are you the same as Xiaoran? It's a pity for your uncle?"

"No, uncle, of course I agree with your choice."

Zhao Hanyu spoke without hesitation, "I remember you often said to me that in business, Western culture is a profit-making chain operation. It pursues low risk and high efficiency. And it only bears wealth, not career. In turn, Eastern culture is my ancestral secret recipe. When I open a store, only I can have it, not you. And it is about inheriting the father's business from generation to generation. This is a big difference in culture. And it is also this kind of cultural difference. This difference has led to the extremely lack of commercial competitiveness of Chinese enterprises. Usually they are complacent, muddle along, and are content with being small and rich. It is difficult to innovate and develop, and it is difficult to expand, and it is impossible to create truly internationally influential companies. Business brand.”

"Related to this matter specifically, from your personal point of view, if you can continue to operate your own Orchid Flower Fast Food Restaurant, it will be very good and the economic returns will be good. But such a new enterprise is not mature enough in all aspects. Everything requires you to personally plan and make decisions. This kind of work must be very arduous and the progress is limited. I think it took you a year to open a branch. If you open another one, it may take another year."

"Besides, risks need to be borne by individuals. The current success of Orchid Flowers is based on the blank environment of the mainland market, and competitors will definitely appear in the future. If nothing else, aren't international fast food giants like Kentucky coming? It is very likely that other fast food brands will come soon. The key is that the business layout of these multinational companies is planned, and once the plan is released, they will not give up easily. So if uncle, you refuse Kentucky's solicitation, in the future, each other will become Opponent. Whether Hu Jihua, who is weak and has insufficient foundation, can still create staggering profits like this is a question mark. At least it is certain that life will become increasingly difficult."

"On the contrary, it will be very different if you join the Kentucky camp. Kentucky's internal management methods are already very mature and quite scientific. As long as you open the first store in the mainland, establish a flagship and generate brand effect, the rest is easy to say. With the strong support of this international brand's tilted resources, it will of course maximize the possibility of success. By then, it may only take a few years for you to open dozens of branches in the mainland. No matter from a cost perspective or a risk perspective , or from the perspective of maximizing profits. Giving up an immature independent brand and choosing to conquer the world in mainland China for an international fast food giant like Kentucky. This is the best choice."

Zhao Hanyu's answer made Wang Dadong quite satisfied, and he couldn't help but cheer for his nephew.

"Well said, very well said. I didn't expect you to know me so clearly, and it's not like I wasted all my hard work."

After praising a few words, he further explained to Mi Xiaoran, "You should understand now, right? Why did I make such a choice? If nothing else, it is not that easy for foreign-funded enterprises to open stores in the capital. They have to apply. I think back then. , I have been blocked out of the capital by the system. The big reason for going to Tianjin is that there are state-owned enterprises willing to cooperate with me. But I successfully applied for Kentucky, and it was in cooperation with the Beijing Animal Husbandry Bureau. This is The power of a giant.”

"You have to know that in Western management culture, only results are focused on. This is called pragmatism. This is not the case in mainland China. Many mainland business leaders I see are talking about what I have done. What are the results? It is very vain. Very few people can achieve exciting results. Western culture doesn’t care what you do, but focuses on how much money I invested, how much you recovered, and how much my value has become. This is a cultural difference.”

"Don't forget, I'm in the fast food business. What's most important? That's time and scale. Only time and scale can give me benefits, and other things are not important at all. So what if I'm the boss? It's stressful, but rewarding. But it may not be high. As long as working part-time is more cost-effective than opening a store by myself, then I will choose to work..."

Mi Xiaoran has been thinking about it. When she heard this, she almost understood the truth and said with a slightly red face. "Uncle, I understand now. What you are talking about is the principle of leaning against a big tree to enjoy the shade. You don't have to compete for status, but the financial rewards in your hands are the most beneficial. Right?"

"Yes, that's pretty much what it means. If you can understand this truth, you will already surpass many people. People in the mainland care too much about those frivolous things. They always care about reputation. Not many people can have it. This realization.”

Then he turned the topic back to business, "Having said so much, I believe you can understand what my uncle needs your help with. In order to get started as soon as possible, localize the management team as soon as possible, and shorten the preparation time as much as possible, I urgently need some help." A local experienced helper. I remember you worked in a hotel before going abroad, right? Is there any suitable candidate you can recommend to me? As for the salary, it is definitely much better than that of domestic companies. If I hire them, basically The salary starts at least 200 yuan.”

Wang Dadong's compliment made Mi Xiaoran feel better immediately.

Once she heard the basic salary figure, she became more confident and agreed without hesitation.

"No problem, I will do my best to help uncle. I originally wanted to treat my colleagues to a treat when I came back this time. When the time comes, I will use the lessons my uncle taught me today to convince them."

Wang Dadong smiled like a Maitreya Buddha after hearing Mi Xiaoran's assurance.

Looking at the watch again, it was getting late, so he invited Mi Xiaoran and Zhao Hanyu to eat at the restaurant together.

Just when he got up, Mi Xiaoran, who was in high spirits, couldn't help but feel something in his heart, and suddenly thought of a question.

Hey, if you put it this way, does he...do he think so too...So...he obviously has so many businesses to make extra money, but he has been working in a foreign-funded company?

Does this kid actually have such a scheme and such knowledge?