The Industrial Giant Reborn

The entry of many retail giants into member storage supermarkets is also within Chen Zhiwen's expectations. This kind of thing happened in the original history, but that was in the 1980s. After all, Costco in the original history did not have the current development As a result, it will naturally be discovered by many retail giants much later.

The original Sam’s Club in history opened for the first time in 1983, but now it’s five years earlier, and the current Wal-Mart is not as strong as it was in 1983, but there are more variables in other giants, such as Celtic. , Sears, etc., but it should not be a big problem. After all, even if these companies are relatively strong now, they will be beaten by Wal-Mart in the next five to ten years, and the probability of success in the membership warehousing field is not high.

As long as he has sufficient funds in less than a year, he will definitely invest heavily to stabilize Costco's absolute dominance in this field.

A few days later, Bernie and Pierce returned to the United States. After registering Home Depot, Bernie came to Hong Kong again and signed a share split contract. In the afternoon, Chen Zhiwen injected 3 million US dollars into the joint venture company. account.

A mere three million US dollars, even if it can be exchanged for 1% of the shares of Home Depot in the future, it is still a bloody profit. However, in order to maximize profits and increase his influence in Asia, Chen Zhiwen arranged for a full-time team from Galaxy Trading to follow Bernie together. When I went to the United States, I tried my best to participate in the development of various new products within Home Depot, and figure out the needs of Home Depot, because Bernie may not know what he needs.

After sorting out the demand information, send it to Hong Kong, and then the team here will search for suitable raw material manufacturers in Asia, which can also reduce Home Depot’s operating costs as much as possible. Even with sea freight, many goods in Asia are cheaper than those in the United States. It is much cheaper, which is the fundamental reason why the United States began to de-industrialize.

Chen Zhiwen's previous promise to Bernie is still valid. Within the range that Bernie is interested in, people from Galaxy will directly buy a warehouse with funds, and then sublease it to Home Depot at a low price, so as to ensure that Home Depot does not suffer from financial problems in the early stage. Can develop quickly.

The time will soon be August.

The hot weather has not affected Hong Kong's hot real estate market. Today's real estate scalpers are even more arrogant than last year. How many people gather around the sales office just to get a qualification to buy a house, because in many popular communities, a purchase qualification can change hands quickly. It can be sold for several thousand Hong Kong dollars, which is comparable to the income of working for half a year.

The madness of real estate has caused many discerning and smart people to give up their jobs, and even countless factory owners have "disregarded".

The sales office of Huangpu Garden was also surrounded by many people at the moment, densely packed people lined up inside the S-shaped iron frame.

Not far away, in the shade of a tree, Chen Zhiwen asked while drinking ice and snow, "How much is the house price of Huangpu Garden now?"

"A good house type is about 600 Hong Kong dollars per square foot, and it is almost more than 500. In some late trading, it will be sold to Midea, Red Bull, Galaxy or Hutchison insiders at a discount. The price is about 400-450, but the quantity is very large. Not much." Zhou Jiayang replied almost without thinking, now Huangpu Garden is the biggest source of income for Hutchison, except for the port, retail and other businesses, everything else is making way for this large community, and he is naturally very aware of the price.

"It's almost 2.5 times that of three years ago." Chen Zhiwen nodded. In 1975, the real estate market had just recovered from the crisis. At that time, Taikoo Shing on Hong Kong Island only bought two to three hundred Hong Kong dollars. One foot, Hung Hom is cheaper here, and now it has doubled or tripled.

"Based on the current trend, it is estimated that it will continue to rise." Zhou Jiayang said.

"Don't worry about the future, according to the previous plan, we will sell them all in these two months. Don't these scalpers like to hoard houses? Just give them all." Chen Zhiwen said.

The existence of scalpers has actually been driving the skyrocketing housing prices. Because of their existence, many just-needed houses cannot be bought, causing prices to rise. Once the price rises, other people who want to buy houses or want to speculate will want to buy houses even more, and scalpers also benefit from it. Benefits, real estate companies can also quickly cash out or make more money. After housing prices rise, the Hong Kong government can also sell land at a higher price, and banks can also lend more funds.

After a cycle, almost everyone makes money, even those who buy a house, because the house price rises again after the purchase and then profit.

In this way, bubble-like wealth is formed, and in the process, everyone "makes money". Only those who haven't bought it yet will become more anxious when seeing that the house price is rising every month, so they will also rush in, which leads to a gradual increase in house prices.

"Okay, I will pre-sell all the houses within two months." Zhou Jiayang promised.

"Huangpu Plaza, will it open soon?" Chen Zhiwen asked again. Huangpu Plaza is a large commercial plaza near the sea in front of Huangpu Garden. It is similar to the later Wanda Plaza. There are several office buildings above the plaza. Office buildings and hotels can be regarded as a supplement to shopping malls.

"It will open on October 10th, and we are ready for it," Zhou Jiayang said.

"Harbor City will open in the first half of next year, and there may be some competition at that time. Therefore, the business in Huangpu Plaza should be as civilian-oriented as possible, and take the cost-effective route to attract Hong Kong locals. In this respect , you have to control it well in the future, and don't quarrel with Harbor City." Chen Zhiwen thought for a while and said.

In terms of commercial attractiveness, no one in Hong Kong can compare with Harbor City. In the original history, the retail sales of Harbor City were as high as 7-10% of the entire Hong Kong. This includes the total data of shopping in various retail supermarkets. The main route of Harbor City is the luxury route. Even if there are non-luxury items inside, the price is higher than other places. The main profit is overseas tourists and local rich people.

The former Central, to a certain extent, could not compete with Harbor City, let alone other places. After the opening of Harbor City, all other businesses have to learn to change.

"We are close to the residential area. Except for the gold cosmetics sold on the first floor, the others are actually not expensive." Zhou Jiayang said.

"Okay, just pay attention in the future." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.

In August, when most of Chen Zhiwen’s real estate companies were at the peak, several real estate projects of Star River Real Estate also reached the pre-sale time, as did Dad’s Hengyi Real Estate. The properties of Central and Admiralty subway stations were pre-sold on the 17th. 90% were sold within a week, with a total amount of HK$1.07 billion.

According to the original agreement with the MTR Corporation, Hengyi Real Estate earned a net profit of 190 million Hong Kong dollars after deducting construction costs, bank interest, etc.

Funds from all aspects have begun to flow back to their own companies. Even Hengyi, a fund-raising company that has been attracting hot money in the name of private investment funds, has also increased interest by 2-4%, intending to absorb more funds. All of this, All for the coming feast of the financial markets.

Time soon came to September, and Chen Zhiwen chartered a Boeing 737 of Cathay Pacific Airways, and headed to New York, USA with several subordinates who were proficient in international finance and legal affairs.

Henry Morgan personally came to the airport to pick up the plane. After seeing Chen Zhiwen, he said with a smile: "Eric, welcome to New York again. I have prepared a grand party for you. Recently, New York City is holding an international party." The auto show has a large number of models, and I have prepared enough for you."

"What is a sufficient quantity?" Chen Zhiwen asked curiously.

"If you stay here for a few days, I will prepare three times the quantity for you to ensure that each one is not the same, how about it? Is triple the quantity enough?" Henry Morgan said with a smile.

"You can join the party, but forget about other things." Chen Zhiwen shook his head and said. In the late 1970s, many mysterious diseases appeared in the United States. Many young people died of diseases that only the elderly without immunity could get. , and there is a chain of contagious relations.

At present, relevant scientists are still not sure what the situation is, but Chen Zhiwen knows what it is. There has been no movement in the past few years, and Chen Zhiwen doesn't care. But recently, many media in the United States have been discussing it. Although the probability of encountering it is indeed not high. , but let’s restrain ourselves a bit and just play around in Asia.

"Isn't that like your style?" Henry Morgan was a little strange, but he didn't think too much about it, and said, "Let's discuss the business first."

The prepared convoy sent the group to one of the tallest buildings in New York City - the World Trade Center.

"You work here?" Chen Zhiwen looked at the two towering buildings in front of him and asked.

"Yes, many banks in the United States have moved here. JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Goldman Sachs all have branches here, as do many international law firms, and they work here." Henry Morgan said with a smile.

"Okay, let's go in then." Chen Zhiwen nodded, since 2001 was still early anyway.

A group of people came to the 60th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center. Henry Morgan rented a corner here. Although it was only a corner, the annual rent was as high as one million US dollars. The scenery was also very good. You can see the Statue of Liberty and the New York coast.

"Eric, this is a gift from me to you, as a thank you for our years of cooperation." Henry Morgan suddenly came over with a box.

"It can't be gold inside, right?" Chen Zhiwen looked at the briefcase-sized box and said with a smile.

"What is gold? The things inside are much more valuable than gold." Henry Morgan smiled, and then opened it. It was a key. Then he took it out and said, "I bought this near Central Park. A luxury apartment with an area of ​​about 3,500 square feet and a very good view. It has been renovated for more than half a year, and no one has lived in it. If you come to New York in the future, you can live here."

"A house? A house near Central Park?" Chen Zhiwen was a little surprised, but after thinking about it, there was nothing wrong with it. As the sole distributor of Midea arcade machines in the United States, even if he was squeezed by himself many times, his annual net profit was tens of millions. The US dollar is not a problem, after all, he can also pressure the dealers below.

"Actually, it's nothing. This house is just a drop in the bucket for you, Eric. I also consider that you need to stay in a hotel every time you come to New York. It's better to have a house of your own, and the nearby Central Park A house will never depreciate in value." Henry Morgan said.

"That's fine, I'll accept it." Chen Zhiwen was not hypocritical, it was only a few million dollars.

"Okay." Henry Morgan smiled even more, and said, "I have sent the sample arcade machines of "Pac-Man" to some bars in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago for testing. "Magic Cube" and "Space Invaders" are not far behind."

"This is normal. "Pac-Man" is not an intense or brain-burning game. It is a relaxing game. Even if this type of game is fun, it will not be very attractive to many people. Besides, over the past few years, people who play There are quite a few arcade games, and I will always get a little bored." Chen Zhiwen said indifferently.

Even if you play a free home game console, or a mobile phone stand-alone game in later generations, you will get tired of playing too much, no matter how fun it is, let alone spending money.

"Pac-Man" is actually more suitable to be placed on a home game console, because it can consume a lot of time, including the previous three games. After making a lot of money, go to home game consoles. Even if Midea’s home game consoles are successfully developed in the future, there is a high probability that the order of game releases will be the same.

"Is there no other way?" Henry Morgan asked.

"It's not impossible. In theory, "Pac-Man" is more suitable for women. You can do a follow-up survey to see if women in the bar would like to play more. In addition, you can consider sending "Pac-Man" to In American casinos, the protagonists of many casinos are men, and some women are boring, and they can also play arcade games." Chen Zhiwen thought for a while and said.

In fact, even in later generations, the income of "Pac-Man" on the arcade is not as good as that of "Space Invaders", but after it is on the home game console, it is popular all over the United States.

At present, Midea's Hong Kong team is also in the United States, and the local team is working hard to develop the first generation of Midea's home game console. This game console is only developed and optimized for Midea's four games to ensure the smoothest fluency and the lowest The cost is much simpler than Atari's game engine.

When this game console comes out, Midea can enter a new era.

"Okay, I'll try." Henry Morgan nodded and said.

"Actually, the main purpose of my visit to New York this time is not to understand the arcade situation." Chen Zhiwen paused and said, "I want to cooperate with Morgan Stanley once."

"Morgan Stanley? Are you planning to make a financial investment?" Henry Morgan asked in surprise.

"Yes, I want to invest in a futures." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.

In 1929, an unprecedented financial crisis broke out in the United States and the world. The root cause was Wall Street. Afterwards, the U.S. government also performed a cutting operation on all banks. All U.S. banks were not allowed to conduct investment and commercial deposit business at the same time.

At that time, the Morgan Bank consortium was divided into Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase. The former is investment, and the latter is business. However, the business is separated, but the equity is not separated. Just like the Rockefeller family, they still control a large number of shares in oil companies.

"Which futures?" Henry Morgan asked.

"Henry, can you represent Morgan Stanley?" Chen Zhiwen asked with a smile.

"This, no, I'm just asking." Henry Morgan said.

"Actually, it's okay to tell you, I'm going to buy gold futures." Chen Zhiwen said.

In this world, including all the elites on Wall Street, it is impossible to know that by the beginning of 1980, the price of gold will reach 810 US dollars an ounce, and the current price is only around 210, but many people are also optimistic about gold, people who buy gold futures No less, and nothing to tell Henry Morgan.

"Okay, I see. Morgan Stanley should have business in this area. I'll find you a professional tomorrow." Henry Morgan really didn't care at all, and agreed.