The Industrial Giant Reborn

"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 cost of a mom-and-pop store is also lower than that of Wal-Mart. Costco is an exception, because it has fewer varieties and a larger purchase volume, and its cost is lower than that of Wal-Mart, and it has locked in a large number of middle-class people through membership payment, 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 can’t compete with Wal-Mart because the materials of a small store cannot be purchased independently, and can only be exploited by dealers many times, resulting in too high costs, while 711 is a chain store with a large number of stores, which purchase and deliver goods in a unified manner. 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 store is not the cost, but the convenience. After all, not everyone is willing to go to Wal-Mart or Costco a few kilometers away to buy some small things, especially for shopping. When one or two small things.

Of course, no matter how you say it, the cost still needs to be controlled, but it doesn’t need to be as extreme as Wal-Mart, and with different positioning, you can live a very nourishing life.

711 is just such a company, and it is also the most famous existence in this industry. It was established as early as the 1920s, and it has developed to this day and has related businesses in many countries.

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

In fact, it can be seen in Hong Kong now that even though Parknshop has monopolized the retail sales of medium-sized supermarkets in Hong Kong, many 711 stores are still operating very well. This kind of enterprise has little impact unless it is 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 by adding stores similar to 711, we can share procurement channels and transportation costs, so that 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 despised to specialize in this kind of small shop, but in fact this market is really not small.

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 on a large scale, they will be attacked on both sides.

Only companies that are not short of money can move forward in multiple directions at the same time. Similar to that kind of large investment funds, they can make large-scale investments in multiple fields. However, for the same problem, they are fishing with a wide net and are not professional enough. There are only a few companies in the world that can do well.

"Yes, but due to the light operation model in the management model, this kind of small store still needs to adopt the franchise model. We can directly provide the supply of goods at that time. The cheap supply of goods 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 in terms of materials." Wu Weibing explained. Just managing medium and large supermarkets is already very laborious. Watsons has a deep understanding of this. Fortunately, in Malaysia or future Southeast Asian supermarkets, they are all managed by local people and Watsons dispatched people. Maybe they have been separated in terms of power. A little, but it also tied everyone on the same boat, and also reduced the pressure on Watson's management. Relatively speaking, Watson's supermarkets in Southeast Asia mainly focus on supervision. As long as the local management is not too excessive, the company has Profitable enough, that's it.

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

"Okay, let's join in?" Chen Zhiwen nodded. It is no problem for a large supermarket or a neutral supermarket like ParknShop to run it better by itself, but it is impossible for a small supermarket with tens of thousands to run it by itself. , Otherwise, the management cost will go up to the sky, and no one can manage it. The best model technology franchise, the owner is responsible for himself, and the franchisee charges and provides cheap materials. 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, it's too much effort for us to build such a brand by ourselves. After all, its potential is not as good as that of RT-Mart or ParknShop. Just buy a ready-made one on the market, such as 711 in the United States. I heard that behind it Its parent company is not doing very well either." Chen Zhiwen thought for a while and said, it is not a new technology company, and the fastest development model for this traditional industry is mergers and acquisitions. Kee, with the help of Hutchison's platform, as well as its own funds, resources and vision, it has developed today's Watsons, which has a large number of chain supermarkets in several countries, and its annual turnover has exceeded 3 billion Hong Kong dollars. One point, it can become a top 20 large enterprise in Hong Kong.

If you want to start a business like 711 from scratch, the money spent is a trivial matter, and the time and energy required is the trouble. At present, Watsons is mainly focused on the expansion of RT-Mart and ParknShop in Southeast Asia, and then in this small chain store. It’s not worth wasting energy, and although 711 is large in scale, it’s mainly franchised, and the brands in the Japanese market have already been bought out, and they’re just so-so in other places, so the total price isn’t worth much. .

The American company behind 711 is a traditional ice-making company called Southern Continental Ice Company. This business was very popular more than 50 years ago. The Milk Company, Swire Group, Lee Hyo and the family have all done this business, and the scale is not large. Small, the same is true in the United States, but when the economy continues to develop and air conditioners and refrigerators are gradually popularized, this business will be abolished and eliminated by the times. In a few years, the entire company will be swallowed up by the Japanese Huateng Trading Company , 711 has become a Japanese company.

Instead of making Japan cheaper, it is better to make yourself cheaper now. This kind of small store, even in the Internet retail era decades later, will still have its own market, and the impact will not be too great. It can even reversely assist Internet shopping platforms, such as Jingdong Xiaodian.

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

"If you can buy 711 separately, then buy 711. If not, let's buy together. The ice business has no future. It's fine to close it after the purchase, but there will be a lot of trouble. You should send someone to the United States to contact and see. Let's see, you can decide on your own, if you have financial problems, you can discuss it with Zhou Jiayang." Chen Zhiwen said.

Historically, 711 became a major force in the global retail industry in the 21st century under the management of Japan's Huateng Trading Co. In 2010, it was okay to mix in the United States. In other countries, they sold brand licenses to earn a little license fee.

Chen Zhiwen doesn't know exactly how much it will cost, but it shouldn't be much. Otherwise, the entire Southern Ice Company won't be acquired by a small Japanese company in a few years. Chen Zhiwen won't 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 buy it, the 711 in Hong Kong is controlled by Landmark. If we buy 711, what about the Hong Kong side?"

"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 deal with it in many ways, taking advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime economic crisis, if he fails, he will be too sorry for the opportunities given by the times Yes, but very few people in the entire group know about this matter. Wu Weibing is in charge of retail sales, so naturally he doesn't know about it. As for outsiders, there are speculations about it, but that's just a chat 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 said.

"It's okay, we Watsons really don't have any foundation in the United States and Europe, so we might as well give it to the already successful Costco." Wu Weibing said.

"Okay, let's go, let me know if you have any news." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.

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