The Industrial Giant Reborn

"I didn't expect that there are even tires for sale." Chen Zhiwen said in surprise when he saw the tires hanging on the wall in front of him.

The United States is a country with a lot of cars. Basically every adult has a car. It is normal for supermarkets to have a special car daily necessities area. Chen Zhiwen should be thinking about glass water, wipers, seat cushions, etc. He did not expect that there are tires here. Because he had been to several different supermarkets in the United States before, and he didn't have this stuff.

"People who come to Costco to shop basically drive cars, so providing car services is the direction I plan to focus on. Originally, I planned to sell gasoline, but the qualification of a gas station is not so easy to get. It takes a while process, so we can only start with maintaining the car.” Pierce explained: “

At the back of the supermarket there is a special place for car repair. I hired two experienced masters from outside to solve the troubles of cars for customers. The service price is also based on Costco's business model, which is very cheap and the profit is very low. In addition, there are Free manual car wash equipment. "

"This is a good way to attract car owners to become our VIP customers." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.

In the United States, labor costs are very high. Generally, when a car is repaired at an auto shop, the cost of parts may not be high, but the labor will be very expensive, so most of the small problems are solved by the car owners themselves, but the big problems are not. The only solution is to go to the auto repair shop.

But as long as you can sell more, you can make small profits. Generally, the price of auto repair shops is high because of the lack of customers and instability, but Costco's customer volume is naturally not a problem. If there are too many customers, even if several maintenance masters No matter how high the salary is, it can be spread out on each car. Conversely, low-cost auto repair services can also become an attraction point to attract users to become Costco VIP customers, and as long as they become VIP customers, consumption in other aspects will naturally There you have it.

"Currently, almost 15% of our VIP potential customers are attracted by car services." Pierce said.

"It's really good. Get the qualification of the gas station as soon as possible. As long as our gas price is cheaper, it will attract a lot of people." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said, although Laomei is very rich, most of their cars have high fuel consumption. Gasoline prices tripled last year, and no one can afford it. We can only reduce the number of times we use cars and the distance we drive on weekdays.

This happens to be in line with Costco's planning direction. Users come to buy enough daily necessities for two or three months at a time. If we can provide lower gas prices and appropriate car maintenance services, it will basically cover all the shopping needs of users. demanded.

This is actually the background of the success of Costco in later generations, and Wal-Mart also follows the same logic. Small profits but quick turnover are the fundamental reasons for the rise of supermarket giants. No matter what kind of retail model, as long as we use this as the principle and try our best to reduce costs, it is inevitable. able to succeed.

"There is just another problem. If our oil price is too cheap, it may affect the interests of some people." Pierce said.

"That's true, but it's not a big problem. Just give it a gift. As long as the value of the gift is high enough, it's equivalent to a discount." Chen Zhiwen thought for a while and said.

There are a lot of goods in supermarkets, with different prices and varieties, and the prices of various supermarkets are also different, and each supermarket has its own coverage area, so even if it is cheaper, it is difficult to compare, especially for users. We know that only long-term comparisons of long-term consumption can find out, but the oil price is different, and a few cents cheaper will arouse hostility in the industry.

This is actually a trouble for Costco in the future, because it infringes on the interests of other gas stations. Under pressure from nearby gas stations, fuel dealers in this state do not sell fuel to Costco, forcing Costco to go to the next state to transport fuel, but in this way Firstly, the cost has increased a lot, and this business is not cost-effective, but it doesn’t matter, it’s just a means to attract users, and it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t make money. Later, when Costco’s scale is really large, the so-called pressure will naturally disappear. invalid.

But now Costco has just opened, so it’s better to keep a low profile. Giving gifts is itself a means of promotion. As long as the price does not drop, nearby gas stations will not unite, because the promotion will stop at any time. As for when they find out When it’s not normal, let’s talk about it at that time, as long as Costco gathers enough VIP customers by this method.

"It's okay, it's not bad to send some drinks, beer or something. Generally, young Americans like these." Pierce said with a smile.

A few people chatted while walking, and after shopping around the entire supermarket, they came to the office in the northeast corner, a three-story office.

In the era without computers, all materials were calculated on paper, and all kinds of materials in the office were almost piled up.

"It will open in three days. It's been very busy these days, and things are a little messy." Pierce said with some embarrassment.

"It's okay." Chen Zhiwen nodded. Normally, when his boss comes, at least his subordinates will tidy up the office space, but even so, there are still so many materials, so one can imagine how busy he was before.

Relatively speaking, although Costco has a large area, its SKU (commodity category) is far lower than that of Wal-Mart and other supermarkets, so the workload of other supermarkets can be imagined. The high operating costs of supermarkets in this era have a lot to do with this aspect!

"Pierce, are there any computers on the market for statistics on supermarket items?" Chen Zhiwen asked.

Pierce thought for a while and said: "I heard that Kmart ordered tens of millions of dollars of computers from IBM last year to assist the operation of their internal supermarkets. However, outsiders don't know how to do it. I have also consulted. IBM quoted It’s too high, and the price of another Wang’s computer is not bad, but they have no experience in cooperating with the retail industry, and they need to be redeveloped, and the estimated cost may be about 3 million US dollars.”

"That's too expensive." Chen Zhiwen said with a slight frown. Even if it is a cheap Wang's computer, the quotation can catch up with the investment of the entire supermarket. This price is far more expensive than the expensive American labor. Only some special industries, I can afford such an expensive computer.

Wang's Computer is the most famous Wang An Computer in later generations. The founder Wang An will become the fourth richest man in the world and the first richest Chinese in a few years. His industry is industrial computers. In the early 1980s, it was worth more than 2 billion US dollars. Unfortunately, it missed the era of personal computers, coupled with internal conflicts in the company, and eventually closed down.

Pierce nodded and said, "I also calculated the cost, and decided to use labor."

"Okay, but keep an eye on the technology industry. If there is any new technology or the cost is greatly reduced, you should use a computer." Chen Zhiwen said.

An important factor for the rise of Wal-Mart in later generations is the electronic reform in the early 1980s. Although it invested hundreds of millions of dollars, it succeeded in reducing costs and improving logistics efficiency. Chen Zhiwen naturally hopes that Costco can also seize this opportunity, but it may take until The age of the personal computer is behind us.