The Industrial Giant Reborn - Chapter 606

c598 Mini enters China

Although if large American capital enters Hong Kong, it will also be able to raise housing prices, which will be more beneficial to Chen Zhiwen. However, these capitals will not stay in any place for a long time. Therefore, in the long run, whether they come or not will not matter to Chen Zhiwen. Influence.

On the contrary, if these people invest too much, a large-scale evacuation after the next Hong Kong real estate crisis will cause serious damage to Hong Kong’s economy. Therefore, Chen Zhiwen has no initiative to let them invest in Hong Kong.

However, this kind of thing is free. If they insist on going, no one can stop it.

Entrusting Morgan Stanley to handle the Chrysler stocks in his hands was his main purpose of coming to New York, and after the news spread, Chrysler’s senior executives would naturally know about it.

Although there is a high probability that it will not matter in the future, Chen Zhiwen still politely informed Li Iacocca. This can be regarded as the basic etiquette that needs to be done when investing in the US market.

After Iacocca learned about it, he politely tried to persuade him to stay. Although Chrysler now has little difference in who is a shareholder, Chen Zhiwen’s withdrawal may also be considered by the market as an unfavorable trend.

Chen Zhiwen naturally refused. Seeing that there was no way to hold back, Iacocca stopped forcing him.

Chen Zhiwen’s largest investment in the U.S. automobile industry can be considered a success and he has retired, and the US$1 billion that will be received later will also exert greater value. This money will be invested in Japan and Bayan. In a few years, it can easily double. At that time, all of it can be invested in the automobile industry to make AMC or Wuling bigger, at least to become a second-tier global brand first.

…

New York and London are not far apart, just across the Atlantic Ocean. 8 hours is enough, which is just the time for a night’s sleep.

After all, he had acquired the mini car, so Chen Zhiwen went to London and met with some officials from the City of London and the top management of the mini company.

Since the mini company was acquired by AMC, it has also begun to use AMC’s sales network in the Americas, and its export volume has increased significantly, exceeding 2,000 units a month. This data is far inferior to that of later mainland brands, but it is already considered very good in the UK.

In addition, Hutchison Whampoa’s capital has also begun to acquire a large number of terminal retail stores in Europe. It is also preparing to build its own retail stores in Asia, and even has plans in the Middle East. However, the price of oil in the Middle East is cheap, so small cars like the Mini are not suitable, and are only suitable for Jeeps. This off-road vehicle.

With more sales, the entire factory can finally operate normally, and a large number of workers can be employed normally. The British government is naturally very happy, as it finally has one less car factory that both needs money for subsidies and is prone to making troubles. Although this There are not many people inside, but it is a successful case that is very suitable for publicity. In this way, the existing high-level government can sell a large number of cars and even other factories, and the opposition parties will not have much reason.

Chen Zhiwen came to the UK not to brag about it with British government officials. After meeting with the officials, he met with more than a dozen senior executives from Mini Company and several representatives from AMC headquarters here.

“Everyone, I know that your internal operations have been very good recently, but there is no need to report to me. There will be a professional team to look at it.” Chen Zhiwen said straight to the point: “I gathered everyone together to inform you that I am going to Build a mini branch factory in mainland China in Asia.”

“Building a factory in China? I don’t think it’s appropriate, boss.” A middle-aged man with an English accent said, his name is Holman, he is the executive vice president of mini company and is in charge of sales.

“Why? Tell me your reasons?” Chen Zhiwen didn’t care about being opposed. He is not a dictator. He can accept some normal objections, even if the other party is wrong, as long as they are for the company’s consideration, any different opinions are fine. Very normal.

It is in this matter of knowing the future that Chen Zhiwen can be sure that he is right. In other matters, he is actually just like ordinary people, or even worse than such a professional person.

As time goes by, because of his appearance, the butterfly effect of history is getting bigger and bigger, and the advantage of his golden finger is getting smaller and smaller, and the company is getting bigger and bigger, except for a few things. , most of them still rely on the entire team just like a normal company.

For a good manager, one’s own ability is not the most important thing. The most important thing is to listen to other people’s opinions, be good at analyzing them, and then fully let the talents of the entire team develop their abilities.

Jobs was the other way around, looking down on anyone, and eventually made Apple a mess, and he was kicked out.

“Although I have never been to China, I still know some economic data. The economy there is too bad. If we build a factory there, if we cannot sell enough quantities, we will definitely suffer huge losses.” Holman said, After listening, others seemed to agree with this view.

An automobile factory is not a light industrial toy factory. Each one is a huge investment and must rely on a sufficient number of sales to recover the cost.

“Everyone can build it, why can’t mini?” Chen Zhiwen asked.

“Boss, I know that your wealth is very strong, but compared to Volkswagen, it is probably still far behind. As far as I know, what Volkswagen sent you was just an old production line. This production line is used in many Years ago, the cost has been recovered by relying on the European market.” Holman added: “Because Volkswagen has already invested, if we invest again, it will only become more vicious competition, and the Chinese market is too small.”

“The market in China is indeed very small, but it is only now. The economy is also developing. Have you seen China’s annual economic growth from 1980 to last year?” Chen Zhiwen glanced at everyone and said: ” It is about 10%, 10% every year. If it rises at this rate, it will almost double by 1990. By 2000, it will be seven or eight times what it is now. Coupled with the improvement of local infrastructure and highways, the automobile industry, It will definitely grow significantly.”

“Boss, when a baby is just born, his height will grow very fast, but when he is a child, his height will grow very slowly.” Holman added: “In the same way, a country has just begun to develop its economy on a large scale. , the speed must be very fast, but it will inevitably slow down in just a few years. This is the law of any economy.”

“I naturally know this. The growth rate in the future will definitely not maintain 10%, but even if it is close, the growth rate will not be too slow. So I still firmly believe that the mainland will have a huge automobile market in the future, and AMC will The country has already invested in Jeep off-road vehicles and gremlin sedans. If we can introduce small mini cars, we can also enrich our product line. At the same time, mini cars are also very suitable for short-distance driving and are suitable for big cities in mainland China.” Chen Zhiwen said.

“Boss, even if this is true, why don’t we wait until their market is clearer before investing?” Holman thought for a while and then said: “If we take market issues into consideration, we can also export from the UK. This will also increase employment in UK factories.”

“If we let the mainland import it, there will be no advantage. The price will be much more expensive than normal cars from Volkswagen and AMC. Who will buy a mini?” Chen Zhiwen shook his head and said: “Besides, I think that mini is the most popular car in Asia. There is not only one mainland market, but Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asian countries will all be our targets. The cost of transporting from the UK is too high and not cost-effective. Building a production base in Asia is the most cost-effective.

At present, the most suitable place in Asia is the mainland, because there is an industrial chain that AMC has spent hundreds of millions of dollars and several years to build. Although it is not complete, it is still much better than having nothing in other places.

Unless we go to Japan to build a factory, the cost is too high, and competition in the local market is fierce. Even if we want to use Japanese suppliers, it is not that easy.

Taken together, only the mainland is the most suitable. ”

“The entire Asian market?” At this moment, no one spoke, but everyone was thinking about this question.

The previous minis were naturally exported to Asia, including Japan and even Hong Kong, but they did not have any resources or relationships in Asia. They exported to some local car dealers in Asia, and it can only be said that it was a small part of them. They did not With this ability, you can communicate with so many big car dealers, the number is too many, and they may not pay attention to you.

Although cars are high-tech, there are still many manufacturers around the world. Minis are very ordinary cars. They thrive in the European market because of their “smallness”, but if you go to other places, no one will know you. With their resources, it is already very difficult to establish a terminal retail system in Europe. In other places, they can only let it happen.

“Boss, do you mean to completely develop the Asian market?” another person asked.

For a company, no matter what industry it is, unless it has a very special small number of products, the most difficult thing is not to make the product, but how to sell it. For example, the simplest Coca-Cola, is it difficult? Any small beverage factory can make something with a similar taste, but the key is to sell it cheaply around the world.

The same is true for cars. For example, in Asia, if you want to completely develop this market, you must set up a large number of retail stores, repair points, and a lot of advertising, etc. These things require massive investment in advertising funds, etc., but Even so, success is not guaranteed.

This kind of investment and risk has restricted many companies, but if it succeeds, it will immediately increase sales on a large scale.

“Yes, in fact, it is not just Mini, but also AMC. In many Asian countries, I have begun to set up terminal car retail stores, which will also have after-sales points. Of course, it is not just for AMC. This is a separate company, but It can give AMC or mini some advantages!” Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.

After acquiring AMC, Chen Zhiwen prepared to set up retail channels in Southeast Asia. However, starting from scratch, even if he had capital, the speed was very slow. Later, after acquiring Jardine Matheson Land, Jardine Matheson Group has a chain of stores all over Indonesia and some parts of the country. An automobile retail chain store in Southeast Asian countries. Later, Chen Zhiwen provided separate funds to expand externally based on this company. With sufficient human resources, the expansion speed was very fast.

Jeeps and Wuling produced by the Yanjing Jeep Factory in the Mainland are also exported to Southeast Asia through this channel. Otherwise, without the help of terminals, it would be basically impossible to export the current Mainland automotive technology.

This is also the benefit of investing huge amounts of money. You can promote your own products that are of good quality but not well-known. After all, cars are big items, and few families will just try and make mistakes like home appliances. Basically, they will seek stability. This is why later generations Electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles outperform fuel vehicles in various performance aspects, but there are still many sales of traditional fuel vehicles, and not everyone dares to take risks.

And mini itself is a British brand. Although British cars are no longer available in Europe, people in Asia don’t know that it is AMC, with an American brand, which can be regarded as a basic guarantee. In addition, there are a large number of local storefronts that have been open for more than ten years as after-sales guarantees, so at least there will be a certain guarantee.

Holman thought for a moment and then said: “Boss, if you can build a huge sales channel in Asia, then you can consider building factories in Asia. But in many cases, it does not mean that we will be successful if we have channels. This kind of thing No one can say for sure. Just like Volkswagen also has very complete channels in the United States, but its performance is also very poor. There are many American cars in Europe and they are similar.

My suggestion is to import from the UK first. If the locals accept our brand and car ownership increases to a certain level, then we can consider this matter. ”

Chen Zhiwen said: “You are right. This should be the case under normal circumstances. However, you must understand that China and most Southeast Asian countries are now a blank market. There are not hundreds or thousands of car brands there. Let them choose models. As long as we get in first, that is the biggest advantage. In the future, it will be difficult for other brands to seize our market.

As for the losses you are worried about, I will provide separate funds to take care of them, and will not use funds from your British company’s account. In the future, Hong Kong will be responsible for the investment in mainland factories, but the entire company will be under your control. ”

Under normal circumstances, it is okay to be conservative, especially in the automobile industry, which invests so much. Once it fails, giants like Volkswagen and General Motors will have to peel off their skins, and smaller companies may be completely destroyed.

Chen Zhiwen knows that the mainland will be the world’s largest car market in the future. Furthermore, Southeast Asia is indeed a blank slate. Although international brands began selling cars in Southeast Asia very early, 80 years ago, Southeast Asia’s economy It is far inferior to Hong Kong and does not have much purchasing power at all.

With the economic take-off of Southeast Asia after 1985, the automobile industry has just begun to develop rapidly. This is why Chen Zhiwen invested heavily in automobile retail stores in Southeast Asia. The automobile market will develop rapidly in the future. At the same time, the same goes for real estate. Buy now. The large-scale stores under construction will also increase several times or even ten times in the future, or they will be demolished according to local development needs in the future, and the profits will not be lost.

“If this is the case, then we will definitely cooperate fully.” Holman nodded and said. The others looked at each other and had no objections.

The boss has paid for it alone, so what reason can he have to object? In fact, what they want more is for their boss to develop markets outside, while all production bases are located in the UK, so that their interests can be maximized.

“OK, it’s settled then. I will inform you of the specific time to inspect the mainland later.” Chen Zhiwen naturally knew what they were thinking, but he didn’t care. (End of chapter)