Chapter 354 Li Changhe's Retail Empire
Kanglo Building was originally the headquarters office of Jardine Matheson Group in Hong Kong Island. However, with the change of ownership of Hong Kong Land, Jardine Matheson’s staff withdrew from the building at a very fast speed.

After all, staying in this building any longer would only be a shame for them.

"Bill, I didn't expect that this is actually the headquarters of Sun Hung Kai Properties?"

After Li Changhe and Jim arrived at the Kangle Building, they were quite surprised to see that several floors below were still the headquarters of Sun Hung Kai.

"Sun Hung Kai's headquarters building is still under construction and is expected to be delivered next year. It is located on Wan Chai Road near Causeway Bay. It is said that it will be taller than the Connaught Building."

"They are currently renting the apartment temporarily in the Connaught Building."

Weeley had been in Hong Kong Island for several years and was very familiar with the information of many real estate developers in Hong Kong Island, especially leading Chinese real estate companies such as Sun Hung Kai.

"I see. I was wondering why such a large real estate company would have its headquarters here."

Then, the two took the elevator to the top floor of Kangle Building.

As the first skyscraper in Hong Kong Island, Connaught Building is not only tall, but also has the fastest elevator system in Hong Kong Island.

On the top floor of the Kangle Building, there is a luxurious office facing the Victoria Bay. You can even clearly see the Victoria Harbour opposite. After all, the straight-line distance is only about two kilometers.

"This was originally Henry Keswick's office. After he left, it became vacant. After all, he would come to Hong Kong Island from time to time."

"This can be your new office from now on, boss. Everything inside has been replaced. If you are not satisfied with the decoration, I can arrange for workers to come in and redecorate it."

After Wei Li brought Li Changhe to the office prepared for Li Changhe, he spoke to Li Changhe respectfully.

In fact, sometimes he couldn't figure it out. Although it seemed that Rockefeller acquired the Land Company, all the shares were in Victor's hands. He didn't know whether they were held on behalf of others or truly belonged to Victor.

But no matter what, it is obvious that Victor is the master of the property today and his immediate superior. He has the final say on all matters concerning the property, even including his appointment as the president.

So, just treat this person as your big boss and serve him.

As a professional manager, there are some things that Wei Li understands very well.

"No need to change it, just leave it as it is. After all, I won't be using this office much for the time being."

"Bill, have someone send over the information about the Landmark so we can talk about its development."

Hearing Li Changhe's words, Wei Li was slightly stunned, but he quickly reacted.

"it is good!"

Soon, Wei Li's secretary brought a thick stack of folders containing information about various projects of the company.

"Boss, these are all major projects of Hong Kong Land. In my opinion, the most important one should be the Exchange Square project. This is the most important real estate project under Hong Kong Land. When it is completed, we will have three new Grade A commercial buildings."

"The first and second towers are expected to be completed in 1985, and the third tower is still in the planning stage and will take a little longer."

"Now that we have taken over this project, should we speed up the progress?"

"Without Jardine Matheson's bloodsucking, Hong Kong Holdings still has a lot of funds on its books."

Previously, Jardine Matheson exchanged its shares in Hutchison Whampoa for shares in Wharf Holdings, and later sold the shares to Pao Yue-kong. However, part of the money was deposited into Hutchison Whampoa's account.

Adding some funds from the previous sale of Golden Gate Building, there is actually a lot of money in the account of Swire Properties.

"If the construction is accelerated, when do you think it can be completed?"

Li Changhe asked Wei Li at this time.

Wei Li thought for a moment, then said seriously: "I estimate that it can be completed by 83 or 84. It depends on how much money we invest."

"too late!"

Li Changhe shook his head at this moment and said with emotion.

晚？
What do you mean?
Shouldn't it be too early?

"Bill, do you know why Jardine Matheson was so happy to trade the Hong Kong Land to us?"

Li Changhe then explained to Wei Li.

After listening to this, Wei Li looked at Li Changhe in confusion. How would he know this?
“Because Jardine Matheson wanted to run away, they didn’t dare to stay in Hong Kong Island.”

"This has nothing to do with economic factors, but political reasons."

"The United States has now established diplomatic relations with the North, and they have tacitly agreed to the North's recovery of sovereignty over Hong Kong Island. Now the North and Downing Street have not officially started negotiations, but this matter is not far away."

"Jardine Matheson knew this, so it was afraid. That's why they readily admitted defeat and handed over the Hong Kong Land transaction to me."

"But Jardine Matheson's fear has nothing to do with us. Don't worry, the land is now under my name. We don't have the same worries as Jardine Matheson."

Li Changhe also took the opportunity to comfort Wei Li, as the old man was also a British foreigner after all.

"I understand, boss. We are currently an American business, so we will be under diplomatic protection."

At this moment, Wery suddenly understood why the shares of the country's land were concentrated in the hands of a Chinese. It turned out that Rockefeller had this consideration for political reasons.

However, in this case, there will be no problem for Swire Properties. After all, it now "belongs" to American assets, and China and the United States have just established diplomatic relations and the relationship is very warm.

Hearing Wei Li's words, Li Changhe smiled. It didn't matter. He just wanted Wei Li to misunderstand him like this. As long as the old guy worked for him seriously, it would be fine.

"Why do I say it's too late? Because by then, political reasons will definitely have an impact on the economy. According to my estimation, by then, both the stock market and the property market in Hong Kong Island will experience a sharp drop."

"Some Hong Kong people may choose to flee at that time, after all, many people do not trust the North."

"Once these people flee, the first thing they will do is to sell off their assets and exchange for currency, which is actually a disguised crash. The real estate market in Hong Kong will definitely suffer a major impact."

"If our Exchange Square had been completed in those two years, I think whether it was sold or rented out, the consequences would not have been good given the cold real estate market."

"So for us, it is not a good idea to spend a lot of money to speed up the construction of the trading square. At this time, not only can we not spend money, but we have to slow down its construction."

"It would be best if it could be completed in 1986 or 1987. This would give us a sufficient buffer period."

"But boss, if this is true, then Hong Kong will belong to the mainland in the future. In this case, the business environment here may change completely."

Wei Li asked worriedly at this time, everyone knows that the system in the north is not the capitalism of Hong Kong Island.

"Don't worry, that won't happen. But I can't tell you the details. In short, we just need to slow down the construction of the trading square."

"Of course, with so much cash in the Jardine Matheson account, it must be spent, so the second thing I need you to do is this."

Li Changhe took out another piece of information from here and placed it in front of Wei Li.

"Dairy International?"

"Boss, do you mean to develop retail?"

Wei Li looked at Li Changhe with some confusion.

Li Changhe said seriously: "Yes, but what I want you to do is not to develop Wellcome, but to develop the other two."

"In my opinion, the current Wellcome stores can be classified as mid-market, that is, they are superstores for the general public, and anyone can shop there."

"And what I want you to do is to develop two retail models, high-end and low-end, based on Wellcome."

“High end and low end?”

Wei Li frowned again at this moment. He didn't quite understand Li Changhe's thinking.

"I named it the member store because it's high-end. As the name suggests, this store is only for our members and not open to the general public. If you want to become our member, you must first apply for a card."

"In this store, we sell high-end exquisite products from all over the world. Remember, they are high-end exquisite products. They don't necessarily have to be top luxury goods, but they must be high-quality products from all over the world."

“Can you understand this feature?”

"I see. That is to say, the products sold in this store, from food, clothing, housing and transportation, are no longer ordinary products, but high-quality brands, right?" "This requires us to develop a brand new high-quality procurement chain, from Europe to the United States to Japan, so that we can supply the goods for this store."

"Boss, the procurement chain is simple. Hutchison Whampoa already had an international supply chain before, but there is a problem, which is transportation."

"Before, Jardine Matheson had its own shipping company and Hutchison Whampoa also had its own shipping channels, which could solve the transportation problem. But now Hong Kong Land does not have such channels. If we want to build an international supply chain, we must have our own shipping channels."

"If we discuss this with the shipping tycoon family in Hong Kong, I'm afraid it will take a long time."

Wei Li said to Li Changhe seriously.

For ocean transportation, the most convenient method is still shipping by ship. Not only is the volume large, but some ships also have safe warehouses to keep some materials fresh.

However, Swire Properties does not have such channels now.

"Don't worry about that. Hong Kong's shipping tycoon Pao Yu-kong is my uncle. Global Shipping can take over our transportation business."

Li Changhe said lightly.

"Uncle? Bao Yugang is your uncle, Boss?"

"Yes, my Chinese name is Bao Zeyang, and he is my second uncle."

Li Changhe revealed his fake identity at this moment and said to Wei Li.

"Are you Bao Yushu's son?"

Pao Yuk-shu, the third son of Pao Siu-lung and younger brother of Pao Yu-kong, also worked in shipping in Hong Kong Island and had his own shipping company.

"No, as far as I know, Mr. Bao Yushu also has his own shipping company."

"I am a descendant of the third branch of the Bao family. My grandfather is a brother of Mr. Bao Zhaolong, the father of Mr. Bao Yugang. Do you understand?"

Li Changhe explained to Wei Li.

Wei Li nodded in understanding. He had lived in Hong Kong Island for many years and understood that the kinship relationships among Chinese families were actually similar to those of the branches of the British Empire.

No wonder he gained Rockefeller’s trust; this was the reason.

After all, as far as Wei Li knew, Bao Yugang had a very good relationship with the Rockefeller family.

"If that's the case, then that's OK."

“But where can we open such a membership market?”

Wei Li asked thoughtfully again, this kind of high-end market definitely cannot be opened in an ordinary place.

"I'll tell you about this later."

"Let me tell you another thing first, that is the so-called low-end shopping mall."

"In addition to membership supermarkets, we will also open a low-end supermarket. Of course, low-end supermarkets do not mean that the products we sell are low-end, but we want to shrink this kind of supermarket and turn it into a convenience store."

"convenience store?"

“Do you know the 7-11 convenience store in Japan?”

“The kind that’s open 24 hours a day!”

Li Changhe asked Wei Li at this time.

“I haven’t really paid much attention to this.”

Wei Li shook his head and said softly that he had been busy with the integration of Hutchison Whampoa in recent years, and he really didn't know much about the convenience store model like 711.

"This thing is actually very simple. To put it simply, it is a variation of a small store that provides basic daily necessities and is open 24 hours a day."

"If you have time, go to Japan and take a look, or find some information and study it and you will understand."

"We can share Wellcome's product supply chain. For us, it is just a matter of choosing a new location."

Li Changhe said to Wei Li seriously.

That’s right, the high-end retail and low-end retail he proposed are actually the two models of Sam’s Club and 711-Eleven convenience stores. Together with Wellcome Supermarket, Li Changhe wants to use this to build a trinity retail empire.

However, the Sam's Club model has not yet emerged, and Walmart will not open its first membership store until 1983.

711-Eleven convenience stores are still in Japan and have not expanded overseas. At this time, relying on Wellcome's influence in the local market, it can completely seize the Hong Kong Island market first and then quickly expand to Southeast Asia.

"In this case, do we need to find a lot of new shops?"

At this moment, Wei Li roughly understood the ideas of membership stores and 711. The membership stores were fine, so there was no rush and they had to take it slowly.

But the 711 one seems to be able to be done immediately.

"For this, we mainly rent it temporarily for two to three years. The model of this convenience store is simple to lay out. All we need to do is to create a unified decoration style."

"In two years, I predict that the real estate market will collapse. As soon as China and the UK start negotiations, the good days of real estate will immediately come to an end."

“When that happens, it will be a good time for us to expand.”

"By then, there will be a large number of residential and commercial properties for sale, and the prices will surely drop significantly compared to now. At that time, we can purchase a large number of properties on Hong Kong Island to expand the coverage area of ​​our stores."

"This type of convenience store targets the most ordinary people. Whether it is Central, Kowloon, or even towns such as Yuen Long, Tuen Mun, and Tseung Kwan O, they are all our markets."

"Relying on Wellcome to radiate and use convenience stores to sink into the lowest level of the market, Wellcome's branches will then be like warehouses, not only maintaining the stores but also supplying the surrounding convenience stores."

"By then, all the ParknShop stores and the like will be wiped out."

"As long as ordinary people are used to Wellcome convenience stores, they will definitely go to Wellcome hypermarkets when shopping in shopping malls."

"In this way, our supply channels, from middle-class elites to ordinary people, can completely capture the entire Hong Kong Island market, and then radiate to Southeast Asia."

Li Changhe spoke to Wei Li seriously, and Wei Li was inexplicably moved after hearing it.

Yes, if Li Changhe's model is really followed, it is possible that ParknShop, which is owned by Hutchison Whampoa, will be squeezed out, because customers have inertia when purchasing products.

As long as he gets used to shopping at Wellcome convenience stores, he will definitely go to Wellcome stores. This is determined by his subconscious shopping habits.

If Hutchison Whampoa wants to keep up, it has to open convenience stores on a large scale. However, if it is a step behind, it will not be easy to catch up later.

"I understand, boss. Then let's focus our work on this aspect first?"

"Wei Li, what we are building now is not just a retail store, but a trinity sales channel."

"Just think about it, if our sales channels spread to every aspect of Hong Kong Island, we will have absolute control over many industries."

"We can sell music tapes and movie videos by installing a wooden rack, and newspapers and magazines by putting up a wooden board. It can be said that we have built a media sales channel in disguise."

After listening to this, Wei Li nodded thoughtfully. Yes, in theory, the retail terminal channels can affect many industries.

"Now, let me tell you where our membership supermarket is located."

“This place is actually also in my new planning area.”

"I named this place Commercial Complex!"

At this time, Li Changhe began to explain the concept of commercial complex to Wei Li.

At this moment, Wei Li was stunned.

　I wish you all a happy Mid-Autumn Festival and happiness every day

　　
　
(End of this chapter)