Chapter 1261: Chapter 1261: The retail market is full of smoke
In its previous life, the American Southern Company, the originator of the convenience store chain, started out by selling ice cream, milk, eggs and other products, and gradually expanded its product range.
It wasn't until 1964 that it launched the then 'groundbreaking' convenience service of extending business hours to 7am to 11pm. Since then, the legendary name '7-Eleven' was born.
However, in its previous life, in 1991, the American Southern Company ran into operational problems and was on the verge of bankruptcy. The long-coveted island country Ito Yokado seized the opportunity and bought 72.7% of the American Southern Company's shares in one fell swoop, turning an American company into an island company. In 1999, the American Southern Company was officially renamed 7-Eleven.
In this life, Southern United was acquired by American Polaris Capital at an early stage, and combined with Xia Yu's outstanding insight, Southern United has been doing well.
In addition to selling daily necessities, 7-Eleven convenience stores in the United States also help residents in nearby communities pay their electricity, gas, insurance, water, and cable TV bills, as well as courier and international communication fees, which has truly made life more convenient for nearby residents.
That day, the company's president, Roy Gordon, had just returned from an inspection and learned that Kimura Sawano of the island country's 7-Eleven Convenience Store Co., Ltd. had brought someone else with him.
Thinking about the order that his parent company's president, Peter Lynch, had given him, he couldn't help but shake his head slightly.
In fact, from his point of view, the cooperation between the American South Company and the island country's Ito-Yokado Group was still very good.
It's just that Peter Lynch is his superior, so although he doesn't understand Peter Lynch's true intentions, he can only do his best to execute them.
It's just a pity for the island country Ito Yokado Group, no matter which path is chosen, the result is a loss...
After shaking his head slightly to clear his distracting thoughts, Roy Gordon led his secretary into the reception room and met with Kimura Sawano and his entourage, who were about to lose their patience.
'Mr. Kimura, we meet again. Have you come this time with a decision?'
As soon as they met, Roy Gordon smiled and got straight to the point.
Kimura Sawano said with a serious face: 'Yes, Mr. Roy, I think we need to have a good talk.'
'Let's go somewhere else then, please follow me!'
'Okay.'
...
In a short while, a group of people arrived at the small meeting room and sat down clearly.
Kimura Sawano didn't want to beat around the bush either, and said straight to the point: 'Mr. Roy, I have already reflected your company's opinions to our company last time, and our president Ito has given me the final instructions.'
'Our company is willing to deepen its cooperative relationship with your company, but we also have an insurmountable bottom line.'
Kimura Sawano deliberately emphasised the words 'bottom line'.
Roy Gordon's gaze hardened, and he said concisely, 'Please continue.'
Kimura Sawano said resolutely, 'Our company is willing to transfer an additional 12% of the equity to your company, but your company must pay the right price and sign a perpetual regional franchise...'
As soon as Kimura Sawano had finished speaking, and before he could ask, Roy Gordon decisively said, 'The perpetual regional franchise can be given, but you must transfer another 30% of the equity, and you will not be disadvantaged in terms of price.'
'This is impossible, Mr. Roy, if the situation were reversed, would you be willing to give up custody of your son to someone else?'
Kimura Seno's face changed, and he asked back loudly. His tone became aggressive, and his momentum instantly rose.
'Hmph!'
Roy Gordon was not made of clay either. He snorted, his face instantly turning cold. Leaning his hands on the table, he said in a very oppressive manner, 'Mr. Kimura, without our brand, there would be no current you. You have to recognise the situation.'
'Or do you think that without our 7-Eleven convenience store brand, you could continue to survive?'
Kimura Sawano defiantly locked eyes with Roy Gordon and retorted, 'Mr. Roy, it is undeniable that our company has come this far because of the brand, but before we became the agent, 7-Eleven had almost no influence on the island.'
'The most important reason why 7-Eleven is now famous on the island is because of our business model and high service standards. It is not 7-Eleven's brand that has made us, but we have created this brand.'
'The operating model of 7-Eleven in the island country is already very different from that of 7-Eleven in the United States. You must face this fact squarely.'
'Yes, giving up the 7-Eleven brand will have a significant impact on us, but it will also be a heavy blow to Southern Company. You will not be able to win either.'
At this point, Kimura Sawano's tone eased slightly, and he continued, 'Of course, after all these years of cooperation, we have pursued the goal of win-win cooperation together.'
'Your company believes that it may have suffered losses and is more optimistic about the future of the 7-Eleven convenience stores on the island. Based on our friendly cooperation in the past, we are willing to further share the results with your company, but we also hope that your company can understand us.'
After saying this, Kimura Sawano looked at Roy Gordon with burning eyes, and subconsciously slowed his breathing.
He didn't want to fall out with Southern Company, and neither did President Ito, so after expressing his firm position with indignation, he lowered his tone.
In Kimura Sawano's opinion, he had done his best, his attitude had been made clear, and he had given a way out, so it was up to Roy Gordon's attitude.
The atmosphere in the meeting room was unusually somber, and everyone focused their attention on Roy Gordon.
However, Roy Gordon's expressionless face, without even an angry expression, made it impossible to read his true thoughts.
After a long while, Roy Gordon said indifferently, 'Mr. Kimura, I already know your company's attitude. I need to call a meeting of the board of directors to determine the specific situation, so you will need to wait a little longer before then.'
'Personally, I hope to continue working with your company, but I have to respect the opinions of others.'
After saying this, Roy Gordon took the initiative to stand up and extended his hand to Kimura Sawano.
Kimura Sawano's heart sank, took a deep breath, shook hands with Roy Gordon, and said, 'Okay, Mr. Roy, I hope to give me an answer as soon as possible.'
'Will do.'
After saying this, Kimura Sawano tactfully led the man out of American Southern Company.
After Kimura Sawano had left, Roy Gordon returned to his office alone, picked up the phone and dialed the phone number of Peter Lynch, the president of Polaris Capital Corporation: 'President Lynch, this is Roy Gordon. I would like to report some information to you... Okay, I will continue to stall...'
'Pat.'
After ending the call, Roy Gordon sat in his chair for a long time, thinking, and muttered to himself, 'To permanently grant the franchise rights for 7-Eleven on the island nation to the Hong Kong 7-Eleven convenience store chain company, I just don't know if they can succeed...'
'Hey...'
'Forget it, this involves a higher level of struggle, I'd better not get involved, I'll just do my best to run the company.'
Roy Gordon shook his head and picked up a document to review it.
...
Meanwhile, Peter Lynch, after ending the phone call with Roy Gordon, called Xia Yu during daytime in Tokyo, the island country, to inform him of the situation.
Although it was a pity that he did not get a controlling stake in the island country's Seven-Eleven Convenience Store Co., Ltd., Xia Yu was not too disappointed.
He was also mentally prepared for this. Neither Masatoshi Ito nor Toshifumi Suzuki was someone who would surrender easily.
Being able to control the island country's Seven-Eleven Convenience Store Co., Ltd. would naturally be the best result.
But since that goal could not be achieved, then a real fight was necessary!
First, he would take over the 7-Eleven convenience store brand.
After that, he immediately issued an order to Fu Kai.
Soon, all the resources of the Jiuding Group converged on the 7-Eleven convenience store chain.
Jiuding Real Estate Group assisted with store acquisitions or leases, as well as store renovations, while the Island Glory International branch was responsible for large-scale talent searches...
In order to maximise the brand value of 7-Eleven in the island country, Fu Kai intends to target 7-Eleven in the island country when selecting locations.
7-Eleven in the island country now has 985 stores, so in the next year, he will expand by targeting these stores.
By then, once the contract period is up, the 7-Eleven in the island country brand will be transferred to his company, and Toshifumi Suzuki will have to change the brand.
In this way, a large number of loyal consumers will definitely switch to their side. As long as the service can keep up, they will be able to retain their customers.
Although this will lead to extremely fierce competition, Fu Kai still decided to go for it.
After all, the current 7-Eleven convenience store chain on the island is the leader in the island chain convenience store industry, and sooner or later, there will be head-on competition. Instead of waiting until later, it is better to take Suzuki Toshifumi by surprise from the beginning, do your best to deal a heavy blow to the enemy, and take the initiative in the war!
With the continuous investment of resources, within the island country, many existing 7-11 convenience stores have a 100-150 square metre store nearby that has been transferred and is undergoing closed-door renovations.
However, store transfers and renovations are extremely normal, so the 7-11 convenience store on the island country did not notice anything unusual at all.
As ten days passed and Southern United had not yet responded, Masatoshi Ito and Toshifumi Suzuki gave up and decisively recalled Sawano Kimura.
After discussion, the new brand was decided to be named 'Ito Yokado Convenience Store'.
This name was approved by most people.
The reason for this name is that the Ito Yokado Group itself is a retail giant. The large general merchandise stores, supermarkets, department stores, specialty stores and discount stores of the Ito Yokado Group are all named after Ito Yokado.
The Ito-Yokado brand itself is very well-known in the island country, and it happens to be in the retail industry.
Changing the convenience store to this brand will at least have a certain mass base and increase popularity.
Time flies like an arrow, and it's already November.
November 11th.
The agreement between the American South Corporation and the island country's Ito-Yokado Group officially expires.
On this day, the retail industry in the island country is full of smoke and war...
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