章 223: Chapter 223 Primark
"We found Madam Emma's name in the list of investors of London Star, but she did not appear in the list of informants..."
After returning to London from his vacation in Burren, he received some information about Lady Emma from Nigel Inkster.
Lady Emma's full name is Emma Evans. She is 43 years old this year. She married Baron Eden Evans 20 years ago. However, Baron Evans died of illness 6 years after their marriage. Since they had no children, Emma Evans inherited his property and never remarried.
As for the relationship between Lady Emma and the Devonshire family, or the previous old duke...
Her late husband, Baron Eden Evans, had a good relationship with Baron's father, so the Evans family and the Cavendish family had many connections before. However, since the death of Baron Evans, Lady Emma rarely appeared in the Cavendish family.
"Can we find her now? I want to see this Lady Emma and talk to her."
"Lady Emma has always been a very private person, but she can certainly be found. She has several residences in England."
Hearing this answer, Barron nodded and said,
"Regarding Alia, can we now confirm the authenticity of the information she provided?"
Now that Nigel Inkster has returned to London, it means that he has basically confirmed the authenticity of the information previously stated by the woman named Alia Bindi Hussein.
According to Nigel, the channels they have at their disposal can prove that most of the details Alia said do exist, but some of the content is difficult to confirm in a short period of time because it happened a long time ago and the Middle East was quite turbulent at the time.
"That's enough..."
Barron said:
"I will go to Bilu Castle again in two days to meet this woman."
…
"Ms. Weston, we can give up the acquisition of Selfridges Department Store and sell our shares to you..."
Barron looked at the blonde woman in front of him and said:
"But I have a proposal, which is to use our shares in Selfridges as part of the purchase price of your Primark."
"Primark? Your Highness, if I heard you correctly, you want to buy Primark?"
Alanna Weston, who had a smile on her face, immediately became restless when she heard that Barron wanted to acquire Primark.
Primark is a low-cost clothing brand and a subsidiary of Associated British Foods (ABF).
The Weston family holds a controlling stake in Associated British Foods.
Currently, Primark mainly operates in the British and Irish markets. After acquiring some stores including Woolworth, BHS, Co-Op and C&A, Primark now has a total of about 110 stores.
"Primark is an important brand for us, Your Highness. Are you saying that selling Primark is a prerequisite for you to abandon the acquisition of Selfridges?"
"No, you misunderstood, Ms. Weston. Due to the impact of brands such as ZARA and H&M, Primark's current development is not ideal. In addition, considering the acquisition of Selfridges Department Store and your subsequent acquisition plans, it will take up too much funds, so I hope to help you solve some of the pressure..."
Barron smiled and said to Alana:
"You know, most of the brands you operate, including Loblaws, Brown Thomas and Fortnum & Mason, are high-end retail companies that cater to high-quality customers. Only Primark is a cheap clothing chain that caters to ordinary people. In comparison, Primark, which is more controversial, is an obstacle to the overall positioning of your family. Although Argos, which I own, also sells some clothing, Primark's tone is more compatible with Argos..."
Alanna admitted that what Barron said made sense, but the key point was that their family had been running Primark for 34 years - since the first Primark store in 1969, when it was still named Penneys.
Besides, it is not her decision to sell Primark.
"I need to report this matter, Your Highness. Although I also think that cheap clothing is not suitable for our brand building, I am afraid that the sale of Primark, a brand that seems to be developing well at present, will be difficult to be approved."
"I can understand this, Ms. Weston. Even so, I will not break my promise. But I need to remind you that in addition to the impact from overseas brands such as ZARA and H&M, as well as the competition from other cheap clothing brands that have emerged in China, if you fail to acquire Primark, then I'm afraid you will have to face competition from other cheap clothing brands under our Argos..."
According to what he and Alana had agreed before, DS Capital will withdraw from the competition for the department store after the Weston family also bids more than 350 million pounds for the 51% stake in Selfridges held by the Selfridge family.
In return, the Weston family will not only acquire their 5% stake in Selfridges for £35 million, but the employee pension fund of the Associated British Foods Group, which their family controls and has a market value of more than £15 billion, will also purchase £100 million of the Athena fund, a five-year fixed annualized return product of 12.5%.
Speaking of which, the largest occupational pension funds in the UK are concentrated in industries such as retail, mining, and telecommunications. This is easy to understand, after all, these industries have the largest number of employees.
Of course, it also has something to do with the business hours of the company.
For example, the employee pension funds of the retail businesses owned by the Weston family are all over 500 million pounds in size.
As for Barron's proposed acquisition of Primark, even if the Weston family ultimately rejects it, he is prepared to enter this market by acquiring other brands.
From Zara to H&M, fast fashion and affordable clothing have been leading the trend and developing rapidly since the first decade of the 21st century.
In particular, the rapid development of Zara directly pushed its owner, Spaniard Amancio Ortega, to the position of the world's richest man.
At present, the development of Primark is not eye-catching, and it is only concentrated in the British market. However, Barron knows that after 2006, with the joining of the company's new CEO, Primark began a decade of crazy expansion and will become one of the most profitable clothing brands in the future.
Therefore, it is a great opportunity to take advantage of the current opportunity to acquire this brand and develop it to compete directly with Zara and H&M.
…
"Tamaran, we meet again."
"Yes, Barron, what a coincidence, I just came back from Cambridge..."
When Tamaran saw Barron, a sweet smile appeared on her face, but there was a hint of resentment in her words:
"Last month, you left for America without even saying hello. My vacation was so boring."
"Well, I have some business to take care of, so..."
Today Barron attended a promotional cocktail party held by F1 in London. He didn't expect to meet Tamarin here, but it made sense when he thought that her father was the president of F1.
"Hello, Duke Cavendish, it's a pleasure to see you here. Besides, my daughter has often mentioned you before."
At this time, a short old man with silver hair walked up to Barron and spoke to him cheerfully.
"Dad, you, that's not the case..."
But his words made Tamaran feel shy.
Barron naturally knew that this old man was the shaper of the F1 sport, the president of the F1 Management Company, and Tamaran's father, Bernie Ecclestone.
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