The Industrial Giant Reborn

In the next two days, Chen Zhiwen went to several other RT-Mart and PARKnSHOP supermarkets in Shenhai City and Shekou Industrial Park. Arowana cooking oil was obviously very popular. In the face of such convenient plastic bottle packaging, the traditional The oiling model is vulnerable, and even some domestic edible oil brands, which use high-end edible oils in glass bottles, are not good. Glass bottles are definitely not as convenient as plastic bottles.

For many people, just like plastic bags compared to bamboo baskets, the advantages are too great, and industrialized production also makes Arowana cooking oil taste much better, and even costs less. It is a complete crushing model.

"Sheng Chen, our current production capacity is 250,000 bottles of edible oil of various sizes a day, of which 150,000 bottles are mainly exported and 100,000 bottles are sold domestically. There will be new products in three months. A Japanese production line has arrived, and the production capacity can be increased by three times by then." Li Wei Qinghui, director of the Shenhai Golden Arowana Factory, reported.

No one would have thought that the top boss of the entire group would actually come to his factory. Although the Arowana edible oil factory is located in the deep sea area and is not too small in scale, within Red Bull, it is currently only a very small one. It's just business. As the director of the factory, he has actually never met Qin Zhihao, the general manager of Red Bull. Unexpectedly, he would meet Hong Kong's richest man Chen Zhiwen today. This man in Hong Kong can be said to be a myth in the business world.

"Is it only 100,000 in China?" Chen Zhiwen asked. In fact, the sales volume abroad will not be low as long as there is Galaxy Trade, not to mention that Costco still owns it and sells it in batches. As long as it is cheap enough, It is estimated that many restaurant businesses in the United States will purchase goods directly, and the sales volume will be huge.

"Yes, Chen Sheng, although domestic demand is huge, our goods can only be sold directly in Shenhai City. Eastern Guangdong Province is a little better and there are some shipping channels, but it is not so good in other places. , it is difficult to get our oil in. Even if we can purchase some locally, there are no formal channels and sales cannot be high." Li Weiqing replied.

"What about the 14 coastal cities that have just been opened recently? There are also big cities like Yanjing and Shanghai. They should have been open long ago." Chen Zhiwen nodded and asked again.

The pace of reform is also step by step. At present, the purchases of various stores in most cities are still the same as before, using the supply and marketing cooperative model. The purchasing sources are also domestic state-owned enterprises. Generally, materials from foreign companies cannot enter. Yes, although Arowana has a factory in Shenhai City, it is still owned by foreign investors. In a place like Shenhai City that has a lot of contact with the outside world, it is relatively free. In addition, many local supermarkets are self-owned. Everything is easy to say, but other places are a bit... It’s very difficult, especially in non-coastal areas.

"These 14 cities have just opened up, and they have just begun to do transactions with foreign capital. Currently, they are engaged in some relatively important industrial exchanges with foreign countries. They still need to spend money to buy civilian supplies, and it may take a while to get in." Li Weiqing paused and then said: "The biggest problem is not this. Including Shanghai and Yanjing, they have local oil refining companies. If they buy ours, it will be equivalent to stealing business, so it is a bit difficult."

"That's right, local trade is protected." Chen Zhiwen also understands this truth. Not to mention now, even in the 1990s, domestic cities or provinces were very strict in protecting local brands, especially those related to tobacco, wine, rice, grains and oils, and even built For stones used for houses and roads, unless there are no local rocks, otherwise they will definitely buy local stones.

There is a simple logic here, that is, if local small businesses can make things that are simple and easy to produce, then naturally it will not be the turn of others, not even domestic companies. Provinces and provinces are better off, everyone. Taking face into account, it is difficult to say for the counties and cities below. Chen Zhiwen's factory before was either mainly exporting to earn foreign exchange, or making products that could not be made locally, or at least able to achieve foreign exchange balance, so naturally it is not possible to open up the mainland market. Problem, but now they are grabbing local business. Although the oil made by oneself is different from the local oil, it is more popular, which means it is grabbing the market.

"Yes, Shenhai City is a little more open, and although there are other oil-making companies in Shenhai City, they are also new companies like us, so everyone can compete fairly," Li Weiqing said.

"Then organize a business team and enter the cities that have been officially opened one by one. No matter how much share you can get, let's go in first and then develop slowly later." Chen Zhiwen said without caring.

The reform itself is a step-by-step process, and it is impossible to turn it into the domestic free competition model all of a sudden. Even if we know that free competition is more conducive to economic development, we still have to consider whether the local economy can withstand such drastic changes. Therefore, accept Foreign goods will also come step by step.

The current situation cannot be changed no matter what, unless Chen Zhiwen personally comes forward to communicate with the top, but it is not necessary. His face is not used in this way. Anyway, as long as he waits a few more years, the domestic foreign exchange will improve and the economy will be further opened. Local protective trade will be much reduced, at least in big cities like Yanjing and Shanghai. At that time, not only Arowana, but also some products of Red Bull, Very Coke, Master Kong and Midea were developed and produced in the mainland on a large scale. period.

For now, just take over the deep sea and eastern Guangdong Province first. In other places, just build a reputation first and let the local people know about the brand. Besides, even if the domestic market is open, we want to increase the production capacity to To a certain extent, it will take several years. From this point of view, the impact is not very big, just take the overseas route in the early stage.

"We have set up such a department and are currently working hard to send our oil to the supply and marketing cooperatives in Shanghai and Yanjing." Li Weiqing said.

"Okay, if you are recruiting business here in China, you can find some people with some background. You should understand what I mean, right?" Chen Zhiwen said again.

"Understood." Li Weiqing said quickly. This kind of thing can only be understood, not said. Everyone who understands understands it. Not to mention domestic, in Hong Kong and any other country, it is actually the same.

"Okay, then work hard to do well. Red Bull has high expectations for Arowana. As long as you can win the domestic market and there is no problem with quality, the foreign market will not be a problem. In the future, Arowana will also be a comparable product." Red Bull beverage itself is a large-scale business." Chen Zhiwen added: "Next year, I will let CCTV broadcast this advertisement to help you open up the market, but you must be prepared in the early stage."

Although the consumption frequency of edible oil is much lower than that of beverages, it still has commercial demand in restaurants. In addition, it is a necessity. Humans need to use oil when cooking, whether in the Eastern or Western style. In particular, Chinese cooking consumes more oil. , and Red Bull is one of thousands of beverages, and it can only grow in market segments, but Arowana hopes to take the mainstream position in the edible oil market, and if the oil grows, it can Through channels, upstream and downstream, you can enter the terminal grain industry. The simplest way is to sell rice, flour, etc., and thus enter the grain industry.

Chen Zhiwen is also very interested in entering the global grain industry. As long as the food production, processing and sales are connected at the beginning, the entire industry chain will be available. The most important thing is the market. With the market, you can control the front end. industry, and when the scale is large enough, it can affect many agricultural countries, such as Argentina, Brazil, and some countries in Eastern Europe in the future. Even if it is difficult to match the scale of the four major grain merchants, if it can become the second echelon The top of the line is also a good choice. It is even possible that if you are really willing to invest in the future, you can take on one of the four major grain merchants.

"Understood, we will do our best to make Arowana the largest brand in the country." Li Weiqing said with some excitement.

He was originally the deputy general manager of a grain and oil company in Hong Kong, and he was doing well in Hong Kong. But suddenly Red Bull acquired their company, and the original general manager and major shareholder cashed out and left, and he became the renamed The supreme leader of Arowana.

Later, Red Bull built a factory in Shenhai City that was ten times larger than Hong Kong, and he was sent there. However, he later learned that the factory here was just a pilot project. As long as it was done well, it could be expanded a hundred times in the future. Maybe, the capabilities of the entire Red Bull and the group behind it are really too strong. It is said that just a small part of the overseas orders make it too late for the entire Arowana factory to produce. If it were not worried about the quality problems caused by excessive expansion, I am afraid that the deep sea market now The factory will be even bigger.

At the same time, the group also provides financial resources with the intention of building distribution agencies across the country. This requires a huge investment. If the future Arowana is really successful, as a veteran, he will be regarded as a hero even if he cannot be the boss in the future. .

"Okay, once every six months in the future, sort out all the information, and then go to Hong Kong to report to me." Chen Zhiwen also said that Arowana is still in its early stages, and it is not like other companies that report once a month, and edible oil The market is a traditional industry and there will not be any major reforms. In fact, everyone has the same taste. Like Coke, the competition is actually brand promotion and first-mover advantage. Once successful in the early stage, half the battle is won.

The same applies to Master Kong, Coke, and Red Bull. This is the purpose of winning CCTV advertisements in advance.

"Okay, Mr. Chen." Li Weiqing said with a smile. Being able to go to Hong Kong to report to the big boss in person is enough to greatly improve his status within the entire group. You know, the person in charge of many real estate projects worth hundreds of millions in Hong Kong is also No chance to meet the boss.

The hot sales of Arowana can be regarded as the first step towards a successful layout in the field of edible oil and grain. In the future, just let it develop on its own.

As the most influential rich man in Hong Kong today, it is impossible for the local government and even the eastern Guangdong Province to know that Chen Zhiwen came to Shenhai City. However, they still respected Chen Zhiwen's request in the early stage and did not disturb him. After the time was almost up, I came over for a visit.

"Hello, Director Li." In a five-star hotel in Shenhai City, Chen Zhiwen met Li Chuanfang, the current director in charge of economics in Shenhai City.

"Hello, Chen Sheng, I have heard of your name for a long time, but unfortunately I have never had the opportunity to meet you." Li Chuanfang said with a smile and shook hands.

He was also transferred to Shenhai City last year to be in charge of economic work. At that time, many projects in Shenhai City had a lot to do with Chen Zhiwen, especially Shekou, where the industrial production capacity of an industrial zone even exceeded that of Shenhai City. It was because of Chen Zhiwen's large number of Investment, but in the past year, Chen Zhiwen has not been to Shenhai City, and has never had the opportunity to meet him.

"I was quite busy with business in Hong Kong and overseas in the past year, and it's true that I haven't been to the mainland for a long time." Chen Zhiwen smiled and said, "But although we haven't come, our investment in Shenhai City will not be less. Yantian Port is not That’s it?”

At the end of last year, Hutchison Whampoa reached an agreement with Shenhai City to jointly invest in Yantian Port, with funds provided by Hisense Bank. However, the current scale of this project is only a little over 10 million yuan, so it is not considered a big one. Arowana factory.

"We are naturally honored to be able to cooperate with Chen Sheng." Li Chuanfang said with a smile: "If Chen Sheng has any new cooperation, we will be happy to cooperate with you."

"Of course there is new cooperation." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said, "Director Li should know that Midea Group is planning to choose another place in the mainland to build a super factory with an annual production capacity of more than one billion US dollars."