Chapter 796 – No dividends
“Hello? Steve? I am Feng. I will be returning to China for about 3 months to conduct market research.”
Ballmer was dumbfounded. You think I don’t know you want to return to China? Market research? You think we are idiots!
“Ok. I will email you if we need you.”
It was almost the end of December, and Christmas is around the corner. Christmas is an important festival in the US. But Feng Yu was not interested. He just wanted to spend the New Year Day back in China.
The Empire State Building’s ownership was still not settled. But Hideki Yokoi had used his measures to take back control over the building. In another one to two months, the building will be ready to be transacted. Donald had also sued those two long-term tenants, and he told Feng Yu that he was confident that will win the lawsuit. Those tenants will be forced to stop the lease agreement.
Feng Yu will not interfere in all these. He was only interested in acquiring the building. He even leaves the renovations to Donald.
Kirilenko also needed to return to Moscow to settle some businesses. He also needs to prepare the funds for the new software company. Elena also returned to Moscow with Kirilenko. On the other hand, Feng Yu flew back to Hong Kong.
“Brother Feng, you finally come back. Do you enjoy your time in the US?” Li Zekai gave Feng Yu a hug.
“It’s so boring there. But I had to go there to survey first. I intend to set up branch companies and factories there in the future.”
Feng Yu was not lying when he said this. He felt this was an excellent time to enter the US market. AIWA had a factory in the US, and Wind and Rain Electronics, home appliances, should also set up factories there. Feng Yu also want to take back control over the distribution channels in the US.
It was dangerous for Feng Yu to let the Fu family have full control over the sales of his products. If there were any problems with the Fu family’s distribution networks, he would have no way to rectify the problem.
Of course, Feng Yu will still work with the Fu Family now. But he needs to separate the Europe, US and Asia markets.
Setting up factories in the US might be expensive, but Feng Yu would save on transportation and importation taxes.
Feng Yu had discussed this with Fu Guangzheng about this, and Fu Guangzheng understood his decision. Anyway, Fu Guangzheng still has shares in these companies and could still make money.
“Brother Feng, have you tried any blondes in the US?” Li Zekai asked with a lewd smile.
Feng Yu glanced at Li Zekai. This idiot was the same as the rumors. He just likes to try women of different nationalities all over the world. Feng Yu heard from Fu Guangzheng that Li Zekai had changed girlfriend again.
But Fu Guangzheng had no right to laugh at Li Zekai. He was also the same as him. He said this was the benefit of having an older brother. Their fathers are strict with the oldest son and do not really restrict them.
“Brother Feng, you really do not know how to enjoy life. What’s the use of making so much money if you don’t know how to enjoy it?” Li Zekai shook his head. Feng Yu was different from everyone he knew.
Li Zekai thought about this. This might because they were all wealthy second-generation and Feng Yu was a wealthy first generation.
“My target is to exceed your father.” Feng Yu said this, and Li Zekai kept quiet.
Hmph, you dare to make fun of me?! How can I exceed your father if I just focus on enjoying life?
“Oh, Tai Hua Supermarket opened a few more hypermarkets. Some places are not suitable to set up hypermarkets. So, we only open supermarkets there.” Li Zekai changed the topic.
Li Zekai was not very happy with what Feng Yu said. Who was his father? Superman Li! Asia’s richest man. Feng Yu wants to exceed his father? Although Feng Yu’s assets had been growing, his father’s assets are also increasing.
“How many hypermarkets and supermarkets do we have now?” Feng Yu asked.
“36 hypermarkets and 14 supermarkets. There will be 2 more supermarkets opening next month.”
Feng Yu frowned. The rate of expansion was faster than he expected. At this rate, they will have more than 100 hypermarkets and supermarkets in 2 years.
“Are there any dividends this year?” Feng Yu asked.
Li Zekai shook his head. “We had invested all our profits back into the business, and we still owe the banks. We will also not get any dividends next year or the next 3 to 5 years.”
Feng Yu nodded. He knew this would happen during the initial stage of expansion. Some of their supermarkets might not be profitable, let alone the hypermarkets. If they did not get any bank loans, they had to slow down their expansions.
But after the initial few years, Tai Hua Supermarket Corporation will bring in high profits.
“Have Carrefour and Walmart set up branches in China?” These two companies had massive funds, and if they enter the Chinese market, they will slow Tai Hua Supermarket’s expansion plans.
“Carrefour had opened a branch, and Walmart is preparing to open one branch in a few months. These two companies had gotten the locations the branches from us. But the prices they bid were much higher than us.” Li Zekai and Fu Guangzheng had been monitoring these two companies closely.
“What are we going to do? Let them set up more branches or……”
“Of course not. We decided to surround them and suppress them. We will increase our promotional efforts in the branches of the same cities. We will market our brand as China’s homegrown brand. We will also make use of the media to attack their reputation and brands. Don’t worry. We will not make up stories. We will only report the truth.”
This idea was from Fu Guangzheng. His family’s supermarket was attacked the same way in Southeast Asia and suffered massive losses. Luckily, his father was able to react fast and pull out of the Southeast Asia market in time to stop the losses.
“What about the other supermarkets in China? Are they a threat to us?”
“No! They might be doing well in their local regions, but they are only limited to 3rd, or 4th tier cites. No other supermarkets can compete with us in the 1st and 2nd tier cities. No local supermarket companies dare to stand against us!” Li Zekai replied proudly.
All the companies that stood in front of Tai Hua Supermarket in the past suffered massive losses. Now, Tai Hua Supermarket had firmly secured the top tier cities, like Beijing and Shanghai, and 2nd tier cities markets.
No other supermarket companies can compare to even a tenth of Tai Hua Supermarket’s funds and scale. How are they supposed to go against Tai Hua Supermarket?
Feng Yu had a smile on his face. Tai Hua Supermarket will be taking over the whole Chinese market……