Chapter 262 Opportunities of the Second Oil Crisis

Author: Underwater Wild Fish

Chapter 262 Opportunities of the Second Oil Crisis

"Are there new games? Is it casual or combat." Henry Morgan asked impatiently.

Various current games have been divided into two categories, casual and combat. The previous game modes were mainly casual. Until the emergence of "Space Invaders", combat games became popular.

"It's considered a combat game. It's called "Tank Battle" and its playability is much better than "Space Invaders"." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.

In fact, the games before "Pac-Man" can only be said to be average. That is to say, only when they appeared in the current barbaric era of electronic games can they almost monopolize the world. If any of these games appeared a few years later, they would basically be

There won't be any market.

But "Tank Battle" is different. It was a game that was popular for 20 years until the emergence of the Internet raised the gaming threshold.

Although it is not as good as Mario, it is currently the most playable game in arcades and future home game consoles, especially since it can be customized with different background images. However, this is completely unique.

kill.

"Has the game been developed yet?" Henry asked.

"Basically it has come out, but there are still many areas that need to be optimized, and it should not be perfected until the middle of next year." Chen Zhiwen said. The game of "Tank Battle" is not difficult, and the interface is somewhat similar to "Pac-Man", except that the design

What kind of background should be set, how many tanks will be in each level, when and where the tanks will appear, and other issues need to be carefully studied and a suitable balance needs to be found.

"Okay, there's no rush. Although "Pac-Man" is a little less effective, the entire market can still last for about half a year." Henry Morgan said, although he wanted to know what kind of game Chen Zhiwen was very optimistic about.

, but you can’t ask too many questions, this is an absolute business secret.

"Actually, it's not bad. We've just been too successful before. If it drops a little bit, we feel bad. This kind of mentality is still unacceptable." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile. The results of "Pac-Man" are indeed not as good as before.

But it is definitely a hit. Just in the United States, Midea estimates that it can earn tens of millions of dollars. Plus the market outside the United States, 100 million US dollars is not difficult, but it is not as good as "Space Invaders" and "Magic Cube"

》That’s all.

Moreover, in the home game console market, Pac-Man is actually a hit, because this type of game is not suitable for high-frequency consumption like arcade machines, but is suitable for home game consoles that can consume unlimited time.

"Yes, we are greedy." Henry Morgan raised his glass again: "But greed is the essence of our capitalist development."

"That's right, respect greed." Chen Zhiwen also raised his glass. Only by making more money can he have more uses. Otherwise, they would already have wealth and freedom, and life would be too boring.

The layout of gold futures has been completed, and with two back-end transactions to ensure the safety of this investment, there will basically be no major problems. In the following days, Chen Zhiwen went to the first Home Depot branch in Los Angeles.

The financial backer came, and Bernie, the entrepreneur, naturally accompanied him personally. After walking around the Home Depot store, Chen Zhiwen asked: "Bernie, how much of this is purchased from Hong Kong?"

"I got the hardware tools directly from Costco's warehouse, and they should be considered from Hong Kong. As for the various types of wood boards, they are still purchased in the United States. The same goes for paints. Due to legal reasons, they are from Asia.

Wooden boards need to go through a lot of procedures to enter the United States, which cannot keep up with the opening of new stores. Some fasteners also come from Galaxy Trading. As for kitchen and bathroom supplies such as toilets, water pipes, and faucets, they basically come from the United States or Mexico," thought Bernie.

He thought about it and said.

"That's okay. Take your time. In fact, these things are basically available in Hong Kong. Even if they are not available, as long as you have enough orders here, Galaxy Trading will look for them in Southeast Asia, which can minimize your procurement costs." Chen Zhiwen

said.

"Hong Kong's materials are indeed of high quality and low price. No wonder Costco is so successful in the United States." Bernie said with a smile.

Pierce, who was supporting the supplies on the side, said: "The procurement of materials in Hong Kong is only part of the cost reduction. What is more important is the optimization of transportation costs. Bernie, your Home Depot is a business model that transcends the times, but I suggest you give it priority."

Open new stores in coastal cities. The population is concentrated along the coast, and the transportation of materials is convenient in Hong Kong. If you really go inland, you need to transport goods from the port to the inland. Then some products will not be cost-effective. When you become larger in the future, you can

Learn from the supermarket and build your own logistics system."

"Expansion is too far away and it's still early, but you are right." Bernie nodded and said with a smile.

Pierce said: "It's not too early, don't worry, with Eric's funds and Hong Kong's cheap supplies, coupled with this business model, it is difficult to succeed, but it must be fast, and gain enough experience in these two new stores

Once we have established the relevant management team, we will begin to expand. Once we cannot keep up and others discover this opportunity, we will be in trouble. Just like Costco now, many retail companies have entered membership warehouse supermarkets."

"That's right." Bernie nodded and said. He also knew the current situation of Costco. Celtic, Sears, Wal-Mart and many supermarkets have begun to try membership warehouse supermarkets, completely imitating Costco, but

This is still a bit difficult, especially in terms of extreme cost control and scale, because Costco is no longer small in scale.

But Home Depot is different. This kind of business logic can be seen at a glance, and there is no need to work hard to build a membership system. Anyone can easily copy it, and it has no scale yet.

"There won't be any problems in a short time. If you don't have enough scale, you won't be able to attract too many investors or peers. Don't worry. The priority is to summarize experience and cultivate talents. If you don't have enough funds, you can come to me, whether it's financing."

Or take a loan, no problem." Chen Zhiwen said.

It is in his best interests to develop Home Depot as soon as possible. Not only can he get hundreds of times the return after it goes on the market, but he can also use supply channels to obtain more purchasing resources in Asia. This is the most satisfying thing.

What he values.

"Thank you, Eric." Bernie said sincerely. When he met such a high-quality investor, he basically had no strings attached and did not participate in management. He also used his own resources to help start-ups develop. This is what all entrepreneurs do.

dreamt of.

"You're welcome, this is my business too. If you succeed, I will succeed." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.

"It's getting late, and I know a place where the steak is Wagyu beef from Japan, and it tastes very good," Pierce said.

"Okay, let's try it." Chen Zhiwen nodded. Wagyu meat is indeed very famous and is considered very high-end in the United States.

After the incident in the United States, Chen Zhiwen naturally returned to Hong Kong.

Today, although many industries in Hong Kong have taken away a lot of cash, they are all on the road to healthy development. There is no problem with less funds. Especially Wharf and Hutchison Whampoa, they still have a lot of land in their hands, and Hong Kong

Housing prices would not stop rising until the end of 1981, and remained high and fluctuated until September 1982, when they plummeted in half.

This day is still 3 years away, which is enough to maximize the benefits of a lot of land in hand. In addition, as long as you are brave enough, you can develop real estate by borrowing from everywhere. In this area, Chen Songqing is the king.

And history has not changed. Chen Zhiwen has heard about this rising star who has recently become active in the real estate market, but he has not intervened. This giant scammer will deceive countless investors and banks in the next few years, but he will not involve the ordinary people at the bottom.

People, as long as they don't deceive those people at the bottom who have a very difficult life, and it's none of their own business, then Chen Zhiwen doesn't care.

Investment involves risks, so you just have to bear your own responsibilities.

The time soon came to December 16, and the world's attention was attracted to the Middle East. On this day, Iran announced that it would stop exporting oil, and the global market suddenly lost 5 million barrels of daily supply.

Although 5 million barrels is a lot, it only accounts for 5% of global oil usage. As long as it is controlled, the impact will not be very big. However, there are lessons from the first oil crisis. All developed countries and large consortiums are desperately trying.

People who buy oil are afraid that they will run out of oil. You know, expensive oil is one thing, but it will cause inflation and rise in prices. But if there is no oil, logistics, electricity, and industry will be paralyzed, and the losses will be huge.

Not only will it cause more serious inflation, it will also cause huge losses to the industrial chain, and even lead to corporate bankruptcy or transfer.

No one knows how long the oil shortage will last, and who dares to bet? In 1973, France did not pay much attention to the first oil crisis in the early stages. Later, there was no oil available, and they were so anxious that they almost drilled wells everywhere in Paris to find oil.

Already.

As a result, oil prices began to take off.

Although it is not good for the global economy, it is good news for Chen Zhiwen.

The outbreak of the oil crisis was one of the fundamental reasons for the rise in gold prices.

And this is also very beneficial to Costco. Although Hong Kong will also have to increase Costco's export prices due to increased energy and transportation costs, but the comparison is relative. Compared with other supermarkets, Costco's increase is absolutely

It is the smallest, because the low SKU (supermarket product category) model is destined to have much lower transportation costs.

On the other hand, the recurrence of the oil crisis will once again change the living habits of ordinary people in the United States.

Before the first oil crisis in 1973, oil was about US$3-4 per barrel. After the first oil crisis, the price basically remained at around US$12, and the price of gasoline and diesel at the terminal also naturally increased three or four times.

This is actually one of the important reasons why cheap supermarkets such as Wal-Mart began to take off.

Because when oil prices are low, commodity prices are also low, and many people don’t care about going to the supermarket more often, or even paying much attention to commodity prices. So Wal-Mart opening a store in the suburbs naturally does not have much advantage, because people are happy to shop nearby, even in

It doesn't matter if the price is a little higher in urban areas or neighborhoods.

However, the price of oil has increased several times, many manufacturing industries in the United States have suffered serious losses, layoffs have been laid off, and wages have been reduced even without layoffs. People's travel costs have also increased several times, and supermarket prices have also increased significantly. Under the triple blow, many ordinary people have lost their jobs.

Or the middle class will subconsciously reduce their shopping or look for cheaper shopping places. As a result, Wal-Mart took off, and now Costco also takes advantage of this.

And now the second oil crisis has begun. In a few months, the price of oil will rise from 13 US dollars a barrel to 34 US dollars. Compared with 6 years ago, it has increased almost ten times. In addition, there will be another corporate crisis.

As efficiency decreases and prices rise, those who can control costs in the retail sector will receive higher returns.

Another point is that the automobile industry is about to undergo a very drastic change. As long as the income from gold futures is received, you can take the first step towards your automobile dream.

On the same day, Chen Zhiwen personally made an appointment with Bao Yugang by phone. The next day, the two met at the Hilton Hotel.

"Hello, Mr. Bao," Chen Zhiwen said after seeing Bao Yugang, shaking hands with a smile.

"Hello, Chen Sheng." Pao Yugang was also more polite. Both of them are already at the pinnacle of the Chinese community in Hong Kong, and there is no conflict of interest, so they are naturally very friendly.

"Sheng Bao, how are the recent stock acquisitions of China Electric Power going?" Chen Zhiwen asked.

"Almost 6 percentage points have been acquired. I don't dare to acquire it too fast, otherwise it will be easily discovered by the Kadoorie family." Bao Yugang said.

"It's similar here. The British capital now is more wary, for fear of becoming the next Wharf." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile. There are so many big British consortiums who are not fools. When Hutchison was acquired, it can be said that Chen Zhiwen made the mistake.

I picked up a company that was about to go bankrupt. No matter how good Hutchison Whampoa's performance is now, no one wanted it back then. But Wharf was different. This was actually stolen by Chen Zhiwen from Jardine Matheson. Having learned from the past, British capital

The financial groups have become very cautious, and all Chinese investors, including Chen Zhiwen, have to be careful.

However, it is also because Chen Zhiwen has been seeking to gather funds to do long gold futures. Otherwise, with the capital situation in the past few years, he would have actually taken action against Hong Kong Electric. The value of Hong Kong Electric is indeed very high, but compared to gold futures, it is

Far from it.

"So it's better to be the first to eat crabs. With the current economic situation in Hong Kong, if we want to acquire something, we really have to spend a lot of money." Pao Yugang said with a smile.

"The big cost is worth it, but it is better to be smaller. Now there is an opportunity." Chen Zhiwen paused and said, "Does Mr. Bao know about the things in the Middle East?"
To be continued...