This summer, Leeds United's trip to the United States was not a success.
At least, it is still quite different from Leeds United's original expectations, and Fernando Lucas is also quite disappointed with this.
During his previous stay in the United States, Gao Shen told him that this was a long-term job that could not be accomplished overnight.
Professional competition is very realistic, the strongest takes all.
Therefore, like this year when Leeds United are in the United States, they are more of a sparring partner for wealthy teams, just to get familiar with each other.
But whether it was Gao Shen, Su Qing, or Lucas, they all felt that they should continue to persevere.
The North American market is a piece of fat. It is not easy to get a bite here, but if you can really get it, it will definitely be a crucial step for Leeds United in opening up the global market.
"After returning from the United States, we have been keeping in touch with the intended partners there, and I have been urging people in the U.S. office to continue to follow up and promote cooperation projects."
Gao Shen nodded, "This is one of the most important core projects for our business development at Leeds United in the next few years. We must not slack off."
Leeds United has signed a three-year contract with the International Champions Cup and will be in North America for the next three years. The goal is to develop the North American market.
The team has also set up an office specifically in the United States and formulated a three-year development project. This is a long-term plan.
Commercial development in several other directions has also made some progress, but it is not particularly smooth either.
The current economy is very depressed, and many companies are having a hard time.
But the Chinese market is an exception.
Thanks to its advanced knowledge, Leeds United's business development in China and Asia is progressing smoothly. In addition, the team has established an Asian office in China, which makes Leeds United's business promotion plan in China and Asia progress well.
.
It can be said that the west is not bright but the east is bright.
In fact, many Chinese companies now have a very urgent need to promote their brands in overseas markets. Leeds United actually provides a very good platform, especially this season, the team has also entered the Europa League.
cup.
The Premier League has developed very strongly over the years, and overseas live broadcast rights have been catching up with local rights. It can be seen that the Premier League has done a great job in globalization, and sponsoring a Premier League team like Leeds United is equivalent to giving Chinese brands the wings of globalization.
Not only in China, but also in Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia and other regions, many brands are interested in Leeds United.
What's more, Leeds United's influence in Asia is also huge.
According to previous media statistics, the number of fans of Leeds United in China may not be as high as those of those wealthy teams, but the number of fans on Weibo and the popularity of discussions on the Internet are definitely No. 1.
At present, European giants are the main force in developing the Chinese market, but they generally adopt two methods, one is to entrust full authority to an agency, and the other is to outsource.
But that's not what Leeds did.
Leeds United's office in China has a total of 15 formal employees, who are responsible for media, e-commerce, sponsorship and other fields.
The general manager is the marketing director of a world-leading sports marketing and entertainment group, and the deputy general manager has worked for the sports channel of an authoritative domestic TV station for more than ten years. The two have joined forces to help Leeds United delve into the Chinese and Asian markets.
In addition, we also cooperated with a well-known multinational digital media marketing and consulting company, which provided a team of 10 people specifically responsible for Leeds United's social media services, and worked in Leeds United's company to ensure communication and
Efficient in execution.
Leeds United UK has also given full authorization to Leeds United China, allowing them to explore freely, for example, designing jerseys and souvenirs for fans in China and Asia, organizing fan activities, etc.
Among them, the fan activities are the most lively, including inviting Chinese fans to watch football at Leeds United, etc.
Now, Leeds United's flagship store has officially entered e-commerce, and is also negotiating with China's largest retail leader to cooperate with the team's peripheral products in its shopping malls across the country.
All of these have enabled Leeds United's business in China and Asia to usher in rapid development.
This is also because Gao Shen knows better than anyone that the Chinese and Asian markets will experience rapid growth in the next few years, and Leeds United must ride on this ride.
What's more, this is his base camp!
…
A club's income sources are nothing more than three major channels, match day, broadcast fees and commercial income.
At present, Leeds United's matchday income is very fixed, and it is basically difficult to make any big improvement. There are some changes in broadcast fees. Because the team performed well last season, the number of broadcasts of Leeds United by Premier League broadcasters will be lower this season. Increase.
In other words, Leeds United's revenue from broadcast games will also increase accordingly.
In terms of commercial income, thanks to the sponsorship of AXA Insurance and the cooperation being negotiated in China and Asia, Fernando Lucas is very confident that commercial income will achieve substantial growth.
However, due to unfavorable development conditions in North America, it may be difficult to reduce the proportion of broadcast fee income.
After all, the new broadcast rights contract signed by the Premier League this season has caused every Premier League team to skyrocket in revenue.
"It's okay, take your time. I believe that as long as we work steadily, there will be no problem." Gao Shen encouraged.
What Leeds United are doing now is basically laying the foundation and practicing their internal skills.
Of course, we must also note that after Leeds United's stall is rolled out, the resulting costs will also face pressure.
For example, in a Chinese office, outsourcing part-time work costs a lot of money, and the salary of regular employees also costs a lot of money.
These are all costs.
Not to mention that Leeds United is also a big company in the UK, and employee salary costs are really high.
"Now I really understand why the managers of wealthy teams are so worried that they will try every means to eliminate some departments, such as Barcelona's methodology department, AC Milan and even the Milan laboratory." Lucas smiled bitterly.
The reason is actually very simple, money.
What fans are talking about is that from the perspective of club operators, they are all costs and money.
Fortunately, Leeds United has done a really good job in controlling player salaries, so the overall pressure is not particularly great.
But this comes back to Gao Shen.
If Gao Shen hadn't discovered so many young talents for Leeds United, how would the team dare to make such great efforts to sell people?
If you don’t sell people, you won’t be able to control your salary.
Everyone wants the best of both worlds between performance and salary, but when they can only choose one of the two, everyone will choose performance.
Of course, the premise is that the salary will not explode.
But the salaries of many Premier League teams have reached 70% to 80%, which is close to breaking the bank.
"This is only temporary. As long as we gradually open up the situation, everything we invest now will bring us valuable wealth in the future." Gao Shen is very confident.
He has always believed that in the business field, quick success and quick profit will not last long.
Making quick money is temporary, the key is to lay a solid foundation of internal strength.
He firmly believes that as long as Leeds United persists and as long as the two major markets of North America and Asia can develop, Leeds United's business will definitely usher in rapid growth. This will be a pair of strong and powerful wings for Leeds United to achieve globalization and become a wealthy club.
…
After Gao Shen took a short rest, Norman Foster brought his team over.
The new training base has been under construction for three months, and the progress is going smoothly. The ability of the infrastructure maniac is obvious to all.
Not only Leeds United, but Norman Foster's team are also very happy with the progress.
For the same amount of work, it would take an infrastructure madman three months to complete, but a British company would need at least four to five months.
This is not the so-called issue of overtime and harsh treatment of workers, but the rich experience and control and scheduling of Chinese companies in the field of infrastructure, as well as the response measures to emergencies.
Judging from the current progress, the construction period will only be advanced, not delayed.
Gao Shen, the client, came in person, and Norman Foster also treated him warmly. He also brought his plans for Leeds United's new stadium and the surrounding land, but they basically only had hand-drawn sketches.
According to Norman Foster's idea, he wanted to continue the design concept of the Leeds United training base and form an open urban forest environment design.
The entire project has two important buildings. One is on the west side of the land, where the current parking lot is. A brand new football stadium will be built, which can accommodate at least 60,000 people and is expected to be more than 40 meters high.
The area to the east of the land, which is now the Elland Road Stadium and the Leeds United Museum, will be used to attract investment, hoping to introduce a large shopping mall like Trafford.
The two buildings will share the same dome, but the dome and the building will be independent, forming a semi-open stadium and shopping space.
In the middle and surrounding areas of the two buildings, a [Canyon Hall] was built. Through the landscape design of the stepped terraces, it is connected to the green space on the ground. A two-story commercial pedestrian street is embedded in it, integrating with the surrounding green space, making it
Public green spaces and commercial spaces serve as landscapes for each other, creating a green public space.
If Leeds United's training base blurred the boundaries between indoors and outdoors, then this time it completely blurs the boundaries between inside and outside, integrating the entire project into one.
A sinuous, swooping dome covering the building, the stadium bowl, canyon hall and shopping mall areas will all be covered with a single layer of ETFE membrane, similar to the material used for the exterior walls of the domestic Water Cube, but thinner.
It can not only reduce the heat of the sun, but also allow natural light to enter the stadium, canyon hall and shopping mall unobstructed, which can maximize the sunlight needed for the stadium turf, and also make the indoor and outdoor transparent and bright.
In addition to the ETFE film, other areas of the dome are made of anodized aluminum plates, which can emit various colors of light through light source control.
To put it simply, it is similar to the luminous principle of the film at the Allianz Arena.
In addition, Norman Foster also strives for excellence in the internal space of the stadium, from the comfort of the auditorium to the tilt angle of the stands, etc., and strives to give fans the best experience.
football watching experience.
At the same time, more luxury boxes and commercial spaces must be designed for Leeds United.
But Gao Shen still made more demands.
For example, he wants a large 360-degree LED double-sided display screen with no blind spots.
