A three-story modern-style building on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan is the home of Zhou Hexuan's third uncle, Zhang Yuannan.
Zhang Yuannan now controls the condom business and is married to an illegitimate daughter of the Lawrence family, thus becoming a peripheral member of the Boston Consortium. It is precisely in this way that Zhou Hexuan's condoms can continue to sell well, otherwise they would have been sold out by other condom manufacturers in the United States.
It went dark.
While gaining the support of a large consortium, of course there is also a price to pay. Zhou Hexuan signed several equity exchange contracts in the United States two years ago. He only holds 28% of the Durex shares, the Zhang family holds 23%, and Luo
The Weir, Lawrence, Adams, Lodge and Kennedy families collectively hold 49% of the shares.
Not only that, Durex also hired retired senior U.S. government officials as deputy general managers and senior business advisers. The future U.S. President Kennedy had just dropped out of Stanford Business School due to illness, and he was also placed in a Durex branch.
Company internship.
The 49% stake in Durex was not given in vain. As a result, Zhou Hexuan received shares in some companies under the Boston Consortium, including 0.6% stake in First National Bank of Boston, 5.5% stake in Mutual Life Insurance Company, and 0.8% stake in Textron Corporation.
, a 1.1% stake in Raytheon.
Cross-shareholding and joint monopoly are common tactics used by American consortiums after the 1930s.
If it hadn't been for the world economic crisis that caused heavy losses to the Boston consortium, and the condom business was booming during the Great Depression, they would never have brought Chinese people to play with them.
Zhang Yuannan resisted this kind of deal at first, but could not withstand the double pressure from the American political and business circles, so he finally chose to compromise, and now he has fully integrated into it. But he is only a peripheral force of the Boston consortium, and he married
It's just that the illegitimate daughter of the Lawrence family needs at least children and grandchildren to truly join the upper class society.
"Brother-in-law, how are your family members?" Zhang Yuannan asked as he poured wine for Zhou Hexuan.
Zhou Hexuan said: "Everything is fine, your father's body is very strong."
Zhang Yuannan was holding a red wine glass in one hand and a cigar in the other. He was in a stylish suit and leather shoes. He crossed his legs and said, "Hey, I asked my dad to immigrate to the United States with his family a long time ago, but he refused to listen and insisted on staying in China. China.
What's so good about it? Being bombed by Japan every day, you can't even guarantee your life safety. Now the immigration policy in the United States is becoming more and more relaxed. Although it hasn't opened up to the Chinese yet, I definitely have a way."
This man has changed!
When they met two years ago, Zhang Yuannan was still very patriotic and kept talking about how much money he wanted to donate to fight the war. But now he showed a disdain for the motherland.
Zhou Hexuan glanced at the bodyguard outside, then at the foreign girl (Zhang Yuannan's wife) who was making fruit salad, and said with a smile: "You are living a good life."
"Absolutely so," Zhang Yuannan complained: "After all, we are Chinese. No matter how rich we are, we will inevitably face discrimination in the United States. When I attended a cocktail party a few days ago, I was laughed at by a brat from the Addams Family who actually called me a Chinese monkey.
, I gave him a slap on the spot. Damn, even a collateral descendant dares to look down on me. I really think I am easy to mess with!"
Zhou Hexuan said: "After all, this is someone else's country."
Zhang Yuannan said angrily: "I am also an American now! I can't stand their appearance. They are a bunch of white-skinned pigs. They really think they are some kind of noble race. Let me tell you, these rich Americans are nothing special, so they just reincarnated.
A good investment is nothing more than collusion between officials and businessmen. Many heads of families are not as smart as me. How can they compare to the wisdom of us Chinese people?"
Zhou Hexuan didn't want to talk about these boring topics anymore and asked: "What do you think about the acquisition of Coca-Cola's shares?"
"That's not easy to do. The current stock price of Coca-Cola is too high." Zhang Yuannan shook his head repeatedly.
"Didn't you say that Coca-Cola is facing difficulties now?" Zhou Hexuan was a little confused. Could it be that the information in his head was wrong? Those information were all obtained from reading books, so it is normal for problems to arise.
Zhang Yuannan said: "Coca-Cola is indeed facing difficulties now. Their store is too big and capital turnover is difficult. But Coca-Cola's brand is too strong and its stock price is frighteningly high. Buying it now is like being taken advantage of."
Zhou Hexuan said: "Please tell me what the specific situation is."
Zhang Yuannan said: "Coca-Cola, like our condom business, was one of the few profitable industries during the Great Depression. They..."
After Zhang Yuannan's detailed explanation, Zhou Hexuan finally understood the cause and effect.
Since the company was founded, Coca-Cola has gone bankrupt twice and changed its owners several times, but its business has become more and more prosperous.
When Coca-Cola went public in 1919, its stock price was US$40, but fell to US$19 a year later. But the U.S. stock market was so crazy in the 1920s that Coca-Cola's stock price once soared to US$200, and by the time the economic crisis broke out, it was still at US$147.
The economic crisis caused the U.S. stock market to collapse. Take Goldman Sachs, for example. In 1929, the stock price was 222 U.S. dollars, and three years later it became 50 cents. But Coca-Cola was very strong. Although it once fell below 100 U.S. dollars, it fell below 100 U.S. dollars after Roosevelt's New Deal.
It started to boom, and in 1935, Coca-Cola's stock price even exceeded the $200 mark again.
Fortunately, another economic crisis broke out in the United States in 1938 and 1939 (known as the "Roosevelt Depression" in history). Roosevelt even extended the Christmas holiday to promote consumption, and Coca-Cola's stock price fell below $150.
Zhou Hexuan asked: "Coca-Cola's stocks are so popular, why are they facing difficulties again?"
Zhang Yuannan said: "First, the competition from Pepsi-Cola. Pepsi-Cola has been aggressively cutting prices. At its worst, its price was half that of Coca-Cola and its weight was twice that of Coca-Cola. Although Coca-Cola slandered Pepsi-Cola as a 'drink only for black people'
, but it still occupied a large amount of the market, forcing Coca-Cola to continue to sell at lower prices, and profits doubled. Second, Coca-Cola has been plagued by lawsuits. From 1935 to the present, Coca-Cola has been litigated every year, and has also been accused of containing cocaine and other drug ingredients.
According to the survey, social groups call on the government to ban the sale of Coca-Cola every now and then. Coca-Cola’s public relations expenses are horrifying every year. Third, advertising expenses are too high. Coca-Cola now hypes itself as a national beverage, but the price is the annual advertising investment.
Accounting for more than 40% of net profit. Fourth, the store is too big. Coca-Cola has been trying to open up the European market for the past ten years, but except for Germany, its sales in other countries are very poor, and it does not even have the money to invest in factory construction.
Earn it back, and the advertising fees in Europe are even worse."
Zhou Hexuan nodded and said: "Continue."
Zhang Yuannan concluded: "In other words, Coca-Cola's current sales situation in the United States is very good, and its superficial performance is amazing, which has led to its stock price being artificially high. But in fact, its profits are not as good as they seem, and because of overseas
The expansion is unfavorable and the capital chain has been very tight. Some time ago, the president of Coca-Cola personally visited the Lowell family. I was standing next to them drinking at that time. Coca-Cola wanted to get the Lowell family to invest."
Zhou Hexuan asked: "Has the Lowell family agreed?"
"Of course I don't agree. Coca-Cola's stock price is too high. It's a big deal to attract investment. Whoever gives money will be stupid." Zhang Yuannan said with a smile.
Zhou Hexuan smiled and said: "I am very optimistic about Coca-Cola, so I want to be a fool."
"I advise you to think again," Zhang Yuannan said of the U.S. economic situation. "Two years ago, Roosevelt felt that the U.S. economy was improving and was overly optimistic. He actually issued a series of austerity policies. This was the stupidest move since Roosevelt took office.
The results of several years of New Deal were almost ruined due to a stupid move, and the economic situation at that time went back to 1935. In the past two years, things have barely recovered, but the situation is still very bad, and more than 70% of the companies have operational difficulties. Don't
Look at Coca-Cola's sales reaching record highs, but their profits are declining year by year. Especially last year, the minimum wage for workers was raised. Many bosses were so depressed that they wanted to jump off the building. The impact on Coca-Cola was very, very big. You see, at most two
In 2019, Coca-Cola’s performance bubble was about to be burst, with the stock price falling below $100 in minutes.”
Zhang Yuannan's speculation was correct and consistent with the facts. But he didn't know that the United States was about to join the war, and Coca-Cola would sweep the world along with the American soldiers.
Zhou Hexuan said: "Help me contact the head of Coca-Cola. I want to talk to him."
"Oh, it's up to you. I've said everything I should say. I can't help you if you really want to jump into the trap." Zhang Yuannan shook his head helplessly.
