While Li Guangyu was having a meeting at Wheelock Group, Henry Keswick was discussing with Victor Beer, President of Carrefour Asia, in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.
Although the Jardine Matheson Group was to withdraw from the Xiangjiang retail market, Henry Keswick still hoped to cause some trouble for the Lee Group. After some screening, Carrefour Group became the target he was looking for.
At this time, Henry Keswick no longer cares about Carrefour as a French company, as long as it can be brought in to distract the attention of the Lee Group.
The main reason why he approached Carrefour Group and planned to transfer Wellcome Supermarket to them was that Carrefour's current efforts to open up the Asian market were not going smoothly.
In Japan, Carrefour is faced with the joint efforts of two major groups, Hengyu Supermarket and Ito-Yokado, making it very difficult for them to develop there.
When he tentatively opened a supermarket in the Baodao area, he was immediately jointly suppressed by Hengyu Supermarket and Uni-President Group. This made Victor Bill, the president of Asia Affairs, quite uncomfortable.
As the largest retail supermarket group in Western Europe, Victor Beale was very ambitious when he first became the president of Asia affairs. He did not think that there would be any supermarket group in Asia that could compare with Carrefour.
In the eyes of Carrefour's senior management, they only have one opponent, and that is the Wal-Mart Group in the United States. Other supermarket retail groups are not taken seriously by them at all.
But when entering the Japanese market, the first stop in Asia, Carrefour Supermarket received a blow. Facing the attack from Hengyu Supermarket Group and Ito-Yokado, Victor Bill discovered that Carrefour did not have any advantages.
In the past six months or so, Carrefour has opened five branches in Tokyo, Daban and other places, but so far they have not achieved the results he expected. Faced with the encirclement of Hengyu Supermarket Group and Ito-Yokado,
Carrefour's supermarkets can't make much profit at all.
The store Baodao opened two months ago was even worse. It faced discount sales from Hengyu Supermarket Group and Uni-President Group around this supermarket, and it couldn't attract much popularity at all.
Victor Bill did not dare to engage in such a price war with them. He himself had some understanding of what was happening in Xiangjiang. The extreme approach of Hengyu Supermarket Group made Victor Bill feel deeply chilled.
Carrefour is here to open up the market and make money, not to lose money and make money.
This time he came to meet Henry Keswick with no intention of acquiring Wellcome Supermarket, and he himself had no such power.
He just communicated with him this time, sorted out the situation here, especially after understanding some information about Hengyu Supermarket and the Li Group behind it, and reported it to the headquarters.
As the chairman of the Jardine Matheson Group, Henry Keswick has been fighting with the Lee Group for many years. Victor Bill believes that Henry Keswick knows more about Hengyu Supermarket Group and the Li Group than he does himself.
Carrefour's development in Western Europe has almost reached its peak. If the group wants to continue to grow and develop, it must open up new markets. Forget about North America, Wal-Mart is not that easy to deal with.
The Asian economy is currently in a period of rapid development. The living standards of citizens in many countries and regions have improved significantly. Moreover, the population here far exceeds that of Western Europe. Carrefour is absolutely unwilling to give up the Asian market easily.
As the president of Asia, Victor Bill knows who his biggest opponent is. If he cannot climb this mountain, it will be very difficult for Carrefour to gain a foothold in Asia.
This time he came to Xiangjiang not only to discuss Wellcome issues with Henry Keswick, but also to place Carrefour's Asian headquarters here. He will also be based in Xiangjiang in the future to lead Carrefour's expansion in various regions of Asia.
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After listening to Henry Keswick's explanation of some situations of the Lee Consortium, especially the relationship of the Lee Consortium in Hong Kong, Victor Bill was filled with worries about whether Carrefour could gain a foothold in Asia in the future.
What Carrefour faces this time is no longer just competition from a supermarket group, but also involves the behemoth Li's Consortium, as well as related interest groups surrounding the Li's Consortium.
At least in Xiangjiang, he couldn't see that Carrefour had any capital to compete with Hengyu Supermarket Group, which also caused Carrefour to basically miss the Xiangjiang market.
Victor Bill said: "Keswick, I can't make the final decision regarding the acquisition of Wellcome Supermarket. I will truthfully report the situation here to the headquarters and ask them to make a decision on it. But you still don't have any expectations.
There is too much hope, I think the headquarters is not willing to start a price war between Xiangjiang and Hengyu Supermarket Group at this time, which will not be of great benefit to Carrefour."
Henry Keswick said: "Bill, you Carrefour don't want to just go back home. Your group's market in Western Europe has gradually become saturated. The Asian market will be your new growth level. You are in Japan and Baodao."
The market is not ideal, and the main problem lies with the Lee Consortium. As long as you are evenly divided between Xiangjiang and the Lee Consortium, markets in other regions will no longer be a problem."
Victor Bill is not stupid. This is simple to say, but it is too difficult to tie up with the Lee Consortium here in Hong Kong, unless Carrefour does not care about losing hundreds of millions of Hong Kong dollars every month, and the Lee Consortium
Spend it.
But this is obviously impossible. Carrefour is not Hengyu Supermarket Group. They need to be responsible for the interests of each shareholder. Li Guangyu can not care about such losses, but Carrefour cannot.
Victor Bill said: "Keswick, you yourself are well aware of the current situation in the retail market in Xiangjiang. Your Wellcome is basically out of business now. Hengyu Supermarket Group and Watsons have formed a monopoly on this. Carrefour will also come in."
It will only lose troops and generals, which is of little significance at all. At this time, Carrefour might as well compete with the Li Group in some emerging markets."
Henry Keswick also knows that it is currently quite difficult to find someone to take over Wellcome Supermarket, but he still has to give it a try.
If someone takes over, it will not only cause trouble for the Li Group, but also make a profit for Jardine. These supermarket stores all belong to Jardine Land. At this time, so many stores are vacant, which is also a huge loss for Jardine.
Henry Keswick said: "Bill, you have to know that the reason why so many international companies have their Asian headquarters in Hong Kong is mainly to use it as a springboard to enter the mainland market. You have to know that there are 1.2 billion people there. Do you think
Carrefour will not be tempted by this. If you don’t have any influence in Xiangjiang, it will not be so easy to enter the mainland in the future.”
The reason why Victor Bill moved his Asian headquarters to Hong Kong this time was to prepare for entering the mainland market. Carrefour will not turn a blind eye to such a huge market.
Especially since the mainland's reform and opening up, the economy there has been developing at a high speed. He believes that with the deepening of reform and opening up, Carrefour will be able to enter the mainland market. And establishing a foothold in Xiangjiang in advance can provide better help for Carrefour's future entry into the mainland.