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Chapter 503: Ito's Reason for Targeting Wellcome Supermarket

Lin Haoran naturally had no idea about the various reactions of Akina Nakamori's parents.

However, even if he knew it, he didn't find it strange.

Today, Akina Nakamori is, after all, just a girl of ordinary origin, not the super female star with very strong influence in later generations.

Her parents were only concerned about improving the family's conditions so that they could live a good life.

Therefore, in the past they had no chance to come into contact with a super-rich person like Lin Haoran, so it is normal for them to want to seize such an opportunity.

At the same time, in a commercial building in Tokyo's Minato Ward.

This is the headquarters of Ito-Yokado.

At this moment, Mr. Ito, the president of Ito-Yokado, is in his office, and sitting opposite him is Toshifumi Suzuki, a member of Ito-Yokado's board of directors and CEO of 711-Eleven Japan.

If we talk about the biggest contributor to Ito-Yokado, on the surface it is the president Mr. Ito, but in fact it is Toshifumi Suzuki.

Without Toshifumi Suzuki, Ito-Yokado would not have introduced 711-Eleven convenience stores, nor would it have achieved its current success.

Therefore, Toshifumi Suzuki can be regarded as the founder of the Japanese branch of 711 Company.

"President, the stock transactions of 711-711 convenience stores today are a bit strange. There are more than usual. As of the closing of the stock market this afternoon, the trading volume is even more than five times more than usual. I'm not sure if someone is deliberately targeting our - convenience stores!" Suzuki Toshifumi reported to the president in front of him with a frown.

Two years ago, in 1979, after consultation with Southern Company, the two parties listed the 7-11 convenience store Japan branch separately on the Second Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in order to further enhance the company's capital strength.

Now, after two years of development, their chain stores have exceeded one thousand, which is enough for them to apply for listing on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. According to the plan, they will apply for listing on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange this year, thereby enhancing the company's market position.

In Japan, companies that are newly applying for listing will usually first register in the Second Section. After a certain period of development, when the company meets more stringent standards, it can apply to change to a listed company in the First Section.

Old-established companies such as Toyota, Sony, Toshiba and other giants are basically the first to go public.

The second batch of listed companies are mostly medium-sized enterprises belonging to new capital forces, and their influence is much lower than that of the first batch of listed companies.

However, President Ito did not take Suzuki Toshifumi's appointment seriously.

Ito smiled and said, "Mr. Suzuki, please rest assured. When we went public, we only raised 30% of our shares. Ito-Yokado and Southern Company now each hold 35% of the shares. Even if a consortium buys a large number of 711-Eleven convenience store shares, it will not threaten our position. This may even expand the influence of our 711-Eleven convenience stores!"

Listing 711-Eleven convenience stores is just to expand its influence.

Except for the Southern Company of the United States, no one can threaten Ito-Yokado's position in the 711-Eleven Japan branch.

There is no need for Southern Company to threaten Ito-Yokado's position. After all, the entire 711- convenience store brand still belongs to Southern Company, and the logistics system is also controlled by them.

Therefore, Ito really doesn't care about changes in the stock market.

After hearing what the president said, Toshifumi Suzuki stopped talking about this matter.

He changed the subject and asked curiously, "President, I heard that you seem to be targeting Wellcome Supermarket recently? Are you trying to exclude this outsider from Hong Kong? They only have three stores in Tokyo, while Ito-Yokado has twelve department stores of the same size. Wellcome Supermarket poses no threat to us at all, right?"

Although Toshifumi Suzuki now manages the Japanese branch of 711-Eleven convenience stores, he also serves as a director of Ito-Yokado, so he is still very concerned about the company's situation.

However, his focus is usually on the operation of 711- convenience stores.

“You must be aware of the background of Wellcome Supermarket. It comes from Hong Kong, and the assets of the super-rich behind it far exceed those of Ito-Yokado. To be honest, in terms of wealth, we are not even in the same league.

Moreover, I heard that Mr. Lin Haoran plans to make a big push into the Japanese market. Once his retail business expands, our Ito-Yokado will definitely be greatly impacted.

So, I discussed with several colleagues, who are also competitors in the supermarket industry, and decided that we must not allow the retail business under the Hong Kong Land Group to expand smoothly in Japan.

We wanted to exclude them and make them give up, and understand that the Japanese market is not something that outsiders like them can easily take over. In the past two or three days, we let the Ito-Yokado Department Store, which is closest to the Wellcome Supermarket, start a price war. The effect is obvious. The traffic of the three Wellcome Supermarkets has dropped sharply.

Although we have suffered some losses in the past few days, it is only the loss of three stores, and our costs are lower than theirs, so we can hold on.

Our goal is to let them know that in the supermarket business, having money does not necessarily mean you can succeed!" Ito said to the capable man in front of him with a smile, without hiding anything.

Although in terms of assets, Ito knew that it was difficult for him to compare with that foreign super-rich man.

However, he has confidence in the Ito family's retail business in Japan. After all, Ito-Yokado is now one of the largest companies in Japan's retail industry.

The Hong Kong Land Group's retail business in Japan is still in its infancy.

It would be best if we could make them give up.

"So that's it!" Suzuki Toshifumi suddenly realized.

"Also, I just heard a piece of news that the Landmark Group won four core plots of land in succession at an auction today, with a total transaction price of 520 billion yen. This shows how strong its financial strength is.

Today, the real estate industry in Japan is developing at a general pace. Under such circumstances, they are willing to spend so much money to enter the Japanese real estate industry, which shows how big their ambitions are.

If they really expand the retail industry, I think you can imagine the consequences!" Ito continued to sigh.

"520 billion yen?" Toshifumi Suzuki took a deep breath.

The stock market value of their Ito-Yokado is just over 10 billion yen.

Nowadays, the money spent on buying a few pieces of land is far more than the total market value of their company.

The gap is too big.

"Indeed, they are very wealthy. The main business of the Swire Group is real estate, which is obviously a very profitable industry. Unfortunately, the current real estate environment in Japan is not very prosperous, and it is difficult for us to withdraw a large amount of funds to get involved in it." There was a hint of envy in Ito's words.

"President, let's focus on the development of our existing areas. Although the retail industry is growing slowly, it is stable. In comparison, although the real estate industry seems to be lucrative, the risks are also high.

As long as we move forward steadily, Ito-Yokado will have a chance to become a global retail giant in the future with the advantages of 7-11 convenience stores!" Suzuki Toshifumi suggested sincerely.

"Don't worry, I just think about it occasionally. I still understand the logic." Ito said with a smile.

"Last year, 711-Eleven's expansion went very smoothly. If we continue to develop at the current pace, we will definitely have more than 711 -Eleven stores by the end of this year. By then, we may even become the largest convenience store brand in Japan," Suzuki Toshifumi continued.

"I hope so. Convenience stores have great potential in Japan. It was thanks to you that you introduced 711-711 convenience stores to Japan. Otherwise, how could we have the current status of Ito-Yokado? Thank you for your hard work at -!" Ito said seriously.

"Please rest assured, President, I will never let you down!" Suzuki Toshifumi responded solemnly.

"Well, it's getting late. The 711-Eleven convenience stores are planning to expand to Hiroshima, right? That's the territory of FamilyMart. It won't be difficult for us to compete with them. Thank you for your hard work. Go back and rest early!" Ito looked at the time on his watch and looked up.

"Okay, President, I'll go back first!" Suzuki Toshifumi bowed and left the office.

Watching Suzuki Toshifumi leaving, Ito once again recalled Lin Haoran, the man from Hong Kong whom he met at the banquet two days ago.

"I hope I can make him give up the retail industry!" Ito murmured.

……

In fact, the reason why the stock trading volume of 711 Japan Company suddenly surged today is very simple. It was Lin Haoran who was manipulating it behind the scenes.

After obtaining information about Southern Company and 711-Eleven convenience stores through Cui Zilong, Lin Haoran began to prepare.

In addition to asking Su Zhixue to seek assistance from Citibank in acquiring the Southern Company, the 711 joint venture in Japan was not let go.

Since it is a listed company, it is easy to deal with. We can start directly from the stock market.

When coming to Japan, Lin Haoran not only brought with him elites from the real estate industry, but also asked some elites from the securities industry to come from banks and securities companies. The purpose, of course, was to use them in the stock market in Japan.

Sure enough, after investigating the information, he knew that the opportunity to use the trader had come.

Southern Company itself holds 35% of the shares of Japan's 711-Eleven Company. In addition, it has allowed the company's securities department to secretly absorb the shares, so it is no longer difficult for the shares to surpass Ito-Yokado.

Who could have thought that Southern Company would change hands?
Moreover, after becoming the real controller of 711-Eleven, he has more advantages. For example, the largest logistics system is controlled by the Southern Company.

On the contrary, although Ito-Yokado now controls the operating rights of thousands of 711-Eleven convenience stores, most of these 711-Eleven convenience stores are actually franchised, and there are only about a hundred stores that completely belong to Ito-Yokado.

This is also the biggest reason why 711-Eleven convenience stores are expanding so fast in Japan.

(End of this chapter)