In Hong Kong, we build a global business empire

"Boss, you called me here for more than just asking this question, right?" Anton Allison looked at Lin Haoran and asked solemnly.

At this moment, Anton Allison's address even changed. He was no longer Mr. Lin, but became the boss.

"Yes, as the new boss of Southern Company, I do have some plans of my own for this newly acquired company. As you know, I spent a lot of money to acquire Southern Company. It's certainly not a joke!" Lin Haoran said with a smile.

"Boss, please continue!" Anton Allison asked with doubt, hoping that Lin Haoran would continue speaking.

"The most important business of Southern Company is the 711-Eleven convenience store brand. Now, you can see that the number of 711-Eleven convenience stores in Japan is about to surpass that in the United States, and 711-Eleven convenience stores have only been developed in Japan for a few years!
So, I agree with you that Japan will definitely be the largest market for 711-Eleven convenience stores in the future, so I plan to move the headquarters of 711-Eleven convenience stores to Tokyo to help the development of 711-Eleven convenience stores in Japan!
Since the core business is moved to Japan, the headquarters of Southern Company should naturally be moved to Japan. This is the reason why I called you here this time.

In Japan's convenience store industry, in addition to 711-Eleven convenience stores, there are many competitors, such as Lawson convenience stores, Japan's local brand FamilyMart, and so on.

Therefore, I hope that the future development of Southern Company will focus on the Japanese market. Of course, the expansion to other countries and regions, such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, Europe, South Korea, Mexico and even the expansion of stores in the United States, cannot be stopped.

My goal is to build the 711-Eleven convenience store brand into the world's largest convenience store brand. Today, the development of convenience stores is far from its peak, and we should not focus our energy on diversified development.

Instead of focusing on diversified development, it is better to accelerate the development of 711-Eleven convenience stores!

This is my plan. If you have any opinions, you can raise them now. But Mr. Anton, I must say that the purpose of my acquisition of Southern Company is for 711 convenience stores, not other businesses of Southern Company! "Lin Haoran said his thoughts in one breath.

Diversified development?
In Lin Haoran's view, Southern Company is a 711 convenience store!
Therefore, Southern Company should just focus on developing convenience stores, and it is doing quite well now.

As for diversified development, don't get too involved.

There's no need for that!

Lin Haoran's words directly overturned Anton Allison's recent development decision for Southern Company.

After listening to Lin Haoran's words, he was silent for a moment, trying to digest the boss's thoughts.

He wanted to object.

Although 711-Eleven convenience stores have developed well in the United States, in Anton Ellison's view, it is ultimately just a small path.

No matter how well it develops, it will never become a world giant.

This is also the reason why he and his former employer plan to diversify the company.

He felt that only by diversifying and allowing the company to enter more industries could Southern Company have the opportunity to become stronger.

But when he thought of his identity, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

After all, I am just a professional manager.

After some thought, he decided to give in first.

Otherwise, facing this new boss, he may have no choice but to resign.

"Boss, your insights are very unique and profound. I was indeed considering the diversification path of Southern Company before, but after your explanation, I realized that at the current stage, it is the wisest choice to focus on the core business of 711-Eleven convenience stores and build it into a leader in the global convenience store industry."

He paused and continued, "The rapid growth of 711-Eleven convenience stores in the Japanese market has proven its huge potential. Moving the headquarters to Tokyo will undoubtedly enable us to be closer to the forefront of the market, quickly respond to consumer needs, and further consolidate and expand our market share.

At the same time, maintaining continuous expansion into other important markets and ensuring that the brand influence of 711-Eleven convenience stores steadily increases globally is a strategy that is undoubtedly highly forward-looking and feasible.

Of course, I think diversified development is conducive to dispersing risks and finding new growth points. However, since you, the boss, do not agree with diversified development, I think we can adopt a more flexible strategy.

While maintaining the rapid development of the core convenience store business, we will moderately explore areas related to or mutually reinforcing the convenience store business, such as creating our own product brands and developing financial loan business. ”Anton Allison said a lot in one breath.

When Lin Haoran heard this, a look of surprise appeared on his face.

The CEO of the Southern Company was not as stubborn as he imagined.

Have you learned to flatter and cater to his ideas so quickly?

He thought that Anton Allison would directly oppose his decision!
Indeed, being able to grow from a small leader to the head of a company does require some ability.

Lin Haoran also likes to listen to it.

However, even so, Lin Haoran did not intend to let him serve as CEO forever. Because the fact that he was able to bankrupt the Southern Company was enough to show that even if he was capable, he was not capable of leading 711 to become the dominant player in the convenience store industry in the future.
"In that case, does that mean you are willing to move to Japan to work?" Lin Haoran asked with a smile.

"I do!" Anton Allison agreed decisively.

Because he was worried that if he refused, he might have to resign.

Resigning from Southern Company was not something he was considering for the time being.

As he is almost fifty years old, he knows very well that during the oil crisis, the United States and the world are suffering from severe inflation and economic development is stagnant. Except for a few industries, many industries are actually in a difficult situation.

If he resigns at this time, he may find it difficult to find such a good job again.

"In that case, it's much easier. You can first contact the head of the Japanese branch, Suzuki Toshifumi, and tell him that you will visit the 711-Eleven Tokyo branch tomorrow morning. I will go with you when the time comes.

However, don’t mention that I will be traveling with you. Please keep my acquisition of 711-Eleven convenience stores confidential for now and don’t reveal it to the other party.

You just arrived by plane and must be very tired. After the call, go to the hotel to rest. I have booked a room for you at the Accor Hotel next to the Landmark Building. "Lin Haoran said with a smile.

"Okay, boss, I know what to do. Let me borrow your phone first." Anton Allison said, pointing to the phone on the desk.

"Please go ahead!" Lin Haoran made a gesture of invitation.

So Anton Allison made the call directly.

Five minutes later, several kilometers away in the headquarters office of the Japanese branch of 711-Eleven Company in Chiyoda-ku, Toshifumi Suzuki hung up the phone with a look of confusion on his face.

"Mr. Anton Allison, why would you come to Japan for no reason? And without informing us in advance." Suzuki Toshifumi murmured.

Just now, he received a call from the CEO of the Southern Company, telling him that he had arrived in Tokyo and would come to the company tomorrow to have a meeting with him.

"No, there must be something fishy about this matter. I have to tell the president in person." Thinking of this, Toshifumi Suzuki hurriedly left the office and prepared to take a car to the headquarters of Ito-Yokado in Minato Ward.

The Tokyo headquarters of 711-Eleven convenience stores is not located with Ito-Yokado, but in Nibancho, Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo.

More than 20 minutes later, the Toyota he was driving arrived downstairs of Ito-Yokado's headquarters.

I hurried to the office, but was told by the employees that the president had gone out for a meeting at around nine in the morning and had not returned yet.

There was no choice but to wait here.

After waiting for about half an hour, he finally saw Mr. Ito coming up from downstairs.

"Suzuki-kun, do you have anything important to tell me?" Ito was very curious when he saw Suzuki Toshifumi.

"I do have something important to tell you. Let's go into the office first!" Suzuki Toshifumi nodded.

After entering the office, Toshifumi Suzuki informed the other party in detail about Anton Allison's sudden visit.

"He didn't tell us in advance that he was coming. Now that he has arrived in Tokyo, he suddenly called to say that. This is indeed strange!" Ito frowned after hearing what Suzuki Toshifumi said.

However, he thought about it and said with a smile: "Suzuki-kun, Mr. Anton's visit should not be a bad thing. He always comes to inspect every year. Maybe he forgot to inform us in advance. Don't think too much about it!"

"Now, this is the only way. We have no idea what the other party's purpose is. By the way, President, I heard that you went out for a meeting at around nine o'clock in the morning and just came back now. What was it about that required such a long meeting?" Suzuki Toshifumi asked curiously.

Now, it is already twelve o'clock in the afternoon, which means that the president has been out for more than two hours.

"Isn't it because of the big event of the Hong Kong Land Group? Three days ago, the Hong Kong Land Group spent 520 billion yen to acquire four prime locations in Tokyo. Once the news was reported, there was a strong response.

The overall real estate industry in Japan is currently in a downturn, but they dared to invest such a huge amount of money, which shows that the Swire Group is financially strong. If they are really allowed to enter the Japanese retail industry with all their strength, the impact on us will be enormous.

It was obviously beyond the ability of Ito-Yokado to curb its development on its own, so I contacted several major retail companies in Tokyo and planned to work together to discuss countermeasures to jointly resist the expansion of the Hong Kong Land Group in the retail field.

What I am most worried about is whether the Jardine Matheson Group will enter the convenience store industry. After all, the convenience store industry is a new industry that is very suitable for survival in Japan, which is obvious to all. If the Jardine Matheson Group not only develops in the supermarket industry but also enters the convenience store industry, the impact on us will be very large.

Only by joining forces with several other retail industry giants can we minimize the impact. This is a rainy day!" In response to Suzuki Toshifumi's inquiry, Ito told him frankly. (End of this chapter)