A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

Chapter 463 Expansion of the Hotel Group

Chen Wenjin, along with the management team of 'Amazon Business Management', visited the first Amazon Shopping Center in San Francisco.

His management team consists entirely of white executives, including Andrew, president of Amazon Realty. Over the years, he has fully utilized management principles such as 'localization management' and 'learning from the West to defeat the West,' actively integrating into American society, which has led to the 'Amazon business empire' we see today.

Amazon Mall San Francisco is a shopping center themed around 'cars'. Its two 'intertwined' style buildings are not only a shopping venue, but also a beautiful landmark in the San Francisco cityscape, attracting the attention of countless tourists and local residents with their unique concrete spiral design.

"Andrew, do you remember the scene when this place opened?" Chen Wenjin said with a smile.

Andrew is a 'professional manager' in his forties, but he has been with Amazon Business for more than eight years. When he first joined Amazon Business, he was just the head of operations for shopping malls.

"I remember it was a grand affair; the presidential candidate and the world's shipping magnate both attended in person. Of course, even after all these years, it remains one of San Francisco's most beautiful sights, consistently attracting a large number of customers. It holds many shopping mall records—the first shopping mall to have a supermarket and Macy's both located here."

Chen Wenjin nodded. It was the success of this project that caused his Amazon Business Management assets to double in size. He then took advantage of this momentum to develop six shopping malls of varying sizes, making it one of the largest commercial real estate companies and the most well-known shopping mall brand in the United States.

Now 33 years old, he has become a rising star in the American business world.

His father did help him a lot along the way, but it was also inseparable from his hard work. Of course, his father-in-law's family also provided him with some help in terms of social connections.

“We now have seven shopping malls, and they are all performing very well. Our next steps are either to continue developing shopping malls or to diversify our real estate portfolio. The locations for new shopping malls haven't been finalized yet, and Amazon Hotels has suspended its mall expansion, so the operation of our current seven malls is crucial. At the same time, we want to diversify our real estate portfolio, which is why I established 'Amazon Hotels Management.' Have the negotiations for the Leeds Hotel been finalized?”

Andrew immediately replied, "It's all arranged. I'll be going to London next week to begin negotiations with them!"

At this time, Amazon Hotels had already acquired the Ritz-Carlton Boston, which was also the only Ritz-Carlton hotel outside of Europe.

In Britain and France, it is known as the 'Ritz Hotel'. It was founded by César Ritz, the 'father of modern luxury hotels'. There are currently two Ritz Hotels in Europe, both of which are very old hotels.

When Americans introduced the brand, they established three hotels, but only the Ritz-Carlton in Boston survived.

Now that Amazon Hotels has acquired the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Boston, its next step is to secure the global naming rights for 'The Ritz-Carlton Hotel'.

After completing this step, Amazon Hotels will immediately open three new Ritz-Carlton hotels in the United States.

"Good. I believe this negotiation will go smoothly. After all, in the past seventy years, this brand has only had three locations worldwide, and its development has not been very good. As for the Ritz Hotels in Paris and London, although they have various honors, they are actually a limitation to development. A modern luxury chain hotel is not something that just anyone can do!"

Andrew looked at his young boss with admiration—Amazon Business Management, just from the meaning of the name, implies that Amazon has the most species in the world. And the Amazon Shopping Center boasts a wide variety of products from around the world.

"Yes, everything will go smoothly. After all, the site selection for our three Ritz-Carlton hotels is already underway."

Everything is ready except for the east wind.

Andrew and others asked him about the Chinese, and the management team who were familiar with the boss knew that he had Chinese blood and would occasionally use Chinese allusions to comment on business matters.

Chen Wenjin explained with a smile, and everyone suddenly understood, and they all became more enthusiastic.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Amazon Business Management is moving towards diversification. I hope you will all be full of fighting spirit and successfully complete this historic process."

"Yes, Mr. Chen."

Who says foreigners are hard to manage? At least Amazon's business management team is very good and very 'loyal' to the company. The boss also has the ability to lead them.

Back at her home in Los Angeles, Kelly, holding her newborn third son, came out to greet her husband, Chen Wenjin.

"Honey, he just fell asleep!"

Chen Wenjin smiled and stroked her youngest son's cheek, then said, "Thank you for your hard work! You know, you're a top student from a prestigious university, you shouldn't always be at home taking care of the kids!"

Kelly smiled and said, "No, I love children. Of course, I do have some work, but it's not as much as yours."

Kelly's so-called job is actually managing the investment business of their 'little family'.

Chen Wenjin is also a venture capitalist, having invested in American fast-food companies such as McDonald's, KFC, and Burger King, as well as some semiconductor investments in Silicon Valley. While these are all investments, he is undoubtedly very successful.

After getting married, Kelly will take on some work, but it's all relatively easy.

After the two entered the villa, Kelly said, "Oh, by the way, my parents invited us to get together this weekend!"

Chen Wenjin took off her coat and handed it to the maid, then said, "Well, it's been a while since we got together!"

His father-in-law, Carson, and brother-in-law were both in politics, while his brother-in-law was in business; their family background was quite extensive in California. His father had introduced him to connections through President Kennedy, but the actual impact was less than the support his father-in-law's family had provided in California.

A local official is more powerful than a distant one!
On the sofa, Kelly had already handed the child to the maid. She asked curiously, "IBM's market capitalization has exceeded 1400 billion, and we invested in it."

Chen Wenjin patted her hand and said, "You can't cash out without your father's instructions. He has more resources for securities investment, and he has an investment advisory team."

Kelly nodded. She admired her father-in-law very much, but she asked excitedly, "You've made so much money investing in securities this time, what are your plans?"

The entire family treated Kelly as an outsider, so Chen Wenjin spoke frankly without reservation: "After acquiring the global naming rights for the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, it means we will soon be investing in three more Ritz-Carlton hotels. At the same time, I will initiate an investment in the Sheraton Hotel, all of which will require substantial funds."

Kelly immediately imagined that if her husband completed these operations, his strength would double!
With this in mind, she made a request: "I want to join Amazon Business Management." Chen Wenjin didn't hesitate much and said, "Sure! However, in Amazon Business Management, I mainly delegate the responsibilities to Andrew and the others. I mainly serve as the Chairman of the Board. Of course, as the Chairman of the Board, I have unchallenged authority in major decisions. So after you join Amazon Business, you will be more of a 'boss' in some ways, rather than directly involved in management."

To avoid future conflicts, Chen Wenjin decided to communicate in advance.

After giving birth to her third child, Kelly naturally wanted to be more involved in the family business, but she was also very understanding of her husband's request.

"Okay, I understand what you mean!"

Chen Wenjin put his arm around Kelly and said, "After becoming a father, I truly understand how difficult it is to achieve succession in business, family, and children! We already have three sons, but I don't want them to take away my business in the future, because I don't have my father's great abilities. I might only be able to build a large Amazon business. So it's very important for our children to be united. They need to be united with the family, and also with the three of them. In the future, they can each perform their duties and cooperate with each other in a group company."

Kelly said with deep emotion, "They will! Our Chen family has always been very united!"

Chen Wenjin hugged her even tighter; this was the role of a good woman. Her father often said that if a woman constantly caused chaos in the home, she should never be married; but a woman who could unite the family was more important than a man, because she had a significant influence on the children.

The Carson family is a large and influential family in California, with significant achievements in both politics and business, essentially a local powerhouse. Given this family's influence, Kelly faced considerable resistance when she married a Chinese man, and they even pressured her to give up.

Fortunately, Kelly withstood the pressure, and with Chen Wenjin developing the Amazon Shopping Center in San Francisco, the Carson family realized that Chen Wenjin was not just the illegitimate son of the "world shipping magnate"!

Indeed, in the Carson family's view, Chen Wenjin was the illegitimate son of the "world's shipping magnate," not a direct descendant; otherwise, they wouldn't have objected in the first place.

Over time, the Carson family not only accepted Chen Wenjin but also treated him with great respect. Overall, it was Chen Wenjin's abilities that earned him the Carson family's respect.

The Carson family's dinner was held on the lawn, where everyone was holding champagne and chatting.

“Allen (Chen Wenjin), I heard you acquired the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Boston. Are you planning to invest in hotels?” Carson looked at his son-in-law, glad that he hadn’t been so stubborn back then.

Chen Wenjin raised his glass and toasted with his father-in-law before saying, "Well, the company is preparing to diversify its development and no longer focus solely on shopping mall development. So, purchasing the Boston Ritz-Carlton Hotel is just the first step; the second step is that we are seeking to acquire its global naming rights."

"NICE, you're still as good at business as ever! Securing the global naming rights means there will be many more Ritz-Carlton hotels."

"Is such that"

Carson patted his son-in-law on the shoulder, quite pleased.

The real estate tycoon, at only thirty-three years old, already wielded considerable influence in the United States. And if he successfully diversifies his business and achieves similar success, he will remain incredibly powerful even before the age of forty.

Little did they know, Chen Wenjin was orchestrating an even larger acquisition plan!
The entire banquet proceeded in a very harmonious and relaxed manner, and everyone also discussed the American war in Vietnam.

On this point, Chen Wenjin would not express his opinion too clearly. Although he had heard from his father that the United States would not win the war in Vietnam, he would not tell his father-in-law and brother-in-law this.

Of course, he needed to participate in this kind of discussion, so he said, "It is expected to have some impact on the US economy in the next few years. Specifically, it will manifest in inflation, and may even lead to a trade deficit!"

Seeing Chen Wenjin's economic analysis, Carson put aside his political identity and humbly asked, "Trade deficit, this is something that has never happened in the United States before, Allen, why do you analyze it this way?"

"Consumption is growing too fast, but manufacturing is shifting to Japan and Europe!"

Carson immediately understood that he was aware of these issues, but he was simply unsure whether there would be a trade deficit.

Overall, however, he was unable to refute his son-in-law.

A week later, Chen Wenjin personally signed the global naming rights agreement for 'The Ritz-Carlton Hotel' with representatives from the European Ritz Hotel Management Company.

The family that sold the naming rights is the 'Auguste' family, who were early partners with César Ritz. César Ritz is known as the 'father of modern luxury hotels,' while Auguste Ace was a renowned French chef and the forerunner of modern French cuisine.

Due to illness, César Ritz was purged from the Ritz Hotels (which had branches in Paris, London, and Madrid), and then the August family took over.

Of the three Ritz hotels, the Paris Ritz opened in 1989, the London Ritz opened in 1906, and the Madrid Ritz opened in 1910; since the opening of these three Ritz hotels, the August family has not opened a new hotel for fifty-seven years.

The Americans did build four Ritz-Carlton hotels, but three of them went out of business.

“Mr. Chen, if you had bought the ‘Ritz-Carlton’ brand name rights instead of the ‘Ritz-Carlton’ brand name, I probably wouldn’t have sold it to you. After all, thirty years ago, the Americans didn’t manage the ‘Ritz-Carlton’ brand very well after they took it over; and you are just a Chinese American with no experience in hotel management. I don’t have much faith in your Amazon!”

After signing the contract, the third-generation head of the August family became quite unfriendly, as if something belonging to the family had been stolen. Little did he know that his own family had also stolen someone else's brand in the past.

Chen Wenjin frowned and said, "The August family is not the true founder of the Ritz Hotels, nor did they develop the Ritz Hotels. Of course, if the August family intends to sell the Ritz Hotels in Europe, we will consider acquiring them."

Upon hearing this, August was speechless. He then remembered that Chen Wenjin was already a real estate tycoon in the United States and had the power to acquire the Ritz Hotel.

"Wait until you can develop the Ritz-Carlton Hotel before you talk about acquiring the Ritz Hotel!"

"it is good"

Chen Wenjin was very confident, as his family had been running hotels in Shanghai since the 1930s, a tradition they had established. Moreover, after acquiring the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, they had already begun searching for senior management personnel, and he strongly agreed with his father's teachings—that localized management talent was indispensable.

Of course, he is American, but his intention is to find truly modern American luxury hotel management talent. He wants to express his opinions based on that foundation, rather than directly taking matters into his own hands.

(End of this chapter)