Those Years When I Was Forced to Top the Forbes List

Chapter 226 Democracy from Pang Dong
"elder brother."

Yu Donglai rested his hands on the table, leaned closer, and looked confused: "Really?"

Chen Xuebing waved his hand: "Really, really."

He genuinely had no desire for Pang Donglai's shares.

The reason is the same as what he said.

It doesn't make money.

Before his rebirth, he had read a news article that Yu Donglai held 69.8% of Pang Donglai's shares, giving him absolute control, while his personal assets were only 70 billion.

In other words, even if Yu Donglai had no other assets besides Pang Donglai, Pang Donglai would be worth at most 100 billion.

This is by no means the true value of Pang Donglai.

But since Pang Donglai isn't listed on the stock exchange, no matter how much people recognize its future value, it can't be monetized.

They can't go public either, otherwise such a low profit margin would completely fail to meet the expectations of the capital market.

If we want to satisfy shareholders, then Pang Donglai wouldn't be Pang Donglai anymore.

The greatest commercial value of Pang Donglai lies in its ability to generate premium for the surrounding environment. For example, the listing price of second-hand houses within a three-kilometer radius of Pang Donglai Times Square is 18% higher than that of other plots in the same area.

If all the commercial complexes he owns in the future have a Pang Donglai brand, creating a concentration of traffic, then the entire area will definitely become more valuable.

How much is a commercial district worth?
Tens or hundreds of billions.

The core area of ​​large cities is even higher.

Mastering this pricing power is the key to understanding the true value of Pang Donglai.

In addition, he had checked the equity structure of Pang Donglai before coming to Zhengzhou, and it was still 100% owned by the Yu Donglai brothers.

In other words, Yu Donglai will subsequently give away 30.2% of his shares. Whether this will be used for expansion or to secure suppliers is unknown.

Assuming these shares must be distributed, Chen Xuebing initially asked for 20%, which would leave Yu Donglai with only 49.8% of the shares. Therefore, he backed down to 15%, allowing Yu Donglai to maintain a relative controlling stake of over 51%.

If this still hinders Donglai's work passion, then he would rather have nothing but that premium pricing power.

"You only want this condition, to help me open a supermarket, what's in it for you?" Yu Donglai's eyes were always sleepy, a little unfocused, making him look silly.

Chen Xuebing thought for a moment, realizing that he had to be sentimental with this kind of person, so he looked around the email interface and opened a file.

"Take a look."

The file name clearly indicates the recipient's name: Chongqing Municipal Government Office.

Pre-loan investigation of 127 indebted companies (details)

Yu Donglai sat up straighter and slowly scrolled down with the mouse to watch.

After watching for a while, he said leisurely:
"Oh, I owe so much money."

"It's not just about money. Look at how many businesses, how many employees, and more than 10,000 families are waiting to eat. The city leaders entrusted me with this corporate debt and gave me a strict order: these businesses must survive at least half of them, and they must save the livelihoods of thousands of families. Tell me, among so many businesses, besides supermarkets and department stores, which industry can be saved? I also investigated supermarkets all over the country before choosing you. I believe that your company can not only bring hope to these families, but also bring some happiness to the people of Chongqing."

At this moment, Mr. Chen shed his businessman's facade and appeared genuinely sincere.

He was among the millions of people in Chongqing.

Pang Donglai has saved these companies, and now that he has a trust license, he's sure to be very happy.

I've substituted it in, I've substituted it in.

After a moment of silence, when President Chen spoke again, his tone carried a hint of accusation:

"You bring happiness to the people of Xuchang, you bring happiness to the people of Xinxiang, but what about the 2800 million people of Chongqing? Can you go? Do you dare to go?"

In the Name of the People.

Yu Donglai hesitated for a long time before saying, "This is too much responsibility. Please allow me to think about it."

When Chen Xuebing heard the other person suddenly speak fluent and standard Mandarin, he felt like cursing.

"Alright, think about it. I also hope you've considered it carefully and decide if you can handle this important task."

He relayed what Leader Huang had said verbatim, took out a business card and placed it on the table, stood up, and closed his email, but left the downloaded file on his computer desktop.

He left with his hands behind his back, leaving behind a figure that seemed to care deeply for his country and its people.

This consideration took two days.

They didn't even make a phone call to say hello.

The group's switchboard called, saying that someone claiming to be from Pang Donglai Trading Co., Ltd. was asking if they planned to invest in Pang Donglai in Henan.

Chen Xuebing asked the switchboard operator to reply and confirm his identity.

In addition, he didn't stay idle; he bought a digital camera and went shopping at the supermarket.

Not only did I visit Pang Donglai in Xuchang, but I also went to Xinxiang.

Mr. Chen always keeps a backup plan. If Pang Donglai doesn't take the challenge, he'll poach a group of professionals to create a one-to-one replica of "Pang Donglai".

Everyone says that no one can replicate Pang Donglai because no one is willing to share profits with employees and consumers, there is no nationwide attention and support, and no one can withstand such immense pressure from competitors.

He's really not afraid of any of that.

He can't open many supermarkets anyway, so if he doesn't make money, he doesn't make money.

……

Yu Donglai ultimately made the right choice.

When Chen Xuebing returned to the negotiating table at Pang Donglai's headquarters, Yu Donglai had changed into a gray suit. He was surrounded by Pang Donglai's senior executives, as well as his brother, Yu Dongming. Yu Donglai introduced them one by one. There were only two people on Chen Xuebing's side, while a huge group of people sat opposite them, with seven or eight more sitting on the benches behind the table. It made Chen Xuebing feel like he was acquiring some state-owned enterprise that promoted democratic systems.

"Mr. Chen, this is the first time we've accepted foreign investment. I've thought about it and decided to let everyone hear it, because this is everyone's company, not just mine. Everyone has to agree, so please don't take offense."

"It's okay, it's good. The management style of village-run enterprises does not necessarily mean that they have no competitive advantage. The key is to choose the right leader."

Chen Xuebing's words made everyone on the other side laugh.

Yu Donglai chuckled and said, "Village-run enterprise. General Manager Chen really hit the nail on the head. We're all brothers and sisters. Whether we're related by blood or not, we're all relatives, just like we're from the same village!"

“Donglai Village!” The female executive next to her added with a smile.

"No flattery or personality cults allowed!" Yu Donglai scolded with a stern face, but then couldn't help but laugh.

Ren Ying smiled as well, it seemed that the chairman had never cooperated with such a down-to-earth business owner before.

“Look, look, Ni’er should smile more. She looks so beautiful when she smiles!” Yu Donglai said to Ren Ying again.

Ren Ying couldn't hold it in any longer and covered her mouth to laugh.

Chen Xuebing wanted to laugh but was speechless. He couldn't get to the point in ten sentences after sitting at the table; his talent for bragging was truly...
Oh yes.

In their words, this is called spreading happiness.

Good.

"Mr. Yu, tell me, what are your options regarding the terms?"

"Ah! We've thought it over. Since you sincerely invited us to open a shop outside, we can't let you suffer a loss! It'll be 20%. Besides, our company's 20% might not be worth that much. We'll prioritize your dividends from our quarterly profits. If you need to set aside money for purchasing goods and settling accounts, keep our share."

Yu Donglai handed over a document.

"This is our company's profit and loss statement and asset report for the past three years. Doing business is a two-way street. Take a look and see if our company is worth it."

When Chen Xuebing heard that the shareholding had returned to 20%, he was somewhat moved, thinking that Mr. Yu was a kind and honest person.

What he needed wasn't the benefit he sought; his sincerity left a lot of room for maneuver, but the other party didn't take it.

Chen Xuebing was also a little curious about this report, so he opened it and took a look.

What he saw was even more exaggerated than what he had learned online.

The store that opened in Xinxiang last year generated 4 million yuan in revenue on its own.

Total revenue: over 9 million.

The combined sales profit of all product categories is 17%.

The supermarket industry is quite lucrative these days. The government only started allowing some foreign-invested retail businesses to enter the market in 2003. There are few competitors, but the market potential is huge. Logically speaking, retail companies that have been deeply involved for many years and have established joint procurement channels should have a gross profit margin of 20% to 25%, depending on the level of competition in the local area.

Companies like Pang Donglai, which have squeezed out foreign-owned Dennis and state-owned Century Hualian, can easily make a profit of over 20 percent by squeezing out suppliers after dominating the market, even if they don't raise prices after capturing the market.

17 points is definitely very low.

It only has a gross profit of 1.5 million.

After deducting taxes, wages, and other expenses, the total profit last year was only 4500 million.

The word "conscience" was written in the report, but the person on the other end seemed a little uneasy.

“Making so much money is a disservice to your mission of serving the people,” Chen Xuebing suddenly laughed.

The people on the other side were all puzzled.

This.

Not only do you think it's too low, but you also think it's too high?

Yu Donglai was about to explain that this was definitely not high when Chen Xuebing waved his hand.

“I understand the supermarket industry. What I mean is, your rent costs account for 22% of your total costs. For your Chongqing store, now that you don’t have the pressure of rent, you can shift some of your expenses to services. There’s no need to lower retail prices any further. In fact, we should raise them to be closer to the industry standard to avoid accusations of malicious competition. But you should invest all your extra profits into ensuring product quality and providing advanced return and exchange services. Don’t let people say that Chinese service is inferior to that of foreign countries. We should have everything they have.”

These words surprised the other party again.

Good. Such a novel way of using words.

Excess profits!
There's profit, and even more?

"Ha ha ha ha."

Yu Donglai suddenly burst into laughter.

He laughed for a while before standing up, quickly walking to Chen Xuebing's side, and extending his hand, saying, "President Chen! A kindred spirit! A kindred spirit! Just because of what you said, we must cooperate!"

Chen Xuebing stood up and shook hands with him, a half-smile on his face: "So, the cooperation is settled? No more democracy?"

"Oh, right, right, right! Vote, everyone vote!"

Yu Donglai slapped his forehead, then happily ran back to his side, repeatedly raising his hands like a conductor, and shouted loudly in a Henan accent:

"Vote! Vote!"

The group of people were both amused and exasperated, but they all raised their hands.

Mr. Chen exclaimed, "Wow!"

Schrödinger's Democracy
This is probably the significance of absolute control.

"Don't worry, everyone. I believe that none of you will regret this decision in the future."

(End of this chapter)