National Tide 1980.

Frankly speaking, if Ning Weimin wants to acquire the "Ordinary PANCH" magazine, it is not as simple as exchanging money for goods.

Chinese people think more simply. Once the company is sold to me, it is mine. I can do what I want and how I run it. It will have nothing to do with the old employer and the employer has no right to interfere. It is enough for the buyer and seller to pay attention to the specific transaction price.

But the Japanese don’t think so, and they are more stubborn. They will not give up easily on their so-called persistence and like to put forward many additional conditions.

For example, we hope that the successor will make commitments to expand operations, maintain the brand, and ensure the welfare of existing employees.

For example, when Ning Weimin bought the Huiwentang Bookstore in Roppongi, the heir of the bookstore proposed an additional condition that Ning Weimin should continue to run the bookstore and hire two employees until they completed their studies.

If Ning Weimin had not been seeking profits from the appreciation of real estate, he would have been certain that the land price in Roppongi would soon soar.

He didn't want to cause any trouble, so he agreed immediately. I guess the matter fell through at that time.

The stubborn owner might not be willing to sell it to him.

So to make an apt analogy, if anyone wants to buy a Japanese company, the process is actually very similar to a blind date to find a wife.

You must be patient and accept the other party's questioning and investigation of various questions first.

You have to answer to the other party's satisfaction first before there will be any follow-up.

After developing a certain level of trust and emotional foundation, you must also have a certain level of financial strength and agree to the other party's various specific conditions, only then will you have a chance of success in the end.

I have to say, it is indeed quite tiring.

However, this persistence of the Japanese is actually very strange in the eyes of most Chinese people. There is always a feeling that the Japanese are too arrogant, wanting to be a whore and also want to be a saint.

Even when a company is in financial difficulty, it is not easy to impress the Japanese simply with money.

For example, several decades later, Terry Gou encountered many setbacks when buying Sharp. It took a long time and countless negotiations before he finally succeeded.

At that time, Sharp had been suffering losses for years and was on the verge of bankruptcy.

But it was so tragic that for a period of time, Sharp even refused to contact Terry Gou because the two sides had different concepts of cooperation. This is enough to show how stubborn the Japanese granite heads are.

I would rather go bankrupt than sell it.

What's more, this is the most prosperous time for Japan's economy, and most Japanese companies are not short of money, so this situation will be even more serious.

On the contrary, the Japanese at this time liked to use money to attack foreigners, and to acquire foreign companies in a rough and willful manner, accompanied by a kind of condescending contempt.

No matter what, whether the Japanese are smart or stupid, stubborn or persistent, it doesn't matter whether this is a difference between the two countries' cultures or should be attributed to the national characteristics of Japan.

Anyway, these things are enough to show that Japanese companies are not department stores where you can buy everything you want with money.

And when it comes to the transaction of the magazine "Ordinary PANCH", the difficulties may be even greater.

Because the first premise is that the suspension of "Ordinary PANCH" is not due to simple financial problems.

Even though the circulation of each issue has dropped from one million to less than half a million, it is still profitable.

Moreover, MAGAZINE HOUSE Publishing Group has so many excellent magazines. The sales of its top magazine "Ordinary" are about to exceed three million, and there are no less than five other magazines with a circulation of over one million.

It is wishful thinking to think that such a publishing group can be won over with money alone.

I'm not short of money!

Not to mention how high a price would have to be offered to make them interested.

If you put yourself in the other party's shoes, as long as you are not stupid, you would rather stop publishing than sell it.

Because it is easy to sell, but don’t forget that MAGAZINE HOUSE Publishing Group has many competitors.

There are countless fashion magazines in Japan, but the market size is limited.

What if "Ordinary PANCH" falls into the hands of another publishing group in the future, and they use the magazine's existing readership to invest resources to target their other magazines? What should we do?

This is like a sheep walking into a tiger's mouth. You are just looking for trouble when you have nothing to do.

Secondly, it is very difficult for ordinary people to meet the president of MAGAZINE HOUSE Publishing Group.

Of course, this is not because the other party is arrogant, but because Japanese entrepreneurs are accustomed to hiding themselves tightly and do not want to be easily found by strangers.

why?

This is because Japanese entrepreneurs are almost all privately owned enterprises. The thing entrepreneurs fear most is talking too much and making mistakes. This has become a consensus among Japanese bosses.

Most Japanese bosses are worried that their every move will affect the credibility and reputation of the company, so they try not to deal with outside guests and even refuse to accept interviews.

Especially since MAGAZINE HOUSE Publishing Group itself is a member of the media industry, it does a better job of keeping the president's whereabouts confidential and isolating him from the outside world.

If he could not meet with the person who could make the final decision at MAGAZINE HOUSE Publishing Group, and only passed on the intention to purchase the magazine from the grassroots cadres to the upper levels, the time wasted in this process could not be wasted. So based on the above points, it was actually unrealistic for Ning Weimin to successfully negotiate the transfer of "Ordinary PANCH" magazine, not to mention that he was eager to close the deal as soon as possible.

What’s more, in business, it is important to do business with those you are familiar with rather than with new ones.

Considering that Ning Weimin has no relevant working experience, it is another matter whether it will turn out to be a big pit even if he buys it.

Even the MAGAZINE HOUSE Publishing Group might be worried that he lacks the corresponding management capabilities and would damage the reputation of its own magazine.

But then again, Ning Weimin also has his own unique advantages. In addition to money, he believes that he can offer more attractive cooperation conditions to the other party.

Especially in the past few years in Tokyo, he has already understood the Japanese's temper, and he also has a father-in-law who is a businessman and serves as his advisor.

So after figuring out what I want and what I can give, how risky this deal is for me, whether it is worthwhile... and so on.

With the help of Han Yingming, Ning Weimin quickly found the possibility of completing the transaction and took action without hesitation.

First, Ning Weimin found Sumitomo Bank as the entry point.

Because he found that it might be due to business risks and the lack of highlights in the fundraising and investment projects.

Today's Japanese magazine publishing group is one of the few industries in Japan that cannot rely on issuing bonds to meet its financing needs and can only raise funds through bank channels.

MAGAZINE HOUSE Publishing Group is one company that relies heavily on Sumitomo Bank.

Ning Weimin himself happens to be a major client of Sumitomo Bank, and the amount of his current loan from Sumitomo is nearly 200 billion yen.

Even Minister Yoshimo's son, Yoshimo Sho, is about to become the branch president thanks to him. So it wouldn't be difficult for him to use the Sumitomo Bank's reputation and ask Minister Yoshimo to help introduce him to the chairman of the MAGAZINE HOUSE Publishing Group.

Isn't it a natural thing?

On the other hand, Tatsuo Shimizu, chairman of MAGAZINE HOUSE Publishing Group, really couldn't refuse such a favor.

After all, it was the creditor's request.

It should be said that the two sides were quite polite when they met.

The idea of ​​not offending Sumitomo Bank not only made Shimizu Tatsuo agree to meet with Ning Weimin, but also forced him to treat Ning Weimin patiently and politely in front of Minister Yoshimo and listen carefully to Ning Weimin's request.

However, despite the gesture, whether the company really wants to sell and whether it will eventually agree to the deal is another matter.

But the good thing is that Ning Weimin had already made sufficient preparations and had already thought clearly about how to respond.

In fact, after Tatsuo Shimizu and Ning Weimin had a face-to-face meeting, he, who originally just wanted to deal with it, was actually aroused by this strange young man and became interested in selling magazines.

It was not for any other reason, but because Ning Weimin really put forward a bargaining chip that he could hardly refuse, a cooperation condition that was of great benefit to both parties.

This frank conversation took place between the two people under the witness of Minister Yoshimo.

Shimizu Tatsuo, "Excuse me, President Ning, why did you buy this magazine from me?"

Ning Weimin, "Because it is really necessary. I work for Pierre Catton, specifically responsible for the overseas expansion of trolley suitcases and high-end Chinese restaurants. In addition, my wife is Keiko Matsumoto, who owns her own artist agency and film studio. So from the perspective of either of our careers, we need such a magazine to promote us. This first point is purely a commercial consideration. In addition, you should also know that my wife has been caught up in public opinion whirlpools many times, and not long ago, she was deliberately targeted and smeared by some media because of the burning series Suho Ikuo. For this reason, we suffered a lot, so we had a second idea - we believe that we should have our own public opinion power, so that we will not fall into such troubles in the future, and we will not even be able to clarify the rumors for ourselves."

Tatsuo Shimizu nodded, seeming to understand Ning Weimin's mentality, but continued to ask directly without mercy.

"Excuse me, but not just anyone can run a magazine. You don't seem to have any relevant experience. How do you plan to run our magazine after you buy it?"

Ning Weimin was very modest. "You are right. I do lack relevant experience. However, this is exactly why I am interested in Pingfan PANCH. Your company is recognized as the best fashion magazine publishing company in Japan. Pingfan PANCH has been published for more than ten years since its inception. It has a mature operating model and rich content. It can be said that the editors of Pingfan PANCH are excellent and have enough experience. They have already occupied a considerable position in the industry. Moreover, they work well together and do not need to be adjusted. Although the circulation of Pingfan PANCH is inferior to that of the main magazine Pingfan, it still has hundreds of thousands of readers, which is enough to satisfy me. If I buy it, I think the best business strategy is not to make too many changes and continue to rely on mature magazines to operate in the same way as before."

Tatsuo Shimizu couldn't help but interrupt and asked a more sharp question.

"So what you mean is that you don't have any aggressive plans. You also admit that you are incapable of changing the current situation of this magazine's continued decline? I have to remind you that Japan's labor costs are increasing every year, and if "Plain PANCH" continues like this, in less than two years, the number of readers may be less than 100,000, and you will soon be losing money. I dare say that the magazine's ability to burn money will surprise you by then. What will happen to the magazine's reputation? What about the magazine's employees? Will you lay off employees?"

But unexpectedly, Ning Weimin shook his head and denied it.

"No, of course not. I will not interfere with the operation of the magazine. I need to learn the operation and management of the magazine. That's true. But I also have my own way. I will not let the magazine go to this point. I promise to make the magazine bigger and stronger."

Shimizu Tatsuo still persisted and asked, "But how can you promise? I can't believe you if you're just talking..."

This time, Ning Weimin actually laughed. "I'm not just talking, because I have a wealth of news resources."

"News resources?" Tatsuo Shimizu was stunned for a moment.

"Yes, if you want to run a good magazine, besides experience, personnel, and funds, the most important thing is the source of news, right? Everyone knows how important exclusive news is to the media. This is common to all media, whether it is newspapers, magazines, television, or radio. Isn't that right?"

Ning Weimin talked freely, "There are some things I may not have explained to you clearly. Although I work for Pierre Cardin, I am Chinese and have a good relationship with the government. So in addition to selling some Chinese arts and crafts, I am also doing business to introduce Chinese culture to Japan. I have a small bookstore, Huiwentang, which published the Japanese version of the novel and comic strip "Dream of Red Mansions" in Japan. The TV series "Dream of Red Mansions" broadcasted by TBS, the "A Chinese Ghost Story" currently being broadcast, and the "Chinese Hero" to be released soon, these TV series and movies were also introduced to Japan by me. So I have exclusive news channels for Sino-Japanese artistic and cultural exchanges, the dynamics of TV series and movies in mainland China, and even the changes in Hong Kong movies."

"Not only that, because of my work, I also have a certain network of contacts in the French fashion industry. LVMH Group and Yves Saint Laurent both maintain good relations with me. Whenever I want, I can get exclusive interviews with these two companies and Pierre Cardin in the Paris fashion industry every year. New product launches will be reported in a timely manner. If you add my wife's Fog Studio and artist management agency, as well as Taurus Records, don't you think these news resources are enough for me to distance my magazine from other magazines and make it different in content?"

"In addition, I would like to say that although I lack experience in running magazines, as a newcomer who is not a professional, I am different from other professional magazine companies. I will never become a competitor of your company. I am satisfied with just a magazine with a circulation of hundreds of thousands. I will never seek more development in fashion magazines. I am even willing to use advertising needs and these news resources to cooperate with your company for a long time in exchange for your professional guidance and help, as well as the long-term public opinion support from your magazines. Isn't this a good thing that benefits both sides?" (End of this chapter)