The Birth of the Hong Kong Island Family.

Time flies, and a month has passed in a blink of an eye.

Lin Zhichao's convoy drove slowly towards Kai Tak Airport. There were only two cars in the convoy, a Rolls-Royce and a Ford. Lin Zhichao himself was sitting in the back row of the Rolls-Royce, thinking about something.

When he just passed the car ferry, he was thinking about a problem. The 'Hung Hom Submarine Tunnel' should be built in advance so as to promote the economy between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon.

But Lin Zhichao understands that it is impossible for the government to finance the construction.

In the previous life, the 'Hung Hom Cross-Harbour Tunnel' was proposed by Chi Tak-tsun of Hutchison Matheson in the mid-60s, but the Hong Kong government refused to fund the construction.Therefore, Qi Dezun united a number of foreign firms and Chinese, and jointly funded the construction of the "Hung Hom Submarine Tunnel", which was built in 1968 and opened to traffic in 1972.The way to recover the cost is very simple, that is to collect tolls.

In this life, Lin Zhichao doesn't want to wait so long. In three to five years, he plans to propose this plan. After all, this kind of investment has a stable return rate, and more importantly, it can contribute to Hong Kong's economy.

"Boss, Kai Tak Airport is here!"

"Um"

The voice of the guard in the front row pulled Lin Zhichao back from his thoughts. He tidied up his clothes and got out of the car.

Today he will take the 'Hong Kong Airlines' flight and fly to Tokyo to work there.Today's Lin Zhichao has a lot of business in Japan, so the number of times he goes to Japan in a year is the most in overseas countries.

After a while, Lin Zhichao got on the Viscount passenger plane of 'Hong Kong Airlines'.

Hong Kong Airlines only has two Viscount passenger planes, each of which can carry 70 passengers, which is already quite a large passenger capacity.Like passenger planes before the 50s, almost all of them had more than 20 seats, such as DC-3.

The two Viscount airliners were arranged on the Tokyo and Manila routes, while the remaining three DC-3s flew on the Taiwan Island and Seoul routes.

Sitting in the seat, Lin Zhichao has already felt the changes in Hong Kong Airlines. The flight attendants wear uniforms and provide enthusiastic service. They can speak English and Japanese, letting Japanese guests know immediately that some flight attendants are Japanese, giving birth to a sense of intimacy.Even tourists from other countries are not unfamiliar with English.

Stewardess is a "higher occupation" in this era, and many girls' dream is to be a flight attendant, so when recruiting a flight attendant in Japan, knowledge of Japanese and English is the basic requirement.

The experience is very good!
Under Lin Zhichao's request, Hong Kong Airlines' service has been upgraded to a higher level.

It currently takes 6-7 hours to fly from Hong Kong to Japan, because the Viscount airliner is a propeller plane, and its speed is not as fast as a jet plane; if it is replaced with a Boeing 707, it is expected to arrive in 3.5-4.5 hours.

"Sir, it's lunch time, do you need...?" The sweet Japanese girl bowed and asked kindly.

"One serving of rice, and another serving of Coke!" Lin Zhichao said with a smile.

It's normal for a new stewardess not to know him, and he didn't make any special emphasis on letting everyone know him as the boss.

There are two options for meals, one is rice food that suits Orientals, and the other is pasta that suits Westerners, both of which are matched with dishes.

At this time, Lin Zhichao heard many passengers discussing.

“What a nice airline to serve meals and still be delicious!”

"It's worth learning from our Japanese airlines. I want to vote this suggestion to Japanese airlines."

"The flight attendants are from Japan and Hong Kong, and the service is warm; the food is really delicious. I like this airline."

In this era, people who have been flying all year round know that airlines have no service at all, and everyone is used to bringing their own snacks.It is a pleasant experience to be able to eat delicious hot food on the plane these days.

Hong Kong Air Catering, a subsidiary of Hong Kong Airlines, has provided the service for more than a month, and it has been well received by passengers.At the same time, other flights in and out of Hong Kong have also noticed this detail, so some airlines have begun to place orders in 'Hong Kong Air Food'.

Cathay Pacific.

Daban Shiyock of Swire Pacific is holding a meeting.

Shiyock is 66 years old this year, but he still chooses to manage Taikoo at such an advanced age. He did not retire in the 70s in his previous life.

"What happened to Hong Kong Airlines, do you have any opinions?" he said.Regarding the loss of Hong Kong Airlines, he has not been brooding all the time. After all, Lin Zhichao is not weaker than Taikoo, and more importantly, his opponent is too determined.

However, what he thinks more is that Lin Zhichao, an aviation layman, just like Jardine Matheson and Hong Kong Overseas Airlines, has no good solution for Hong Kong Airlines; in the end, Lin Zhichao will obediently give Hong Kong Airlines to Cathay Pacific for merger.

Originally, things were carried out according to his ideas. Lin Zhichao couldn't even get the rights of Hong Kong Airlines at first, and was 'boycotted' by some high-level officials.

However, things have changed in recent months. The flight attendants of Hong Kong Airlines have changed—Asianization and good service. In the past month or so, Hong Kong Airlines Food Company was born, which immediately caught everyone’s eyes.

Such a big change occurred when Lin Zhichao took over Hong Kong Airlines. It is obviously impossible to say that it has nothing to do with Lin Zhichao.

Cathay Pacific President Kyle said: "The 'Asianization' of the flight attendants of Hong Kong Airlines is worth learning from. I suggest that we also recruit local flight attendants from Southeast Asia, Australia and other places for training. As for aviation food, we should also immediately cooperate with Hong Kong Airlines food. The company cooperated and asked them to provide us with meals, after all, the flight to Australia and Southeast Asia is also relatively long."

This is not the answer Schjock wants most. He said: "Shouldn't we establish an airline food company? There are so many import and export flights to Hong Kong every year, and this is also a huge market."

Kyle said: "It is said that the kitchen equipment and management of Hong Kong Airlines Catering Company are very strict. If we want to enter this industry, we need time to investigate and prepare."

Shiyock immediately said: "Then you guys do it, and give me a plan later!"

In fact, he also understands that Cathay Pacific and Hong Kong Airlines seem to have similar routes at present, but once the jet aircraft matures and the range expands, Cathay Pacific will be able to fly directly to Europe and the United States in the future, which is far from comparable to Hong Kong Airlines.

So in fact, he still doesn't value Hong Kong Airlines very much. The reason for the competition is that he "looks down" on Lin Zhichao's Chinese identity and control of Hong Kong Airlines.

In particular, Schjöck complained a lot about Hong Kong Airlines being taken away from him.

Lin Zhichao didn't know that Cathay Pacific was also planning an 'airline food company'. If he knew, he would scold Shiyock shamelessly.Because logically speaking, this kind of competition is vicious. After all, Hong Kong's aviation market is not particularly large, so there is no need to establish two 'airline food companies'.

At the same time, Hong Kong Airlines did not enter the "mechanical engineering" business. On the contrary, Jardine Matheson has a "mechanical engineering company", and with the mechanical engineering company in the hands of Swire, Hong Kong's aircraft maintenance business is still in the hands of British capital. .

Here, after Lin Zhichao arrived in Japan, he came to the shipyard.

The tankers and freighters built last year are now ready to be launched.Among them, two oil tankers with more than 7 tons are among the top ten large oil tankers in the world, which is of great significance.

The Japanese government also sent a cabinet minister to participate in the launching ceremony, which shows the importance attached to the shipbuilding industry.The activities became even more lively. Hundreds of girls in kimonos danced traditional Japanese dances. The scene was very grand and made people feel the enthusiasm of the Japanese.

After the two new tankers were launched, they immediately began to serve the Yamaguchi Steamship, which took up to seven years.

In seven years, the annual profit of global shipping is equivalent to only 15%, which is already very low.The only advantage is that the two oil tanker shipyards bear the 'advance funds', and the monthly rent of the Yamaguchi Steamship is used to repay the shipyard's expenses.

Of course, only these few ships operate in this way, which can be regarded as some sweetness for the shipping companies chartering ships in Japan.

"Mr. Lin, I heard that your company has built two [-]-ton oil tankers on Ishikawa Island?" Tatsuro Yamashita asked Lin Zhichao beside him after the oil tanker was launched.

"Not bad! I am optimistic about the development of oil tankers, so I am now committed to developing the business of large oil tankers. Could it be that President Yamashita is also interested?"

Tatsuro Yamashita smiled and said, "If the price is reasonable, of course I'm interested!"

Lin Zhichao replied: "The price is definitely reasonable, but the lease period is only three or four years."

As soon as Tatsuro Yamashita heard it, he understood Lin Zhichao's thoughts. Now that the shipping price is very low, this shrewd businessman naturally refused to rent for another seven years.

Indeed, the reason why Lin Zhichao was willing to lease two [-]-ton oil tankers to Yamaguchi Steamship for seven years was because the shipyard agreed to use the rent to offset the shipbuilding costs.In this way, Lin Zhichao does not need to spend too much money.

For the two [-]-ton oil tankers built this year, Lin Zhichao chose to pay the funds after the ship is built, so it is impossible to accept seven years of payback.

In the shipping industry, 15% profit is the minimum standard, and it is still an oil tanker, and its longest life span is only 20 years.

Of course, if you encounter the cold winter of shipping, that is another way of saying, not only can you not make money, but you will also lose money.

"Of course, the lease term of three or four years is also possible, let's talk about it later!" Tatsuro Yamashita said quickly.

Of course he never thought that Lin Zhichao could predict the future.It's just that Lin Zhichao is only willing to rent for three or four years, which is a normal strategy.These two ships are willing to rent for seven years, nothing more than not wanting to spend too much money.

For Yamaguchi Steamship, leasing Lin Zhichao's ship is the best choice in all aspects.

"No problem, let's talk about it later!" Lin Zhichao readily agreed.

In the next few years, he will continue to build ships, as long as someone is willing to rent them, that will be the best news.The only thing that cannot be agreed is that the lease period exceeds three or four years.

For example, if we want to build eight 1960-ton oil tankers next year, they will be launched in [-], and the lease period of three years will be enough.

In short, the goal of each ship is: in the early and mid-60s, among the oil tankers that the world needs, earn a charter (expected return rate of more than 20%); and before October 1967, as far as possible, the contract expires (10 Monthly Suez closed), and then start to make big profits (6%+ rate of return).

After the shipping matter was settled, Lin Zhichao and Huang Changhong met again and came to the headquarters of Daimaru Department Store in Japan for inspection.

This department store originated in 1717 and now has a history of 200 years.In Japan, there are many such long-lived companies; according to later statistics, there are more than 260 million companies in Japan, including 25321 century-old companies, 200 companies with more than 3939 years of history, and more than 300 years. There are 1938, while 500 are more than 147 years old.

It is even more terrifying than the long-lived companies in the United States. After all, it has only been a few years since the founding of the United States.

In 1736, each branch of Daimaru Department Store hung a hanging scroll written by the boss Masaki Shimomura himself: "The righteous first and then the profit will be prosperous." The founding philosophy of Daimaru.

Today, this 200-year-old department store is about to become the largest department store in Japan.In the 60s of the previous life, Daimaru Department Store has been the largest department store in Japan.

"Mr. Lin, welcome to the headquarters of Daimaru Department Store for inspection!" For Lin Zhichao's arrival, the president of Daimaru Department Store Ryoichi Yamamoto and his staff warmly welcomed Lin Zhichao.

If it were other people who came to cooperate, they would definitely not have this kind of treatment, and it could even be said that they would have to do everything possible to contact them.

Only the management of Daimaru Department Store was very interested in Cheung Kong after communicating in advance, because Lin Zhichao's signboard was resounding enough.

Everyone introduced each other. This time, Lin Zhichao also brought Huang Changhong as the deputy general manager, and Zhao Mingyi, the newly appointed "head of the retail department", who was the former general manager of Crocodile Shirts, also served concurrently.

"Mr. Lin, how about visiting Shimodaimaru Department Store together!" Said Ryoichi Yamamoto.

"It is our honor, and I am also very curious about how a 200-year-old department store has grown up." Lin Zhichao said in a learning and modest tone.

He also hopes that his company will still exist after 200 years, of course the premise is that the surname is 'Lin'.

Although many companies in Japan have been around for hundreds of years, the founding family may not be the controller, and may not even be the shareholder.

If this is the case, Lin Zhichao is not envious at all.

"this way please!"

During the inspection, Ryoichi Yamamoto took them to the historical exhibition room and introduced: "In the 1730s, the boss Shimomura Masaki arranged umbrellas, fans, braziers, lanterns, etc. Send food, old clothes, and even money to beggars, and send lanterns and handkerchiefs with Daimaru labels to temples and other places where crowds gather. Many acts of kindness have gained public praise, so much so that in 1837, Oshio Heihachiro civil strife, robbing rich merchants , specifically ordered: "Daimaru is a righteous merchant, don't violate it. "."

Lin Zhichao praised: "This kind of charitable deeds and service reputation are what many of our modern enterprises lack, and there are too few that can do it!"

His words revealed sincerity and admiration!
In fact, he understands one thing - in the previous life, in the 60s, Japanese department stores entered Hong Kong. With Japanese products and Japanese service spirit, the local department stores were embarrassed. The market share has been greatly reduced, and even Yongan can only sell part of its shares to Japanese department stores, but the advantage is that it can turn around quickly.

Products and services are the essence of Japanese department stores.

Later, it was not 'department stores' that defeated Japanese department stores, but a new industry - supermarkets (supermarkets).

After the inspection, everyone came to the meeting room.

Ryoichi Yamamoto said: "You said that you want to cooperate with us, do you plan to establish a cooperative company in Hong Kong?"

Lin Zhichao said: "The first is the cooperation of Sing Tao!"

Ryoichi Yamamoto and the others were stunned, and then he said: "Cooperate with Xingdao? Lin Sheng is not from Xingdao, so cooperation like this seems to be disadvantageous for us!"

Lin Zhichao immediately said: "I have been running a business in Sing Tao for ten years, and there are all Chinese people there. Of course, the most important thing is that we are already building a department store."

Hearing that Cheung Kong has a department store, Ryoichi Yamamoto immediately said: "This cooperation is very fair!"

To put it bluntly, if Daimaru Department Store were to develop the Xingdao market, it would first be a department store problem.This is an asset-heavy investment, but if there are local people to provide the venue, then Daimaru Department Store can be an 'asset-light' investment.

Later, Lin Zhichao asked Huang Changhong to introduce the "Department Store" of Xingdao, and hand it over to Daimaru Department Store along with the drawings for inspection.

After a long time, Lin Zhichao smiled and said, "President Yamamoto, how are you doing?"

Ryoichi Yamamoto immediately said: "Excellent cooperation, Mr. Lin is fully prepared, and the building design of the department store is very delicate, we are willing to cooperate!"

Fortunately, he did not find other Japanese department stores, otherwise it would be a loss for Daimaru Department Store, he thought so.

Next, we probably discussed the cooperation details.

Cheung Kong is out of the venue, accounting for 49% of the shares; the rest are all in charge of Daimaru Department Store, accounting for 51% of the shares.

Such cooperation has two benefits for Cheung Kong:
First, it is equivalent to finding a big renter. To put it bluntly, it is to be a landlord.

Second, it is definitely more cost-effective than collecting rent. Japanese department stores will have great advantages in the next 30 years.

Finally, Ryoichi Yamamoto said: "Mr. Lin, you are from Hong Kong. I am looking forward to the cooperation from Hong Kong!"

The implication is that Hong Kong should also seek cooperation from us!
Lin Zhichao said with a smile: "We will also invest in a first-class building in Hong Kong soon. At that time, we will definitely give priority to cooperation with Daimaru Department Store. I have already selected the location, which is in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong."

Ryo Yamamoto was overjoyed, because in this way, Daimaru Department Store can expand its business to Sing Tao and Hong Kong without too much investment.

Compared to other department stores in Japan, they are already one step ahead! (end of this chapter)