1977: The beginning of the blind date with the daughter of the king

Chapter 573 So this is your plan!
"Betting agreement? What do you mean?"

Marina was a little surprised to hear what Li Changhe said.

The main reason is that these days, the VAM agreement is still a very new thing and few companies use it.

Marina knew little about this.

"It's simple. I can hand over the reins of Cartier to Al, but the prerequisite is that we have to sign certain performance requirements."

"For example, if I give Al ten years, he can run Cartier during these ten years, but during these ten years, at regular intervals, Cartier's performance must show a certain growth."

"I think ten years is long enough. If Al can't take Cartier to the next level within ten years, then there is no point for the Cartier family to continue to run the brand, right?"

Li Changhe said calmly.

“What if Cartier, under Al’s leadership, has very good growth?”

Marina asked back seriously at this moment.

"Of course I would let him stay in charge of Cartier. If he is doing very well, why would I replace him?"

"Will this performance requirement be very difficult?"

Marina asked suspiciously again now.

What if they set performance requirements that Al couldn't possibly meet?

"So this will be determined through negotiation, and we don't unilaterally impose performance requirements."

“Both sides will set a mutually agreeable goal and then implement it.”

“That’s what I asked for!”

"If you agree, we will join forces to acquire Cartier."

"If you can't agree, then there's no need for me to do anything!"

Li Changhe said seriously at this moment.

Seeing this, Marina knew that this was Li Changhe’s bottom line, and then she thought about it for a while.

"Vic, I need to talk to Al and then give you an answer, okay?"

She couldn't make decisions on her own about such matters. She showed up this time just to help Al.

"Of course, but I hope it won't be too long. I only have a limited time left in Europe."

"Okay, I'll give you an answer as soon as possible!"

At this moment, the waiter brought up the delicious food prepared by Marina.

"Come on, Vic, try this. This is white sturgeon caviar from the Caspian Sea. I estimate that currently, there are probably only a few restaurants in France that have it in the world!"

Marina pointed at the caviar on the luxurious crystal castle tray and recommended it to Li Changhe.

"Is it the white sturgeon from the Caspian Sea? Iran probably has no time to catch them now. The caviar you have here is purchased from the Soviet Union, right?"

Wild white sturgeon caviar is a specialty of the Caspian Sea. Today, the Caspian Sea is completely surrounded by the Soviet Union, and only the lower part belongs to Iran.

Therefore, in theory, only the Soviet Union and Iran have this wild white sturgeon caviar.

Now that Iran is caught in a war, its production is unlikely to be high, and the main production area is definitely still the Soviet Union.

Now, in the whole of Europe and the United States, only France has diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union.

Li Changhe knew this only because he had looked this thing up when he was writing in his previous life.

White sturgeon caviar is the top luxury in the food chain. In later generations, one kilogram costs 40,000 euros, and there is still a shortage of market, just like our wild yellow croaker.

When Marina heard Li Changhe reveal the origin of this thing, she was choking on the words she was about to brag about.

How come this guy knows everything?

"It seems that Vic is really knowledgeable. By the way, have you ever thought about bringing Isa to Hollywood to develop her career there?"

"Although French films are good, they are too artistic. If we talk about the fame of female stars in the world, they still have to be in Hollywood."

Marina casually changed the subject at this time.

After listening to this, Li Changhe glanced at Ajani.

“Do you want to go to Hollywood?”

After being asked this by Li Changhe, Ajiani thought for a moment and said, "I want to go, but not necessarily now!"

She definitely wants to go to Hollywood, but she may not be in a hurry to go there now.

"Actually, Hollywood doesn't really suit you. In Hollywood, there's very little room for actresses to perform."

"Hollywood mainly produces commercial films. Of course, there are also art films, but not many. Most of them are for award-winning films, or commercial films with a little art."

"Even in these art films, the focus is on men, which is completely different from the three major awards in France or Europe."

"When you go there, you will either play the lead role in a commercial film or the female lead in an art film. You are called the female lead, but the spotlight actually goes to the male lead."

"This is determined by the nature of Hollywood. Their scripts don't give female characters much room to play."

The movies from the 1980s that Li Changhe was most impressed by were Indiana Jones, Jurassic World, etc.

In the art films of the 1990s, such as "The Shawshank Redemption" and "Forrest Gump", the focus was actually on the male protagonists, and the female characters had very little room to perform.

Therefore, Li Changhe’s answer to Ajani is actually an option.

Do you want fame or acting skills?

If you choose acting, it is best to stay in France, and if you choose fame, then going to Hollywood is naturally the best.

"Actually, you're right. Every year, many European film actors go to Hollywood, but most of them choose to return."

"On the one hand, it's Hollywood's xenophobia, and on the other hand, it has a lot to do with their positioning of the female lead."

Marina also sighed at this time.

As a producer and distributor, she knows all too well the differences between films from the two regions.

"Let's talk about it later. I haven't thought about it yet!"

Ajani shook her head and said softly.

As for Sophie Marceau opposite, she was eating delicious food quietly at the moment.

She couldn't participate in these topics now, and many of the delicacies on the table were her first time eating them, and they tasted really good.

At the same time, Sophie was wondering how much Cartier would cost to acquire her.
She had heard of Cartier's reputation, which was something she could never reach before.

And now, is this brand going to belong to Victor?

Cartier!
Dior!

Will Mr. Victor acquire more high-end brands in the future?

Sophie Marceau couldn't help but think secretly in her heart.

The four people at the back chatted for a while, and then left after eating and drinking their fill.

"I didn't expect that this is how you negotiate business?"

In the car, Ajani said to Li Changhe with a smile.

Li Changhe smiled when he heard this: "Do you think this is the kind of negotiation where there will be a lot of verbal battles, and both companies will investigate each other, and it will take a long time to succeed?"

Ajani nodded: "Yes, I think you talk about it casually, as if you decided to acquire it without any investigation!" "What you said is what my employees are going to do. It can also be said to be a merger and acquisition between ordinary companies."

“But for the top businessmen, the acquisition of a company is often just a matter of thought and can be decided by just two or three people.”

“Many times, the heated negotiations you see at lower-level companies are nothing more than the execution of the will of the people at the top.”

"For example, when the time comes to bet on Al Cartier's performance, both parties will definitely argue with each other in order to protect their own interests."

"But I didn't expect that she would send Cartier to me when she came to me."

Li Changhe said this with great curiosity at this time.

This was a pleasant surprise for him.

After returning to the hotel, not long after, Anna came and knocked on the door.

"Boss, Mr. Wells is here!"

"Let him in!"

A moment later, Wells walked in, looking exhausted.

"Will, here we come!"

"The boss summoned me, how could I not come?"

Weiers said to Li Changhe with a smile, and then Li Changhe took him to the balcony outside.

"Call me here, is there something wrong?"

After sitting down, Weiersi went straight to the point and asked Li Changhe.

"First, I will back you up and let you check the accounts of the European companies and deal with those disobedient guys."

The Bosak Group is currently divided into two parts: Europe and the United States. One part of the European side is Bosak's original management, and the other part is arranged by Pierre Cardin.

The two gangs have been slowly merging and have become a little inflated recently. The most direct reflection of this is that there are many loopholes in the accounts submitted to the headquarters.

Li Changhe has his own financial team, and these things can be found out easily after checking.

Weiersi didn't expect that the internal conflicts in the company were actually known to Li Changhe.

"In Europe, there is indeed a sense of disobedience. I thought about rectifying it before, but because the United States has not been on the right track, I didn't take care of it."

"Well, now that you're here, it would be unreasonable if I didn't kill him."

"It just so happens that you are here. With you in charge, there won't be any major problems even at Pierre Cardin."

There are signs that the people at Pierre Cardin are trying to compete with Wells, but this does not represent Pierre Cardin's intention. In fact, Wells knows very well that Pierre Cardin recognizes and appreciates Li Changhe very much.

So as long as Li Changhe is around, Pierre Cardin will not stand up for his people.

"Well, friendship is friendship, and business is business. If the person over there is not suitable, let their company replace him."

Li Changhe said with a smile.

"What about the second one? Since you mentioned the first one, there must be a second one!"

Wells continued to ask.

Li Changhe smiled and nodded: "Yes, the second one is actually two things."

"I originally wanted you to come and acquire one company, but now it may become two."

"Two companies?"

"Correct!"

"One is a watch company in Switzerland called Vacheron Constantin, and the other is a high-end brand in France called Cartier, which I just discovered today."

"Watches? Luxury goods? Vic, are you going to make it big in the luxury goods industry?"

Wells asked hesitantly.

Bosac already owns Dior, and now it wants to acquire Vacheron Constantin and Cartier. Is this true?
"Yes, after you finish this, you can integrate Vacheron Constantin, Cartier, and Dior into a group company, and then you can continue to acquire some brands later."

"In the next two years, the economic situation in Europe will not be very good, and the operation of most of these luxury brands will not be good, especially the watch industry in Switzerland."

"The electronic and quartz watches from Japan have a huge impact on Swiss watches. We can take advantage of this opportunity to get some of them."

In fact, what Li Changhe was more likely to acquire were Rolex and Patek Philippe, but there was no way because both of them were tightly controlled by the families behind the scenes and there was no possibility of selling them.

So Li Changhe had to settle for the next best thing and set his sights on Vacheron Constantin. Vacheron Constantin's operating performance has been even worse in recent years and it has changed hands several times!

“Should we focus on luxury goods?”

Wells asked hesitantly at this moment.

He didn't know Li Changhe's purpose in acquiring these brands. If he acquired them but didn't develop them, wouldn't that be a waste of money?

But if they were to develop it with all their strength, it would still be difficult to develop in the current luxury goods market. Wells felt that it was far inferior to their civilian clothing line.

"I'll have to wait for a while in Europe and the United States. My main target is Asia, especially Hong Kong Island."

"Jindi is creating a new business model called urban complex."

"The core of this kind of urban complex is the most upscale commercial shopping mall, and the style of this kind of commercial shopping mall is best matched with these high-end luxury brands."

"The counters of these luxury brands determine the customer appeal of these high-end shopping malls. It can be said that for the urban complexes under Hong Kong Land, these luxury brands are the essence of their external promotion."

"So I think instead of negotiating with these brands later, we should take advantage of the opportunity now to directly acquire them, and then sign a complete strategic cooperation agreement with Hong Kong Land in the name of the group company, and expand along with the expansion of the other party's complex."

"These European luxury goods are now facing difficulties in sales in Europe and the United States, but believe me, they are definitely popular in Hong Kong Island, Japan, and Southeast Asia."

"Many of these areas were former colonies of Britain and France. They have a mysterious pursuit of top-notch items from these countries, and there are many wealthy people in these places in recent years."

Li Changhe said to Wei Er Si with a smile.

Apart from anything else, Pan Disheng, who founded Debao Company in the future, made his fortune by selling such high-end watches and was nicknamed the Watch King.

One of the reasons why he invests in movies is to let the stars in the movies advertise his watches, movie advertisements.

After hearing Li Changhe's words, Weiersi nodded in understanding.

"I was wondering why you were suddenly interested in these luxury brands. It turns out you were interested in the commercial properties over at Jardine Matheson."

"In this case, I need to form a business team as soon as possible and transfer some people from the United States."

Li Changhe nodded: "We can also set up some companies here in Europe, especially a research company, to investigate some companies in Europe."

"Believe me, in the next few years, the number of established companies that will be sold in Europe will definitely exceed your imagination. This is a great opportunity for us to engage in large-scale mergers and acquisitions!"

Li Changhe said to Wei Ersi with a smile at this time.

The European economy in the 1980s was much worse than that of the United States, and as a result, many of the old companies here were for sale.

Apart from anything else, Philips' lithography machine business is in a terrible state. It is estimated that it will not be long before it merges with another company to form ASML.

If Li Changhe doesn't take advantage of this opportunity to make some money, he would be unworthy of his reborn identity.

Of course, he never thought about completely controlling ASML, after all, that was impossible.

Many times, commercial companies are not only involved in business, but also in politics.

But this did not prevent Li Changhe from using some tricks to "learn" some of the technologies in ASML.

First learn the technology and stabilize it for twenty years. Twenty years later, it will be the time for his lithography machine to show its power!
(End of this chapter)