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Lin Haoran told Suzuki Toshifumi all the information he had received from Citibank.

After hearing what his boss said, Suzuki Toshifumi breathed a sigh of relief.

"Boss, if they only invest 40 billion yen, then it will be easy. Although this amount of money is not small, their current model basically has no profit. They almost don't even charge franchise fees. This means that even if they expand rapidly, they won't be able to recover much money in the short term. Once they use up this amount of money, their expansion will stagnate.

In addition, although Lawson convenience stores are currently investing heavily in the Tokyo metropolitan area and competing with us for franchisees, their sphere of influence is still mainly in the Kansai region, that is, the Osaka metropolitan area.

Our 711-Eleven convenience stores have been developing in the Kanto region for many years, and now have far more stores in downtown Tokyo than Lawson convenience stores. Lawson's supply chain is not yet perfect in the Kanto region, so their investment costs here are much higher than in the Kansai region.

However, we cannot take it lightly. Over the years, Lawson has been imitating our 711- convenience stores. Their operating strategies are almost the same, but they have always been unable to surpass our foundation.

But now that they have the financial support of Jardine Matheson, there is no guarantee that they will not make some radical moves out of desperation. I am afraid that after spending this money, Jardine Matheson will continue to invest money in it. "Suzuki Toshifumi frowned, with a hint of worry in his tone.

However, Lin Haoran didn't care at all.

He smiled and said, "Given Japan's current urbanization scale, the number of convenience stores is far from enough. The number of convenience stores in Japan should be less than 10,000, right?"

"Boss, yes. A research agency conducted a survey last year and found that there are less than 711 convenience stores in Japan, of which our -Eleven convenience stores account for a quarter.

However, since you acquired 711-Eleven this year, the expansion has been very fast. In addition, convenience store brands such as Lawson and FamilyMart have also begun to accelerate their expansion. By now, the number should have reached about ." Suzuki Toshifumi continued to answer.

Only five thousand?

That is a huge gap compared to the number of convenience stores in Japan during its peak period.

I have the impression that the number of convenience stores in Japan in the 21st century was as high as .

Therefore, this market is far from saturated and its potential is as huge as the deep ocean.

"The convenience store market is indeed big enough to accommodate multiple brands. But since I have the strength now, why should I let other brands keep pace with us?" Lin Haoran suddenly said.

"Boss, what do you mean?" Suzuki Toshifumi was confused.

"Is Lawson Japan branch a listed company?" Lin Haoran asked.

"No, Lawson Japan Branch was previously jointly held by American Consolidated Foods Company and Daiei Company. However, since Jardine Matheson is now financing Lawson Japan Branch, it means that Lawson Japan Branch now has three shareholders." Toshifumi Suzuki replied.

Lin Haoran nodded and said proudly: "In that case, I will directly acquire the Lawson brand!"

Currently, he has nearly 300 billion yen in available funds in Japan.

In that case, why not just acquire Lawson’s American headquarters!
Lin Haoran’s idea was to directly copy the model of acquiring Southern Company and acquire the American Consolidated Foods Company.

Or if Consolidated Foods USA is unwilling to sell, he can also acquire just the Lawson convenience store brand.

The overall strength of Lawson convenience stores is not as good as that of 711 convenience stores, which means that its market value is definitely not as good as that of Southern Company.

At the beginning, he only spent 711 million US dollars to acquire the -Eleven convenience store brand from Southern Company. Together with the independent branch in Japan, the total cost was only about million US dollars.

In the convenience store industry, Lawson is not as strong as 711-Eleven, whether in the United States or Japan.

In other words, if he wanted to acquire the company, the amount of money he would ultimately pay would not be higher than that of acquiring the Southern Company!
Hearing Lin Haoran's words, Suzuki Toshifumi's eyes lit up and he suddenly became excited.

If Southern Company acquires Lawson convenience stores, the number of convenience stores they control, although not doubled, will increase by more than 2,000 at once!
In the Japanese market, the number of companies has also increased by thousands!
In this way, their market share in Japan has reached half.

Prior to this, Lin Haoran secretly acquired the Southern Company, leading to the complete defeat of Ito-Yokado.

“Boss, but Lawson Japan Branch is different from 711-Eleven Japan Branch. 711-Eleven Japan Branch is listed separately, so you can easily force Ito-Yokado to withdraw from 711-Eleven Japan Branch.

But Lawson Japan Branch is different. Since Jardine Matheson holds 30% of the shares, even if you acquire Consolidati Foods, the parent company of Lawson, you may not be able to regain the controlling stake in the Japanese branch if Jardine Matheson and Daiei join forces! " Suzuki Toshifumi raised a question.

"I never planned to acquire Lawson's Japanese branch!" Lin Haoran said with a smile.

"Oh? Boss, why is that?" Suzuki Toshifumi was a little confused. "The logistics supply chain of the convenience stores at Lawson Japan Branch is controlled by Consolidati Foods, right?" Lin Haoran asked.

"Boss, that's right. The situations of Lawson convenience stores and 711-Eleven convenience stores are similar. Although the agency rights have been given to companies in Japan, the American parent companies still tightly control the supply chain. This was one of the main clauses when Ito-Yokado and Southern Company signed the contract. The same is true for Daiei Company." Toshifumi Suzuki responded quickly.

Lin Haoran raised his lips and said confidently: "That's enough. I just need to control the Lawson brand and the controlling rights of the brand supply chain. I don't care whether Dayong Company is willing to sell the shares of Lawson Japan Branch. Let Dayong Company continue to represent Lawson.

After I take over Consolidated Foods, I will merge Lawson convenience stores into Southern Company, making it another sub-brand of Southern Company.

I will handle the acquisition of Lawson. As for the competition between Lawson and 711-Eleven in Japan, you don’t need to take any major countermeasures for now, and don’t alarm them.”

In the convenience store brand track, the later stage mainly relies on the franchise model, making profits by collecting franchise fees and controlling the procurement channels of franchise stores.

Therefore, the operating rights of Lawson Japan branch are actually not that critical.

After Lin Haoran's guidance, Suzuki Toshifumi suddenly understood.

With the boss taking personal action, there is naturally nothing to worry about.

At this moment, the vicious competition from Lawson convenience stores is no longer a problem in his eyes.

He even began to look forward to what kind of wonderful expressions his competitors would show when they learned that their brands had been acquired by the boss.
"Okay boss, I know what to do!" Suzuki Toshifumi no longer had the worries he had just had.

"By the way, has Mr. Anton made any big mistakes recently?" Lin Haoran thought for a moment and asked.

Previously, he had promised Toshifumi Suzuki that he would find a time to kick out or demote Anton Allison so that Toshifumi Suzuki could become the head of the Southern Company.

This was also a condition he promised to Suzuki Toshifumi in order to keep him.

Lin Haoran would naturally not forget this.

Anton Allison's business management skills are not bad, but his foresight is not enough for him to take charge of the gradually developing Southern Company in the future.

Hearing Lin Haoran say this, Suzuki Toshifumi was a little moved. The boss did not go back on his original promise.

However, he still said honestly: "Boss, Mr. Anton has not made any mistakes. On the contrary, he will actively discuss all decisions with me before making them."

Lin Haoran nodded. It seemed that Anton Allison had really changed a lot and was no longer as dictatorial as before. He was probably afraid of losing his job.

After thinking for a while, he said, "Since I have already planned to acquire the Lawson brand, after the acquisition, I will let Mr. Anton be the person in charge of Lawson, so that you can legitimately become the president of Southern Company."

Doing so is also giving face to Anton Allison.

After chatting with Toshifumi Suzuki, Lin Haoran left the office of Southern Company and returned to his own office.

Then he called Mr. Walter Wriston, the chairman of Citibank in the United States.

The purpose, of course, is to entrust Citibank to help acquire Consolidated Foods, the parent company of Lawson convenience stores.

When Walter Reston heard that the call was from Lin Haoran, he was very enthusiastic.

After all, Citibank had recently witnessed another huge success of Lin Haoran in the investment field. In the eyes of Citibank, Lin Haoran is now an extremely powerful and visionary investor. Maintaining a good cooperative relationship with him will only benefit Citibank.

After learning about Lin Haoran's purpose, Walter Reston agreed without hesitation.

To a behemoth like Citibank, Rosen's parent company, Consolidated Foods, is just an insignificant business.

In fact, before Lin Haoran acquired Southern Company, Consolidati Food Company's strength was inferior to that of Southern Company.

"Mr. Walter Reston, I leave everything to you. After things are settled, I will settle the commission due to you through the acquisition of Southern Company!" After they finished chatting, Lin Haoran said with a smile.

"Mr. Lin, please rest assured. It's a small matter. We will handle it for you soon!" Walter Reston responded readily. (End of this chapter)