America: My Time

Chapter 279 Aviation Plan
Chapter 279 Aviation Plan

When the fashion show in Times Square began, there were hardly any media present at the fashion show in Brian Park. Most of the media were attracted by the commotion here and rushed to Times Square. This deserted scene stunned the fashion brands and the models. No one expected such a change, and no one expected Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent to make such a big move.

Although major fashion shows are not usually held in Brian Park, no one expected the other party to have such an amazing scale, attracting the media to Times Square like crazy. This made people ignore other fashion shows, and when those fashion brands learned the details, they all cursed.

This wasn't the work of Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent, but rather the work of the Forever Group behind the acquisition of these two companies. With such vast resources, media giants like Legendary Entertainment and Phoenix Entertainment, not to mention major Japanese corporations, coupled with this eye-catching advertisement in Times Square, the entire American media was in a frenzy. Who would still care about the fashion show held in Brian Park?

This is the power of capital, and this is the result of John's meticulous planning. Some celebrities were initially quite dissatisfied with this arrangement, but when they saw the media gathering in droves, they were all beaming with joy. What a great publicity opportunity! Especially the Japanese celebrities, who were all shocked. This move was too clever.

Twenty minutes before the show was about to begin, Eric saw Andrea Jung personally accompany Anna Wintour, the creative director of YOGUE magazine, and a large group of fashion magazine staff into the show. This wasn't arranged by John, but by Andrea Jung herself.

John was a little surprised to see Anna Wintour and was very curious about this famous fashion icon. Although she didn't have the fame she would later achieve, she already held a good position in the fashion world.

"Boss, this is Ms. Anna Wintour. Anna, this is John Bayard, the owner of the Forever Group." Andrea Chung formally introduced the two parties. Although the press conference was very successful, Andrea Chung, as the CEO of the Forever Group, would not be complacent. Moreover, all of this was built by her own family, so she had no reason to be complacent.

“Hello, Mr. Bayard, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Anna Wintour warmly extended her hand to John. Her voice was noticeably hoarse and tired, suggesting she hadn’t had a good rest. This was understandable; after all, it was New York Fashion Week, and the numerous invitations from major fashion brands and the endless stream of shows must have been stressful for her, and perhaps even for the entire fashion industry.

John shook hands with her and said, "Me too, Ms. Wintour, just call me John."

After John chatted with the fashion magazine representatives for a while, many of them sat down. However, John and the Japanese business tycoons didn't sit in prominent positions; instead, they chose seats towards the back. They weren't there to watch a fashion show, nor were they interested in it; they had more important matters to discuss!
"John, have you made a decision regarding the acquisition of the airline? If there is a need for funds, Mitsui is willing to assist!" Although this acquisition has nothing to do with Sony, Akio Morita had no choice but to ask, after all, he was a member of the Mitsui Group, and such a large acquisition would inevitably require a lot of funds. If John needed a loan, Mitsui Bank would naturally do its best to secure it, since the previous incident had caused problems in the relationship between Mitsui and John.

"If there are no unforeseen circumstances, we should have a result soon. However, although a loan will be needed, we can only make a decision after the game world is launched and the launch price is determined!"

"John, are you sure there's no problem with you acquiring an airline on such a large scale? Do you intend to make a major foray into the aviation industry?" At this moment, Akio Morita asked the question that had been bothering him. In his opinion, John didn't need to waste his time and energy on the aviation industry. If it were manufacturing, that would be fine, but aviation operations were not worth such a large investment.

“There’s no other way. With Rockefeller and Morgan involved, I can’t refuse them both at the same time. Globally, the aviation industry is developing at a rapid pace, and the US is no exception. Therefore, the entire aviation industry will become extremely competitive, and mergers and bankruptcies will definitely happen constantly. Without many external factors, I wouldn’t have initiated such an acquisition. Such acquisitions wouldn’t make much money; they would only waste my precious funds. So now I can only plan ahead. As long as we can maintain normal operations, that’s enough. We’ll make further plans once the airlines stabilize. However, since we’ve chosen to acquire, we need to make it bigger and stronger. Just these two airlines aren’t enough to achieve that.” Although John was speaking the truth, Akio Morita didn’t completely believe him, because John, this little fox, always made huge profits from each acquisition. Since the US deregulated aviation, the number of airlines has been growing rapidly. However, in John’s view, many companies are destined for bankruptcy or acquisition. They don’t have enough resources to thrive in this brutal competition. Most importantly, many airlines haven’t identified the right targets. In this brutal market, they are all frantically grabbing market share, but without sufficient foundation, they cannot sustain such a struggle for long.

After reviewing the information he received from Morgan and conducting market research, John naturally understood the harsh realities of the current aviation market, and therefore didn't consider it a good investment project. However, this didn't mean the aviation industry had no future; as long as the right direction was found, there was still great potential for profit. Most importantly, this was a good option John used to entice those old guys; it was an opportunity they were giving him, so how could he not seize it?

"Hiss! John, are you planning to expand globally?" In an instant, Akio Morita understood John's intention.

John nodded and said, “That’s right. As long as the situation in the United States stabilizes, we must expand rapidly, at least by acquiring more airlines and forming our own aviation network. Only in this way can we accelerate development and complete the transformation in the shortest time! If possible, Mr. Morita, could you please inquire in Japan about any small airlines or air cargo for sale? Normal aviation development has no future. We need to take a different approach and develop towards low-cost carriers. Only in this way can we survive in this cruel aviation environment.”

"No problem, I'll inquire with ANA for you. They have quite a few smaller airlines under their umbrella, and I'm sure they won't refuse if the price is right!"

"That's good. After all, acquisitions are much easier than building from scratch. At least you don't have to waste time training professional staff, which saves a lot of time. Asia is relatively easy to acquire, but Europe has many problems, which is where you need to spend your energy. So, with full-scale expansion, you will inevitably need a lot of financial support."

When John finished speaking, the eyes of the Japanese tycoons around him lit up. They all had their own conglomerates behind them. If John intended to expand the aviation industry, it would require huge financial support. Wasn't this their opportunity?
What these guys were thinking was exactly what John wanted to see. Only by tempting these Japanese guys could he get more funds from the Japanese bank and accelerate his own development. After all, the Plaza Accord was fast approaching, and he had to speed things up and find ways to get more loans from the Japanese bank.

"John, with this kind of expansion, maintenance and aircraft production won't be easy to manage. Aircraft manufacturing takes time!"

"Mr. Morita is overthinking it. I have no intention of buying new aircraft, nor do I have the funds for that. As for maintenance, that is not a problem at all. I have already asked Morgan to help me acquire an aircraft dismantling plant with its own parking lot, so the aircraft are not a problem, and neither are the maintenance issues."

US aircraft dismantling plants don't just dismantle planes; they also preserve them. John believes that as long as the dismantling plant is operational, this aspect won't be a problem. At least that's the case in the US. As for Japan, that's not a big issue either; once the acquisition is complete, even a small aircraft company wouldn't be a problem!

Upon hearing John's words, Akio Morita couldn't help but sigh. He never imagined that this little fox, John, would have such crazy ideas and such terrifying ambitions in the aviation industry. Although it was only a brief exchange, he could sense that John must have a comprehensive expansion plan, and was not forced to accept the two American airlines as he claimed.

"What a sly fox! It seems Rockefeller and Morgan have been deceived by him. But when this fox's actions are fully underway, their plans will likely be completely exposed. I wonder what John, this little fox, is planning to have such a crazy expansionist idea, a global presence!" At this moment, Akio Morita couldn't help but sigh. A global presence meant that in Asia, it wasn't just about Japan and Hong Kong; perhaps Taiwan had already begun its operations!
(End of this chapter)