America: My Time

Chapter 696 A Subtle Warning

Chapter 686 A Subtle Warning
After the agreement was reached, John shook his head slightly and said, "Mr. Morita, to be honest, I am really unwilling to do this kind of deal. After selling the 7-Eleven convenience stores in Japan, my assets in Japan have become seriously insufficient. Now I only have the Phoenix Group's strength, and my industrial production is only the clothing brands of the Eien Group."

“John, your focus is on the semiconductor and automotive industries. You've seen the situation in Japan; production costs are too high. Giving up isn't a big deal, and the retail problems of the two major media outlets won't be affected. You don't need to care so much. However, ASUS has been acquiring some patents from Japan lately. Are you also planning to enter the small appliance market?”

In response to Akio Morita's probing, John smiled calmly and said, "It's not true that we're going into the small appliance market. It's mainly aimed at sales to the Russians. You know the situation in Russia right now. They have this need, but they don't have the capability. And the prices of your appliances and those from Europe are too high, so they're unwilling to accept them. That's why we have this idea. After all, I need to maintain a good relationship with the Russians and not let them down. Just like the wineries and food companies I've established in China and South Asia, they're all aimed at the needs of the Russians."

"John, this small appliance business is different from food and alcohol. It requires a significant investment. A short-term investment will not yield any profit, and may even result in losses. Such an investment is not worth the risk!"

“I know, but we have to maintain good relations with the Russians. We can’t let these guys complain. Besides, if we create a rift with them because of this little loss, it will be even more detrimental to our business. After all, it’s a barter system, and these guys have their own needs. I can’t refuse them all.”

"So, you're planning to set up a factory in China, hoping to leverage the lower costs there to fulfill the Russians' orders?" Akio Morita immediately saw through John's plan. Of all John's investments, China was currently the largest, and John had a complete industrial chain there.

“That’s right, that’s how it is. At least for now, we need to appease the Russians. As long as we break even, or even lose a little less, it’s acceptable. After all, I make a lot of profit in these kinds of transactions, and we can’t let this little thing affect the overall business. In such a short time, I’ve already completed the storage in the oil depots in South Korea and Japan, and there’s even more crude oil being shipped to China as reserves! Now the Russians aren’t even willing to provide timber anymore, it’s all about crude oil and steel, which are the commodities I don’t have to worry about selling the most. Naturally, I have to meet their needs as much as possible.”

Akio Morita did not doubt John's statement. After all, such a deal had not been short-term but had lasted for a long time, and the suppression of John by the British and Europe was even due to this deal.

"John, when will your game be released? So much time has passed, there must be some results, right? The game company in the UK has already produced some results, and overall they are quite good. I have to say, your vision in the game industry is amazing, and the quality is undeniable!" Soon, Akio Morita shifted the topic back to games, trying to probe John's trump card.

"It'll be ready soon. We're currently testing it, and if there are no problems, it will be released this summer, officially launching our personal computer game project. If Seagate hadn't made a breakthrough in hard drives, I'm afraid this wouldn't have been possible." John answered calmly in the face of Akio Morita's probing, completely unconcerned about what the other party might think.

After restricting his communication with John, Akio Morita shook his head and sighed, "What a sly fox. He seems indifferent, but he's actually very meticulous. We didn't get any useful information at all. But at least we got 7-Eleven and didn't let anyone else have it."

After Akio Morita left, John also told Morgan about the sale of 7-Eleven in Japan and made a slight change to the listing. Just as Morgan had guessed, the listing would only be in North America, and the listing in Asia would be suspended to avoid affecting the interests of the entire 7-Eleven convenience store chain.

Soon, news spread that Sony had acquired 7-Eleven in Japan. John and Akio Morita did not hesitate and made a quick deal. For the franchisees, those who wanted to continue with 7-Eleven could stay, and those who did not could become members of Sony Convenience Stores.

After Southern Group reached an acquisition agreement with Sony, the 7-Eleven convenience stores that were originally scattered throughout major Japanese cities changed hands. Only a small number remained, less than one-tenth of the original number. Almost all the franchisees chose Sony instead of staying with 7-Eleven. These hundreds of convenience stores were all located in the Tokyo metropolitan area. This outcome surprised John. He had initially thought that franchisees outside major cities like Tokyo would choose to continue with 7-Eleven, but unexpectedly, those he hoped would stay all chose to follow Sony. Only the Tokyo metropolitan area remained, representing more than half of the original franchisees.

The reason is price—the price of the goods offered. From their perspective, many products would change after Sony's acquisition, since Mitsui is behind Sony, and they would naturally prioritize their products. 7-Eleven, on the other hand, retains its original supply chain, which hasn't been affected by the acquisition. Therefore, they prefer to stay with 7-Eleven.

Today, the only remaining value of 7-Eleven in Japan is its brand and supply chain. It can be said that apart from the Tokyo metropolitan area, Sony has taken over 7-Eleven's territory in Japan. Just when many people thought that 7-Eleven would continue to expand and recruit franchisees, they were greatly disappointed. 7-Eleven did not do that. Instead, it re-examined the market and made new arrangements to ensure that the interests of current franchisees would not be affected.

Upon returning to Japan, Akio Morita relayed John's 'warning'. Indeed, after careful consideration, Akio Morita realized that the 'warning' in John's conversation was a warning to everyone in Japan. The sale of 7-Eleven was his final line; no one should try to challenge it again. The assets of Phoenix Group and Eternal Group were untouchable; if anyone tried to take them, it would be a major battle.

It was only an old fox like Akio Morita who could analyze the problem from John's words and understand his intention. An ordinary person would probably not have understood John's intention at all and would have just taken it as an ordinary exclamation.

"Don't worry, we never intended to target Phoenix Group or Forever Group. After all, they have considerable influence behind them. It would be a loss if we angered this little fox. We were only trying to test his bottom line. Now we understand, and everything is under our control. However, Sony has gained so many benefits this time, so it should share some of them."

At this point, Mitsui and his associates couldn't help but set their sights on Sony. After all, Sony had reaped huge benefits from this series of acquisitions, which made them envious. They wanted Sony to share in the profits, since all of this wasn't something Sony accomplished on its own, but rather the result of everyone's concerted efforts.

"Ladies and gentlemen, there is another important issue. John's real estate holdings in Japan have now been reduced to the bare minimum. Apart from a few specialty shops and assets such as apartments they use, everything else has been completely sold off. Even John's personal real estate holdings are not much left. Most of the properties outside of Tokyo have been sold off, leaving only resort estates and the like. There are not many left in Tokyo either; at least most of them have been sold off."

"Are you worried that John, that little fox, has some kind of scheme, or are you worried that there will be problems with the real estate market in Japan? Given the current economic situation in Japan and the enthusiasm of the market, real estate prices will only continue to rise, not fall. As for the scheme, do you think John could have any other scheme now that he has withdrawn most of his investment from Japan? Is it that small investment company or something else?"

Not everyone thought John was scheming or plotting, because the current situation didn't seem problematic at all, and the assets John initially sold had made these guys a fortune.

"Alright, he meant well by reminding us. After all, John, that little fox, withdrew a bit too quickly and was too easy to talk to. Even though he left behind this 'warning,' it still made some people worried. After all, John used to own quite a lot of real estate, and now he's withdrawn it all so cleanly, which naturally makes people suspicious."

"What's there to doubt? Actually, it's all because John himself doesn't have a good view of Japanese real estate. He's looking at Japanese real estate from a Western perspective, so naturally, he's making mistakes. Americans don't care about real estate at all, since there's plenty of land and a small population. When comparing real estate in the US and Europe, they naturally feel that the housing prices in Japan are a bit too high for them to accept. But it's not like that in Europe and America, nor in Asia. Naturally, they will invest their limited funds in places with lower risks, rather than choosing Japan. We should understand that. After all, different perspectives lead to different decisions. You can't judge everything from your own point of view. Another reason is the friendship between Morita-san and John. Under the same circumstances, he would naturally prefer to cooperate with Sony rather than other companies."

(End of this chapter)