America: My Time

Chapter 712 The Myth Shattered?

Chapter 702 The Myth Shattered?

After arranging the cooperation with that old guy Akio Morita, John breathed a sigh of relief. This kind of work would be over soon. Once the neon bubble burst, there wouldn't be so many problems, or at least not so many schemes and conspiracies. Those guys would be struggling to protect themselves, let alone have the mind to scheme against him.

Although the dance machine is finished, the music needs to be completed as soon as possible. John's visit to Japan was also for this reason. Many dance tracks require licensing, and it is most appropriate for the big boss to handle it personally. Only in this way can everything be completed in the shortest time and the launch date of the dance machine be avoided.

It has to be said that Sony is fast. In just three days, they reached an agreement with Taiwan and their cooperation quickly began. The promotion in Japan also started slowly. As the first batch of internet cafe alliances were promoted, things gradually changed in Japan. The allure of online games was also great in Japan, and soon many people were willing to join the internet cafe alliance. Akio Morita was happy because he saw huge profits.

John hadn't expected the situation in Japan to be so crazy. In a short time, the number of people applying to join was so large that the reception staff at the Internet Cafe Alliance were struggling to keep up. There were just too many appointments. Even with prior preparation, the Sony representatives were still somewhat shocked by the crazy increase in the number of people.

At this rate, it probably won't be long before they achieve the minimum guarantee. This also showed John how crazy the Japanese were during the bubble era; they really didn't care about money. However, it's hard to say how long these guys can keep it up. After all, the franchise fee is paid for five years upfront, plus monthly management fees. Since the internet cafe alliance needs to use servers, the management fees naturally won't be cheap. But looking at the crazy number of orders, you can see how high the revenue of existing internet cafes is.

If things continue this crazy way, it might not be difficult for those guys to recoup their investment, and they might even make a small profit. However, it's hard to say whether they can hold out for five years. After all, once the bubble bursts and Japan's economy collapses, it's uncertain whether such a crazy side will still exist.

When John's estimates in Japan went wrong once again, the Japanese no longer took his financial abilities seriously, thinking that his calculations in Japan were flawed. At the same time, the old guys in the US were also somewhat surprised, not expecting things to turn out this way, and began to waver, especially the guys on Wall Street. They felt that John's myth was beginning to crumble, otherwise he wouldn't have made such a big mistake in Japan.

At this point, many people compared the assets John sold during his withdrawal from Japan and discovered that he had suffered considerable losses, especially in real estate. Although John ultimately made a decent profit, the difference between the pre-sale prices and the current prices was significant. Therefore, some people felt that John's previous success in finance was merely luck and did not demonstrate his absolute ability; otherwise, how could he have made such a large 'mistake' in this transaction? Furthermore, the current development of the internet cafe league in Japan also suggests that John's view of the Japanese economy was fundamentally flawed.

"What exactly happened? Why would John sign such a cooperation agreement with Sony? Even if ASUS's production capacity is insufficient, such a cooperation arrangement should not be made. This involves huge profits. Now his financial myth is being questioned. What exactly is this little fox trying to do?"

Upon receiving Jimmy's report, Morgan frowned. His instincts told him there must be a conspiracy behind this, though he couldn't discern its nature. If John truly couldn't see through everything in Japan, then why were his previous investments so astonishing? These guys only saw John's current losses, not his gains.

“Boss, there are quite a few voices like this on Wall Street right now. If John’s judgment is flawed again, I’m afraid their fear of John will completely disappear, and all the myths will be shattered!” At this moment, Jimmy couldn’t help but show a hint of doubt on his face. This didn’t seem like John’s way of doing things. How could he make such a wrong decision, and a mistake in business at that?

"Jimmy, do you think there's a conspiracy behind this? Could it be John's scheme? Even if ASUS's production capacity is insufficient, they could choose to outsource production instead of handing over the entire Japanese market to Sony. This doesn't make sense; he has no reason to do this. And judging from Japan's reaction, Sony's profits will be enormous. This is a new market." "I also can't see through John's scheme. If it's John's mistake, I think it's impossible. The only explanation is that John still doesn't have a good outlook on the Japanese economy and still believes there are problems with it. So he's unwilling to focus his limited energy on Japan and instead chooses to target Europe and the US. As for the losses, I don't think so. They only see the benefits Sony gains but don't see how crazy the internet cafe alliance's revenue is. Five years of franchise fees is a considerable income, not to mention the monthly management fees. It's an incredibly enviable business as long as no other internet cafe alliance appears. Moreover, it has amazing revenue in Europe, the US, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Many of the stores in the US and Europe are their own operations, and most importantly, these stores are part of their repair department."

"In other words, John, that little fox, had planned it all out long ago. He was preparing for future sales and service, not only earning a good franchise fee but also establishing sales and service networks in various locations. It's a brilliant strategy to keep after-sales service under his control and to have it spread across major cities."

"That's right. The pace in the US is accelerating because they already have this advantage, and this isn't the first time they've made such a layout. Global Online did the same thing back then, and now they're completing their layout in the US at the fastest speed. In comparison, the franchisees' speed isn't as fast as their own expansion. Just from this point alone, you can tell that John's layout has already begun, but no one knows it."

"That's normal. The US is where he knows best and where his foundation is. Do you think he would be completely unprepared? Besides, it doesn't involve production and can provide good job opportunities. It would be a problem if he gave up. Don't underestimate this little fox's reaction to this. Even if he can't see it, his think tank staff will see it for him. Only when he has completely completed his layout in the US will there be faster development. Everyone underestimated his layout in semiconductors. Those old guys are probably dumbfounded now. Look at John's layout, and then look at their layout. There's simply no comparison. A perfectly good game world has now fallen into such a predicament, which is laughable."

“Jimmy, perhaps we should ask John, that little fox, when Global Online will be spun off and listed. I think the time is almost ripe. Their internet network has completed its global layout, and if they want to develop further, they will need more funds, which is beyond what Global Online can afford on its own.”

"Now it will probably take more time, and John's situation is not as difficult as we thought. At least his layout in Europe has already begun. Global Online has already penetrated into Europe with the help of the Internet Cafe Alliance. At least it has already started, and they were not unprepared at first."

"Universities and financial institutions—it seems I underestimated this little fox's planning abilities. I originally thought it was nothing, but now I realize I was wrong. No wonder John, this little fox, paid such a price back then; everything was preparation for today. Although it was just a very crude network, it was a start. Now all we need to do is refine it little by little, and through a deception, we've fooled everyone."

At this point, Morgan Stanley realized why Global Online had initially provided such strong support and investment to universities and financial institutions. Now everything made sense – it was all for the sake of today's expansion.

"That's exactly right. Right now, Global Online is using this network as the backbone to fully complete their layout in the United States, and the same goes for Canada. It's safe to say that it won't be long before they complete all of this. At that time, the entire internet in the United States will be in the hands of Global Online. Even if someone wants to compete with them, it will be too late, and they certainly won't be able to do what they have done."

"Is John, that little fox, still in Japan? What is he doing there? Does he have other plans in Japan? Do you think John will continue to delve deeper into the internet world?"

Hearing his boss's question, Jimmy shook his head with a wry smile and said, "I don't know what that little fox John is up to now. As for his plans in Japan, nobody can understand them. You could say he doesn't own much real estate anymore, and even the 7-Eleven stores are all leased. However, something is very strange. After the reorganization of 7-Eleven in Japan, the development speed in the Tokyo area has accelerated, and new changes have been made. What's puzzling is that this time 7-Eleven is not expanding aggressively, but rather proceeding slowly. This makes many people feel incredible. With 7-Eleven's current strength, it could easily accelerate its expansion instead of sticking to the Tokyo area. If it weren't for the fact that they've been accepting franchisees, people would think that 7-Eleven is going to withdraw from Japan!"

(End of this chapter)