America's No. 1 financial conglomerate

Chapter 406 Not an opponent, but a teammate

At the mention of the word "Amazon," Quinn Major's gaze unconsciously drifted away, as if drawn by a magnet, searching for a figure in the bustling crowd.

Before long, Quinn’s gaze was precisely locked onto a figure on the other side of the venue.

He was a middle-aged man with slightly receding hair, wearing a dark gray suit, talking quietly with several colleagues beside him. His every move exuded composure and control.

After confirming the target, Quinn slowly withdrew his gaze and turned to Ernst in front of him. A slightly teasing smile appeared on his lips as he said, "I was just wondering why I felt a faint hostile gaze on me. I don't think I have any connection with that guy, let alone any grudges or affections. I really can't figure out where this hostility comes from."

He paused briefly, a knowing glint in his eyes. "Now I understand. Bezos's hostile gaze wasn't really aimed at me, but at you. You're trying to step into his territory and steal his business; no wonder he's so ruthless."

On the surface, Ernst's planned e-commerce business does not seem to have any direct conflict or overlap with Amazon's current main business.

Ernst was talking about online retail, while Amazon's core business is selling books.

But it's clear to anyone with eyes to see that Amazon and Bezos have big ambitions.

Just over a month ago, Amazon officially announced its plans to expand into the audio-visual products sector.

The business scope has been expanded from books to audio-visual products such as music and film discs.

With its user base, supply chain management experience, and brand influence accumulated in book e-commerce operations, it is highly likely to replicate its successful book business model in the audio-visual product e-commerce sector and quickly seize market share.

Once Amazon successfully opens up a market gap in the audio-visual products sector, it will certainly not be satisfied with the status quo and will most likely further expand its business boundaries, gradually penetrating more retail segments.

And what about the e-commerce project that Ernst is now trying to push forward with all his might?

Although Ernst did not elaborate on which business segments his e-commerce would cover, Quinn was almost certain that the book sector would be an indispensable part of Ernst's strategy.

As a pioneering category in the e-commerce field, books not only have a stable consumer base, but Amazon has also gained recognition from e-commerce users. With successful precedents to follow, it is possible to accumulate users.

Thinking of this, Quinn's gaze unconsciously drifted once again to a corner in the northwest of the venue.

There, two people were having a pleasant conversation, occasionally letting out light laughter. Judging from their body language and expressions, the atmosphere of their discussion was extremely harmonious.

One of them Quinn recognized was Kongsberg, CEO of Barnes & Noble, one of America's largest brick-and-mortar bookstore chains.

Quinn didn't recognize the man who was talking to Consberg, but he clearly remembered that this man had come with Ernst earlier.

He couldn't think of any other reasonable explanation for the two people's contact, other than discussing cooperation in the field of books.

Ernst wants to enter the online bookstore market, and Barnes & Noble is undoubtedly one of the best partners. Don't forget that Barnes & Noble and Amazon are competitors, and the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Moreover, Ernst has a good relationship with Bertelsmann Group, the global leader in the cultural and entertainment industry, and the two sides have in-depth business dealings in many fields such as music and publishing.

Previously, Ernst's MGM film company successfully acquired Bertelsmann Music Group through equity acquisition. Whether in the field of book publishing and distribution or in the production and distribution of audio-visual products, Ernst seems to have more channel resources and content resources than Amazon does now.

Then Quinn thought of IMDB, and a chill ran down his spine as he pondered the thought.

As a film enthusiast, Quinn is a loyal user of IMDB, frequently checking the site for movie news, actor information, and audience ratings.

He suddenly remembered that IMDB had also been acquired by this guy in front of him.

From books and audio-visual products to cultural and entertainment content, and now to high-profile participation in the retail industry conference, this guy has been laying the groundwork for a long time.

Quinn couldn't help but have a bold idea pop into his mind: since he was already involved in these businesses, could he further expand into more retail sub-sectors such as pharmaceuticals, furniture, and tools?

Is it possible for a single website to sell goods from all over the world?

If Ernst can truly achieve this goal and gain an advantage in commodity prices by leveraging its strong resource integration capabilities and economies of scale, it will undoubtedly be a disruptive force for the traditional retail industry, potentially triggering a complete reshuffling of the entire retail sector.

Even if the entire e-commerce system only takes away 20% of the market share from the traditional retail industry in the future, it will be enough to cause a large number of stores to close down.

Thinking of this, Quinn's gaze towards Ernst became more eager. If they could get involved, it could be a rare opportunity for the future of the Meijer Group. "Ernst, is your e-commerce project still short of funding?"

However, as soon as he finished speaking, Quinn couldn't help but smile wryly, even shaking his head with a self-deprecating tone, as if he was amused by the question he had just asked.

Who was Ernst?

How could his project possibly lack funding?

Even if his e-commerce project really needs funding, it would definitely be a huge strategic investment, something that the Major Group couldn't easily come up with.

While the Meijer Group is a well-known American company, and the family is considered one of the wealthiest in the country, representing a top family in Michigan, it pales in comparison to the business empire controlled by Ernst, both in terms of asset size and...

There is still a certain gap in terms of influence.

Just as Quinn was feeling embarrassed about his earlier rashness, Ernst smiled and said, "No one ever thinks they have too much money, but I don't need it right now."

"However, this does not mean that there is no possibility of cooperation between us. I came to this retail conference to find suitable partners for my e-commerce project."

"Hmm?" Quinn hadn't expected there to be a turning point, but he didn't quite understand what Ernst meant.

"How do you want to cooperate?" he asked curiously.

Ernst looked at him and smiled without saying a word. This silence lasted for a moment, and Quinn's brows furrowed more and more, and he even began to get a little impatient.

Just then, Ernst slowly spoke, "Are you capable of making decisions for the Meijer Group?"

Quinn's face instantly turned ugly. If it weren't for the inappropriate occasion, he would have liked to throw a punch at him. It was too disrespectful.

However, he then slumped in dejection because he knew the other party was telling the truth.

Although he is the legal heir of the Meijer family, and the Meijer Group is essentially a family business, this does not mean that he has the final say within the group.

His father is still on the throne, in his fifties and in his prime. In the company, he's no different from an ordinary employee; he has absolutely no power.

No.

Furthermore, although the Meier Group is a family business, its shareholding structure is not entirely controlled by the Meier family.

In addition to the core members of the Major family holding a large number of shares, the group also sold some shares to external investors in order to raise funds and expand its business during its development.

Although these external shareholders do not directly participate in the group's daily operations and management, they still have a say and voting rights on key issues such as major strategic decisions and equity changes.

He shrugged helplessly, his tone tinged with self-deprecation and weariness, "When do you want to see my father?"

Since your own word doesn't count, then find someone else to do it.

Quinn glared at him irritably, then stood up and strode quickly toward the area in the hall where his father was.

Watching Quinn's hurried departure, Ernst slowly picked up the wine glass on the table, took a small sip, and patiently waited for Grom Major's arrival.

In the construction of offline delivery systems for e-commerce, community stores are undoubtedly one of the best partners.

Community stores are located close to residents' living areas, with natural advantages such as wide distribution and proximity to consumers, enabling rapid delivery of goods and greatly enhancing the consumer shopping experience.

However, this does not mean that e-commerce offline expansion does not require large supermarkets.

For example, most community stores do not sell fresh fruits and vegetables, and even if they do, they are mostly simple frozen products.

Large chain supermarkets are completely different. Many of them have their own independent slaughterhouses, and some even have their own fruit and vegetable planting bases and cold chain logistics systems.

Although the delivery time of goods in large supermarkets is relatively slow, Ernst believes that this is not an intolerable problem.

It doesn't matter if the distance is far and the delivery is slow; the important thing is that the online store for flash sales must have this kind of product.

Can it be slower than express delivery? Community stores can deliver to your door within an hour, and fresh produce can be delivered to your door within a day, right?

One good thing about America is that there isn't much of a concept of freshness for fruits and vegetables.

It's not that Americans eat spoiled or rotten fruits and vegetables, but rather that they don't have the same concept as Chinese grandmothers that vegetables must be eaten in the morning to be good.

Take fish for example. Americans may never eat a live fish in their lifetime because they prefer to eat sea fish and rarely eat river fish with many bones.

Sea fish, they're all frozen, so what's the difference between buying them in the morning and buying them at night?

With the United States' logistics system and current refrigerated transportation technology, it's simply impossible to buy fresh produce online over long distances without relying on direct delivery from local brick-and-mortar stores.

There are many similar products, so Ernst needs these large supermarkets as partners, but community stores are even more important.

Just as he was pondering this, Grom, who was not far away, was also pulled into a corner by his son.

He had originally intended to inquire about the relationship between Quinn and Ernst, and to ask Ernst the purpose of attending the retail industry conference, to see if there was any possibility of cooperation.

Unexpectedly, Quinn directly offered him a cooperation opportunity and explained Ernst's ambition to develop e-commerce and its potential impact on the retail industry.

"I think we need to seize this opportunity." Quinn looked at Grom very seriously.

"But we don't understand the internet industry at all, what if..." Grom didn't say it outright, but Quinn knew he was afraid of being set up by Ernst.

He curled his lip in response, saying with some disdain, "Do you think they'd even look at our family's assets? Besides, what's wrong with going over to have a chat and get to know them? It's not like we've already decided to cooperate."

Grom thought about it and agreed. Even if the deal fell through, they could still maintain good relations and expand their network.

As the two walked toward Ernst, many people frowned slightly.

From the moment Ernst entered, everyone was paying attention to this tycoon, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

Just now it was Quinn, and the two of them looked like they'd known each other for years. Now his father, Grom, has also gone over, so it's not just a simple reunion; there's a business connection between them.

These people were eager to know what Ernst was up to by attending the retail industry conference and now meeting with Grom Major, and whether they could get a piece of the pie.

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