Chapter 455 Rich and willful shopping (7K chapter, please subscribe~)

   The details are not discussed at this meeting. Whether it is the acquisition of theaters, record companies, or the details, it needs to be analyzed in detail by Chu Huan and the heads of each company after this meeting.

  So after arranging the black and white media affairs, Chu Huan set his sights on Kang Qingyang, the general manager of North American Fantasy Comics, and Terrence Stahan, the deputy general manager.

Compared with Shanhai Cinemas and Youyu Records, they still need to find a suitable acquisition company, make an analysis of the entire industry, and a series of things such as the development status of each company. It seems much simpler.

  Because the goal of fantasy comics has already been set, the two largest comic companies in North America, Marvel and DC.

"Acquiring Marvel should be a relatively easy thing. In 1968, Goodman sold Marvel to Cadance Industries for $15 million. In the early 1970s, With the price war, Marvel has become the best-selling comic company in North America. However, due to the fading of the old cartoonists, Marvel is now going through their labor pains. I think that as long as the price is right, Cadence Industries Definitely would be very willing to sell Marvel."

  Kang Qingyang reported to Chu Huan.

  As for the best-selling comic magazine in North America, it is naturally "Fantasy Comics" now.

In fact, when entering the 1970s, the comics industry in North America had entered a downward cycle, so in the early 1970s, Marvel and DC reached a consensus to increase the price of comics, from 10 cents to 25 cents all the way. The number of pages of each book has been expanded from 36 pages to 52 pages.

However, it has only been implemented for a month, and Goodman, who has not yet retired, began to reduce the number of pages, and the price was also reduced to 20 cents. He also increased the share ratio for the newsstand owner, allowing Marvel's works to occupy the prime position on the shelf. .

  When DC woke up like a dream and adjusted back to 20 cents, they had already lost.

  Marvel became the number one comic company in the United States and even the world for the first time at that time.

In 1972, when Goodman retired, the person in charge of Cadance Industries decided to let Stan Lee take over as the chairman and publisher of Marvel, and the one who took over the position of editor-in-chief was the one who co-created "" with Stan Lee. Thomas from X-Men.

  Just at this time, Marvel also encountered its own problems, and was facing the iteration and alternation of new and old painters.

  Thomas went to various comic exhibitions to select talents from among the fans; and the veteran painter was approaching the point where he was running out of fuel.

In addition, when Marvel developed into the No. 1 comic company in the United States, their aggressiveness actually disappeared. The overall Marvel superhero comics tended to be conservative and lacked innovation. Although more women and blacks were added as protagonists, But he has never escaped from the rut of self-plagiarism and conformity.

   Does it look familiar, like a Marvel movie before Chu Huan's rebirth.

   After dominating the superhero movies, Marvel began to play tricks, forming the Alliance of Women Enemies, touting black heroes and so on.

  In fact, these are the leftovers of Marvel Comics as early as the 1970s.

  That's why some people say that history is always surprisingly similar.

   But no matter what, during this period, as Kang Qingyang just said, Marvel is in a state of transition from prosperity to decline, but a dead camel is bigger than a horse. After all, Marvel is one of the two largest comic companies in North America.

  That's why Kang Qingyang said that as long as the price is right, Cadance Industries would be very willing to sell Marvel.

And if Chu Huan buys Marvel now, there is another advantage, that is, the superheroes under Marvel are still honestly in the big family of Marvel, not like the 408 that was demolished later. fall.

   "You just said that Marvel is relatively easy, which means that DC is more difficult?"

  Chu Huan sat in his seat, looked at Kang Qingyang calmly and asked.

Teren Stahan replied at this time: "DC is now under the name of Warner, and I heard that Warner had just sold the film and television rights of Superman to independent producer Alexander Salkind. I definitely want to see how much profit the Superman movie can bring them!

   Moreover, now that DC's Superman and Batman animation series are also very popular, I don't think Warner will have the idea of ​​​​selling DC. "

Compared with the ill-fated fate of Marvel Comics, DC's life in the early days was quite moist. As early as 1969, DC was acquired by Warner and became a subsidiary of Warner without financial pressure. , So in the future development history of DC, there has never been such a thing as Marvel selling its own company's superhero copyrights all over the world.

  Although Marvel has surpassed DC in terms of comic sales, DC has far surpassed Marvel in the development of its peripherals.

  This is also the reason why you can enjoy the shade by leaning against a big tree.

But even so, DC has a history of being almost sold, but that was in the 1980s. At that time, the box office of Superman's follow-up movies began to hit the street, which gave the president of Warner the idea of ​​​​selling DC, and even contacted Manga. Wei, but was rejected by Marvel.

  Actually, at that time, Warner still had the idea of ​​​​bad Marvel, because at that time Warner only wanted to sell the distribution rights of DC comics to Marvel, which did not include other copyrights of the heroes under the name of DC.

  Chu Huan thought for a while, and said, "I will do the acquisition of DC. Is there any problem with Marvel handing it over to you two?"

  Kang Qingyang and Terrence Stahan looked at each other and nodded at the same time: "No problem!"

   "Well, just like Black & White Media, when you two return to the company, come up with a budget and hand it in!"

  Chu Huan said directly.

  Kang Qingyang and Terrence Stahan nodded in excitement at the same time.

If Fantasy Comics can acquire the two major comic companies DC and Marvel at the same time, then these two companies will definitely develop under the leadership of North American Fantasy Comics. Rights naturally rise with the tide.

   More importantly, according to the rules set by Chu Huan, the person in charge of the company owns 0.2% of the company's annual profit share, which means huge wealth.

  After finalizing the North American Fantasy Comic Club, Chu Huan turned his attention to Zhang Weihua, the general manager of North American Wolf Smoke Games, and Vince Gould, the deputy general manager.

   "Although Wolf Smoke Games is a newly established company, the company's performance is very good, especially in North American sales!"

  Seeing that Chu Huan praised the performance of Beacon Game in North America as soon as he came up, Zhang Weihua and Vince Gould both showed smiles on their faces.

"However, it was completed under the leadership of General Manager Bao Tianming, so I have no way to evaluate the specific working abilities of the two of you, but the company will launch two new games in July this year. The sales of the game in North America is the performance of the two of you, and I hope you two will not let me down."

   Wolf Smoke Games does not need to acquire any company.

First of all, whether it is arcade games or other games, they are still emerging industries all over the world. Even if there are companies like Atari, as long as Wolf Smoke Games can continuously launch new arcade games and For video game consoles and handhelds, there is no need to worry about the company Atari.

  So at this stage, what the North American Wolf Smoke game has to do is actually defend its own position.

  Zhang Weihua, the smile on Vince Gould's face is gone, replaced by seriousness and hard work after being stimulated.

   "Chairman, please rest assured, we will definitely make the company's two new games become even more popular arcade games."

  Zhang Weihua assured Chu Huan seriously.

  Chu Huan nodded with a smile, and said: "Okay, if you can really do it, then I will come to North America again to celebrate your achievements!"

   "Thank you, Chairman!"

  As for the two persons in charge of Qingjin Clothing, general manager Li Haojun and deputy general manager Taylor Smith explained to Chu Huan the process of their acquisition of Nike.

Last year, Nike's annual turnover was only 5 million U.S. dollars. Although it was not listed, Nike's asset value was estimated to be around 15 million U.S. dollars. After negotiations between Qingjin Clothing and Nike, they finally bought all of them at a price of 20 million U.S. dollars. Shares of Nike.

  Nike has also become a wholly-owned holding company of Qingjin Clothing!

   "After the acquisition of Nike, according to your instructions, the chairman, the company has been completing the screening of Nike's management during this time!"

  Now that the milk department has been acquired, Chu Huan will naturally not allow anyone related to the original founder to stay in Nike.

   Just keep most of the management.

After Chu Huan finished listening, he nodded and said: "I already have a general understanding of the company's situation in North America. Starting tomorrow, each company will report the specific situation to me. Today's meeting will end here first. !"

   After leaving Rockefeller Center, Chu Huan returned to his residence.

  It is already past three o'clock in the afternoon, and Cao Yunshang has already woken up from a nap.

   Seeing Chu Huan return home, he handed Chu Huan a can of Coke, and then asked with concern: "How is it? Is there any problem with the company in North America?"

  Chu Huan took the Coke in Cao Yunshang's hand, took a sip, and said with a smile: "There will be no problem now."

   Of these four companies, the most influential in North America is the Fantasy Comic Club and the newly established Wolf Smoke Games.

Fantasy Comic Club has completed its layout in North America a few years ago, so naturally there will be no problems. Wolf Smoke Games is a new establishment. Although its performance in North America is very good, and there is also Atari as a competitor, Yada Li's fighting power is really not enough.

  In addition, the rise of Wolfsmoke Games is too fast, and Atari has not yet reacted to it. The "Donkey Kong" of Wolfsmoke Games has completed its dominance of the North American arcade industry.

  As for Black & White Media and Qingjin Clothing, although these two companies are very powerful in Xiangjiang and Southeast Asia, they are not well-known in North America, and no one will notice these two companies at this stage.

   "But I think these two companies should spread in North America soon!"

  Cao Yunshang knows Chu Huan too well. Since Chu Huan put the first stop of the overseas armory in North America, there must be a good start.

  Now in Chu Huan's hands, there is not much else, but cash.

   This amount of cash can also set off a bloodbath in North America in this era.

  Chu Huan nodded, and said: "Let's say it's a **** storm. Xiangjiang is still too small, and some of them can't be used. It's different here. Money is never enough."

  How much money did Chu Huan prepare for this trip to North America?

   There are a total of 1 billion US dollars!

This time, Chu Huan brought all the profits from Kyushu for the past three months, and part of the funds from Beacon Games were invested in the research and development of Beacon games and game consoles, Kyushu computers, Kyushu mobile communications, and Kyushu batteries. .

   Of course, a large sum of money was left in Xiangjiang.

In the next few years, there will be no such good opportunities. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the economic development of Europe and the United States and other places stagnated due to the international situation, but the company that Chu Huan wanted was available. Not the same situation.

Take Nike as an example. Chu Huan only spent 20 million U.S. dollars to acquire Nike. Revenue also reached $269 million.

  This is due to the fact that Nike developed tailwind running shoes with shock-absorbing technology in 1979. In addition, Nike also launched sportswear, which allowed Nike to quickly occupy the North American market.

  Now Nike is in the hands of Chu Huan, and these will also be made by Jia Ku leading Nike.

  Of course, it is impossible for Chu Huan to invest all the 1 billion US dollars in North America. After all, Chu Huan has to go to Europe to accompany Cao Yunshang to buy Spring Department Store!

  Cao Yunshang was stunned for a moment, and asked Chu Huan: "Is there a problem with the funds?"

  Chu Huan shook his head with a smile, and said: "Of course not, the main reason is that some companies may not be able to acquire them even if they have money, so there is such an exclamation."

  Cao Yunshang thought that Chu Huan was talking about some media groups, and said with a smile: "There will always be opportunities!"

"Ok!"

  In the evening, Chu Huan met with David Maxwell at Eleven Madison Park, a top restaurant in Manhattan.

  Introduced by Ma Jizu, after Chu Huan and David Maxwell got to know each other and greeted each other for a few words, Chu Huan brought the topic to work.

"I believe, David, you should already have some understanding of the North American League. My time in New York is limited, so let's get straight to the point. I personally hope that you, David, can join the North American League and lead the North American League. A big ship sails!"

  If it was someone else, maybe Chu Huan would have agreed to it excitedly at this time, but David Maxwell is called one of the most successful CEOs in North American history by Fortune, so he naturally has his ability.

Therefore, David Maxwell did not answer Chu Huan's question immediately, but said: "Mr. Chu, first of all, I am very grateful for your trust in me, and let me take the position of general manager of North America. During this period of time, I have indeed learned about the development of companies such as Mr. Chu and Jiaku in the past few years.

   I have to say that Mr. Chu is the only business genius I have ever seen in my life. In just a few years, he can expand his business to such an amazing level! "

  Chu Huan accepted David Maxwell's compliment calmly.

  David Maxwell continued: "I have also thought about the problems that I will face after becoming a North American club. Let me tell you what I think. Mr. Chu, see if it is the same as what you think?"

  Chu Huan smiled and said, "Please!"

David Maxwell said: "Actually, in my research, I found that although the development of these companies under the name of Mr. Chu in North America is just in its infancy, in fact, the development of each company is very healthy. I believe that within a few years, they will have a very large influence in North America.

   This has little to do with who is the general manager of Jiaku.

But Mr. Chu, you still asked Manager Ma to find me. I think Mr. Chu should have considered his identity and the business environment in North America, so Mr. Chu hopes that there is a North American who can stand in front and face those outside of business. thing right? "

  Chu Huan nodded and said, "Yes, David, what you said is indeed the same as what I think, but there is one thing I don't think you know."

  David Maxwell asked: "I don't know what Mr. Chu means?"

  Chu Huan said: "I don't just want you, David, to be a facade. If this is the case, there will be more people in North America who are more suitable than you, David."

  David Maxwell nodded, and did not deny Chu Huan's statement. He is not well-known in the North American business world, and only has some fame in a small circle. This is what David Maxwell wants to understand the most.

  He never doubted his ability, but he never thought that Chu Huan would know him, and a super rich man far away in Xiangjiang would know him, which is a very surprising thing in itself.

   "I'm looking forward to Mr. Chu, what else are you going to ask me to do?"

Chu Huan said: "Please serve as the general manager of the North American League Library. First of all, the first thought is what you just said, David, but at the same time, I may have more respect for your personal ability than yourself. Confidence, so you are definitely not just a simple mascot in Jiaku. More importantly, I hope you can use this position as the general manager of North American Jiaku to integrate resources from other companies and solve business problems for it.

Finally, North America Jiaku belongs to an independent company after all, so I also hope that Jiaku can have its own ability to make money, so when I leave North America, I will take out 50 million US dollars as the start-up capital of Jiaku. Whether to invest or do other things, the management of North America is responsible for all of them, and I only look at the annual benefits. "

  David Maxwell's expression began to change.

  50 million US dollars is not a small amount. If it is operated properly, there will be at least 20% annual income.

   This is still a minimum standard. After all, Chu Huan wants to make himself fully responsible for this matter. David Maxwell has never doubted his ability.

   "If this is the case, I don't think I have any reason to reject you, Chairman!"

  Chu Huan picked up the wine glass, smiled and said to David Maxwell: "You are very welcome to join Jiaku!"

   "Thank you very much to the chairman for inviting me to join the North American League Library!" David Maxwell also said.

   Facts have proved that Chu Huan did not believe in David Maxwell wrongly. After receiving Chu Huan's 50 million US dollars, David Maxwell formulated the future development direction of the North American league.

In addition to being responsible for coordinating Chu Huan’s work in other companies in North America, he also made his own investment. After some research, David Maxwell set his sights on the technology industry in North America, away from the sunset manufacturing industry.

  At the same time, due to the advancement of science and technology, David Maxwell is keenly aware that this progress will drive the rapid development of a series of emerging industries, such as communications, aerospace, and biomedical industries.

   This series of investments allowed Chu Huan to invest 50 million U.S. dollars in the North American armor library, and by the end of the 1990s, it had reached tens of billions of dollars.

  At that time, David Maxwell retired, and as a reward for David Maxwell, Chu Huan also gave David Maxwell 1% of the Dell stocks controlled by his company.

  Of course, at that time, Chu Huan also warned David Maxwell that he should accept it as soon as it was good, and sold the shares of Dell at the right time along with the North American League Library.

  Only for this item, David Maxwell earned 1.7 billion US dollars!

  Although David Maxwell did not have the record of saving the North American Federal Low Pressure Association in this time and space, he was still named by Fortune as one of the most successful CEOs in North American history by virtue of his contribution to the North American league pool.

  The next day, in Rockefeller Center, in Ku Chuhuan's office!

Chu Huan was sitting on an office chair, and sitting on the opposite sofa was David Maxwell, who will officially join the North American League library today, and Ruan Jin and Joey Farley from North American Black and White Media were sitting opposite Chu Huan. Me, Xu Yi, and Wu Shuhan.

At the company's collective meeting yesterday, Chu Huan assigned three tasks to the two of them, namely, to sell "True News" to Chinatowns in major cities in North America, to acquire theaters and expand them, and to acquire a North American company. Record companies that already have scale.

   "Chairman, this is the list of theater companies and record companies in North America that we have compiled, including the introduction of each company and the approximate cost of the acquisition."

  Chu Huan glanced at Wu Shuhan and said, "Print a copy for David!"

  Wu Shuhan nodded and took the list, reprinted a copy, and handed it to David Maxwell.

   "How is it? You are more familiar with North America, do you have any good suggestions?" Chu Huan looked at the list in his hand and asked David Maxwell.

David Maxwell said with a modest smile: "Chairman, I haven't been involved in the media field before, and I'm not very familiar with it, but according to the information I have checked in the past few days, what we should pay attention to in terms of theaters should be It's not the number of screens they have, but the location of the theaters. Theaters in prosperous areas are the main force at the box office, and they can also ask for more shares from the production companies.

In addition, I also think that multi-purpose cinema halls will become mainstream in the future, and this will virtually bring more benefits to theaters, such as various food and beverages sold in theaters, etc., and even some small theaters can be built. Themed playground.

  So in terms of theaters, my suggestion is the location, the scale of a single theater or the scale that can be expanded, and the number of theaters in the multi-functional screening hall. These three aspects are the most important.

  As for the record company, I think singers and publicity channels are the most important. You can start with these two aspects to find a suitable record company.

  However, now that North America has strength, large-scale record companies are basically attached to some big conglomerates. If they want to succeed in acquisitions, the difficulty will definitely exceed that of theater companies! "

  Although David Maxwell did not give a specific name, Chu Huan was still very satisfied with David Maxwell's opinion.

Then he said to Ruan Jin and Joey Farrell: "You two have heard David's opinion, and I basically think the same way. Under this condition, you can delineate the appropriate theater company and record company. company, and then approach the other party.”

  Since there is no specified goal, this method can only be used.

  Ruan Jin and Joey Rafael nodded and said, "Okay."

  David Maxwell continued: "Chairman, after I went back last night, I saw Xiangjiang Black and White Media. It is a very large media group. Would it be a waste if we only do these two things in North America?"

  Chu Huan didn't believe that David Maxwell didn't know the requirements of each country's media industry, and said with a smile, "Then what good advice do you have?"

  David Maxwell said: "Although every country has very strict controls on its own media industry, it doesn't mean that there are things we can't do, such as the TV industry!"

  Chu Huan showed an interested expression, and said, "Tell me what you think."

David Maxwell said: "If it is a TV station in the ordinary sense, it is definitely not acceptable, but what if we acquire a special type of TV station, such as a dedicated movie sports channel, which only broadcasts movies and sports. Don't do news programs?

TV sets are becoming more and more common now, which will inevitably have a certain impact on the film industry, but it will also open up a new field, that is, the field of TV movies. If we can create a movie channel and adopt a fee-based model, we can Release the movie that has just been painted, I think this should be a good direction! "

  Chu Huan asked with a smile: "You mean the green channel HBO?"

HBO was established in 1965 by North American businessman Charles Duran after he won the right to operate the cable TV system in Manhattan, New York. It became the first cable TV network in North America to transmit programs through the urban underground wire system. It directly replaced The way electricity poles and microwave antennas pick up signals.

   But back then it was called the Green Channel.

   On November 8, 1972, the "Green Channel" was renamed "HomeBox Office" or HBO.

However, the first paid program that HBO made was not a movie, but the ice hockey league game between the New York Rangers and the Vancouver Canucks held at Madison Square Garden. "The Great Fight" starring Fonda.

"That's right, that's the model. I just joined Jiaku and haven't made any contribution to the company. If the chairman believes in me, I can handle this matter. I happen to have some connections with Manhattan Cable TV. relation!"

  David Maxwell preaches earnestly.

   And~·

  

  

  (end of this chapter)