Chapter 497: Stopping 7-Eleven from Becoming a Japanese Brand!
Setting down the phone, Lin Haoran leaned back in his recliner, lost in thought.
Land Corporation and Hong Kong Electric Group now commanded the most powerful sales networks in Hong Kong, especially through Land Corporation's subsidiary, Dairy Farm International.
But beyond Hong Kong, their distribution channels were weak, with only some influence in Southeast Asia.
That was why, when he was in the United States, he had deliberately invested in Walmart — the future No. 1 retail enterprise worldwide.
Now, not only had he invested $15 million into the then-fledgling Walmart, but he had also secretly ordered Huanyu Investment Company to continue acquiring shares.
His aim wasn't just to profit from Walmart's future stock surge —
it was also to secure a voice in the world's leading retail giant.
With such a powerful retail channel under his control, many of his future products would have no trouble selling.
After all, though manufacturing and retail were technically different industries, they were tightly intertwined.
Retail acted as the critical link between production and consumption.
Innovative retail could stimulate consumption, drive domestic markets, and promote high-quality manufacturing growth.
Still, merely securing Walmart wasn't enough.
After all, Walmart mainly operated supermarkets.
Another critical retail sector was, of course, convenience stores.
Lin Haoran, having traveled from the 21st century, clearly knew how dominant convenience stores had become.
And 7-Eleven was a global titan — a super giant of convenience retail.
Today, 7-Eleven was already powerful.
But if he wanted to acquire it, he didn't know exactly how much it would cost yet.
In the 21st century, 7-Eleven was a Japanese company.
But at this moment in time, it should still be American-owned.
Thus, when that Japanese businessman mocked him the other night, Lin Haoran immediately set his sights on 7-Eleven.
Today, 7-Eleven might not be as dominant as it would become later —
but it was already strong in its industry.
Moreover, convenience store retail likely hadn't yet caught massive investor attention.
This was Lin Haoran's chance.
In a way, that petty provocation had been a blessing in disguise —
without it, Lin Haoran might never have thought about 7-Eleven so soon.
There were many companies in the world destined to become giants.
But thanks to that insult, Lin Haoran now focused on 7-Eleven.
Even though he didn't know all the detailed history of 7-Eleven,
he knew that eventually, a Japanese company — likely Ito-Yokado — had bought it.
But in this timeline, the Ito family wouldn't get that chance.
7-Eleven, FamilyMart, Lawson, C-Store, Tianfu, Meiyijia, Furong Xingsheng...
Organizing everything he knew about convenience stores, Lin Haoran then got ready for bed.
The next morning, he was woken up early by a phone call.
It wasn't even 8 a.m.
Yawning, he got out of bed and picked up the phone.
"Boss, I've gathered a lot of information about 7-Eleven," said Cui Zilong on the line.
"From its founding up to the present day.
It's a well-known brand in the U.S., so the information was easy to find.
Do you have a fax machine?
If so, I'll send it over."
"Good work," Lin Haoran smiled.
"My study has a fax machine.
I'll head there now — stand by."
Clearly, he was very pleased with Cui Zilong's efficiency.
He had only asked for it last night — and now everything was ready.
Wearing his pajamas, Lin Haoran walked into his study and connected the fax machine.
A few moments later, several pages came through.
It wasn't a thick dossier, just a few pages — but it was enough.
All Lin Haoran needed was an overview of 7-Eleven's current status.
Sitting down, he began to read.
7-Eleven originated in 1927 as an ice, milk, and egg retailer under Southland Ice Company.
In 1946, Southland renamed the chain to 7-Eleven, and eventually changed the company name too.
Franchise operations began in 1964.
During the 1970s, amid Japan's economic boom, Ito-Yokado's executive Minoru Suzuki visited the U.S. and discovered 7-Eleven's new retail model.
In 1973, Ito-Yokado signed a joint venture agreement with Southland, establishing Japan's first 7-Eleven franchise.
Southland controlled logistics, while Ito-Yokado managed store operations.
In just seven years, under Ito-Yokado's management, Japan's 7-Eleven stores exploded past 1,000 locations —
quickly becoming Japan's dominant convenience store chain.
Thus, Ito-Yokado rose to become a retail giant.
Today, Ito-Yokado was involved in department stores, hypermarkets, supermarkets, specialty stores, discount stores — and, of course, convenience stores.
In 1979, 7-Eleven entered Taiwan through a joint venture with Uni-President Enterprises Corporation.
...
Lin Haoran set the document down.
He now had a deep understanding of 7-Eleven.
Though 7-Eleven had originated in the U.S., it had only about 1,000 stores there —
whereas Japan's 7-Eleven expansion was astonishing.
It was clear that in this era, Japan's 7-Eleven stores were rapidly overtaking their American counterparts.
Minoru Suzuki's management skills were impressive.
However, Suzuki was only a professional manager; the real control lay with the Ito family.
Additionally, Lin Haoran noted that Southland — the parent company — was not yet a publicly traded company.
Compared to the 21st-century 7-Eleven empire, today's 7-Eleven was still small.
This might be Lin Haoran's chance.
After pondering for a moment, he picked up the phone again.
This time, he dialed Su Zhixue in New York.
It was 7 p.m. there — perfect timing.
Su Zhixue, being a family man, should be home.
Sure enough, his wife answered the call.
Upon hearing it was Lin Haoran, she quickly handed the phone to Su Zhixue —
for whom Lin Haoran was a deeply respected and life-changing figure.
Had it not been for Lin Haoran's help, their family would have been financially devastated years ago.
"Boss, what can I do for you?" Su Zhixue asked respectfully.
"Yes, I have a task for you," Lin Haoran said.
"By the way, how are you adjusting to life over there? How's the company doing?"
Su Zhixue gave a full report.
He outlined the progress of Huanyu Investment's acquisitions: Walmart, Intel, Coca-Cola, ExxonMobil, Citibank, Chevron...
Lin Haoran paid particular attention to Walmart.
Besides his original 10% stake, Huanyu had quietly accumulated another 8.7%.
Thus, Lin Haoran now effectively controlled 18.7% of Walmart's stock.
Moreover, after receiving Lin Haoran's $15 million investment, Walmart had successfully acquired Big K Department Stores —
making Walmart the second-largest department store chain in America, behind only Kmart.
Though Walmart had only about 350 stores now, its growth potential far outstripped that of Southland.
Walmart's acquisition had boosted its stock price significantly.
Meanwhile, investments in Intel, Coca-Cola, ExxonMobil, Citibank, and Chevron were progressing at varying speeds.
Oil companies were hardest to penetrate, given the profits they were raking in post-oil crisis.
Still, Lin Haoran wasn't concerned —
his American investments were long-term plays.
Interestingly, Coca-Cola stock was being absorbed relatively easily.
Lin Haoran now controlled 2.35% of Coca-Cola's shares —
valued close to $100 million.
Coca-Cola's stock was famously resilient —
even during the 1987 crash, it had continued climbing.
Moreover, Coca-Cola's generous annual dividends made it an ideal holding.
Compared to Coca-Cola, Walmart had greater future potential.
Thus, Lin Haoran prioritized it.
Satisfied with Su Zhixue's report, Lin Haoran got to the point.
"I have another task for you," he said.
"You know Southland Corporation — the parent company of 7-Eleven, right?"
"Yes, Boss."
"I want you to prepare.
We're going to acquire Southland — and take over 7-Eleven.
We'll make sure it never becomes a Japanese brand."
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