Chapter 1515 Entering the Luxury Goods Industry
In another ten years, the population of the Rhine royal family can at least double again, because Ernst's grandchildren have reached the age of adulthood. In Ernst's view, the more uncertain the future is, the more the Rhine royal family should encourage more children. This can not only prevent the future monarchs from being alone, but also share the family risks.
After all, since the 19th century, countless royal families have disappeared in the tide of history.
Back to Alexei's family, now that Alexei is the "Tsar", he has to work hard for his family's livelihood.
He said to his wife, "Some time ago, due to the impact of the economic crisis, the stock market and the financial industry collapsed, and other industries also had a difficult time. Now that the economy is improving, do you think we should also invest in some new industries?"
When Alexei came to East Africa, he was not without any savings. Nicholas II was able to send him to East Africa after naturally making some preparations in advance. For example, the industries invested by the Tsarist Russian royal family in East Africa were inherited by Alexei when he came of age.
This is not surprising. At the end of the last century, after the South African War, there was no shortage of investment activities from other countries in this emerging country in East Africa.
The Russian royal family set up many industries along the coast of East Africa. As for the inland, the inland was opened up after 1910, which was not long before the outbreak of the World War. Therefore, the Russian royal family's investment in East Africa was mainly concentrated in the coastal areas.
The main investment project of the Russian royal family in East Africa is real estate. Other aspects are limited to some industries and finance. As for agriculture, East Africa's agriculture is not open to the outside world, otherwise the Russian royal family would inevitably purchase a large number of farms in East Africa.
Therefore, Alexei still has a considerable fortune in East Africa. The only pity is that East Africa’s economic policies are not conducive to the development of the real estate economy.
Therefore, Alexei's wealth has not increased much over the years. Take Dar es Salaam as an example. A few years ago, Dar es Salaam had always been the largest city in East Africa.
The city of Dar es Salaam has been in this location for almost sixty years since the last century.
Previously, investors from other countries believed that investing in East Africa's largest city should be a free ride. Just by setting up businesses here, there is a high probability that wealth will continue to increase like in New York, London, Berlin and Paris.
Because according to the development path of the largest cities in other countries, their largest cities should be able to become the engine of the national economy.
But in East Africa, man proposes, fate disposes. East Africa's policy for developing industry and cities has never been to concentrate all efforts on developing one or two key cities, but to develop in many areas.
Dar es Salaam, once the largest city in East Africa, has not benefited much from policies. Recently, it even gave up its position as the largest city to Mombasa.
Coupled with East Africa's intervention in housing prices, this has made Dar es Salaam's real estate growth rate rank relatively low among major international cities. Of course, overall, Dar es Salaam's housing prices are still growing steadily.
Alexei's wife was still very interested in her family's investment. She said to Alexei: "I have always advised you that the Soviet regime has stabilized and the restoration of the country is just a fantasy bubble. For us now, the most important thing is to live our own lives well."
"It's a pity. If we had understood this truth a few years ago, we wouldn't have wasted so much money and invested in the bottomless pit of restoring the country."
"If we can invest that money in East African industries, we can make a lot of money, but it won't be a waste either."
"Besides, we shouldn't have to pay for the restoration of the country. Compared with the Soviet Union, our wealth can't even make a ripple. Without the support of the East African government, it will not have any effect at all."
Alexei could only nod in agreement to his wife's dominance, indicating that it was his responsibility. Yes, in Alexei's family, his wife had more say. The reason was very simple. Alexei's experiences since childhood made him a weaker person.
Fortunately, the Tsar's queen, Alexei's wife, was generally virtuous, so the two of them lived in harmony.
Her wife went on to say: "It's not too late for us to wake up now. As long as we operate properly, we can still keep our current wealth without becoming extremely rich."
"Therefore, we should be cautious about investment. After all, you and I are not from merchant families, so we should be more cautious and not aim too high."
Alexei also deeply agreed with his wife's statement, and he has grown over the years.
After all, after persisting in the cause of national restoration for nearly ten years, in the end, no results were achieved. This in itself is a precious life experience for Alexei.
This life experience taught him that a man should have self-knowledge. If it were ten years ago, when Alexei was young and ambitious, he would have had certain illusions about restoring Tsarist Russia.
Today, Alexei has completely understood that it was just a dream. He has neither the strength nor the ability to restore his country and dynasty.
When it comes to business and investment, Alexei is more aware of his level of experience and ability in this area.
On the contrary, his wife has been managing the household business all year round, so she is more adept at this aspect, so he is willing to listen to his wife's advice.
The wife said: "As for the current economic situation, we cannot be sure whether there will be a risk of deterioration in the future. However, the East African government's actions this time are still very big. At least in the construction industry, steel, cement and other investments, there will not be too many problems in the short term."
"The news said that during the Seventh Five-Year Plan period in East Africa, many major projects were launched, so we should follow the steps of the East African government."
"Now, we have two choices. One is to take advantage of the large-scale infrastructure construction in East Africa and take a bite of the soup. The other is to invest in some emerging industries that the East African government is interested in. However, I am more optimistic about the second option because too many people are eyeing the first option."
Alexei said with some concern: "Investing in emerging industries is indeed more promising if you can bet on the right ones, but these companies are unpredictable and the risks are still very high."
Everyone knows that emerging industries will eventually grow stronger with the development of time, but as the saying goes, one general's success is built on the bones of thousands of soldiers. In this field, there are countless companies of the same type that will fail halfway. Some are even more unethical and simply use the name of emerging industries to defraud subsidies or speculate on stock prices.
Alexei's wife disagreed with his worries. She said: "If it were normal, your worry would be justified."
"But now we do have a rare opportunity. The outbreak of the economic crisis has eliminated a large number of fakes who are just filling in the gaps."
"The companies that can survive now have gone through a round of screening and elimination. They either have real technology or good management. Even the worst ones have backgrounds."
"Plus, the stock price is low now, so this is actually a good opportunity to enter the market. By the time investors from other countries react, we will miss this ride."
After listening to his wife's analysis, Alexei clapped his hands and said, "That's true. In this way, the economic crisis is indeed an opportunity for us."
The wife said with a smile: "Not only that, the whole world is now in the midst of an economic crisis. Against this backdrop, East Africa's previous losses are at most superficial. Compared to other countries, except for the Soviet Union, it can be said to be a paradise during the economic crisis."
"However, the Soviet Union is a country that does not open its market to the outside world, and there are no investment channels in the country. Therefore, in the next period of time, a large amount of international hot money will inevitably flow into East Africa. Even if we really buy some bad stocks, the stock price may increase instead of falling under this situation. This is almost a sure-win deal."
In 1931, the country with the best economic development in the world was still the Soviet Union, because at that time the Soviet Union's First Five-Year Plan had been implemented for more than half, a large number of enterprises and factories had been established, and the country's appearance had been changed.
As for East Africa, the year 1931 was a good start, but the Seventh Five-Year Plan had only just begun to be implemented in East Africa, and the effects would certainly be seen a year or two later than in the Soviet Union.
As for the period before 1931 until 1929, when the economic crisis occurred, the economic situation in East Africa was better than that of other countries, but it also suffered a lot of losses.
Therefore, the East African economy not only did not grow in 1930, but also declined to a certain extent. However, this process can also be seen as the process of East Africa cutting off the rotten flesh of the market. It will suffer certain damage in the short term, but it will be beneficial to the long-term health of the East African economy in the future.
"Of course, I prefer some large companies and state-owned enterprises in East Africa. Although the returns of such companies are not high, they are stable."
"Having lived in East Africa for so many years, one thing I can be sure of is that companies with official backgrounds have more advantages under the economic system of East Africa."
"And compared to ordinary businessmen, our status and position have great advantages."
As a Tsar, Alexei was in name only, but his status was recognized by the East African government after all. He was able to get in touch with the government and get to know many dignitaries in East Africa. This was Alexei's biggest advantage. After all, many people didn't even have the opportunity to make friends with the upper class.
Therefore, as long as he operates properly and maximizes his own advantages, Alexei will be able to do well. For example, in terms of corporate investment, the identity of "Tsar" can avoid many bureaucratic difficulties.
Alexei, who has lived in East Africa for a long time, has a deep understanding of this point, because East Africa is a "official-oriented" country where power and status are even greater than capital.
His wife went on to say: “Of course, even if we determine the direction of investment, we cannot ignore the details, such as which specific industries to invest in.”
"I think the home appliance industry is a very good option. This industry is an industry that the East African government focuses on supporting, and it also has very good prospects."
“If the 19th century was the age of steam and now is the age of the internal combustion engine, then the future is the age of electrification.”
“Although East Africa’s electrification level is now at the world’s leading level, I believe that the potential for electrification is far from reaching its bottom.”
"In addition, I think we should increase our investment in the luxury goods industry. Compared with home appliances, luxury goods are our biggest advantage."
"This country in East Africa has a short history and a shallow cultural heritage. Even the most prominent Rhine royal family was just a small noble family in Europe in the last century."
The predecessor of the Rhine royal family, the Hechingen royal family was definitely not a small noble family as she said. In terms of status, the Hechingen royal family was a branch of the most prominent Hohenzollern family in Europe, and it was the same branch as Prussia.
Although the Principality of Hexingen is a bit small in area, it is also a real country, and the nobles who own fiefs have a higher status.
In addition, the identity and status of the Prince of Hechingen made it easy for him to become a high-ranking official in the German and Austrian imperial governments, which also proves that the Hechingen royal family is by no means just a "small noble family."
Of course, Alexei's wife was not without confidence in saying this. Not to mention Alexei himself, even his wife would have become a famous noble in the empire if Tsarist Russia had not been destroyed. Her father was a former duke of Tsarist Russia.
If we look back in history, it is true that Alexei and his wife's family were more prominent than the Hechingen royal family before the mid-19th century.
Before the mid-19th century, although the Hechingen royal family had a high rank and controlled a country, the Principality of Hechingen, this could not change the fact that the Principality of Hechingen was too small.
In the Far Eastern Empire, the so-called Principality of Blackchingen is only the size of a town, and the Prince of Blackchingen is equivalent to the mayor. Although the two are completely incomparable, after all, the Prince of Blackchingen can be inherited, has a respected social status, and can participate in the highest decision-making level of the Empire (Holy Ra), these are not comparable to the mayor of a small town.
This is similar to Nauru in the previous life, which was a tiny place with a population of only more than 10,000 people, but it was also a country. This meant that it was destined to be able to conduct diplomacy with those big countries and participate in international affairs as a country.
All in all, Alexei's wife believed that their family's identity and status in East Africa were only slightly inferior to those of the Rhine royal family. After all, Tsarist Russia had collapsed, and no matter how famous the Romanov royal family was, they could only be inferior to others.
But it was the identity and status of the fallen Romanov royal family that she wanted to take advantage of.
"Many products can become more well-known and their prices and styles can be increased by labeling them as exclusive for the royal family, so we have a great advantage in investing in luxury goods."
"For example, for perfumes, handicrafts, and even medicines, we can either invest in building factories ourselves or choose to cooperate with other companies to obtain a steady stream of stable income."
"Compared to investments in other fields, luxury goods undoubtedly have lower costs, lower risks and greater profits. In East Africa, apart from the Rhine royal family and Archduke Ferdinand's family, who can be more prominent in status and position than the last Tsar?"
"Our identity and status are not only applicable in East Africa, but also have great influence in Europe, America and other regions."
"So, in my opinion, building a luxury goods giant with the Russian royal family as its brand is our best investment direction. This kind of investment can also be passed down stably. As long as there are no major mistakes, it can become the capital for us and future generations to make a living."
(End of this chapter)
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